Grapes for South Dakota

Before choosing a grape cultivar, note the following points: • Determine how the grapes will be used, as different cultivars are recommended for juice, jam/jelly, or wine. • Select early-maturing grape cultivars that have good cold hardiness if you are a beginning producer. • Winter temperatures and other environmental factors in South Dakota limit grape production to hardy hybrid cultivars. The southern half of the state with its longer growing season and less damaging winter temperatures is more suited for grape production. • Start with a small planting and observe the cultivar\u27s characteristics and its interaction with the particular site before planting on a large scale. • Except for the cultivar “St. Pepin,” all the listed cultivars are self-fruitful. • Purchase vines and cuttings from licensed nurseries to avoid importing insect and disease problems into South Dakota. • Several of the cultivars listed are patented. If you purchase vines or cuttings from a licensed nursery the royalties have already been paid. If you are propagating your own materials, you are responsible for paying the fees; contact your horticulture Extension educator or the SDSU horticulture department for further information on royalties. • If you plan to sell the grapes to a winery, it is highly recommended that you contact the winery or wineries prior to planting, as desired cultivars change over time

Fruit Varieties for South Dakota 2006-2007

The varieties listed in this publication were selected on the basis of availability to the consumer and upon their known reliability, including disease resistance, for general growing conditions in South Dakota

Human Faces Are Slower than Chimpanzee Faces

BACKGROUND: While humans (like other primates) communicate with facial expressions, the evolution of speech added a new function to the facial muscles (facial expression muscles). The evolution of speech required the development of a coordinated action between visual (movement of the lips) and auditory signals in a rhythmic fashion to produce "visemes" (visual movements of the lips that correspond to specific sounds). Visemes depend upon facial muscles to regulate shape of the lips, which themselves act as speech articulators. This movement necessitates a more controlled, sustained muscle contraction than that produced during spontaneous facial expressions which occur rapidly and last only a short period of time. Recently, it was found that human tongue musculature contains a higher proportion of slow-twitch myosin fibers than in rhesus macaques, which is related to the slower, more controlled movements of the human tongue in the production of speech. Are there similar unique, evolutionary physiologic biases found in human facial musculature related to the evolution of speech?\ud \ud METHODOLOGY/PRINICIPAL FINDINGS: Using myosin immunohistochemistry, we tested the hypothesis that human facial musculature has a higher percentage of slow-twitch myosin fibers relative to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). We sampled the orbicularis oris and zygomaticus major muscles from three cadavers of each species and compared proportions of fiber-types. Results confirmed our hypothesis: humans had the highest proportion of slow-twitch myosin fibers while chimpanzees had the highest proportion of fast-twitch fibers.\ud \ud CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrate that the human face is slower than that of rhesus macaques and our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. They also support the assertion that human facial musculature and speech co-evolved. Further, these results suggest a unique set of evolutionary selective pressures on human facial musculature to slow down while the function of this muscle group diverged from that of other primates.\ud \u

EquiFACS: the Equine Facial Action Coding System

Although previous studies of horses have investigated their facial expressions in specific contexts, e.g. pain, until now there has been no methodology available that documents all the possible facial movements of the horse and provides a way to record all potential facial configurations. This is essential for an objective description of horse facial expressions across a range of contexts that reflect different emotional states. Facial Action Coding Systems (FACS) provide a systematic methodology of identifying and coding facial expressions on the basis of underlying facial musculature and muscle movement. FACS are anatomically based and document all possible facial movements rather than a configuration of movements associated with a particular situation. Consequently, FACS can be applied as a tool for a wide range of research questions. We developed FACS for the domestic horse (Equus caballus) through anatomical investigation of the underlying musculature and subsequent analysis of naturally occurring behaviour captured on high quality video. Discrete facial movements were identified and described in terms of the underlying muscle contractions, in correspondence with previous FACS systems. The reliability of others to be able to learn this system (EquiFACS) and consistently code behavioural sequences was high—and this included people with no previous experience of horses. A wide range of facial movements were identified, including many that are also seen in primates and other domestic animals (dogs and cats). EquiFACS provides a method that can now be used to document the facial movements associated with different social contexts and thus to address questions relevant to understanding social cognition and comparative psychology, as well as informing current veterinary and animal welfare practices

Electrophysiological properties of human beta-cell lines EndoC-βH1 and -βH2 conform with human beta-cells

© The Author(s) 2018Limited access to human islets has prompted the development of human beta cell models. The human beta cell lines EndoC-βH1 and EndoC-βH2 are increasingly used by the research community. However, little is known of their electrophysiological and secretory properties. Here, we monitored parameters that constitute the glucose-triggering pathway of insulin release. Both cell lines respond to glucose (6 and 20 mM) with 2- to 3-fold stimulation of insulin secretion which correlated with an elevation of [Ca2+]i, membrane depolarisation and increased action potential firing. Similar to human primary beta cells, KATP channel activity is low at 1 mM glucose and is further reduced upon increasing glucose concentration; an effect that was mimicked by the KATP channel blocker tolbutamide. The upstroke of the action potentials reflects the activation of Ca2+ channels with some small contribution of TTX-sensitive Na+ channels. The repolarisation involves activation of voltage-gated Kv2.2 channels and large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels. Exocytosis presented a similar kinetics to human primary beta cells. The ultrastructure of these cells shows insulin vesicles composed of an electron-dense core surrounded by a thin clear halo. We conclude that the EndoC-βH1 and -βH2 cells share many features of primary human β-cells and thus represent a useful experimental model.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Running a paediatric ambulatory sleep service in a pandemic and beyond

OBJECTIVES: In response COVID-19, re-establishing safe elective services was prioritised in the UK. We assess the impact on face-to-face hospital attendance, cost, and efficiency of implementing a virtual sleep clinic (intervention 1) to screen for children requiring level 3 ambulatory sleep studies using newly implemented ENT-UK guidelines for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) investigation (intervention 2). OBJECTIVES: (1) compare the proportion of children attending sleep clinic undertaking a sleep study before and after implementation of these interventions; (2) compare clinic cancellations and first-time success rates of sleep studies before and after intervention. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: District general hospital paediatric sleep clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged 3 months to 16 years referred to sleep clinic by ENT for investigation of OSA over the 3-months immediately following interventions (1 June 2020 - 1 September 2020) to the same period in the previous year (1 June 2019 - 1 September 2019). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of children attending sleep clinic; date of birth / age of children attending sleep clinic; of number of children undergoing sleep study; diagnostic outcomes; number of appointment cancellations; number of first-time sleep study failures. RESULTS: Post-intervention, there was a significant reduction in the proportion of children undertaking ambulatory sleep studies, and non-significant reductions in appointment cancellations and in first-time sleep study failures. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of the virtual sleep clinic meant that only those children requiring a sleep study attended a face-to-face appointment, which led to reduced face-to-face attendance. There were also unintended cost-effectiveness and efficiency benefits, with potential longer-term learning implications for the wider sleep community and other diagnostic services