Investigation of the reasons for the differences in the median ages of Indians and whites in the Lake and Sanders counties with emphasis on the Flathead Indian Reservation

Hall examines health conditions, birth and death rates, migration, and other factors in seeking to understand the Indian-white age difference in 1960. The Indians population was found to be much younger on the average than the whites in Lake and Sander

Charge dissipative dielectric for cryogenic devices

A Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) is disclosed comprising a pair of resistively shunted Josephson junctions connected in parallel within a superconducting loop and biased by an external direct current (dc) source. The SQUID comprises a semiconductor substrate and at least one superconducting layer. The metal layer(s) are separated by or covered with a semiconductor material layer having the properties of a conductor at room temperature and the properties of an insulator at operating temperatures (generally less than 100 Kelvins). The properties of the semiconductor material layer greatly reduces the risk of electrostatic discharge that can damage the device during normal handling of the device at room temperature, while still providing the insulating properties desired to allow normal functioning of the device at its operating temperature. A method of manufacturing the SQUID device is also disclosed

SGER: Is Bolling Warming Recorded by the Southeastern Margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet?

This award, under the auspices of the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) program, uses funds to increase the chronologic control for the southeastern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). Ultimately, the researchers want to explore whether they are able to document the response of the ice sheet to major shifts in atmospheric temperature and assess the ability of the ice sheet to produce large volumes of meltwater.The effect of prominent climate events, such as the Bolling warming (13,000 radiocarbon years before present), on the dynamics of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) remains unknown and yet has important implications for understanding the impact of climate change via glacial meltwater pulses and sea-level changes. The researchers suspect that the abrupt change in style of deglaciation corresponds to the onset of Bolling warmth, but they argue that the current chronology is not sufficient to determine if that is, in fact, the case. Specifically, the researchers want to collect and date fifty (50) new samples of shells and marine algae associated with the coastal moraine belt and the Pineo Ridge End Moraine Complex (PRC). These dates will help bring their chronology of the region up to modern standards and allow them to determine whether or not the changes they see in the glacial record are coeval with regional temperature changes. The project will include an undergraduate student in a research capacity and the data gathered in the course of this research will be incorporated into the literature for Maine\u27s Ice Age Trail (a display of Maine\u27s geologic history along public roads), as well as into classroom and public lectures.The research seems to fit well into the high risk and exploratory nature of the SGER program because it is not a certainty that the researchers can establish a reliable chronology that will be of utility for their scientific interests. A small investment of research funds, however, can help shed light on the science issues

WheelieKing Trainer Project Report

In this report we will detail the design and implementation process of the WheelieKing Trainer project, a device that helps people learn how to do wheelies on a bicycle by preventing backward falls. Formal project requirements are specified, followed by the ideation and iteration process to meet those requirements. The components and methods used to create the device are described in detail. The results of the development process and usage test results of the device are included. Appendices at the end of this report include references, supporting analyses, and project management and timeline details

Drivers of people's preferences for spatial proximity to energy infrastructure technologies: a cross-country analysis. ESRI WP583, February 2018

Many countries plan to decarbonise their energy systems by increasing energy efficiency and expanding the use of renewable energy sources (RES). Such actions require significant investments in new energy infrastructures. While people are generally accepting of these infrastructures, opposition sometimes arises when these developments are sited at close proximity to people's residences. Therefore, it is important to understand what actually drives people's preferences for spatial proximity to different energy infrastructure technologies. This study examines the factors influencing people's proximity preferences to different energy technologies using a cross-country econometric analysis of the stated preference data from an unprecedented survey conducted on nationally representative samples of the population in Ireland, the US and Germany. The survey involved more than 4,500 participants in total. This paper presents the data and selected results from a generalised ordered logit model for each energy technology surveyed. These are; wind turbines, solar power technology, biomass power plant, coal-red power plant and natural gas power plant. The results show that, in general, German and Irish citizens are willing to accept energy infrastructures at smaller distances to their homes than their US counterparts. Moreover, attitudinal factors are found to shape people's preferences more consistently than any of the socio-demographic characteristics

