Paint

For so long I lost the most imaginative and artistic part of myself. I am relieved to say I am at last beginning to regain that piece of me. Art has always been a large part of my life; in how I express myself, how I de-stress, and how I live. I see the world in colors, I think in colors. Previous to these past two months I had not held a paintbrush in my hand for years. I had gone so long without that I forgot what it was like to lay color down on a canvas, what it was like to express emotions in the form of pictures. It feels good to paint again. Hopefully this flare of creativity will last.

On the Topic of an Invasive Species

Acacia mearnsii

An invasive species is generally defined as a species that is introduced to an area that it is not native to, spreads rapidly, is harmful to its non-native environment, and is potentially harmful to the economy and human health. Acacia mearnsii, also known as the Black Wattle or the Australian Acacia, is considered one of the worst invasive species in the world.

There are many different species of acacia trees around the world but the Black Wattle tops the list of them for worst invasive species. The Black Wattle tree is an evergreen that varies from 6- 25 meters in height and up to 50cm in diameter. A. mearnsii grows in moderate climates and cannot tolerate extreme heat or cold. A late chill in the rainy season will affect the tree’s survival and growth rates if it is young. However, older trees can survive a mild frost. In addition, A. mearnsii has a high transpiration rate and would not survive a drought. The tree also requires a certain soil composition in order to root and grow. However, the Black Wattle tree is known to thrive on drier, poorer soils, although it favors the moister, richer soils.

With so many limitations, it is difficult to believe that the Black Wattle tree would be such a powerful invasive species. But the fact remains that it is. A. mearnsii has an astounding reproduction rate. The tree is a hermaphrodite and flowers “profusely” in the winter time, although the exact season varies from location to location. It can also flower periodically throughout the year. The acacia tree is sexually mature at about 5 years of age and begins to produce seeds rapidly. The small yellow flowers on the tree are self-fertile, but with bees as the main pollinators, cross-pollination does occur. The seed pods mature in about 14 months and are dispersed simply by gravity or by the seeds drying up and being blown away by the wind as well as spread by rodents and birds. In some areas the seeds are spread to other locations by grazing cattle and other animals. Another interesting fact is that the seeds of the Black Wattle tree can lie dormant in the soil for up to six years and still remain viable. In addition, burning the area clean of the acacia trees only helps the seeds in the soil to germinate buy cracking the harsh outer coating of the seed. This makes controlling and irradiating the tree very difficult.

Along with it’s amazing reproductive rate, what makes A. mearnsii an invasive species is its ability to out-compete all other plants for water, nitrogen, and organic molecules. In a study done in 2004, researchers Dye and Jarmain discovered that a single Black Wattle tree has a water intake of 7 mm of water per day and results in a whopping 185 mm of rainfall lost per year per tree. In areas with little rainfall, such as South Africa, the Black Wattle tree is a huge threat to the surrounding ecosystems.

The Black Wattle tree, native to Australia, can now be found in over 50 countries and across six continents. It was introduced to Hawaii in 2002 and has taken over much of Maui. In all areas that it is found, the Black Wattle tree threatens biodiversity and reproductive rates of surrounding species. It alters the surrounding ecosystems and out-competes all surrounding vegetation for nutrients. This species of tree, if not controlled, is an enormous threat to not only ecosystems in areas with little rainfall, but to all the ecosystems it inhabits across the world.

As a form of control, there are many uses for the Black Wattle tree around the world. It is cultivated worldwide for tannin, a substance that tans animal hides into leather. The Black Wattle tree is said to produce more tannin than most tanniniferous plants. It is also used as lumber for fences, telephone poles, etc, in less industrialized nations. One other good thing about the Black Wattle tree is that, with such a long and intricate root system, the tree helps prevent erosion of the land by holding the soil in place.

With all that can be obtained from the Black Wattle tree, despite it’s destruction to the surrounding ecosystems, the tree is actually very useful for industrialization. If possible, a useful form of control for A. mearnsii is simply to utilize all of its parts. Other methods of control include spraying the acacia saplings with triclopyr, a systemic foliar herbicide, as well as the use of cecidomyiidae, also known as gall midges or gall gnats. Gall midges feed on plant tissues and create what is known as a gall, or an abnormal growth on a plant. There is research being done on whether or not the gall midges inhibit the reproductive rate of the Black Wattle tree. Another bug species that has been identified as a promising control agent for A. mearnsii is in the species Dasineura. The Dasineura sp. prevents fruit formation, but does not affect vegetative growth. This inhibits the Black Wattle’s ability to reproduce. Another insect species that was introduced into South Africa in 1993 is the Melanterius maculates, a seed-eating weevil, also native to Australia. The weevil caused reductions in the Black Wattle population in some areas. The larvae feed on the developing seeds inside the pods and the adults feed on the green pods and pinnules. Also in South Africa, a local fungus that colonized stumps was isolated and added to cut acacia trees to prevent re-growth.

