Land Use Effects on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice, and Honeoye Lakes

Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice and Honeoye lakes are among the smallest Finger Lakes, but they are important for drinking water, recreation and homes along their shorelines. Farms and forests are the major land uses in their watersheds. Hemlock and Canadice lakes are both within a state forest, which provides a buffer along the shoreline. Conesus and Honeoye lakes are unprotected. While the chemical water quality of these lakes is relatively well understood, the benthic macroinvertebrate communities in these lakes have not been studied. This study established baseline macroinvertebrate community data for all four lakes and determined the presence or absence of eight potential invasive species (Bithynia tentaculata, Cipangopaludina chinensis malleata, Viviparus georgianus, Dreissena polymorpha, Dreissena rostriformis bugensis, Corbicula fluminea, Echinogammarus ischnus, and Hemimysis anomala). Five of the eight species (B. tentaculata, C. c. malleata,V. georgianus, D. polymorpha, and D. r. bugensis) were found in at least one lake. All five of these species were found in Honeoye. All species but B. tentaculata were found in Conesus. Only Dreissenid mussels were found in Hemlock and Canadice. This study also explored whether having a near-shore forest buffer improves water quality in lakes and whether relationships exist between individual sub-watershed land use and biotic indicators of water quality and, as determined by biotic indices using benthic macroinvertebrates. While significant differences were found in the overall benthic community compositions between the lakes, biotic indices were similar between lakes and did not follow the expected water quality patterns. In addition, no correlations were found between sub-watershed land use and biotic indices of water quality. This suggests that near-shore buffers in Hemlock and Canadice Lakes have no effect on biotic indicators of water quality and only whole-watershed management might positively influence water quality

Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major U.S. Cities

The underground commercial sex economy (UCSE) generates millions of dollars annually, yet investigation and data collection remain under resourced. Our study aimed to unveil the scale of the UCSE in eight major US cities. Across cities, the UCSE's worth was estimated between $39.9 and$290 million in 2007, but decreased since 2003 in all but two cities. Interviews with pimps, traffickers, sex workers, child pornographers, and law enforcement revealed the dynamics central to the underground commercial sex trade -- and shaped the policy suggestions to combat it

VoroCrust: Voronoi Meshing Without Clipping

Polyhedral meshes are increasingly becoming an attractive option with particular advantages over traditional meshes for certain applications. What has been missing is a robust polyhedral meshing algorithm that can handle broad classes of domains exhibiting arbitrarily curved boundaries and sharp features. In addition, the power of primal-dual mesh pairs, exemplified by Voronoi-Delaunay meshes, has been recognized as an important ingredient in numerous formulations. The VoroCrust algorithm is the first provably-correct algorithm for conforming polyhedral Voronoi meshing for non-convex and non-manifold domains with guarantees on the quality of both surface and volume elements. A robust refinement process estimates a suitable sizing field that enables the careful placement of Voronoi seeds across the surface circumventing the need for clipping and avoiding its many drawbacks. The algorithm has the flexibility of filling the interior by either structured or random samples, while preserving all sharp features in the output mesh. We demonstrate the capabilities of the algorithm on a variety of models and compare against state-of-the-art polyhedral meshing methods based on clipped Voronoi cells establishing the clear advantage of VoroCrust output.Comment: 18 pages (including appendix), 18 figures. Version without compressed images available on https://www.dropbox.com/s/qc6sot1gaujundy/VoroCrust.pdf. Supplemental materials available on https://www.dropbox.com/s/6p72h1e2ivw6kj3/VoroCrust_supplemental_materials.pd

The discomforting rise of ' public geographies': a 'public' conversation.

