The interaction between science and policy in the control of Phragmites in oligohaline marshes of Delaware Bay

Author Posting. © Blackwell, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Blackwell for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Restoration Ecology 13 (2005):223-227, doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2005.00027.xPublic Service Enterprise Group of New Jersey restored Delaware Bay marshes to enhance fish production as part of a mitigation negotiated in a company’s NJPDES permit. Restoration meant control of an introduced type of the common reed, Phragmites, that had displaced Spartina alterniflora and S. patens. Phragmites dominance altered the function and structure of these brackish marshes and reduced habitat value by raising and flattening marsh surface and covering smaller tidal creeks. A common control technique is to use an herbicide – Glyphosate, but public concern about herbicide use resulted in an agreement between PSEG and NJ regulators to test other methods for reed control and limit the amount of herbicide used. Experiments with methods of Phragmites control indicate that herbicide application over three or more growing seasons, concentrating in an area until control was complete, is the most effective control method

Classification and Biogeography of New World Grasses: Chloridoideae

Subfamily Chloridoideae (Poaceae) in the New World includes 72 genera (61 native, 11 introduced), 678 species (607 native), and, including intraspecific taxa, 817 total taxa. The five largest genera are Muhlenbergia (147 species), Eragrostis (111), Sporobolus (76), Bouteloua (57), and Chloris (35). Three tribes are recognized in this study: Cynodonteae, Eragrostideae, and Zoysieae, with ten, three, and two subtribes, respectively. Cynodonteae, the largest tribe, comprise 58 genera and 451 species (67% of all New World chloridoids), including 25 genera (98 species, 22% of all New World Cynodonteae) with unknown affinities (incertae sedis). In Mexico, the USA, and Canada there are 477 native and introduced chloridoid species (70% of all New World species), whereas in Central America (including the Caribbean) and South America there are 196 and 304 species, respectively. Mexico is the center of diversity with 343 species (51%). There appear to be five biogeographical patterns exhibited by New World chloridoid species: (1) North America, centered in northern Mexico and the southwestern USA, (2) southern South America, centered in northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern Brazil, (3) northwestern South America, centered in Ecuador and Peru, (4) amphitropical disjuncts, occurring in North America and southern South America, and (5) widespread species, occurring in North America, Central America, and South America. Subtribes Boutelouinae (Bouteloua) and Muhlenbergiinae are predominantly North American, whereas Eragrostidinae (Eragrostis) and Chloridinae are better represented in the southern South American center. Two subtribes of Cynodonteae, Gouiniinae and Hilariinae, are described as new, and two others, Orcuttiinae and Traginae, are newly treated at that rank

Hormonal contraceptive use increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in active, young women [abstract]

Abstract only availableMany studies have shown that the estrogen in oral hormonal contraceptives (HC) increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D concentrations in women. As a hormone that regulates gene transcription estrogen is known to increase Vitamin-D binding protein concentrations, and therefore 25(OH)D concentrations in the blood. Furthermore, Vitamin D is a major regulator of bone metabolism and its status within the blood influences circulating levels of bone turnover markers. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of HC use on serum 25OHD concentrations and biochemical markers of bone turnover in active young females. Thirty-nine young (age 18-33 years), active (≥5 h of aerobic exercise per week) women participated (HC users, n=16; Non-users, n=23). Of the HC users, 9 were taking monophasic HC; 7 were taking triphasic HC. Fasting serum samples were taken during the early follicular phase (d2-5 of the menstrual cycle) and were analyzed for 25OHD and biochemical bone markers [bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), N-telopeptide of collagen cross-links (NTx), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and osteocalcin (OC)] using radioimmuno assay and ELISA, respectively. Serum 25OHD was significantly greater (p=.007) and BAP significantly lower (p=.002) in HC users compared with nonusers. No differences were found between groups for NTx, PTH or osteocalcin. Serum concentrations of BAP and Vitamin D were negatively correlated (r= -.453; p=.004). We conclude that HC use is associated with increased serum 25OHD concentrations and lower circulating BAP in young active females

A First Look at the Auriga-California Giant Molecular Cloud With Herschel and the CSO: Census of the Young Stellar Objects and the Dense Gas

We have mapped the Auriga/California molecular cloud with the Herschel PACS and SPIRE cameras and the Bolocam 1.1 mm camera on the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) with the eventual goal of quantifying the star formation and cloud structure in this Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) that is comparable in size and mass to the Orion GMC, but which appears to be forming far fewer stars. We have tabulated 60 compact 70/160um sources that are likely pre-main-sequence objects and correlated those with Spitzer and WISE mid-IR sources. At 1.1 mm we find 18 cold, compact sources and discuss their properties. The most important result from this part of our study is that we find a modest number of additional compact young objects beyond those identified at shorter wavelengths with Spitzer. We also describe the dust column density and temperature structure derived from our photometric maps. The column density peaks at a few x 10^22 cm^-2 (N_H2) and is distributed in a clear filamentary structure along which nearly all the pre-main-sequence objects are found. We compare the YSO surface density to the gas column density and find a strong non-linear correlation between them. The dust temperature in the densest parts of the filaments drops to ~10K from values ~ 14--15K in the low density parts of the cloud. We also derive the cumulative mass fraction and probability density function of material in the cloud which we compare with similar data on other star-forming clouds.Comment: in press Astrophysical Journal, 201

Development and Evaluation of an Online, Patient-Driven, Family Outreach Intervention to Facilitate Sharing of Genetic Risk Information in Families with Lynch Syndrome

Departments of Gastroenterology Research, Behavioral Science, and Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition This article has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Medical Genetics, 2021 following peer review, and the Version of Record can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1136/jmedgenet-2020-107615https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mdacc_ghn_pubs/1000/thumbnail.jp