Algal culture studies related to a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS)

Studies with algal cultures which relate to closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) are discussed. A description of a constant cell density apparatus for continuous culture of algae is included. Excretion of algal by-products, and nitrogen utilization and excretion are discussed

Concentration in the Humanities

Concentration in the Humanities is a three-part project that helps Humanities students deal with digital distractions. The Concentration in the Humanities Project will serve as a pilot. Weber State's Composition Program (which one of the grant participants directs) will integrate the pilot's best practices into its curriculum. Concentration in the Humanities will also catalyze campus conversations about the problem of distraction in the digital age and the importance of learning how to focus when attempting to read or write

High–Speed Data Transmission Subsystem of the SEOSAR/PAZ Satellite

This paper analyzes a digital interface and bus system modeling and optimization of the SEOSAR/PAZ Earth Observation satellite. The important part of the satellite is an X–band Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument that integrates 384 Transmit/Receive Modules located in 12 antenna panels 7.5 m away from the central processor and controlled by a synchronous 10 Mbps bidirectional serial protocol. This type of mid–range point–to–multipoint transmission is affected by bit errors due to crosstalk, transmission line attenuation and impedance mismatches. The high–speed data communication network has been designed to optimize the transmission by using a simulation model of the data distribution system which takes into account the worst–case scenario and by developing a lab–scaled prototype which exhibits BER of 10-11 for an interfering signal of 10 Vpp. The result is a point–to–multipoint bidirectional transmission network optimized in both directions with optimal values of loads and equalization resistors. This high–speed data transmission subsystem provides a compact design through a simple solution

Cosmic Ray Physics with ACORDE at LHC

The use of large underground high-energy physics experiments, for comic ray studies, have been used, in the past, at CERN, in order to measure, precisely, the inclusive cosmic ray flux in the energy range from 2x10^10 - 2x10^12 eV. ACORDE, ALICE Cosmic Rays DEtector, will act as Level 0 cosmic ray trigger and, together with other ALICE apparatus, will provide precise information on cosmic rays with primary energies around 10^15 - 10^17 eV. This paper reviews the main detector features, the present status, commissioning and integration with other apparatus. Finally, we discuss the ACORDE-ALICE cosmic ray physics program.Comment: Contribution to the 2007 Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics - Manchester, England 19-25 July 2007; 3 pages, 3 figure

Preparing Students For Citizenship: The Pedagogical Vision of Yale's Noah Porter, Harvard's Charles Eliot and Princeton's Woodrow Wilson

A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Luke O. Fernandez in May 1997.The dissertation examines the historic role of elite higher education in preparing students for active participation in political life. It does this by examining the pedagogical visions and curricular commitments of Noah Porter (president of Yale from 1871 to 1886), Charles Eliot (president of Harvard from 1869 to 1909) and Woodrow Wilson (president of Princeton from 1902 to 1910). Educational historians have usually cast Eliot as the progressive force in American higher education while painting Porter and Wilson in diminished or even contrary roles. While this dissertation does not take issue with the basic thrust of this history, it focuses on deficiencies in all three of these educators' approaches that served to compromise their commitment to strong civic education. These educators compromised, or threatened to compromise, civic education because they ascribed to ideals and practices which are often at odds with the development of citizenship. The determination of these educators' civic commitments is circumscribed by the dissertation's exclusive focus on a republican definition of citizenship. Republicans equate citizenship with participation in political life and are consequently threatened by rhetorical and economic practices which appear to discourage political participation. The dissertation assesses how dedicated Porter, Eliot, and Wilson were to the ideals of republican citizenship by examining their commitment to forms of communication that foster political discussion, and by examining their attachment to economic practices that republican theorists have found inimical to citizenship. The rhetorical and economic proclivities of Porter, Eliot, and Wilson constitute the main approaches for gauging their civic commitments. However, these two approaches are framed and clarified by describing their sympathy for elite and exclusionary forms of higher education and by delineating their overt exhortations to service and their attempts to integrate their schools into a larger public sphere. All of their civic visions were ultimately compromised but they were compromised in different ways. Eliot's civic commitments were compromised by rhetorical and economic proclivities that were closely tied to his strong sympathies for professionalization . Porter's were threatened by an attraction to cloistered living and by archaic pedagogies. Of the three, Wilson displayed the most abiding civic commitments. But even Wilson's civic commitments were ultimately compromised by his attraction to elite forms of education

