Vegetation response to cattail management at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas

Dense, monospecific cattail (Typha spp.) stands are a problem in many prairie wetlands because they alter habitat structure and function, resulting in a decrease in use by wildlife species. Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, a Wetland of International Importance in central Kansas, has experienced a large increase in cattails and a subsequent decrease in migratory wetland bird use. As a consequence, intensive cattail management is practiced. We assessed the effectiveness of prescribed burning, discing following prescribed burning, and cattle grazing following prescribed burning at two stocking rates of 5 and 20 head per 11 ha in suppressing cattail, as well as the effects of these treatments on non-cattail vegetation

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation as a Structural Change and Policies that Offset Its Depressing Effects

Abstract in HTML and technical report in PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/).The current economic modeling of emissions limitations does not embody economic features that are likely to be particularly important in the short term, yet the politics of limiting greenhouse gas emissions are often dominated by relatively short term considerations. Moreover, only a few of these studies also consider policies that would offset the negative direct economic effects of those restrictions. This paper models the effects of restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions while embodying two of the most significant types of short term economic imperfections: sectoral rigidities in labor mobility and sectoral rigidities in wage adjustments. A labor policy is also analyzed that would reduce the direct negative economic effects of emissions restrictions. For plausible estimates of the parameters, the model shows that with the labor market imperfections, if there were no offsetting policies, there would be as much as 4 per cent reductions in GNP in the U.S. in the first ten years after emissions restrictions were imposed. However, if there were two policies, instead of just one: a counteracting labor market policy, as well as the emissions restrictions, the negative direct economic effects could be completely eliminated.This study received funding from the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, which is supported by a consortium of government, industry and foundation sponsors

Covalent binding studies on the 14C-labeled antitumour compound 2,5-bis(1-aziridinyl)-1,4-benzoquinone. Involvement of semiquinone radical in binding to DNA, and binding to proteins and bacterial macromolecules in situ

2,5-Bis(1-aziridinyl)-1,4-benzoquinone (BABQ) is a compound from which several antitumour drugs are derived, such as Trenimone, Carboquone and Diaziquone (AZQ). The mechanism of DNA binding of BABQ was studied using 14C-labeled BABQ and is in agreement with reduction of the quinone moiety and protonation of the aziridine ring, followed by ring opening and alkylation. The one-electron reduced (semiquinone) form of BABQ alkylates DNA more efficiently than two-electron reduced or non reduced BABQ. Covalent binding to polynucleotides did not unambiguously reveal preference for binding to specific DNA bases. Attempts to elucidate further the molecular structure of DNA adducts by isolation of modified nucleosides from enzymatic digests of reacted DNA failed because of instability of the DNA adducts. The mechanism of covalent binding to protein (bovine serum albumin, BSA) appeared to be completely different from that of covalent binding to DNA. Binding of BABQ to BSA was not enhanced by reduction of the compound and was pH dependent in a way that is opposite to that of DNA alkylation. Glutathione inhibits binding of BABQ to BSA and forms adducts with BABQ in a similar pH dependence as the protein binding. The aziridine group therefore does not seem to be involved in the alkylation of BSA. Incubation of intact E. coli cells, which endogenously reduce BABQ, resulted in binding to both DNA and RNA, but also appreciable protein binding was observed

Policy Brief: Towards Realising Health Rights among Undocumented People in Dutch Cities

The Netherlands have ratified a number of international treaties guaranteeing the basic right of all persons to health. Despite this relatively favourable legal situation, undocumented migrant women and men in Dutch cities have been shown to suffer ill-health disproportionately. On the basis of a participatory study conducted with undocumented people themselves, in this policy brief, we highlight steps towards realising health rights of undocumented migrants that can feasibly be implemented in Dutch large cities

Multi-neutron transfer coupling in sub-barrier 32S+90,96Zr fusion reactions

The role of neutron transfers is investigated in the fusion process below the Coulomb barrier by analyzing 32S+90Zr and 32S+96Zr as benchmark reactions. A full coupled-channel calculation of the fusion excitation functions has been performed for both systems by using multi-neutron transfer coupling for the more neutron-rich reaction. The enhancement of fusion cross sections for 32S+96Zr is well reproduced at sub-barrier energies by NTFus code calculations including the coupling of the neutron-transfer channels following the Zagrebaev semiclassical model. We found similar effects for 40Ca+90Zr and 40Ca+96Zr fusion excitation functions.Comment: Minor corrections, 11 pages, 4 figures, Fusion11 Conference, Saint Malo, France, 2-6 mai 201