Survey and Annotated Checklist of the Later Summer Flora of the Moist Soil Units at Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge

We conducted a floristic survey of 22 moist soil units at Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge during September and October of 1990. The moist soil units range in size from 0.4 to 9.7 ha and are depressions manipulated to provide food and shelter for waterfowl. In total, 60 taxa representing 24 families and 42 genera were identified and are compiled into an annotated checklist. The flora was dominated by the following families and genera in decreasing order of importance: Asteraceae (Xanthium), Polygonaceae (Polygonum), and Amaranthaceae (Amaranthus). The Poaceae and the Cyperaceae were well represented, but were of lesser importance. Twenty-three of the collections represent new records for Pope County and voucher specimens have been placed in the Arkansas Tech University Herbarium (APCR). The checklist and abundance data will benefit Refuge personnel in management of the units

Vegetation of Maple-leaved Oak Sites on Sugarloaf and Magazine Mountains, Arkansas

We conducted an analysis of the vegetation of the maple-leaved oak sites on Sugarloaf and Magazine Mountains, Arkansas, during September and October of 1993. The woody vegetation was sampled using the point-quarter method; on Sugarloaf Mountain five transects were sampled (950 m) and on Magazine Mountain four transects were sampled (710 m). Soil samples from each site were collected and analyzed for 15 factors. In total 27 species were recorded and measured for both sites, 18 for Sugarloaf and 19 for Magazine. The Sugarloaf site can be described as a Quercus-Juniperus community and the Magazine site can be described as a Juniperus-Carya-Fraxinus community. Qualitative observations for the maple leaved oak sites on Porter and Pryor Mountains, Arkansas, are also included

Socioeconomic indicators of heat-related health risk supplemented with remotely sensed data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extreme heat events are the number one cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States. The current system of alert for extreme heat events does not take into account intra-urban spatial variation in risk. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a potential method to improve spatial delineation of risk from extreme heat events in urban environments by integrating sociodemographic risk factors with estimates of land surface temperature derived from thermal remote sensing data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparison of logistic regression models indicates that supplementing known sociodemographic risk factors with remote sensing estimates of land surface temperature improves the delineation of intra-urban variations in risk from extreme heat events.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Thermal remote sensing data can be utilized to improve understanding of intra-urban variations in risk from extreme heat. The refinement of current risk assessment systems could increase the likelihood of survival during extreme heat events and assist emergency personnel in the delivery of vital resources during such disasters.</p

The average X-ray/gamma-ray spectrum of radio-quiet Seyfert 1s

We have obtained the average 1--500 keV spectrum of radio-quiet Seyfert 1s using data from EXOSAT, Ginga, HEAO, and GRO/OSSE. The spectral fit to the combined average EXOSAT and OSSE data is fully consistent with that for Ginga and OSSE, confirming results from an earlier Ginga/OSSE sample. The average spectrum is well-fitted by a power-law X-ray continuum with an energy spectral index of $\alpha \simeq 0.9$ moderately absorbed by an ionized medium and with a Compton reflection component. A high-energy cutoff (or a break) in the the power-law component at a few hundred keV or more is required by the data. We also show that the corresponding average spectrum from HEAO A1 and A4 is fully compatible with that obtained from EXOSAT, Ginga and OSSE. These results confirm that the apparent discrepancy between the results of Ginga (with $\alpha \simeq 0.9$) and the previous results of EXOSAT and HEAO (with $\alpha \simeq 0.7$) is indeed due to ionized absorption and Compton reflection first taken into account for Ginga but not for the previous missions. Also, our results confirm that the Seyfert-1 spectra are on average cut off in gamma-rays at energies of at least a few hundred keV, not at $\sim 40$ keV (as suggested earlier by OSSE data alone). The average spectrum is compatible with emission from either an optically-thin relativistic thermal plasma in a disk corona, or with a nonthermal plasma with a power-law injection of relativistic electrons.Comment: 7 pages, 3 Postscript figures, MNRAS accepte

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF GRACILARIA

Objective: In the present investigation an attempt was made to examine the anti-inflammatory potential of aqueous extracts of Gracilaria salicornia C. Ag., Gracilaria edulis (Gmelin) Silva, Gracilaria corticata J. Ag., Gracilaria fergusonii J. Ag.,and Gracilaria verrucosa (Hudson) Papenfus from Mandapam, Gracilaria edulis (Gmelin) Silva., Gracilaria verrucosa (Hudson) Papenfus from Pulicate Lake, Gracilaria fergusonii J. Ag., Gracilaria corticata J. Ag. and Gracilaria corticata J. Ag. var. cylindrica from Tuticorin using heat induced haemolysis of RBC. In addition, the present study is focused to reveal the locality specific anti-inflammatory activities of selected Gracillaria species.Methods: The fresh seaweeds were boiled with distilled water (1:20 W/V) for 2 h. The slurry was filtered through Whatman No. 41 filter paper and condensed. The semi-solid crude extracts were used for anti-inflammatory analysis.Results: An aqueous extracts of studied Gracilaria species were effective in inhibiting the heat induced haemolysis at different concentrations. The results showed the dose dependent protection. The percentage of anti-inflammatory activity of studied Gracillaria was varied from 43.81 to 95.55. The highest percentage (95.55%) of activity was observed in 250 µg/ml of G. edulis aqueous extracts. The anti-inflammatory activity of studied Gracillaria species at 250 µg/ml were as follows G. edulis (Mandabam)&gt;G. corticata (Mandabam)&gt;G. verucosa (Mandabam)&gt;G. salicornia (Mandabam)&gt;G. ferugosonii (Tuticorin)&gt;G. ferugosonii (Mandabam)&gt;G. edulis (Pulicate)&gt;G. corticata (Tuticorin)&gt;G. verucosa (Pulicate)&gt;G. corticata var. cylindrica (Tuticorin).Conclusion: The results of the present study clearly explained the anti-inflammatory potential of the studied Gracillaria species. The aqueous 0extracts of Gracillaria collected from Mandapam showed the highest percentage of protection activity. This study results confirm the existence of active principle responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity. Further studies are required to isolate the active principles without any side effects

