Edwin Adcock II and James Burleson in a Senior Voice Recital

This is the program for the joint senior voice recital of baritone Edwin Charles Adcock II and baritone James Walker Burleson. Donna McCoy assisted Adcock; La Juana Terrell assisted Burleson. The recital took place on February 11, 1980, in the Mabee Fine Arts Center Recital Hall

Understanding and Reducing Pesticide Losses

A small portion of pesticides applied on farms inadvertently reaches surface and groundwater. The amount varies from nearly zero to sometimes more than 5 percent of the amount applied, depending on several factors discussed below. That may not seem like much, but a 1 percent loss of a 1-pound-per-acre pesticide application can contaminate all of the drainage from a field in a normal year at 5 parts per billion (ppb). This level can be of concern if the drainage water enters drinking water supplies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established Health Advisory Levels for most pesticides in drinking water. Health Advisory Levels are guides to the level of chronic exposure of an individual to pesticides

Neo-Statecraft Theory, Historical Institutionalism and Institutional Change

This article provides a critical examination of the contribution that statecraft theory, which has been subject to recent revision and development, makes to the literature on institutional change. It articulates an emergent neo-statecraft approach that offers an agent-led form of historical institutionalism. This overcomes the common criticism that historical institutionalists underplay the creative role of actors. The article also argues that the approach brings back into focus the imperatives of electoral politics as a source of institutional change and provides a macro theory of change which is also commonly missing from historical institutionalist work. It can therefore identify previously unnoticed sources of stability and change, especially in states with strong executives and top-down political cultures

Spatiotemporal correlation analysis of hydraulic fracturing and stroke in the United States

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has led to a rapid growth of oil and gas production in the United States, but the impact of fracking on public health is an important but underresearched topic. We designed a methodology to study spatiotemporal correlations between the risk of fracking and stroke mortality. An annualized loss expectancy (ALE) model is applied to quantify the risk of fracking. The geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is used to analyze spatiotemporal correlations of stroke mortality, fracking ALE, and nine other socioeconomic- and health-related factors. The analysis shows that fracking ALE is moderately correlated with stroke mortality at ages over 65 in most states of fracking, in addition to cardiovascular disease and drug overdose being positively correlated with stroke mortality. Furthermore, the correlations between fracking ALE and stroke mortality in men appear to be higher than in women near the Marcellus Shale, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia, while stroke mortality among women is concentrated in the Great Plains, including Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Lastly, within two kilometers of the fracking mining activity, the level of benzene in the air was found to be significantly correlated with the fracking activity in Colorado

A multi-function compact fuel reforming reactor for fuel cell applications

A multi-function compact chemical reactor designed for hydrocarbon steam reforming was evaluated. The reactor design is based on diffusion bonded laminate micro-channel heat exchanger technology. The reactor consists of a combustor layer, which is sandwiched between two steam reforming layers. Between the two function layers, a temperature monitor and control layer is placed, which is designed to locate the temperature sensors. The combustor layer has four individually controlled combustion zones each connected to a separate fuel supply. The reactor design offers the potential to accurately control the temperature distribution along the length of the reactor using closed loop temperature control. The experimental results show that the variance of temperature along the reactor is negligible. The conversion efficiency of the combustor layer is approximately 90%. The heat transfer efficiency from combustion layer to reforming layers is 65% to 85% at 873 K and 673 K, respectively. The heat transfer rate to the reforming layers is sufficient to support a steam reformation of propane at a rate of 0.7 dm3/min (STP) with a steam to carbon ratio of 2 at 873 K

Investigating the Growth of Algae Under Low Atmospheric Pressures for Potential Food and Oxygen Production on Mars

With long-term missions to Mars and beyond that would not allow resupply, a self-sustaining Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS) is essential. Algae are promising candidates for BLSS due to their completely edible biomass, fast growth rates and ease of handling. Extremophilic algae such as snow algae and halophilic algae may also be especially suited for a BLSS because of their ability to grow under extreme conditions. However, as indicated from over 50 prior space studies examining algal growth, little is known about the growth of algae at close to Mars-relevant pressures. Here, we explored the potential for five algae species to produce oxygen and food under low-pressure conditions relevant to Mars. These included Chloromonas brevispina, Kremastochrysopsis austriaca, Dunaliella salina, Chlorella vulgaris, and Spirulina plantensis. The cultures were grown in duplicate in a low-pressure growth chamber at 670 ± 20 mbar, 330 ± 20 mbar, 160 ± 20 mbar, and 80 ± 2.5 mbar pressures under continuous light exposure (62–70 μmol m–2 s–1). The atmosphere was evacuated and purged with CO2 after sampling each week. Growth experiments showed that D. salina, C. brevispina, and C. vulgaris were the best candidates to be used for BLSS at low pressure. The highest carrying capacities for each species under low pressure conditions were achieved by D. salina at 160 mbar (30.0 ± 4.6 × 105 cells/ml), followed by C. brevispina at 330 mbar (19.8 ± 0.9 × 105 cells/ml) and C. vulgaris at 160 mbar (13.0 ± 1.5 × 105 cells/ml). C. brevispina, D. salina, and C. vulgaris all also displayed substantial growth at the lowest tested pressure of 80 mbar reaching concentrations of 43.4 ± 2.5 × 104, 15.8 ± 1.3 × 104, and 57.1 ± 4.5 × 104 cells per ml, respectively. These results indicate that these species are promising candidates for the development of a Mars-based BLSS using low pressure (∼200–300 mbar) greenhouses and inflatable structures that have already been conceptualized and designed

