Permeabilization-free en bloc immunohistochemistry for correlative microscopy

A dense reconstruction of neuronal synaptic connectivity typically requires high-resolution 3D electron microscopy (EM) data, but EM data alone lacks functional information about neurons and synapses. One approach to augment structural EM datasets is with the fluorescent immunohistochemical (IHC) localization of functionally relevant proteins. We describe a protocol that obviates the requirement of tissue permeabilization in thick tissue sections, a major impediment for correlative pre-embedding IHC and EM. We demonstrate the permeabilization-free labeling of neuronal cell types, intracellular enzymes, and synaptic proteins in tissue sections hundreds of microns thick in multiple brain regions from mice while simultaneously retaining the ultrastructural integrity of the tissue. Finally, we explore the utility of this protocol by performing proof-of-principle correlative experiments combining two-photon imaging of protein distributions and 3D EM

MODELING COUPON VALUES FOR READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST CEREALS

A theoretical framework is developed to highlight the significant determinants of coupon values. A fixed effects panel data model is fitted with data from the breakfast cereal industry. The explanatory variables include own retail price, brand loyalty, brand market share, rival coupon redemptions, and firm and product type indicators.coupons, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, panel data model, Consumer/Household Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Ecological and Reproductive Consequences of Morphological Variation in Egregia Menziesii (Turner) Areshoug

The extensive morphological plasticity of seaweeds has been appreciated since the first species were described, however, the costs and benefits of this strategy are not yet well understood. Studies have reported that morphological variants differ in reproduction, growth, and physiology, in addition to the ways in which they impact surrounding communities. This study examined the consequences of morphological plasticity in the intertidal kelp, Egregia menziesii, which is common along rocky shores from Baja California to British Columbia. Egregia is also considered to be a foundation species due to the dense canopy it forms and the numerous species that depend on it for food and shelter. This monospecific genus was previously described as several independent species due to variability in blade and midrib (or rachis) morphology. In central California, rachi can be either papillated or smooth, with papillated rachi being dominant north of Point Conception, and smooth rachi dominant south of Point Conception. The Monterey Bay area is home to populations of both morphological forms and this study evaluated the effects of rachis morphology on reproduction, desiccation resistance, grazing resistance, and growth patterns of Egregia menziesii. These questions were assessed using a suite of field surveys, field experiments, and laboratory experiments. The results indicated that reproductive output measured over the course of a year was not significantly different between the two morphological forms, however, some seasonal differences in the timing of reproductive output was observed. Smooth rachi appeared to have higher spore release, but lower settlement success than papillated rachi at the same site, indicating potential life-history trade-offs and a complicated interaction between morphology and environmental conditions. An obligate limpet was observed to occur at similar densities between the two rachis morphologies, however the grazing scars it created were significantly larger on smooth rachi, indicating that rachis papillations may offer some level of grazer resistance. Rachis morphology also significantly affected desiccation rates in the intertidal. Rachi with denser papillations exhibited slower rates of water loss over time, perhaps indicating a resistance to drying. This resistance to desiccation could also benefit other intertidal organisms sheltering under Egregia canopies. Evaluations of the effects of biomass loss on growth demonstrated that the intercalary meristem is much more diffuse than previously thought, providing Egregia with a mechanism to recover from physical damage that occurs along the rachis. This ability to repair and regrow following physical disturbance is a potential advantage in the high stress rocky environment. Overall, my results indicated that differences in reproduction, grazer resistance, and desiccation resistance occur among two distinct morphotypes of Egregia menziesii. While these two morphotypes may not be separate species, their unique characteristics result in physiological impacts, as well as impacts on the intertidal community

Character Formulae and Partition Functions in Higher Dimensional Conformal Field Theory

A discussion of character formulae for positive energy unitary irreducible representations of the the conformal group is given, employing Verma modules and Weyl group reflections. Product formulae for various conformal group representations are found. These include generalisations of those found by Flato and Fronsdal for SO(3,2). In even dimensions the products for free representations split into two types depending on whether the dimension is divisible by four or not.Comment: 43 pages, uses harvmac,version 2 2 references added, minor typos correcte

