Public questions spur the discovery of new bacterial species associated with lignin bioconversion of industrial waste

A citizen science project found that the greenhouse camel cricket (Diestrammena asynamora) is common in North American homes. Public response was to wonder “what good are they anyway?” and ecology and evolution guided the search for potential benefit. We predicted that camel crickets and similar household species would likely host bacteria with the ability to degrade recalcitrant carbon compounds. Lignocellulose is particularly relevant as it is difficult to degrade yet is an important feedstock for pulp and paper, chemical, and biofuel industries. We screened gut bacteria of greenhouse camel crickets and another household insect, a hide beetle (Dermestes maculatus) for the ability to grow on and degrade lignocellulose components as well as the lignocellulose-derived industrial waste product black liquor. From three greenhouse camel crickets and three hide beetles, 14 bacterial strains were identified capable of growth on lignocellulosic components, including lignin. Cedecea lapagei was selected for further study due to growth on most lignocellulose components. The C. lapagei secretome was identified using LC/MS/MS analysis. This work demonstrates a novel source of lignocellulose-degrading bacteria and introduces an effective workflow to identify bacterial enzymes for transforming industrial waste into value-added products. More generally, our research suggests the value of ecologically-guided discovery of novel organisms

Handbook of Test Methods for Evaluating Chemical Deicers

This handbook contains a structured selection of specific test methods for complete characterization of deicing chemicals. Sixty-two specific test methods are defined for the evaluation of chemical deicers in eight principal property performance areas: 1) physicochemical characteristics; 2) deicing performance; 3) compatibility with bare and coated metals in concrete; 5) compatibility with concrete and nonmetals; 6) engineering parameters; 7) ecological effects; and 8) health and safety aspects. The 62 specific chemical deicer test methods are composed of 12 primary and 50 supplementary test methods. The primary test methods, which were developed for conducting the more important evaluations, are identified as follows: 1) ice melting tests for liquid and solid deicers; 2) ice penetration tests for liquid and solid deicers; 3) ice undercutting tests for liquid and solid deicers; 4) bare metal corrosion test; 5) concrete degradation test; 6) concrete scaling test; 7) friction characterization test; 8) ecological effects tests; and 9) rebar in concrete corrosion test. xx

Lipin-1 contributes to IL-4 mediated macrophage polarization

Macrophage responses contribute to a diverse array of pathologies ranging from infectious disease to sterile inflammation. Polarization of macrophages determines their cellular function within biological processes. Lipin-1 is a phosphatidic acid phosphatase in which its enzymatic activity contributes to macrophage pro-inflammatory responses. Lipin-1 also possesses transcriptional co-regulator activity and whether this activity is required for macrophage polarization is unknown. Using mice that lack only lipin-1 enzymatic activity or both enzymatic and transcriptional coregulator activities from myeloid cells, we investigated the contribution of lipin-1 transcriptional co-regulator function toward macrophage wound healing polarization. Macrophages lacking both lipin-1 activities did not elicit IL-4 mediated gene expression to levels seen in either wild-type or lipin-1 enzymatically deficient macrophages. Furthermore, mice lacking myeloid-associated lipin-1 have impaired full thickness excisional wound healing compared to wild-type mice or mice only lacking lipin-1 enzymatic activity from myeloid cell. Our study provides evidence that lipin-1 transcriptional co-regulatory activity contributes to macrophage polarization and influences wound healin

Career patterns of U.S. male academic social scientists

Seventy-four U.S. male academic social scientists provided career stage data. All were born between 1893 and 1903. The subjects were divided into four groups on the basis of their scholarly article productivity after age 59. Spilerman's conceptualization of work history guided the analysis. To a lesser extent, adult development theory (e.g., Hall and Nougaim, 1968) was also examined.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42843/1/10734_2004_Article_BF00139794.pd

“Cloning” in academe: Mentorship and academic careers

Mentor professors were surveyed with respect to their most successful “protégés” regarding scholarly production, the mentorship role, and their careers. Career stage, network stratification, and weak-tie theories provided the conceptual frameworks. The 62 mentors were highly productive professors who were predominantly both graduates and employees of research universities. Mentors overwhelmingly nominated as their most successful protégés those whose careers were essentially identical to their own—i.e., their “clones.” Women mentors named as most successfully protégés more than twice as many females and males than men did. More productive mentors linked with a greater number of protégés but were less knowledgable about their personal lives, as Granovetter's theory would predict. The results also demonstrate the openness of the network within stratified levels.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43588/1/11162_2004_Article_BF00973512.pd

Kinks in the Presence of Rapidly Varying Perturbations

Dynamics of sine-Gordon kinks in the presence of rapidly varying periodic perturbations of different physical origins is described analytically and numerically. The analytical approach is based on asymptotic expansions, and it allows to derive, in a rigorous way, an effective nonlinear equation for the slowly varying field component in any order of the asymptotic procedure as expansions in the small parameter $\omega^{-1}$, $\omega$ being the frequency of the rapidly varying ac driving force. Three physically important examples of such a dynamics, {\em i.e.}, kinks driven by a direct or parametric ac force, and kinks on rotating and oscillating background, are analysed in detail. It is shown that in the main order of the asymptotic procedure the effective equation for the slowly varying field component is {\em a renormalized sine-Gordon equation} in the case of the direct driving force or rotating (but phase-locked to an external ac force) background, and it is {\em the double sine-Gordon equation} for the parametric driving force. The properties of the kinks described by the renormalized nonlinear equations are analysed, and it is demonstrated analytically and numerically which kinds of physical phenomena may be expected in dealing with the renormalized, rather than the unrenormalized, nonlinear dynamics. In particular, we predict several qualitatively new effects which include, {\em e.g.}, the perturbation-inducedComment: New copy of the paper of the above title to replace the previous one, lost in the midst of the bulletin board. RevTeX 3.

An appropriate tool for entrepreneurial learning in SMEs? The case of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme

The 20Twenty Leadership Programme was developed by Cardiff Metropolitan University as an executive education programme to be delivered within South Wales to small businesses. It is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and administered by the Welsh European Funding Office and has the key aim of developing SME’s growth potential via a range of leadership and management skills, including a focus on ‘soft’ skills. The focus of this paper is to place the 20Twenty Leadership Programme within the wider context of entrepreneurship policy and SME training initiatives in particular, and then to examine the rationale and delivery methods of the Programme in relation to these. It also reflects on the Programme’s success (or otherwise) to date where possible. Finally, the paper seeks to suggest fruitful areas of further research both in terms of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme itself, but also with regard to evaluation in relation to other parallel programmes, and to SME training initiatives more generally

The dimensions of academic scholarship: Faculty and administrator views

Faculty and administrators responded to 32 activity statements related to “scholarship” on a frequency basis and on the characteristicness of the role. Approximately 1,000 faculty members in 24 colleges and universities and 55 administrators from 5 of the schools participated. Factor analysis revealed 6 dimensions of scholarship — professional activity, research (publishing), teaching, service, artistic endeavor, and “engagement with the novel,” the last being a new conception, one valued highly by both faculty and administrators in all types of colleges and universities. Significant differences appeared with respect to faculty and administrative views on the importance of research in regional universities.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43591/1/11162_2004_Article_BF00992038.pd