What’s Shakin’? Ladra v. New Dominion, LLC: A Case of Consequence for the Hydraulic Fracturing Industry and Those Affected by Induced Seismicity

This analysis is accompanied by a study of a 2015 ruling of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, Ladra v. New Dominion, LLC. The case considered the possibility of a private tort action by homeowners against the operators of injection wells proceeding within the state’s judicial system, rather than simply being subject to review by a state regulatory agency. The court ultimately decided that the case would be allowed to continue within the judicial system instead of in front of a regulatory agency. This case, while not providing a “silver bullet” precedent with which future claimants can automatically win their cases against parties involved in fracking and waste disposal, does demonstrate that these claims are viable and ought to be dealt with in proper courts of law, rather than through administrative agencies. Section II of this case note contains a brief overview of the hydraulic fracturing process and the state of fracking in Oklahoma, the site of this note’s principal case (Ladra v. New Dominion). Section III provides a history of the case and its central issues. Section IV discusses the ruling given, as well as the validity of the arguments made before the court. Section V examines the likelihood of success for the plaintiff Ladra and other homeowners seeking damages from the operators of injection wells due to earthquake-related harm done to their property or person. This section primarily assesses whether a preponderance of the evidence standard can be achieved when alleging that fracking activities caused earthquakes that resulted in property damage, and uses the arguments presented in the lower court during Ladra v. New Dominion as an example. Section VI considers the significance of the decision and what effect it may have on the hydraulic fracturing industry

Enhancing mineral nutrient availability and corn productivity with biostimulants

Corn (Zea mays L.) production has greatly increased since corn was first domesticated some 7,000 years ago (Beadle, 1980). Generating improved cultivars with novel breeding schemes and genetics in combination with enhanced management factors and technologies has resulted in the highest corn grain yields to date. Some of the most important management factors that have been utilized are hybrid, planting population, nitrogen fertility, additional nutrient fertility, and foliar protection (Ruffo et al., 2015). In recent years, a new technology has been discussed, namely, biological products. These products have a wide variety of uses but are typically intended to increase crop growth, relieve crop stresses, enhance the availability of soil mineral nutrients, improve the accumulation of mineral nutrients, and ultimately increase yields. In an effort to better understand biological products and their best fit in an agronomic management system, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of two biological products regarding their optimal application to provide increased soil nutrient availability and enhanced fertilizer use in corn production. This research involved the following two areas: Utilizing a Microbial Enhancer to Improve Nitrogen Use and Corn Productivity Multiple application methods and timings of a microbial enhancer were applied in combination with differing rates of nitrogen (N) fertilizer to evaluate the responses in N availability and use by corn. Certain application methods resulted in improvements in N uptake and use efficiency corresponding with grain yield increases. When applied earlier in the growing season, the yield trajectory was enhanced, evidenced by more kernel production, while later application timings resulted in heavier kernels. Improving Fertilizer Use and Corn Productivity with a Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacteria Differing rates of N and phosphorus (P) fertilizer were used in combination with applications of a phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) to determine the effects of a PSB on accumulation of essential nutrients by corn plants. Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria applications enhanced the amount of available phosphorus in the soil, thereby increasing the amount of phosphorus accumulated in the plants. This enhancement in available P corresponded with increases in grain yield due to a higher production of kernels

Health and Nutrition in Vermont Children

Introduction. The AHA (American Heart Association) supports legislation in Ver- mont ensuring that restaurants’ children’s menu meals meet certain nutritional standards. This study investigated Vermont parents’ attitudes towards both dining at restaurants with their children and potential legislation to improve nutritional standards of restaurant food. Methods. An anonymous 21-question survey for parents with children under age 18 was distributed electronically to local organizations via Facebook groups and email, and as paper questionnaires at the Community Health Center of Burlington. Questions probed parents’ overall attitudes surrounding their children’s health, habits pertaining to eating at restaurants, and attitudes towards legislation to ensure healthier options for kids at restaurants. Results were analyzed to look for dominant themes and determine differences between subgroups. Results. 98% of survey participants agreed or strongly agreed that their children’s eating habits are important to them. When asked if they would support legislation to set nutrition standards on children’s menu meals in Vermont, 73% agreed or strongly agreed. Most survey participants eat at a restaurant once per week or less (95%). 53% of survey participants agreed or strongly agreed that there were enough restaurants with healthy kids’ meals in their area. Responses did not differ by county. Conclusion. Vermont parents are concerned about their children’s diets and acknowledge connections between nutrition, obesity, and overall health. Parents favor restaurants providing more nutritional items on children’s menus and support the AHA’s proposed standards. Next steps include investigating any financial impact on restaurants and studying nutritional standards in school cafeterias in Vermont.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1257/thumbnail.jp

Magnesium’s Impact on Cannabis sativa ‘BaOx’ and ‘Suver Haze’ Growth and Cannabinoid Production

Limited research exists on the fertility needs for industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) and the impact of fertility on plant growth and cannabinoids. Optimizing floral production for cannabinoid production and especially cannabidiol (CBD) production, is an economic goal for growers. Magnesium (Mg) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and plays many key roles in plant growth and when deficient leads to suboptimal plant growth. Six Mg fertility rates (0.0, 12.5, 25.0, 50.0, 75.0, and 100.0 mg·L-1) were evaluated to determine the optimal fertility for C. sativa on two High CBD-type cultivars ‘BaOx; and ‘Suver Haze’. Foliar Mg concentrations increased linearly for all life stages with the greatest foliar Mg concentrations being in the highest rate of 100.0 mg·L-1 Mg. Of the six rates, 50.0 and 75.0 mg·L-1 Mg optimized plant height, diameter, and plant total dry weight as well as having similar cannabinoid concentrations

Rapid virus titration using flow cytometry

Rapid high throughput virus titration methods are essential for facilitating continuous process monitoring and rapid decision making in viral bioprocess development. In spite of repeated efforts to address this need, the industry continues to reply on well understood and trusted plaque assays and end point dilution assays, or variations thereof. Together with the University of Waterloo, we have developed a flow cytometry based assay that is able to give infectious virus titers in a fraction of the time as compared to conventional virus titration assays. The developed method utilizes the phenomenon of increased granularity in cells after virus infection, with the increase in granularity proportional to the multiplicity of infection of the virus. The assay has been adapted to a 96 well plate format which, in combination with the use of a flow cytometer with an automated sampler, results in a high throughput assay with much reduced operator effort as compared to traditional assays. Two different cell and virus systems have been examined using this assay. Assay variations in both systems were measured to be ~20%, and assay accuracy was highly comparable to traditional gold standard assays such as the plaque assay. Assay analysis was found to be simple and amenable to automation through the use of R scripts. Operator effort was reduced by approximately half per sample, and the assay time was reduced by 75%, when compared to traditional assays. In addition, the simplicity of the assay greatly reduces operator training time. Studies by other groups provide confidence that the phenomenon of increased cell granularity with virus infection is present in several virus-cell systems. Therefore, the developed method has great potential to be used as a routine high throughput screening technique for a wide range of viruses

The Importance of Notes

Why is it Important? Digital vs. Paper Cornell Method The Outline Method Structured Doodling Source

A case study of colliding tornadic storms

Abstract only availableTornadoes occur frequently across the United States each year, causing millions of dollars in damage. Meteorologists are constantly searching for new and improved methods for predicting these weather phenomenons's in order to increase public awareness and warning times. In this case study, one event was found in which two storm cells collided and produced a tornado over the Kansas City, Missouri area, causing an extensive amount of damage. The goals of this study is to first determine what caused the collision between the two storm cells, secondly, whether the collision between the two storm cells increased the intensity of the tornado using NSSL/SPC (National Severe Storms Laboratory/ Storm Prediction Center) meteorologist Stephen F. Corfidi's “vector approach.” A method that involves the use of mathematics to find the mean of the wind directions throughout the cloud layers in the storms and also the location of the low-level jet. Radar imagery was also used in determining the location, time, intensity, and other details of the two storm cells. It is our hope, that the completion of this study will produce results that are conducive to the development of more innovative methods for forecasting this type of event.Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participatio

Hedgehog Pathway Activation Alters Ciliary Signaling in Primary Hypothalamic Cultures

Primary cilia dysfunction has been associated with hyperphagia and obesity in both ciliopathy patients and mouse models of cilia perturbation. Neurons throughout the brain possess these solitary cellular appendages, including in the feeding centers of the hypothalamus. Several cell biology questions associated with primary neuronal cilia signaling are challenging to address in vivo. Here we utilize primary hypothalamic neuronal cultures to study ciliary signaling in relevant cell types. Importantly, these cultures contain neuronal populations critical for appetite and satiety such as pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and agouti related peptide (AgRP) expressing neurons and are thus useful for studying signaling involved in feeding behavior. Correspondingly, these cultured neurons also display electrophysiological activity and respond to both local and peripheral signals that act on the hypothalamus to influence feeding behaviors, such as leptin and melanin concentrating hormone (MCH). Interestingly, we found that cilia mediated hedgehog signaling, generally associated with developmental processes, can influence ciliary GPCR signaling (Mchr1) in terminally differentiated neurons. Specifically, pharmacological activation of the hedgehog-signaling pathway using the smoothened agonist, SAG, attenuated the ability of neurons to respond to ligands (MCH) of ciliary GPCRs. Understanding how the hedgehog pathway influences cilia GPCR signaling in terminally differentiated neurons could reveal the molecular mechanisms associated with clinical features of ciliopathies, such as hyperphagia-associated obesity