A review of rodent control programs in New York State

The history of rodent control programs in New York State is reviewed, beginning with state-funded efforts in August 1967. In 1969, Federal rodent control grant funds were used to establish four Model Cities programs. At its peak in 1970, programs were active in 18 counties, eight cities and villages, and in six Model Cities areas. The program encompasses all the major metropolitan areas of the state, serving some nine million persons. As part of the state program, the Rodent Control Evaluation laboratory was established to investigate chemosterilants as a means of rodent control and to develop knowledge of pest rodent biology. Since then, the investigations program has turned to the problem of rodent resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides both in New York and other states in the eastern United States. Initial rat infestations, which ran 24.4 percent statewide in 1969, have been decreased 84 percent by late 1973. Similarly, in the same time period, unapproved refuse storage deficiencies were decreased 55.6 percent and exposed garbage conditions declined 44.7 percent. Rat bites showed a 40 percent decrease during these same years. By all measures, then, the program has been a success. Most programs have relied heavily upon anticoagulant rodenticides in the chemical control or rodent populations. Zinc phosphide, red squill, and norbormide are also used. Harborage removal and environmental improvement are stressed through active cleanups and educational efforts. During the four-year period 1969-1972, some 177,000 tons of rat harborage were removed from 66,000 premises in the state

METHODS OF SEWER RAT CONTROL

The control of rats in the urban environment involves more than merely dealing with the above-ground populations. The average urban sewage system provides a vast labyrinth of passages and nesting places for the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus. Here, in a protected underground habitat the rodent population is free to reproduce and ultimately expand to the maximum number that the environment can support. Eventually, the population outgrows its environment. At this point population pressures force animals to move out of the system. Rat burrows begin appearing in front yards, under sidewalks and driveways, and in flower beds, and rats themselves are occasionally seen emerging from drains and swimming into toilets. The result may be a new colony of rats on the surface and almost certainly numerous complaints to the control agency. In short, the uncontrolled populations of rats in sewers constitute a reservoir which extends into all parts of a city and is capable of establishing new infestations on the surface

A REVIEW OF RODENT CONTROL PROGRAMS IN NEW YORK STATE

The history of rodent control programs in New York State is reviewed, beginning with state-funded efforts in August, 1967. In 1969, Federal rodent control grant funds were used to establish four Model Cities programs. At its peak in 1970, programs were active in 18 counties, eight cities and villages, and in six Model Cities areas. The program encompasses all the major metropolitan areas of the state, serving some nine million persons. As part of the state program, the Rodent Control Evaluation Laboratory was established to investigate chemosterilants as a means of rodent control and to develop knowledge of pest rodent biology. Since then, the investigations program has turned to the problem of rodent resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides both in New York and other states in the eastern United States. Initial rat infestations, which ran 24.4 percent statewide in 1969, have been decreased 84 percent by late 1973. Similarly, in the same time period, unapproved refuse storage deficiencies were decreased 55.6 percent and exposed garbage conditions declined 44.7 percent. Rat bites showed a 40 percent decrease during these same years. By all measures, then, the program has been a success. Most programs have relied heavily upon anticoagulant rodenticides in the chemical control or rodent populations. Zinc phosphide, red squill , and norbormide are also used. Harborage removal and environmental improvement are stressed through active cleanups and educational efforts. During the four-year period, 1969-1972, some 177,000 tons of rat harborage were removed from 66,000 premises in the state

What Factors Within the Context of a Romantic Relationship and the Couple’s Finances Are Related to the Level of Religiosity among Contemporary Emerging Adults?

Research has identified the beneficial nature of spirituality/religiosity towards people’s general, psychological, and relational well-being despite a decline in religiosity among Americans, particularly among the younger generations. Research also suggests religiosity influences important relational factors, such as entering cohabiting relationships, but that these relational factors may also influence participants’ level of religiosity in a reciprocal effect. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore how demographic, relational, and financial factors influence young adults’ level of religiosity within the context of a romantic relationship and the couples’ finances. Results from the current study suggest the length of the relationship and favorability towards cohabitation were related negatively to participants’ religiosity while waiting longer to initiate sexual intercourse, greater trust and commitment, greater financial well-being, and greater financial anxiety were related positively to participants’ religiosity. Implications are discussed

Ami - The Chemist's Amanuensis

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Abstract The Ami project was a six month Rapid Innovation project sponsored by JISC to explore the Virtual Research Environment space. The project brainstormed with chemists and decided to investigate ways to facilitate monitoring and collection of experimental data. A frequently encountered use-case was identified of how the chemist reaches the end of an experiment, but finds an unexpected result. The ability to replay events can significantly help make sense of how things progressed. The project therefore concentrated on collecting a variety of dimensions of ancillary data - data that would not normally be collected due to practicality constraints. There were three main areas of investigation: 1) Development of a monitoring tool using infrared and ultrasonic sensors; 2) Time-lapse motion video capture (for example, videoing 5 seconds in every 60); and 3) Activity-driven video monitoring of the fume cupboard environs. The Ami client application was developed to control these separate logging functions. The application builds up a timeline of the events in the experiment and around the fume cupboard. The videos and data logs can then be reviewed after the experiment in order to help the chemist determine the exact timings and conditions used. The project experimented with ways in which a Microsoft Kinect could be used in a laboratory setting. Investigations suggest that it would not be an ideal device for controlling a mouse, but it shows promise for usages such as manipulating virtual molecules.Peer Reviewe

Collaborative fisheries research reveals reserve size and age determine efficacy across a network of marine protected areas

A variety of criteria may influence the efficacy of networks of marine protected areas (MPA) designed to enhance biodiversity conservation and provide fisheries benefits. Meta-analyses have evaluated the influence of MPA attributes on abundance, biomass, and size structure of harvested species, reporting that MPA size, age, depth, and connectivity influence the strength of MPA responses. However, few empirical MPA evaluation studies have used consistent sampling methodology across multiple MPAs and years. Our collaborative fisheries research program systematically sampled 12 no-take or highly protective limited-take MPAs and paired fished reference areas across a network spanning 1100 km of coastline to evaluate the factors driving MPA efficacy across a large geographic region. We found that increased size and age consistently contributed to increased fish catch, biomass, and positive species responses inside MPAs, while accounting for factors such as latitude, primary productivity, and distance to the nearest MPA. Our study provides a model framework to collaboratively engage diverse stakeholders in fisheries research and provide high-quality data to assess the success of conservation strategies

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN