The Potential of Girdled and 2,4-D-Injected Southern Red Oaks As Woodpecker Nesting And Foraging Sites

Comparisons of extent of decay in southern red oaks (Quercus falcate Michx.) revealed that trees injected with 2.4-D decayed sooner than girdled trees. Internal examinations of treated trees revealed that girdling and injection permitted growth of heartwood-and sapwood-decaying fungi a condition necessary for woodpecker nest cavity excavation. As a result of the delayed decay, girdling produces better woodpecker habitat in southern red oak. Girdled southern red oaks remain standing longer for woodpeckers to use for foraging and nesting sites. Number of snags required to support various percentages of woodpecker population maximums are presented

The structure of the hantavirus zinc finger domain is conserved and represents the only natively folded region of the Gn cytoplasmic tail

Hantaviruses, of the family Bunyaviridae, are present throughout the world and cause a variety of infections ranging from the asymptomatic to mild and severe hemorrhagic fevers. Hantaviruses are enveloped anti-sense RNA viruses that contain three genomic segments that encode for a nucleocapsid protein, two membrane glycoproteins (Gn and Gc), and an RNA polymerase. Recently, the pathogenicity of hantaviruses has been mapped to the carboxyl end of the 150 residue Gn cytoplasmic tail. The Gn tail has also been shown to play a role in binding the ribonucleoprotein (RNP), a step critical for virus assembly. In this study, we use NMR spectroscopy to compare the structure of a Gn tail zinc finger domain of both a pathogenic (Andes) and a non-pathogenic (Prospect Hill) hantavirus. We demonstrate that despite a stark difference in the virulence of both of these viruses, the structure of the Gn core zinc finger domain is largely conserved in both strains. We also use NMR backbone relaxation studies to demonstrate that the regions of the Andes virus Gn tail immediately outside the zinc finger domain, sites known to bind the RNP, are disordered and flexible, thus intimating that the zinc finger domain is the only structured region of the Gn tail. These structural observations provide further insight into the role of the Gn tail during viral assembly as well as its role in pathogenesis

Equivariant cohomology and analytic descriptions of ring isomorphisms

In this paper we consider a class of connected closed $G$-manifolds with a non-empty finite fixed point set, each $M$ of which is totally non-homologous to zero in $M_G$ (or $G$-equivariantly formal), where $G={\Bbb Z}_2$. With the help of the equivariant index, we give an explicit description of the equivariant cohomology of such a $G$-manifold in terms of algebra, so that we can obtain analytic descriptions of ring isomorphisms among equivariant cohomology rings of such $G$-manifolds, and a necessary and sufficient condition that the equivariant cohomology rings of such two $G$-manifolds are isomorphic. This also leads us to analyze how many there are equivariant cohomology rings up to isomorphism for such $G$-manifolds in 2- and 3-dimensional cases.Comment: 20 pages, updated version with two references adde

Ischemic Preconditioning Does Not Improve Time Trial Performance in Recreational Runners

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(6): 1402-1417, 2020. Some evidence indicates that ischemic preconditioning (IPC) may positively affect endurance exercise performance, but IPC’s effect on running performance is unclear. This study’s purpose was to examine the effect of IPC on running performance in recreational runners. Participants (n=12) completed IPC, a sham (SH) condition, and a leg elevation without blood restriction (LE) control condition on separate days (order randomized). For IPC, blood was restricted using blood pressure cuffs inflated to 220 mmHg at the thigh. For SH, the cuffs were inflated to only 20 mmHg. For LE, participants positioned their legs at 90 degrees against a wall while laying supine. The duration of each protocol was 30 minutes (three 5-minute bouts with 5-minute breaks). Following each protocol, participants ran 2.4 kilometers as fast as possible on a motorized treadmill. Run time, heart rate, and perceived exertion were measured and statistically compared, using repeated-measures ANOVA, each 0.8 kilometers. There were no differences in heart rate or time trial performance across protocols (p\u3e0.05; IPC, 612.5±61.2 sec; SH, 608.1±57.9 sec; LE, 612.7±59.1 sec). Rating of perceived exertion at 0.8 kilometers was significantly lower for the IPC protocol than SH in females only (~5.7%, or ~0.8 points on a 6-20 scale; p\u3c0.05). Our IPC protocol did not improve running performance or physiological parameters during a time trial run in recreational runners. The performance benefit seen in this study’s most fit individuals suggests that fitness level may influence IPC’s efficacy for improving endurance running performance

Demonstration of the Robotic Gamma Locating and Isotopic Identification Device

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) continually seeks safer and more cost-effective technologies for use in decontaminating and decommissioning nuclear facilities. To this end, the Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area of DOE's Office of Science and Technology sponsors Large-Scale Demonstration and Deployment Projects (LSDDP) to test new technologies. As part of these projects, developers and vendors showcase new products designed to decrease health and safety risks to personnel and the environment, increase productivity, and lower costs. As part of the FY 2000 and 2001 LSDDP, the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) collaborated with the Russian Research and Development Institute of Construction Technology (NIKIMT). This collaboration resulted in the development of the Robotic Gamma Locating and Isotopic Identification Device (RGL and IID) which integrated DOE Robotics Crosscutting (Rbx) technology with NIKIMT Russian gamma locating and isotopic identification technology. This paper will discuss the technologies involved in this integration and results from the demonstration including reduction of personnel exposure, increase in productivity, and reduced risk

Developing autonomous learning in first year university students using perspectives from positive psychology

Autonomous learning is a commonly occurring learning outcome from university study, and it is argued that students require confidence in their own abilities to achieve this. Using approaches from positive psychology, this study aimed to develop confidence in first‐year university students to facilitate autonomous learning. Psychological character strengths were assessed in 214 students on day one at university. Two weeks later their top three strengths were given to them in study skills modules as part of a psycho‐educational intervention designed to increase their self‐efficacy and self‐esteem. The impact of the intervention was assessed against a control group of 40 students who had not received the intervention. The results suggested that students were more confident after the intervention, and that levels of autonomous learning increased significantly compared to the controls. Character strengths were found to be associated with self‐efficacy, self‐esteem and autonomous learning in ways that were theoretically meaningful