A Medical Humanities Course: A Pertinent Pause on the Medical Beat

This article summarizes the findings of one ethnographic study and demonstrates that, by emphasizing self- reflection and discussion, an interdisciplinary literature and medicine course provides medical students a brief but important, time for retrospection

The Role of Adult Fiddler Crab Environmental Acoustic Cues and Chemical Cues in Stimulating Molting of Field-Caught Megalopae

In mid-Atlantic estuaries, three fiddler crab species, Uca pugilator, Uca pugnax and Uca minax co-occur, with their adults occupying different habitat types distinguished by salinity and sediment size. Some evidence exists that selective settlement is responsible for this separation but the mechanism is largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that field-caught megalopae would accelerate metamorphosis in the presence of adult species-specific environmental acoustic cues and conspecific chemical cues. We placed megalopae in seawater with and without adult chemical cues, exposed them to one of three sound treatments for 8 days, and recorded the time each megalopa took to metamorphose. In the absence of adult chemical cues, very few megalopae molted regardless of sound treatment. Molting in the presence of habitat sound and chemical cues varied by species. Many U. pugilator molted in all sound and odor combinations, including no odor/sound. U. pugnax was stimulated to molt by chemical cues from either U. pugilator or U. pugnax, but molting was similar across sound treatments. Our results do not support the hypothesis that sound stimulates molting by fiddler crab megalopae, but support the role of chemical odors from adults as molting cues

Improving the Viability of New Farmers\u27 Operations Through the Use of Profit Teams

Profit teams comprise multiple consultants engaged to support farmer decision making by holistically analyzing farm challenges. We tested the idea of using profit teams to help advanced beginning farmers, those who are beyond start-up but have been in business less than 10 years, address constraints to growing their businesses. These new entrepreneurs often have entered agriculture without a family farming history or a connection to Extension. We describe the processes of selecting farmers and administering teams, and we highlight significant improvements in quality of life, production, and profitability reported by 35 farmers. Our lessons learned may guide other educators and funders in developing profit teams for their beginning farmer clients

Does the Clam Mya truncata Regenerate Its Siphon after Predation by Walrus? An Experimental Approach

Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) prey extensively on the bivalve Mya truncata, removing the siphons. We performed a simple experiment whereby the siphons from 27 M. truncata were removed, 33 controls were left intact, and the clams left on the sea bottom for a year. All the damaged Mya died; all but 2 controls lived. We conclude that M. truncata whose siphons have been grazed by walrus die, leaving over half the clam to predators or scavengers.

The characterization and role of aeolian deposition on water quality, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

The connection of ecosystems by wind-driven transport of material has become a topic of increasing interest and importance. Less than 1% of dust transported worldwide is exported to the Southern Ocean and Antarctic cryosphere; however, aeolian transport on the Antarctic continent is predominantly locally derived from the abrasion of bedrock. The deposition of the aeolian material is integral to nutrient and solute dispersal in the Antarctic ecosystem. This is particularly true in the ice-free areas of Antarctica, such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), where aeolian material deposited in the aquatic system is solubilized during the melt season. The material is predominantly locally-derived from the abrasion of bedrock. In this study, a two-step leaching experiment simulates the melt season and we quantify the flux of solutes and nutrients to the aquatic ecosystem. Soluble salts were removed from the aeolian material first during cold water leaching followed by an increase in carbonate and silicate dissolution during freeze–thaw. Major ion fluxes on glaciers and lakes are at least two orders of magnitude greater than nutrient fluxes. However, the fluxes derived from these experiments are less than the estimated flux from streams to lakes and probably represent minima. Aeolian redistribution of local soils is important because they are the only source of new solutes and nutrients to the aquatic ecosystem of the MDV

THE ROLE OF AEOLIAN DUST IN NUTRIENT AND SOLUTE TRANSPORT IN THE MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS, ANTARCTICA

