A revision of the generic classification of the family Echinoceratidae (Cephalopoda, Ammonoidea) (Lower Jurassic)

38 p., 5 pl., 4 fig.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm

Life Cycle And Morphological Characterization of Colpodella Sp. (atcc 50594) In Hay Medium

Colpodella species are free living biflagellated protists that prey on algae and bodonids in a process known as myzocytosis. Colpodella are phylogenetically closely related to Apicomplexa. Cyst and trophozoite stages have been identified in Colpodella species, however the mechanisms of encystation and excystation are unknown. The timing and transition of the life cycle stages are unknown. In the present study I investigated the life cycle of Colpodella sp. (ATCC 50594). Colpodella sp. were grown in diprotist cultures in tissue culture flasks containing Hay medium bacterized with Enterobacter aerogenes and containing Bodo caudatus as prey. I wanted to know the timing and duration of the life cycle and the transition stages of Colpodella sp. Time course experiments were performed to determine the duration of the life cycle stages, to investigate the transition of stages within the life cycle, and to identify the predominant cyst stage in resting cultures. The first four time courses were performed to identify the active stage of the life cycle. In all time course experiments cells were fixed and stained with Sam-Yellowe’s trichrome for visualization by light microscopy. Confocal and differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy was performed to determine cross reactivity of Plasmodium specific antibodies against Colpodella species proteins. Transmission electron microscopy was performed to visualize the ultrastructure of Colpodella sp. The data shows that the duration of Colpodella species life cycle is thirtysix hours. Colpodella sp. were most active between 20-28 hours as Colpodella sp. were iv observed actively swimming, feeding, forming transient cysts, and excysting. Bodo caudatus was observed to excyst and encyst earlier in the culture. Previously undocumented stages were identified in the Colpodella species life cycle. Precyst stages, multinucleate cysts, egress of trophozoites with incomplete cytokinesis, and single nuclei mature cysts were identified. Multinucleate cysts of Colpodella species are reminiscent of Apicomplexa schizonts. Immunofluorescence confirmed there was reactivity between antiserum 686 and Colpodella sp. proteins. Differential interference contrast and transmission electron microscopy identified asynchronous and asymmetric mitosis in Colpodella cysts. Knowledge of the life cycle and stages of Colpodella sp. will allow investigators to perform studies in cell biology and biochemistry of Colpodella species

Frequency multiplication in high-energy electron beams Semiannual progress report, Oct. 1, 1966 - Apr. 1, 1967

Frequency multiplication in high energy electron beam

Mobile telephone-delivered contingency management interventions promoting behaviour change in individuals with substance use disorders: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Contingency management (CM) interventions have gained considerable interest due to their success in the treatment of addiction. However, their implementation can be resource-intensive for clinical staff. Mobile telephone-based systems might offer a low-cost alternative. This approach could facilitate remote monitoring of behaviour and delivery of the reinforcer and minimize issues of staffing and resources. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the evidence for the effectiveness of mobile telephone-delivered CM interventions to promote abstinence (from drugs, alcohol and tobacco), medication adherence and treatment engagement among individuals with substance use disorders. DESIGN: A systematic search of databases (PsychINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase) for randomized controlled trials and within-subject design studies (1995-2019). The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO. SETTING: All included studies originated in the United states. PARTICIPANTS: Seven studies were found, including 222 participants; two targeted alcohol abstinence among frequent drinkers and four targeted smoking cessation (in homeless veterans and those with post-traumatic stress disorder). One targeted medication adherence. MEASURES: The efficacy of CM to increase alcohol and nicotine abstinence was compared with control using several outcomes; percentage of negative samples (PNS), quit rate (QR) and longest duration abstinent (LDA) at the end of the intervention. FINDINGS: The random-effects meta-analyses produced pooled effect sizes of; PNS [d = 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.63-1.25], LDA (d = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.69-1.46) and QR (d = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.27-0.66), demonstrating better outcomes across the CM conditions. Most of the studies were rated as of moderate quality. 'Fail-safe N' computations for PNS indicated that 50 studies would be needed to produce a non-significant overall effect size. None could be calculated for QR and LDA due to insufficient number of studies. CONCLUSION: Mobile telephone-delivered contingency management performs significantly better than control conditions in reducing tobacco and alcohol use among adults not in treatment for substance use disorders

The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in the Effective Collective Management of the Communal Rangelands

