Development and Application of a Camper Growth Index (CGI-C)

Many people know about the value of organized camp experiences for youth, but few instruments measure camp experiences relative to positive youth development. Over the past century, most studies have found positive outcomes on a variety of dimensions, but these studies have used mainly convenience nonrandornized samples, different criteria, and a variety of instruments in their assessments. The purpose of this paper is to present evidence about the psychometric properties of a scale specifically designed to measure youth development outcomes through camp experiences

Environmental Estrogens Alter Early Development in Xenopus laevis

A growing number of environmental toxicants found in pesticides, herbicides, and industrial solvents are believed to have deleterious effects on development by disrupting hormone-sensitive processes. We exposed Xenopus laevis embryos at early gastrula to the commonly encountered environmental estrogens nonylphenol, octylphenol, and methoxychlor, the antiandrogen, p,p-DDE, or the synthetic androgen, 17 alpha-methyltestosterone at concentrations ranging from 10 nM to 10 microM and examined them at tailbud stages (approximately 48 hr of treatment). Exposure to the three environmental estrogens, as well as to the natural estrogen 17 beta-estradiol, increased mortality, induced morphologic deformations, increased apoptosis, and altered the deposition and differentiation of neural crest-derived melanocytes in tailbud stage embryos. Although neural crest-derived melanocytes were markedly altered in embryos treated with estrogenic toxicants, expression of the early neural crest maker Xslug, a factor that regulates both the induction and subsequent migration of neural crest cells, was not affected, suggesting that the disruption induced by these compounds with respect to melanocyte development may occur at later stages of their differentiation. Co-incubation of embryos with the pure antiestrogen ICI 182,780 blocked the ability of nonylphenol to induce abnormalities in body shape and in melanocyte differentiation but did not block the effects of methoxychlor. Our data indicate not only that acute exposure to these environmental estrogens induces deleterious effects on early vertebrate development but also that different environmental estrogens may alter the fate of a specific cell type via different mechanisms. Finally, our data suggest that the differentiation of neural crest-derived melanocytes may be particularly sensitive to the disruptive actions of these ubiquitous chemical contaminants

Suppression of sodium channel function in differentiating C2 muscle cells stably overexpressing rat androgen receptors

Differentiation of skeletal muscle and the formation of the neuromuscular junction are regulated by steroid hormones. The effects of androgens on ion channel proteins central to neuromuscular signalling have been investigated in differentiating mouse muscle C2 cells and in C2 cells that stably overexpress the rat androgen receptor (AR) cDNA. Neither the expression nor function of ACh receptors was regulated by androgenic actions in these cells. However, voltage- dependent sodium (Na) current density was decreased by androgen treatment of C2 cells and was abolished, even in the absence of androgens, in C2 cells that overexpress the AR. The decrease in functional Na current was not accompanied by concomitant decreases in Na channel mRNA, suggesting that AR influence posttranscriptional processing of Na channels in differentiating C2 cells

Palaeozoic petroleum systems of the Orcadian Basin to Forth Approaches, Quadrants 6 - 21, UK

