The Probe, Issue 190 – July 1998

Research, Cooperation Pays Off for Fish Farmers -- Peter Butchko, District Supervisor, USDA-APHIS-WS, Mississippi and NADCA Vice-President, East Thoughts... Robert H. Giles, Jr., President, NADCA Book Review : The Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, by Stephen Vantassel with Tom Olander; Reviewed by Rex E. Marsh British Fox Hunting Ban Fails Passage Recent Coyote Research From Texas: Diets of Coyotes (Canis latrans) in the Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos regions of Texas, by J. Harris Glass, S.K. Canon, and D. Rollins Long-time NADCA Member Robert H. Schmidt Featured in Associated Press Article on Nuisance Animal Control Industry Research Continues in New Zealand and Australia on the Efficacy of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease as Rabbit Population Control Method Latest Rabies Trends Subject of Meeting of State and National Health Experts: Keeping Physicians and the Public Informed on Managing Deadly Disease Bogus Gizmos and Gadgets No Help With Homeowners' Wildlife Problems

The Probe, Issue # 155 -- June 1995

Understanding the Eastern Coyote - Part II, by Thomas N. Tomsa, Jr., USDA-APHIS-ADC, Pennsylvania Book Review - "The Dirt Hole and Its Variations" All Texas Counties Quarantined for Rabies Ravenous Vultures Decimating Sheep & Calves on the East Coast Four-Year-Old Dies of Rabies The National Urban Wildlife Management Association (NUWMA) officially merged with NADCA, to create one larger, more effective organization to work for professional Animal Damage Control. State-Endangered Species: Meaningful Management or Preservationist Politics?, by Richard B. Chipman, Wildlife Biologist, USDA-APHIS-ADC, Vermont NADCA Membership Meeting Trapping Weasels
Jack H. Berryman 1995 Leopold Award Winner

The Probe, Issue 204 - September 1999

USFWS to Explore Canada Goose Management Strategies -- from a press release issued Aug. 3 by the US. Fish & Wildlife Service, written by Chris Tollefson. Anti-Trapping Measure Passes House Oregon Legislature Moves To Ensure Safety Of Its Citizens Against Cougars Acord Promoted Away From Wildlife Services New State Director US DA/APHIS in Mississippi is Kristina Godwin BOOk R e v i e w : "Living With Wildlife: How to Enjoy, Cope With, and Protect North America's Wild Creatures Around Your Home and Theirs," The California Center for Wildlife, with Diana Landau and Shelley Stump. San Francisco: A Sierra Club Book. 1994. 340 pp. + index $15.00. French Shepherds Protest Predators Rabbit Calicivirus Kills 65% of Rabbit Population Abstracts from the 2nd International Wildlife Management Congress, Hungary Crop Damage by Wildlife in Northern Ghana – O. I. Aalangdon* and A.S. Langyintuo, *Dept. of Renewable Natural Resources, University for Development Studies, Tamale Northern Region, Ghana Large Predators in Slovenia On the Way from Near Extermination to Overprotection and Back: Is Conservation Management of Large Predators in Cultural Landscapes Possible At All? -- M. Adamic, Chair of Wildlife Ecology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Human-wolf Conflicts in the East Baltic: Past, Present, and Future -- Z. Andersone*, L. Balciauskas, and H. Valdmann., *Kemeri National Park, KemeriJurmala, Latvia Gray Wolf Restoration in the Northwestern United States -- E.E. Bangs*, J.A. Fontaine, D.W. Smith, C. Mack, and C. C. Niemeyer, *U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Helena, MT The Impact of Changing U.S. Demographics on the Future of Deer Hunting -- R. D. Brown, Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX Management of Overabundant Marcropods in Nature Reserves: 6 Case Studies from Southeastern Australia -- G. Coulson, Dept. of Zoology,University of Melbourne,Parkville, Victoria, Australia