Early Season Monitoring of Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus lineolaris, in Wild Hosts Using Pheromone Traps

Simple Summary The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae), is a polyphagous pest and causes severe economic damage to cotton crops. Managing the weedy field edges is important in preventing early-season infestations of L. lineolaris in cotton to prevent damage to the squares and other fruiting structures. Scouting fields for L. lineolaris is time- and labor-intensive, and end-user variability associated with field sampling can lead to inaccuracies. Insect traps that combine visual cues and pheromones are more accurate, sustainable, and economically feasible in contrast to traditional insect detection methods. In this study, we investigated the application of red or white sticky cards baited with the female-produced sex pheromone to monitor the overwintering L. lineolaris populations in early spring. Field experiments demonstrated that the red sticky cards baited with a pheromone blend containing hexyl butyrate, (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate, and (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal in a 4:10:7 ratio are highly effective in trapping L. lineolaris adults in early spring before the row crops are planted, and in monitoring their movement into a cotton crop. Abstract The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae), has a wide host range of over 700 plant species, including 130 crops of economic importance. During early spring, managing the field edges with weeds and other wild hosts is important in preventing early-season infestations of L. lineolaris in cotton to prevent damage to the squares and other fruiting structures. Scouting fields for L. lineolaris is time- and labor-intensive, and end-user variability associated with field sampling can lead to inaccuracies. Insect traps that combine visual cues and pheromones are more accurate, sustainable, and economically feasible in contrast to traditional insect detection methods. In this study, we investigated the application of red or white sticky cards baited with the female-produced sex pheromone to monitor overwintering L. lineolaris populations in early spring. Field experiments demonstrated that the red sticky cards baited with a pheromone blend containing hexyl butyrate, (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate, and (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal in 4:10:7 ratio are highly effective in trapping L. lineolaris adults in early spring before the row crops are planted, and in monitoring their movement into a cotton crop. The monitoring of L. lineolaris should help growers to make judicious decisions on insecticide applications to control early pest infestations, thereby reducing economic damage to cotton

Methodology of programming small watershed development

This is a study of some physical and economic aspects of planning for the conservation and development of soil and water resources on a small watershed basis. Specific problems covered are: (1) applying multipurpose concepts which have guided river-basin planning to the evaluation of conservation needs and development opportunities in much smaller drainages, (2) reconciling the economic objectives and management plans of farmers who control watershed uplands with the objectives and plans of other private or public economic subunits affected by upland use and (3) formulating optimal development programs for small watersheds, defined as programs that will maximize discounted net benefits without forcing any economic subunit to incur net losses. The study\u27s main objective was to treat these problems by illustrating procedures both for evaluating development possibilities and for devising alternative optimal development programs. Emphical investigations focused on the 480-acre Nepper Watershed, which includes parts of seven farms in Monona County of western Iowa and drains into the Maple, Little Sioux and Missouri rivers. Planning in the Nepper Watershed was directed toward determining particular combinations of land treatment and structural measures effective in achieving a community objective, or planning norm, from a complex of land, labor and capital resources available at a given point in time (specified as the year 1947). Potential beneficiaries of cooperative development were seven farm operating units, Monona County and the offsite area

ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS AMONG DRUG-RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENT: AN OBSERVATIONAL COHORT STUDY

Objective: Adverse drug reaction (ADR) is regarded as one of the major challenges in the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). It can lead to non-compliance or interrupting treatment completion, which can contribute to avoidable morbidity, drug resistance, treatment failure, reduced quality of life, or mortality. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Ernakulam district of Kerala from 2016 to 2019. All DR-TB patients registered under the DR-TB center were enrolled in the study. Due to privacy and confidentiality HIV infected patients and patients below 12 y of age were excluded in this study and only the data with ADR reported by patients is collected from medical records. Results: Out of the total 146 patients, about 75 % of patients experienced at least one ADR during treatment, and a total of 208 ADRs were reported. Among all the ADRs, the most common ADR was gastritis (12.98%) followed by ototoxicity (10%) and vomiting (5.76%), etc. It was found that males (78.76%) within the age group 46-65 y exhibited more ADR than females. Some of the ADR requires drug withdrawal and replacement with other drugs and most of the patients also needed symptomatic treatment without modifying the treatment regimen. All ADR reported were collected and causality assessment was done via WHO and Naranjo scale. The majority of ADR belongs to the “probable” category in the WHO scale and Naranjo scale. The evaluation of the severity of ADR by using the Modified Hartwig and Siegel scale indicated that most of the ADR was of moderate level showing a 4b reaction. The study also assessed the preventability of ADR using the Schumock and Thornton preventability scale. Conclusion: Many of the ADRs were unidentified or not reported due to several reasons like milder ADR, patient lack of knowledge, Negligence of symptoms, unawareness of health providers, etc. Whereas the long-term treatment and diversities in age, gender, etc. were found as major contributors to ADR along with comorbidities. New drugs in combination with existing drugs created the potential for previously unnotified reactions. Pharmacovigilance should address the safety of therapy and identify ADRs, especially the serious ones with routine monitoring to prevent mortality, morbidity, and other negative outcomes