Midlothian Community Special Area Plan Alternative Stormwater Management Plan

This plan is used as a guide for increasing alternative stormwater management practices in Chesterfield County, Virginia. This plan proposes various alternative stormwater management practices like green roofs, rain gardens, and permeable pavers in new development and redevelopment in Chesterfield County, Virginia

Breeding to improve meat eating quality in Terminal sire sheep breeds

An economic value for sheep meat eating quality was derived using consumer taste panel sensory trait scores and willingness to pay data. Improving eating quality by one score generated a price premium to commercial producers of $0.15/kg relative to a carcass price of$4.50/kg. Eating quality was included in a breeding objective with growth and lean meat yield. Under selection index scenarios modelled, simultaneous improvement of all traits was only possible with genomic testing of male selection candidates due to antagonistic correlations involving yield, eating quality, intramuscular fat, and shear force. Economic gain could be increased by up to 20% compared to current industry selection indexes

A maximum density rule for surfaces of quasicrystals

A rule due to Bravais of wide validity for crystals is that their surfaces correspond to the densest planes of atoms in the bulk of the material. Comparing a theoretical model of i-AlPdMn with experimental results, we find that this correspondence breaks down and that surfaces parallel to the densest planes in the bulk are not the most stable, i.e. they are not so-called bulk terminations. The correspondence can be restored by recognizing that there is a contribution to the surface not just from one geometrical plane but from a layer of stacked atoms, possibly containing more than one plane. We find that not only does the stability of high-symmetry surfaces match the density of the corresponding layer-like bulk terminations but the exact spacings between surface terraces and their degree of pittedness may be determined by a simple analysis of the density of layers predicted by the bulk geometric model.Comment: 8 pages of ps-file, 3 Figs (jpg

Different molecular patterns in glioblastoma multiforme subtypes upon recurrence

One of the hallmarks of glioblastoma is its inherent tendency to recur. At this point patients with relapsed GBM show a survival time of only few months. The molecular basis of the recurrence process in GBM is still poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the genetic profile of relapsed GBM compared to their respective primary tumors. We have included 20 paired GBMs. In all tumor samples, we have analyzed p53 and PTEN status by sequencing analysis, EGFR amplification by semiquantitative PCR and a wide-genome fingerprinting was performed by microsatellite analysis. Among primary GBM, we observed twelve type 2 GBM, four type 1 GBM and four further GBM showing neither p53 mutations nor EGFR amplification (non-type 1–non-type 2 GBM). Upon recurrence, we have detected two molecular patterns of tumor progression: GBM initially showing either type 1 or type 2 profiles conserved them at the time of relapse. In contrast, non-type 1–non-type 2 GBM acquired the typical pattern of type 2 GBM and harbor EGFR amplification without p53 mutation. New PTEN mutations upon relapse were only detected in type 2 GBM. Additional LOH were more frequently identified in relapses of type 2 GBM than in those showing the type 1 signature. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that recurrences of GBM may display two distinct pattern of accumulation of molecular alterations depending on the profile of the original tumor

Microgeographical, inter-individual, and intra-individual variation in the flower characters of Iberian pear Pyrus bourgaeana (Rosaceae)

Flower characteristics have been traditionally considered relatively constant within species. However, there are an increasing number of examples of variation in flower characteristics. In this study, we examined the variation in attracting and rewarding flower characters at several ecological levels in a metapopulation of Pyrus bourgaeana in the Doñana area (SW Spain). We answered the following questions: what are the variances of morphological and nectar characters of flowers? How important are intra-individual and inter-individual variance in flower characters? Are there microgeographical differences in flower characters? And if so, are they consistent between years? In 2008 and 2009, we sampled flowers of 72 trees from five localities. For six flower morphological and two nectar characteristics, we calculated coefficients of variation (CV). The partitioning of total variation among-localities, among-individuals, and within-individuals was estimated. To analyze differences among localities and their consistency between years, we conducted generalized linear mixed models. The CVs of nectar characters were always higher than those of morphological characters. As expected, inter-individual variation was the main source of variation of flower morphology, but nectar characters had significant variation at both intra- and inter-individual levels. For most floral traits, there were no differences among localities. Our study documents that variation is a scale-dependent phenomenon and that it is essential to consider intra- and inter-individual variance when investigating the causes and consequences of variation. It also shows that single year studies of floral characters should be viewed with caution

Intron variants of the p53 gene are associated with increased risk for ovarian cancer but not in carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 germline mutations