The Probe, Issue 206 – November 1999

Wildlife Damage Conferences: When, Where, and Why? -- Robert M. Timm, Editor, THE PROBE Booklet Review:"The Problem with Skunks!!" by Edward Kellems (34 pages, illustrated. $14.95) New NWCO Web Page url is http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.com/nwcoa.htm Abstracts from the 2nd International Wildlife Management Congress, Hungary Human Disturbance as a Design Factor to Aid Displacement of Canada Geese from Urban Parks -- P. C. Whitford, Biology Department, Capital University, Columbus, OH Leopard Problems in Nepal -- T. M. Maskey, National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Department, Kathmandu, Nepal Elk-human Conflict Management in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada -- J. A. McKenzie, Banff National Park Wildlife Laboratory The Avoidance of Virtual Barriers by Wolves in Captivity -- M. Musiani*, E. Visalberghi*, andL. Boitani, *CNR Psychology Institute, Rome, Italy Successful Field Trials of a New Slow-Release Capsaicin-Based Animal Repellent for Reducing a Variety of Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Israel -- S. C. Nemtzov, Dept. of Terrestrial Ecology, The Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, Jerusalem, Israel Educational Workshops: A Proactive Approach to Conflict Resolution in Wildlife Management -- K. B. Reis, H. R. Campa III, R. B. Peyton, and S. Winterstein, Dept. of Fisheries & Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI Traps and Trapping in Sweden -- T. Svensson, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm, Sweden Actual Problems of Predator Management in Hungary -- L. Szemethy, M. Heltai, and Z. Biro, Dept. of Wildlife Biology & Management, Godollo University of Agricultural Sciences, Godollo, Hungary Crop and Livestock Depredation by Wildlife -- N. Udaya Sekhar, Centre for Int'I. Environment & Development Studies, Aas, Norway Conservation of the Iberian Wolf in Portugal—The Everlasting Conflict with Man -- J. V. Vingada*, C. Eira, S. Scheich, C. Fonseca, M. Soares, F. L. Correia, M. Fana* P. Carmo, A. Ferreira, A. Soares, and B. Bobek. *Dept. deBiologia da Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Portugal Barkpeeling Damage in Relation to Red Deer Density and Forest Structure in Austria -- F. H. Voelk, Institute of Wildlife Biology & Game Management, Universitaetfuer Bodenkultur Wien, Vienna, Austria Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution: National Imperatives and Strategies -- P. 0. Wander a Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi, Kenya An Overview and Evaluation of Deer Herd Management Programs in Urban and Suburban Communities of the USA -- R. J. Warren, Warnell School of Forest Resources, Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA

The Probe, Issue 210 – May/June 2000

NADCA Election in Progress Berryman Institute Announces 1999 Awards New Probe Editor to be Appointed: Larry Sullivan Ken Garner Retires Book Review: "Master Land Snaring: Canine and Coon Techniques, Effective in All Terrains." by Newt Sterling as told to Bob Noonan. 1999. 58 pages, illustrated. NPCA Gets New Name Lobster Plates: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is fighting to prevent the return of the lobster to Maine's automobile license plates. Active Antis in the Northwest Animal Rights Violence on Increase Abstracts from the 6th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society: Monitoring of Sin Nombre Hantavirus in deer mice of the Southwest, USA -- Robinson, Rhonda /., Kathryn D. Bennett, James R. Biggs, Timothy K. Haarmann, David C. Keller, and Mary E. Salisbury Predators in the classroom: A prickly paradigm for educators -- Rollins, Dale Trends in bat rabies in the U.S.: Shaping public health policy -- Rupprecht, Charles E., Sharon B. Messenger, and Jean S. Smith

The Probe, Issue 229 – July/August 2003

• Human/Wildlife Conflicts in Ethiopia -- Jeff Peter sen, Berryman Institute, Utah State University • NADCA 2004 Election • If the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) originated in Asia, why is this rat commonly called a Norway rat? • Book Review: When Raccoons Fall through Your Ceiling: The Handbook for Coexisting with Wildlife by Andrea Dawn Lopez. • Antarctic Scientist Dies in Seal Attack: Research scientist, Kirsty Brown was snorkelling in waters close to the Rothera Research Station as part of her studies when a Leopard seal pulled her under. • Giant Lizards Spreading Through the Gulf Coast: Cape Coral, Florida has become a haven for Nile monitor lizards, and their population, which continues to grow, has possibly reached the thousands in the Gulf Coast city. • Monkeypox Outbreak: An Alert • NADCA 2004 Ballot