Disease and Insect Resistance: A Key to Successful Short Rotation Woody Crops Systems

Research on short rotation woody crops (SRWC) systems has been conducted in the North Central states since the early 1970\u27s. Poplars have been the major tree genus used in these studies. This research has paid dividends as poplars now are being used in the establishment of demonstration and operational plantations for the production of biomass energy for on-farm use, institutional heating, and small industry power. Populus is also playing a key role in the development of new systems for temperate zone agroforestry that will supply wood energy while providing environmental benefits

Advanced analysis of a cryptochrome mutation's effects on the robustness and phase of molecular cycles in isolated peripheral tissues of Drosophila

BACKGROUND: Previously, we reported effects of the cry(b) mutation on circadian rhythms in period and timeless gene expression within isolated peripheral Drosophila tissues. We relied on luciferase activity driven by the respective regulatory genomic elements to provide real-time reporting of cycling gene expression. Subsequently, we developed a tool kit for the analysis of behavioral and molecular cycles. Here, we use these tools to analyze our earlier results as well as additional data obtained using the same experimental designs. RESULTS: Isolated antennal pairs, heads, bodies, wings and forelegs were evaluated under light-dark cycles. In these conditions, the cry(b) mutation significantly decreases the number of rhythmic specimens in each case except the wing. Moreover, among those specimens with detectable rhythmicity, mutant rhythms are significantly weaker than cry(+) controls. In addition, cry(b) alters the phase of period gene expression in these tissues. Furthermore, peak phase of luciferase-reported period and timeless expression within cry(+) samples is indistinguishable in some tissues, yet significantly different in others. We also analyze rhythms produced by antennal pairs in constant conditions. CONCLUSIONS: These analyses further show that circadian clock mechanisms in Drosophila may vary in a tissue-specific manner, including how the cry gene regulates circadian gene expression

Signal analysis of behavioral and molecular cycles

BACKGROUND: Circadian clocks are biological oscillators that regulate molecular, physiological, and behavioral rhythms in a wide variety of organisms. While behavioral rhythms are typically monitored over many cycles, a similar approach to molecular rhythms was not possible until recently; the advent of real-time analysis using transgenic reporters now permits the observations of molecular rhythms over many cycles as well. This development suggests that new details about the relationship between molecular and behavioral rhythms may be revealed. Even so, behavioral and molecular rhythmicity have been analyzed using different methods, making such comparisons difficult to achieve. To address this shortcoming, among others, we developed a set of integrated analytical tools to unify the analysis of biological rhythms across modalities. RESULTS: We demonstrate an adaptation of digital signal analysis that allows similar treatment of both behavioral and molecular data from our studies of Drosophila. For both types of data, we apply digital filters to extract and clarify details of interest; we employ methods of autocorrelation and spectral analysis to assess rhythmicity and estimate the period; we evaluate phase shifts using crosscorrelation; and we use circular statistics to extract information about phase. CONCLUSION: Using data generated by our investigation of rhythms in Drosophila we demonstrate how a unique aggregation of analytical tools may be used to analyze and compare behavioral and molecular rhythms. These methods are shown to be versatile and will also be adaptable to further experiments, owing in part to the non-proprietary nature of the code we have developed

Identifying Novel Leads Using Combinatorial Libraries: Issues and Successes

Chemically generated libraries of small, non-oligomeric compounds are being widely embraced by researchers in both industry and academia. There has been a steady development of new chemistries and equipment applied to library generation so it is now possible to synthesize almost any desired class of compound. However, there are still important issues to consider that range from what specific types of compounds should be made to concerns such as sample resynthesis, structural confirmation of the hit identified, and how to best integrate this technology into a pharmaceutical drug discovery operation. This paper illustrates our approach to new lead discovery (individual, diverse, drug-like molecules of known structural identity using a simple, spatially addressable parallel synthesis approach to prepare Multiple Diverse as well as Universal Libraries) and describes some representative examples of chemistries we had developed within these approaches (preparation of bis-benzamide phenols, thiophenes, pyrrolidines, and highly substituted biphenyls). Finally, the manuscript concludes by addressing some the present concerns that still must be considered in this field