Billy, Billy, Bounce Your Baby Doll

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/4336/thumbnail.jp

The potential for biochar to mitigate the impact of climate change

The United Arab Emirates produces over 44 million date palm trees yearly, where date palm is mainly used as source of food and shelter. Each tree generates approximately 20 Kilograms of palm frond waste per year and this waste is currently sent to landfills. In this study, we proposed that in the arid climate and soil conditions found in the UAE, this date palm waste could be converted to biochar and used to improve the water holding capacity of UAE soils. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test whether amendments of date palm frond (DPF) and its biochar could improve the water holding capacity of soils. A mesocosm design and a plant growth experiment were used in the laboratory to assess the treatments under UAE summer temperature conditions. For the mesocosm, there were 6 different biochar and DPF treatments (1%, 3%, 6%, 12%, 15% and 18% biochar or DPF in soil) along with the controls (sharp sand, DPF biochar and DPF). The experiment was divided into 3 cycles (wet, dry, and dry without water bowl (wow)). The impact of the experimental treatments was assessed using ANOVA. Both Biochar and DPF had no significant effect during the first two cycles (wet and dry) but during the third cycle, the DPF appeared to have better water holding capacity than Biochar. A plant growth experiment was conducted with 6 different treatment (controls - sand, DPF and Biochar; and Biochar at 1%, 6% and 15%). Cat grass was used as a quick growing crop with its height and leaf area monitored while the soil was monitored for its moisture and pH. Water was irrigated during the first 3 weeks then the soil treatments left to dry. The results show the greatest growth for 1% Biochar. The processes are being investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) to assess water binding capacity and strength of the Biochar, DPF and soil. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Histochemical Analysis of Glycoconjugates in the Skin of a Catfish (Arius Tenuispinis, Day)

A histochemical study using conventional carbohydrate histochemistry (periodic-acid staining including diastase controls, alcian blue staining at pH 1 and 2.5) as well as using a battery of 14 fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled lectins to identify glycoconjugates present in 10 different areas of the skin of a catfish (Arius tenuispinis) was carried out. The lectins used were: mannose-binding lectins (Con A, LCA and PSA), galactose-binding lectins (PNA, RCA), N-acetylgalactosamine-binding lectins (DBA, SBA, SJA and GSL I), N-acetylglucosamine-binding lectins (WGA and WGAs), fucose-binding lectins (UEA) and lectins which bind to complex carbohydrate configurations (PHA E, PHA L). Conventional glycoconjugate staining (PAS staining, alcian blue at pH 1 and 2.5) showed that the mucous goblet cells contain a considerable amount of glycoconjugates in all locations of the skin, whereas the other unicellular gland type, the club cells, lacked these glycoconjugates. The glycoproteins found in goblet cells are neutral and therefore stain magenta when subjected to PAS staining. Alcian blue staining indicating acid glycoproteins was distinctly positive at pH 1, but gave only a comparable staining at pH 2.5. The mucus of the goblet cells therefore also contains acid glycoproteins rich in sulphate groups. Using FITC-labelled lectins, the carbohydrate composition of the glycoproteins of goblet cells could be more fully characterized. A distinct staining of the mucus of goblet cells was found with the mannose-binding lectins LCA and PSA; the galactosamine-binding lectins DBA, SBA and GLS I; the glucosamine-binding lectin WGA; and PHA E which stains glycoproteins with complex carbohydrate configurations. No reaction occurred with the fucose-binding lectin UEA and the sialic acid-specific lectin SNA. In addition, the galactose-binding lectins PNA and RCA showed only a weak or completely negative staining of the mucus in the goblet cells. The specificity of the lectin staining could be proved by inhibiting binding of the lectins by competitive inhibition with the corresponding sugars. From these data, we can conclude that the mucus produced by the epidermal goblet cells of A. tenuispinis is rich in mannose, N-acetylgalactosamine and N-acetylglucosamine residues

Histochemical Analysis of Glycoconjugates in the Skin of a Catfish (Arius Tenuispinis, Day)