A. mearnsii is a threat to earth’s biodiversity and some countries’ water supplies. Getting this invasive species under control is imperative. The Black Wattle tree is a danger to the surrounding ecosystems and cannot be left unattended. Despite the tree’s uses, it is too much of a threat to be left alone.

Sources

"Acacia mearnsii." AgroForestryTree Database. World Agroforestry Center, n.d. Web. 4 Apr 2011. .

Bauhus, J., P.K. Khanna, and N. Menden. "Aboveground and belowground interactions in mixed plantations of Eukalyptus globulus and Acacia mearnsii." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 30. (2000): 1886-1894. Web. 3 Apr 2011. .

Beck, Sascha, Robert Dunlop, and Annabel Fossey. "Stomatal length and frequency as a measure of ploidy level in black wattle, Acacia mearnsii (de Wild)." Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141.2 (2003): 177-181. Web. 9 Apr 2011. .

Brown, AG, and Ho Chin Ko. "Black Wattle and its Utilization." Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (1997): 1-180. Web. 9 Apr 2011.

Duke, James. "Acacia mearnsii de Wild.." Acacia mearnsii de Wild.. Perdue University, 1983. Web. 20 Apr 2011. .

Dye, Peter, and Caren Jarmain. "Water use by black wattle (Acacia mearnsii): implications for the link between removal of invading trees and catchment streamflow response." South African Journal of Science 100. (2004): 40-44. Web. 5 Apr 2011. .

Maleka, Evelyn. "ACACIA MEARNSII IS A THREAT TO SOUTH AFRICA." Invasion Biology. NISL-Ecological Informatics, 24 Jan 2007. Web. 5 Apr 2011. .

The Next Few Weeks

There are a ton of exciting things to look forward to in the weeks coming as well as some challenges. To start with the challenges there is school work as well as an exam every Thursday from now until the end of the semester. But that's more than manageable.

There are many things for me to look forward to. For one, the weather is getting nicer and is putting me in an infinitely better mood. I love the longer days and warmer weather. I feel like I am waking up from a restless dream.

Relay for Life is tomorrow. I am running with the URI College Democrats to support research for cancer prevention. We've raised a good amount of money for the cause and tomorrow night we will be showing our support from 6pm to 6am in a team relay.

On May 1st is Oozeball, one of my favorite events of the year. It's a volleyball tournament played in several inches of mud. So much fun. The picture above is of our Oozeball team last year.

Between those events there is also the Block Party on campus as well as Earth day and a few other small events scattered here and there. Mostly I am looking forward to summer.

I want to spend so much time on the beach and hiking in the forest this summer. I need a good long period of fun after this awful winter. I am looking forward to seeing the friends I haven't had the time to see in so long. I am determined to make this summer the best yet.

MISSING

Our dear Oreo has been missing for almost two weeks now. We have been searching the neighborhood and asking all the neighbors, but so far we have had no luck. We put several fliers up and called the animal shelters but no one has called us. We miss him dearly. I doubt anyone here lives near us, but if you do and happen to see him, please message me. He is about 7 years old, male, neutered, black and white, a little fat, and no collar. He is very much loved and missed.

On the Topic of Dilated Cardiomyopathy in German Shepherds

Dilated Cardiomyopathy in German Shepherds

Cardiomyopathy is a group of diseases that affect the myocardium, or heart muscle. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a disease where the chambers of the heart are dilated, or enlarged, due to a weakening of the heart muscle. What happens is defective transport of calcium ions within the heart muscle reduces the cell’s ability to contract. When this occurs, the heart muscle becomes thin and flabby. The thinning worsens, often unnoticed and without outside symptoms, over several months and the heart chambers become dilated. Thus the heart cannot function properly and its timing becomes off. The disease usually affects the heart’s main pumping chamber, the left ventricle. When the left ventricle becomes dilated or enlarged it cannot pump blood to the body with as much force as a healthy heart. At this time the dogs affected begin to have visible trouble. The dog falls into full congestive heart failure and then dies.

