Results of the 2001 Becoming an Outdoor-Woman Survey

INHS Human Dimensions Research Program and Illinois Department of Natural Resourcesunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Results of the 2003-2004 Illinois Youth Hunter Survey

Federal Aid Project Number W-112-R-13, Job Number 103.1, Wildlife Restoration Fund, July 1, 2003 - Sept. 30, 2004Report issued on: December 22, 200

Feeding selectivity and rapid particle processing by deep-sea megafaunal deposit feeders: A 234Th tracer approach

Deposit-feeding megafauna occur in virtually all deep-sea environments, yet their feeding selectivity and particle processing rates are poorly known. Excess 234Th activity is commonly used asa geochemical tracer for recently settled (, 100-d old) particles in the quiescent deep sea, but it has rarely been applied to the study of deposit feeders. To explore the selectivity and rates of megafaunal deposit feeding, we compared excess 234Th activities in the gut contents of deposit feeders from Santa Catalina Basin (SCB) (~ 1200 m depth) and the Hawaiian slope (~ 1680 m) to the activity of surface sediments and, in SCB, to material from sediment traps moored, 150 m above the seafloor. We also measured concentrations of chlorophylla and phaeopigments in animal guts and surface sediments to evaluate feeding selectivity. In the SCB, excess 234Th (234Thxs) activities in the guts of four species of surface-deposit feeders were 14–17 fold greater than those of the top 5 mm of sediment. Pannychiamoseleyi and Scotoplanes globosa, two highly mobile, surface-deposit-feeding elasipodid holothuri-ans, were the most enriched in gut 234Thxs activity, suggesting that these species fed very selectivelyon particles settled to the seafloor within the previous, 20 d. Pannychia moseleyi guts also exhibited 500-fold enrichment of chlorophyll a relative to surface sediments indicating highly selective ingestion of phytodetritus. Chiridota sp., a burrowing, surface-deposit-feeding, chiridotid holothurian, and Bathybembix bairdii, a surface-deposit-feeding trochid gastropod, were less enriched in gut 234Thxs activity, reflecting lower mobility and/or less selectivity at time of particle pickup. A subsurface-deposit-feeding, molpadiid holothurian was not enriched in gut 234Thxs activity compared to surface sediments, but was greatly enriched compared to average activities at its presumed feeding depth of 6–7 cm. On the Hawaiian slope, gut contents of two surface-deposit feeders, the synallactidholothurians Mesothuria carnosa and Paleopatides retifer, were not enriched in 234Thxs activity;however, M. carnosa and Phryssocystis sp. (a surface-deposit-feeding echinoid) were enriched in chlorophyll a, suggesting that the Hawaiian slope species are also selective feeders. Presumably, frequent sediment resuspension makes 234Thxs activity a poor tracer for recently settled, food-rich particles on the Hawaiian slope. Based on a newly developed 234Th-flux model, we calculate that the three dominant megafaunal, surface-deposit feeders in SCB consumed on average 39–52% (s.e.13–27%) of the daily flux of 234Thxs activity to the SCB floor. By chemically altering (e.g., digesting) and redistributing recently settled particulate organic matter, these megafauna are likely to substantially influence carbon diagenesis and food-web structure in this bathyal habitat

Patient-Specific Variations in Biomarkers across Gingivitis and Periodontitis

This study investigates the use of saliva, as an emerging diagnostic fluid in conjunction with classification techniques to discern biological heterogeneity in clinically labelled gingivitis and periodontitis subjects (80 subjects; 40/group) A battery of classification techniques were investigated as traditional single classifier systems as well as within a novel selective voting ensemble classification approach (SVA) framework. Unlike traditional single classifiers, SVA is shown to reveal patient-specific variations within disease groups, which may be important for identifying proclivity to disease progression or disease stability. Salivary expression profiles of IL-1ß, IL-6, MMP-8, and MIP-1α from 80 patients were analyzed using four classification algorithms (LDA: Linear Discriminant Analysis [LDA], Quadratic Discriminant Analysis [QDA], Naïve Bayes Classifier [NBC] and Support Vector Machines [SVM]) as traditional single classifiers and within the SVA framework (SVA-LDA, SVA-QDA, SVA-NB and SVA-SVM). Our findings demonstrate that performance measures (sensitivity, specificity and accuracy) of traditional classification as single classifier were comparable to that of the SVA counterparts using clinical labels of the samples as ground truth. However, unlike traditional single classifier approaches, the normalized ensemble vote-counts from SVA revealed varying proclivity of the subjects for each of the disease groups. More importantly, the SVA identified a subset of gingivitis and periodontitis samples that demonstrated a biological proclivity commensurate with the other clinical group. This subset was confirmed across SVA-LDA, SVA-QDA, SVA-NB and SVA-SVM. Heatmap visualization of their ensemble sets revealed lack of consensus between these subsets and the rest of the samples within the respective disease groups indicating the unique nature of the patients in these subsets. While the source of variation is not known, the results presented clearly elucidate the need for novel approaches that accommodate inherent heterogeneity and personalized variations within disease groups in diagnostic characterization. The proposed approach falls within the scope of P4 medicine (predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory) with the ability to identify unique patient profiles that may predict specific disease trajectories and targeted disease management

