Observational results of microwave temperature profile measurements from the airborne Antarctic ozone experiment

The Microwave Temperature Profiler, MTP, is installed on NASA's ER-2 aircraft. MTP measures profiles of air temperature versus altitude. Temperatures are obtained every 13.7 seconds for 15 altitudes in an altitude region that is approximately 5 km thick (at high flight levels). MTP is a passive microwave radiometer, operating at the frequencies 57.3 and 58.8 GHz. Thermal emission from oxygen molecules provides the signal that is converted to air temperature. MTP is unique in that it is the only airborne instrument of its kind. The MTP instrument was used during the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment, AAOE, to enable potential vorticity to be measured along the flight track. Other uses for the MTP data have become apparent. The most intriguing unexpected use is the detection and characterization of mountain waves that were encountered during flights over the Palmer Peninsula. Mountain waves that propagate into the polar vortex may have implications for the formation of the ozone hole. Upward excursions of air parcels lead to a brief cooling. This can begin the process of cloud formation. It is important to determine how much additional formation of polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) material is possible by the passage of air parcels through a mountain wave pattern that endures for long periods. Other mountain wave effects have been suggested, such as a speeding up of the vortex, and a consequent cooling of large air volumes (which in turn might add to PSC production)

Effects of Retinoic Acid on Embryonic Chick Skin

The influence of vitamin A on differentiating epithelia was examined in explants of skin from 14-day chick embryos exposed to retinoic acid (RA) in low, moderate, and high doses. The changes observed in RA-treated cultures are both dose- and time-dependent and are reversible when explants are transferred to control medium. The periderm sloughs prematurely and horizontal stratification is lost. Keratinization is inhibited and fewer desmosomes and tonofilaments are seen. Surface epidermal cells develop microvilli, bulge upwards, and detach. Golgi elements, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and polyribosomes are unusually prominent. Mucin granules form and gland-like structures develop with intercellular canaliculi characterized by tight junctions, brush borders, and dense secretory contents. On the basis of present evidence there are several possible mechanisms by which RA could alter epidermal differentiation. RA-induced gaps in the basal lamina allow direct contact between epidermal basal cells and fibroblasts and collagen fibers which could result in inappropriate dermal signals reaching the epidermis. In younger embryos the entire epidermis, including the mitotically inactive surface cells, appears to respond to RA, and this could imply an epigenetic modulation of cell phenotype. Finally, after the formation of a stratum corneum in older embryos only the relatively undifferentiated basal layer shows a metaplastic response, indicating that RA could be acting directly on the genome

USDA Farm Programs: North Dakota Farmer Participation and Opinions

Agricultural and Food Policy,

The relationship between the size of a contact lens and the percentage of the corneal cylinder used with a toric base curve contact lens to provide an optimum fit

The relationship between the size of a contact lens and the percentage of the corneal cylinder used with a toric base curve contact lens to provide an optimum fi

Natural resources of Lake Earl and Smith River Delta

The Lake Earl/Smith River Delta area is a key coastal wetland situated in northern California. The Lake and Delta have retained much of their value to wildlife and serve as an important link in a chain of such wetlands that extend southward along the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to South America. Millions of water-associated birds of the Pacific Flyway utilize these areas as feeding and resting stops along their migration paths. In California, these wetlands also serve as a significant portion of the available wintering grounds for a major share of the birds within the flyway. The Smith River is also one of the State's most productive salmon and steelhead streams. Anadromous fish produced here provide thousands of angler use days to sport fishermen and contribute substantially to the commercial fishing catch off the northern coast. Because of the importance of coastal wetlands to the fish and wildlife of California, the Department of Fish and Game has initiated a high priority statewide inventory and assessment of these wetlands. This publication is an integral part of that program. This report identifies specific resources and uses; directs attention to problems; and recommends courses of action needed to insure resource protection. It is intended as a guide for citizens, planners, administrators and other interested in the use and development of California's coastal land and waters. (132pp.

