Iowa\u27s Sand Prairie State Preserves: Anomalous Grain-Size Distributions and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) Dates

Grain-size distributions and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates were obtained for the sand from Iowa\u27s five sand prairie state preserves, which are Behren\u27s Ponds and Woodland, Cedar Hills Sand Prairie, Kish-Ke-Kosh Prairie, Marietta Sand Prairie and Rock Island. OSL dates ranged from the late Pleistocene (15,560 years B.P.) to the very late Holocene (as recent as 590 years B.P.), indicating that the late Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs in Iowa have seen multiple episodes of aridity, which is consistent with results from the Nebraska Sand Hills and eolian sand stringers in southeastern Minnesota. The grain-size distributions were anomalous in that, compared with typical eolian deposits, the transition grain sizes between the traction I saltation populations and saltation I suspension populations were shifted toward coarser grains, and the percentage of sand in the suspension population was high. The anomalous grain-size distributions could not be explained by post-depositional weathering or poor sorting in the source region, but were consistent with the eolian transport of sand through grass prior to deposition. It is suggested that the anomalous grain-size distribution could be one of a set of criteria for distinguishing paleo-sand prairies from other buried bodies of eolian sand or sandstone

Gender and GMOs: Understanding Floridians attitudes toward GMOs through the lens of Social Judgment Theory

Social judgement theory was utilized to determine if men and women showed different acceptance of messages about genetically modified (GM) foods. The primary objective was to determine if females and males had a different latitude of acceptance toward statements about GM foods. Researchers found significant differences between males and females with more males accepting messages about GM foods than females. Additionally, there were several statements with wide latitudes of acceptance across genders. These statements represent a common ground and are a good starting point for conversations about GM food

Computational Study Of Molecular Hydrogen In Zeolite Na-A. I. Potential Energy Surfaces And Thermodynamic Separation Factors For Ortho And Para Hydrogen

We simulate H-2 adsorbed within zeolite Na-A. We use a block Lanczos procedure to generate the first several (9) rotational eigenstates of the molecule, which is modeled as a rigid, quantum rotor with an anisotropic polarizability and quadrupole moment. The rotor interacts with Na cations and O anions; interaction parameters are chosen semiempirically and the truncation of electrostatic fields is handled with a switching function. A Monte Carlo proceedure is used to sample a set of states based on the canonical distribution. Potential energy surfaces, favorable adsorbtion sites, and distributions of barriers to rotation are analyzed. Separation factors for ortho-parahydrogen are calculated; at low temperatures, these are controlled by the ease of rotational tunneling through barriers. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics

Testosterone Amplifies the Negative Valence of an Agonistic Gestural Display by Exploiting Receiver Perceptual Bias

Many animals communicate by performing elaborate displays that are incredibly extravagant and wildly bizarre. So, how do these displays evolve? One idea is that innate sensory biases arbitrarily favour the emergence of certain display traits over others, leading to the design of an unusual display. Here, we study how physiological factors associated with signal production influence this process, a topic that has received almost no attention. We focus on a tropical frog, whose males compete for access to females by performing an elaborate waving display. Our results show that sex hormones like testosterone regulate specific display gestures that exploit a highly conserved perceptual system, evolved originally to detect \u27dangerous\u27 stimuli in the environment. Accordingly, testosterone makes certain gestures likely to appear more perilous to rivals during combat. This suggests that hormone action can interact with effects of sensory bias to create an evolutionary optimum that guides how display exaggeration unfolds

Is there a correlation between infection control performance and other hospital quality measures?

Quality measures are increasingly reported by hospitals to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), yet there may be tradeoffs in performance between infection control (IC) and other quality measures. Hospitals that performed best on IC measures did not perform well on most CMS non–IC quality measures

Insight into the Evolution of Anuran Foot Flag Displays: A Comparative Study of Color and Kinematics

Understanding how complex animal displays evolve is a major goal of evolutionary organismal biology. Here, we study this topic by comparing convergently evolved gestural displays in two unrelated species of frog (Bornean Rock Frog, Staurois parvus, and Kottigehara Dancing Frog, Micrixalus kottigeharensis). This behavior, known as a foot flag, is produced when a male ?waves\u27 his hindlimb at another male during bouts of competition for access to mates. We assess patterns of variation in the color of frog feet and the kinematics of the display itself to help pinpoint similarities and differences of the visual signal elements. We find clear species differences in the color of foot webbing, which is broadcast to receivers during specific phases of the display. Analyses of foot-trajectory duration and geometry also reveal clear species differences in display speed and shape - S. parvus generates a faster and more circular visual signal, while M. kottigeharensis generates a much slower and more elliptical one. These data are consistent with the notion that color, speed, and shape likely encode species identity. However, we also found that foot flag speed shows significant among-individual variation, particularly the phase of the display in which foot webbings are visible. This result is consistent with the idea that frogs alter temporal signal components, which may showcase individual condition, quality, or motivation. Overall, our comparative study helps elucidate the variability of foot flagging behavior in a manner that informs how we understand the design principles that underlie its function as a signal in intraspecific communication

Environmental Enrichment: Disentangling the Influence of Novelty, Social, and Physical Activity on Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy in a Transgenic Mouse Model