This report synthesises the results of the 21CXRM Palaeozoic project to describe the Carboniferous and Devonian petroleum systems of the Orcadian Basin to Forth Approaches area (Quadrants 6 – 21). Petroleum systems of the Orcadian study area that involve significant Palaeozoic elements are not wholly contained within Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian strata. A number of producing fields attest to two main proven petroleum systems; i. Co-sourced Devonian oil (with Jurassic oil) within a Jurassic reservoir: the Beatrice, Jacky and Lybster fields; ii. Jurassic-sourced oil in a Devonian and/or Carboniferous reservoir: the Buchan, Stirling, Claymore, Highlander fields. (Jurassic-sourced oil in a Permian (Zechstein) reservoir is also proven in the Carnoustie, Ettrick and Claymore fields, and in a Rotliegend reservoir in the Dee discovery). A number of additional unproven petroleum system elements are considered in this report; i. Possibilities for Devonian and Carboniferous sourcing or co-sourcing (with Jurassic oil) of Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian (Rotliegend) reservoirs in those areas underlain by proven Palaeozoic source rock; ii. Possibilities for migrated Jurassic and/or Devonian and/or Carboniferous hydrocarbons onto horst blocks and the regional Grampian High, into basement, Palaeozoic or younger reservoirs. Focusing on frontier areas north and east of the Inner Moray Firth and from the north-eastern Forth Approaches to Grampian High, integration of a large volume of seismic, well, geophysical, organic geochemistry, maturity and reservoir property data at regional scale has established: Source rocks A wide extent of potential Devonian lacustrine source rocks mapped seismically from the Inner Moray Firth to the East Orkney Basin and north of the Halibut Horst. Geochemically-typed Devonian-sourced oil shows, oil seep data outside the area of mature Kimmeridge Clay Formation, burial depth and a limited organic geochemistry/maturity dataset indicative of Devonian source rocks that are potentially mature for oil generation outside the Inner Moray Firth. Good quality gas- and oil-prone Carboniferous source rocks are mapped from the Witch Ground Graben to north eastern end of the Forth Approaches. Wells drilled on highs indicate oil-window thermal maturity levels. Oil and gas shows and basin modelling indicate Carboniferous strata buried more deeply in adjacent basins may reach gas maturity levels, with Cenozoic maturation. Key source rock intervals are: o Lower Devonian, lacustrine Struie Formation (Quadrants 11, 12), oil prone. o Middle Devonian, lacustine Orcadia Formation and Eday Group (Quadrants 11- 15 and possibly Quadrants 19, 20), oil prone. o Visean – Namurian (lower-mid Carboniferous) fluvio-deltaic Firth Coal Formation, gas and oil prone. (This unit is age-equivalent of the Scremerston and Yoredale Formations, Cleveland Group source rocks in Quadrants 25-44

The structure of the PapD-PapGII pilin complex reveals an open and flexible P5 pocket

P pili are hairlike polymeric structures that mediate binding of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to the surface of the kidney via the PapG adhesin at their tips. PapG is composed of two domains: a lectin domain at the tip of the pilus followed by a pilin domain that comprises the initial polymerizing subunit of the 1,000-plus-subunit heteropolymeric pilus fiber. Prior to assembly, periplasmic pilin domains bind to a chaperone, PapD. PapD mediates donor strand complementation, in which a beta strand of PapD temporarily completes the pilin domain's fold, preventing premature, nonproductive interactions with other pilin subunits and facilitating subunit folding. Chaperone-subunit complexes are delivered to the outer membrane usher where donor strand exchange (DSE) replaces PapD's donated beta strand with an amino-terminal extension on the next incoming pilin subunit. This occurs via a zip-in-zip-out mechanism that initiates at a relatively accessible hydrophobic space termed the P5 pocket on the terminally incorporated pilus subunit. Here, we solve the structure of PapD in complex with the pilin domain of isoform II of PapG (PapGIIp). Our data revealed that PapGIIp adopts an immunoglobulin fold with a missing seventh strand, complemented in parallel by the G1 PapD strand, typical of pilin subunits. Comparisons with other chaperone-pilin complexes indicated that the interactive surfaces are highly conserved. Interestingly, the PapGIIp P5 pocket was in an open conformation, which, as molecular dynamics simulations revealed, switches between an open and a closed conformation due to the flexibility of the surrounding loops. Our study reveals the structural details of the DSE mechanism

