Strategic planning study for flood control : Deer Creek : Village of Ford Heights, Cook County.

"July, 2002"

Understanding air conditioning systems for better energy efficiency : operations and maintenance procedures for utility cost control /

"ILENR/BE-87/01."

Village of Lerna flood control project : village of Lerna, Coles County, Illinois.

"OWR/SPR/98-001"

Village of Davis Junction flood control project : small projects program : village of Davis Junction, Ogle County, Illinois.

"The Illinois Department of Natural Resources/Office of Water Resources (OWR) is cooperating with the Village of Davis Junction to construct a flood control project under the authority of the Flood Control Act of 1945, 615 ILCS 15 (1996 State Bar Edition)."--Leaf 1.

Publications on planning for soil, water, and wildlife conservation, flood control, and land utilization;

Rev. and supplemented list originally published in Sept., 1937.

The CD1d natural killer T-cell antigen presentation pathway is highly conserved between humans and rhesus macaques

Natural killer T (NKT) cells play an important role in controlling cancers, infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases. Although the rhesus macaque is a useful primate model for many human diseases such as infectious and autoimmune diseases, little is known about their NKT cells. We analyzed Valpha24TCR+ T cells from rhesus macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with aalpha-galactosylceramide (a-GalCer) and interleukin-2. We found that rhesus macaques possess Va24TCR+ T cells, suggesting that recognition of alpha-GalCer is highly conserved between rhesus macaques and humans. The amino acid sequences of the V-J junction for the Valpha24TCR of rhesus macaque and human NKT cells are highly conserved (93% similarity), and the CD1d alpha1-alpha2 domains of both species are highly homologous (95.6%). These findings indicate that the rhesus macaque is a useful primate model for understanding the contribution of NKT cells to the control of human diseases.

Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility as a means for insect pest population control

Biological control is the purposeful introduction of parasites, predators, and pathogens to reduce or suppress pest populations. Wolbachia are inherited bacteria of arthropods that have recently attracted attention for their potential as new biocontrol agents. Wolbachia manipulate host reproduction by using several strategies, one of which is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) [Stouthamer, R., Breeuwer, J. A. J. & Hurst, G. D. D. (1999) Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 53,71-102]. We established Wolbachia-infected lines of the medfly Ceratitis capitata using the infected cherry fruit fly Rhagoletis cerasi as donor. Wolbachia induced complete CI in the novel host. Laboratory cage populations were completely suppressed by single releases of infected males, suggesting that Wolbachia-induced CI could be used as a novel environmentally friendly tool for the control of medfly populations. The results also encourage the introduction of Wolbachia into pest and vector species of economic and hygenic relevance to suppress or modify natural populations.

Experimental analysis of the influence of pest management practice on the efficacy of an endemic arthropod natural enemy complex of the diamondback moth.

Maximizing the contribution of endemic natural enemies to integrated pest management (IPM) programs requires a detailed knowledge of their interactions with the target pest. This experimental field study evaluated the impact of the endemic natural enemy complex of Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) on pest populations in commercial cabbage crops in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Management data were used to score pest management practices at experimental sites on independent Brassica farms practicing a range of pest management strategies, and mechanical methods of natural enemy exclusion were used to assess the impact of natural enemies on introduced cohorts of P. xylostella at each site. Natural enemy impact was greatest at sites adopting IPM and least at sites practicing conventional pest management strategies. At IPM sites, the contribution of natural enemies to P. xylostella mortality permitted the cultivation of marketable crops with no yield loss but with a substantial reduction in insecticide inputs. Three species of larval parasitoids (Diadegma semiclausum Hellen [Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae], Apanteles ippeus Nixon [Hymenoptera: Braconidae], and Oomyzus sokolowskii Kurdjumov [Hymenoptera: Eulophidae]) and one species of pupal parasitoid Diadromus collaris Gravenhorst (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) attacked immature P. xylostella. The most abundant groups of predatory arthropods caught in pitfall traps were Araneae (Lycosidae) > Coleoptera (Carabidae, Coccinelidae, Staphylinidae) > Neuroptera (Chrysopidae) > Formicidae, whereas on crop foliage Araneae (Clubionidae, Oxyopidae) > Coleoptera (Coccinelidae) > Neuroptera (Chrysopidae) were most common. The abundance and diversity of natural enemies was greatest at sites that adopted IPM, correlating greater P. xylostella mortality at these sites. The efficacy of the natural enemy complex to pest mortality under different pest management regimes and appropriate strategies to optimize this important natural resource are discussed.

Multivariate quantitative genetics and the Lek Paradox: Genetic variance in male sexually selected traits of Drosophila serrata under field control

Single male sexually selected traits have been found to exhibit substantial genetic variance, even though natural and sexual selection are predicted to deplete genetic variance in these traits. We tested whether genetic variance in multiple male display traits of Drosophila serrata was maintained under field conditions. A breeding design involving 300 field-reared males and their laboratory-reared offspring allowed the estimation of the genetic variance-covariance matrix for six male cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) under field conditions. Despite individual CHCs displaying substantial genetic variance under field conditions, the vast majority of genetic variance in CHCs was not closely associated with the direction of sexual selection measured on field phenotypes. Relative concentrations of three CHCs correlated positively with body size in the field, but not under laboratory conditions, suggesting condition-dependent expression of CHCs under field conditions. Therefore condition dependence may not maintain genetic variance in preferred combinations of male CHCs under field conditions, suggesting that the large mutational target supplied by the evolution of condition dependence may not provide a solution to the lek paradox in this species. Sustained sexual selection may be adequate to deplete genetic variance in the direction of selection, perhaps as a consequence of the low rate of favorable mutations expected in multiple trait systems.

