Whey Utilization in North Dakota

Demand and Price Analysis,

Representaciones del Otro en el cine espanol y el resurgimiento de la ideologia franquista

Abstract not available

UNO Moves to WMS/WCL Cloud

This presentation was part of the User Experiences Panel Discussion and outlines the UNO Criss Library, what the library was looking for, the process to adopt WMS, the results, and advantages of WMS/WCL

Dry Edible Beans: Production and Marketing, Red River Valley

Marketing, Production Economics,

Population Dynamics of \u3cem\u3eEmpoasca fabae\u3c/em\u3e (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Central Iowa Alfalfa Fields

Adults and nymphs of Empoasca fabae Harris (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and adults of predatory species in the families Coccinellidae, Anthocoridae, Nabidae, Chrysopidae, and Hemerobiidae were sampled in Iowa alfalfa fields from June to September in 1999 and 2000. The relationship between each predatory taxa and E. fabae was examined using regression analysis. In 2000, all predators were found to be positively correlated with the presence of E. fabae during all periods sampled and most likely contributed to mortality. Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthoridae) was the most numerous insect predatory species; population numbers ranged from 0 to 1 and 0.1 to 3.7 adults per 0.25 m2 in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Partial life tables were constructed for E. fabae nymphs for two alfalfa-growing periods. Nymphs were grouped into three age intervals: first and second, third and fourth, and fifth instars. For the first alfalfa growing period examined, E. fabae nymphal mortality was 70% in 1999 and 49% in 2000. During the last growing period of each season (August–September), total nymphal mortality was relatively low (E. fabae density ranged from 5.4 to 25.6 and 1.4–9.2 per 0.25 m2 in 1999 and 2000, respectively. E. fabae population peaks were similar for each age interval in all growing periods. This study provides further information on the population dynamics of E. fabae and its relationship with select predatory species in Iowa alfalfa fields

Gratings for Increasing Solid-State Laser Gain and Efficiency

We introduce new concepts for increasing the efficiency of solid state lasers by using gratings deposited on laser slabs or disks. The gratings improve efficiency in two ways: (1) by coupling out of the slab deleterious amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and (2) by increasing the absorption efficiency of pump light. The gratings also serve as antireflective coatings for the extracting laser beam. To evaluate the potential for such coatings to improve laser performance, we calculated optical properties of a 2500 groove/mm, tantala-silica grating on a 1cm x 4cm x 8cm titanium-doped sapphire slab and performed ray-trace calculations for ASE and pump light. Our calculations show substantial improvements in efficiency due to grating ASE-coupling properties. For example, the gratings reduce pump energy required to produce a 0.6/cm gain coefficient by 9%, 20% and 35% for pump pulse durations of 0.5 {micro}s, 1{micro}s and 3{micro}s, respectively. Gratings also increase 532-nm pump-light absorption efficiency, particularly when the product slab overall absorption is small. For example, when the single-pass absorption is 1 neper, absorption efficiency increases from 66%, without gratings, to 86%, when gratings are used

Mobility of the SecA 2-helix-finger is not essential for polypeptide translocation via the SecYEG complex

The bacterial ATPase SecA and protein channel complex SecYEG form the core of an essential protein translocation machinery. The nature of the conformational changes induced by each stage of the hydrolytic cycle of ATP and how they are coupled to protein translocation are not well understood. The structure of the SecA–SecYEG complex revealed a 2-helix-finger (2HF) of SecA in an ideal position to contact the substrate protein and push it through the membrane. Surprisingly, immobilization of this finger at the edge of the protein channel had no effect on translocation, whereas its imposition inside the channel blocked transport. This analysis resolves the stoichiometry of the active complex, demonstrating that after the initiation process translocation requires only one copy each of SecA and SecYEG. The results also have important implications on the mechanism of energy transduction and the power stroke driving transport. Evidently, the 2HF is not a highly mobile transducing element of polypeptide translocation

