Conservation Easements as Tools to Achieve Regulatory Environmental Goals

Wayburn talks about conservation easements as tools to achieve regulatory environmental goals. The traditional approach to protecting public-trust resources, such as wildlife found on private lands, is predominantly regulatory and proscriptive. Environmental regulation -- such as the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, or Clean Air Act -- has focused on restricting or prohibiting resource management by landowners

Between priceless and worthless: challenges in using market mechanisms for conserving biodiversity

This article appears in Transnational Environmental Law published by Cambridge University Press. Copyright 2012 Cambridge University Press There is growing interest in the use of market mechanisms, such as offsetting and payments for ecosystem services, to further the conservation of biodiversity. The specific needs of biodiversity mean that this approach faces significant challenges in terms of defining the units that can be the subject of the economic or market devices, of ensuring that such mechanisms do deliver conservation gains and of establishing appropriate governance arrangements. There are also ethical concerns that a market approach entails a commodification of nature which sacrifices some of the very elements which make nature valuable to us. The market-based schemes currently being operated and devised should be studied carefully to see how successfully these challenges can be met.</p

That\u27ll Be About All For You

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6751/thumbnail.jp

Psychosocial impact of targeted exome sequencing on parents of chronically ill children

Whole exome sequencing (WES) is a relatively new testing option, currently offered primarily in the pediatric setting, that is open to more uncertainty than single gene or gene panel testing. This uncertainty makes pre-test counseling challenging yet critical to ensure informed consent. Adaptation of counseling strategies for this type of testing requires a better understanding of parents' experiences throughout the WES testing process. However, the experience of parents of chronically ill children who have actually gone through the entire WES testing process has not been widely reported in the literature. Currently, analysis of exome test results at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh does not include the incidental findings that are typically reported in WES results (i.e. variants in genes that are not associated with the child’s present condition) and is, therefore, referred to as “targeted exome sequencing” (TES). This study was designed to gain an understanding of the psychosocial impact on parents of the TES testing process for chronically ill children in order to improve test education, consent and results disclosure processes and to better help parents cope with the results. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 parents of children who received targeted exome sequencing results and thematic analysis was performed on transcripts generated from the interviews. The experiences and opinions of parents whose children received positive, likely negative or uncertain results were analyzed, in order to develop a robust understanding of the full TES process. This study has Public Health significance because the results may contribute to the development of updated recommendations for optimizing informed consent and results disclosure for TES

The computer science database : a comprehensive system for student information and registration

This thesis describes the Computer Science Database (CSDB), which was developed to be used by the faculty and Tennessee Computer Science staff of the University of department to address the information needs of the department. The CSDB system contains student and curriculum/registration information. The data kept can provide student information for advisors as well as the department regarding grades in computer science classes, progress through the major/minor program and pertinent background information. The thesis contains a description of the database and a user\u27s guide to aid the beginning user. A database manager\u27s manual for maintenance and further enhancements of the database is also provided

Land Preservation: An Essential Ingredient in Smart Growth

The preservation of land for working rural landscapes, wildlife habitat, urban parks, recreational trails, and protecting water supplies and floodplains is emerging as an integral component of smart growth programs. Both the general public and nonprofit organizations have been willing to spend billions of dollars on land preservation because of a perception that traditional land use planning and regulation are not successfully accommodating growth or protecting valuable natural resources. The literature on smart growth has largely overlooked the potential of land preservation to curb sprawl and to foster livable communities. The literature on land preservation has focused on the mechanics of conservation easements and land purchases rather than on how land preservation can fit in the comprehensive planning process to achieve community smart growth goals. More research needs to be done on the strategic use of land preservation in shaping and directing growth as part of a comprehensive planning effort

The ClinGen Syndromic Disorders Gene Curation Expert Panel: Assessing the Clinical Validity of 111 Gene-Disease Relationships.

PURPOSE: The Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) Gene Curation Expert Panels (GCEPs) have historically focused on specific organ systems or phenotypes; thus, the ClinGen Syndromic Disorders GCEP (SD-GCEP) was formed to address an unmet need. METHODS: The SD-GCEP applied ClinGen\u27s framework to evaluate the clinical validity of genes associated with rare syndromic disorders. 111 Gene-Disease Relationships (GDRs) associated with 100 genes spanning the clinical spectrum of syndromic disorders were curated. RESULTS: From April 2020 through March 2024, 38 precurations were performed on genes with multiple disease relationships and were reviewed to determine if the disorders were part of a spectrum or distinct entities. 14 genes were lumped into a single disease entity and 24 were split into separate entities, of which 11 were curated by the SD-GCEP. A full review of 111 GDRs for 100 genes followed, with 78 classified as Definitive, 9 as Strong, 15 as Moderate, and 9 as Limited highlighting where further data are needed. All diseases involved two or more organ systems, while the majority (88/111 GDRs, 79.2%) had five or more organ systems affected. CONCLUSION: The SD-GCEP addresses a critical gap in gene curation efforts, enabling inclusion of genes for syndromic disorders in clinical testing and contributing to keeping pace with the rapid discovery of new genetic syndromes