Comparison of Electronic Physician Prompts versus Waitroom Case-Finding on Clinical Trial Enrollment

BACKGROUND: Recruiting patients into clinical research protocols is challenging. Electronic medical record (EMR) systems capable of prompting clinicians may facilitate enrollment. OBJECTIVE: To compare an EMR-based clinician prompt versus a wait-room-based case-finding strategy at enrolling patients into a clinical trial. DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparison of recruitment data from two trials to treat anxiety disorders in primary care. Both studies utilized similar enrollment criteria, intervention strategies, and the same four practice sites and EMR system. PARTICIPANTS: Patients referred by their (primary care physicians) PCPs in response to an EMR prompt (recruited 1/2005–10/2006), and patients enrolled by research assistants stationed in practice waiting rooms (7/2000–4/2002). MEASUREMENTS: Referral counts, patients’ baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Over a 22-month period, EMR-prompted PCPs referred 794 patients and 176 (22%) met study inclusion criteria and enrolled, compared to 8,095 patients approached by wait room-based recruiters of whom 193 (2.4%) enrolled. Subjects enrolled by EMR-prompted PCPs were more likely to be non-white (23% vs 5%; P < 0.001), male (28% vs 18%; P = 0.03), and have higher anxiety levels than those recruited by wait-room recruiters (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: EMR systems prompting clinicians to refer patients with specific characteristics are an efficient recruitment tool with critical implications for increasing minority participation in clinical research

Sustainable Agriculture and the Structure of North Dakota Agriculture

Environmental Economics and Policy, Industrial Organization, Production Economics,

Stereochemical studies on protonated bridgehead amines. ^1H NMR determination of cis and trans B-C ring-fused structures for salts of hexahydropyrrolo [2,1-a] isoquinolines and related C ring homologs. Capture of unstable ring-fused structures in the solid state

Acid-addition salts of tricyclic isoquinolines 2a/b, 3a/b, 4a-4c, 5, 6a/b, 7, 8a/b, 9a/b, and 17a/b were studied by high-field ^1H NMR in CDCl_3 solution. Cis (e.g., 14 and 15 in Figure 1) and trans (e.g., 13)B-C ring-fused structures were identified by using the vicinal ^3J(CH-NH) coupling constants, which demonstrate a Karplus-like behavior. In some cases, we initially observed a trans form, which converted to a cis A form by N H proton exchange. For 4c.HBr, the exchange process was slowed by addition of trifluoroacetic acid. In many cases, cis A and cis B structures were preferred in solution. The pendant phenyl group exerted a strong influence on the preferred solution structure. Observation of the initial, unstable trans-fused structures was related to their capture in the solid state and release intact on dissolution. X-ray diffraction was performed on the HBr salts of 2a (B-C cis), 2b (B-C cis), and 4c (B-C trans). The result for 4c.HBr confirmed the connection between the initial trans form in solution and the solid state. For 17b.HCI two conformers, associated with hindered rotation about the bond connecting the 2,6-disubstituted phenyl group to the tricyclic array, were detected at ambient probe temperature; however, rotamers were not observed for either of the two forms (trans and cis A) of 17a.HBr. Two conformers were also found for 16b.HBr. Temperature-dependent behavior was recorded in the ^1H NMR spectra of 17b.HBr and 16b.HBr; the activation free energy for interconversion of conformers was estimated to be in the vicinity of 17 kcal/mol for the former and 14-15 kcal/mol for the latter. The ^1H NMR spectrum of butaclamol hydrochloride (20.HC1), a potent neuroleptic agent, in Me_2SO-d_6 revealed two species in a ratio of 81:19, which were assigned as trans and cis A forms, respectively. ^1H NMR data for various free bases are also presented and discussed. Empirical force field calculations on three model hydrocarbons are discussed from a perspective of finding an explanation for the configurational/conformational behavior of the bridgehead ammonium salts. Diverse literature examples of structures for protonated bridgehead amines are also discussed. A tentative rationale is suggested for the preference of cis A forms in some protonated tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives