The Obligation to Reforest Private Land Under the Washington Forest Practices Act

Private landowners in Washington have been required to reforest land after logging since 1945. The Washington Forest Practices Act of 1974 and its predecessor have primarily affected the state\u27s timber industry, which has long been familiar with the reforestation requirement. Many nonindustrial forest landowners, however, are unaware of the requirements of the 1974 Act. The 1974 Act requires that any owner of forest land who removes the trees for any reason, whether to log one hundred acres for income or to clear one acre for a homesite, must satisfy the reforestation requirements of the Act. Part I of this comment explains the requirements for satisfactory reforestation, the exceptions to those requirements, and how the obligation to reforest is enforced. Part II discusses a case recently before the Forest Practices Appeals Board to illustrate a current issue in enforcing the law and to illustrate a problem created by the effects of that enforcement. The enforcement issue is whether persons who acquire land that needs to be reforested are obligated to reforest the land. This comment concludes that they are obligated to reforest. The resulting problem is that persons who acquire land that needs to be reforested may be unaware of that requirement, and thus unable to allocate fairly the costs of reforestation in their transaction to acquire the land. One solution to the problem is amending the Act to improve the notice of the obligation to reforest that purchasers of land receive. Part III suggests criteria for evaluating legislative proposals requiring improved notice to subsequent landowners and concludes that sellers of forest land should be required to give purchasers actual notice of the obligation to reforest

City Dwellers Redefine What It Means to Be a Citizen

This research may help policymakers and community groups to better understand the needs of city dwellers in Canada. It highlights the benefits of continued activism and rights reform by citizens. Policymakers who are tackling issues like poverty and homelessness can use this research to co-ordinate their efforts more closely with housing activists, the homeless, and the public at large.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Metabolically Healthy Obesity

Accumulating evidence suggests that not all obese subjects are at increased cardiometabolic risk and that the “metabolically healthy obese” phenotype may exist in the absence of metabolic abnormalities. Limited data regards the determinants of metabolically healthy obesity exist, particularly in relation to genetics, dietary and lifestyle behaviours. In light of the current obesity epidemic, it is clear that current “one size fits all” approaches to tackle obesity are largely unsuccessful. Whether dietary, lifestyle and/or therapeutic interventions, based on stratification of obese individuals according to their metabolic health phenotype, are more effective remains to be seen, with limited and conflicting data available. This book includes original research articles and reviews of the scientific literature that contribute to our understanding of the role of clinical, biological, genetic, and environmental factors in metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity

Giardia Cyst Wall Protein 1 Is a Lectin That Binds to Curled Fibrils of the GalNAc Homopolymer

The infectious and diagnostic stage of Giardia lamblia (also known as G. intestinalis or G. duodenalis) is the cyst. The Giardia cyst wall contains fibrils of a unique β-1,3-linked N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) homopolymer and at least three cyst wall proteins (CWPs) composed of Leu-rich repeats (CWPLRR) and a C-terminal conserved Cys-rich region (CWPCRR). Our goals were to dissect the structure of the cyst wall and determine how it is disrupted during excystation. The intact Giardia cyst wall is thin (~400 nm), easily fractured by sonication, and impermeable to small molecules. Curled fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer are restricted to a narrow plane and are coated with linear arrays of oval-shaped protein complex. In contrast, cyst walls of Giardia treated with hot alkali to deproteinate fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer are thick (~1.2 µm), resistant to sonication, and permeable. The deproteinated GalNAc homopolymer, which forms a loose lattice of curled fibrils, is bound by native CWP1 and CWP2, as well as by maltose-binding protein (MBP)-fusions containing the full-length CWP1 or CWP1LRR. In contrast, neither MBP alone nor MBP fused to CWP1CRR bind to the GalNAc homopolymer. Recombinant CWP1 binds to the GalNAc homopolymer within secretory vesicles of Giardia encysting in vitro. Fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer are exposed during excystation or by treatment of heat-killed cysts with chymotrypsin, while deproteinated fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer are degraded by extracts of Giardia cysts but not trophozoites. These results show the Leu-rich repeat domain of CWP1 is a lectin that binds to curled fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer. During excystation, host and Giardia proteases appear to degrade bound CWPs, exposing fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer that are digested by a stage-specific glycohydrolase. Author SummaryWhile the walls of plants and fungi contain numerous sugar homopolymers (cellulose, chitin, and β-1,3-glucans) and dozens of proteins, the cyst wall of Giardia is relatively simple. The Giardia wall contains a unique homopolymer of β-1,3-linked N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and at least three cyst wall proteins (CWPs), each of which is composed of Leu-rich repeats and a C-terminal Cys-rich region. The three major discoveries here are: 1) Fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer are curled and form a lattice that is compressed into a narrow plane by bound protein in intact cyst walls. 2) Leu-rich repeats of CWP1 form a novel lectin domain that is specific for fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer, which can be isolated by methods used to deproteinate fungal walls. 3) A cyst-specific glycohydrolase is able to degrade deproteinated fibrils of the GalNAc homopolymer. We incorporate these findings into a new curled fiber and lectin model of the intact Giardia cyst wall and a protease and glycohydrolase model of excystation.National Institutes of Health (AI048082, AI44070, GM31318, RR1088

Factors which influence owners when deciding to use chemotherapy in terminally Ill pets

Chemotherapy is a commonly integrated treatment option within human and animal oncology regimes. Limited research has investigated pet owners’ treatment decision-making in animals diagnosed with malignant neoplasia. Dog and cat owners were asked to complete an online questionnaire to elucidate factors which are key to the decision making process. Seventy-eight respondents completed the questionnaire in full. Fifty-eight percent of pet owners would not elect to treat pets with chemotherapy due to the negative impact of the associated side effects. Seventytwo percent of respondents over estimated pet survival time post chemotherapy, indicating a general perception that it would lead to remission or a cure. Vomiting was considered an acceptable side effect but inappetence, weight loss and depression were considered unacceptable. Owners did expect animals’ to be less active, sleep more and play less, but common side effects were not rated as acceptable despite the potential benefits of chemotherapy. Based on the results, veterinary teams involved with oncology consultations should establish if clients have prior experience of cancer treatments and their expectations of survival time. Quality of life assessments should also be implemented during initial oncology consultations and conducted regularly during chemotherapy courses to inform client decision making and to safe guard animal welfare