Effect of Oil and Natural Gas Development on Survival and Health of White-tailed Deer in the Western Dakotas

Oil and gas development in North Dakota has resulted in the need for information regarding how increased activity has affected white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations. We evaluated white-tailed deer ecology in response to energy development and hypothesized that oil and gas development would negatively affect adult and neonate white-tailed deer due to increased vehicle traffic and human-related effects. We captured and radio-collared adult female and neonate white-tailed deer across three study areas: Dunn County, North Dakota, an area influenced by energy development, and Grant County, North Dakota, and Perkins County, South Dakota, areas not impacted by energy development at this time. We radio-collared 84 neonates and 150 adult females during 2014 and 73 neonates and 15 adult females during 2015. We observed 31 adult female and 44 neonate mortalities during the study. Predation was the greatest source of adult female (35%) and neonate mortality (61%). Intrinsic three- and six-month fawn survival models indicated capture type (six-months: 53%, SE = 0.07 and 74%, SE = 0.05, VIT and opportunistic six-month fawns, respectively) influenced survival. Extrinsic three- and six-month fawn survival models indicated that canopy cover at capture locations positively influenced fawn survival, whereas precipitation during 3-8 weeks of age negatively influenced fawn survival (six-months: 72%, SE = 0.04). Distance to nearest oil well did not influence survival (β = -0.21, SE = 0.56). We also estimated survival rates based on study area (Dunn, Grant, and Perkins counties) and season (Post-hunt, January-April; Pre-hunt, May-August; and Hunt, September-December). Dunn County displayed the highest annual survival rate (96%, SE=0.02) followed by Perkins (93%, SE = 0.03) and Grant (75%, SE = 0.06) counties. Seasonal survival was highest (100%) during Pre-hunt and Post-hunt periods in Dunn and Perkins counties and was lowest during the Post-hunt period in Grant County (87%). We analyzed 2014 and 2015 blood serum separately because all chemistry tests in Grant County differed (p \u3c 0.01) between 2014 and 2015 except aspartate aminotransferase, blood urea nitrogen, and calcium. We found differences (p \u3c 0.05) in creatinine kinase, globulin, glucose, lactate dehydrogenase, magnesium, sodium, and total protein values among study areas during 2014. Pathogens with the highest antibody prevalence included West Nile Virus (85%), epizootic hemorrhagic disease (48%), and malignant catarrhal fever (32%). We speculate that low sodium values and West Nile Virus may be contributing to low neonate survival rates in Grant County. Serum chemistry differences may be attributed to differences in forage quality and availability across study areas. Our results indicated that oil and natural gas development did not negatively affect white-tailed deer survival and health. Other density-dependent factors likely explained differences in survival across study areas; nevertheless, further monitoring is needed to assess long-term responses of white-tailed deer to energy development

Algebraic Properties of Qualitative Spatio-Temporal Calculi

Qualitative spatial and temporal reasoning is based on so-called qualitative calculi. Algebraic properties of these calculi have several implications on reasoning algorithms. But what exactly is a qualitative calculus? And to which extent do the qualitative calculi proposed meet these demands? The literature provides various answers to the first question but only few facts about the second. In this paper we identify the minimal requirements to binary spatio-temporal calculi and we discuss the relevance of the according axioms for representation and reasoning. We also analyze existing qualitative calculi and provide a classification involving different notions of a relation algebra.Comment: COSIT 2013 paper including supplementary materia

Adjuvant-specific regulation of long-term antibody responses by ZBTB20

The duration of antibody production by long-lived plasma cells varies with the type of immunization, but the basis for these differences is unknown. We demonstrate that plasma cells formed in response to the same immunogen engage distinct survival programs depending on the adjuvant. After alum-adjuvanted immunization, antigen-specific bone marrow plasma cells deficient in the transcription factor ZBTB20 failed to accumulate over time, leading to a progressive loss of antibody production relative to wild-type controls. Fetal liver reconstitution experiments demonstrated that the requirement for ZBTB20 was B cell intrinsic. No defects were observed in germinal center numbers, affinity maturation, or plasma cell formation or proliferation in ZBTB20-deficient chimeras. However, ZBTB20-deficient plasma cells expressed reduced levels of MCL1 relative to wild-type controls, and transgenic expression of BCL2 increased serum antibody titers. These data indicate a role for ZBTB20 in promoting survival in plasma cells. Strikingly, adjuvants that activate TLR2 and TLR4 restored long-term antibody production in ZBTB20-deficient chimeras through the induction of compensatory survival programs in plasma cells. Thus, distinct lifespans are imprinted in plasma cells as they are formed, depending on the primary activation conditions. The durability of vaccines may accordingly be improved through the selection of appropriate adjuvants