Fiddler Crabs (Uca pugilator) as Bioindicators of Environmental Health in Coastal Estuarine Communities of Beaufort, South Carolina

Historically, coastal environmental health primarily has been analyzed through direct measurements of water, sediment, and contaminant residues in animal tissue. However, there is much evidence that certain species may serve as bioindicators, the ecological and morphological properties of which can predict the level of anthropogenic impact. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of utilizing the sand fiddler crab Uca pugilator as a bioindicator of anthropogenic impact. Three 30 m sq. sites (each divided into three subsites) were selected in Beaufort, South Carolina, as examples of different types and levels of human impact (a relatively unimpacted reference site, a municipal site receiving sewage effluent, and a golf course site receiving fertilizer and pesticides). Crabs (n = 1164) were assessed for carapace width, dominant to subordinate claw ratio (males only), and population density. Mating behavior was also observed. Carapace width was significantly reduced in the golf course crabs (p \u3c 0.001), and population densities were significantly greater at both affected sites compared to the reference site (p \u3c 0.001). Claw size ratios were significantly influenced by site, day, and the interaction of site and day (p = 0.005, 0.008, and 0.002 respectively), but there was no clear pattern in these influences. Reproductive behavior was increased in crabs at the golf course site. Due to limitations, this study suffers from pseudoreplication. However, this study demonstrates economical, noninvasive approaches to evaluate estuarine wellbeing

GTOSat: Radiation Belt Dynamics from the Inside

GTOSat, a 6U SmallSat integrated and tested at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), has a scheduled launch date of July 31st, 2022, on an Atlas V. From a low inclination geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), GTOSat has the primary science goal of advancing our quantitative understanding of acceleration and loss of relativistic electrons in the Earth’s outer radiation belt. It will measure energy spectra and pitch angles of both the seed and the energized electron populations simultaneously using a compact, high-heritage Relativistic Electron Magnetic Spectrometer (REMS) built by The Aerospace Corporation. A boom-mounted Fluxgate Magnetometer (FMAG), developed by NASA GSFC, will provide 3-axis knowledge of the ambient local magnetic field. The spacecraft bus uses a combination of commercial and in-house/custom designed components. Design, integration, and testing of the spacecraft bus was performed by a small, dedicated team at GSFC. Throughout development GTOSat has encountered numerous challenges, expected and unexpected, that we’re ready to share with the community

The cusp plasma imaging detector (CuPID) cubesat observatory: instrumentation

The Cusp Plasma Imaging Detector (CuPID) CubeSat observatory is a 6U CubeSat designed to observe solar wind charge exchange in magnetospheric cusps to test competing theories of magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause. The CuPID is equipped with three instruments, namely, a wide field-of-view (4.6° × 4.6°) soft x-ray telescope, a micro-dosimeter suite, and an engineering magnetometer optimized for the science operation. The instrument suite has been tested and calibrated in relevant environments, demonstrating successful design. The testing and calibration of these instruments produced metrics and coefficients that will be used to create the CuPID mission's data product.NNX16AJ73G - NASAPublished versio

(Putative) sex differences in neuroimmune modulation of memory

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134408/1/jnr23921.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134408/2/jnr23921_am.pd

Star clusters near and far; tracing star formation across cosmic time

© 2020 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00690-x.Star clusters are fundamental units of stellar feedback and unique tracers of their host galactic properties. In this review, we will first focus on their constituents, i.e.\ detailed insight into their stellar populations and their surrounding ionised, warm, neutral, and molecular gas. We, then, move beyond the Local Group to review star cluster populations at various evolutionary stages, and in diverse galactic environmental conditions accessible in the local Universe. At high redshift, where conditions for cluster formation and evolution are more extreme, we are only able to observe the integrated light of a handful of objects that we believe will become globular clusters. We therefore discuss how numerical and analytical methods, informed by the observed properties of cluster populations in the local Universe, are used to develop sophisticated simulations potentially capable of disentangling the genetic map of galaxy formation and assembly that is carried by globular cluster populations.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Is Logic Innate?

Arguments are presented supporting logical nativism: the conjecture that humans have an innate logic faculty. In making a case for logical nativism, this article concentrates on children’s acquisition of the logical concept of disjunction. Despite the widespread belief to the contrary, the interpretation of disjunction in human languages is arguably the same as it is in classical logic, namely inclusive–or. The argument proceeds with empirical support for the view that the inclusive–or is the meaning of disjunction in human languages, from studies of child language development and from cross-linguistic research. Evidence is presented showing that young children adhere to universal semantic principles that characterize adult linguistic competence across languages. Several a priori arguments are also offered in favour of logical nativism. These arguments show that logic, like Socratic virtue and like certain aspects of language, is not learned and cannot be taught — thus supporting a strong form of innateness

The Logic Instinct

We present a series of arguments for logical nativism, focusing mainly on the meaning of disjunction in human languages. We propose that all human languages are logical in the sense that the meaning of linguistic expressions corresponding to disjunction (e.g. English or, Chinese huozhe, Japanese ka) conform to the meaning of the logical operator in classical logic, inclusive- or. It is highly implausible, we argue, that children acquire the (logical) meaning of disjunction by observing how adults use disjunction. Findings from studies of child language acquisition and from cross-linguistic research invite the conclusion that children do not learn to be logical - it comes naturally to them.36 page(s

Is Logic Innate?

Arguments are presented supporting logical nativism: the conjecture that humans have an innate logic faculty. In making a case for logical nativism, this article concentrates on children's acquisition of the logical concept of disjunction. Despite the widespread belief to the contrary, the interpretation of disjunction in human languages is arguably the same as it is in classical logic, namely inclusive-or. The argument proceeds with empirical support for the view that the inclusive-or is the meaning of disjunction in human languages, from studies of child language development and from cross-linguistic research. Evidence is presented showing that young children adhere to universal semantic principles that characterise adult linguistic competance across languages. Several a priori arguments are also offered in favour of logical nativism. These arguments show that logic, like Socratic virtue and like certain aspects of language, is not learned and cannot be taught - thus supporting a strong form of innateness

The case of the missing generalizations

This review discusses several kinds of linguistic generalizations that pose a challenge for the constructionist approach to linguistic generalizations advocated by Adele Goldberg. It is difficult to see, for example, how such an account can explain the wide-ranging linguistic phenomena governed by structural properties, such as c-command, or semantic properties, such as downward entailment. We also argue against Goldberg's rejection of formal semantics in favour of an account of meaning based primarily on information structure and discourse function.11 page(s

Universal grammar versus language diversity

5 page(s