Sanctuary in the Richmond City Jail

The following article is a collaboration among four individuals about unique programs run through “The Sanctuary” at the Richmond City Jail in Virginia, US. The Richmond City Jail is one of few jails in the US to offer programs to inmates who serve only short sentences as compared to prisons where the incarcerated serve much longer. In addition to this anomaly, students from outside of the jail come inside to take college classes with the inmates. Programs include literature classes, yoga, religious studies, creative writing, and more. The article explores the impact of The Sanctuary on the spirit, confidence, and perceptions of self-worth among inmates as compared to incarceration without such programs. Practitioners may use the programs detailed as a model for other institutions and evidence of the success of community building and education inside jails and prisons

Tectonic determinations of lithospheric thickness on Ganymede and Callisto

The concept of the Maxwell time of a viscoelastic material (4.5) is used in conjunction with calculated thermal profiles to evaluate the significance of tectonic estimates of lithospheric thickness. Thermal lithospheric thicknesses provide fundamental constraints on planetary thermal histories that complement the constraints provided by dateable surface deposits of endogenic origin. Lithospheric constraints are of particular value on the icy satellites where our understanding of both rheology and surface ages is considerably poorer than it is for the terrestrial planets. Certain extensional tectonic features can and have been used to estimate lithospheric thicknesses on Ganymede and Callisto. These estimates, however, refer to the depth of the elastic lithosphere defined by the zone of brittle failure. The relation between the elastic lithosphere and the thermal lithosphere (generally defined by the zone of conductive heat transport) is not straightforward, because the depth of brittle failure depends not only on the thermal profile, but also on rheology and strain rate (or the characteristic time over which stresses build towards failure). Characteristic time considerations are not trivial in this context because stresses generating brittle failure on the icy satellites may be produced by impacts, with characteristic times of seconds to days, or by geologic processes with time scales of hundreds of millions of years

Using a novel method to investigate platinum accumulation in rat dorsal root ganglia following oxaliplatin or Pt(dach)Cl2 treatments & investigating oxaliplatin- induced peripheral neuropathies

Oxaliplatin is routinely prescribed for the treatment and management of metastatic colorectal cancers; however, long-term clinical use is impeded by the development of acute and chronic peripheral neuropathies. Although the mechanisms responsible for symptom development are unclear, platinum accumulation in nervous tissues is a potential pain-state contributor. It is not known where in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) platinum from oxaliplatin accumulates, nor is it well understood what role Pt(dach)Cl2, as a metabolite of oxaliplatin, has in the development of oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain. This limits our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy which impinge on the development of long-lasting therapeutic options for patients. This study sought to develop a novel methodology for detecting platinum accumulation sites within rodent DRGs in an effort to refine our understanding of platinum/neuropathy interactions. Methods: behavioural observations were made in 21 Long-Evans rats separated into three clusters consisting of a control and two drugtreatments groups given either oxaliplatin (2.5mg/kg) or Pt(dach)Cl2 (2.39 mg/kg) intraperitoneally every three days for four injections. Immunohistochemistry was performed on harvested spinal cord sections for glia activation assessment while scanning electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and mass spectrometry were utilised in a new methodology for identifying platinum accumulation in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The former technique utilised full spectrum X-ray mapping coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy to discern sites of platinum accumulation within DRG tissue sections. Morphometric studies of harvested DRG were also performed looking at eccentric nuclei and axonal G-ratios to assess the contributions of structural changes to neuropathy development. Results: platinum was discovered in the periphery of DRG cell bodies through full-spectrum X-ray analysis; however, this was at the detection limit of the SEM. Conversely, a larger aggregate of platinum was observed within the resin surrounding the DRG. Neither mass spectrometry, nor SIMS analysis detected platinum within DRG tissue. Astrocytitic, but not microglial, activity was significantly increased in the spinal cord dorsal horn following oxaliplatin-, but not Pt(dach)Cl2-treatments. Morphometry assessment of dorsal root ganglia tissue revealed slight atrophy of oxaliplatin-treated DRG cell bodies with a larger proportion of damaged axon fibres. However, there was no change in G-ratio between the treatment groups and controls, nor was any difference in C-fibre axonal area observed. Conclusions: The development of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathies is likely multifactorial. In the current investigation four intraperitoneal injections of oxaliplatin and Pt(dach)Cl2 did not produce significant changes in behaviour or dorsal root ganglia cell morphology. However, astrocyte activation following oxaliplatin administrations were observed which may contribute to the development of pain states reported by other researchers. The development of novel techniques for the identification of platinum within DRG tissue and resin was successful using full spectrum X-ray mapping, which can be further refined and improved for future studies

