Identification Of Environmental Variables For Use In Monitoring For The Evaluation Of The Rural Environment Protection Scheme

Teagasc wishes to acknowledge the support of the Environmental RTDI Programme 2000–2006 in financing this research project.End of project reportThe aim of this study was to identify and select quantitative environmental attributes for a monitoring programme that may be integrated into an environmental evaluation of Ireland’s agri-environmental scheme. This was achieved primarily by reviewing a range of agri-environmental indicators and suggesting indicators that would be appropriate for monitoring the REPS. The study conducted a desk review to collate information on current best practice in monitoring for environmental quality. A Project Group (comprising representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], Department of Agriculture and Food [DAF], Teagasc, and the project supervisors) advised on the ongoing development of the project. There was a consultation process with national experts, and with a selection of stakeholder organisations with an interest in monitoring the environmental impact of the REPS.Environmental Protection Agenc

The Physiographic History of Western Montana and Northwestern Idaho

Millions of years of physiographic changes have conditioned us to the fact that our present drainage is a temporary feature. Rivers once flowing opposite to their present direction is not an unusual condition for physiographers to suggest

Indexing Change in LIS Work: Implications for Recruiting Managers

Purpose: This paper reports on three periods of library and information service (LIS) recruitment data collected over a six-year timeframe with the aim of developing a tool for indexing change in the recruitment and labour market for workers in the field. Methodology / Approach: The recruitment data was collected in an Irish context over three distinct 12-month timeframes (1999, 2001-2002 and 2005). The two earlier annual sets of data have already been reported and discussed (the latter in Library Management in 2004a), and the most recent set (2005) is presented here. The data over the three timeframes is compared here, and a practical approach for collecting this data in an ongoing fashion is suggested. Findings: The article finds that although LIS positions have become less available in 2005 than in previous periods, that remuneration has increased at a rate of 16%. A number of related findings are discussed throughout the paper. Implications: The value of this approach and the data unearthed is discussed in the context of its value to senior managers and individuals with responsibility for recruitment and strategic human resource management in library and information service context

Tracking ground state Ba+ ions in an expanding laser–plasma plume using time-resolved vacuum ultraviolet photoionization imaging

We report results from a study of the integrated column density and expansion dynamics of ground-state-selected Ba+ ions in a laser–plasma plume using a new experimental system—VPIF (vacuum-ultraviolet photoabsorption imaging facility). The ions are tracked by recording the attenuation of a pulsed and collimated vacuum ultraviolet beam, tuned to the 5p–6d inner-shell resonance of singly ionized barium, as the expanding plasma plume moves across it. The attenuated beam is allowed to fall on a CCD array where the spatial distribution of the absorption is recorded. Time-resolved ion velocity and integrated column density maps are readily extracted from the photoionization images

From Mill Town to Mill Town: The Transition of a New England Town from a Textile to a High-Technology Economy

This article describes and analyzes the economic transformation of Maynard, Massachusetts. Located twenty-six miles west of Boston, Maynard was the home of the world\u27s largest woolen mill. In 1950 the mill closed and 1,200 jobs were lost. During the next ten years, the town gradually recovered as the mill became the home of several innovative companies. Ultimately, the mill became the headquarters for the world\u27s largest manufacturer of minicomputers. The circle is now complete: the mill is full and houses a company that claims a world\u27s largest designation. The article analyses the rise and fall of the American Woolen Company; examines the steps taken to stimulate recovery, and their results; identifies and examines the important elements that led to the economic transformation; and offers potential lessons for planners in towns undergoing similar changes

Pre-exposure of Galleria mellonella larvae to different doses of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia causes differential activation of cellular and humoral immune responses

