Generalized curve fit and plotting (GECAP) program

Program generates graphs on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper and is designed to be used by engineers and scientists who are not necessarily professional programers. It provides fast and efficient method for display of plotted data without having to generate any additional FORTRAN instructions

The Identification of the More Important Prairie Hay Grasses of Nebraska by Their Vegetative Characters

It is convenient and sometimes necessary to identify the grasses in their vegetative stage of growth. This is especially desirable in a study of the vegetation of native hay meadows and permanent pastures. This key is prepared as a guide in the identification of the more important prairie hay grasses of Nebraska. The meadows are often harvested before the floral parts of many of the grasses appear. If it is desired, therefore, to study the botanical composition of the native meadows, it becomes necessary to rely on identification of many of the grasses by means of vegetative characters

An Encouragement of Television News History Research: A Roundtable Discussion.

The article focuses on the speech by four scholars including Mary E. Beadle, Madeleine Liseblad and Mike Conway, delivered at the 2016 American Journalism Historians Association annual conference held in Saint Petersburg, Florida, on television news history research. Beadle discusses the lack of material in local television history research. Liseblad discusses the challenges and opportunities of television history research in Europe while Conway discusses access to historic broadcasts

Oxetane-based peptidomimetics

This thesis describes the synthesis, structural preferences and biological properties of oxetane-containing peptidomimetics in which one of the amide C=O bonds of a peptide backbone is replaced by an oxetane ring. Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction on peptidomimetics, oxetanes in medicinal chemistry and oxetane-containing peptidomimetics. Chapter 2 describes the development of a simple two-step sequence to spirocyclic analogues of 2,5-diketopiperazines. Conjugate addition of α-amino methyl esters to nitroalkenes, generated from oxetan-3-one or N-Boc-azetidin-3-one, followed by reduction of the nitro group with Raney Ni under an atmosphere of hydrogen provides, after spontaneous cyclisation of the primary amine, the spirocycles in good overall yields. These novel spirocycles can be functionalised by selective N-alkylations as well as by carbonyl reduction to the corresponding piperazines. Chapter 3 describes the development of a practical route to oxetane-modified peptides (OMPs) using solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) techniques. Our approach involves the application of oxetane-containing dipeptide building blocks which are easily prepared in three steps in solution. The building blocks are then integrated into peptide chains using conventional Fmoc/ t Bu SPPS. This approach was used to prepare a range of OMPs in high purity including oxetane analogues of Met- and Leu-enkephalin and the nonapeptide bradykinin. Chapter 4 explores the impact of oxetane-modification on the structure and stability of α- helices. Initially, an asymmetric route to a dipeptide building block in which the oxetane- residue is based on alanine is described. Following this, the SPPS methodology described in Chapter 3 was used to prepare oxetane-modified analogues of an alanine-based α- helical peptide in which a single alanine residue is replaced with an oxetane-modified residue. The structural preferences of the oxetane-modified analogues were then studied using circular-dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. These studies revealed that introduction of an oxetane-modification results in a helix-destabilising effect. Chapter 5 gives a summary of the key findings and possible future work. Chapter 6 provides detailed experimental procedures for the work carried out in Chapters 2-4

Inhibition of adenovirus serotype 14 infection by octadecyloxyethyl esters of (S)-[(3-hydroxy-2-phosphonomethoxy)propyl]- nucleosides in vitro.

On September 22, 2008, a physician on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, notified the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (ADHSS) of an unusually high number of adult patients with recently diagnosed pneumonia (n = 10), including three persons who required hospitalization and one who died. ADHSS and CDC conducted an investigation to determine the cause and distribution of the outbreak, identify risk factors for hospitalization, and implement control measures. This report summarizes the results of that investigation, which found that the outbreak was caused by adenovirus 14 (Ad14), an emerging adenovirus serotype in the United States that is associated with a higher rate of severe illness compared with other adenoviruses. Among the 46 cases identified in the outbreak from September 1 through October 27, 2008, the most frequently observed characteristics included the following: male (70%), Alaska Native (61%), underlying pulmonary disease (44%), aged > or = 65 years (26%), and current smoker (48%). Patients aged > or = 65 years had a fivefold increased risk for hospitalization. The most commonly reported symptoms were cough (100%), shortness of breath (87%), and fever (74%). Of the 11 hospitalized patients, three required intensive care, and one required mechanical ventilation. One death was reported. Ad14 isolates obtained during the outbreak were identical genetically to those in recent community-acquired outbreaks in the United States which suggests the emergence of a new, and possibly more virulent Ad14 variant. Clinicians should consider Ad14 infection in the differential diagnosis for patients with community-acquired pneumonia, particularly when unexplained clusters of severe respiratory infections are detected

Synthesis of oxetane- and azetidine-containing spirocycles related to the 2,5-diketopiperazine framework

A simple two-step sequence is used to efficiently make novel spirocyclic analogues of the diketopiperazine nucleus. Conjugate addition of chiral α-amino esters to nitroalkenes, generated from oxetan-3-one or N-Boc-azetidin-3-one, followed by nitro group reduction provides, after spontaneous cyclization, the spirocycles in good overall yields. These rigid scaffolds can be functionalized by selective N-alkylations as well as by carbonyl reduction to the corresponding piperazines

Insulin-like signalling influences the coordination of larval hemocyte number with body size in Drosophila melanogaster

Blood cells, known as hemocytes in invertebrates, play important and conserved roles in immunity, wound healing and tissue remodelling. The control of hemocyte number is therefore critical to ensure these functions are not compromised, and studies using Drosophila melanogaster are proving useful for understanding how this occurs. Recently, the embryonic patterning gene, torso-like (tsl), was identified as being required both for normal hemocyte development and for providing immunity against certain pathogens. Here, we report that Tsl is required specifically during the larval phase of hematopoiesis, and that tsl mutant larvae likely have reduced hemocyte numbers due to a reduced larval growth rate and compromised insulin signaling. Consistent with this, we find that impairing insulin-mediated growth, either by nutrient deprivation or genetically, results in fewer hemocytes. This is likely the result of impaired insulin-like signaling in the hemocytes themselves, since modulation of Insulin-like Receptor (InR) activity specifically in hemocytes causes concomitant changes to their population size in developing larvae. Taken together, our work reveals the strong relationship that exists between body size and hemocyte number, and suggests that insulin-like signaling contributes to, but is not solely responsible for, keeping these tightly aligned during larval development

Managerial Work in a Practice-Embodying Institution - The role of calling, the virtue of constancy

What can be learned from a small scale study of managerial work in a highly marginal and under-researched working community? This paper uses the ‘goods-virtues-practices-institutions’ framework to examine the managerial work of owner-directors of traditional circuses. Inspired by MacIntyre’s arguments for the necessity of a narrative understanding of the virtues, interviews explored how British and Irish circus directors accounted for their working lives. A purposive sample was used to select subjects who had owned and managed traditional touring circuses for at least 15 years, a period in which the economic and reputational fortunes of traditional circuses have suffered badly. This sample enabled the research to examine the self-understanding of people who had, at least on the face of it, exhibited the virtue of constancy. The research contributes to our understanding of the role of the virtues in organizations by presenting evidence of an intimate relationship between the virtue of constancy and a ‘calling’ work orientation. This enhances our understanding of the virtues that are required if management is exercised as a domain-related practice