Deep Brain Stimulation Improves the Symptoms and Sensory Signs of Persistent Central Neuropathic Pain from Spinal Cord Injury: A Case Report

Central neuropathic pain (CNP) is a significant problem after spinal cord injury (SCI). Pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches may reduce the severity, but relief is rarely substantial. While deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used to treat various chronic pain types, the technique has rarely been used to attenuate CNP after SCI. Here we present the case of a 54-year-old female with incomplete paraplegia who had severe CNP in the lower limbs and buttock areas since her injury 30 years prior. She was treated with bilateral DBS of the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). The effects of this stimulation on CNP characteristics, severity and pain-related sensory function were evaluated using the International SCI Pain Basic Data Set (ISCIPBDS), Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI), Multidimensional Pain Inventory and Quantitative Sensory Testing before and periodically after initiation of DBS. After starting DBS treatment, weekly CNP severity ratings rapidly decreased from severe to minimal, paralleled by a substantial reduction in size of the painful area, reduced pain impact and reversal of pain-related neurological abnormalities, i.e., dynamic-mechanical and cold allodynia. She discontinued pain medication on study week 24. The improvement has been consistent. The present study expands on previous findings by providing in-depth assessments of symptoms and signs associated with CNP. The results of this study suggest that activation of endogenous pain inhibitory systems linked to the PAG can eliminate CNP in some people with SCI. More research is needed to better-select appropriate candidates for this type of therapy. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the brainstem’s control of chronic pain and for future progress in using analgesic DBS in the central gray

Resource Characterization of Sites in the Vicinity of an Island near a Landmass

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Renewable energy technologies are undergoing rapid development, the global aim being to achieve energy security and lower carbon emissions. Of marine renewable energy sources, tidal power has inherent predictability and large theoretical potential, estimated to exceed 8000 (TW h)a−1 in coastal basins. Coastal sites in the vicinity of an island near a landmass are prime candidates for tidal stream power exploitation by arrays of turbines. This paper characterizes numerically the upper limit to power extraction of turbines installed at such sites. It is demonstrated that the maximum power extracted from the strait is generally not well approximated by either the power dissipated naturally at the seabed or the undisturbed kinetic power of flow in the strait. An analytical channel model [C. Garrett and P. Cummins, “The power potential of tidal currents in channels,” Proc. R. Soc. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci., vol. 461, no. 2060, pp. 2563–2572, Aug. 2005] provides lower predictions than the present numerical model of available power in the strait due to the analytical model not accounting for changes to the driving head resulting from power extraction and flow diversion offshore of the island. For geometrically long islands extending parallel to the landmass, the numerically predicted extracted power is satisfactorily approximated by the power naturally dissipated at the seabed, and there is reasonable agreement with the estimate by the channel analytical model. It is found that the results are sensitive to choice of boundary conditions used for the coastlines, the eddy viscosity, and bed friction. Increased offshore depth and lower blockage both reduce the maximum power extracted from the strait. The results indicate that power extracted from the site can be maximum if extraction is implemented both in the strait and offshore of the island. Presence of the landmass and increasing island dimensions both enhance power extraction.This work was supported by General Electric Renewable Energy with funding from the ETI and the EPSRC through the Industrial Doctoral Centre for Offshore Renewable Energy (EP/J500847/1). The authors would like to thank the Applied Modelling and Computation Group at Imperial College of London for free access to the software Fluidity and their support

SARS-CoV-2 structural coverage map reveals viral protein assembly, mimicry, and hijacking mechanisms

Abstract We modeled 3D structures of all SARS‐CoV‐2 proteins, generating 2,060 models that span 69% of the viral proteome and provide details not available elsewhere. We found that ˜6% of the proteome mimicked human proteins, while ˜7% was implicated in hijacking mechanisms that reverse post‐translational modifications, block host translation, and disable host defenses; a further ˜29% self‐assembled into heteromeric states that provided insight into how the viral replication and translation complex forms. To make these 3D models more accessible, we devised a structural coverage map, a novel visualization method to show what is—and is not—known about the 3D structure of the viral proteome. We integrated the coverage map into an accompanying online resource (https://aquaria.ws/covid) that can be used to find and explore models corresponding to the 79 structural states identified in this work. The resulting Aquaria‐COVID resource helps scientists use emerging structural data to understand the mechanisms underlying coronavirus infection and draws attention to the 31% of the viral proteome that remains structurally unknown or dark