EFFECT OF RECREATIONAL TRAIL TRAFFIC LEVEL ON EASTERN RED-BACKED SALAMANDER (PLETHODON CINEREUS) RELATIVE ABUNDANCE

The effects of roads and trails on terrestrial salamanders, primarily plethodontids, can be important. The abundance of terrestrial salamanders often increases with distance from roads. Less is known about the effects of recreational or hiking trails on terrestrial salamanders than is known about the effects of roads. We explored how low and high traffic trails in a suburban biological reserve affect the relative abundance of Eastern Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). We found more salamanders under cover objects next to low traffic trails compared to either high traffic trails or wooded areas without trails. At wooded sites, we found only striped morphs whereas at high traffic sites we found only unstriped morphs. Low traffic sites included a range of color morph frequencies. The proportion of females found in each site did not differ, nor did the mean size of the salamanders. Our results suggest that the impact of recreational walking trails needs to be examined more closely to see how and why the distributions of P. cinereus, and potentially other woodland salamanders, are affected and what trail characteristics are important in driving the apparent effects. Such information will contribute to the design and maintenance of walking trails in natural areas that minimize effects on terrestrial salamanders, and likely other organisms

Sea Level Rise and Flooding Risk in Virginia

Consistent rises in sea level have occurred throughout the world for thousands of years. Flooding, storm surges, and other consequences of the rise in sea level have had widespread effects on coastal communities across the globe. Nowhere is this more apparent than the Norfolk/Virginia Beach region along the U.S. Atlantic coastline, where the sea level is rising more rapidly than the global average. This article discusses the causes of and the differences between the rise in sea levels globally and the rise of the sea level in the mid-­Atlantic region of the United States. The article also emphasizes the problems and consequences this sea level rise is creating for the mid-Atlantic region and outlines how communities along the coast are responding in order to adapt to the ever-changing sea levels

Sedimentology and provenance of Carboniferous and Permian rocks of Athens County, Southeastern Ohio

Originally prepared for the 1998 North-Central Section meeting of the Geological Society of America

Transfer of in vivo primed transgenic T cells supports allergic lung inflammation and FIZZ1 and Ym1 production in an IL-4Rα and STAT6 dependent manner

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>CD4+ T helper type 2 (T_H2) cells, their cytokines IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 and the transcription factor STAT6 are known to regulate various features of asthma including lung inflammation, mucus production and airway hyperreactivity and also drive alternative activation of macrophages (AAM). However, the precise roles played by the IL-4/IL-13 receptors and STAT6 in inducing AAM protein expression and modulating specific features of airway inflammation are still unclear. Since T_H2 differentiation and activation plays a pivotal role in this disease, we explored the possibility of developing an asthma model in mice using T cells that were differentiated <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, we monitored the activation and proliferation status of adoptively transferred allergen-specific naïve or <it>in vivo </it>primed CD4+ T cells. We found that both the naïve and <it>in vivo </it>primed T cells expressed similar levels of CD44 and IL-4. However, <it>in vivo </it>primed T cells underwent reduced proliferation in a lymphopenic environment when compared to naïve T cells. We then used these <it>in vivo </it>generated effector T cells in an asthma model. Although there was reduced inflammation in mice lacking IL-4Rα or STAT6, significant amounts of eosinophils were still present in the BAL and lung tissue. Moreover, specific AAM proteins YM1 and FIZZ1 were expressed by epithelial cells, while macrophages expressed only YM1 in RAG2^-/-mice. We further show that FIZZ1 and YM1 protein expression in the lung was completely dependent on signaling through the IL-4Rα and STAT6. Consistent with the enhanced inflammation and AAM protein expression, there was a significant increase in collagen deposition and smooth muscle thickening in RAG2^-/-mice compared to mice deficient in IL-4Rα or STAT6.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results establish that transfer of <it>in vivo </it>primed CD4+ T cells can induce allergic lung inflammation. Furthermore, while IL-4/IL-13 signaling through IL-4Rα and STAT6 is essential for AAM protein expression, lung inflammation and eosinophilia are only partially dependent on this pathway. Further studies are required to identify other proteins and signaling pathways involved in airway inflammation.</p

A Sonic Net Excludes Birds from an Airfield: Implications for Reducing Bird Strike and Crop Losses

Collisions between birds and aircraft cause billions of dollars of damages annually to civil, commercial, and military aviation. Yet technology to reduce bird strike is not generally effective, especially over longer time periods. Previous information from our lab indicated that filling an area with acoustic noise, which masks important communication channels for birds, can displace European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) from food sources. Here we deployed a spatially controlled noise (termed a “sonic net”), designed to overlap with the frequency range of bird vocalizations, at an airfield. By conducting point counts, we monitored the presence of birds for four weeks before deployment of our sonic net, and for four weeks during deployment. We found an 82% reduction in bird presence in the sonic net area compared with change in the reference areas. This effect was as strong in the fourth week of exposure as in the first week. We also calculated the potential costs avoided resulting from this exclusion. We propose that spatially controlled acoustic manipulations that mask auditory communication for birds may be an effective long term and fairly benign way of excluding problem birds from areas of socioeconomic importance, such as airfields, agricultural sites, and commercial properties

