A perspective on two decades of policies and regulations influencing the protection and restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay, USA

Seagrasses along with many other species of freshwater rooted submerged macrophytes in Chesapeake Bay (collectively called SAV) underwent serious declines in population abundances in the 1970s and have not as yet rebounded to previous levels. Cooperative efforts by scientists, politicians, federal and state resource managers, and the general public have developed policies and plans to protect, preserve and enhance SAV populations of Chesapeake Bay. These include the Chesapeake Bay Agreements (1983, 1987, 1992, 1993, 2000), an SAV Management Policy and Implementation Plan for Chesapeake Bay and Tidal Tributaries (1989 and 1990), Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan (1997), as well as federal and state guidelines for protecting SAV communities from direct human impacts such as dredge and fill operations. The foundation for many of these management efforts has been the recognition of the habitat value of SAV to many fish and shellfish, and the elucidation of linkages between water quality conditions and the continuing occurrence of SAV as established by minimal water quality habitat requirements for growth and survival. Because of these linkages, the distribution of SAV in the Bay and its tidal tributaries is being used as an initial measure of progress in the restoration of living resources and water quality. Restoration targets and goals have been established to link demonstrable improvements in water quality to increases in SAV abundance. The major challenge facing the Chesapeake Bay community will be to restore SAV habitat and ecosystem functions to historic levels. However, the recent success in the development of policies, plans, regulations and laws highlighting the importance of SAV communities in Chesapeake Bay and their protection and restoration, is an excellent example of effective communication linkages and adaptive management principles between scientists, resource managers, politicians and the public in the Chesapeake Bay region. Only through these interactions will SAV restoration become a reality

Dynamics of the serum bilirubin level during bile ducts drainage in patients with hilar tumor stenosis and jaundice

Palliative bile duct decompression with various modifications are currently performed in 75-80% of patients with hilar stenosis caused by the tumor. The main goal of palliative care is to reduce the manifestations of jaundice, intoxication, pain syndrome, prolong life period and improve patient’s conditions for chemotherapy.Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of bile ducts antegrade drainage methods by bilirubin reducing in the palliative treatment of patients with jaundice due to hilar stenosis caused by the tumor.Materials and methods. In a prospective study included 78 patients with hilar obstructive jaundice, who were underwent of palliative antegrade draining of bile ducts: percutaneous transhepatic cholangiostomy (group PTC) - n = 24, externally-internal suprapapillary cholangiostomy (group EISC) - n = 26, percutaneous transhepatic antegrade endobiliary stenting (group PTAES) - n = 28. Endpoints of the study: total serum bilirubin before the procedure, after 3, 7 days and every 10 days for two months. The mean values of bilirubin and the average percentage of decrease in its value at each of the control periods were evaluated in relation to the initial level. Also, at the same time, the cumulative percentage of patients in which bilirubin had a value of ≤34.2 μmol / L (2 mg / dL) or ≤ 85.5 μmol / L (5 mg / dL) was assessed - the threshold values at which a certain type of chemotherapy is possible.Results. In all groups, there was a decrease in the average values of bilirubin levels with an increase in the time passed after the procedure. At all control periods, the mean bilirubin values and the percentage of decrease in the mean bilirubin values did not differ statistically between groups (all p < 0.05). The highest rates of decrease in the level of bilirubin were observed during the first 10 days (about 60.0%). From the 10th to the 60th day, the decrease in the level of bilirubin was approximately 20% from the initial one. The cumulative percentage of patients with the bilirubin level on the 60th day ≤ 34.1 μmol / l (2 mg / dl) was 45.8% in the EISC group, 64.5% in the PTC group, and 63.9% in the PTAES group (p = 0.257) in a month these indicators were 11.7%, respectively; 12.5% and 17.9% (all p <0.05). The decrease in the level of bilirubin ≤ 85.5 μmol / L (5 mg / dL) was more rapid. So, already after 10 days, the cumulative percentage of such patients in the groups exceeded 50.0%: 58.3% in the EISC group, 63.6% in the PTC group, 57.7 % in the PTAES group (p = 0.26) in a month these indicators were respectively 83.3%; 77.3% and 80.8%, after two months, respectively 91.7%, 86.4 and 100% (p = 0.80).Conclusions. The methods of transcutaneous bile ducts drainage/stenting effectively reduce the level of total bilirubin in patients with obstructive jaundice due to hilar stenosis caused by tumor and have no statistically significant differences in the dynamics of bilirubin level within two months of observation

