Infrasound from Volcanic Rockfalls

Proximal infrasound arrays can robustly track rapidly moving gravity-driven mass wasting, which occurs commonly at erupting volcanoes. This study reports on detection, localization, and quantification of frequent small rockfalls and infrequent pyroclastic density currents descending the southeast flanks of Santiaguito’s active Caliente Dome in January of 2014. Such activities are identified as moving sources, which descend several hundred meters at bulk flow speeds of up to ~10 m/s, which is considerably slower than the descent velocity of individual blocks. Infrasound rockfall signal character is readily distinguishable from explosion infrasound, which is manifested by a relatively fixed location source with lower frequency content. In contrast, the rockfalls of Santiaguito possess higher frequencies dominated by 7.5 to 20Hz energy. During our observation periods typical rockfall signals occurred ~10 times per hour and lasted tens of seconds or more. Array beamforming permitted detection of rockfall transients with amplitudes of only a few tens of millipascals that would be impossible to distinguish from noise using a single sensor. Conjoint time-synchronized video is used to corroborate location and to characterize various gravity-driven events

The impact of introduced round gobies (Neogobius me/anostomus) on phosphorus cycling in central Lake Erie

We used an individual-based bioenergetic model to simulate the phosphorus flux of the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) population in central Lake Erie during 1995-2002. Estimates of round goby diet composition, growth rates, and population abundance were derived from field sampling. As an abundant introduced fish, we predicted that round gobies would influence phosphorus cycling both directly, through excretion, and indirectly, through consumption of dreissenid mussels, whose high mass-specific phosphorus excretion enhances recycling. In 1999, when age-1+ round gobies reached peak abundance near 350 million (2.4 kg.ha^-1), annual phosphorus excretion was estimated at 7 t (1.4 X 10^-3 mg P.m^-2·day^-l). From an ecosystem perspective, however, round gobies excreted only 0.4% of the phosphorus needed by the benthic community for primary production. Indirectly, round gobies consumed <0.2% of dreissenid population biomass, indicating that round gobies did not reduce nutrient availability by consuming dreissenids, Compared with previous studies that have revealed introduced species to influence phosphorus cycling, round gobies likely did not attain a sufficiently high biomass density to influence phosphorus cycling in Lake Erie.This research was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory at Ohio State University

T-maze learning in weanling lambs

A major advantage of sheep models in experimental studies of neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., with prenatal neurotoxicant exposure) is that the equivalent of all three trimesters of human brain development occurs in sheep entirely in utero. However, studies of learning and memory in sheep are limited. The goal of this study was to extend the analysis of spatial learning and memory in adolescent sheep using several traditional T-maze tasks. Both 9- and 14-week-old lambs acquired a delayed non-matching to place task, but the older lambs learned the task significantly faster. In contrast, acquisition of a matching to place task was significantly more difficult. Lambs, like rodents, appear to have a predisposition toward learning “win-shift” spatial problems in a T-maze under appetitive motivation. Lambs also rapidly acquired a position habit and showed typical reversal learning curves. These findings support the use of T-maze tasks to assess behavioral outcomes in various sheep models

Bayesian log-Gaussian Cox process regression: applications to meta-analysis of neuroimaging working memory studies

Working memory (WM) was one of the first cognitive processes studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging. With now over 20 years of studies on WM, each study with tiny sample sizes, there is a need for meta-analysis to identify the brain regions that are consistently activated by WM tasks, and to understand the interstudy variation in those activations. However, current methods in the field cannot fully account for the spatial nature of neuroimaging meta-analysis data or the heterogeneity observed among WM studies. In this work, we propose a fully Bayesian random-effects metaregression model based on log-Gaussian Cox processes, which can be used for meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. An efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme for posterior simulations is presented which makes use of some recent advances in parallel computing using graphics processing units. Application of the proposed model to a real data set provides valuable insights regarding the function of the WM

Hair Transplantation in Advanced Male Pattern Alopecia: The Role of Incisional Slit Grafting

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98796/1/j.1524-4725.1991.tb03654.x.pd

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Risk of Melanoma

Because nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit tumor growth in vitro, we investigated the association between NSAIDs and melanoma to determine if there was epidemiologic evidence of a chemopreventive effect from these medications. Three hundred twenty-seven subjects with incident melanoma and 119 melanoma-free controls completed a structured interview assessing melanoma risk factors. The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for use of nonaspirin NSAIDs was 0.58 (95% CI 0.31–1.11), in a comparison of subjects with melanoma to controls. After adjustment for melanoma risk factors, the OR was 0.71 (95% CI 0.23–2.02). Aspirin users had an unadjusted OR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.45–1.69) and an adjusted OR of 1.45 (95% CI 0.44–4.74). In this pilot study, we found no evidence of a significant association between analgesic use and melanoma risk when potential confounders are assessed. Based on conflicting reports in the literature, meta-analysis may be appropriate