Kelp Forest Ecosystems: Biodiversity, Stability, Resilience and Future

Kelp forests are phyletically diverse, structurally complex and highly productive components of cold-water rocky marine coastlines. This paper reviews the conditions in which kelp forests develop globally and where, why and at what rate they become deforested. The ecology and long archaeological history of kelp forests are examined through case studies from southern California, the Aleutian Islands and the western North Atlantic, well-studied locations that represent the widest possible range in kelp forest biodiversity. Global distribution of kelp forests is physiologically constrained by light at high latitudes and by nutrients, warm temperatures and other macrophytes at low latitudes. Within mid-latitude belts (roughly 40-60degrees latitude in both hemispheres) well-developed kelp forests are most threatened by herbivory, usually from sea urchins. Overfishing and extirpation of highly valued vertebrate apex predators often triggered herbivore population increases, leading to widespread kelp deforestation. Such deforestations have the most profound and lasting impacts on species-depauperate systems, such as those in Alaska and the western North Atlantic. Globally urchin-induced deforestation has been increasing over the past 2-3 decades. Continued fishing down of coastal food webs has resulted in shifting harvesting targets from apex predators to their invertebrate prey, including kelp-grazing herbivores. The recent global expansion of sea urchin harvesting has led to the widespread extirpation of this herbivore, and kelp forests have returned in some locations but, for the first time, these forests are devoid of vertebrate apex predators. In the western North Atlantic, large predatory crabs have recently filled this void and they have become the new apex predator in this system. Similar shifts from fish- to crab-dominance may have occurred in coastal zones of the United Kingdom and Japan, where large predatory finfish were extirpated long ago. Three North American case studies of kelp forests were examined to determine their long history with humans and project the status of future kelp forests to the year 2025. Fishing impacts on kelp forest systems have been both profound and much longer in duration than previously thought. Archaeological data suggest that coastal peoples exploited kelp forest organisms for thousands of years, occasionally resulting in localized losses of apex predators, outbreaks of sea urchin populations and probably small-scale deforestation. Over the past two centuries, commercial exploitation for export led to the extirpation of sea urchin predators, such as the sea otter in the North Pacific and predatory fishes like the cod in the North Atlantic. The largescale removal of predators for export markets increased sea urchin abundances and promoted the decline of kelp forests over vast areas. Despite southern California having one of the longest known associations with coastal kelp forests, widespread deforestation is rare. It is possible that functional redundancies among predators and herbivores make this most diverse system most stable. Such biodiverse kelp forests may also resist invasion from non-native species. In the species-depauperate western North Atlantic, introduced algal competitors carpet the benthos and threaten future kelp dominance. There, other non-native herbivores and predators have become established and dominant components of this system. Climate changes have had measurable impacts on kelp forest ecosystems and efforts to control the emission of greenhouse gasses should be a global priority. However, overfishing appears to be the greatest manageable threat to kelp forest ecosystems over the 2025 time horizon. Management should focus on minimizing fishing impacts and restoring populations of functionally important species in these systems

Ecological consequences of human niche construction: Examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions

The exhibition of increasingly intensive and complex niche construction behaviors through time is a key feature of human evolution, culminating in the advanced capacity for ecosystem engineering exhibited by Homo sapiens. A crucial outcome of such behaviors has been the dramatic reshaping of the global biosphere, a transformation whose early origins are increasingly apparent from cumulative archaeological and paleoecological datasets. Such data suggest that, by the Late Pleistocene, humans had begun to engage in activities that have led to alterations in the distributions of a vast array of species across most, if not all, taxonomic groups. Changes to biodiversity have included extinctions, extirpations, and shifts in species composition, diversity, and community structure. We outline key examples of these changes, highlighting findings from the study of new datasets, like ancient DNA (aDNA), stable isotopes, and microfossils, as well as the application of new statistical and computational methods to datasets that have accumulated significantly in recent decades. We focus on four major phases that witnessed broad anthropogenic alterations to biodiversity—the Late Pleistocene global human expansion, the Neolithic spread of agriculture, the era of island colonization, and the emergence of early urbanized societies and commercial networks. Archaeological evidence documents millennia of anthropogenic transformations that have created novel ecosystems around the world. This record has implications for ecological and evolutionary research, conservation strategies, and the maintenance of ecosystem services, pointing to a significant need for broader cross-disciplinary engagement between archaeology and the biological and environmental sciences

Using Wearable Technology to Quantify Physical Activity Recovery: Secondary Report From the AFTER (App-Facilitated Tele-Rehabilitation) Program for COVID-19 Survivors Randomized Study

Background: Knowledge on physical activity recovery after COVID-19 survival is limited. The AFTER (App-Facilitated Tele-Rehabilitation) program for COVID-19 survivors randomized participants, following hospital discharge, to either education and unstructured physical activity or a telerehabilitation program. Step count data were collected as a secondary outcome, and we found no significant differences in total step count trajectories between groups at 6 weeks. Further step count data were not analyzed. Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to examine step count trajectories and correlates among all participants (combined into a single group) across the 12-week study period. Methods: Linear mixed models with random effects were used to model daily steps over the number of study days. Models with 0, 1, and 2 inflection points were considered, and the final model was selected based on the highest log-likelihood value. Results: Participants included 44 adults (41 with available Fitbit [Fitbit LLC] data). Initially, step counts increased by an average of 930 (95% CI 547-1312; PPPP Conclusions: Participants showed a marked improvement in daily step counts during the first 3 weeks of the study, followed by more gradual improvement in the remaining 9 weeks. Physical activity data and step count recovery trajectories may be considered surrogates for physiological recovery, although further research is needed to examine this relationship