Rarely, dilated cardiomyopathy can be less severe: asymptomatic and non-life-threatening. However, most cases of this disease cause heart failure. Dilated cardiomyopathy has also been known to cause irregular heart beats, blood clots, and sudden death. The symptoms of this disease are often sudden and severe. They appear as if the dog had only gotten ill in the last few days, when in reality the dog has been living with the disease for several months. Common symptoms include difficulty breathing (dyspnoea), coughing, feinting, exercise intolerance, and a swollen abdomen. Coughing is especially prevalent during the night time. German Shepherds affected tend to have a reduced appetite and weight loss. Another symptom that may occur is arrhythmias, which causes abnormal heart rhythms. It worsens heart failure and precipitates collapse or sudden death.

More than 90% of all cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy occur in only eight specific breeds of dog and the disease is the most common cause of heart failure in these breeds. The breeds are the Doberman Pinscher, Boxers, Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds, Saint Bernards, Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds. Most likely, the disease has a genetic origin, although a mode of inheritance has yet to be documented. If a German Shepherd with this disease were to be bred, it is possible that the disease could be passed on to the offspring, although there is no proof of this occurrence. In most cases, the cause of the disease is unknown. Hypothyroidismhas has been associated with this disease and in some dogs an inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis, may precede dilated cardiomyopathy. In other dogs dilated cardiomyopathy may be related to a taurine and/or carnitine deficiency. Some other causes of the disease can include metabolic disorders, immunologic abnormalities, infectious diseases, and it may be drug or toxin-induced. The dogs most often affected by this disease are middle aged (4-6½ years) and male.

A diagnosis for this disease can be made using several different techniques. Some techniques can include a diagnosis can be based on ECG changes showing cardiac arrhythmias. And/or a chest X-ray may be taken, showing enlarged heart chambers. Also, an echocardiogram (ultrasound) may be taken, showing the characteristic pattern of a failing heart muscle. Moving echocardiography is the best diagnostic tool to diagnose dilated cardiomyopathy. This is because an ultrasound can clearly show the dilation of the heart chambers as well as other signs of the disease.

There is no treatment that can cure dilated cardiomyopathy. However, certain treatments can increase the dog’s quality of life. If the dog receives exceptional medial control, treatment can also prolong the German shepherd’s life for up to a year or more. Treatment can include adding taurine and/or carnitine to the dog’s diet to try and combat the taurin or carnitine deficiency that may have caused the disease. Treatment is also directed at improving the strength of the heart muscle as well as controlling arrhythmias and preventing the build up of fluid in the lungs and abdomen. Nitroglycerin can help improve the heart muscle by decreasing the amount of blood returning to the heart. This allows some of the blood to pool in the veins and takes some of the work load off the heart. Another drug, called digitalis helps improve heart function in several ways; slowing the heart rate and strengthening each contraction of the heart are two main functions of the drug. Despite strict treatment and constant care the dog will usually die suddenly and often without warning. Death is usually a result of sudden cardiac arrhythmia and some German shepherds will die without any noticeable preceding signs.

Canine dilated cardiomyopathy is a serious disease in German Shepherds although, thankfully, not a very common one. A German Shepherd is much more likely to acquire hip dysplasia than this disease. If a German Shepherd does have dilated cardiomyopathy, the best that one can do for it is to give it all the care and treatment they can to try and improve the dog’s quality of life as much as much as possible before the dog passes on.

On the Topic of India and the Environment

India and the Environment:

India’s population, already the second largest in the world at 1.15 billion, may become the largest in coming decades as its rapid population growth outstrips even that of China. This rapidly growing population is cause for concern in India’s already congested streets. After China and the U.S., only India is expected to have to have significant growth in CO2 emissions over the next 20 years (Butler, 2006). With India’s massive population, and the introduction of a new and affordable car, the Nano, it will not take much for CO2 emissions to rise dramatically. Although India only emits 1.1 metric tons of CO2 per Capita, there are so many people in India that even such low average emissions are concerning when they are multiplied by more than a billion.

