Non-Market Valuation of Open Space and Other Amenities Associated with Retention of Lands in Agricultural Use

The most productive farmland in southcentral Alaska is currently under intense development pressure due to rapid population increases and consequential increases in demand for suburban housing. This study utilizes a contingent valuation iterative bidding game to estimate the willingness of Matanuska-Susitna Borough residents to pay to preserve open space and other historical/environmental amenities associated with farming activities. Determinants of consumer behavior are addressed as well as total benefits and costs of various posited development scenarios. This information may be useful to policymakers assessing actions designed to purchase development rights from Matanuska-Susitna farmers

Tolerance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in in vitro biofilms to high level peracetic acid disinfection

Biofilm has been suggested as a cause of disinfection failures in flexible endoscopes where no lapses in the decontamination procedure can be identified. To test this theory, the activity of peracetic acid (PAA), one of the commonly used disinfectants in the reprocessing of flexible endoscopes, was evaluated against both planktonic and sessile communities of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To investigate the ability of P. aeruginosa biofilm to survive high level PAA disinfection. The susceptibility of planktonic cells of P. aeruginosa and biofilms 24, 48, 96 and 192 h old to PAA was evaluated by estimating their viability using resazurin viability and plate count methods. The biomass of the P. aeruginosa biofilms was also quantified using crystal violet assay. Planktonic cells of P. aeruginosa were treated with 5 - 30 ppm concentration of PAA in the presence of 3.0 g/L of Bovine serum albumin (BSA) for 5 min. Biofilms of P. aeruginosa were also treated with various PAA concentrations (100 - 3000 ppm) for 5 min. Planktonic cells of P. aeruginosa were eradicated by 20 ppm of PAA, whereas biofilms showed an age dependent tolerance to PAA, and 96 h old biofilm was only eradicated at PAA concentration of 2500 ppm. 96 h old P. aeruginosa biofilm survives 5 min treatment with 2000 ppm of PAA, which is the working concentration used in some endoscope washer disinfectors. This implies that disinfection failure of flexible endoscopes could occur when biofilms are allowed to build up in the lumens of endoscopes

An Investigation of the Binding Properties of Limestone Dust

A proper quantity of dust particles of various sizes has long been recognized as important in the construction of stone bases and pavements. Screenings for water bound macadam bases are required to contain not less than a specified amount of dust sizes, and dense-graded limestone bases have controlling limits for the dust fraction. It is generally assumed that these particles serve a dual purpose: (1) in filling void spaces created by larger particles, thus enhancing the gross structure of the aggregate, and (2) in acting as a binder material in the presence of water. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the addition of small amounts of certain chemicals may improve the strength characteristics of lime stone dusts. Former studies have been concerned primarily with the overall strength properties of aggregate mixtures containing dust, rather than with the properties of the dust itself. However, in cases where binding properties are of primary concern, a more fundamental approach would be to investigate the dust and fine aggregate fractions before studying the mixture as a whole. The purpose of this project was to study the binding properties of several different limestone dusts. The stones selected showed considerable differences in composition, and undoubtedly the scope of these differences encompassed the majority of limestones in Kentucky. In addition, an attempt was made to detect variations (if any) in the response of these stones to the effects induced by admixtures of calcium chloride - directly or indirectly

Reconstructing the Dietary Signal of the Primate Taxon Cercopithecoides williamsi from the Plio-Pleistocene Caves of South Africa

The taxon known as Cercopithecoides williamsi has been reconstructed as a terrestrial primate folivore from its dental morphology and heavy dental microwear. It was recovered at a number of Plio-Pleistocene caves in South Africa, including Makapansgat, Sterkfontein Member 4, Sterkfontein West Pit and Bolt’s Farm. For the purposes of corroborating or contradicting previous dietary reconstructions, six specimens of Cercopithecoides williamsi were examined and compared with the extant primate taxa Papio ursinus (n = 5), Papio cynocephalus (n = 5) and Colobus polykomos (n = 5) to provide a frame of reference, using low-magnification stereomicroscopy in conjunction with an ocular reticle (0.04 mm x 0.04 mm) as a standard sampling strategy. Least Square Means derived from Analyses of Variance and Tukey’s post-hoc tests of significance detected significant signals in the dataset. Papio ursinus is significantly distinct from the other specimens in its low pit count and high scratch frequency, indicative of the consumption of grass blades and underground storage organs. Colobus polykomos is significantly distinct in its high number of pits and low scratch frequency, indicating folivory. Cercopithecoides williamsi lies between these two extremes by exhibiting moderate amounts of pits and relatively low numbers of scratches, which is more similar to Colobus polykomos, corroborating prior inferences of folivory in this taxon. The Sterkfontein West Pit specimen, SWP 495, however, is somewhat variant from the other Cercopithecoides williamsi individuals in its heavy scratch count, indicating a mixed diet, perhaps from a drier habitat at the terminal Pliocene or early Pleistocene

Aspergillus fumigatus enhances elastase production in pseudomonas aeruginosaco-cultures

In the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung the presence of bacteria and fungi in the airways promotes an inflammatory response causing progressive lung damage, ultimately leading to high rates of morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that polymicrobial interactions play an important role in promoting airway pathogenesis. We therefore examined the interplay between the most commonly isolated bacterial CF pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the most prevalent filamentous fungi, Aspergillus fumigatus, to test this. Co-culture experiments showed that in the presence of A. fumigatus the production of P. aeruginosa elastase was enhanced. This was confirmed by the presence of zones of clearance on Elastin-Congo Red (ECR) agar, which was identified as elastase by mass spectrometry. When P. aeruginosa were grown in a co-culture model with mature A. fumigatus biofilms, 60% of isolates produced significantly more elastase in the presence of the filamentous fungi than in its absence (P < .05). The expression of lasB also increased when P. aeruginosa isolates PA01 and PA14 were grown in co-culture with A. fumigatus. Supernatants from co-culture experiments were also significantly toxic to a human lung epithelial cell line (19–38% cell cytotoxicity) in comparison to supernatants from P. aeruginosa only cultures (P < .0001). Here we report that P. aeruginosa cytotoxic elastase is enhanced in the presence of the filamentous fungi A. fumigatus, suggesting that this may have a role to play in the damaging pathology associated with the lung tissue in this disease. This indicates that patients who have a co-colonisation with these two organisms may have a poorer prognosis

Towards the Synthesis of Write-Ahead Logging

The implications of robust models have been far-reaching and pervasive. In this paper, authors validate the synthesis of local-area networks. In our research, we present an algorithm for interposable algorithms (OrbicWem), validating that the famous semantic algorithm for the visualization of sensor net- works by Wu and Wang is optimal