The Probe, Issue 223 – July/August 2002

• Suburban Invasion! By Wildlife? -- Michelle L. Shuey, Southwest Texas State University • What are the health risks of consuming meat from deer or elk infected with Chronic Wasting Disease ? • The 68th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference is set for March 26-30, 2003, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina • Book Review: Living in the Shadows: How to Help the Stray Cat in Your Life (Without Adding to the Problem) by Ann K. Fisher.--“I was impressed with her chapter on taming feral cats. It would certainly take a dedicated soul to put that much work into taming a cat.” • Goose School: the first National Goose Management Training Academy in Indianapolis, Indiana (June 8 & 9, 2002) -- Larry Sullivan • The California Contractors State License Board, (CSLB), recently approved a new sub-classification in its Non-Specialty Contractors License category. The new license is listed as C-61/D-64 "Animal Damage and Bird Control". • Los Angeles animal control recently approved increased efforts to control coyotes in residential areas by using traditional deterrent programs. • Identifying Predator Kills: Texas A&M has a website with some excellent photos to help identify predator kills of livestock. See http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/predator/p-gen.htm • History of Wolf Attacks in Europe and Asia -- Barton Stam, Utah State University

The effect of flex fuel vehicles in the Brazilian light road transportation

The retaking of the ethanol program in the year 2003 as a fuel for light road transportation in Brazil through the introduction of flex fuel vehicles fleet was a good strategy to overcome the difficulties of the ethanol production sector and did work to increase its market share relative to gasoline. This process, however, may cause a future disequilibrium on the food production and on the refining oil derivates structure. In order to analyze the substitution process resultant of the competition between two opponents fighting for the same market, in this case the gasoline/ethanol substitution process, a method derived from the biomathematics based on the non-linear differential equations (NLDE) system is utilized. A brief description of the method is presented. Numerical adherence of the method to explain several substitution phenomena that occurred in the past is presented in the previous author`s paper, in which the urban gas pipeline system substitution of bottled LPG in the dwelling sector and the substitution of the urban diesel transportation fleet by compressed natural gas (CNG) buses is presented. The proposed method is particularly suitable for prospective analysis and scenarios assessment. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrous oxide emissions from gasohol, ethanol and CNG light duty vehicles

A sample of 21 light duty vehicles powered by Otto cycle engines were tested on a chassis dynamometer to measure the exhaust emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O). The tests were performed at the Vehicle Emission Laboratory of CETESB (Environmental Company of the State of Sao Paulo) using the US-FTP-75 (Federal Test Procedure) driving cycle. The sample tested included passenger cars running on three types of fuels used in Brazil: gasohol, ethanol and CNG. The measurement of N2O was made using two methods: Non Dispersive InfraRed (NDIR) analyzer and Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy (FTIR). Measurements of regulated pollutants were also made in order to establish correlations between N2O and NOx. The average N2O emission factors obtained by the NDIR method was 78 +/- 41 mg.km(-1) for vehicles running with gasohol, 73 +/- 45 mg.km(-1) for ethanol vehicles and 171 +/- 69 mg.km(-1) for CNG vehicles. Seventeen results using the FTIR method were also obtained. For gasohol vehicles the results showed a good agreement between the two methods, with an average emission factor of 68 +/- 41 mg.km(-1). The FTIR measurement results of N2O for ethanol and CNG vehicles were much lower than those obtained by the NDIR method. The emission factors were 17 +/- 10 mg.km(-1) and 33 +/- 17 mg.km(-1), respectively, possibly because of the interference of water vapor (present at a higher concentration in the exhaust gases of these vehicles) on measurements by the NDIR method.