Ecological Inference with Entropy Econometrics: using the Mexican Census as a benchmark

Most regional empirical analyses are limited by the lack of data. Researchers have to use information that is structured in administrative or political regions which are not always economically meaningful. The non-availability of geographically disaggregated information prevents to obtain empirical evidence in order to answer some relevant questions in the field of urban and regional economics. The objective of this paper is to suggest an estimation procedure, based on entropy econometrics, which allows for inferring disaggregated information on local income from more aggregated data. In addition to a description of the main characteristics of the proposed technique, the paper illustrates how the procedure works taking as an empirical application the estimation of income for different classes of Mexican municipalities. It would be desirable to apply the suggested technique to a study case where some observable data are available and confront the estimates with the actual observations. For this purpose, we have taken the information contained in the Mexican census as a benchmark for our estimation technique. Assuming that the only available data are the income aggregates per type of municipality and State, we make an exercise of ecological inference and disaggregate these margins to recover individual (local) data.

Impact of some crop management practices on tomato infestation/infection by the whitefly-begomovirus complex in Cuba

Introduction. In the framework of the INCO-BETOCARIB Project titled "Begomovirus disease management for sustainable production of tomato in the Caribbean" which operated from 2003- 2006, we conducted a survey aiming at assessing the impact of cultural practices on the infestation/infection of tomato plots by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci)/begomovirus (TYLCV). Materials & Methods. The survey was conducted in the West and Central regions of Cuba in respectively 100 and 96 tomato plots in open fields (71% of the plots) and under shelter (29%). Results and Conclusion. Analysis of data showed that both TYLC resistant (e.g. Vyta and ARO 8479F1) and susceptible (e.g. Amalia and HC 3880) cultivars were cultivated in open fields whereas only resistant cultivars were cultivated in sheltered plots. In open fields, TYLC disease incidence and severity were found to be significantly higher on susceptible, compared to resistant cultivars. Whitefly infestation and TYLCV incidence were higher in the West region as compared to the Central region, while the reverse was observed for severity of the disease. Whitefly infestation in open fields was high when no chemical protection measure was applied in the nursery and low under high chemical protection. The reverse tended to be observed when considering chemical application in the field, which might be an indirect indication that chemical protection negatively affects natural regulation processes. Implications of the results of this survey for agroecological management of the vector/disease complex in Cuba are discussed. (Résumé d'auteur

On the G-protein-coupled receptor heteromers and their allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in the central nervous system: focus on their role in pain modulation

The modulatory role of allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in the pain pathways of the Central Nervous System and the peripheral nociceptors has become of increasing interest. As integrators of nociceptive and antinociceptive wiring and volume transmission signals, with a major role for the opioid receptor heteromers, they likely have an important role in the pain circuits and may be involved in acupuncture. The delta opioid receptor (DOR) exerts an antagonistic allosteric influence on the mu opioid receptor (MOR) function in a MOR-DOR heteromer. This heteromer contributes to morphine-induced tolerance and dependence, since it becomes abundant and develops a reduced G-protein-coupling with reduced signaling mainly operating via beta-arrestin 2 upon chronic morphine treatment. A DOR antagonist causes a return of the Gi/o binding and coupling to the heteromer and the biological actions of morphine. The gender- and ovarian steroid-dependent recruitment of spinal cord MOR/kappa opioid receptor (KOR) heterodimers enhances antinociceptive functions and if impaired could contribute to chronic pain states in women. MOR1D heterodimerizes with gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) in the spinal cord, mediating morphine induced itch. Other mechanism for the antinociceptive actions of acupuncture along meridians may be that it enhances the cross-desensitization of the TRPA1 (chemical nociceptor)-TRPV1 (capsaicin receptor) heteromeric channel complexes within the nociceptor terminals located along these meridians. Selective ionotropic cannabinoids may also produce cross-desensitization of the TRPA1-TRPV1 heteromeric nociceptor channels by being negative allosteric modulators of these channels leading to antinociception and antihyperalgesia