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is the deposition of amyloid protein in the cerebral vasculature, a common feature in both aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the effects of environmental factors, particularly cognitive stimulation, social stimulation, and physical activity, on CAA pathology are poorly understood. These factors, delivered in the form of the environmental enrichment (EE) paradigm in rodents, have been shown to have beneficial effects on the brain and behavior in healthy aging and AD models. However, the relative importance of these subcomponents on CAA pathology has not been investigated. Therefore, we assessed the effects of EE, social enrichment (SOC), and cognitive enrichment (COG) compared to a control group that was single housed without enrichment (SIN) from 4 to 8 months of age in wild-type mice (WT) and Tg-SwDI mice, a transgenic mouse model of CAA that exhibits cognitive/behavioral deficits. The results show that individual facets of enrichment can affect an animal model of CAA, though the SOC and combined EE conditions are generally the most effective at producing physiological, cognitive/behavioral, and neuropathological changes, adding to a growing literature supporting the benefits of lifestyle interventions

Family history of breast and ovarian cancer and triple negative subtype in hispanic/latina women.

Familial breast and ovarian cancer prevalence was assessed among 1150 women of Mexican descent enrolled in a case-only, binational breast cancer study. Logistic regression was conducted to compare odds of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) to non-TNBC according to family history of breast and breast or ovarian cancer among 914 of these women. Prevalence of breast cancer family history in a first- and first- or second-degree relative was 13.1% and 24.1%, respectively; that for breast or ovarian cancer in a first-degree relative was 14.9%. After adjustment for age and country of residence, women with a first-degree relative with breast cancer were more likely to be diagnosed with TNBC than non-TNBC (OR=1.98; 95% CI, 1.26-3.11). The odds of TNBC compared to non-TNBC were 1.93 (95% CI, 1.26-2.97) for women with a first-degree relative with breast or ovarian cancer. There were non-significant stronger associations between family history and TNBC among women diagnosed at age <50 compared to ≥50 years for breast cancer in a first-degree relative (P-interaction = 0.14) and a first- or second-degree relative (P-interaction = 0.07). Findings suggest that familial breast cancers are associated with triple negative subtype, possibly related to BRCA mutations in Hispanic/Latina women, which are strongly associated with TNBC. Family history is an important tool to identify Hispanic/Latina women who may be at increased risk of TNBC, and could benefit from prevention and early detection strategies

Long-term voluntary wheel running does not alter vascular amyloid burden but reduces neuroinflammation in the Tg-SwDI mouse model of cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Background: Cardiovascular exercise (CVE) has been shown to be protective against cognitive decline in aging and the risk for dementias, including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). CVE has also been shown to have several beneficial effects on brain pathology and behavioral impairments in mouse models of AD; however, no studies have specifically examined the effects of CVE on cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), which is the accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) in the cerebral vasculature. CAA may be uniquely susceptible to beneficial effects of CVE interventions due to the location and nature of the pathology. Alternatively, CVE may exacerbate CAA pathology, due to added stress on already compromised cerebral vasculature. Methods: In the current study, we examined the effects of CVE over many months in mice, thereby modeling a lifelong commitment to CVE in humans. We assessed this voluntary CVE in Tg-SwDI mice, a transgenic mouse model of CAA that exhibits behavioral deficits, fibrillar vascular Aβ pathology, and significant perivascular neuroinflammation. Various “doses” of exercise intervention (0 h (“Sedentary”), 1 h, 3 h, 12 h access to running wheel) were assessed from ~ 4 to 12 months of age for effects on physiology, behavior/cognitive performance, and pathology. Results: The 12 h group performed the greatest volume of exercise, whereas the 1 h and 3 h groups showed high levels of exercise intensity, as defined by more frequent and longer duration running bouts. Tg-SwDI mice exhibited significant cerebral vascular Aβ pathology and increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines as compared to WT controls. Tg-SwDI mice did not show motor dysfunction or altered levels of anxiety or sociability compared to WT controls, though Tg-SwDI animals did appear to exhibit a reduced tendency to explore novel environments. At all running levels, CAA pathology in Tg-SwDI mice was not significantly altered, but 12-h high-volume exercise showed increased insoluble Aβ burden. However, CVE attenuated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 and was generally effective at enhancing motor function and reducing anxiety-like behavior in Tg-SwDI mice, though alterations in learning and memory tasks were varied. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that CAA can still develop regardless of a lifespan of substantial CVE, although downstream effects on neuroinflammation may be reduced and functional outcomes improved

A Common Endocrine Signature Marks the Convergent Evolution of an Elaborate Dance Display in Frogs

Unrelated species often evolve similar phenotypic solutions to the same environmental problem, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution. But how do these common traits arise? We address this question from a physiological perspective by assessing how convergence of an elaborate gestural display in frogs (foot-flagging) is linked to changes in the androgenic hormone systems that underlie it. We show that the emergence of this rare display in unrelated anuran taxa is marked by a robust increase in the expression of androgen receptor (AR) messenger RNA in the musculature that actuates leg and foot movements, but we find no evidence of changes in the abundance of AR expression in these frogs’ central nervous systems. Meanwhile, the magnitude of the evolutionary change in muscular AR and its association with the origin of foot-flagging differ among clades, suggesting that these variables evolve together in a mosaic fashion. Finally, while gestural displays do differ between species, variation in the complexity of a foot-flagging routine does not predict differences in muscular AR. Altogether, these findings suggest that androgen-muscle interactions provide a conduit for convergence in sexual display behavior, potentially providing a path of least resistance for the evolution of motor performance