In this innovative and provocative intervention, the authors explore the burgeoning ‘public turn’ visible across the social sciences to espouse the need to radically challenge and reshape dominant and orthodox visions of ‘the academy’, academic life, and the role and purpose of the academic

Changes in expression and activity of the secretory pathway Ca2+ATPase 1 (SPCA1) in A7r5 vascular smooth muscle cells cultured at different glucose concentrations

Diabetes mellitus-related vascular disease is often associated with both a dysregulation of Ca$^{2+}$ homoeostasis and enhanced secretory activity in VSMCs (vascular smooth muscle cells). Here, we employ a commonly used rat cell line for VSMCs (A7r5 cells) to investigate the effects of glucose on the expression and activity of the SPCA1 (secretory pathway Ca$^{2+}$-ATPase 1; also known as ATP2C1), which is a P-type Ca$^{2+}$ pump located in the Golgi apparatus that plays a key role in the secretory pathway. Our results show that mRNA expression levels of SPCA1 are significantly increased in A7r5 cells cultured in high glucose (25.0 mM)-supplemented medium compared with normal glucose (5.55 mM)-supplemented medium. SPCA1 protein expression levels and thapsigargin-insensitive Ca$^{2+}$-dependent ATPase activity were also consistent with a higher than normal expression level of SPCA1 in high-glucose-cultured A7r5 cells. Analysis of AVP (arginine-vasopressin)-induced cytosolic Ca$^{2+}$ transients in A7r5 cells (after pre-treatment with thapsigargin) showed faster rise and decay phases in cells grown in high glucose medium compared with cells grown in normal glucose medium, supporting the observation of increased SPCA expression/activity. The significant levels of both Ca$^{2+}$-ATPase activity and AVP-induced Ca$^{2+}$ transients, in the presence of thapsigargin, indicate that SPCA must play a significant role in Ca$^{2+}$ uptake within VSMCs. We therefore propose that, if such increases in SPCA expression and activity also occur in primary VSMCs, this may play a substantial role in the aetiology of diabetes mellitus-associated vascular disease, due to alterations in Ca$^{2+}$ homoeostasis within the Golgi apparatus

Sampling Conditions for Conforming Voronoi Meshing by the VoroCrust Algorithm

We study the problem of decomposing a volume bounded by a smooth surface into a collection of Voronoi cells. Unlike the dual problem of conforming Delaunay meshing, a principled solution to this problem for generic smooth surfaces remained elusive. VoroCrust leverages ideas from alpha-shapes and the power crust algorithm to produce unweighted Voronoi cells conforming to the surface, yielding the first provably-correct algorithm for this problem. Given an epsilon-sample on the bounding surface, with a weak sigma-sparsity condition, we work with the balls of radius delta times the local feature size centered at each sample. The corners of this union of balls are the Voronoi sites, on both sides of the surface. The facets common to cells on opposite sides reconstruct the surface. For appropriate values of epsilon, sigma and delta, we prove that the surface reconstruction is isotopic to the bounding surface. With the surface protected, the enclosed volume can be further decomposed into an isotopic volume mesh of fat Voronoi cells by generating a bounded number of sites in its interior. Compared to state-of-the-art methods based on clipping, VoroCrust cells are full Voronoi cells, with convexity and fatness guarantees. Compared to the power crust algorithm, VoroCrust cells are not filtered, are unweighted, and offer greater flexibility in meshing the enclosed volume by either structured grids or random samples

Relationship between sleep problems and health‐related quality of life among pediatric liver transplant recipients