In India today the environment faces many challenges, one of the largest being climate change. Due to the vast size of India and its complex geography, climate in this part of the globe has large spatial and temporal variations, says Dash, Jenamani, Kalsi, and Panda in a journal article published in 2007. There have been extreme weather events in various parts of India that are putting a strain on the country’s people. In different regions of India there have been floods, droughts, monsoon depressions and cyclones, heat waves, cold waves, prolonged fog and snowfall. The Sundarbans in southern India have faced devastating cyclones that have wrecked homes and facilities, leaving the people there in need of drinking water and shelter. The University of Rhode Island was recently visited by a prestigious World Wildlife Fund employee by the name of Dr. Anurag Danda who works closely with the people of the Sundarbans. Dr. Danda, in a Colloquium presentation, stated that the situation in the Sundarbans is difficult. With the melting ice caps causing the sea levels to rise, the ground water in the Sundarbans is turning brackish and is no longer suitable for drinking. In trying to help create drinking water facilities with the people there, Dr. Danda has faced many challenges. Each time a cyclone rips through the Sundarbans the drinking water facilities are destroyed. However, with his work and the work of his colleagues, the new facilities are easy to repair because their simple design and the fact that the people there help create the facilities themselves.

Aside from water facilities and homes in the Sudarbans, Dr. Danda shows slides of a power point presentation that exemplify the permanent damage climate change is causing. He shows the audience a picture of an islet in the Sundarbans and then shows that same islet disappearing. If the islet were disappearing due to a natural cycle, says Dr. Danda, it would have reappeared by now. However, this is not the case and the islet remains permanently submerged by water.

India is home to over 8 percent of the Earth’s known wildlife. However, little has been done to study the impact of climate change on the wildlife in India. Prof. Kartik Shankar of the Center for Ecological Studies, who studies the habits of Olive Ridley and Leatherback turtles in India, expresses his feelings on climate change in an article published in 2007 by the IPS. According to Keya Acharya, the author of the article, Shankar feels climate change is a difficult area to study since its impacts show up only in the long term. "Apart from a few areas in Orissa where violent storms in recent years have washed away nesting sites, it's hard to distinguish what exactly can be attributed to climate change," Shankar told IPS. There is reason to believe that the wildlife in India is being affected by climate change, but there are yet no studies being conducted that show the extent of the impact of climate change on India’s wildlife.

The effects of climate change on India’s environment have been summarized, but what does this have to do with the automobile? According to the Environment Minister of India, Jairam Ramesh, the transport sector in India contributes about 15 to 20% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the country. It is widely known that unregulated greenhouse gas emissions are one of the main causes of climate change. Ramish continues to say that with the rate the automobile sector is growing, it is estimated that automobiles could attribute to 25% of India’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Ramesh is working hard to pass fuel efficiency standards to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but how much of a decrease in CO2 emissions will these new standards make when Tata Motors is releasing such an incredibly affordable car as the Nano?

The Nano is a rear-engineered, four passenger car built by Tata Motors. It gets about 26 kilometers per liter on the highway and 22 kilometers per liter in the city. It goes for about 100,000 rupees, or 2,160 U.S. dollars. Having such a family oriented, affordable car on the Market will only increase the amount of CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere, increasing greenhouse gasses. Despite the fact that the Nano will only release 101 gm/km of CO2, the shear number of consumers purchasing the Nano and increasing the traffic sector will make that somewhat impressive number almost meaningless. Johan Kiessling from the department of economics at Stockholm University predicts that during the next 20 years the number of cars in India will increase by 30 million due to economic growth and up to 8 million more due to the introduction of low-budget cars. Kiessling continues to say that “as a consequence the CO2 emissions from private cars will increase by 634% where more than one sixth of the increase is due to the introduction of low-cost cars.” Although India’s people are happy to have an affordable family car on the market, the environment will suffer.

Sources Cited (MLA):

• Dash, S.K., R.K. Jenamani, S.R. Kalsi, and S.K. Panda. "Some evidence of climate change in twentieth-century India." Climate Change 85. (2007): 299-321. Web. 08 Dec 2009. .
• " Data by Geography > India > Summary." Population Reference Bureau. 2008. Population Reference Bureau, Web. 15 Dec 2009. .
• Butler, Rhett A. "Carbon Dioxide Emissions Charts, 2005." Tropical Rainforests: Disappearing Opportunites. 2005. Mongabay.com, Web. 21 Nov 2009. .
• Acharya, Keya. "CLIMATE CHANGE: Indian Scientists Yet to Study Biodiversity Impacts." IPS (2007): n. pag. Web. 02 Dec 2009. .
• "Fuel-efficiency standards for automobile sector by 2011: Ramesh." DNA: Read the World. 23 Nov 2009. PTI, Web. 26 Nov 2009. .
• Kiessling, Johan. "The one Lakh car, economic growth and CO2 emissions in India." (2009): n. pag. Web. 4 Dec 2009. .