Magneto-optical probe of quantum Hall states in a wide parabolic well modulated by random potential

Polarized photoluminescence from weakly coupled random multiple well quasi-three-dimensional electron system is studied in the regime of the integer quantum Hall effect. Two quantum Hall ferromagnetic ground states assigned to the uncorrelated miniband quantum Hall state and to the spontaneous interwell phase coherent dimer quantum Hall state are observed. Photoluminescence associated with these states exhibits features caused by finite-size skyrmions: dramatic reduction of the electron spin polarization when the magnetic field is increased past the filling factor nu = 1. The effective skyrmion size is larger than in two-dimensional electron systems.

Design and synthesis of a new coumarin-based 'turn-on' fluorescent probe selective for Cu+2

The novel coumarin-based 'turn-on' fluorescent probe (E)-3-(2,5-dimethoxybenzylideneamino)-7-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one (MGM) was designed, synthesized, and characterized. This compound shows high selectivity for Cu+2, combined with a large fluorescence enhancement upon binding to Cu2+. Benesi-Hildebrand and Job plots demonstrate that the stoichiometry of the Cu+2 complex formed is 2:1. Preliminary studies employing epifluorescence microscopy demonstrated that Cu+2 could be imaged in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells treated with MGM. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Counter-ion effect on surfactant-DNA gel particles as controlled DNA delivery systems

The ability to entrap drugs within vehicles and subsequently release them has led to new treatments for a number of diseases. Based on an associative phase separation and interfacial diffusion approach, we developed a way to prepare DNA gel particles without adding any kind of cross-linker or organic solvent. Among the various agents studied, cationic surfactants offered particularly efficient control for encapsulation and DNA release from these DNA gel particles. The driving force for this strong association is the electrostatic interaction between the two components, as induced by the entropic increase due to the release of the respective counter-ions. However, little is known about the influence of the respective counter-ions on this surfactant-DNA interaction. Here we examined the effect of different counter-ions on the formation and properties of the DNA gel particles by mixing DNA (either single-(ssDNA) or double-stranded (dsDNA)) with the single chain surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium (DTA). In particular, we used as counter-ions of this surfactant the hydrogen sulfate and trifluoromethane sulfonate anions and the two halides, chloride and bromide. Effects on the morphology of the particles obtained, the encapsulation of DNA and its release, as well as the haemocompatibility of these particles are presented, using counter-ion structure and DNA conformation as controlling parameters. Analysis of the data indicates that the degree of counter-ion dissociation from the surfactant micelles and the polar/hydrophobic character of the counter-ion are important parameters in the final properties of the particles. The stronger interaction with amphiphiles for ssDNA than for dsDNA suggests the important role of hydrophobic interactions in DNA.

Drell-Yan as a probe of small x partons at the LHC

The predictions of Drell-Yan production of low-mass lepton pairs, at high rapidity at the LHC, are known to depend sensitively on the choice of factorization and renormalization scales. We show how this sensitivity can be greatly reduced by fixing the factorization scale of the LO contribution based on the known NLO matrix element, so that observations of this process at the LHC can make direct measurements of parton distribution functions in the low x domain; x less than or similar to 10(-4).

Circularly Polarized Photoluminescence as a Probe of Density of States in GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Hall Bilayers

Polarized magnetophotoluminescence is employed to study the energies and occupancies of four lowest Landau levels in a couple quantum Hall GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum well. As a result, a magnetic field-induced redistribution of charge over the Landau levels manifesting to the continuous formation of the charge density wave and direct evidence for the symmetric-antisymmetric gap shrinkage at v = 3 are found. The observed interlayer charge exchange causes depolarization of the ferromagnetic ground state.

Epileptologists probe vagus nerve stimulation in children with refractory epilepsy: a promise against sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

It is clear that sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is mainly a problem for people with refractory epilepsy, but our understanding of the best way to its prevention is still incomplete. Although the pharmacological treatments available for epilepsies have expanded, some antiepileptic drugs are still limited in clinical efficacy. In the present paper, we described an experience with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) treatment by opening space and providing the opportunity to implement effective preventative maps to reduce the incidence of SUDEP in children and adolescents with refractory epilepsy.