Male sexually coercive behaviour drives increased swimming efficiency in female guppies

Sexual coercion of females by males is widespread across sexually reproducing species. It stems from a conflict of interest over reproduction and exerts selective pressure on both sexes. For females, there is often a significant energetic cost of exposure to male sexually coercive behaviours. Our understanding of the efficiency of female resistance to male sexually coercive behaviour is key to understanding how sexual conflict contributes to population level dynamics and ultimately to the evolution of sexually antagonistic traits. Overlooked within this context are plastic physiological responses of traits within the lifetime of females that could moderate the energetic cost imposed by coercive males. Here, we examined whether conflict over the frequency and timing of mating between male and female guppies Poecilia reticulata can induce changes in swimming performance and aerobic capacity in females as they work to escape harassment by males. Females exposed to higher levels of harassment over a 5-month period used less oxygen to swim at a given speed, but displayed no difference in resting metabolic rate, maximal metabolic rate, maximal sustained swimming speed or aerobic scope compared to females receiving lower levels of harassment. The observed increase in swimming efficiency is at least partially related to differences in swimming mechanics, likely brought on by a training effect of increased activity, as highly harassed females spent less time performing pectoral fin-assisted swimming. Sexual conflict results in sexually antagonistic traits that impose a variety of costs, but our results show that females can reduce costs through phenotypic plasticity. It is also possible that phenotypic plasticity in swimming physiology or mechanics in response to sexual coercion can potentially give females more control over matings and affect which male traits are under selection

A sample of 6C radio sources designed to find objects at redshift z>4: III - imaging and the radio galaxy K-z relation

Peer reviewe

The Peculiar Velocity Function of Galaxy Clusters

The peculiar velocity function of clusters of galaxies is determined using an accurate sample of cluster velocities based on Tully-Fisher distances of Sc galaxies (Giovanelli et al 1995b). In contrast with previous results based on samples with considerably larger velocity uncertainties, the observed velocity function does not exhibit a tail of high velocity clusters. The results indicate a low probability of $\lesssim$\,5\% of finding clusters with one-dimensional velocities greater than $\sim$ 600 {\kms}. The root-mean-square one-dimensional cluster velocity is 293$\pm$28 {\kms}. The observed cluster velocity function is compared with expectations from different cosmological models. The absence of a high velocity tail in the observed function is most consistent with a low mass-density ($\Omega \sim$0.3) CDM model, and is inconsistent at $\gtrsim 3 \sigma$ level with $\Omega$= 1.0 CDM and HDM models. The root-mean-square one-dimensional cluster velocities in these models correspond, respectively, to 314, 516, and 632 {\kms} (when convolved with the observational uncertainties). Comparison with the observed RMS cluster velocity of 293$\pm$28 {\kms} further supports the low-density CDM model.Comment: revised version accepted for publication in ApJ Letters, 18 pages, uuencoded PostScript with 3 figures included; complete paper available through WWW at http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~library/prep.htm

Divergence in social traits in Trinidadian guppies selectively bred for high and low leadership in a cooperative context

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordIn many animal species, individuals with certain morphological, physiological, or behavioural traits may have a disproportionately large role in determining group behaviour. While most empirical studies of leadership have focused on behaviour of individuals exploring new environments or foraging, little is known about leading behaviour in other ecological contexts. Here, we use a selective breeding design in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) to quantify the heritability of leadership in a cooperative context, and determine the behavioural traits associated with it. Firstly we found that phenotypic selection for high and low leadership (HL and LL, respectively) over three filial generations resulted in pronounced differences in leadership tendency with a moderate degree of heritability. In our assay of other social traits, LL males were more aggressive and sampled their social environment less than HL males, but HL and LL females did not differ in either aggressiveness or sociability. Traits such as boldness and exploratory tendency did not diverge between the two lines. Leading behaviour was thus associated with social traits in males, but not females; suggesting that there may be sex-specific mechanisms driving the emergence of leadership in this context. We discuss our findings in the context of the evolution of cooperation.Danish Research Counci