Palaeozoic petroleum systems of the central North Sea/Mid North Sea High

This report synthesises the results of the 21CXRM Palaeozoic project to describe the Carboniferous and Devonian petroleum systems of the Central North Sea/Mid North Sea High area (Quadrants 25–44). Focusing on frontier areas to the north of the Southern North Sea gas fields and west of the Auk-Flora ridge, integration of a large volume of seismic, well, geophysical, organic geochemistry, maturity and reservoir property data at regional scale has established: Extensional to strike-slip Devonian and Carboniferous basins cutting across the Mid North Sea High on orientations strongly controlled by basement inheritance, granites and a complex Palaeozoic stress field. Varsican orogenic transpression and inversion was superimposed resulting in a variety of structural trapping styles and burial/uplift histories, and a complicated pre-Permian subcrop map. A widespread spatial and temporal extent of oil and gas mature source rock intervals within the Carboniferous succession particularly; o lower Carboniferous (Visean) coals and mudstones of the Scremerston Formation, dominantly fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine with some marine influence, dominantly gas prone. Gas mature in Quadrant 41 and central-southern Quadrants 42-44 and oil mature in the Forth Approaches and North Dogger Basin o lower-mid Carboniferous (Visean-Namurian) coals and mudstones of the Yoredale and Millstone Grit formations in fluvio-deltaic to marine cycles, gas prone with oil prone intervals. Gas mature in central Quadrant 41 and southern Quadrants 42-43, oil mature across northern Quadrants 41-44, Quadrant 36, 38 and 39. o Lower-mid Carboniferous (Visean-Namurian) mudstones and siltstones of the Cleveland Group, over 1 km thick, deposited in dominantly marine environments. Gas mature to overmature in southern Quadrants 41-44 and modelled as having generated oil and gas. Potentially widespread reservoir intervals of varying reservoir quality. Favourable intervals include the Upper Devonian sandstone of the Buchan Formation expecially where fractured, channels within the fluvio-deltaic lower-mid Carboniferous (Visean-Namurian) Scremerston, Yoredale and Millstone Grit formations, the laterally extensive, high net:gross Fell Sandstone Formation, and possibly turbidites or shoreface sands within marine mudstones/siltstones in southern Quadrants 41-44 (likely tight gas unless early hydrocarbon charged) Widespread opportunities for structural (fault/fold/dip) traps utilising a Silverpit mudstone, or Zechstein evaporite seal as in the Breagh Field. Intraformational Carboniferous seals are documented widely in onshore Carboniferous fields and in some offshore fields and should be further investigated, particularly in mudstone/siltstone-dominated basinal successions with modelled Carboniferous and recent hydrocarbon generation, along with possibilities for stratigraphic traps. Basin modelling predicts oil and gas generation at a variety of times (Carboniferous, Mesozoic and Cenozoic dependent on the well) from lower-mid Carbonferous (Visean-Namurian) strata in Quadrants 41-44. In the Forth Approaches, Quadrant 29/North Dogger basins and on the poorly constrained Devonian-Carboniferous Mid North Sea High, oil window maturity levels are modelled at selected wells in a largely gas-prone sequence, though basinwards gas maturity may be achieved. It is recommended that the contribution and volumetrics of relatively thin oil-prone intervals within the Carboniferous succession be further investigated

Overview of the 21CXRM Palaeozoic Project : a regional petroleum systems analysis of the offshore Carboniferous and Devonian of the UKCS

This report gives an overview of the 21CXRM Palaeozoic Project background, scope and products (Sections 1-3). It explains how the component reports and datasets of the project fit together. Overview technical information (e.g. key diagrams and charts applicable across the reports for each area) is reproduced in Sections 6 and 7 for reference, particularly as background for users of the specialist reports. A visual representation of the regional coverage and quantity of digital Palaeozoic Project products is given in Figure 1

From polyps to pixels: understanding coral reef resilience to local and global change across scales

Abstract Context Coral reef resilience is the product of multiple interacting processes that occur across various interacting scales. This complexity presents challenges for identifying solutions to the ongoing worldwide decline of coral reef ecosystems that are threatened by both local and global human stressors. Objectives We highlight how coral reef resilience is studied at spatial, temporal, and functional scales, and explore emerging technologies that are bringing new insights to our understanding of reef resilience. We then provide a framework for integrating insights across scales by using new and existing technological and analytical tools. We also discuss the implications of scale on both the ecological processes that lead to declines of reefs, and how we study those mechanisms. Methods To illustrate, we present a case study from Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi, USA, linking remotely sensed hyperspectral imagery to within-colony symbiont communities that show differential responses to stress. Results In doing so, we transform the scale at which we can study coral resilience from a few individuals to entire ecosystems. Conclusions Together, these perspectives guide best practices for designing management solutions that scale from individuals to ecosystems by integrating multiple levels of biological organization from cellular processes to global patterns of coral degradation and resilience