Review of \u3ci\u3eGathering Places: Aboriginal and Fur Trade Histories.\u3c/i\u3e Edited by Carolyn Podruchny and Laura Peers.

Gathering Places honors Jennifer S.H. Brown, a leading figure in the Aboriginal history of the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The ten essays and introduction deal with Natives and Native history in the region of Hudson Bay, and there is the influence of Professor Brown; otherwise the topics are diverse. The papers have been grouped into several themes, but broadly speaking there are two types of essays. Some use novel as well as more traditional approaches to shed light on aspects of the Aboriginal experience; the others are methodological, dealing with the writing of First Nations histories. In an afterword, Jennifer Brown describes her approach to Native history and offers advice to researchers. Although some essays deal with specific aspects of Anishinaabe, Cree, Ojibwe, and Metis history, the insights about the interactions between scholars and First Nations communities, and the variety of evidence available for the study of Aboriginal history, will be the principal legacies of this intriguing and useful volume

The Post-Bellum Recovery of the South and the Cost of the Civil War: Comment

Economic

Gastrointestinal tract size, total-tract digestibility, and rumen microflora in different dairy cow genotypes

peer-reviewedThe superior milk production efficiency of Jersey (JE) and Jersey × Holstein-Friesian (JE × HF) cows compared with Holstein-Friesian (HF) has been widely published. The biological differences among dairy cow genotypes, which could contribute to the milk production efficiency differences, have not been as widely studied however. A series of component studies were conducted using cows sourced from a longer-term genotype comparison study (JE, JE × HF, and HF). The objectives were to (1) determine if differences exist among genotypes regarding gastrointestinal tract (GIT) weight, (2) assess and quantify whether the genotypes tested differ in their ability to digest perennial ryegrass, and (3) examine the relative abundance of specific rumen microbial populations potentially relating to feed digestibility. Over 3 yr, the GIT weight was obtained from 33 HF, 35 JE, and 27 JE × HF nonlactating cows postslaughter. During the dry period the cows were offered a perennial ryegrass silage diet at maintenance level. The unadjusted GIT weight was heavier for the HF than for JE and JE × HF. When expressed as a proportion of body weight (BW), JE and JE × HF had a heavier GIT weight than HF. In vivo digestibility was evaluated on 16 each of JE, JE × HF, and HF lactating dairy cows. Cows were individually stalled, allowing for the total collection of feces and were offered freshly cut grass twice daily. During this time, daily milk yield, BW, and dry matter intake (DMI) were greater for HF and JE × HF than for JE; milk fat and protein concentration ranked oppositely. Daily milk solids yield did not differ among the 3 genotypes. Intake capacity, expressed as DMI per BW, tended to be different among treatments, with JE having the greatest DMI per BW, HF the lowest, and JE × HF being intermediate. Production efficiency, expressed as milk solids per DMI, was higher for JE than HF and JE × HF. Digestive efficiency, expressed as digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, N, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber, was higher for JE than HF. In grazing cows (n = 15 per genotype) samples of rumen fluid, collected using a transesophageal sampling device, were analyzed to determine the relative abundance of rumen microbial populations of cellulolytic bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. These are critically important for fermentation of feed into short-chain fatty acids. A decrease was observed in the relative abundance of Ruminococcus flavefaciens in the JE rumen compared with HF and JE × HF. We can deduce from this study that the JE genotype has greater digestibility and a different rumen microbial population than HF. Jersey and JE × HF cows had a proportionally greater GIT weight than HF. These differences are likely to contribute to the production efficiency differences among genotypes previously reported

