New Combinations: Changing Technologies and Infrastructures and the Business Organizations That Will Deal with Them.

This tale is somewhat unique. It is probably one of the few panels, or the only panel in which there is a certain level of agreement. In fact, every one in this room probably has the basic agreement with this panel, that changes in regulation and changes in policy that we are struggling with are driven by changes in technology. This panel has been put together to look at changes in technology. It has three overall goals. The first is, as you heard one of the panels this morning talk about, to talk about technology itself to try to gain some type of understanding. As regulators or practitioners of law in the area, it is hard to be effective without some type of understanding of just what the technology is that we are supposed to be regulating or trying to give people advice concerning. The second area that this panel will hopefully inform us on is how technology continues to change. Many times we look back and see how technological changes have occurred, and how they have forced us to change. However, there is little consideration for the fact that these technologies continue to change and there will be other challenges or maybe even solutions to current problems that will result from that change in technology. And the final area we hope to provide information on is, as technology changes and as it causes regulators to address new issues, how the utilities, are themselves very different, and have been changed and shaped by this changing technology. This group, I think, can demonstrate very well how the conversion of the different technologies have shaped most of the companies and people who are on the panel

The influence of wildlife water developments and vegetation on rodent abundance in the Great Basin Desert

Rodent communities have multiple functions including comprising a majority of the mammalian diversity within an ecosystem, providing a significant portion of the available biomass consumed by predators, and contributing to ecosystem services. Despite the importance of rodent communities, few investigations have explored the effects of increasing anthropogenic modifications to the landscape on rodents. Throughout the western United States, the construction of artificial water developments to benefit game species is commonplace. While benefits for certain species have been documented, several researchers recently hypothesized that these developments may cause unintentional negative effects to desert-adapted species and communities. To test this idea, we sampled rodents near to and distant from wildlife water developments over 4 consecutive summers. We employed an asymmetrical before-after-control-impact (BACI) design with sampling over 4 summers to determine if water developments influenced total rodent abundance. We performed an additional exploratory analysis to determine if factors other than free water influenced rodent abundance. We found no evidence that water developments impacted rodent abundance. Rodent abundance was primarily driven by vegetation type and year of sampling. Our findings suggested that water developments on our study area do not represent a significant disturbance to rodent abundance and that rodent abundance was influenced by the vegetative community and temporal factors linked to precipitation and primary plant production. Our findings represent one of the 1st efforts to determine the effects of an anthropogenic activity on the rodent community utilizing a manipulation design

Developing a Text Messaging Risk Reduction Intervention for Methamphetamine-Using MSM: Research Note

Men who have sex with men (MSM) who use methamphetamine experience high risks for HIV infection due to sexual transmission behaviors often engaged in when under the influence of methamphetamine. Methamphetamine-using MSM use various forms of information technology (IT) communication such as instant messaging, social networking sites, and websites to facilitate a sexual and/or drug “hook up.” Given the acceptability of IT communication in their daily lives, an IT intervention represents an appropriate strategy to reach and intervene with out-of-treatment, methamphetamine-using MSM. The aim of this study was to conduct formative work to develop a text messaging intervention to reduce methamphetamine use and high-risk sexual behaviors among out-of-treatment MSM, which involved conducting focus groups, community partners’ meetings, and a pre-test intervention. These activities culminated in the development of a two-week, text-messaging intervention that delivered real-time electronic correspondence based on the behavioral change theories of Social Support Theory, Health Belief Model, and Social Cognitive Theory. The focus groups, community meetings, and pre-test were used to identify the IT communication device, the text messages that best support risk reduction and healthier behavioral choices, and logo, flyer and website development. The input and feedback from the target population and community partners were critical to the successful development of a culturally appropriate intervention. The knowledge gleaned from the formative work of this study will be vitally helpful in designing future IT studies

Water Quality at Wildlife Water Sources in the Sonoran Desert, United States

Surface water is an important limiting factor for wildlife populations in desert environments where water sources are uncommon or have been lost or degraded due to human activities. To address this need, wildlife water developments have been constructed in many areas of the southwestern United States, particularly in the Sonoran Desert. Previous studies of wildlife water developments are limited and critics have asserted that water quality at these facilities may be deleterious to animal health. Water quality was evaluated at natural, modified natural, and constructed water sources in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona and southeastern California. Samples were taken from primary sources of surface water available to wildlife, including natural tinajas (rock basins), modified tinajas, springs, rainwater catchments (‘‘guzzlers’’), and wells. Water samples were tested for 21 chemical constituents known to affect animal health, blue-green algal toxins, and a presumed waterborne pathogen, the protozoan avian parasite Trichomonas gallinae. Seven chemical constituents were absent or below detection limits. The majority of constituents detected (10/13, 77%) occurred at levels below recommended guidelines for domestic animals. Elevated pH, alkalinity, and fluoride were found in rainwater catchments, springs, and wells, respectively, but at relatively low levels unlikely to affect animal health. Blue-green algal toxins were not detected and there was no evidence of Trichomonas. Although specific water quality guidelines for wildlife are lacking, these results do not support hypothesized negative impacts to wildlife populations from developed water sources. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 2020Legacy DOIs that must be preserved: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v58i6_bleic

Cardiovascular outcome trials in type 2 diabetes and the sulphonylurea controversy: Rationale for the active-comparator CAROLINA trial

Sulphonylureas (SUs) are widely used glucose-lowering agents in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with apparent declining efficacy over time. Concerns have been raised from observational retrospective studies on the cardiovascular (CV) safety of SUs but there are few long-term data on CV outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving the use of this class of agents. Most of the observational studies and registry data are conflicting and vary with study population and methodology used for analyses. To address the SU controversy, we reviewed the recently published literature (until end of the year 2011) to evaluate the impact of SUs on CV outcomes in modern, longer-term (≥72 weeks) RCTs where they were compared in a head-to-head fashion versus an active comparator or were used as part of a treatment strategy. We identified 15 trials and found no report of an increase in the incidence of CV events with the use of SUs. However, the available data are limited, and, most importantly, there was no adequately powered formal head-to-head CV outcome trial designed to address CV safety. Since SUs are still being advocated as second-line therapy added-on to metformin, as one of several classes, and in certain circumstances first-line therapy in T2DM management, definitive data from a dedicated RCT addressing the CV safety question with SUs would be informative. Cardiovascular Outcome Study of Linagliptin versus Glimepiride in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes (CAROLINA) is such a trial, ongoing since November 2010, and is currently the largest head-to-head CV outcome trial that involves a comparison of a SU (glimepiride) with a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor (linagliptin) and will provide a unique perspective with respect to CV outcomes with these two commonly used agent

Science to support climate-smart agricultural development

This document reports on the concepts driving the scientific activities of FAO’s Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture Programme’s (MICCA) pilot projects in East Africa. It provides results from the research, briefly describes the analytical approaches used and concludes with key messages relevant to discussions on climate-smart agriculture (CSA). The MICCA pilot projects aim to help mainstream CSA in the region by identifying, verifying and scaling up farm management practices that can both increase productivity and set smallholder farmers on a pathway toward emitting fewer greenhouse gases (GHGs) per unit of produce, where possible. As there are many unknowns about what farming approaches are best for reaching CSA’s multiple objectives, the underlying premise of the MICCA pilot projects is that strong linkages between science and development are essential to the expansion of CSA in developing countries. The scientific approach that was followed permits a few general messages and suggestions for future efforts on ‘research to inform policy’ that are aimed at quantifying the parameters of potential CSA practices and their implications at nested scales