The Long-term Illinois River fish population monitoring program, Annual Report

Report issued on: March 2003Annual ReportINHS Technical Report prepared for Illinois Department of Natural Resource

The value of cross border emergency management in adapting to climate change

Adapting to climate change is challenging in border regions where emergency situations can become amplified on a cross-border basis. Such amplification is largely the result of more agencies becoming involved in the response; groups that are often geographically dispersed, bring more divergent agendas to the ‘table’ and are often less well acquainted with each other. However, acting to build adaptive responses across international borders serves to increase resilience and decrease vulnerability to climate change. Over the coming decades climate change is likely to increase flood risk. On the island of Ireland, border regions are amongst the most vulnerable to hazards such as flooding. Developing effective cross-border emergency management will require collaborative planning, capacity building and innovative leadership. This paper sets out the urgency of adapting to climate change in border regions and provides an overview of progress and capacity building in moving towards greater shared services in border communities in Ireland

Status of the Third Miniature Sensor Technology Integration Satellite Mission

The MSTI-3 satellite is the third in a series established to test, in realistic scenarios, miniature spacecraft and sensor technologies for missile detection and tracking on low-cost, low-earth orbit technology demonstration satellites. Cooperative demonstrations are planned to combine MSTI-provided target track file information, with interceptor technology tests, to fully demonstrate technologies associated with theater missile defense (TMO) targeting. The program is sponsored by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and executed by a government/industry team led by the Air Force Phillips Laboratories\u27 Space Experiments Directorate operating location at Edwards Air Force Base

How much calcium to shell out? Eggshell calcium carbonate content is greater in birds with thinner shells, larger clutches, and longer lifespans

The avian eggshell is a bio-ceramic structure that protects the embryo. It is composed almost entirely of calcium carbonate and a small amount of organic material. An optimal amount of calcium carbonate in the eggshell is essential for the embryo's development, yet how the ratio of calcium carbonate to organic matter varies between species has not been investigated. Calcium is a limiting resource for most birds, so its investment in their eggs should be optimized for a bird's life history. We measured the relative calcium carbonate content of eggshells in 222 bird species and tested hypotheses for how this trait has evolved with the life-history strategies of these species and other traits of their respective egg physiologies. We found that (i) eggshell calcium carbonate content was positively correlated with species having thinner eggshells and smaller than expected eggs relative to incubating parental mass, (ii) species with small mean clutch sizes had lower calcium carbonate content in their eggshells, and (iii) for species with larger clutch sizes, eggshell calcium carbonate content was negatively correlated with their mean lifespan. The pattern of lower eggshell calcium carbonate in longer lived, larger clutched birds suggests that calcium provision to the eggshell has long-term costs for the individual

The Invariance of Factorial Structure of the Academic Delay of Gratification Scale across Two Samples of Omani and British Adolescents: A Cross-Cultural Psychometric Study

The present study aimed at investigating the factorial structure of the Academic Delay of Gratification Scale (ADGS) that best fit the data of two Omani and British samples, and whether this factorial structure is invariant across these two samples. The sample of the study included 450 (235 males and 215 females) and 410 (215 males and 195 females) Omani and British adolescents, respectively. The results of the multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the scale had a unidimensional factorial structure in both samples and that this factorial structure was completely invariant when compared between gender across the two samples (Omani males versus British males, and Omani females versus British females) and between males and females in the British sample. However, this factorial structure was partially invariant when compared between males and females in the Omani sample. The results of the latent mean analysis showed that females had significantly higher levels of academic delay of gratification when compared with males in both samples. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between students’ scores on the ADGS and their academic achievement scores in both samples. The results also showed that high achievers had significantly higher levels of academic delay of gratification than low achievers in both samples

Direct and random routing of a molecular motor protein at a DNA junction

With the aim of investigating how motor proteins negotiate DNA nanostructures, we produced test circuits based on recombination intermediates in which 1D translocation across a Holliday junction (HJ) could be assessed by subsequent triplex displacement signals on each DNA arm. Using the EcoR124I restriction-modification enzyme, a 3′–5′ double-strand DNA (dsDNA) translocase, we could show that the motor will tend to follow its translocated strand across a junction. Nonetheless, as the frequency of junction bypass events increases, the motor will occasionally jump tracks

Local Exchange Services in the Next Century -- What Still Must Be Done to Bring Us to Where We Want to Be?

Our panel is Local Exchange Service in the Next Century--What Still must be Done to Bring Us to Where We Want to Be? We have four excellent panelists to address these questions. I expect the panelists to agree, in part, where we want to be, and they won\u27t spend a whole lot of time about increased service, new technology, lower prices, and all those things. I am sure we\u27ll hear some assurances along those lines, at least from three of the panelists. Most of the time will be spent on what still must be done to get us there. I hope we will have not just what we, the Commission, has to do to get us there, but also perhaps what they may have to do to get us there. Also, perhaps, some references to some new technologies

The Pervasive Crisis of Diminishing Radiation Therapy Access for Vulnerable Populations in the United States—Part 4: Appalachian Patients

Purpose: Compared with the rest of the United States, the population of Appalachia has lower education levels, higher rates of poverty, and limited access to health care. The presence of disparities in radiation therapy (RT) access for Appalachian patients with cancer has rarely been examined. Methods and materials: The National Cancer Institute initiatives toward addressing disparities in treatment access for rural populations were examined. An extensive literature search was undertaken for studies investigating RT access disparities in Appalachian patients, beginning with the most common cancers in these patients (lung, colorectal, and cervical). Results: Although the literature investigating RT access disparities in Appalachia is relatively sparse, studies examining lung, colorectal, cervical, prostate, head and neck, breast, and esophageal cancer, as well as lymphoma, indicate an unfortunate commonality in barriers to optimal RT access for Appalachian patients with cancer. These barriers are predominantly socioeconomic in nature (low income and lack of private insurance) but are exacerbated by paucities in both the number and quality of radiation centers that are accessible to this patient population. Conclusions: Regardless of organ system, there are significant barriers for Appalachian patients with cancer to receive RT. Such diminished access is alarming and warrants resources devoted to addressing these disparities, which often go overlooked because of the assumption that the overall wealth of the United States is tangibly applicable to all of its citizens. Without intelligently targeted investments of time and finances in this arena, there is great risk of exacerbating rather than alleviating the already heavy burden facing Appalachian patients with cancer