A Sonic Net Excludes Birds from an Airfield: Implications for Reducing Bird Strike and Crop Losses

Collisions between birds and aircraft cause billions of dollars of damages annually to civil, commercial, and military aviation. Yet technology to reduce bird strike is not generally effective, especially over longer time periods. Previous information from our lab indicated that filling an area with acoustic noise, which masks important communication channels for birds, can displace European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) from food sources. Here we deployed a spatially controlled noise (termed a “sonic net”), designed to overlap with the frequency range of bird vocalizations, at an airfield. By conducting point counts, we monitored the presence of birds for four weeks before deployment of our sonic net, and for four weeks during deployment. We found an 82% reduction in bird presence in the sonic net area compared with change in the reference areas. This effect was as strong in the fourth week of exposure as in the first week. We also calculated the potential costs avoided resulting from this exclusion. We propose that spatially controlled acoustic manipulations that mask auditory communication for birds may be an effective long term and fairly benign way of excluding problem birds from areas of socioeconomic importance, such as airfields, agricultural sites, and commercial properties

Nuclear actin-related proteins at the core of epigenetic control

Nuclear Actin-Related Proteins (ARPs) and actin combine as heterodimers to bind a large helicase subunit and form a core complex essential to the assembly and function of most chromatin remodeling and modifying machines. They are the most common shared subunits of these large and diverse assemblies in eukaryotes. We recently argued that most nuclear ARPs evolved directly from actin prior to the divergence of the eukaryotic kingdoms and did not evolve from pre-existing ARPs.2 Arabidopsis plants defective in nuclear ARP4, ARP5, ARP6 or ARP7 have extreme developmental phenotypes. Our recent publication demonstrates that ARP5-defective plants are not only dwarfed and have aberrant cell sizes, but are also hypersensitive to mutagenic agents that cause double strand DNA breaks.5 In Smith et al.6 we show that ARP6-defective plants, in addition to their extreme developmental phenotypes like small organs and early flowering, present an apparent Phosphate Starvation Response with strong morphological and molecular phenotypes. Herein, we interpret our latest data in the light of a hypothesis stating that in addition to their roles in overcoming DNA compaction that affects basal gene expression and silencing, nuclear ARP-containing chromatin complexes exert primary epigenetic control over high-level regulatory factors. © 2010 Landes Bioscience

Hijacking membrane transporters for arsenic phytoextraction

Arsenic is a toxic metalloid and recognized carcinogen. Arsenate and arsenite are the most common arsenic species available for uptake by plants. As an inorganic phosphate (Pi) analog, arsenate is acquired by plant roots through endogenous Pi transport systems. Inside the cell, arsenate is reduced to the thiol-reactive form arsenite. Glutathione (GSH)-conjugates of arsenite may be extruded from the cell or sequestered in vacuoles by members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of transporters. In the present study we sought to enhance both plant arsenic uptake through Pi transporter overexpression, and plant arsenic tolerance through ABC transporter overexpression. We demonstrate that Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing the high-affinity Pi transporter family members, AtPht1;1 or AtPht1;7, are hypersensitive to arsenate due to increased arsenate uptake. These plants do not exhibit increased sensitivity to arsenite. Co-overexpression of the yeast ABC transporter YCF1 in combination with AtPht1;1 or AtPht1;7 suppresses the arsenate-sensitive phenotype while further enhancing arsenic uptake. Taken together, our results support an arsenic transport mechanism in which arsenate uptake is increased through Pi transporter overexpression, and arsenic tolerance is enhanced through YCF1-mediated vacuolar sequestration. This work substantiates the viability of coupling enhanced uptake and vacuolar sequestration as a means for developing a prototypical engineered arsenic hyperaccumulator. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

Validity of self-reported smoking status: comparison of patients admitted to hospital with acute coronary syndrome and the general population

Many studies rely on self-reported smoking status. We hypothesized that patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a smoking-related condition, would be more prone to misclassify themselves as ex-smokers, because of pressure to quit. We compared patients admitted with ACS with a general population survey conducted in the same country at a similar time. We determined whether ACS patients who classified themselves as ex-smokers (n = 635) were more likely to have cotinine levels suggestive of smoking deception than self-reported ex-smokers in the general population (n = 289). On univariate analysis, the percentage of smoking deceivers was similar among ACS patients and the general population (11% vs. 12%, p = .530). Following adjustment for age, sex and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, ACS patients were significantly more likely to misclassify themselves (adjusted OR = 14.06, 95% CI 2.13-93.01, p = .006). There was an interaction with age whereby the probability of misclassification fell significantly with increasing age in the ACS group (adjusted OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.93-0.97, p&lt;.001), but not in the general population. Overall, smoking deception was more common among ACS patients than the general population. Studies comparing patients with cardiovascular disease and healthy individuals risk introducing bias if they rely solely on self-reported smoking status. Biochemical confirmation should be undertaken in such studies