Streamlined Project Closeout for Construction at KYTC

Project closeout is the period between the end of construction and when a contract is finalized. During closeout, resources are held in encumbered funds intended for the project and in the contractor’s bonding capacity. Although the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) stated goal is to close out projects within 240 days of their ending, in 2016 the average duration of project closeout was 366 days. This report analyzes the Cabinet’s project closeout procedures, summarizes project closeout best practices adopted by other state transportation agencies, and recommends ways to improve KYTC’s practices. Streamlining project closeouts would free up sufficient funds to resurface approximately 2,000 to 7,000 total lane miles that would otherwise not be rehabilitated. To begin reforming project closeout, the Cabinet may benefit from 1) investigating ways to improve the preparation of final documentation and 2) reducing the amount of time allocated for development and completion of the materials check. Other recommendations for revamping project closeout include establishing a KYTC task force to conduct high-level analysis of the project closeout process; thoroughly implementing e-Construction methodologies, which can reduce paperwork and centralize record-keeping within tightly controlled and monitored databases; revising project closeout checklists to standardize the process and eliminate all steps that are unneeded or outdated; and optimizing project closeout processes at the district level to help personnel adopt best practices. More efficient project closeouts will benefit the public because of their potential to increase the amount of funding that can be dedicated to critical transportation projects that would otherwise remain unaddressed. As the Cabinet investigates ways to begin this process, it is important to keep in mind that strategies or methods for streamlining project closeout should be implemented by KYTC personnel, as this increases the likelihood that staff buy-in across the agency

Benefits of Turbid River Plume Habitat for Lake Erie Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Recruitment Determined by Juvenile to Larval Genotype Assignment

Nutrient-rich, turbid river plumes that are common to large lakes and coastal marine ecosystems have been hypothesized to benefit survival of fish during early life stages by increasing food availability and (or) reducing vulnerability to visual predators. However, evidence that river plumes truly benefit the recruitment process remains meager for both freshwater and marine fishes. Here, we use genotype assignment between juvenile and larval yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from western Lake Erie to estimate and compare recruitment to the age-0 juvenile stage for larvae residing inside the highly turbid, south-shore Maumee River plume versus those occupying the less turbid, more northerly Detroit River plume. Bayesian genotype assignment of a mixed assemblage of juvenile (age-0) yellow perch to putative larval source populations established that recruitment of larvae was higher from the turbid Maumee River plume than for the less turbid Detroit River plume during 2006 and 2007, but not in 2008. Our findings add to the growing evidence that turbid river plumes can indeed enhance survival of fish larvae to recruited life stages, and also demonstrate how novel population genetic analyses of early life stages can contribute to determining critical early life stage processes in the fish recruitment process

Friends of Hot Jupiters II: No Correspondence Between Hot-Jupiter Spin-Orbit Misalignment and the Incidence of Directly Imaged Stellar Companions

Multi-star systems are common, yet little is known about a stellar companion's influence on the formation and evolution of planetary systems. For instance, stellar companions may have facilitated the inward migration of hot Jupiters towards to their present day positions. Many observed short period gas giant planets also have orbits that are misaligned with respect to their star's spin axis, which has also been attributed to the presence of a massive outer companion on a non-coplanar orbit. We present the results of a multi-band direct imaging survey using Keck NIRC2 to measure the fraction of short period gas giant planets found in multi-star systems. Over three years, we completed a survey of 50 targets ("Friends of Hot Jupiters") with 27 targets showing some signature of multi-body interaction (misaligned or eccentric orbits) and 23 targets in a control sample (well-aligned and circular orbits). We report the masses, projected separations, and confirmed common proper motion for the 19 stellar companions found around 17 stars. Correcting for survey incompleteness, we report companion fractions of $48\%\pm9\%$, $47\%\pm12\%$, and $51\%\pm13\%$ in our total, misaligned/eccentric, and control samples, respectively. This total stellar companion fraction is $2.8\,\sigma$ larger than the fraction of field stars with companions approximately $50-2000\,$AU. We observe no correlation between misaligned/eccentric hot Jupiter systems and the incidence of stellar companions. Combining this result with our previous radial velocity survey, we determine that $72\% \pm 16\%$ of hot Jupiters are part of multi-planet and/or multi-star systems.Comment: typos and references updated; 25 pages, 7 figures and 10 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

Uncovering adaptive versus acclimatized alterations in standard metabolic rate in Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus)

Standard metabolic rates (SMR) were measured in Brown Bullheads collected from two locations of the Detroit River, North America, representative of highly contaminated and uncontaminated areas. Measurements of SMR were completed within 10 d of fish collections (acute trials), for fish held in a common pond environment for 1 year (clearance trials) and for F1 generation fish raised in the pond environment (F1 study). SMRs were significantly higher (26%) in fish from the contaminated area during acute trials. Both populations showed large decreases in SMR (49 to 52 %) following clearance, however, differences between populations were still evident. There were no significant differences in SMRs between populations for F1 fish. This study demonstrates that Detroit River Brown Bullheads from contaminated areas have higher metabolic rates than fish from clean locations and this metabolic effect is retained for long durations after fish are placed in a common environment. The loss of metabolic differences in F1 offspring indicates that the observed differences in SMR were acclimation based and not adaptive or related to maternal effects