Water Quality Sampling, Analysis and Annual Load Determinations for TSS, Nitrogen and Phosphorus at the Ballard Creek Near Arkansas/Oklahoma Line

The Illinois River Basin has experienced water quality impairment from non-point source pollution for many years. This fact was well documented in the State of Arkansas\u27 Water Quality Assessment report, the Soil Conservation Service River Basin Study, and several University of Arkansas studies. Thirty-seven sub-watersheds have been identified by the SCS in the Arkansas portion of the Illinois River basin. In the Arkansas portion of the Basin, the Illinois River, Evansville Creek, Baron Fork, Cincinnati Creek, Muddy Fork, Moores Creek, Clear Creek, Osage Creek and Flint Creek were all classified as not supporting their designated use as primary contact recreation streams. The identified causes of the impairment were: sediment, bacteria and nutrients. In 1997, the University of Arkansas completed a project that estimated the phosphorus loading from each of the thirty-seven sub-watersheds. This project also prioritized watersheds for implementation work based on phosphorus loads, nitrogen loads and total suspended solids loads per unit area. The thirty-seven sub-watersheds were grouped into Low (16), Medium (10) and High (11) categories based on phosphorus loadings. The selection of a sub-watershed for targeted intensive voluntary Best Management Practices (BMP) implementation was based on the following criteria: a) the sub-watershed had to be above the current median value for phosphorus loading, b) there would be no sewage treatment plant in the sub-watershed, and c) land user interest. The Upper Ballard Creek watershed met all these requirements. The watershed covers 6700 hectares. The creek is listed in the High category with a unit area loading of 1.75 kg. per hectare per year. The median value for the thirty-seven watersheds was 0.73 kg. per hectare per year

Daily Scheduled High Fat Meals Moderately Entrain Behavioral Anticipatory Activity, Body Temperature, and Hypothalamic c-Fos Activation

When fed in restricted amounts, rodents show robust activity in the hours preceding expected meal delivery. This process, termed food anticipatory activity (FAA), is independent of the light-entrained clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, yet beyond this basic observation there is little agreement on the neuronal underpinnings of FAA. One complication in studying FAA using a calorie restriction model is that much of the brain is activated in response to this strong hunger signal. Thus, daily timed access to palatable meals in the presence of continuous access to standard chow has been employed as a model to study FAA in rats. In order to exploit the extensive genetic resources available in the murine system we extended this model to mice, which will anticipate rodent high fat diet but not chocolate or other sweet daily meals (Hsu, Patton, Mistlberger, and Steele; 2010, PLoS ONE e12903). In this study we test additional fatty meals, including peanut butter and cheese, both of which induced modest FAA. Measurement of core body temperature revealed a moderate preprandial increase in temperature in mice fed high fat diet but entrainment due to handling complicated interpretation of these results. Finally, we examined activation patterns of neurons by immunostaining for the immediate early gene c-Fos and observed a modest amount of entrainment of gene expression in the hypothalamus of mice fed a daily fatty palatable meal

Compulsivity in opioid dependence

This study was part funded by an unrestricted educational grant provided by Schering-Plough and a grant by an Anonymous Trust. Study support was also provided by the Scottish Mental Health Research Network. AB has received educational grants from Schering Plough and he has received research project funding from Schering-Plough, Merck Serono, and Indivior.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between compulsivity versus impulsivity and structural MRI abnormalities in opioid dependence. Method: We recruited 146 participants: i) patients with a history of opioid dependence due to chronic heroin use (n=24), ii) heroin users stabilised on methadone maintenance treatment (n=48), iii) abstinent participants with ahistory of opioid dependence due to heroin use (n=24) and iv) healthy controls(n=50). Compulsivity was measured using Intra/Extra-Dimensional (IED) Task and impulsivity was measured using the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT).Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data were also obtained. Results: As hypothesised, compulsivity was negatively associated with impulsivity (p<0.02). Testing for the neural substrates of compulsivity versus impulsivity, we found a higher compulsivity/impulsivity ratio associated with significantly decreased white matter adjacent to the nucleus accumbens, bed nucleus of stria terminalis and rostral cingulate in the abstinent group,compared to the other opioid dependent groups. In addition, self-reported duration of opioid exposure correlated negatively with bilateral globus pallidus grey matter reductions. Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with Volkow & Koob’s addiction models and underline the important role of compulsivity versus impulsivity inopioid dependence. Our results have implications for the treatment of opioid dependence supporting the assertion of different behavioural and biological phenotypes in the opioid dependence and abstinence syndromes.PostprintPeer reviewe

Water Quality Sampling, Analysis and Annual Load Determinations for TSS, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Bayou Bartholomew at Garrett Bridge, Arkansas and Near Portland, Arkansas

Water quality sampling stations were installed at the Bayou Bartholomew at Garrett Bridge, AR and near Portland, AR. These stations are coordinated with USGS gauging stations at the same locations. These stations are instrumented to collect samples at sufficient intervals across the hydrograph to accurately estimate the flux of total suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus in the River. Bayou Bartholomew watershed is about 437,000 hectares and is located in the south east corner of the state. The land use in the watershed is mostly in forest and cropland agriculture with some urban area. High turbidity levels and excessive silt loads in the streams are problems in this watershed. The reason for high turbidity levels and silt loads are thought to be row crop agriculture. Accurate determination of stream nutrients and sediment is critical for future determinations of TMDLs, effectiveness of best management practices and trends in water quality

Water Quality Sampling, Analysis and Annual Load Determinations for TSS, Nitrogen and Phosphorus at the L\u27Anguille River Near Palestine 2005 Annual Report

A water quality sampling station was installed at the L’Anguille River near Palestine in 2003. This station is coordinated with a USGS gauging station at the same location. This station is instrumented to collect samples at sufficient intervals across the hydrograph to accurately estimate the flux of total suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus in the River. The L’Anguille River was listed on Arkansas\u27 1998 (listed in later reports?) 303d list as impaired from sediment (turbidity). The L’Anguille River was the second stream to have total maximum daily loads (TMDL) determined in Arkansas. Accurate determination of stream nutrients and sediment is critical for future determinations of TMDLs, effectiveness of best management practices and trends in water quality

Ultrastructural study of Rift Valley fever virus in the mouse model

AbstractDetailed ultrastructural studies of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) in the mouse model are needed to develop and characterize a small animal model of RVF for the evaluation of potential vaccines and therapeutics. In this study, the ultrastructural features of RVFV infection in the mouse model were analyzed. The main changes in the liver included the presence of viral particles in hepatocytes and hepatic stem cells accompanied by hepatocyte apoptosis. However, viral particles were observed rarely in the liver; in contrast, particles were extremely abundant in the CNS. Despite extensive lymphocytolysis, direct evidence of viral replication was not observed in the lymphoid tissue. These results correlate with the acute-onset hepatitis and delayed-onset encephalitis that are dominant features of severe human RVF, but suggest that host immune-mediated mechanisms contribute significantly to pathology. The results of this study expand our knowledge of RVFV–host interactions and further characterize the mouse model of RVF