Two biallelic polymorphisms in introns 3 and 6 of the p53 gene were analysed for a possible risk-modifying effect for ovarian cancer. Germline DNA was genotyped from 310 German Caucasian ovarian cancer patients and 364 healthy controls. We also typed 124 affected and 276 unaffected female carriers with known deleterious BRCA1 or BRCA2 germline mutation from high-risk breast-ovarian cancer families. Genotyping was based on PCR and high-resolution gel electrophoresis. German ovarian cancer patients who carried the rare allele of the MspI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RELP) in intron 6 were found to have an overall 1.93-fold increased risk (95% confidence internal (CI) 1.27–2.91) which further increased with the age at diagnosis of 41–60 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.71, 95% CI 1.10–6.71 for 41–50 and OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.12–5.28 for 51–60). The 16 bp duplication polymorphism in intron 3 was in a strong linkage to the MspI RFLP. In BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, no difference in allele frequency was observed for carriers affected or unaffected with ovarian cancer. Our data suggest that intronic polymorphisms of the p53 gene modify the risk for ovarian cancer patients but not in carriers with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

The Present and Future Role of Insect-Resistant Genetically Modified Maize in IPM

Commercial, genetically-modified (GM) maize was first planted in the United States (USA, 1996) and Canada (1997) but now is grown in 13 countries on a total of over 35 million hectares (\u3e24% of area worldwide). The first GM maize plants produced a Cry protein derived from the soil bacteriumBacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which made them resistant to European corn borer and other lepidopteran maize pests. New GM maize hybrids not only have resistance to lepidopteran pests but some have resistance to coleopteran pests and tolerance to specific herbicides. Growers are attracted to the Btmaize hybrids for their convenience and because of yield protection, reduced need for chemical insecticides, and improved grain quality. Yet, most growers worldwide still rely on traditional integrated pest management (IPM) methods to control maize pests. They must weigh the appeal of buying insect protection “in the bag” against questions regarding economics, environmental safety, and insect resistance management (IRM). Traditional management of maize insects and the opportunities and challenges presented by GM maize are considered as they relate to current and future insect-resistant products. Four countries, two that currently have commercialize Bt maize (USA and Spain) and two that do not (China and Kenya), are highlighted. As with other insect management tactics (e.g., insecticide use or tillage), GM maize should not be considered inherently compatible or incompatible with IPM. Rather, the effect of GM insect-resistance on maize IPM likely depends on how the technology is developed and used

Slavery and the Revival of Anti-slavery Activism

This chapter sets out the volumes critical approach to the dominant discourse on modern slavery and its impulse to question the assumptions and the politics behind that discourse. It explores the limits of the modern slavery rhetoric for understanding the complicated logics of agency, freedom and belonging, and of past, present and future, for those who are constituted as slaves. Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

The ethics of animal research: a survey of pediatric health care workers

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric health care workers (HCW) often perform, promote, and advocate use of public funds for animal research (AR). We aim to determine whether HCW consider common arguments (and counterarguments) in support (or not) of AR convincing. DESIGN: After development and validation, an e-mail survey was sent to all pediatricians and pediatric intensive care unit nurses and respiratory therapists (RTs) affiliated with a Canadian University. We presented questions about demographics, support for AR, and common arguments (with their counterarguments) to justify the moral permissibility (or not) of AR. Responses are reported using standard tabulations. Responses of pediatricians and nurses/RTs were compared using Chi-square, with P < .05 considered significant. RESULTS: Response rate was 53/115(46%) (pediatricians), and 73/120(61%) (nurses/RTs). Pediatricians and nurses/RTs are supportive of AR. Most considered ‘benefits arguments’ sufficient to justify AR; however, most acknowledged that counterarguments suggesting alternative research methods may be available, or that it is unclear why the same ‘benefits arguments’ do not apply to using humans in research, significantly weakened ‘benefits arguments’. Almost all were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ‘characteristics of non-human-animals arguments’, including that non-human-animals may not be sentient, or are simply property. Most were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ‘human exceptionalism’ arguments, including that humans have more advanced mental abilities, are of a special ‘kind’, can enter into social contracts, or face a ‘lifeboat situation’. Counterarguments explained much of this, including that not all humans have these more advanced abilities [the argument from species overlap], and that the notion of ‘kind’ is arbitrary [e.g., why are we not of the kind ‘sentient animal’ or ‘subject-of-a-life’]. Pediatrician and nurse/RT responses were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR when given common arguments and counterarguments from the literature. HCW should seriously consider arguments on both sides of the AR debate