Using Horticulturalists\u27 Input to Inform a Home Horticultural Website Redesign Process

The Internet is a growing source of information for consumers. Website design and development become important factors in website usability as consumers’ Internet access increases and they seek home horticulture and gardening resources. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln developed a website in the 1990s to supplement its Backyard Farmer television program. Consumers’ expectations of websites changed as technology changed, which resulted in the site no longer meeting visitors’ needs. Two focus groups evaluating the website’s usefulness as an information source were conducted with home and professional horticulturalists. Participants were most interested in locating concise information about horticulture and gardening on a website that was easy to navigate; had many links to additional information; and contained timely and current information. Overall, content quality, usability and aesthetics were highly ranked as important for a “perfect” website

Alternative uses for ryegrass lands

Agricultural field burning in Oregon's Willamette Valley has been an accepted farming practice for sanitizing fields and removing stubble and residues left on fields after harvest since the early 1940s. Unfortunately, the smoke and debris created by the burning in combination with other pollutants have been causing health and environmental problems in many parts of the Willamette Valley. Due to the probable increase of these problems and the increasing demand by citizens to stop the burning, a search for alternative uses for grass seed and for open field burning lands has become an important issue and is the focus of this paper

Tantalum oxide coatings as candidate environmental barriers

Tantalum (Ta) oxide, due to its high-temperature capabilities and thermal expansion coefficient similar to silicon nitride, is a promising candidate for environmental barriers for silicon (Si) nitride-based ceramics. This paper focuses on the development of plasma-sprayed Ta oxide as an environmental barrier coating for silicon nitride. Using a D-optimal design of experiments, plasma-spray processing variables were optimized to maximize coating density. The effect of processing variables on coating thickness was also determined. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was use to ascertain that the as-sprayed coatings were comprised of α- and β-Ta2O5, but were fully converted to β-Ta_2O_5 after a 1200 °C heat treatment. Grain growth of the Ta_2O_5 followed a time dependence of t^(0.2) at 1200 °C

Multimodal Imaging of Photoreceptor Structure in Choroideremia

Purpose Choroideremia is a progressive X-linked recessive dystrophy, characterized by degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), choroid, choriocapillaris, and photoreceptors. We examined photoreceptor structure in a series of subjects with choroideremia with particular attention to areas bordering atrophic lesions. Methods Twelve males with clinically-diagnosed choroideremia and confirmed hemizygous mutations in the CHM gene were examined. High-resolution images of the retina were obtained using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and both confocal and non-confocal split-detector adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) techniques. Results Eleven CHM gene mutations (3 novel) were identified; three subjects had the same mutation and one subject had two mutations. SD-OCT findings included interdigitation zone (IZ) attenuation or loss in 10/12 subjects, often in areas with intact ellipsoid zones; RPE thinning in all subjects; interlaminar bridges in the imaged areas of 10/12 subjects; and outer retinal tubulations (ORTs) in 10/12 subjects. Only split-detector AOSLO could reliably resolve cones near lesion borders, and such cones were abnormally heterogeneous in morphology, diameter and density. On split-detector imaging, the cone mosaic terminated sharply at lesion borders in 5/5 cases examined. Split-detector imaging detected remnant cone inner segments within ORTs, which were generally contiguous with a central patch of preserved retina. Conclusions Early IZ dropout and RPE thinning on SD-OCT are consistent with previously published results. Evidence of remnant cone inner segments within ORTs and the continuity of the ORTs with preserved retina suggests that these may represent an intermediate state of retinal degeneration prior to complete atrophy. Taken together, these results supports a model of choroideremia in which the RPE degenerates before photoreceptors

Comparison of Five Methods for the Determination of Rubella Immunity

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of commonly used methods for the detection of rubella immunity, especially the fully automated IMx assay

Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of Candida albicans

Candida albicans is the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans, causing a variety of diseases ranging from superficial mucosal infections to deep-seated systemic invasions. Mucus, the gel that coats all wet epithelial surfaces, accommodates C. albicans as part of the normal microbiota, where C. albicans resides asymptomatically in healthy humans. Through a series of in vitro experiments combined with gene expression analysis, we show that mucin biopolymers, the main gel-forming constituents of mucus, induce a new oval-shaped morphology in C. albicans in which a range of genes related to adhesion, filamentation, and biofilm formation are downregulated. We also show that corresponding traits are suppressed, rendering C. albicans impaired in forming biofilms on a range of different synthetic surfaces and human epithelial cells. Our data suggest that mucins can manipulate C. albicans physiology, and we hypothesize that they are key environmental signals for retaining C. albicans in the host-compatible, commensal state.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Environmental Health Sciences (Grant P30-ES002109)National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.). Biotechnology Training Program (Grant 5T32GM008334-24

Trance Logic, Age Regression, and Incomplete Responding: A Preliminary Investigation of Contextual Influences

Fifty-four hypnotizable and 49 unhypnotizable simulating subjects were age regressed to age five and asked to write the sentence “I am participating in a psychological experiment” embedded in either “standard” suggestions for regression or in the context of a suggested dream. As predicted, hypnotizable subjects were sensitive to the context manipulation (i.e., dream vs. standard), evidencing more correct or “adult” spelling (“trance logic”) during age regression when the dream context encouraged a melding of fantasy and reality. Simulators’ performance was stable across conditions. Consistent with the hypothesis that incomplete responding is at the heart of incongruous spelling during age regression, the hypnotizable and simulating subjects who evinced the least compelling experiences of age regression were the most likely to spell “adult” words correctly (exhibit “trance logic”). Finally, none of the 31 subjects whose handwriting was rated as “childlike and primitive” spelled the word “psychological” correctly, providing clear evidence that subjects who were the most responsive to the age regression suggestion fail to exhibit trance logic

Metschnikowia proteae sp. nov., a nectarivorous insect-associated yeast species from Africa

A collection of yeasts isolated from nectar of flowers of Protea caffra (Proteaceae) and associated scarab beetles (Atrichelaphinis tigrina, Cyrtothyrea marginalis, Trichostetha fascicularis and Heterochelus sp.) and drosophilid flies in South Africa, contained 28 isolates that could not be assigned to known species. Comparisons of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene demonstrated the existence of three separate phylotypes with an affinity to the genus Metschnikowia and more specifically to the beetle-associated large-spored Metschnikowia clade. Twenty-six strains that had similar D1/D2 sequences were mixed in all pairwise combinations. They were found to mate and give rise to large asci typical of those in the clade. The name Metschnikowia proteae sp. nov. (type strain EBDT1Y1T5CBS 12522T5NRRL Y-48784T; allotype strain EBDC2Y25CBS 125215NRRL Y-48785) is proposed to accommodate this novel species. The ecology of this novel yeast species is discussed in relation to its potential plant and insect host species. The additional two single strains isolated from Heterochelus sp. represent two novel undescribed species (Candida sp. 1 EBDM2Y3 and Candida sp. 2 EBDM8Y1). As these single strains are probably haploid mating types of Metschnikowia species, their description is deferred until the species are sufficiently well sampled to permit meaningful descriptionsPeer reviewe