Posts tagged changes
Boulder County Transportation Snow Removal Information
Oct 2nd
Boulder County, Colo. – As a result of the recent flooding in Boulder County, local roads range from no-impact to single-lane four wheel drive access only. Many areas of the county remain inaccessible to vehicular travel due to road damage or continuing high water levels. With predictions for snowfall as early as overnight on Thursday, Boulder County Road Maintenance crews are preparing alternative methods for snow removal along flood-damaged routes.
Boulder County Transportation will strive to provide the best snow removal possible despite extenuating circumstances along the county’s flood-ravaged road system. However, roads that remain in poor condition will not support previously-used snow equipment. For example, road crews will not be able to use truck snow plows on uneven surfaces; these roads will now require graders to complete this task. Plowing routes with graders will add substantial time to complete the accustomed level of snow removal.
In order to provide the safest and fastest snow removal services possible, Boulder County’s Road Maintenance Division is requesting motorists to please be aware of the following issues.
· Drive slowly and carefully; hazards that previously could be seen and avoided may be hidden after a snowfall.
· Many roads are only one lane in places which will require extra diligence and courtesy on every driver’s part.
· Give the right of way to oncoming snow removal equipment, it will be much easier for a car or pickup to find a location to stop or pull over than it will be for our large snow removal equipment.
· Be aware that county roads that are not affected by damage may experience minor delays for snow removal due to diverted resources.
· Allow extra time for travel in those areas affected by the flood rough roads, steep shoulder drop offs, single lane roads, visibility and other hazards will require everyone’s attention and vigilance.
Due to resources and closure of recreational areas Brainard Lake Drive will not be plowed. In addition the following roads, or portions of roads, will not be plowed due to damage or accessibility:
· Lefthand Canyon between the lower Lefthand fire station (#1) and Sawmill Road
· Lefthand through the town of Ward
· James Canyon between Lefthand Canyon and Jamestown
· Balarat Road
· Gold Run Road between Salina and Summerville
· Lee Hill Road between Deer Trail Road and Lefthand Canyon
· Wagonwheel Gap Road
· Pinto Drive
· CR 82E from Cabin Creek Road to the Boulder and Larimer County line
· Pika Road from Bison Drive to Coney Court
For current road closure information as a result of flooding, visit: www.BoulderCountyFlood.org.
For additional information about snow removal, contact Road Maintenance at 303-441-3962.
CU study; Death of microbes could determine time of death
Sep 27th
The clock is essentially the lock-step succession of bacterial changes that occur postmortem as bodies move through the decay process. And while the researchers used mice for the new study, previous studies on the human microbiome – the estimated 100 trillion or so microbes that live on and in each of us – indicate there is good reason to believe similar microbial clocks are ticking away on human corpses, said Jessica Metcalf, a CU-Boulder postdoctoral researcher and first author on the study.
“While establishing time of death is a crucial piece of information for investigators in cases that involve bodies, existing techniques are not always reliable,” said Metcalf of CU-Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute. “Our results provide a detailed understanding of the bacterial changes that occur as mouse corpses decompose, and we believe this method has the potential to be a complementary forensic tool for estimating time of death.”
Currently, investigators use tools ranging from the timing of last text messages and corpse temperatures to insect infestations on bodies and “grave soil” analyses, with varying results, she said. And the more days that elapse following a person’s demise, the more difficult it becomes to determine the time of death with any significant accuracy.
Using high-technology gene sequencing techniques on both bacteria and microbial eukaryotic organisms like fungi, nematodes and amoeba postmortem, the researchers were able to pinpoint time of mouse death after a 48-day period to within roughly four days. The results were even more accurate following an analysis at 34 days, correctly estimating the time of death within about three days, said Metcalf.
A paper on the subject was published Sept. 23 in the new online science and biomedical journal, eLIFE, a joint initiative of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society and the Wellcome Trust Fund. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Justice.
The researchers tracked microbial changes on the heads, torsos, body cavities and associated grave soil of 40 mice at eight different time points over the 48-day study. The stages after death include the “fresh” stage before decomposition, followed by “active decay” that includes bloating and subsequent body cavity rupture, followed by “advanced decay,” said Chaminade University forensic scientist David Carter, a co-author on the study.
“At each time point that we sampled, we saw similar microbiome patterns on the individual mice and similar biochemical changes in the grave soil,” said Laura Parfrey, a former CU-Boulder postdoctoral fellow and now a faculty member at the University of British Columbia who is a microbial and eukaryotic expert. “And although there were dramatic changes in the abundance and distribution of bacteria over the course of the study, we saw a surprising amount of consistency between individual mice microbes between the time points — something we were hoping for.”
As part of the project, the researchers also charted “blooms” of a common soil-dwelling nematode well known for consuming bacterial biomass that occurred at roughly the same time on individual mice during the decay period. “The nematodes seem to be responding to increases in bacterial biomass during the early decomposition process, an interesting finding from a community ecology standpoint,” said Metcalf.
“This work shows that your microbiome is not just important while you’re alive,” said CU-Boulder Associate Professor Rob Knight, the corresponding study author who runs the lab where the experiments took place. “It might also be important after you’re dead.”
The research team is working closely with assistant professors Sibyl Bucheli and Aaron Linne of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, home of the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility, an outdoor human decomposition facility known popularly as a “body farm.” The researchers are testing bacterial signatures of human cadavers over time to learn more about the process of human decomposition and how it is influenced by weather, seasons, animal scavenging and insect infestations.
The new study is one of more than a dozen papers authored or co-authored by CU-Boulder researchers published in the past several years on human microbiomes. One of the studies, led by Professor Noah Fierer, a co-author on the new study, brought to light another potential forensic tool — microbial signatures left on computer keys and computer mice, an idea enthralling enough it was featured on a “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” television episode.