On the Topic of Xenotransplantation

An essay I wrote a few years ago on the topic of xenotransplantation:

There are many people around the world who are activists for animal rights. There are those who oppose the use of animals for entertainment, such as in zoos, aquariums, the circus, rodeos and dog fighting; those who oppose the use of animals for product testing; those who oppose the production of veal; those who are vegetarian; and those who oppose the production of milk. All of these situations have their pros and their cons. Most will probably say that the use of animals for product testing is a necessity. Others will argue that it is cruel to the animals and that the experimentees have rights. The focus of this essay is on the topic of xenotransplantation, or rather, organ transplants from animals to humans.

The demand for human organs for clinical transplantation far exceeds the supply. “Currently ten patients die each day in the United States while on the waiting list to receive lifesaving vital organ transplants” ("Xenotransplantation," 2009). In addition, there is research that suggests that the transplantation of cells and tissues may be “therapeutic” for certain diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes. In this case as well there is a very short supply of human materials. Xenotransplantation may very well solve our organ transplant problem. There are experiments being conducted in which pig organs, being very similar to human organs, are being transplanted into primates. These studies document the primate’s body’s ability to accept the transplantation. So far the experiments have had little success and although the idea is genius, there is still much that needs to be discovered before the experiment can become successful. However, on a more triumphant side of xenotransplantation, pharmaceuticals and drugs are being extracted from animal organs and tissues; pig skin is used to help burn victims; intestines are used as sutures; and heart valves are harvested from pigs to replace defective human heart valves.

Looking at the cons of xenotransplantation the two largest human concerns are the rejection of the foreign organs and xenozoonoses. In the experiments conducted on primates so far, the primate body’s immune system has fought the new organs. In order to for the procedure to become successful, researchers must find a way to either modify the transplantation procedure or find a way to alter the host system to be more susceptible to the transplantation. Xenozooneses is the transfer of diseases across the species barrier and causing disease otherwise not found in humans. Many of the concerns involve the passing of deadly pathogens into the human species. Some believe this was how the AIDS virus first began. In an ethical standpoint, there is a debate on whether or not we have the right to endanger the lives of so many people when there is the possibility of significant dangers that we know very little about.

Aside from the negative aspects of xenotransplantation concerning humans, there is also the concern for the animals involved. If xenotransplantation were to become very successful, then the pigs the organs are being harvested from would be turned into spare parts factories. “Genetically-mutated and raised in artificial conditions, these remarkably intelligent animals face an unnatural and distressing existence” (“Xenotransplantation,” 2000). Returning to the introduction on animal rights, do we as humans have the right to turn these animals into factories for human use?

For my personal opinion, I am against xenotransplantation. My first concern is xenozoonoses. A few years ago I read a book titled The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. The focus of this book was the Ebola virus and it’s near introduction to the United States. The setting was in the Reston monkey facility in Virginia. The monkeys were brought from South Africa and there was a case of Ebola found in the monkeys in the facility. Ebola is an airborne virus. This case was noted to be even more severe than the two known cases in South Africa. The difference between this case and that of the two known cases of Ebola, they discovered, was that this strain could not be passed to humans. This book was based on a true story. Now, if we started to use animal organs to replace defective human organs, our risk of enabling diseases such as the Ebola Reston virus to enter the human system increases dramatically.

My second concern is for the animals. Not only are the pigs that the organs are being taken from suffering, but the animals that the experiments are being conducted on (the primates, in this case) are in distress as well. In most cases, the animals had to be put down very shortly after the transplantation because of their severe suffering. For the use of xenotransplantation, the pigs are genetically altered and uncomfortably confined, as well as harvested for organs, and left suffering or dead.

If xenotransplantation were to become successful it would mean that those in need of organ transplants could rest easy. It would also mean a risk of diseases crossing the species barrier. There are many diseases present in animals which do not affect humans and visa versa. Pigs would be turned into harvest factories. The debate still rages on and only the future will tell if xenotransplantation will one day be successful.

Citations

(2009, August 31). Xenotransplantation. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Xenotransplantation/default.htm

(2000, September 21). Xenotransplantation. Retrieved from http://www.uncaged.co.uk/xeno.htm