The intrinsic rate of increase of reindeer and caribou populations in arctic environments

The intrinsic rate of increase of an animal population, rm, is specific to the environment in which it is measured. Previous estimates of maximum growth rates for reindeer and caribou Rangifer tarandus populations were based on introductions to islands with cool oceanic climates. The mean intrinsic rate of increase of 6 populations was 0.26 ranging from 0.21 on St Paul Island in the Bering Sea to 0.29 in the Barff herd on South Georgia. I calculated rm for two Rangifer populations introduced to arctic environments to determine the effect of environmental severity on the intrinsic rate of increase. Reindeer on the Belcher islands increased at rm= 0.28 and caribou on Southampton Island increased at rm = 0.23 (mean = 0.26). The lower primary productivity and longer duration of snow cover in arctic environments did not affect the intrinsic rate of increase

Genetics Analysis Workshop 16 Problem 2: tTe Framingham Heart Study Data

Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 (GAW16) Problem 2 presented data from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), an observational, prospective study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease begun in 1948. Data have been collected in three generations of family participants in the study and the data presented for GAW16 included phenotype data from all three generations, with four examinations of data collected repeatedly for the first two generations. The trait data consisted of information on blood pressure, hypertension treatment, lipid levels, diabetes and blood glucose, smoking, alcohol consumed, weight, and coronary heart disease incidence. Additionally, genotype data obtained through a genome-wide scan (FHS SHARe) of 550,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from Affymetrix chips were included with the GAW16 data. The genotype data were also used for GAW16 Problem 3, where simulated phenotypes were generated using the actual FHS genotypes. These data served to provide investigators with a rich resource to study the behavior of genome-wide scans with longitudinally collected family data and to develop and apply new procedures.National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (2 N01-HC-25195-06); National Institutes of Health (National Institute of General Medical Sciences R01 GM031575

Detained without trial: Fair Trials International‟s response to the European Commission‟s Green Paper on detention

The report presents the case studies of 11 individuals whose rights were infringed due to excessive and unjustified pre-trial detention. The report analyses the pre-trial detention regimes of 15 EU Member States: the Czech Republic, France, England and Wales, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. Key statistical data on rates of pre-trial detention in these and other EU countries are presented in Appendix 1. The report was submitted to the European Commission in response to its Green Paper on detention issued in 2010

The Interpretation and Effective Implementation of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1996

The purpose of this research is to develop a plan that gives schools the opportunity to acquire knowledge of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act. The law suggests that federal agencies give surplus equipment to educational entities. It would then become the school's choice to take advantage of the opportunity. The purpose of this proposal is to develop an ongoing partnership with schools around the United States. Its attempt is to inform schools about the law and organize a plan that will allow schools to take advantage of this opportunity. It would inform teachers about available resources and expose their students to educational opportunities

EDCATS: An Evaluation Tool

The purpose of this research is to explore the development of Marshall Space Flight Center Unique Programs. These academic tools provide the Education Program Office with important information from the Education Computer Aided Tracking System (EDCATS). This system is equipped to provide on-line data entry, evaluation, analysis, and report generation, with full archiving for all phases of the evaluation process. Another purpose is to develop reports and data that is tailored to Marshall Space Flight Center Unique Programs. It also attempts to acquire knowledge on how, why, and where information is derived. As a result, a user will be better prepared to decide which available tool is the most feasible for their reports

First Report of the Alfalfa Blotch Leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae), and Selected Parasites (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA

Alfalfa blotch leafminer, Agromyza frontella, has been a serious pest of alfalfa, Medicago sativa, in the northeastern U.S. and in eastern Ontario, Canada. Until recently, the western edge of the A. frontella distribution in the U.S. was limited to eastern Ohio. We document for the first time, the occurrence of A. frontella in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Alfalfa stems damaged by A. frontella, based on adult feeding punctures, obvious blotched leafmining or the presence of larvae, were first found in 3 northern Minnesota coun­ties during October, 1994. Infested counties included Lake of the Woods, Cook and Lake, all bordering western Ontario, Canada. In 1995, A. frontella was again found in Cook and Lake counties, where 99-100% of the stems, and 18-35% of the trifoliates/stem, contained larvae or exhibited obvious feeding damage. In 1996, following a more expanded survey, a total of 11 and 5 counties, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, respectively, showed some level of A. frontella feeding damage (stem samples ranged from \u3c5 to 100% infested). Based on additional counties surveyed 11 October, 1996, where A. frontella was not found, we now have a reasonable estimate of the southern edge of the distribution in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A total of 2 and 6 A. frontella adults were identified from sweep-net samples taken from fields with obvious feeding damage during 1995 (Lake Co.) and 1996 (Cook Co,), respectively. Three eulophid (Hymenoptera) parasites were reared from A. frontella-infested alfalfa stems collected during October, 1994 in Cook Co., Minn., including: Diglyphus begini, D. pulchripes, and Diglyphus sp., prob. isaea, all of which are new records. Our hypothesis is that A. frontella moved into Minnesota from Ontario Canada, via alfalfa hay purchased by northern Minnesota growers

Amphipods of the Family Ampeliscidae (Gammaridea). IV. Infraspecific Variation in Ampelisca agassizi

Considerable variation noted, in Ampelisca agassizi is herein described. The variations in the shape of the basis of pereopod 7 and the carina of urosomite I are most obyious. No relationship was found with the atypical specimens and their age, associated sediment or location

Amphipods of the Family Ampeliscidae (Gammaridea). III. Ampelisca parapacifica, a New Species of Amphipod from the Western North Atlantic with the Designation of a Substitute Name for A. eschrichtii pacifica Gurjanova, 1955

A new species of benthic amphipod, Ampelisca parapacifica, is described from the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and compared with the closely allied Ampelisca pacifica Holmes, 1908, from the eastern Pacific. The distinctive form of the third uropod separates this species pair from other members of the macrocephala subgroup of the genus Ampelisca Kroyer, 1842. Ampelisca parapacifica is distinguished from A. pacifica by antenna I peduncle segment 2 less t}an twice the length of article 1 and uropod I peduncle shorter than the rami. Previous Atlantic records of A. pacifica are assigned to the proposed new species. The Pacific populations of A. eschrichtii pacifica Gurjanova, 1955, were elevated to the species rank by Karaman, unaware that the name A. pacifica was preoccupied. A substitute name, A. karamani, nomen novum, is designated for the form described by Gurjanova