“This study establishes that a body’s collection of microbial genomes provides a store of information about its history,” said Knight, also an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist. “Future studies will let us understand how much of this information, both about events before death — like diet, lifestyle and travel — and after death can be recovered.”
In addition to Metcalf, Fierer, Knight, Carter and Parfrey, other study authors included Antonio Gonzalez, Gail Ackerman, Greg Humphrey, Mathew Gebert, Will Van Treuren, Donna Berg Lyons and Kyle Keepers from CU-Boulder, former BioFrontiers doctoral student Dan Knights from the University of Minnesota, and Yan Go and James Bullard from Pacific Biosciences in Menlo Park, Calif. Keepers participated in the study as an undergraduate while Gonzalez, now a postdoctoral researcher, was a graduate student during the study.
“There is no single forensic tool that is useful in all scenarios, as all have some degree of uncertainty,” said Metcalf. “But given our results and our experience with microbiomes, there is reason to believe we can get past some of this uncertainty and look toward this technique as a complementary method to better estimate time of death in humans.”
Gene sequencing equipment for the study included machines from Illumina of San Diego and Pacific Biosciences of Menlo Park, Calif. The Illumina data were generated at CU-Boulder in the BioFrontiers Next Generation Sequencing Facility.
To access a copy of the paper visit http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01104. For more information on the BioFrontiers Institute visit http://biofrontiers.colorado.edu.
-CU-
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Baylor a cake-walk for CU volleyball: three and out
Sep 15th
WACO, Texas —The University of Colorado volleyball team (8-1) dominated the Baylor Bears (4-7), sweeping them 25-21, 25-23, 25-11 to win the Baylor Invitational on Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
Nicole Edelman was named the tournament’s MVP, while Kerra Schroeder was named the defensive MVP. Alexis Austin and Cierra Simpson were also honored as members of the all-tournament team. The Buffs went 3-0 at the BU Invite with wins against Northwestern State and Appalachian State on Friday.
Saturday’s win is the eighth consecutive for the Buffs and ties the fifth longest streak in CU volleyball history. It is the longest streak since 1997 when the Buffs had a 10-match win streak, which tied the longest streak.
The win was also head coach Liz Kritza’s first win against Baylor. The victory snapped an eight-match losing streak for CU against the Bears which started in 2007 while CU was still a member of the Big-12 Conference.
“Tonight’s performance caps off a very tough weekend for this team, and I am pleased not only with the three wins and the improvement we made as a program, but most importantly the character and resiliency this group showed,” Kritza said. “With all the possible distractions while our home state is experiencing a catastrophic event, this group of players, coaches, and staff pulled together and put forth a strong performance and really showed great character.”
Austin proved to be a key player in the match as she provided key points at the end of the first and second sets. In total, Austin hammered a team high 12 kills and hit .400 with only two errors on 25 attacks. She also added three digs and three blocks.
“Alexis did a fantastic job tonight in finishing at the end of sets tonight,” Kritza said. “The offense was firing properly and she was able to make a significant impact on the overall outcome of the match.”
Taylor Simpson also had a nice night for the Buffs with 11 kills. She picked up her third double-double of the season with 13 digs. Schroeder hit a match-best .750 with seven kills on eight errorless attacks and added six digs and two block assists.
“Schroeder was a steady presence and came up with key plays when we needed her to,” said Kritza. “Her experience on the court is crucial as this young group keeps progressing towards Pac-12 play.”
Edelman led the team with 14 digs and handed out 32 assists. She also directed the team to a .236 hitting efficiency with 42 kills. The Buffs held BU to just 25 kills, while hitting .035. The Bears had 21 attack errors on 113 attacks.
“Edelman did a very good job this weekend of keeping our offense balanced and tonight’s performance showed her experience and ability to run an offense at a high level,” Kritza said.
Kritza was also very impressed with Elysse Richardson’s performance. She picked up five digs and added two assists and an ace in the sweep.
“A key performance that doesn’t always appear on the stat sheet is the performance of Elysse Richardson,” Kritza said. “She has the ability to go into a match and change the energy of the team and she did that again for us at the pivotal point. That role is essential to a team’s success and it takes a very special person to be able to go in under the most pressured situations and perform, and she answered that call.”
The first set of the match was very close with eight ties and three lead changes. CU led 20-18 when the Bears tied it up one last time at 20-20. After a CU timeout, the Buffs came out with three straight points to go ahead 23-20. BU answered back with a kill to get within two points, but Austin finished the set for the Buffs with two straight kills (25-21).
BU had a 15-10 lead in the second set when CU used its first timeout. Out of the break, the Buffs recorded three straight points before BU sided-out with a kill (16-14). After the kill, CU put together a 5-0 run to take an 18-16 advantage. The two teams continued to battle and the match was tied yet again at 20-20. The Bears took three straight points to force CU to use a timeout, which worked well since the Buffs finished the set with five straight points out of the break, including two kills and a block from Austin (25-20).
The Buffs dominated the third set and used a 9-0 run to go up 12-5. BU was able to take three of the next four points to bring the score to 13-8, but once again the Buffs put together a run, this time it was six straight points to go up 19-8. The Bears were out of timeouts and had no way of slowing the Buffs down as CU finished easily 25-11.
The Buffs will be off until September 24 when they will travel to Salt Lake City to open the Pac-12 Conference schedule against Utah. That match is scheduled 7 p.m. and will be televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
COLORADO BUFFALOES
Linda Sprouse
Assistant Sports Information Director
Volleyball/Cross Country/Track & Field
University of Colorado
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