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), the largest ice-free expanse in Antarctica, are considered a polar desert with an average annual temperature of -20oC and annual precipitation of \u3c10cm. Despite the extremely arid climate, a hydrologic continuum exists during the austral summer when ephemeral streams formed from glacial meltwater flow into endorheic lakes. Dust is deposited by strong seasonal winds onto the glacier and lake surfaces, as well as in widespread aeolian landforms throughout the MDV. Katabatic winds from the west, probably responsible for the majority of lithogenic dust deposition, dominate during the winter months. Easterly winds from the coast, prominent during the summer, contribute to the dust budget through the addition of salts and marine aerosols. When considered in the context of the unique hydrologic continuum and the climate-sensitivity of the environment, the dissolution of deposited dust may have an impact on salt and nutrient transfer and thus the ecosystem of the MDV. We have simulated this dissolution by conducting a two-step H2O leaching experiment on aeolian sediments collected from select glaciers, lakes, aeolian landforms, and elevated sediment traps. Resulting leachates representing the interaction of 50mL H2O with 25 g of dust sample were analyzed for major ions. NO3- concentrations (leach 1: \u3c1.0-240 µM; leach 2: \u3c1.0-94 µM) generally increase to the west and imply that aeolian deposition is potentially important to the nitrogen cycle in the MDV. Total dissolved solid concentrations (leach 1: 9-544 mg/L; leach 2: 6-150 mg/L), however, do not show any geographic/spatial correlation which is not consistent with previous work and suggests the significance of dust dissolution to the environment. Aliquots of the total dust were also analyzed for total C and N values. All but two samples, Lake Fryxell (0.12% N) and the eastern side of the Commonwealth Glacier (0.09% N), were below detection limit with respect to N (\u3c0.08% N). Both samples are from the Fryxell basin, the youngest of the basins, that is nitrogen limited. C values ranged from below detection (\u3c0.04% C) to 1.27% C. These results attest to the importance of dust as an addition to the ecosystem of the MDV. Further investigation of the dust is planned to constrain its chemical and mineralogical composition

Antarctic streams as a potential source of iron for the Southern Ocean

Due to iron’s role in oceanic primary production, there has been great interest in quantifying the importance of Fe in regions where concentrations are very low and macronutrients, nitrate and phosphate, are available. Measurements of filterable (i.e., \u3c0.4 μm) Fe concentrations in streams from Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, suggest that coastal-zone stream Fe input to the Southern Ocean could potentially play an important role in primary production in nearshore regions. Filterable Fe (fFe) data from streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys were used to represent glacier meltwater that flows through ice-free landscape with the potential of transporting Fe to the Antarctic coastal zone. Estimates of potential fFe flux to the Antarctic Peninsula region using our mean fFe concentration of 10.6 µg L–1 combined with an estimate of ice-free area for the Antarctic Peninsula result in an fFe flux of 1.2 × 107 g yr–1. Although small compared to iceberg and aeolian Fe fluxes, future stream input to the Southern Ocean could increase due to glacier retreat and melting, thus increasing the fFe flux from glacier meltwater streams

Nebraska Child Care Market Rate Survey Report 2019

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 was reauthorized with renewed emphasis placed on the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program, which seeks to provide equal access to quality child care for families. The CCDF program is necessary to ensure children from low-income families have the opportunity to experience stable, high-quality early experiences while their parents experience a pathway to economic stability. A primary goal of the CCDF program is to ensure that low-income families receive CCDF funds to help them access quality child care in the same manner as families that pay the full rate for child care services (Davis et al., 2017). The CCDBG Act requires Lead Agencies to engage in a number of activities designed to inform families receiving CCDF assistance, the general public, and child care providers of various aspects of the new law. This includes a requirement for Lead Agencies to conduct a market rate survey or alternative methodology to establish provider payment rates. Various factors should be considered when provider payment rates are established to ensure children from low-income families have equal access to highquality child care. Federal regulations indicate that the 75th percentile payment rate is a benchmark for gauging equal access for families receiving subsidy. However, States/ Territories are given the freedom to determine their own rates and eligibility requirements for families and programs. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) is the CCDF Lead Agency in Nebraska. While the reauthorized CCDBG allows states to conduct a market rate survey every three years, state legislation requires that NDHHS adjust the reimbursement rate for child care every odd numbered year. For 2019, NDHHS contracted with the Buffett Early Childhood Institute (referred to as Institute throughout the remainder of this manuscript) at the University of Nebraska to conduct a market rate survey (MRS) for child care in the state of Nebraska. The 2019 MRS was designed to meet the following federal benchmarks: (a) includes the priced child care market; (b) provides complete and current data; (c) represents geographic variations; (d) uses rigorous data collection procedures; and (e) analyzes data in a manner that captures market differences as a function of age group, provider type, and geographic location (45 CFR § 98.4)