The Empty Mill: An Analysis of a Disappearing Linchpin of Southern Society and its Hope for a Preserved Future

August Kohn’s report, The Cotton Mills of South Carolina, published in The News and Courier in 1907, attempted to document the impact that cotton mills in South Carolina had on its places, people, and growth. Over 100 years since the lists publishing, a comprehensive evaluation of the mills had not been undertaken. This thesis endeavored to evaluate the current status of the South Carolina cotton mills from Kohn\u27s 1907 list. Of the original 141 mills, 120 were successfully located and their status mapped in a Geographic Information System (GIS). Sixty-six were found demolished, twenty-five were standing, and twenty-nine were developed or under development. Great opportunities lie ahead, whether through private redevelopment or redevelopment through public-private partnerships, for the preservation of this disappearing linchpin of Southern society. Through wise urban husbandry and development, with an emphasis on historic preservation, communities can once again claim with pride to be a flourishing “mill town” in South Carolina

Harnessing Population Genetics for Pest Management: Theory and Application for Urban Rats

Effective management of rodent pests requires an ecological understanding of how they move through their environment and how those movements influence the invasion, persistence, or reinvasion of problematic colonies. Traditional methodologies used to describe rodent movement patterns, such as mark-recapture, are hindered by their time-consuming nature and limited geographic scope. As such, our understanding of how rodents interact with urban environments remains limited. Population genetic principles and tools have the capacity to greatly increase our understanding of rodent population dynamics, ecological relationships, and movements across space, but this field is often unapproachable to non-scientist pest management professionals (PMPs). In this commentary, we aim to promote collaborative and integrative rodent pest management by introducing relevant population genetic principles, providing examples of their applications in studies of urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), and proposing future initiatives that link scientific, private, and government entities. We reinterpret results from a 2018 study of brown rats in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to show how genetic relationships among individual brown rats can be used to understand the geographic distribution of genetic clusters (i.e., colonies), natural barriers to migration, and the spatial scale of dispersal. While the 2018 study originally aimed to describe patterns of population genetic structure to understand the influence of urban landscapes on rats, here we describe how these results can be exploited by PMPs to directly inform the creation of management units and decrease the likelihood of rapid post-treatment reinvasion. Further, we discuss the difficulties inherent in population genetic studies and the potential for high-quality model sites to develop generalizable strategies. Overall, we hope to expand the toolbox of PMPs, foster collaboration, and move toward more informed and sustainable management strategies

Transitioning Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations to acquisition programs

This thesis evaluated the Department of Defense's Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) process and the challenges encountered in transitioning an ACTD to an acquisition program. The methodology included case analyses of two ACTD programs that transitioned to acquisition programs to determine their levels of success. The scope included a review of: 1) ACTD origins and processes as of July 2002, 2) past ACTD programs, 3) the established documentation criteria associated with ACTD selection and evaluation, 4) the two ACTD case programs selected for analysis, 5) the apparent ACTD transition areas prone to success or failure, and 6) potential process improvements that would aid in ACTD transition to acquisition programs. This thesis identified both the strengths and the weaknesses in the existing ACTD transition process. The results indicated that several of the existing ACTD criteria should be maintained. However, it was also determined that several enhancements could be incorporated into future processes. It concluded with recommended improvements that would enhance the insertion of technology to the warfighter via the acquisition process. With the combination of current practices and implementation of these recommendations, ACTDs could become the cornerstone of the Secretary of Defense's new acquisition process.http://archive.org/details/transitioningadv109456142GM-15, Department of the NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Estimating the impact of randomised control trial results on clinical practice: results from a survey and modelling study of androgen deprivation therapy plus radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer

Background Recent trials have shown that the addition of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves survival among men with locally advanced prostate cancer. Objective To examine the potential impact of these trials on changes in clinical practice and life-years saved. Design, setting, and participants A model was developed to examine the impact of changes in clinical practice in the UK. A survey of clinicians who treat men with prostate cancer in the UK and Canada was performed. Measurements Outcomes of interest were the proportion of patients treated with different approaches and the predicted number of life-years saved due to changes in clinical practice. Survey data were cross-tabulated and Pearson's χ2 tests were applied. Results and limitations The survey was completed by 193 clinicians (105 from the UK, 80 from Canada), of whom 70% were clinical/radiation oncologists, 8% were medical oncologists, and 15% were urologists. UK respondents were more likely to report a change in practice in response to the results (44% UK vs 21% Canada). Canadians were more likely to have already been using ADT plus radiotherapy (77% Canada vs 56% UK). The increase in the proportion of patients in the UK treated with ADT + EBRT could result in around 3730–5177 extra life-years at 15 yr from a cohort of 7930 men diagnosed in a single calendar year, compared to if all had been treated with ADT alone. Conclusions Trial findings have changed clinical practice, meaning that men with locally advanced prostate cancer are likely to survive longer. Patient summary Doctors in the UK have changed practice in response to evidence on the superiority of hormone therapy plus radiotherapy to hormone therapy alone. These changes will improve the survival of men with locally advanced prostate cancer. Further reductions in the use of hormone therapy alone could further improve survival