Numerous scientific studies have highlighted the complexities associated with the collective management of communal rangelands. To date, policy interventions in rangelands have largely ignored people’s traditional ways of managing, with adverse effects on rangeland productivity. Thus, local knowledge has not been considered in spatial planning, despite the fact that local rural communities are often repositories of key indigenous knowledge. Hence this study set out to evaluate the role of indigenous knowledge in the management of the communal rangeland in Cata and Guquka, now and in the future. This was achieved through the use of Participatory GIS (PGIS), specifically participatory mapping to analyse how the communities use and view their rangelands now and how this has changed over time, and whether this can form a potential resource for effective communal rangeland management in the future. Results revealed that Cata and Guquka participants held extensive indigenous and spatial knowledge in relation to their communal areas. However, the existing knowledge is not translated into effective management of the communal rangelands, instead it is trapped in the older generation. These findings were attributed to social challenges including an ageing population, lack of youth involvement, fear of livestock theft, lack of mutual trust amongst community members and lack of resources such as fencing, access to dipping tanks and government services, and financial constraints. Thus, factors inhibiting the use of the existing indigenous knowledge for effective management of the communal rangelands in Cata and Guquka are more social than environmental. This suggests that new policy approaches incorporating local people’s indigenous knowledge in spatial planning which takes into account their unique local situations and the relationships between people and their resources are necessary. When people feel like their voices are heard and opinions valued, the adoption and sustainability of policy-based interventions becomes less challenging. Therefore, indigenous local knowledge, if effectively harnessed, could form a key component in adaptive management of these communal rangelands

Depression, styles of private inner experience, and coping: A comparison of pathological gamblers in Gamblers Anonymous with nonpathologically gambling controls.

The present study compared 29 pathological gamblers in Gamblers Anonymous (GA) and 29 matched non-pathologically gambling controls on the conceptually interrelated constructs of depression, styles of private inner experience, and coping styles. Depression was measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979), styles of private inner experience were measured by the Short Imaginal Processes Inventory (SIPI; Huba, Singer, Aneshensel, & Antrobus, 1982), and coping styles were measured by the Problem-Focused Styles of Coping Inventory (PF-SOC; Heppner, Cook, Wright, & Johnson, 1995). Pathological gamblers reported significantly more depression than controls, but did not demonstrate different styles of private inner experience compared to their nonpathologically gambling peers. Pathological gamblers reported less reflective coping, but more suppressive and reactive coping compared with controls. Implications for theoretical models of pathological gambling, construct validity of the SIPI and PF-SOC instruments, future research in pathological gambling, and treatment of pathological gamblers are discussed.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1996 .G47. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 37-01, page: 0365. Adviser: G. R. Frisch. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1996

ALTRUISM VIA KIN-SELECTION STRATEGIES THAT RELY ON ARBITRARY TAGS WITH WHICH THEY COEVOLVE

Hamilton's rule explains when natural selection will favor altruism between conspecifics, given their degree of relatedness. In practice, indicators of relatedness (such as scent) coevolve with strategies based on these indicators, a fact not included in previous theories of kin recognition. Using a combination of simulation modeling and mathematical extension of Hamilton's rule, we demonstrate how altruism can emerge and be sustained in a coevolutionary setting where relatedness depends on an individual's social environment and varies from one locus to another. The results support a very general expectation of widespread, and not necessarily weak, conditional altruism in nature.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72180/1/j.0014-3820.2004.tb00465.x.pd

Heterologous prime-boost-boost immunisation of Chinese cynomolgus macaques using DNA and recombinant poxvirus vectors expressing HIV-1 virus-like particles

Background: There is renewed interest in the development of poxvirus vector-based HIV vaccines due to the protective effect observed with repeated recombinant canarypox priming with gp120 boosting in the recent Thai placebo-controlled trial. This study sought to investigate whether a heterologous prime-boost-boost vaccine regimen in Chinese cynomolgus macaques with a DNA vaccine and recombinant poxviral vectors expressing HIV virus-like particles bearing envelopes derived from the most prevalent clades circulating in sub-Saharan Africa, focused the antibody response to shared neutralising epitopes. Methods: Three Chinese cynomolgus macaques were immunised via intramuscular injections using a regimen composed of a prime with two DNA vaccines expressing clade A Env/clade B Gag followed by boosting with recombinant fowlpox virus expressing HIV-1 clade D Gag, Env and cholera toxin B subunit followed by the final boost with recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing HIV-1 clade C Env, Gag and human complement protein C3d. We measured the macaque serum antibody responses by ELISA, enumerated T cell responses by IFN-gamma ELISpot and assessed seroneutralisation of HIV-1 using the TZM-bl beta-galactosidase assay with primary isolates of HIV-1. Results: This study shows that large and complex synthetic DNA sequences can be successfully cloned in a single step into two poxvirus vectors: MVA and FPV and the recombinant poxviruses could be grown to high titres. The vaccine candidates showed appropriate expression of recombinant proteins with the formation of authentic HIV virus-like particles seen on transmission electron microscopy. In addition the b12 epitope was shown to be held in common by the vaccine candidates using confocal immunofluorescent microscopy. The vaccine candidates were safely administered to Chinese cynomolgus macaques which elicited modest T cell responses at the end of the study but only one out of the three macaques elicited an HIV-specific antibody response. However, the antibodies did not neutralise primary isolates of HIV-1 or the V3-sensitive isolate SF162 using the TZM-bl b-galactosidase assay. Conclusions: MVA and FP9 are ideal replication-deficient viral vectors for HIV-1 vaccines due to their excellent safety profile for use in humans. This study shows this novel prime-boost-boost regimen was poorly immunogenic in Chinese cynomolgus macaques