Floods and Climate Change in Broome County

Floods are the second deadliest of all weather-related hazards in the United States (Ashley & Ashley, 2008), and they are only becoming more common and more dangerous due to climate change. The Binghamton area has a further elevated risk due to its proximity to the Chenango and Susquehanna river confluence, as demonstrated by the floods here in 2006 and 2011. While there are several flood and climate change mitigation options available, there is little information about the perspectives coming out of Binghamton on these issues. Through semi-structured interviews with community members and local legislators, I will learn how individuals feel they have been affected by floods, as well as what they know about and how they respond to the different mitigation options and efforts. This research could reveal a gap between what representatives think people want and what they actually want, or divides between the needs and incentives of different parts of Broome County. Understanding and reconciling these differences would make Binghamton more prepared to weather the next big flood, or make sure the flood does not get so big in the first place.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_spring2020/1094/thumbnail.jp

One Region: Promoting Prosperity Across Race

Identifies communities with limited opportunities in New York City and environs. Examines the links between housing, jobs, education, and other indicators and racial inequity, poverty, lack of investment, and suburban sprawl. Makes policy recommendations

Invertebrate communities on historical shipwrecks in the western Atlantic : relation to islands

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2017. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Ecology Progress Series 566 (2017): 17-29, doi:10.3354/meps12058.Shipwrecks can be considered island-like habitats on the seafloor. We investigated the fauna of eight historical shipwrecks off the east coast of the U.S. to assess whether species distribution patterns on the shipwrecks fit models from classical island theory. Invertebrates on the shipwrecks included both sessile (sponges, anemones, hydroids) and motile (crustaceans, echinoderms) species. Invertebrate communities were significantly different among wrecks. The size and distance between wrecks influenced the biotic communities, much like on terrestrial islands. However, while wreck size influenced species richness (alpha diversity), distance to the nearest wreck influenced community composition (beta diversity). Alpha and beta diversity on the shipwrecks were thus influenced by different abiotic factors. We found no evidence of either nested patterns or non-random co-occurrence of morphotypes, suggesting that the taxa on a given shipwreck were randomly selected from the available taxon pool. Species present on the shipwrecks generally had one of two reproductive modes: most motile or solitary sessile species had long-duration planktotrophic larvae, while most encrusting or colonial sessile species had short-duration lecithotrophic larvae and underwent asexual reproduction by budding as adults. Short-duration larvae may recruit to their natal shipwreck, allowing them to build up dense populations and dominate the wreck surfaces. A high degree of dominance was indeed observed on the wrecks, with up to 80% of the fauna being accounted for by the most common species alone. By comparing the shipwreck communities to known patterns of succession in shallow water, we hypothesize that the shipwrecks are in a stage of mid-succession.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-0829517. Funding for this project was supplied by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), under contract to CSA Ocean Sciences, Inc. (contract M10PC00100) in partnership with the National Oceanographic 377 Partnership Program

Resistance Inducers and Plant Growth Regulators Show only Limited and Transient Effects on Infection Rates, Growth Rates and Symptom Expression of Apple Trees Infected with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’

The effects of four commercially available bio-active compounds on the infection rates, symptom expression and growth rates of apple trees (Malus × domestica Borkh.) cv. Golden Delicious infected with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’ (the so-called Apple Proliferation phytoplasma or AP) were tested over a three-year period under controlled conditions. Post-infection treatments using Bion® (active ingredient: Acibenzolar-S-Methyl), Messenger® (Harpin protein), Regalis® (Prohexadione-Ca) and Dormex® (Cyanamide) had no significant effect on infection rates. Terminal growth of apple trees (grown as one-shoot pruned trees) was increased significantly by AP infection; Prohexadione-Ca was the only compound which had a significant (inhibiting) effect on the growth of both infected and non-infected apple trees. Acibenzolar-S-Methyl and Harpin had no significant effects on symptom expression. AP symptoms were masked during summer by Prohexadione-Ca, which caused severe growth abnormalities. Cyanamide changed the seasonal appearance of AP symptoms: while symptoms were delayed compared to the untreated control the first two years (2008 and 2009), symptoms appeared earlier the third year (2010). Differences in symptom expression leveled off later in the vegetative season, and no significant difference was found in October

De-novo Onset of Eosinophilic Esophagitis After Large Volume Allergen Exposures

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated condition believed to have an allergic component, but the timing of the initial allergen triggers that cause the disease is poorly understood. While the clinical presentation of EoE is often of longstanding symptoms, in animal models, acute exposure to an allergen challenge successfully produces EoE. In this report, we present three cases of individuals who developed esophageal eosinophilia and EoE shortly after a clearly identified exposure to aeroallergens. These cases highlight the allergic etiology of EoE, and provide a link from humans to the previously described experimental mechanisms

Dehiscence of cesarean section scar during pregnancy and delivery — risk factors

Objective: We wanted to identify risk factors for dehiscence of cesarean section (CS) scars in patients undergoing repeatedcesarean section.Material and methods: This was a retrospective case-control study over a 3-year period in our medical center (2011–2014),comparing women who had repeated CS without complications and women diagnosed with dehiscence. Data were collectedfrom medical records and the groups were compared for demographic and obstetrical data.Results: Dehiscence was identified in 27 women, while 54 women without dehiscence were the control group. Statisticallysignificant differences were found in the need for augmentation, the number of previous cesarean sections, cesarean sectionin the active phase of labor and length of hospitalization.Discussion: The need for augmentation of labor, CS in the nonactive stage and more than one cesarean section, all increasedthe risk of dehiscence. There was no association between dehiscence and scar pain, time elapsed since the previouscesarean section, the method of wound closure or fever

Protecting Endangered Species in the USA Requires Both Public and Private Land Conservation

Crucial to the successful conservation of endangered species is the overlap of their ranges with protected areas. We analyzed protected areas in the continental USA to assess the extent to which they covered the ranges of endangered tetrapods. We show that in 80% of ecoregions, protected areas offer equal (25%) or worse (55%) protection for species than if their locations were chosen at random. Additionally, we demonstrate that it is possible to achieve sufficient protection for 100% of the USA’s endangered tetrapods through targeted protection of undeveloped public and private lands. Our results highlight that the USA is likely to fall short of its commitments to halting biodiversity loss unless more considerable investments in both public and private land conservation are made