Looking Ahead to Spring's Returning Bounty: Natal Homing

Natal homing plays a part in fisheries restoration. This article describes research by Dr. Jason Vokoun and his students on otoliths in migratory finfish such as river herring, alewives, etc.

Letter from the Editor Spring/Summer 2010

Despite the horrific oil spill in the Gulf and possible extinction of Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, there are still reasons to celebrate the shore--for example, Connecticut's shorebirds.

Community Trails in Community Context: GIS Analysis of Associations between Trail and Neighborhood Characteristics

This research examines the site and situation characteristics of community trails as landscapes promoting physical activity. Trail segment and neighborhood characteristics for six trails in urban, suburban, and exurban towns in northeastern Massachusetts were assessed from primary Global Positioning System (GPS) data and from secondary Census and land use data integrated in a geographic information system (GIS). Correlations between neighborhood street and housing density, land use mix, and sociodemographic characteristics and trail segment characteristics and amenities measure the degree to which trail segment attributes are associated with the surrounding neighborhood characteristics.

Two Perspectives on GIS/LIS Education in the United States

Education in Geographic information science (GIS/LIS) happens in the United States both within surveying-related academic programs and in other academic programs that use spatially oriented data and information. This article presents an overview of two such programs. The first is a four-year Bachelor of Science degree program in Geographic Information Science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The second is a concentration with a four-year Bachelor of Science degree program in Natural Resources at the University of Connecticut (UConn). Geographic information science is the primary focus of the Texas A&M program, whereas GIS/LIS is an emphasis of the UConn program. Both approaches are presented for comparison.

Using GIS methods to assess the occurrence of neural tube defect births by residential proximity at conception to hazardous waste sites

In the United States, approximately 4,000 pregnancies each year are affected by the two most common birth defects, spina bifida and anencephaly. Studies have shown that exposure to environmental chemicals before and after conception may adversely affect reproduction by inducing cell death or dysfunction, which leads to infertility, fetal loss, lowered weight at birth, or birth anomalies in the offspring. The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationship between Neural Tube Defect births and residence at conception in proximity to hazardous waste sites in the Texas-Mexico border region between 1993 and 2000. ^ The study design was a nested matched case-control and utilized secondary data from a project, “The role of chemical and biological factors in the etiology of neural tube birth defects births along the Texas-Mexico Border” (Irina Cech, Principal Investigator). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database methods were used to compare Neural Tube Defects cases to controls on status of conception residence occurring within a one-mile radius from hazardous waste sites, as compared to conception residence further away. Information on the exposures was obtained from the OnTarget Database and Environment Protection Agency website. Conditional logistic regression was used for the matched case-control study to investigate the relationship between an outcome of being a case or a control and proximity to hazardous waste sites. ^ The result of the study showed a 36 percent non-significant increased risk of having an NTD birth associated with maternal proximity to abandoned hazardous waste sites (95% CI = 0.62–3.02). In addition, there was a 24% non-significant elevated risk of having an NTD birth when living in proximity to air pollutant sites than when living further away (95% CI = 0.67–2.32). Although this study did not find statistically significant associations, it will expand on the existing knowledge of the relationship between NTD and proximity to hazardous waste sites. ^

A geographic information science (GIS) approach to conducting comparative area-level community assessments in the Texas CORD Study

This study assessed and compared sociodemographic and income characteristics along with food and physical activity assets (i.e. grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and park areas) in the Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD) Study intervention and comparison catchment areas in Houston and Austin, Texas. The Texas CORD Study used a quasi-experimental study design, so it is necessary to establish the interval validity of the study characteristics by confirming that the intervention and comparison catchment areas are statistically comparable. In this ecological study, ArcGIS and Esri Business Analyst were used to spatially relate U.S. Census Bureau and other business listing data to the specific school attendance zones within the catchment areas. T-tests were used to compare percentages of sociodemographic and income characteristics and densities of food and physical activity assets between the intervention and comparison catchment areas.^ Only five variables were found to have significant differences between the intervention and comparison catchment areas: Age groups 0-4 and 35-64, the percentage of owner-occupied and renter-occupied households, and the percentage of Asian and Pacific Islander residents. All other variables showed no significant differences between the two groups. This study shows that the methodology used to select intervention and comparison catchment areas for the Texas CORD Study was effective and can be used in future studies. The results of this study can be used in future Texas CORD studies to confirm the comparability of the intervention and comparison catchment areas. In addition, this study demonstrates a methodology for describing detailed characteristics about a geographic area that practitioners, researchers, and educators can use.^

Spring-mounted rasp bar sheller

A spring-mounted rasp bar sheller for com is described herein. The sheller comprises a plurality of spaced apart rasp bars mounted on a combine or sheller cylinder. Each of the rasp bars has studs secured thereto which extend therefrom through the cylinder backing plates. Springs are mounted on the studs behind the backing plates for yieldably urging the rasp bar inwardly towards the backing plate. Centrifugal force causes the rasp bar to move out radially towards the concave as the cylinder is rotated. During shelling, impact forces on the rasp bars deflect them radially inwardly. Filler plates are also disclosed for preventing the com from becoming lodged between the backing plate and the rasp bars.