New Market Plains Vineyard Redesign

Final Project for LARC 340 Site Planning and Design Studio (Fall 2018). University of Maryland, College Park.New Market Plains Vineyard is situated on a 260+ acre farm in the town of New Market within Fredrick County, Maryland. The town of New Market and the owners of New Market Plains Vineyard, in coordination with the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) and undergraduate Landscape Architecture students at the University of Maryland, are interested in developing the site to support and expand amenities available to visitors. Because the property has been in the family since its acquisition in 1747, the owners have a strong tie to the land and hope to continually display its historical significance and interpretive natural systems as part of the project, as they expand the event potential and expanded operations of the winery. The town of New Market is interested in promoting tourism and sharing in the rich history of the site. The site is impacted by highway noise, rock outcroppings, invasive plant species and some hydric soils. The attributes include vistas to the surrounding countryside, abundant water supply, meadows, grasslands, forest, elevation and exposure suitable for growing grapes, and excellent public access. To approach this project, four design teams were tasked with identifying the site’s opportunities and constraints with a focus on historic qualities, natural systems, and expanding vineyard operations. Each team expanded on these opportunities and constraints, some placing emphasis on business operations and others on historic value and educational opportunities. Using this analysis of the existing site conditions, the teams developed individual design programs of what elements they felt would best realize the property’s full potential. The teams made two visits to the site over the course of the project, to locate and identify areas of significance to their designs. Halfway through the design process the teams delivered an interim presentation to the vineyard owners; to receive feedback on the direction their work was taking. Using this review the teams completed their final designs, which include a master plan for the site, an enlarged plan for the main winery complex, and a grading plan for a new underground wine storage facility. The size of the site facilitated the implementation of nature trails of varying difficulty, which each team has incorporated in their design. Each individual member of the class also participated in a competition to design the new entry sign for the vineyard. The winning sign was designed by Rachel Greenhawk and is displayed on the cover of this document. Compiled in this booklet are the materials produced by the teams over the duration of this project. The results are a diverse and innovative selection of proposals, with the goal of serving as an examination of possibilities for future development. These designs provide the owners with various suggestions for how to restore their property and to elevate New Market Plains Vineyards into a thriving local destination.Prince George's Count

Tree Planting in Prince George’s County, Maryland: Case Studies and Benefits Assessment in Four Parks

Final project for LARC452: Green Infrastructure and Community Greening (Fall 2019). University of Maryland, College Park.The benefits of trees and forests and the ecosystems services that they provide is well documented. Ecosystems services include carbon sequestration, stormwater retention, water pollution reduction, air pollution retention and others. In addition, tree planting efforts provide numerous social benefits including improvement of community cohesion, increase in social capital, and environmental stewardship and education. In order to provide a greater understanding of tree planting efforts and assessing tree benefits locally, two major project components were undertaken: 1) the research and documentation using case studies of individual tree planting efforts, and 2) assessment of benefits of recent and proposed trees for four selected parks in Prince George’s county.Prince George's Count

Variations in Stress Sensitivity and Genomic Expression in Diverse S. cerevisiae Isolates

Interactions between an organism and its environment can significantly influence phenotypic evolution. A first step toward understanding this process is to characterize phenotypic diversity within and between populations. We explored the phenotypic variation in stress sensitivity and genomic expression in a large panel of Saccharomyces strains collected from diverse environments. We measured the sensitivity of 52 strains to 14 environmental conditions, compared genomic expression in 18 strains, and identified gene copy-number variations in six of these isolates. Our results demonstrate a large degree of phenotypic variation in stress sensitivity and gene expression. Analysis of these datasets reveals relationships between strains from similar niches, suggests common and unique features of yeast habitats, and implicates genes whose variable expression is linked to stress resistance. Using a simple metric to suggest cases of selection, we found that strains collected from oak exudates are phenotypically more similar than expected based on their genetic diversity, while sake and vineyard isolates display more diverse phenotypes than expected under a neutral model. We also show that the laboratory strain S288c is phenotypically distinct from all of the other strains studied here, in terms of stress sensitivity, gene expression, Ty copy number, mitochondrial content, and gene-dosage control. These results highlight the value of understanding the genetic basis of phenotypic variation and raise caution about using laboratory strains for comparative genomics

Pharmacogenetic meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of LDL cholesterol response to statins

Statins effectively lower LDL cholesterol levels in large studies and the observed interindividual response variability may be partially explained by genetic variation. Here we perform a pharmacogenetic meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in studies addressing the LDL cholesterol response to statins, including up to 18,596 statin-treated subjects. We validate the most promising signals in a further 22,318 statin recipients and identify two loci, SORT1/CELSR2/PSRC1 and SLCO1B1, not previously identified in GWAS. Moreover, we confirm the previously described associations with APOE and LPA. Our findings advance the understanding of the pharmacogenetic architecture of statin response

A Solve-RD ClinVar-based reanalysis of 1522 index cases from ERN-ITHACA reveals common pitfalls and misinterpretations in exome sequencing

Purpose Within the Solve-RD project (https://solve-rd.eu/), the European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies aimed to investigate whether a reanalysis of exomes from unsolved cases based on ClinVar annotations could establish additional diagnoses. We present the results of the “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” reanalysis, reasons for the failure of previous analyses, and lessons learned. Methods Data from the first 3576 exomes (1522 probands and 2054 relatives) collected from European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies was reanalyzed by the Solve-RD consortium by evaluating for the presence of single-nucleotide variant, and small insertions and deletions already reported as (likely) pathogenic in ClinVar. Variants were filtered according to frequency, genotype, and mode of inheritance and reinterpreted. Results We identified causal variants in 59 cases (3.9%), 50 of them also raised by other approaches and 9 leading to new diagnoses, highlighting interpretation challenges: variants in genes not known to be involved in human disease at the time of the first analysis, misleading genotypes, or variants undetected by local pipelines (variants in off-target regions, low quality filters, low allelic balance, or high frequency). Conclusion The “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” analysis represents an effective, fast, and easy approach to recover causal variants from exome sequencing data, herewith contributing to the reduction of the diagnostic deadlock

Impact of population displacement and forced movements on the transmission and outbreaks of Aedes-borne viral diseases: Dengue as a model

[Display omitted] •Population displacement and forced human movements impact the spatiotemporal epidemiology of dengue.•Risk mapping of transmission “hotspots” in displacement settings is needed for better multi-sectoral prevention and control.•Phylogenetic analysis of virus isolates in outbreaks is needed to understand the impact of dengue in displacement settings.•The changing landscape of how displaced populations are infected with dengue is challenging to public health policymakers. Population displacement and other forced movement patterns following natural disasters, armed conflicts or due to socioeconomic reasons contribute to the global emergence of Aedes-borne viral disease epidemics. In particular, dengue epidemiology is critically affected by situations of displacement and forced movement patterns, particularly within and across borders. In this respect, waves of human movements have been a major driver for the changing epidemiology and outbreaks of the disease on local, regional and global scales. Both emerging dengue autochthonous transmission and outbreaks in countries known to be non-endemic and co-circulation and hyperendemicity with multiple dengue virus serotypes have led to the emergence of severe disease forms such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. This paper reviews the emergence of dengue outbreaks driven by population displacement and forced movements following natural disasters and conflicts within the context of regional and sub-regional groupings

Prince George County Public Schools: Suitland High School & William Wirt Middle School

Final project for LARC240 Graphic Communication and Design Studio (Spring 2018). University of Maryland, College Park.Prince George's Count