Introduction : The Laurentide Ice Sheet and its Significance

The Laurentide Ice Sheet is a glacier complex that covered large parts of eastern, central and northern North America during the last glaciation. The Ice Sheet depressed the crust by at least 300 m and it held enough water to lower sea level 40-50 m. The Laurentide Ice Sheet was first viewed as a complex of essentially independent glaciers; later it was considered a single sheet centred on Hudson Bay; and recently the Laurentide Ice Sheet has been shown to have been made up of at least 3 major coalescent ice masses. In addition to lowering sea level and depressing the land surface, it changed atmospheric circulation, caused southward movement of biozones, eroded the weathered mantle, and deposited extensive areas of freshly eroded materials. Understanding the history and dynamics of the Ice Sheet is important in prospecting for more deposits, predicting effects of acid rain, understanding the nature and distribution of soils, locating granular aggregate, predicting sea level change, modelling climatic change and predicting major changes in flow patterns of modern ice sheets.Au cours de la dernière glaciation, l'inlandsis laurentidien a recouvert de vastes étendues de l'est, du centre et du nord de l'Amérique du Nord. L'inlandsis a causé un affaissement d'au moins 300 m de l'écorce terrestre et a emmagasiné une telle quantité d'eau que le niveau marin s'est abaissé de 40-50 m. On a d'abord considéré l'inlandsis comme un complexe de glaciers fondamentalement indépendants; plus tard, on a cru qu'il s'agissait d'une seule nappe glaciaire centrée sur la baie d'Hudson; on a récemment démontré qu'il était formé d'au moins trois grandes masses coalescentes. L'inlandsis a également été la cause de modifications de la circulation atmosphérique et de la migration des biozones vers le sud; il a érodé les roches déjà altérées et recouvert de vastes étendues de dépôts fraîchement érodés. L'explication de l'évolution et de la dynamique de l'inlandsis a des répercussions sur la prospection des gîtes minéraux, la prévision des effets des pluies acides, la compréhension de la nature et de la distribution des sols, la localisation de matériaux pour la construction, la prévision des variations du niveau de la mer, la modélisation des changements climatiques et la prévision de changements majeurs dans le régime d'écoulement des glaciers modernes

Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square lattice for S>=1

Theoretical predictions of a semiclassical method - the pure-quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation - for the correlation length and staggered susceptibility of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square lattice (2DQHAF) agree very well with recent quantum Monte Carlo data for S=1, as well as with experimental data for the S=5/2 compounds Rb2MnF4 and KFeF4. The theory is parameter-free and can be used to estimate the exchange coupling: for KFeF4 we find J=2.33 +- 0.33 meV, matching with previous determinations. On this basis, the adequacy of the quantum nonlinear sigma model approach in describing the 2DQHAF when S>=1 is discussed.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX file with 5 figures included by psfi

Performance of variable-orifice nozzles for liquid fertilizer applications

Citation: Sharda, A., Fulton, J. P., & Taylor, R. K. (2016). Performance of variable-orifice nozzles for liquid fertilizer applications. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 32(3), 347-352. doi:10.13031/aea.32.11428Variable-rate application continues to gain interest among precision agriculture practitioners including the use of crop sensor technology for application of nitrogen in grain crops. For liquid fertilizers, variable-orifice nozzles are being implemented since they provide a much larger nozzle flow range compared to traditional fixed orifice nozzles. However, understanding the performance of variable-orifice nozzles under different field operating conditions has been limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of variable orifice nozzles in support of variable-rate application. Two common variable-orifice nozzles offered by different companies were selected for this study. They were tested over three flow ranges (0.76 to 1.89 L/min) with all tests replicated three times. A commercially available 18.6-m, wet boom sprayer equipped with 37 nozzle bodies was used. Nozzles were numbered but then randomly assigned a position along the boom. To evaluate the performance of an individual nozzle, three random nozzle locations along the spray boom were established for both sets of nozzles. Therefore, 18 tests per replication were required to include the 3 flow rates, 3 different locations, and 2 nozzle types. Once the desired flow rate test was established, tip flow was measured using SpotOn Sprayer Calibrator technology. Tip flows were recorded and statistical analyses performed to evaluate flow uniformity (CV) across the boom but also detect off-rate errors by individual nozzles and locations across the boom. With the exception of a few nozzles, the uniformity across the spray boom, as defined by the CV, was acceptable for both nozzle types over approximately a 2:1 flow range. Both nozzle types were less uniform at the low flow rate. There were three nozzles of each type that resulted in unacceptable flow errors in multiple tests. © 2016 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

The Fefferman-Graham Ambiguity and AdS Black Holes

Asymptotically anti-de Sitter space-times in pure gravity with negative cosmological constant are described, in all space-time dimensions greater than two, by classical degrees of freedom on the conformal boundary at space-like infinity. Their effective boundary action has a conformal anomaly for even dimensions and is conformally invariant for odd ones. These degrees of freedom are encoded in traceless tensor fields in the Fefferman-Graham asymptotic metric for any choice of conformally flat boundary and generate all Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes in anti-de Sitter space-time. We argue that these fields describe components of an energy-momentum tensor of a boundary theory and show explicitly how this is realized in 2+1 dimensions. There, the Fefferman-Graham fields reduce to the generators of the Virasoro algebra and give the mass and the angular momentum of the BTZ black holes. Their local expression is the Liouville field in a general curved background.Comment: Latex, 14 pages; one reference modified, minor misprints correcte