Larvae of Galleria mellonella are useful models for studying the virulence of microbial pathogens or for evaluating the potency of antimicrobial agents. In this work we demonstrated that prior exposure of larvae to non-lethal doses of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia increases the resistance of larvae to a lethal dose (1 x 107 20 μl-1) 24 h later. Exposure of larvae to a conidia concentration of 1 x 104 20 μl-1 leads to an increase in hemocyte density but an inoculum of 1 x 105 conidia leads to enhanced expression of antimicrobial peptides, increased binding of proteins (e.g., arylophorin, prophenoloxidase, apolipophorin) to conidia and elevated hemocyte density. These results suggest that a low dose of conidia (1 x 104) predominantly activates the cellular immune response but that a higher dose (1 x 105) that is still not lethal activates a humoral immune response to the greatest extent. While insects have an immune system analogous to the innate immune response of mammals these results suggest that it is capable of assessing the extent of the microbial challenge and mounting a ‘proportionate’ immune response which may have important survival advantages

Inhibition of neutrophil function following exposure to the Aspergillus fumigatus toxin fumagillin

The filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus produces a variety of enzymes and toxins that may facilitate fungal colonization of tissue and evasion of the host immune response. One such toxin, fumagillin, was investigated for its ability to inhibit the action of neutrophils, which are a central component of the innate immune response to microbial infection. Neutrophils exposed to 2 mg fumagillin ml”1 for 25 min showed a significantly reduced ability to kill yeast cells (P,0.02), to phagocytose conidia of A. fumigatus (P,0.023) and to consume oxygen (P,0.032). The ability of neutrophils to generate superoxide is dependent upon the action of a functional NADPH oxidase complex which is composed of cytosolic (p40phox, p47phox, p67phox, Rac2) and membrane (gp91phox) proteins. Exposure of neutrophils to fumagillin inhibited the formation of the NADPH oxidase complex by blocking the translocation of p47phox from the cytosolic to the membrane fraction (P50.02). In addition to the production of superoxide, neutrophils also undergo degranulation, which leads to the release of proteolytic enzymes that contribute to the microbicidal activity of the cell. Fumagillin-treated neutrophils showed reduced degranulation as evidenced by lower myeloperoxidase activity (P,0.019). Fumagillin-treated cells demonstrated reduced levels of F-actin, thus indicating that retarding the formation of F-actin may contribute to the inhibition of the structural rearrangements required in the activated neutrophil. This work indicates that fumagillin may contribute to reducing the local immune response by altering the activity of neutrophils and thus facilitate the continued persistence and growth of A. fumigatus in the host

Tuberculosis, human rights, and law reform: Addressing the lack of progress in the global tuberculosis response

In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly convened the first-ever high-level meeting (HLM) on tuberculosis (TB). Since that time news on the world’s most lethal infectious disease is not good—the 2019 WHO TB report shows 1.2 million people died from TB, a number that has fallen just 11% since 2015, less than one-third of the way towards the End TB Strategy milestone of a 35% reduction (to about 850 million deaths) by 2020. The same number of people, 10.0 million, are estimated to have fallen ill with TB in 2018 as in 2017. The stubborn persistence of TB is attributable to glaring gaps in case detection and treatment. While case detection has increased in recent years, there is still a significant gap between the 7 million new cases reported and the 10 million incident cases estimated in the most recent WHO data—and treatment success continues to hover at only 85%. There has long been a call for a shift toward a “human rights-based approach” in TB—building policies and programs explicitly on the norms and values set out in international human rights law, treating people with TB as rights holders in their interaction with the state and the health system, and working to overcome stigma and discrimination. Yet laws in high TB-burden countries (HBCs) have not been reformed to include basic rights protections. This helps explain the lack of progress, as individuals who fear discrimination and coercion may avoid diagnosis and treatment. Thus, TB stands in stark contrast to HIV/AIDS, for which the international community has moved far more decisively to recognize and protect key rights, even as more progress is needed. At the UN, heads of state committed to removing discriminatory laws and policies against people with TB, protecting and promoting their human rights and dignity, as a key part of a strategy to improve the TB response and end the epidemic. Here, we analyze key areas of law with particular importance for TB, focusing on five aspects of compulsory public health powers in law and on laws related to migration. We identify significant gaps between core human rights norms and existing legal environments