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Some Fungi And Water Molds In Waters Of Lake Michigan With Emphasis On Those Associated With The Benthic Amphipod Diporeia Spp., Bozena Kiziewicz, Thomas F. Nalepa

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

To determine types of fungi in the water and associated with the benthic amphipod Diporeia spp., samples were collected at various depths in Lake Michigan in an area where the Diporeia population was in a severe state of decline. No fungi were found associated with living, freshly-dead, or dried Diporeia cultured separately from Lake Michigan water. When dead Diporeia and other organic substrates (snake skin and hemp seeds) were used to grow fungi in Lake Michigan water, a rich and diverse fungal and water mold community was revealed. A total of 31 species were found, with the most common genera …

Random Coding Bounds For Dna Codes Based On Fibonacci Ensembles Of Dna Sequences, A. D'Yachkov, A. Macula, T. Renz, V. Rykov

United States Air Force: Publications

We consider DNA codes based on the concept of a weighted 2-stem similarity measure which reflects the ”hybridization potential” of two DNA sequences. A random coding bound on the rate of DNA codes with respect to a thermodynamic motivated similarity measure is proved. Ensembles of DNA strands whose sequence composition is restricted in a manner similar to the restrictions in binary Fibonacci sequences are introduced to obtain the bound.

Dna Codes Based On Stem Similarities Between Dna Sequences, Arkadii D'Yachkov, Anthony Macula, Vyacheslav Rykov, Vladimir Ufimtsev

United States Air Force: Publications

DNA codes consisting of DNA sequences are necessary for DNA computing. The minimum distance parameter of such codes is a measure of how dissimilar the codewords are, and thus is indirectly a measure of the likelihood of undetectedable or uncorrectable errors occurring during hybridization. To compute distance, an abstract metric, for example, longest common subsequence, must be used to model the actual bonding energies of DNA strands. In this paper we continue the development [1,2,3] of similarity functions for q-ary n-sequences The theoretical lower bound on the maximal possible size of codes, built on the space endowed with …

Mechanisms Linking Short- And Long-Term Electrical Remodeling In The Heart…Is It A Stretch?, Scott B. Marrus, Jeanne M. Nerbonne

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Accumulation Of Trauma Over Time And Risk For Depression In A Twin Sample, V. V. Mccutcheon, A. C. Heath, E. C. Nelson, K. K. Bucholz, P. A F Madden, N. G. Martin

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Niemann-Pick C1 Protects Against Atherosclerosis In Mice Via Regulation Of Macrophage Intracellular Cholesterol Trafficking, Jessie R. Zhang, Trey Coleman, S. Joshua Langmade, David E. Scherrer, Lindsay Lane, M. Hunter Lanier, Chu Feng, Mark S. Sands, Jean E. Schaffer, Clay F. Semenkovich, Daniel S. Ory

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Microsatellite Loci For The Invasive Colonial Hydrozoan Cordylophora Caspia, Nancy A. Schable, Ashley M. Kuenzi, Carrie A. Drake, Nadine C. Folino-Rorem, John A. Darlings

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Cordylophora caspia, a colonial hydrozoan native to the Ponto-Caspian region, has become a common invader of both fresh and brackish water ecosystems of North America and Europe. We describe 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci for this species. Preliminary analyses indicate that population substructure may contribute to departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. In addition, new loci failed to consistently amplify Cordylophora samples known to be genetically distant from those utilized in this study, indicating the presence of cryptic diversity within the taxon.

Fifteen Years After ‘‘Wingspread’’—Environmental Endocrine Disrupters And Human And Wildlife Health: Where We Are Today And Where We Need To Go, Andrew K. Hotchkiss, Cynthia V. Rider, Chad R. Blystone, Vickie S. Wilson, Phillip C. Hartig, Gerald T. Ankley, Paul M. Foster, Clark L. Gray, L. Earl Gray

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

In 1991, a group of expert scientists at a Wingspread work session on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) concluded that ‘‘Many compounds introduced into the environment by human activity are capable of disrupting the endocrine system of animals, including fish, wildlife, and humans. Endocrine disruption can be profound because of the crucial role hormones play in controlling development.’’ Since that time, there have been numerous documented examples of adverse effects of EDCs in invertebrates, fish, wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. Hormonal systems can be disrupted by numerous different anthropogenic chemicals including antiandrogens, androgens, estrogens, AhR agonists, inhibitors of steroid hormone synthesis, antithyroid …

A New Framework For Urban Sustainability Assessments: Linking Complexity, Information And Policy, Moira L. Zellner, Thomas L. Theis, Arunprakash T. Karunanithi, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Heriberto Cabezas

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Urban systems emerge as distinct entities from the complex interactions among social, economic and cultural attributes, and information, energy and material stocks and flows that operate on different temporal and spatial scales. Such complexity poses a challenge to identify the causes of urban environmental problems and how to address them without causing greater deterioration. Planning has traditionally focused on regulating the location and intensity of urban activities to avoid environmental degradation, often based on assumptions that are rarely revisited and producing ambiguous effects. The key intellectual challenge for urban policy-makers is a fuller understanding of the complexity of urban systems …

Summary And Analysis Of The U.S. Government Bat Banding Program, Laura Ellison

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This report is a summary of the Bat Banding Program (BBP) administered, coordinated, and maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey in the Department of Agriculture and its successor, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior from 1932 to 1972. Bands were issued and copies of the permanent records were maintained at the Bird and Mammal Laboratories, U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C., during the active parts of the program (1932–72). Following various agency transfers within the Department of the Interior, the files and documentation for this program are currently maintained in the same location, …

Hydrogeology, Chemical Characteristics, And Transport Processes In The Zone Of Contribution Of A Public-Supply Well In York, Nebraska, Matthew K. Landon, Brian R. Clark, Peter B. Mcmahon, Michael J. Turco, Virginia L. Mcguire

United States Geological Survey: Publications

In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, as part of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, initiated a topical study of Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants (TANC) to PSW (public-supply wells). Local-scale and regional-scale TANC study areas were delineated within selected NAWQA study units for intensive study of processes effecting transport of contaminants to PSWs. This report describes results from a local-scale TANC study area at York, Nebraska, within the High Plains aquifer, including the hydrogeology and geochemistry of a 108-square-kilometer study area that contains the zone of contribution to a PSW selected for study (study PSW), and describes …

Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms: Chapter 9: Causes, Prevention, And Mitigation Workgroup Report, Paul Berger, Justin Brooks, Terence Evens, Christopher Gobler, Jennifer Graham, James Hyde, Dawn Karner, Dennis (Kevin) O'Shea, Valerie Paul, Hans Paerl, Michael Piehler, Barry Rosen, Mary Santelmann, Pat Tester, Judy Westrick

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are estimated to have evolved 3.5 billion years ago, at which time they began to add oxygen to the existing anaerobic atmosphere, actually changing the chemistry of the planet and allowing new life forms to evolve. These ubiquitous microbes are capable of tolerating desiccation, hypersalinity, hyperthermal conditions, and high ultraviolet radiation, often for extensive periods of time. Recently, cyanobacteria have responded to human alterations of aquatic environments, most notably nutrient-enhanced primary production, or eutrophication. In fact, cyanobacterial blooms are now viewed as widespread indicators of freshwater, brackish and marine eutrophication.

Due to the complex interactions between physical …

Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms: Chapter 20: Analytical Methods Workgroup Report, Armah De La Cruz, Parke Rublee, James Hungerford, Paul Zimba, Steven Wilhelm, Jussi Meriluoto, Kathy Echols, Michael Meyer, Gerard Stelma, Rosemonde Mandeville, Linda Lawton, Kaarina Sivonen, Ambrose Furey

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The topic of exposure assessment overlaps with other topic areas of this workshop. It includes considerations of establishment of long term monitoring and event response, sampling protocols, development and standardization of organism and toxin assays, funding mechanisms, and public outreach. The development of a coordinated infrastructure (funding, human resources, and facilities, materials and equipment) is key to successfully addressing the threat posed by CHABs.
The establishment of validated standardized protocols to detect cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins is of considerable importance given the increased occurrence of CHABs worldwide. Standardized methods are needed for studies assessing occurrence, monitoring and toxicity studies which are …

Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms: Chapter 18: Determining Important Parameters Related To Cyanobacterial Alkaloid Toxin Exposure, Adam Love

