Distribution Changes, Genetic Population Structure, and a Novel Environmental DNA (eDNA) Detection Method for Darters (Subgenus Nothonotus) in the Upper Ohio River Watershed

In the upper Ohio River watershed three species of small-bodied benthic fish the Bluebreast Darter, Etheostoma (Nothonotus) camurum (Cope), the Tippecanoe Darter, Etheostoma (Nothonotus) tippecanoe Jordan and Evermann, and the Spotted Darter, Etheostoma (Nothonotus) maculatum Kirtland previously existed in disjunct distributions due to poor water quality and habitat degradation. Signs of recovery indicated that these species were moving from areas of refugia into the deeper mainstem waters of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers and expanding their distributions. To provide information for the proper conservation management of these species this dissertation was divided into three stages: 1) distribution records were updated by performing State-mandated electrified-benthic trawling and compiling as many historic and contemporary records as possible, 2) the genetic diversity and genetic population structure of E. camurum was assessed using six polymorphic microsatellite loci, and 3) environmental DNA (eDNA) methods with species detection from water samples via fragment analysis were developed to assist current survey methods which are costly, time consuming, and may be harmful to the fish. The surveys and compilation of data showed that E. camurum and E. tippecanoe are utilizing deeper habitat (than previously reported) in the tailwaters of the navigational lock and dam system, and have nearly continuous distributions from the upper Allegheny River downstream into the Ohio River. Etheostoma maculatum showed a less robust expansion and a more limited use of the tailwater habitat. The genetic assessment of E. camurum indicated high genetic diversity within their populations with no evident signs of isolation or inbreeding. The genetic population structure of E. camurum was weak indicating that the navigational lock and dam system was not strongly influencing gene flow between the populations. In addition, there were signs of a newly advancing population. With eDNA methodologies, a protocol was developed that successfully detected E. tippecanoe eDNA from water samples taken from the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas rivers and Deer Creek in Harmarville, PA. A second set of PCR primers were developed that have the potential to detect all three focal species using eDNA from water samples

Invisible Data Communities: Detecting Scientific Com-munities Based on Dataset Affinity Networks

Scientific communities are usually defined based on collaboration ties or features of publications such as topic, keywords, or textual characteristics. An emergent type of latent community that constitutes the backbone of scholarly communication in the data-intensive era is affinity communities based on open research datasets. In this paper, we analyze a sample of 1.2 million GenBank datasets’ bibliographic metadata and track community structure and evolution from 1992-2021. We use an affinity network approach to identify a tripartite network of links between (1) scientists co-authoring datasets, (2) taxonomic classifications, and (3) journals. By identifying clustering tendencies over time, affinity networks of dataset authors provide a novel source to inform for recommendation systems and collections development. We argue it is critical to develop approaches to community detection that include dataset attributes to expand the biblio-graphic universe by including dataset contributors, concepts, and scholarly entities

NGO Outreach for Early Recovery: Strategies for Improved Coordination and Implementation of the Early Recovery Approach

The Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery (CWGER) is the United Nations global Working Group tasked to integrate Early Recovery into the international humanitarian architecture. As part of their outreach campaign, the CWGER commissioned a report to analyze the extent to which selected humanitarian INGOs integrated aspects of the Early Recovery approach during the 2010 flood response in Pakistan. The CWGER requested an analysis of INGO programs, with explicit interest regarding the planning, coordinating and transition processes each INGO applied during the relief phase of the response. In addition, the CWGER wanted to know the extent to which the selected INGOs integrated elements of the Early Recovery approach into their planning and coordination processes. The CWGER hopes to use the information provided in this report to learn how best to engage and collaborate with INGOs before and during humanitarian crises. Furthermore, the CWGER hopes to use the recommendations included in this report to determine what feasible measures it can or should take to support the selected INGOs in their efforts to integrate Early Recovery in their programs before and during a crisis

A highly reproducible rotenone model of Parkinson's disease

Producción CientíficaThe systemic rotenone model of Parkinson's disease (PD) accurately replicates many aspects of the pathology of human PD and has provided insights into the pathogenesis of PD. The major limitation of the rotenone model has been its variability, both in terms of the percentage of animals that develop a clear-cut nigrostriatal lesion and the extent of that lesion. The goal here was to develop an improved and highly reproducible rotenone model of PD. In these studies, male Lewis rats in three age groups (3, 7 or 12-14 months) were administered rotenone (2.75 or 3.0 mg/kg/day) in a specialized vehicle by daily intraperitoneal injection. All rotenone-treated animals developed bradykinesia, postural instability, and/or rigidity, which were reversed by apomorphine, consistent with a lesion of the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Animals were sacrificed when the PD phenotype became debilitating. Rotenone treatment caused a 45% loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive substantia nigra neurons and a commensurate loss of striatal dopamine. Additionally, in rotenone-treated animals, alpha-synuclein and poly-ubiquitin positive aggregates were observed in dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra. In summary, this version of the rotenone model is highly reproducible and may provide an excellent tool to test new neuroprotective strategies

Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP): 3D Human Reference Atlas construction and usage

\ua9 The Author(s) 2025. The Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) aims to construct a 3D Human Reference Atlas (HRA) of the healthy adult body. Experts from 20+ consortia collaborate to develop a Common Coordinate Framework (CCF), knowledge graphs and tools that describe the multiscale structure of the human body (from organs and tissues down to cells, genes and biomarkers) and to use the HRA to characterize changes that occur with aging, disease and other perturbations. HRA v.2.0 covers 4,499 unique anatomical structures, 1,195 cell types and 2,089 biomarkers (such as genes, proteins and lipids) from 33 ASCT+B tables and 65 3D Reference Objects linked to ontologies. New experimental data can be mapped into the HRA using (1) cell type annotation tools (for example, Azimuth), (2) validated antibody panels or (3) by registering tissue data spatially. This paper describes HRA user stories, terminology, data formats, ontology validation, unified analysis workflows, user interfaces, instructional materials, application programming interfaces, flexible hybrid cloud infrastructure and previews atlas usage applications

Field Deployed Ni-Amended Sediments Shows Varying Effects in Two Central MIchigan Streams

Most research on Ni contaminated sediments has occurred under laboratory conditions, which can lead to exposure to formulated water that is not representative of environmentally relevant conditions. For example, laboratory conditions don’t accurately represent natural fluctuations in temperature, light, or flow. The purpose of our study was to 1) assess the bioavailability and toxicity of Ni contaminated sediments to stream macroinvertebrate communities under in situ conditions and 2) compare these effects across two similar streams in close proximity of each other. Sediments were removed from two, second order streams in central Michigan (Black Creek (BC) and Little Molasses (LM)) that were similar in hardness, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and alkalinity. The sediments were directly spiked with Ni at two treatment levels, low nickel (210 mg/kg dry weight) and high nickel (1889 mg/kg dry weight), equilibrated for 10 days, and re-deployed in macroinvertebrate colonization baskets within the respective streams. Sediment geochemistry (e.g. AVS, SEMNi, total Ni, total Fe, and total Mn) and water quality measurements (e.g. hardness, alkalinity, pH, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) were determined at deployment and three successive sampling periods (14, 28, and 56 days post-deployment). In situ chambers with Hyallela azteca were used to conduct 96-h acute toxicity tests at day 0 and 14. In addition, we deployed a microbial decomposition test from day 0 to 14 to assess Ni effect on the microbial community. We found varying responses to Ni treatments in each stream. The 96-h acute toxicity tests only showed significant toxicity in the sediment-water interface exposure at day 0 for BC. Both Ni treatments adversely impacted the microbial community in BC, but not in LM. The benthic community recolonization response was limited with only the family Gammaridae showing a response to Ni treatment in both streams on day 14. Stepwise stream-dependent regression of the measured variables showed that the SEMNi/AVS model of potential toxicity significantly predicted Gammaridae abundance in BC, but not LM. BC showed a trend of toxicity from Ni-amended sediments with increased mortality to H. azteca (acute exposure), the microbial community, and Gammaridae.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99546/1/Honick_Thesis_2013.pd

It\u27s Exhausting : Reconciling a Prisoner\u27s Right to Meaningful Remedies for Constitutional Remedies for Constitutional Violations With the Need for Agency Autonomy

This Comment will address the inadequacy and injustice of the PLRA, specifically the “proper exhaustion” rule as expressed in Woodford v. Ngo. “Proper exhaustion” means that “a prisoner must complete the administrative review process in accordance with applicable procedural rules, including deadlines, as a precondition to bringing suit in federal court.” Failure to adhere to even the slightest procedural requirement is sufficient to warrant procedural default, i.e., a dismissal regardless of the merits of the underlying claim. The PLRA seeks to achieve laudable ends, but the means by which it does so leave much to be desired

A Simple Area Navigation Display

A simple inexpensive optical projection map display is described which converts the range and bearing signals available from ground-based beacon aids such as TACAN or VOR/DME into a continuous map indication of present ground position without additional computing. This provides an area navigation system from such aids within their limits of accuracy, which increases with decreasing range from a beacon.The display, which is self-synchronous, employs a series of circular map micro-transparencies, each of which is centred on a TACAN or co-located VOR/DME beacon and which can be changed in flight. The transparencies are automatically orientated with reference to beacon magnetic north on insertion, by a notch in the rim. The transparency is rotated by the bearing signal and is translated radially by the range signal to give a continuous indication of present position.</jats:p