Improving Spatial Ability with Mentored Sketching

As the result of a qualitative investigation into spatial ability, a teaching technique called mentored sketching was found to be effective for teaching visualization skills to freshman engineering students. This contribution describes the technique, how it evolved, and comments made by students as to its effectiveness. While mentored sketching emerged as a novel approach for the advancement of student sketching and spatial ability skills, it appears unhindered by class size and provides few constraints as a teaching methodology

The Lantern Vol. 33, No. 2, May 1967

• The Plea • Arrival • Nouvelle • Poem on Theme by Leroi Jones • Night Thoughts • Finals • Caught in the Act • Tomorrow • The Rail • The Price • Lost • It\u27s a Svaden Spring • No Thanks to City Hall • Grinding Them to Dust • Four • Five • Nine • Ten • Twelve • Thirty-Six • Psyched Up and Out • Gutted Gloryhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1091/thumbnail.jp

Cross-Talk Between Clinical and Host-Response Parameters of Periodontitis in Smokers

Background and Objective Periodontal diseases are a major public health concern leading to tooth loss and have also been shown to be associated with several chronic systemic diseases. Smoking is a major risk factor for the development of numerous systemic diseases, as well as periodontitis. While it is clear that smokers have a significantly enhanced risk for developing periodontitis leading to tooth loss, the population varies regarding susceptibility to disease associated with smoking. This investigation focused on identifying differences in four broad sets of variables, consisting of: (i) host‐response molecules; (ii) periodontal clinical parameters; (iii) antibody responses to periodontal pathogens and oral commensal bacteria; and (iv) other variables of interest, in a population of smokers with (n = 171) and without (n = 117) periodontitis. Material and Methods Bayesian network structured learning (BNSL) techniques were used to investigate potential associations and cross‐talk between the four broad sets of variables. Results BNSL revealed two broad communities with markedly different topology between the populations of smokers, with and without periodontitis. Confidence of the edges in the resulting network also showed marked variations within and between the periodontitis and nonperiodontitis groups. Conclusion The results presented validated known associations and discovered new ones with minimal precedence that may warrant further investigation and novel hypothesis generation. Cross‐talk between the clinical variables and antibody profiles of bacteria were especially pronounced in the case of periodontitis and were mediated by the antibody response profile to Porphyromonas gingivalis

Platelet-derived growth factor stimulates Src-dependent mRNA stabilization of specific early genes in fibroblasts.

The Src family of protein-tyrosine kinases (SFKs) participates in a variety of signal transduction pathways, including promotion of cell growth, prevention of apoptosis, and regulation of cell interactions and motility. In particular, SFKs are required for the mitogenic response to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). However, it is not clear whether there is a discrete SFK-specific pathway leading to enhanced gene expression or whether SFKs act to generally enhance PDGF-stimulated gene expression. To examine this, we treated quiescent NIH3T3 cells with PDGF in the presence or absence of small molecule inhibitors of SFKs, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and MEK1/2. Global patterns of gene expression were analyzed by using Affymetrix Gene-Chip arrays, and data were validated by using reverse transcription-PCR and ribonuclease protection assay. We identified a discrete set of immediate early genes induced by PDGF and inhibited in the presence of the SFK-selective inhibitor SU6656. A subset of these SFK-dependent genes was induced by PDGF even in the presence of the MEK1/2 inhibitor U0126 or the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. By using ribonuclease protection assays and nuclear run-off assays, we further determined that PDGF did not stimulate the rate of transcription of these SFK-dependent immediate early genes but rather promoted mRNA stabilization. Our data suggest that PDGF regulates gene expression through an SFK-specific pathway that is distinct from the Ras-MAPK and PI3K pathways, and that SFKs signal gene expression by enhancing mRNA stability.Peer reviewe

Examining Industry Perspectives Related to Legacy Data and Technology Toolset Implementation

This paper outlines past and present issues related to product data management (PDM) technologies and their implementation within organization. Included are the results from interviews with representatives from ten companies regarding their implementation processes related to PDM and PLM technologies. Results from these interviews are detailed in aggregate form related to four different areas: implementation timelines and mitigating factors, chosen PLM toolsets, data archival and migration strategies, and training. Conclusions are made in the final sections relative to industry implications and graphics curricula within a larger body of technology education