Paleomagnetism of the Roskruge and Gringo Gulch Volcanics, southeast Arizona

Paleomagnetic data were obtained from nine cooling units of the Late Cretaceous (∼72 Ma) Roskruge Volcanics and from 25 flows in the lower Paleocene Gringo Gulch Volcanics, both from southeastern Arizona. Alternating field demagnetization successfully erased the infrequent secondary components of magnetization. The paleomagnetic pole position obtained from the Roskruge Volcanics is at 73.6°N, 176.0°E with dp = 6.2° and dm = 8.8°. The Gringo Gulch Volcanics pole position is at 77.0°N, 201.0°E with dp = 1.2° and dm = 1.7°. In conjunction with other recently published Paleocene and Eocene paleomagnetic poles, these data provide details of North American apparent polar wander during the Laramide orogeny (∼80 to ∼40 Ma). An episode of rapid apparent polar wander from the Cretaceous pole position in the Bering Strait to the Eocene pole position near the present rotation axis occurred during that interval of time. The initiation of this episode of apparent polar wander appears to be coincident with the major plate reorganizations which occurred at the onset of the Laramide orogeny

Improving the Aerospace Capstone Design Experience Through Simulation Based Learning

A key role of universities is to prepare students to work in their chosen profession upon completion of their degree program. Engineering capstone design courses are often the only required courses that challenge students to draw on nearly all of the students’ previous collegiate learning experiences and to synthesize and apply these to creating a new solution to an engineering problem. Aside from internship and co-op experiences, these are often the first courses that expose engineering students to some of the technical and political issues that they will often face in their professional engineering careers. Industry often looks at these design experiences in addition to work experience when evaluating new graduates. While beneficial, there remains a perceived disconnect between what academia is producing and what industry is seeking. Industry is seeking ‘engineers’ who are well versed in the application of science to problem solving whereas academia is producing ‘engineer scientists’ who are well versed in the science, but lacking in the application of knowledge gained through experience. While some context-based learning opportunities are emerging much earlier in the engineering curriculum, the needs and means to provide such experiences remain limited. This paper discusses a pilot study that was conducted during the first term of a two term capstone design class in aerospace engineering aircraft design at Virginia Tech. The study explored the educational impact of utilizing realism and simulation to introduce the aircraft design process with the aim of determining if such an approach could help remedy the academia/industry disconnect and at the same time make for an engaging design experience for the students. Results indicate that the use of simulation was welcomed by the participants of the study and can help prepare students to think as working design professionals, not limited by the generic design solutions often found in academic de-contextualized design problems

How Valid Are Measures of Children’s Self-Concept/ Self-Esteem? Factors and Content Validity in Three Widely Used Scales

Children’s self-esteem/self-concept, a core psychological construct, has been measured in an overwhelming number of studies, and the widespread use of such measures should indicate they have well-established content validity, internal consistency and factor structures. This study, sampling a demographically representative cohort in late childhood/early adolescence in Dublin, Ireland (total n = 651), examined three major self-esteem/self-concept scales designed for late childhood/early adolescence: Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children 2 (Piers et al. 2002), Self-Description Questionnaire I (Marsh 1992) and Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter 1985). It also examined findings in light of the salient self factors identified by participants in a linked mixed-methods study. The factor structure of Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was not replicated. The Self-Description Questionnaire I and Self-Perception Profile for Children were replicated only in part although in similar ways. In all three scales, a global/ appearance self evaluation factor accounted for the largest variance in factor analyses. Sport/athletic ability, school ability, school enjoyment, maths and reading ability/enjoyment, behaviour, peer popularity, and parent factors were also identified but did not always reflect existing scale structures. Notably, the factors extracted, or items present in these scales, often did not reflect young people’s priorities, such as friendship over popularity, the importance of family and extended family members, and the significance of incremental personal mastery in activities rather than assessing oneself as comparatively good at preferred activities. The findings raise questions about how self-esteem/self-concept scales are used and interpreted in research with children and young people

Active Methamphetamine Use is Associated with Transmitted Drug Resis-tance to Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors in Individuals with HIV Infection of Unknown Duration

BackgroundFrequent methamphetamine use among recently HIV infected individuals is associated with transmitted drug resistance (TDR) to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI); however, the reversion time of TDR to drug susceptible HIV may exceed 3 years. We assessed whether recreational substance use is associated with detectable TDR among individuals newly diagnosed with HIV infection of unknown duration.DesignCross-sectional analysis.MethodsSubjects were enrolled at the University California, San Diego Early Intervention Program. Demographic, clinical and substance use data were collected using structured interviews. Genotypic resistance testing was performed using GeneSeq, Monogram Biosciences. We analyzed the association between substance use and TDR using bivariate analyses and the corresponding transmission networks using phylogenetic models.ResultsBetween April 2004 and July 2006, 115 individuals with genotype data were enrolled. The prevalence of alcohol, marijuana and methamphetamine use were 98%, 71% and 64% respectively. Only active methamphetamine use in the 30 days prior to HIV diagnosis was independently associated with TDR to NNRTI (OR: 6.6; p=0.002).ConclusionDespite not knowing the duration of their HIV infection, individuals reporting active methamphetamine use in the 30 days prior to HIV diagnosis are at an increased risk of having HIV strains that are resistant to NNRTI