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The United States is faced with having to address critical issues that have not been addressed in the past, as recent security interests have placed new and more pressing demands on the assessment of risk from exposure to potential threats resulting from deliberate contamination. Such assessments are the basis for decisions about future research priorities, actions taken to prevent intentional contaminant releases, and developing detailed plans for response if such an event was to occur. High fidelity assessments are based on robust knowledge of the numerous parameters that can be used to predict the fate, transport, persistence, and toxicity for …

Nitrogen In The Environment: Chapter 10. Nitrogen Effects On Coastal Marine Ecosystems, J.R. Kelly

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Throughout the 20th century, a rapidly growing human population increased the global circulation of nitrogen (N). In the United States and elsewhere, human populations and activities have been disproportionately distributed towards coastlines, leading to markedly increased N inputs to coastal receiving waters. Nitrogen inputs to coastal waters come from the land, from the sea, and from the air; because of these multiple sources and the complexity of the N cycle, confident estimates of total N loading to coastal systems are not routine. Ecological problems from increasing inputs of N to coastal waters are well known and arise from stimulation of …

Advective Removal Of Intraparticle Uranium From Contaminated Vadose Zone Sediments, Hanford, U.S., Eugene Ilton, Nikolla P. Qafoku, Chongxuan Liu, Dean Moore, John M. Zachara

United States Department of Energy: Publications

A column study on U(VI)-contaminated vadose zone sediments from the Hanford Site, WA, was performed to investigate U(VI) release kinetics with water advection and variable geochemical conditions. The sediments were collected from an area adjacent to and below tank BX-102 that was contaminated as a result of a radioactive tank waste overfill event. The primary reservoir for U(VI) in the sediments are micro-meter size precipitates composed of nanocrystallite aggregates of a Na- U-Silicate phase, most likely Na-boltwoodite, that nucleated and grew within microfractures of the plagioclase component of sand-sized granitic clasts. Two sediment samples, with different U(VI) concentrations and intra-particle …

Direct Involvement Of Type Ii Secretion System In Extracellular Translocation Of Shewanella Oneidensis Outer Membrane Cytochromes Mtrc And Omca, Liang Shi, Shuang Deng, Matthew Marshall, Zheming Wang, David Kennedy, Alice Dohnalkova, Heather Mottaz, Eric Hill, Yuri Gorby, Alexander Beliaev, David Richardson, John M. Zachara, James K. Fredrickson

United States Department of Energy: Publications

MtrC and OmcA are cell surface-exposed lipoproteins important for reducing solid metal oxides. Deletions of type II secretion system (T2SS) genes reduced their extracellular release and their accessibility to the proteinase K treatment, demonstrating the direct involvement of T2SS in translocation of MtrC and OmcA to the bacterial cell surface.

2008 Annual Report: Migratory Bird Conservation Commission

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Table of Contents

The Service’s Legacy of Conserving Migratory Waterfowl Habitat

The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission

The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund

MBCC Approvals for Fiscal Year 2008

MBCF Land Acquisitions for Fiscal Year 2008

National Wildlife Refuge System –– New Area and Boundary Addition Approvals for Fiscal Year 2008

Notes on Tables One and Two

Map – National Migratory Bird Refuges

Table One – National Migratory Bird Areas

Map – Wetland Management Districts

Table Two – National Waterfowl Production Areas

North American Wetlands Conservation Fund Summary of MBCC Approvals for Fiscal Year 2008

Table Three – U.S. Wetlands Conservation Standard …

Birds Of Conservation Concern 2008

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The 1988 amendment to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act mandates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to “identify species, subspecies, and populations of all migratory nongame birds that, without additional conservation actions, are likely to become candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973.” Birds of Conservation Concern 2008 (BCC 2008) is the most recent effort to carry out this mandate. The overall goal of this report is to accurately identify the migratory and non-migratory bird species (beyond those already designated as federally threatened or endangered) that represent our highest conservation priorities. The …

Adaptive Harvest Management Working Group Annual Meeting Summary

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

For several years, Flyway Technical Committees and Councils have expressed some concern over the direction of the waterfowl harvest regulation setting process. Many of the issues that have been raised are fundamentally of a policy nature. The intent of the first session was to provide an opportunity for the state Flyway representatives to summarize the perspectives of their Flyways with respect to current approaches to regulations setting. The Working Group would then explore common themes among the Flyway comments. Being privy in advance to some of the concerns raised by the Flyways, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Division of …