Among adult liver transplant recipients (LTRs), sleep disturbances and fatigue are common. Sleep problems following pediatric liver transplantation may contribute to daytime fatigue and lower health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to determine the impact of sleep problems on the HRQOL of pediatric LTRs using validated measures. Participants included 47 LTRs. Mean age of the LTRs was 10.9 ± 4.6 years, and mean time since transplantation was 6.2 ± 3.9 years. The primary indication for transplantation was biliary atresia (51%). According to parent reports, pediatric transplant recipients had symptoms of sleep‐disordered breathing, excessive daytime sleepiness, daytime behavior problems, and restless legs; 40.4% of parents and 43.8% of children reported significantly lower total HRQOL for the recipients. Age, time since transplantation, and health status were not significantly related to the quality of life. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the sleep‐disordered breathing subscale of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire accounted for significant variance in parent‐proxy reports on the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) summary scales measuring children's psychosocial health ( R 2 = 0.36, P < 0.001), physical health ( R 2 = 0.19, P = 0.004), and total HRQOL ( R 2 = 0.35, P < 0.001). Also, the sleep‐disordered breathing subscale accounted for significant variance in the child self‐reported school functioning scale ( R 2 = 0.18, P = 0.03). Clinically significant sleep problems were more common among children with low total HRQOL. In conclusion, sleep problems were common in this cohort of pediatric LTRs and predicted significant variance in HRQOL. Prospective larger scale studies are needed to assess factors that contribute to sleep difficulties and low HRQOL in this population. The detection and treatment of significant sleep problems may benefit the HRQOL of pediatric LTRs. Liver Transpl 18:707–715, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92142/1/23415_ftp.pd

Оценивание устойчивого развития окружающей среды на субнациональном уровне в Украине

Рассмотрены существующие методы оценивания устойчивого развития окружающей среды (самостоятельные индикаторы, а также их системы и индексы). Предложен индекс устойчивого развития окружающей среды для оценивания взаимоотношений с окружающей средой на уровне регионов Украины, учитывающий национальные приоритеты в экологической политике. По предложенному региональному индексу получены экологические профили и рейтинг областей Украины.Розглянуто існуючі методи оцінювання сталого розвитку довкілля (самостійні індикатори, а також їх системи та індекси). Запропоновано індекс сталого розвитку довкілля для оцінювання взаємовідносин із навколишнім середовищем на рівні регіонів України, який враховує національні пріоритети в екологічній політиці. За запропонованим регіональним індексом отримано екологічні профілі і рейтинг областей України.The existing methods for assessment of the environment sustainable development (independent indicators, their systems and indices) are considered. The environment sustainability index for assessment of relations with the environment at a regional level for Ukraine is proposed, which takes into account the national priorities in ecological policy. Ecological profiles and rating of the Ukrainian regions are obtained according to the proposed regional index

A randomized trial of deferred stenting versus immediate stenting to prevent no- or slow-reflow in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (DEFER-STEMI)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess whether deferred stenting might reduce no-reflow and salvage myocardium in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Background: No-reflow is associated with adverse outcomes in STEMI. Methods: This was a prospective, single-center, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept trial in reperfused STEMI patients with ≥1 risk factors for no-reflow. Randomization was to deferred stenting with an intention-to-stent 4 to 16 h later or conventional treatment with immediate stenting. The primary outcome was the incidence of no-/slow-reflow (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction ≤2). Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was performed 2 days and 6 months after myocardial infarction. Myocardial salvage was the final infarct size indexed to the initial area at risk. Results: Of 411 STEMI patients (March 11, 2012 to November 21, 2012), 101 patients (mean age, 60 years; 69% male) were randomized (52 to the deferred stenting group, 49 to the immediate stenting). The median (interquartile range [IQR]) time to the second procedure in the deferred stenting group was 9 h (IQR: 6 to 12 h). Fewer patients in the deferred stenting group had no-/slow-reflow (14 [29%] vs. 3 [6%]; p = 0.006), no reflow (7 [14%] vs. 1 [2%]; p = 0.052) and intraprocedural thrombotic events (16 [33%] vs. 5 [10%]; p = 0.010). Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction coronary flow grades at the end of PCI were higher in the deferred stenting group (p = 0.018). Recurrent STEMI occurred in 2 patients in the deferred stenting group before the second procedure. Myocardial salvage index at 6 months was greater in the deferred stenting group (68 [IQR: 54% to 82%] vs. 56 [IQR: 31% to 72%]; p = 0.031]. Conclusions: In high-risk STEMI patients, deferred stenting in primary PCI reduced no-reflow and increased myocardial salvage