Properties of Light Flavour Baryons in Hypercentral quark model

The light flavour baryons are studied within the quark model using the hyper central description of the three-body system. The confinement potential is assumed as hypercentral coulomb plus power potential ($hCPP_\nu$) with power index $\nu$. The masses and magnetic moments of light flavour baryons are computed for different power index, $\nu$ starting from 0.5 to 1.5. The predicted masses and magnetic moments are found to attain a saturated value with respect to variation in $\nu$ beyond the power index $\nu>$ 1.0. Further we computed transition magnetic moments and radiative decay width of light flavour baryons. The results are in good agreement with known experimental as well as other theoretical models.Comment: Accepted in Pramana J. of Physic

Signatures of Star-planet interactions

Planets interact with their host stars through gravity, radiation and magnetic fields, and for those giant planets that orbit their stars within $\sim$10 stellar radii ($\sim$0.1 AU for a sun-like star), star-planet interactions (SPI) are observable with a wide variety of photometric, spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric studies. At such close distances, the planet orbits within the sub-alfv\'enic radius of the star in which the transfer of energy and angular momentum between the two bodies is particularly efficient. The magnetic interactions appear as enhanced stellar activity modulated by the planet as it orbits the star rather than only by stellar rotation. These SPI effects are informative for the study of the internal dynamics and atmospheric evolution of exoplanets. The nature of magnetic SPI is modeled to be strongly affected by both the stellar and planetary magnetic fields, possibly influencing the magnetic activity of both, as well as affecting the irradiation and even the migration of the planet and rotational evolution of the star. As phase-resolved observational techniques are applied to a large statistical sample of hot Jupiter systems, extensions to other tightly orbiting stellar systems, such as smaller planets close to M dwarfs become possible. In these systems, star-planet separations of tens of stellar radii begin to coincide with the radiative habitable zone where planetary magnetic fields are likely a necessary condition for surface habitability.Comment: Accepted for publication in the handbook of exoplanet

The Impact of Global Warming and Anoxia on Marine Benthic Community Dynamics: an Example from the Toarcian (Early Jurassic)

The Pliensbachian-Toarcian (Early Jurassic) fossil record is an archive of natural data of benthic community response to global warming and marine long-term hypoxia and anoxia. In the early Toarcian mean temperatures increased by the same order of magnitude as that predicted for the near future; laminated, organic-rich, black shales were deposited in many shallow water epicontinental basins; and a biotic crisis occurred in the marine realm, with the extinction of approximately 5% of families and 26% of genera. High-resolution quantitative abundance data of benthic invertebrates were collected from the Cleveland Basin (North Yorkshire, UK), and analysed with multivariate statistical methods to detect how the fauna responded to environmental changes during the early Toarcian. Twelve biofacies were identified. Their changes through time closely resemble the pattern of faunal degradation and recovery observed in modern habitats affected by anoxia. All four successional stages of community structure recorded in modern studies are recognised in the fossil data (i.e. Stage III: climax; II: transitional; I: pioneer; 0: highly disturbed). Two main faunal turnover events occurred: (i) at the onset of anoxia, with the extinction of most benthic species and the survival of a few adapted to thrive in low-oxygen conditions (Stages I to 0) and (ii) in the recovery, when newly evolved species colonized the re-oxygenated soft sediments and the path of recovery did not retrace of pattern of ecological degradation (Stages I to II). The ordination of samples coupled with sedimentological and palaeotemperature proxy data indicate that the onset of anoxia and the extinction horizon coincide with both a rise in temperature and sea level. Our study of how faunal associations co-vary with long and short term sea level and temperature changes has implications for predicting the long-term effects of “dead zones” in modern oceans

Defining the challenges and opportunities for using patient-derived models in prostate cancer research

BackgroundThere are relatively few widely used models of prostate cancer compared to other common malignancies. This impedes translational prostate cancer research because the range of models does not reflect the diversity of disease seen in clinical practice. In response to this challenge, research laboratories around the world have been developing new patient-derived models of prostate cancer, including xenografts, organoids, and tumor explants.MethodsIn May 2023, we held a workshop at the Monash University Prato Campus for researchers with expertise in establishing and using a variety of patient-derived models of prostate cancer. This review summarizes our collective ideas on how patient-derived models are currently being used, the common challenges, and future opportunities for maximizing their usefulness in prostate cancer research.ResultsAn increasing number of patient-derived models for prostate cancer are being developed. Despite their individual limitations and varying success rates, these models are valuable resources for exploring new concepts in prostate cancer biology and for preclinical testing of potential treatments. Here we focus on the need for larger collections of models that represent the changing treatment landscape of prostate cancer, robust readouts for preclinical testing, improved in vitro culture conditions, and integration of the tumor microenvironment. Additional priorities include ensuring model reproducibility, standardization, and replication, and streamlining the exchange of models and data sets among research groups.ConclusionsThere are several opportunities to maximize the impact of patient-derived models on prostate cancer research. We must develop large, diverse and accessible cohorts of models and more sophisticated methods for emulating the intricacy of patient tumors. In this way, we can use the samples that are generously donated by patients to advance the outcomes of patients in the future

Evaluating the effects of catch-and-release angling on Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi in a South African estuary

Fisheries managers are increasingly promoting catch and release (C&R) as a means to manage recreational fish stocks. Several commonly used output regulations, including bag and size limits, require the mandatory release of captured fishes by anglers. In addition to mandatory C&R, conservation-conscious anglers have adopted voluntary C&R behaviour as a result of the noticeable declines in the populations of many fishery species and this behaviour is becoming increasingly popular among recreational anglers (Cooke et al. 2013a). The combination of mandatory and voluntary C&R behaviour is substantial, as Raby et al. (2014) estimated that 60% of fish captured in global recreational fisheries are released. In South Africa, Cowley et al. (2013) found that a large proportion (mean 74% [SD 7.3]) of the five most-dominant fishery species captured in the Sundays Estuary recreational fishery were released