An Update on the Emerald Ash Borer in New York: Part 1

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is quickly developing into the most significant forest pest to hit New York since the Chestnut blight. EAB has been spreading in New York and it is important for anyone with ash trees to be aware of recent developments in order to formulate effective management decisions. Although first detected in New York in 2009, EAB has been established in most locations much longer than that and now populations are building to the point that they are beginning to spread across the landscape at an increasing rate

Detection of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) Infestations with Sticky Traps

We deployed sticky traps underneath the crown of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière, to assess their sensitivity at detecting crawlers (1st instar nymphs) of the non-native hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). We found these traps more sensitive at detecting infested trees with low densities of A. tsugae than branch-tip sampling with pole pruners. We observed two peaks of crawler abundance at all sites: these peaks likely represented the timing of the progrediens and sistens crawler stages of A. tsugae. Deployment of sticky traps in treated and high-risk stands may prove useful at detecting residual and new infestations, respectively

LEGACY and DWELLING: The Role of Manufactured Housing in Central Appalachia

This thesis explores the power of architecture to raise the standards of dwelling in a region where housing conditions, economic stability, and environmental consciousness is considerably lower than the rest of the United States. Historically, many towns and cities in Central Appalachia were developed by coal companies as ‘coal towns’. Considering the diversity of workers in these communities, the coal industry is largely the platform for the cultural identity of Central Appalachia. As a result of coal depletion in the US, and increased regulations of pollution by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coal companies across the region are closing mining sites and firing plants, leaving behind a trail of scarred landscapes and a fractured workforce. The failure of this mono-economy has caused the quality of living in Central Appalachia to plummet further. This Thesis focuses on the current regional typology of manufactured houses and the use of prefabricated systems in building construction. Due to the social economic state, substandard living conditions have plagued Central Appalachia, but as a solution the industrial process of manufactured housing has provided basic affordable housing. The popularity of these manufactured houses in Central Appalachia has created a new vernacular. Unfortunately, the legacy of the traditional home in Appalachia is lost as housing has become less site-specific, less hand-crafted and more standardized equivalents to the purchase of an automobile. The stigma of these housing types is that the more expensive manufactured houses are adorned with a local vernacular of peaked roofs, dormers, and porches as an applique, but low-cost housing that supports a majority of the population is indistinguishable from manufactured houses throughout the United States. This thesis challenges the stigma of manufactured housing and attempts to reintroduce the legacy of housing in Appalachia

Double-Stranded RNA-Dependent Protein Kinase (PKR) is Downregulated by Phorbol Ester

The double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is one of the key mediators of interferon (IFN) action against certain viruses. PKR also plays an important role in signal transduction and immunomodulation. Understanding the regulation of PKR activity is important for the use of PKR as a tool to discover and develop novel therapeutics for viral infections, cancer and immune dysfunction. We found that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a potent activator of protein kinase C (PKC), decreased the level of autophosphorylated PKR in a dose- and time-dependent manner in IFN-treated mouse fibroblast cells. Polyinosinic–polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) treatment enhanced the activity of PKR induced by IFN, but did not overcome the PMA-induced reduction of PKR autophosphorylation. Western blot analysis with a monoclonal antibody to mouse PKR revealed that the decrease of PKR autophosphorylation in cells by PMA was a result of PKR protein degradation. Selective PKC inhibitors blocked the degradation of PKR stimulated by PMA, indicating that PKC activity was required for the effect. Furthermore, we also found that proteasome inhibitors prevented PMA-induced down regulation of PKR, indicating that an active proteasome is required. Our results identify a novel mechanism for the post-translational regulation of PKR

Double-Stranded RNA-Dependent Protein Kinase (PKR) is Downregulated by Phorbol Ester

The double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is one of the key mediators of interferon (IFN) action against certain viruses. PKR also plays an important role in signal transduction and immunomodulation. Understanding the regulation of PKR activity is important for the use of PKR as a tool to discover and develop novel therapeutics for viral infections, cancer and immune dysfunction. We found that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a potent activator of protein kinase C (PKC), decreased the level of autophosphorylated PKR in a dose- and time-dependent manner in IFN-treated mouse fibroblast cells. Polyinosinic–polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) treatment enhanced the activity of PKR induced by IFN, but did not overcome the PMA-induced reduction of PKR autophosphorylation. Western blot analysis with a monoclonal antibody to mouse PKR revealed that the decrease of PKR autophosphorylation in cells by PMA was a result of PKR protein degradation. Selective PKC inhibitors blocked the degradation of PKR stimulated by PMA, indicating that PKC activity was required for the effect. Furthermore, we also found that proteasome inhibitors prevented PMA-induced down regulation of PKR, indicating that an active proteasome is required. Our results identify a novel mechanism for the post-translational regulation of PKR

Mannose binding lectin is required for alphavirus-induced arthritis/myositis

Mosquito-borne alphaviruses such as chikungunya virus and Ross River virus (RRV) are emerging pathogens capable of causing large-scale epidemics of virus-induced arthritis and myositis. The pathology of RRV-induced disease in both humans and mice is associated with induction of the host inflammatory response within the muscle and joints, and prior studies have demonstrated that the host complement system contributes to development of disease. In this study, we have used a mouse model of RRV-induced disease to identify and characterize which complement activation pathways mediate disease progression after infection, and we have identified the mannose binding lectin (MBL) pathway, but not the classical or alternative complement activation pathways, as essential for development of RRV-induced disease. MBL deposition was enhanced in RRV infected muscle tissue from wild type mice and RRV infected MBL deficient mice exhibited reduced disease, tissue damage, and complement deposition compared to wild-type mice. In contrast, mice deficient for key components of the classical or alternative complement activation pathways still developed severe RRV-induced disease. Further characterization of MBL deficient mice demonstrated that similar to C3(-/-) mice, viral replication and inflammatory cell recruitment were equivalent to wild type animals, suggesting that RRV-mediated induction of complement dependent immune pathology is largely MBL dependent. Consistent with these findings, human patients diagnosed with RRV disease had elevated serum MBL levels compared to healthy controls, and MBL levels in the serum and synovial fluid correlated with severity of disease. These findings demonstrate a role for MBL in promoting RRV-induced disease in both mice and humans and suggest that the MBL pathway of complement activation may be an effective target for therapeutic intervention for humans suffering from RRV-induced arthritis and myositis.This work was supported by NIH/NIAMS R01 AR 047190 awarded to MTH

Probing small-x parton densities in proton- proton (-nucleus) collisions in the very forward direction

We present calculations of several pp scattering cross sections with potential applications at the LHC. Significantly large rates for momentum fraction, x, as low as 10^-7 are obtained, allowing for possible extraction of quark and gluon densities in the proton and nuclei down to these small x values provided a detector with good acceptance at maximal rapidities is used.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, 12 figures, uses revtex.st