Research study on neutral thermodynamic atmospheric model

The Global Reference Atmospheric Model is used along with the revised perturbation statistics to evaluate and computer graph various atmospheric statistics along a space shuttle reference mission and abort trajectory. The trajectory plots are height vs. ground range, with height from ground level to 155 km and ground range along the reentry trajectory. Cross sectional plots, height vs. latitude or longitude, are also generated for 80 deg longitude, with heights from 30 km to 90 km and latitude from -90 deg to +90 deg, and for 45 deg latitude, with heights from 30 km to 90 km and longitudes from 180 deg E to 180 deg W. The variables plotted are monthly average pressure, density, temperature, wind components, and wind speed and standard deviations and 99th inter-percentile range for each of these variables

Metatranscriptomic Comparison of Endophytic and Pathogenic \u3cem\u3eFusarium\u3c/em\u3e-Arabidopsis Interactions Reveals Plant Transcriptional Plasticity

Plants are continuously exposed to beneficial and pathogenic microbes, but how plants recognize and respond to friends versus foes remains poorly understood. Here, we compared the molecular response of Arabidopsis thaliana independently challenged with a Fusarium oxysporum endophyte Fo47 versus a pathogen Fo5176. These two F. oxysporum strains share a core genome of about 46 Mb, in addition to 1,229 and 5,415 unique accessory genes. Metatranscriptomic data reveal a shared pattern of expression for most plant genes (about 80%) in responding to both fungal inoculums at all timepoints from 12 to 96 h postinoculation (HPI). However, the distinct responding genes depict transcriptional plasticity, as the pathogenic interaction activates plant stress responses and suppresses functions related to plant growth and development, while the endophytic interaction attenuates host immunity but activates plant nitrogen assimilation. The differences in reprogramming of the plant transcriptome are most obvious in 12 HPI, the earliest timepoint sampled, and are linked to accessory genes in both fungal genomes. Collectively, our results indicate that the A. thaliana and F. oxysporum interaction displays both transcriptome conservation and plasticity in the early stages of infection, providing insights into the fine-tuning of gene regulation underlying plant differential responses to fungal endophytes and pathogens

Team sports for the severely retarded: training a side-of-the-foot soccer pass using a maximum-to-minimum prompt reduction strategy.

A program to teach three severely retarded adults to use a side-of-the-foot soccer pass was evaluated. A 9-step stimulus-response chain was taught using forward chaining. In contrast to usual practice, intensive physical prompts were provided initially to teach each response component, then systematically faded. Approximately 20 lessons (trials) were presented in 20-min sessions. A multiple baseline across subjects design showed that the three trainees achieved the no-prompt criterion after 24, 29, and 22 sessions, respectively. Subanalyses indicated that successive response components were learned only after training was implemented. Follow-up data were obtained 57 and 276 days later in the training room and in a gymnasium; in both settings, criterion was achieved with fewer than three reinstructions