West Nile traps
Stable flies, as well as mosquitoes, will be the focus this year for Montana State University researchers trying to figure out how West Nile virus spreads at the Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Montana. Graduate student Kristina Hale trapped mosquitoes in previous years, but she'll start catching stable flies, too. Stable flies and horn flies both feed on cattle, but horn flies tend to feed on the backs of cattle. Stable flies prefer the underbelly and legs. To trap the stable flies at their level, Hale and lab technician Anya Jackson recently covered white cards with a sticky coating. They'll staple the cards to stakes so the cards will stand about10 inches above the ground. They have already placed some cards on farms near the refuge.
Smoking bans
Many studies say revenues plummet as a result of laws that ban smoking. Other studies say the opposite. MSU economics professors say both sides have come to wrong conclusions because they don't account properly for the types of cities and states that pass bans. For example, if cities that already have rapidly growing restaurant revenue pass bans, simply comparing revenues before and after bans take effect can give the false appearance that bans increase revenue. To address this issue, Rob Fleck and Andy Hanssen analyzed 25 years of data from 267 California cities. After accounting for the types of cities that pass bans, they found very small effects of smoking bans on restaurant revenues. They recently published their findings in "Economic Inquiry."
Healing honey
Honey reduces pain and odor in wounds. It has strong antibacterial properties, says Karen Zulkowski, MSU associate professor of nursing in Billings. But don't raid a beehive or spoon honey out of a jar and slather it onto a wound. Zulkowski and student Jayme Day went to Billings Health and Rehabilitation to test a dressing that uses Manuka honey in calcium alginate. The honey had been sterilized. The calcium alginate retained moisture so the dressing wouldn't stick to the wound, but helped remove dead tissue. Finding the dressing effective, Day presented her results this spring at MSU's Student Research Celebration. She and Zulkowski will explain their research this summer to the World Union of Wound Healing Societies. Honey dressings have been used in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe.
Rocket racket
Rocket launches are so loud that they can damage sensitive instruments in the experiments and satellites the rocket carry, says Chris Jenkins, head of MSU's mechanical and industrial engineering department. To come up with a lightweight, relatively inexpensive solution, Jenkins is working with Umesh Korde of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The researchers are looking at the possibility of using foam, plastic and the piezoelectric effect to reduce launch noise, Jenkins said. The piezoelectric effect refers to the production of electricity by applying stress to material. In this case, Jenkins said noise from the launch could distort the plastic material. The material would then generate a current that would produce heat. The heat would be dispersed naturally.
Washing away seeds
Vehicles can pick up seeds and spread them to new locations. To keep that from happening, many government agencies wash their vehicles before and after riding over state and federal land. To see how well they're doing, project leader Lisa Rew and her research team are evaluating different types of vehicles that travel on and off-road in Montana, Idaho and California. The vehicles include ATVs, SUVs, large trucks, fire engines, bulldozers and Army tanks. Technicians will wash the vehicles with portable washing units. The vehicles will then travel on and off-road and be washed again and waste collected. Rew said she doesn't want to keep vehicles out of the back country, but wants to see how much washing is necessary to keep weed seeds from spreading. Rew is an assistant professor in MSU's Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences.
Evelyn Boswell, (406) 994-5135 or evelynb@montana.edu