МЕТОД ЗБІЛЬШЕННЯ РОЗДІЛЬНОЇ ЗДАТНОСТІ ЗОБРАЖЕНЬ НА ОСНОВІ ШТУЧНИХ НЕЙРОННИХ МЕРЕЖ

This paper presents a new method for increasing the resolution of the image - based on the artificial neural networks. The advantage of the developed ANN’s method based on models of geometric transformation is to achieve a high level of generalization in a limited sample of training data. A series of model experiments to establish optimal parameters for image preprocessing and ANN training are made. Experiment on the decomposition of the image to frames for to form learning sample showed that the ability to generalize significantly decreases with increasing block size, which affects the quality of the synthesized image. Changing the degree of nonlinearity of synapses in the graphical user interface func*net Express, which was used for training and testing of the method suggests that the increase of this index does not significantly affect the perception of the image. The theoretical conclusions obtained by visual analysis of the synthesized images are complemented by the result ofevaluation metrics MSE, PSNR, UIQ and SSIM. Comparative analysis of the images enlarged 4 times, obtained by our method and two existing, shows best scores on all four metrics, suggesting the possibility of practical application of the method in a particular application area.Представлено новий метод збільшення роздільної здатності зображень - на основі штучних нейронних мереж. Перевагою розробленого нейромережевого методу на основі моделі геометричних перетворень є досягнення високого рівня генералізації в умовах обмеженої вибірки навчальних даних. Проведено ряд модельних експериментів щодо встановлення оптимальних параметрів при передобробці зображень та навчанні ШНМ. Експеримент щодо розбиття зображення на фрейми для формування навчальної вибірки показав, що здатність ШНМ до генералізації суттєво зменшується при збільшенні розміру блока, що впливає на якість синтезованого зображення. Зміна степеня нелінійності синапсів у графічному інтерфейсі користувача func*net Express, який використовувався для навчання та тестування методу, дає змогу стверджувати, що збільшення цього показника суттєво не впливає на сприйняття зображення. Теоретичні висновки, отримані при візуальному аналізі синтезованих зображень, повністю доводяться результатами оцінки метриками MSE, PSNR, UIQ та SSIM. Порівняльних аналіз зображень збільшених у 4 рази, отриманих нашим методом та ще двома відомими, показує кращі оцінки за усіма чотирьма метриками, що свідчить про можливість практичного застосування методу в конкретній прикладній галузі

Long-term Annual Aerial Surveys of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Support Science, Management, and Restoration

Aerial surveys of coastal habitats can uniquely inform the science and management of shallow, coastal zones, and when repeated annually,theyrevealchangesthatareotherwisedifficulttoassess fromground-basedsurveys.Thispaperreviewstheutilityofalongterm(1984–present)annualaerialmonitoringprogramforsubmersedaquaticvegetation(SAV)inChesapeakeBay,itstidaltributaries, and nearby Atlantic coastal bays, USA. We present a series of applications that highlight the program’s importance in assessing anthropogenic impacts, gauging water quality status and trends, establishing and evaluating restoration goals, and understanding the impactofcommercialfishingpracticesonbenthichabitats.Theseexamplesdemonstratehowperiodicallyquantifyingcoverageofthis important foundational habitat answers basic research questions locally, as well as globally, and provides essential information to resource managers. New technologies are enabling more frequent and accurate aerial surveys at greater spatial resolution and lower cost. These advances will support efforts to extend the applications described here to similar issues in other areas

Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus

Chemical analyses of ancient organic compounds absorbed into the pottery fabrics from sites in Georgia in the South Caucasus region, dating to the early Neolithic period (ca. 6,000-5,000 BC), provide the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from the Near East, at ca. 6,000-5,800 BC. The chemical findings are corroborated by climatic and environmental reconstruction, together with archaeobotanical evidence, including grape pollen, starch, and epidermal remains associated with a jar of similar type and date. The very large-capacity jars, some of the earliest pottery made in the Near East, probably served as combination fermentation, aging, and serving vessels. They are the most numerous pottery type at many sites comprising the so-called "Shulaveri-Shomutepe Culture" of the Neolithic period, which extends into western Azerbaijan and northern Armenia. The discovery of early sixth millennium BC grape wine in this region is crucial to the later history of wine in Europe and the rest of the world

Preserving the Chesapeake: Law, Ecology, and the Bay

This event was co-sponsored by the Merhige Center for Environmental Studies, the Allen Chair of Law, the Virginia State Bar, and the Miller Center of Public Affairs. The “Historical Background” session, held from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m., was presented by the Hon. Governor Gerald L. Baliles, Director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs and 65th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia; Gerald McCarthy, Executive Director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment; and Russell W. Baxter, Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Rodney A. Smolla, Dean of the University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator. The “Current State of the Bay” session, held on Friday, October 20, 2006 from 10:45 - 11:45 a.m., was presented by Jonathan Z. Cannon, Director of the Center for Environmental and Land Use Law at the University of Virginia School of Law; Erin Ryan, of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary; and Richard Batiuk, Associate Director for Science of the Chesapeake Bay Program Office, United States Environmental Protection Agency. Joel Eisen, University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator. The Keynote was given from 11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. by L. Preston Bryant, Secretary of Natural Resources of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The “Regulatory Efforts” session, held 1:15-2:15 p.m., was presented by Kathy R. Frahm, Director of the Division of Policy at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; Joseph J. Tannery, Virginia Staff Attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; David E. Evans, Partner at McGuireWoods LLP; and Mark Smith, Environmental Scientist with the Water Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The “Future and Solutions” session, held from 2:30-3:45 p.m., was presented by Nikki Rovner, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia; Timothy G. Hayes, Partner at Hunton & Williams LLP; Clyde Wilbur, Principal of Greeley & Hanson; and Alexandra Dunn, General Counsel for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. Carl W. Tobias, Williams Professor of Law University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator

Progress for research of grape and wine culture in Georgia, the South Caucasus

This communication will provide the latest information about the progress of the “Research Project for the Study of Georgian Grapes and Wine Culture”, managed by the National Wine Agency of Georgia since 2014. Local and foreign institutions continue to work together with the aim of stimulating multidisciplinary scientific research activity on Georgian viticulture and viniculture and to reconstruct their development from Neolithic civilizations to the present. The project is multidisciplinary in nature, merging contributions from archaeology, history, ethnography, molecular genetics, biomolecular archaeology, palaeobotany, ampelography, enology, climatology and other scientific fields

The satisfactory growth and development at 2 years of age of the INTERGROWTH-21st Fetal Growth Standards cohort support its appropriateness for constructing international standards.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization recommends that human growth should be monitored with the use of international standards. However, in obstetric practice, we continue to monitor fetal growth using numerous local charts or equations that are based on different populations for each body structure. Consistent with World Health Organization recommendations, the INTERGROWTH-21st Project has produced the first set of international standards to date pregnancies; to monitor fetal growth, estimated fetal weight, Doppler measures, and brain structures; to measure uterine growth, maternal nutrition, newborn infant size, and body composition; and to assess the postnatal growth of preterm babies. All these standards are based on the same healthy pregnancy cohort. Recognizing the importance of demonstrating that, postnatally, this cohort still adhered to the World Health Organization prescriptive approach, we followed their growth and development to the key milestone of 2 years of age. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the babies in the INTERGROWTH-21st Project maintained optimal growth and development in childhood. STUDY DESIGN: In the Infant Follow-up Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project, we evaluated postnatal growth, nutrition, morbidity, and motor development up to 2 years of age in the children who contributed data to the construction of the international fetal growth, newborn infant size and body composition at birth, and preterm postnatal growth standards. Clinical care, feeding practices, anthropometric measures, and assessment of morbidity were standardized across study sites and documented at 1 and 2 years of age. Weight, length, and head circumference age- and sex-specific z-scores and percentiles and motor development milestones were estimated with the use of the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards and World Health Organization milestone distributions, respectively. For the preterm infants, corrected age was used. Variance components analysis was used to estimate the percentage variability among individuals within a study site compared with that among study sites. RESULTS: There were 3711 eligible singleton live births; 3042 children (82%) were evaluated at 2 years of age. There were no substantive differences between the included group and the lost-to-follow up group. Infant mortality rate was 3 per 1000; neonatal mortality rate was 1.6 per 1000. At the 2-year visit, the children included in the INTERGROWTH-21st Fetal Growth Standards were at the 49th percentile for length, 50th percentile for head circumference, and 58th percentile for weight of the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards. Similar results were seen for the preterm subgroup that was included in the INTERGROWTH-21st Preterm Postnatal Growth Standards. The cohort overlapped between the 3rd and 97th percentiles of the World Health Organization motor development milestones. We estimated that the variance among study sites explains only 5.5% of the total variability in the length of the children between birth and 2 years of age, although the variance among individuals within a study site explains 42.9% (ie, 8 times the amount explained by the variation among sites). An increase of 8.9 cm in adult height over mean parental height is estimated to occur in the cohort from low-middle income countries, provided that children continue to have adequate health, environmental, and nutritional conditions. CONCLUSION: The cohort enrolled in the INTERGROWTH-21st standards remained healthy with adequate growth and motor development up to 2 years of age, which supports its appropriateness for the construction of international fetal and preterm postnatal growth standards

Novel inhibitors of the calcineurin/NFATc hub - alternatives to CsA and FK506?

The drugs cyclosporine A (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506) revolutionized organ transplantation. Both compounds are still widely used in the clinic as well as for basic research, even though they have dramatic side effects and modulate other pathways than calcineurin-NFATc, too. To answer the major open question - whether the adverse side effects are secondary to the actions of the drugs on the calcineurin-NFATc pathway - alternative inhibitors were developed. Ideal inhibitors should discriminate between the inhibition of (i) calcineurin and peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases (PPIases; the matchmaker proteins of CsA and FK506), (ii) calcineurin and the other Ser/Thr protein phosphatases, and (iii) NFATc and other transcription factors. In this review we summarize the current knowledge about novel inhibitors, synthesized or identified in the last decades, and focus on their mode of action, specificity, and biological effects

Educational Programs and Recidivism in Oklahoma: Another Look

Prior research suggests that educational programs are one of the most effective tools in reducing recidivism rates. In this study, however, the authors found that some educational programs administered in Oklahoma may not have an ameliorative effect on criminality. Specifically, they found that completion of a general equivalency diploma program was strongly associated with longer survival times outside of prison, particularly for women. However, for both men and women, completion of vocational-technical training while incarcerated was linked to shorter survival times. This indicates the need to evaluate the types of training offered in prisons.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline