Analyzing the Feasibility of Prairie Dog Hunting in the Northern Texas Panhandle

Prairie dogs are burrowing rodents located throughout the United States. The black-tailed prairie dog is a common species that primarily inhabits the Great Plains region, with a large population in Texas. While these animals continue to thrive in many locations, there has been a significant reduction in numbers over the past one hundred years. Several conservation efforts have attempted to remedy this situation. The Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation and Management Plan is a long-term monitoring program between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and cooperating landowners. This plan’s purpose is to develop a strategy that conserves the species while simultaneously protecting property rights. One of the plan’s recommended methods for keeping populations at manageable levels is recreational hunting. This practice provides several landowner benefits, including species control and economic returns. The following study explores three land use scenarios related to implementing a prairie dog hunting operation. It provides a ten-year financial impact and risk assessment for a typical Texas Panhandle producer.Prairie Dogs, Texas Ranching, Risk Management, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Land Economics/Use,

A novel interdigitated capacitor based biosensor for detection of cardiovascular risk marker

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a potential biomarker whose elevated levels in humans determine cardiovascular disease risk and inflammation. In this study, we have developed a novel capacitive biosensor for detection of CRP-antigen using capacitor with interdigitated gold (GID) electrodes on nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) surface. The NCD surface served as a dielectric layer between the gold electrodes. GID-surface was functionalized by antibodies and the immobilization was confirmed by Fourier transform spectroscopy (FT-IR) and contact angle measurements. The CRP-antigen detection was performed by capacitive/dielectric-constant measurements. The relaxation time and polarizability constants were estimated using Cole-Cole model. Our results showed that the relaxation time constant (tau) of only CRP-antibody was within 10(-16)-10(-13) s, which was increased to 10(-11) s after the incubation with CRP-antigen, suggesting that the CRP-antigen was captured by the antibodies on GID-surface. In addition, polarizability constant(m) of CRP was also increased upon incubation with increasing concentration of CRP-antigen. Our results showed that the response of GID-NCD-based capacitive biosensor for CRP-antigen was dependent on both concentration (25-800 ng/ml) as well as frequency (50-350 MHz). Furthermore, using optimized conditions, the GID-NCD based capacitive biosensor developed in this study can potentially be used for detection of elevated levels of protein risk markers in suspected subjects for early diagnosis of disease

Comorbidity of Asperger syndrome and gender identity disorder

The case of a 35-yearold biological woman with Asperger syndrome (AS) and gender identity disorder (GID) fulfilling DSM-IV criteria is reported. Against the background of recently emerging theories of cognitive male pattern underlying autism we present additional psychological assessments in order to discuss any possible interaction or discrimination between AS and GID. Whilst we explain GID as a secondary feature of AS, we examine the assumption of the necessity of treating GID in AS as a primary GID in accordance with international standards. We consider the treatment of GID as compelling, particularly because curative therapy for AS is lacking and with GID treatment in this vein, the patient gains psychosocial improvemen

Comparison of Masculine and Feminine Gender Roles in Iranian Patients with Gender Identity Disorder

Introduction: Gender identity disorders (GID) are heterogeneous disorders that may be influenced by culture and social norms. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine masculine and feminine gender roles in a group of Iranian patients with GID and compare these roles with two control groups. Methods: Twelve male-to-female (MF) and 27 female-to-male (FM) individuals with GID referred to Tehran Psychiatric Institute in Tehran, I. R. Iran were evaluated by self-report inventories and were compared with two groups of healthy controls (81 men and 89 women). Diagnoses were established based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria. Data analysis was done using analysis of variance and chi-squared test. Main Outcome Measures: Masculine and feminine gender roles were assessed by two questionnaires: (i) Gender-Masculine (GM) and Gender-Feminine (GF) scales derived from the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-2 (MMPI-2); (ii) Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Results: In the scales of masculinity, MF-GID individuals scored as male controls, but lower than female controls. FM-GID individuals scored similar to female controls and higher than male controls. In femininity scales, MF-GID individuals and control women seemed similar, and both scored higher than the other groups. FM-GID persons were considered less feminine than both controls in the GF scale of MMPI-2, but not in the BSRI. In both scales, FM-GID persons had higher scores than control women and MF-GID individuals. Conclusion: Iranian FM-GID individuals were less feminine than normal men. However, MF-GID individuals were similar to normal women or more feminine. Cultural considerations remain to be investigated. Alavi K, Eftekhar M and Jalali Nadoushan AH. Comparison of masculine and feminine gender roles in Iranian patients with gender identity disorder. Sex Med 2015;3:261-268. © 2015 International Society of Sexual Medicine