Preliminary evaluation of water quality in tidal creeks of Virginia\u27s Eastern Shore in relation to vegetable cultivation

In response to concerns raised about the impacts of vegetable cultivation using plastic ground covers on water quality, we have initiated a broad-scale, systematic study of water quality in seaside tidal creeks of Virginia\u27 s Eastern Shore. Our objective was to determine if acute toxicity associated with heavy metals or pesticides was more prevalent in tidal creeks with drainage areas which include this agricultural practice than in those which do not. Though such correlations do not confirm cause and effect, they may serve as the basis for future, more targeted investigations and for some immediate changes in land management practices which, regardless of the specific cause, are likely to produce some remediation. Eleven study sites, located in six different watersheds, were selected to evaluate acute toxicity (from heavy metals and organic pesticides. Land use patterns and acreage within each watershed was determined from aerial photographs. The amount of vegetable plasti-culture in the watersheds of the study sites ranged from 0-13% of total acreage. An assay for heavy metals, based upon enzyme inhibition in a bacterial strain, was used to determine if up to seven metals (including copper) were present at acutely toxic levels. Both water samples and aqueous extracts of sediment samples were tested. A continuous series of 96 hr in situ bioassays using the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, were conducted from Aug. I, 1996 - Sept. 22, 1996 at each station to assay for toxicity from organic pesticides. Grass shrimp are known to be quite sensitive to insecticides and the in situ bioassay approach provides a continuous means of monitoring for toxic events

Preferences and skills of Indian public sector teachers

With a sample of 700 future public sector primary teachers in India, a Discrete Choice Experiment is used to measure job preferences, particularly regarding location. General skills are also tested. Urban origin teachers and women are more averse to remote locations than rural origin teachers and men respectively. Women would require a 26-73 percent increase in salary for moving to a remote location. The results suggest that existing caste and gender quotas can be detrimental for hiring skilled teachers willing to work in remote locations. The most preferred location is home, which supports decentralised hiring, although this could compromise skills

March 1955

Presidents Report - Frank P. Dunlap (page 1) The Student Purdue Serves - Dr. N. M. Parkhurst (2) A Student Reports - Bill Roach (4) Corrective Management of Shrubs - H. W. Gilbert (5) Nutrient Absorption by Plants - J. R. Watson Jr. (7) Disease Development is Slow - Dr. Wm. Klomparens (10) Poa Annua Control with Arsenic Materials - W. H. Daniel (11) Labor Relations - Cincinnati Country Club - John McCoy (14) Labor Policies at my Course - Ernest Schneider (15) Labor Policies at my Course - Don Strand (16) Nitrogen Use and Why - Robert M. Williams (17) Fertilizing Greens and Why - Don Likes(18) Nitrogen Use and Why - Lawrence Huber (20) Report on Experimental Green - Taylor Boyd (21) Experiences with Fairway Improvements - Ray Davis (23) Fairway Improvement Program - Bert Rost (24) Experiences on Merion Bluegrass - Carl Habenicht (24) Merion Bluegrass Experiences - P. E. Drachman (25) Zoysia for Lawns and Nurseries - P. E. Drachman (27) Preparation for Mortorized Carts - James W. Brandt (28) Preparing for Motorized Carts - Carl Bretzlaff (29) Merion Bluegrass Experiences - Ben O. Warren (31) Pennlu Distribution - W. H. Daniel(32) Zoysia for Midwest Lawns - W. H. Daniel (34) Crabgrass Prevention and Control - W. H. Daniel (36) Plant Carbohydrates Must Balance Nitrogen - M. R. Teel (39) Put Yourself in His Place - Fred Grau (40) Nitrogen Use and Why Wm. E. Lyons (45) The Management of Bentgrass Fairways - O. J. Noer (49) Fairway Improvement Program O. W. Young (52) Experiences with Zoysia - Ferank Dinelli (53

Detection of Prion Protein in Urine-Derived Injectable Fertility Products by a Targeted Proteomic Approach

BACKGROUND: Iatrogenic transmission of human prion disease can occur through medical or surgical procedures, including injection of hormones such as gonadotropins extracted from cadaver pituitaries. Annually, more than 300,000 women in the United States and Canada are prescribed urine-derived gonadotropins for infertility. Although menopausal urine donors are screened for symptomatic neurological disease, incubation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is impossible to exclude by non-invasive testing. Risk of carrier status of variant CJD (vCJD), a disease associated with decades-long peripheral incubation, is estimated to be on the order of 100 per million population in the United Kingdom. Studies showing infectious prions in the urine of experimental animals with and without renal disease suggest that prions could be present in asymptomatic urine donors. Several human fertility products are derived from donated urine; recently prion protein has been detected in preparations of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a classical proteomic approach, 33 and 34 non-gonadotropin proteins were identified in urinary human chorionic gonadotropin (u-hCG) and highly-purified urinary human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG-HP) products, respectively. Prion protein was identified as a major contaminant in u-hCG preparations for the first time. An advanced prion protein targeted proteomic approach was subsequently used to conduct a survey of gonadotropin products; this approach detected human prion protein peptides in urine-derived injectable fertility products containing hCG, hMG and hMG-HP, but not in recombinant products. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The presence of protease-sensitive prion protein in urinary-derived injectable fertility products containing hCG, hMG, and hMG-HP suggests that prions may co-purify in these products. Intramuscular injection is a relatively efficient route of transmission of human prion disease, and young women exposed to prions can be expected to survive an incubation period associated with a minimal inoculum. The risks of urine-derived fertility products could now outweigh their benefits, particularly considering the availability of recombinant products

Global data for ecology and epidemiology: a novel algorithm for temporal Fourier processing MODIS data

Background. Remotely-sensed environmental data from earth-orbiting satellites are increasingly used to model the distribution and abundance of both plant and animal species, especially those of economic or conservation importance. Time series of data from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on-board NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites offer the potential to capture environmental thermal and vegetation seasonality, through temporal Fourier analysis, more accurately than was previously possible using the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor data. MODIS data are composited over 8- or 16-day time intervals that pose unique problems for temporal Fourier analysis. Applying standard techniques to MODIS data can introduce errors of up to 30% in the estimation of the amplitudes and phases of the Fourier harmonics. Methodology/Principal Findings. We present a novel spline-based algorithm that overcomes the processing problems of composited MODIS data. The algorithm is tested on artificial data generated using randomly selected values of both amplitudes and phases, and provides an accurate estimate of the input variables under all conditions. The algorithm was then applied to produce layers that capture the seasonality in MODIS data for the period from 2001 to 2005. Conclusions/Significance. Global temporal Fourier processed images of 1 km MODIS data for Middle Infrared Reflectance, day- and night-time Land Surface Temperature (LST), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) are presented for ecological and epidemiological applications. The finer spatial and temporal resolution, combined with the greater geolocational and spectral accuracy of the MODIS instruments, compared with previous multi-temporal data sets, mean that these data may be used with greater confidence in species' distribution modelling

Role of electromagnetically induced transparency in resonant four-wave-mixing schemes.

Published versio

Employment Law

Outlines of speaker presentations at the Employment Law Seminar held by UK/CLE on January 22-23, 1988