Hip strategy for balance control in quiet standing is reduced in people with low back pain

Study Design. Quiet stance on supporting bases with different lengths and with different visual inputs were tested in 24 study participants with chronic low back pain (LBP) and 24 matched control subjects. Objectives. To evaluate postural adjustment strategies and visual dependence associated with LBP. Summary of Background Data. Various studies have identified balance impairments in patients with chronic LBP, with many possible causes suggested. Recent evidence indicates that study participants with LBP have impaired trunk muscle control, which may compromise the control of trunk and hip movement during postural adjustments ( e. g., hip strategy). As balance on a short base emphasizes the utilization of the hip strategy for balance control, we hypothesized that patients with LBP might have difficulties standing on short bases. Methods. Subjects stood on either flat surface or short base with different visual inputs. A task was counted as successful if balance was maintained for 70 seconds during bilateral stance and 30 seconds during unilateral stance. The number of successful tasks, horizontal shear force, and center-of-pressure motion were evaluated. Results. The hip strategy was reduced with increased visual dependence in study participants with LBP. The failure rate was more than 4 times that of the controls in the bilateral standing task on short base with eyes closed. Analysis of center-of-pressure motion also showed that they have inability to initiate and control a hip strategy. Conclusions. The inability to control a hip strategy indicates a deficit of postural control and is hypothesized to result from altered muscle control and proprioceptive impairment.

Interaction between conventional dendritic cells and natural killer cells is integral to the activation of effective antiviral immunity

Dendritic cells (DCs) regulate various aspects of innate immunity, including natural killer (NK) cell function. Here we define the mechanisms involved in DC - NK cell interactions during viral infection. NK cells were efficiently activated by murine cytomegalovirus ( MCMV) - infected CD11b(+) DCs. NK cell cytotoxicity required interferon-alpha and interactions between the NKG2D activating receptor and NKG2D ligand, whereas the production of interferon-gamma by NK cells relied mainly on DC-derived interleukin 18. Although Toll-like receptor 9 contributes to antiviral immunity, we found that signaling pathways independent of Toll-like receptor 9 were important in generating immune responses to MCMV, including the production of interferon-alpha and the induction of NK cell cytotoxicity. Notably, adoptive transfer of MCMV-activated CD11b(+) DCs resulted in improved control of MCMV infection, indicating that these cells participate in controlling viral replication in vivo.

Co-opting conservation: Migrant resource control and access to national park management in the Philippine uplands

The history of political and economic inequality in forest villages can shape how and why resource use conflicts arise during the evolution of national parks management. In the Philippine uplands, indigenous peoples and migrant settlers co-exist, compete over land and forest resources, and shape how managers preserve forests through national parks. This article examines how migrants have claimed lands and changed production and exchange relations among the indigenous Tagbanua to build on and benefit from otherwise coercive park management on Palawan Island, the Philippines. Migrant control over productive resources has influenced who, within each group, could sustain agriculture in the face of the state's dominant conservation narrative - valorizing migrant paddy rice and criminalizing Tagbanua swiddens. Upon settling, migrant farmers used new political and economic strengths to tap into provincial political networks in order to be hired at a national park. As a result, they were able to steer management to support paddy rice at the expense of swidden cultivation. While state conservation policy shapes how national parks impact upon local resource access and use, older political economic inequalities in forest villages build on such policies to influence how management affects the livelihoods of poor households.

Biodegradation of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin LR in natural water and biologically active slow sand filters

A bacterium (MJ-PV) previously demonstrated to degrade the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin LR, was investigated for bioremediation applications in natural water microcosms and biologically active slow sand filters. Enhanced degradation of microcystin LR was observed with inoculated (1 x 10(6) cell/mL) treatments of river water dosed with microcystin LR (> 80% degradation within 2 days) compared to uninoculated controls. Inoculation of MJ-PV at lower concentrations (1 x 10(2)-1 x 10(5)cells/mL) also demonstrated enhanced microcystin LR degradation over control treatments. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) specifically targeting amplification of 16S rDNA of MJ-PV and the gene responsible for initial degradation of microcystin LR (mlrA) were successfully applied to monitor the presence of the bacterium in experimental trials. No amplified products indicative of an endemic MJ-PV population were observed in uninoculated treatments indicating other bacterial strains were active in degradation of microcystin LR, Pilot scale biologically active slow sand filters demonstrated degradation of microcystin LR irrespective of MJ-PV bacterial inoculation. PCR analysis detected the MJ-PV population at all locations within the sand filters where microcystin degradation was measured. Despite not observing enhanced degradation of microcystin LR in inoculated columns compared to uninoculated column, these studies demonstrate the effectiveness of a low-technology water treatment system like biologically active slow sand filters for removal of microcystins from reticulated water supplies. Crown Copyright (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.