A long-term optical - X-ray correlation in 4U 1957+11

[abridged] Three years of optical monitoring of the low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1957+11 is presented. The source was observed in V, R and i-bands using the Faulkes Telescopes North and South. The light curve is dominated by long-term variations which are correlated (at the > 3 sigma level) with the RXTE ASM soft X-ray flux. The variations span one magnitude in all three filters. We find no evidence for periodicities in our light curves, contrary to a previous short-timescale optical study in which the flux varied on a 9.3-hour sinusoidal period by a smaller amplitude. The optical spectral energy distribution is blue and typical of LMXBs in outburst, as is the power law index of the correlation beta = 0.5, where F_{nu,OPT} propto F_X^beta. The discrete cross-correlation function reveals a peak at an X-ray lag of 2 - 14 days, which could be the viscous timescale. However, adopting the least squares method the strongest correlation is at a lag of 0 +/- 4 days, consistent with X-ray reprocessing on the surface of the disc. We therefore constrain the optical lag behind X-ray to be between -14 and +4 days. In addition, we use the optical - X-ray luminosity diagram for LMXBs as a diagnostic tool to constrain the nature of the compact object in 4U 1957+11, since black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) sources reside in different regions of this diagram. If the system contains a BH (as is the currently favoured hypothesis), its distance must exceed ~ 20 kpc for the optical and X-ray luminosities to be consistent with other soft state BH systems. For distances < 20 kpc, the data lie in a region of the diagram populated only by NS sources. 4U 1957+11 is unique: it is either the only BH LMXB to exist in an apparent persistent soft state, or it is a NS LMXB which behaves like a black hole.Comment: MNRAS accepted, 12 pages, 8 figure

Pediatric trainees\u27 engagement in the online nutrition curriculum: preliminary results

Background: The Pediatric Nutrition Series (PNS) consists of ten online, interactive modules and supplementary educational materials that have utilized web-based multimedia technologies to offer nutrition education for pediatric trainees and practicing physicians. The purpose of the study was to evaluate pediatric trainees\u27 engagement, knowledge acquisition, and satisfaction with nutrition modules delivered online in interactive and non-interactive formats. Methods: From December 2010 through August 2011, pediatric trainees from seventy-three (73) different U. S. programs completed online nutrition modules designed to develop residents\u27 knowledge of counseling around and management of nutritional issues in children. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in comparing interactive versus non-interactive modules. Pretest/posttest and module evaluations measured knowledge acquisition and satisfaction. Results: Three hundred and twenty-two (322) pediatric trainees completed one or more of six modules for a total of four hundred and forty-two (442) accessions. All trainees who completed at least one module were included in the study. Two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures (pre/posttest by interactive/non-interactive format) indicated significant knowledge gains from pretest to posttest (p \u3c 0.002 for all six modules). Comparisons between interactive and non-interactive formats for Module 1 (N = 85 interactive, N = 95 non-interactive) and Module 5 (N = 5 interactive, N = 16 non-interactive) indicated a parallel improvement from the pretest to posttest, with the interactive format significantly higher than the non-interactive modules (p \u3c .05). Both qualitative and quantitative data from module evaluations demonstrated that satisfaction with modules was high. However, there were lower ratings for whether learning objectives were met with Module 6 (p \u3c 0.03) and lecturer rating (p \u3c 0.004) compared to Module 1. Qualitative data also showed that completion of the interactive modules resulted in higher resident satisfaction. Conclusions: This initial assessment of the PNS modules shows that technology-mediated delivery of a nutrition curriculum in residency programs has great potential for providing rich learning environments for trainees while maintaining a high level of participant satisfaction

The substitution of a tetrahedron for the Einthoven triangle

In an experiment on a cadaver, a potential difference was rhythmically impressed upon two small electrodes thrust into the heart or its immediate neighborhood.The resulting differences in potential between a central terminal and four electrodes connected to it through equal resistances were recorded with the string galvanometer. The four electrodes were on the two arms, the left leg, and the left interscapular region.By assuming that the electrical field generated in the trunk was equivalent to that of a centric doublet in a homogeneous spherical conductor and that the four electrodes were at the apices of a tetrahedron inscribed in this sphere, the experimental and the theoretical amplitudes of the deflections in the four leads could be compared. In general, it may be said that, with one exception, the deflections in the limb leads had the relative magnitudes expected. The deflections in the lead from the back were much smaller than anticipated. The last result is attributed to circumstances peculiar to the single experiment performed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32563/1/0000689.pd

Novel pathogenic COX20 variants causing dysarthria, ataxia, and sensory neuropathy.

COX20/FAM36A encodes a mitochondrial complex IV assembly factor important for COX2 activation. Only one homozygous COX20 missense mutation has been previously described in two separate consanguineous families. We report four subjects with features that include childhood hypotonia, areflexia, ataxia, dysarthria, dystonia, and sensory neuropathy. Exome sequencing in all four subjects identified the same novel COX20 variants. One variant affected the splice donor site of intron-one (c.41A&gt;G), while the other variant (c.157+3G&gt;C) affected the splice donor site of intron-two. cDNA and protein analysis indicated that no full-length cDNA or protein was generated. These subjects expand the phenotype associated with COX20 deficiency