Interagency monitoring action plan (I-MAP) for quagga mussels in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, USA

Following the discovery of quagga mussels in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, USA, a variety of federal, state and regional agencies set up monitoring programs to evaluate and gain information to help minimize the impacts, or potential impacts, of quagga mussels to their facilities and lake ecology. While the agencies have worked closely and shared monitoring data and findings from the beginning of the infestation, there has been no documented comprehensive monitoring program to describe and record the various quagga mussel-related monitoring needs. Ad hoc interagency quagga mussel meeting representatives established an Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP), which outlines agency objectives related to quagga mussel monitoring and provides approaches to realize these objectives. I-MAP team members and their respective agencies provide technical, logistical, and financial support in monitoring quagga mussels and their environmental impacts to Lake Mead. The goal of this effort is to develop a long-term, cost-effective, and consistent monitoring plan for quagga mussels in Lake Mead to inform various agencies and to gain efficiencies from shared operations and information. The plan attempts to build upon current monitoring activities and capabilities, identifies the next steps that can occur within existing capabilities and, finally, outlines gaps and areas of future need

A standardized design for quagga mussel monitoring in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona

The discovery of quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, on January 6, 2007 is the first known occurrence of dreissenid species in the western United States. This study developed elements of a cost-effective and standardized quagga mussel-monitoring program for Lake Mead using preliminary data to arrive at statistically based numbers of sampling sites. To represent the abundance of adult/juvenile quagga mussels in Lake Mead’s heterogeneous floor with 95% confidence, a stratified simple random sampling design revealed a requirement of 41 samples from hard substrates (i.e., rocky areas) and 97 samples from soft substrates (i.e., sandy and muddy areas). A simple random sampling design demonstrated that 42 samples from the lake’s water column are necessary to represent veliger abundance with 95% confidence. Other important elements of the sampling program, such as standardization of protocols and processes and suggested data analyses, are discussed. The monitoring program, which is based on reconnaissance data, is intended to be optimized with data from its first year’s samples. The sample number-selection approach and the other elements of this plan can be easily implemented by lake managers and can also be adapted to other locations where dreissenid mussel monitoring is needed

Development and application of an evaluation framework for urban traffic management and Intelligent Transport Systems

The aim of this paper is to present and apply a new evaluation framework for traffic management and Intelligent Transport Systems, to assist urban transport authorities in assessing relevant policies and technologies as to their performance. The principles behind performance measures and indices are outlined, along with a description of theframework development methodology. Two Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the topics of mobility and traffic accidents respectively are formulated and operative definitions are presented. Then, the new KPIs are applied to a case study in the city of Paris, involving the introduction of a scheme granting priority to buses at signalised junctions. The results from the before- and after-analysis are reported and interpreted, not only in terms of the case study itself, but most importantly from the standpoint of the applicability of the evaluation framework

Forschungsbericht zur gemeinsamen Untersuchung zum Thema: "Die FDJ - Interessenvertreter der gesamten Jugend"

1987 wurden 1.928 junge Berufstätige in der DDR zur Jugendorganisation FDJ befragt. Untersuchungschwerpunkte waren: Erwartungen an die FDJ in den Bereichen Interessenvertretung im Betrieb, politisch-ideologische Arbeit und Freizeit, Erfahrungen bei der Teilnahme an Diskussionen und Veranstaltungen, Ausmaß der aktiven Mitarbeit. Als Grundtendenz wird festgestellt: "Die Mehrzahl der jungen Werktätigen identifiziert sich nicht oder nur mit Einschränkungen mit den in der FDJ vorgefundenen politischen Bedingungen der Persönlichkeitsentwicklung." Als entscheidendes praktisches Problem erwies sich das Niveau der innerverbandlichen Demokratie, nur 9% der Jugendlichen ohne Leitungsfunktionen sehen in der FDJ einen engagierten Vertreter ihrer Interessen. 95% der Befragten erwarten in stärkerem Maße, daß sich die FDJ für die Klärung berechtigter Kritik an der betrieblichen Arbeit einsetzen solle. Außerordentlich hoch ist auch das Interesse, "vermittelt über die FDJ ins sozialistische bzw. kapitalistsiche Ausland zu reisen". (psz

Forecasting Seismicity on Local to Regional Scale

Forecasting Seismicity on Local to Regional Scal

Ploidy Variation in Multinucleate Cells Changes Under Stress

Ploidy variation is found in contexts as diverse as solid tumors, drug resistance in fungal infection, and normal development. Altering chromosome or genome copy number supports adaptation to fluctuating environments but is also associated with fitness defects attributed to protein imbalances. Both aneuploidy and polyploidy can arise from multinucleate states after failed cytokinesis or cell fusion. The consequences of ploidy variation in syncytia are difficult to predict because protein imbalances are theoretically buffered by a common cytoplasm. We examined ploidy in a naturally multinucleate fungus, Ashbya gossypii. Using integrated lac operator arrays, we found that chromosome number varies substantially among nuclei sharing a common cytoplasm. Populations of nuclei range from 1N to \u3e4N, with different polyploidies in the same cell and low levels of aneuploidy. The degree of ploidy variation increases as cells age. In response to cellular stress, polyploid nuclei diminish and haploid nuclei predominate. These data suggest that mixed ploidy is tolerated in these syncytia; however, there may be costs associated with variation as stress homogenizes the genome content of nuclei. Furthermore, the results suggest that sharing of gene products is limited, and thus there is incomplete buffering of ploidy variation despite a common cytosol

Functional Electrical Stimulation Leads to Increased Volume of the Aged Thyroarytenoid Muscle.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To reverse sarcopenia and increase the volumes of atrophied laryngeal muscles by functional electrical stimulation (FES) using a minimal invasive surgical procedure in an aged ovine model. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective animal study. METHODS: A stimulation electrode was placed unilaterally near the terminal adduction branch of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) adjacent to the right cricothyroid joint. The electrode was connected to an implant located subcutaneously at the neck region. Predesigned training patterns were automatically delivered by a bidirectional radio frequency link using a programming device and were repeated automatically by the implant every other day over 11 weeks in the awake animal. Outcome parameters comprised volumetric measurements based on three-dimensional reconstructions of the entire thyroarytenoid muscle (TAM), as well as gene expression analyses. RESULTS: We found significant increases of the volumes of the stimulated TAM of 11% and the TAM diameter at the midmembranous parts of the vocal folds of nearly 40%. Based on gene expression, we did not detect a shift of muscle fiber composition. CONCLUSIONS: FES of the terminal branches of the RLN is a secure and effective way to reverse the effects of age-related TAM atrophy and to increase volumes of atrophied muscles. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA Laryngoscope, 2018

Rupture by damage accumulation in rocks

The deformation of rocks is associated with microcracks nucleation and propagation, i.e. damage. The accumulation of damage and its spatial localization lead to the creation of a macroscale discontinuity, so-called "fault" in geological terms, and to the failure of the material, i.e. a dramatic decrease of the mechanical properties as strength and modulus. The damage process can be studied both statically by direct observation of thin sections and dynamically by recording acoustic waves emitted by crack propagation (acoustic emission). Here we first review such observations concerning geological objects over scales ranging from the laboratory sample scale (dm) to seismically active faults (km), including cliffs and rock masses (Dm, hm). These observations reveal complex patterns in both space (fractal properties of damage structures as roughness and gouge), time (clustering, particular trends when the failure approaches) and energy domains (power-law distributions of energy release bursts). We use a numerical model based on progressive damage within an elastic interaction framework which allows us to simulate these observations. This study shows that the failure in rocks can be the result of damage accumulation