A histochemical study using conventional carbohydrate histochemistry (periodic-acid staining including diastase controls, alcian blue staining at pH 1 and 2.5) as well as using a battery of 14 fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled lectins to identify glycoconjugates present in 10 different areas of the skin of a catfish (Arius tenuispinis) was carried out. The lectins used were: mannose-binding lectins (Con A, LCA and PSA), galactose-binding lectins (PNA, RCA), N-acetylgalactosamine-binding lectins (DBA, SBA, SJA and GSL I), N-acetylglucosamine-binding lectins (WGA and WGAs), fucose-binding lectins (UEA) and lectins which bind to complex carbohydrate configurations (PHA E, PHA L). Conventional glycoconjugate staining (PAS staining, alcian blue at pH 1 and 2.5) showed that the mucous goblet cells contain a considerable amount of glycoconjugates in all locations of the skin, whereas the other unicellular gland type, the club cells, lacked these glycoconjugates. The glycoproteins found in goblet cells are neutral and therefore stain magenta when subjected to PAS staining. Alcian blue staining indicating acid glycoproteins was distinctly positive at pH 1, but gave only a comparable staining at pH 2.5. The mucus of the goblet cells therefore also contains acid glycoproteins rich in sulphate groups. Using FITC-labelled lectins, the carbohydrate composition of the glycoproteins of goblet cells could be more fully characterized. A distinct staining of the mucus of goblet cells was found with the mannose-binding lectins LCA and PSA; the galactosamine-binding lectins DBA, SBA and GLS I; the glucosamine-binding lectin WGA; and PHA E which stains glycoproteins with complex carbohydrate configurations. No reaction occurred with the fucose-binding lectin UEA and the sialic acid-specific lectin SNA. In addition, the galactose-binding lectins PNA and RCA showed only a weak or completely negative staining of the mucus in the goblet cells. The specificity of the lectin staining could be proved by inhibiting binding of the lectins by competitive inhibition with the corresponding sugars. From these data, we can conclude that the mucus produced by the epidermal goblet cells of A. tenuispinis is rich in mannose, N-acetylgalactosamine and N-acetylglucosamine residues

Getting Started with Hoop Structures

Dave Deyoe needed finishing space, and first considered hoop buildings he saw at an Iowa State Fair exhibit. He put in his first building in August 1994, and added another in 1995. He now has producer custom finishing pigs in three other buildmgs

Information Systems in Medical Settings: A Covid-19 Detection System Using X-Ray Scans

Beginning in 2020, the new coronavirus began to expand globally. Due to Covid-19, millions of individuals are infected. Initially, the availability of corona test kits was problematic. Researchers examined the present scenario and developed the Covid-19 X-ray scan detection system. In terms of Covid-19 detection, artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions give superior outcomes. Many AI-based models can not provide optimum results because of the issue of overfitting, which has a direct impact on model efficiency. In this work, we developed the CNN-based classification method based on the pre-trained Inception-v3 for normal, viral pneumonia, lung opacity, and Covid-19 samples. In the suggested model, we employed transfer learning to produce promising results for binary class classification. The presented model attained impressive outcomes with an accuracy of 99.42% for Covid-19 vs. Normal, 99.01% for Covid-19 vs. Lung Opacity, and 99.8% for Covid-19 vs. Viral Pneumonia, and 99.93% for Lung Opacity vs. Viral Pneumonia. Comparing the suggested model to existing deep learning-based systems indicated that ours was better

Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study

This report describes the results of a study sponsored by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) to investigate the feasibility of identifying, robotically capturing, and returning an entire Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) to the vicinity of the Earth by the middle of the next decade. The KISS study was performed by people from Ames Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Langley Research Center, the California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard University, the Naval Postgraduate School, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, Arkyd Astronautics, Inc., The Planetary Society, the B612 Foundation, and the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition

Intrathyroidal parathyroid carcinoma: a case report with clinical and histological findings

The chance of an intrathyroidal occurrence of a parathyroid gland is about 1–3%. Among the causes of hyperparathyroidism, parathyroid cases occur in less than 1% of patients. Here we present the case of a 63 year old Saudi female suffering from an intrathryroidal parathyroid carcinoma. The suspicion coming from the clinical investigations that the removed tumor tissue may be a parathyroid carcinoma could be confirmed by histology. Additionally non-radioactive in situ hybridization to localize mRNA transcripts for Cyclin D1 and immunohistochemical localization of Cyclin D1 was performed. Although parathyroid adenoma and carcinoma have disparate natural history, it can be difficult to differentiate between the two entities. Clinical presentation, operative findings may raise suspicion, but may not be conclusive especially if there is no evidence of invasion or metastasis, especially if the gland was intrathyroidal

The Slippery Slope of MIS Academia: A Discussion of the Quest for Relevance in Our Discipline

The MIS discipline faces the need to periodically re-establish its relevance to both academics and practitioners. Evolving technology forces our discipline to change at a rate far exceeding that of other business disciplines. In the workplace, rapidly evolving IT management issues and technologies have led corporations to manage technical employees differently than other employees. In academia, however, MIS faculty are faced with the same expectations as other business faculty. The current model of MIS as an academic discipline has many issues that make staying current and relevant very difficult. The result is that MIS research and teaching lag practice. One might argue that as the field matures, we are falling further behind. This paper is the outcome of a panel discussion held during the 2006 Americas Conference on Information Systems in Acapulco, Mexico. The panel discussed the assertions that MIS is on a Slippery Slope that threatens our existence as a business discipline and that our current model encourages irrelevance, both in research and in teaching. Panel members were asked to share their views on five questions relative to the Slippery Slope from their unique perspectives