A Landowner’S Guide To New England Cottontail Habitat Management, Margaret Arbuthnot

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Contents

Introduction ………….2

Biological Information ………….2

Habitat Requirements ………….4

Factors Contributing to Species Decline ………….6

Distribution ………….9

Managing Habitat for New England Cottontail ………….12

Creating Young Forest Habitat ………….21

Developing a Management Plan for Your Land ………….25

Appendix A: Resources & Assistance ………….27

Appendix B: Tools and Techniques for Habitat Management ………….30

Appendix C: Planting Shrublands ………….32

Appendix D: Species of Greatest Conservation Need in New England that Require Young Forest and Shrubland Habitats ………….34

Appendix E: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Candidate Conservation Program ………….35

References ………….36

Ecosystem Services Derived From Wetland Conservation Practices In The United States Prairie Pothole Region With An Emphasis On The U.S. Department Of Agriculture Conservation Reserve And Wetlands Reserve Programs, Robert A. Gleason, Murray K. Laubhan, Brian A. Tangen, Kevin E. Kermes

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Contents:

Chapter A Background and Approach to Quantification of Ecosystem Services By Robert A. Gleason and Murray K. Laubhan

Chapter B Plant Community Quality and Richness By Murray K. Laubhan and Robert A. Gleason

Chapter C Carbon Sequestration By Robert A. Gleason, Brian A. Tangen, and Murray K. Laubhan

Chapter D Floodwater Storage By Robert A. Gleason and Brian A. Tangen

Chapter E Reduction of Sedimentation and Nutrient Loading By Brian A. Tangen and Robert A. Gleason

Chapter F Proposed Approach to Assess Potential Wildlife Habitat Suitability on Program Lands By Murray K. Laubhan, Kevin E. Kermes, and Robert A. …

Transcriptome Analysis For Caenorhabditis Elegans Based On Novel Expressed Sequence Tags, Heesun Shin, Martin Hirst, Matthew N. Bainbridge, Vincent Magrini, Elaine Mardis, Donald G. Moerman, Marco A. Marra, David L. Baillie, Steven Jm Jones

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Apparent Tolerance Of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura) To The Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Diclofenac, Barnett A. Rattner, Maria A. Whitehead, Grace Gasper, Carol U. Meteyer, William A. Link, Mark A. Taggart, Andrew A. Meharg, Oliver H. Pattee, Deborah J. Pain

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac is extremely toxic to Old World Gyps vultures (median lethal dose ~0.1–0.2 mg/kg), evoking visceral gout, renal necrosis, and mortality within a few days of exposure. Unintentional secondary poisoning of vultures that fed upon carcasses of diclofenac-treated livestock decimated populations in the Indian subcontinent. Because of the widespread use of diclofenac and other cyclooxygenase-2 inhibiting drugs, a toxicological study was undertaken in turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) as an initial step in examining sensitivity of New World scavenging birds. Two trials were conducted entailing oral gavage of diclofenac at doses ranging from 0.08 to …

The Influence Of Acidity On Microbial Fuel Cells Containing Shewanella Oneidensis, Justin C. Biffinger, Jeremy Pietron, Orianna Bretschger, Lloyd J. Nadeau, Glenn R. Johnson, Cynthia C. Williams, Kenneth H. Nealson, Bradley R. Ringeisen

United States Navy: Publications

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) traditionally operate at pH values between 6 and 8. However, the effect of pH on the growth and electron transfer abilities of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (wild-type) and DSP10 (spontaneous mutant), bacteria commonly used in MFCs, to electrodes has not been examined. Miniature MFCs using bare graphite felt electrodes and nanoporous polycarbonate membranes with MR-1 or DSP10 cultures generated >8W/m³ and ∼400μA between pH 6–7. The DSP10 strain significantly outperformed MR-1 at neutral pH but underperformed at pH 5. Higher concentrations of DSP10 were sustained at pH 7 relative to that of MR-1, whereas at pH …

Intelligent Environmental Decision Support Systems, M. Sànchez-Marrè, K. Gibert, R. S. Sojda, J. P. Steyer, P. Struss, I. Rodríguez-Roda, J. Comas, V. Brilhante, E. A. Roehl

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Introduction
Complexity of environmental systems
New tools for a new paradigm
Intelligent Environmental Decision Support Systems (IEDSS)
IEDSS development
About Uncertainty Management
Temporal Reasoning
Featuring the problem
Approaches to temporal reasoning
Case-based reasoning for temporal reasoning
Geographic Information and Spatial Reasoning
Understanding spatial reasoning
Kriging and variants
Representing change/time steps/feedback loops
Middleware. blackboards and communication protocols
Multiagent systems
Evaluation of IEDSS and Benchmarking
Benchmarking
Conclusions and Future Trends

Influence Of Fipronil Compounds And Rice-Cultivation Land-Use Intensity On Macroinvertebrate Communities In Streams Of Southwestern Louisiana, Usa, Scott V. Mize, Stephen D. Porter, Dennis K. Demcheck

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Laboratory tests of fipronil and its degradation products have revealed acute lethal toxicity at very low concentrations (LC₅₀) of <0.5 μg/L to selected aquatic macroinvertebrates. In streams draining basins with intensive rice cultivation in southwestern Louisiana, USA, concentrations of fipronil compounds were an order of magnitude larger than the LC₅₀. The abundance (p=-0.64; p=0.015) and taxa richness (r²=0.515, p<0.005) of macroinvertebrate communities declined significantly with increases in concentrations of fipronil compounds and rice-cultivation land-use intensity. Macroinvertebrate community tolerance scores increased linearly (r²=0.442, p < 0.005) with increases in the percentage of rice cultivation in the basins, indicating increasingly degraded stream conditions. Similarly, macroinvertebrate community-tolerance scores increased rapidly as fipronil concentrations approached about 1 μg/L. Pesticide toxicity index determinations indicated that aquatic macroinvertebrates respond to a gradient of fipronil compounds in water although stream size and habitat cannot be ruled out as contributing influences.

Effects Of Lead-Zinc Mining On Crayfish (Orconectes Hylas) In The Black River Watershed, Missouri, Usa, Ann L. Allert, James F. Fairchild, Robert J. Distefano, Christopher J. Schmitt, J.M. Besser, William G. Brumbaugh, Barry Poulton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Mining has occurred in the New Lead Belt of southeast Missouri, one of the largest producers of lead ore in the world, since the 1960s. We studied populations of the crayfish Orconectes hylas at 13 sites to assess the ecological effects of mining-derived metals in the Black River watershed, which drains much of the New Lead Belt. Crayfish density, physical habitat, and water quality were examined at one reference site with no known upstream mining activities and at sites downstream of mining areas. Metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni, Co) were analyzed in sediment pore water and whole crayfish. Mean crayfish …

The Viral Etiology Of Aids-Associated Malignancies, Peter C. Angeletti, Luwen Zhang, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The first documented cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were characterized by the presence of rare Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) skin lesions. More than 10 years later, it was discovered that the causative agent of KS was a γ-herpesvirus, human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) (KS-associated herpesvirus, KSHV). It is now abundantly clear that cancers induced by viral agents [such as, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV)] are exacerbated by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and subsequent immune suppression. For example, the incidence of and primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma (PCNSL) and Hodgkin’s and high grade B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL), nasopharyngeal carcinoma …

Duffy Antigen Receptor For Chemokines Mediates Trans-Infection Of Hiv-1 From Red Blood Cells To Target Cells And Affects Hiv-Aids Susceptibility, Weijing He, Stuart Neil, Hemant Kulkarni, Edward Wright, Brian K. Agan, Vincent C. Marconi, Matthew J. Dolan, Robin A. Weiss, Sunil K. Ahuja

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) expressed on red blood cells (RBCs) influences plasma levels of HIV-1-suppressive and proinflammatory chemokines such as CCL5/RANTES. DARC is also the RBC receptor for Plasmodium vivax. Africans with DARC -46C/C genotype, which confers a DARC negative phenotype, are resistant to vivax malaria. Here, we show that HIV-1 attaches to RBCs via DARC, effecting trans-infection of target cells. In African Americans, DARC -46C/C is associated with 40% increase in the odds of acquiring HIV-1. If extrapolated to Africans, ~11% of the HIV-1 burden in Africa may be linked to this genotype. …