The Canadian-American Alliance, 1955-1988: Some Maritime Considerations

At the end of World War II, North America contained the first and third-largest navies in the world: the United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)

An automated search for transiting exocomets

This paper discusses an algorithm for detecting single transits in photometric time-series data. Specifically, we aim to identify asymmetric transits with ingress that is more rapid than egress, as expected for cometary bodies with a significant tail. The algorithm is automated, so can be applied to large samples and only a relatively small number of events need to be manually vetted. We applied this algorithm to all long cadence light curves from the Kepler mission, finding 16 candidate transits with significant asymmetry, 11 of which were found to be artefacts or symmetric transits after manual inspection. Of the 5 remaining events, four are the 0.1% depth events previously identified for KIC 3542116 and 11084727. We identify HD 182952 (KIC 8027456) as a third system showing a potential comet transit. All three stars showing these events have H-R diagram locations consistent with $\sim$100Myr-old open cluster stars, as might be expected given that cometary source regions deplete with age, and giving credence to the comet hypothesis. If these events are part of the same population of events as seen for KIC 8462852, the small increase in detections at 0.1% depth compared to 10% depth suggests that future work should consider whether the distribution is naturally flat, or if comets with symmetric transits in this depth range remain undiscovered. Future searches relying on asymmetry should be more successful if they focus on larger samples and young stars, rather than digging further into the noise

Tetraamine Me6TREN induced monomerization of alkali metal borohydrides and aluminohydrides

Monomeric 1:1 complexes of MEH4 (M, E = Li, B, 1; Na, B, 2; Li, Al, 3; Na, Al, 4) and the tripodal tetradentate ligand (Me2NCH2CH2)3N (Me6TREN) have been prepared in good yields by refluxing in THF and allowing the solutions to cool slowly. X-ray diffraction studies show that the BH4 group binds to either Li or Na via three hydride bridges while the AlH4 group connects to Li via a single hydride bridge. Surprisingly, Me6TREN·LiAlH4 represents the first monomeric contacted ion pair LiAlH4 derivative to be structurally characterized. In every case the tetraamine coordinates via all four of its Lewis basic nitrogen atoms. A similar protocol using the alkyl-rich borohydride MBEt3H also gives monomeric species (M = Li, 5; Na, 6). All complexes have been characterized in solution by multinuclear (1H, 7Li, 11B, 13C and 27Al, where appropriate) NMR spectroscopy which reveals excellent textbook examples of 1J coupling between B/Al and H in the cases of complexes 1-4 and between B and C in the cases of complexes 5 and 6

Integrating Human Dimensions Studies and Human-Wildlife Conflict Data to Develop a Targeted Awareness Campaign About Coyotes in Florida

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) uses qualitative and quantitative data on people’s values, beliefs, attitudes, and understanding of wildlife species to optimize outreach efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict. These data also help the agency develop and implement effective and acceptable programs on fish and wildlife management by reducing adverse impacts of fish and wildlife on Florida’s environment, economy, and human health and safety. Combining human dimensions information with human wildlife conflict incident data can serve as a powerful tool to help prioritize outreach efforts. In last few years, FWC has supported several research projects to gain a better understanding of human-coyote (Canis latrans) conflict across the state and public opinions across various demographics and geographic regions. The agency maintains a Wildlife Incident Management System (WIMS) database that records species-specific data related to human wildlife conflicts (including location, date, nature of incident, etc.). Human dimensions studies were conducted using focus groups, citizen surveys, and message testing. The research results in combination with the data collected in WIMS has helped FWC prioritize and target audiences for messaging related to coyote management. As a result, FWC has developed brochures, infographics, and hosted workshops in targeted areas in Florida as part of an on-going urban coyote and pet safety campaign

Senescent mouse cells fail to overtly regulate the HIRA histone chaperone and do not form robust Senescence Associated Heterochromatin Foci

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cellular senescence is a permanent growth arrest that occurs in response to cellular stressors, such as telomere shortening or activation of oncogenes. Although the process of senescence growth arrest is somewhat conserved between mouse and human cells, there are some critical differences in the molecular pathways of senescence between these two species. Recent studies in human fibroblasts have defined a cell signaling pathway that is initiated by repression of a specific Wnt ligand, Wnt2. This, in turn, activates a histone chaperone HIRA, and culminates in formation of specialized punctate domains of facultative heterochromatin, called Senescence-Associated Heterochromatin Foci (SAHF), that are enriched in the histone variant, macroH2A. SAHF are thought to repress expression of proliferation-promoting genes, thereby contributing to senescence-associated proliferation arrest. We asked whether this Wnt2-HIRA-SAHF pathway is conserved in mouse fibroblasts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) and mouse skin fibroblasts, do not form robust punctate SAHF in response to an activated Ras oncogene or shortened telomeres. However, senescent MEFs do exhibit elevated levels of macroH2A staining throughout the nucleus as a whole. Consistent with their failure to fully activate the SAHF assembly pathway, the Wnt2-HIRA signaling axis is not overtly regulated between proliferating and senescent mouse cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In addition to the previously defined differences between mouse and human cells in the mechanisms and phenotypes associated with senescence, we conclude that senescent mouse and human fibroblasts also differ at the level of chromatin and the signaling pathways used to regulate chromatin. These differences between human and mouse senescence may contribute to the increased propensity of mouse fibroblasts (and perhaps other mouse cell types) to become immortalized and transformed, compared to human cells.</p

Prospectus, July 12, 2018

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHT: APRIL 4, 2018: PENALTIES FOR TOBACCO USE TO BE IMPLEMENTED ON CAMPUS; Humans of Parkland: Cole Argoudelis; Article Highlight: April 4, 2018: Parkland launches new website; Excerpts from Diana McDonald Essay Contest 2018 Winning Essays; Article Highlight: April 11, 2018: Parkland promotes awareness of sexual assaulthttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2018/1032/thumbnail.jp

RFID Reader Antenna with Multi-Linear Polarization Diversity

This paper describes an RFID reader antenna that offers reduced polarization loss compared to that typically associated with reader-tag communications involving arbitrary relative orientation of the reader antenna and the tag

Determining the Quantitative Principles of T Cell Response to Antigenic Disparity in Stem Cell Transplantation

Alloreactivity compromising clinical outcomes in stem cell transplantation is observed despite HLA matching of donors and recipients. This has its origin in the variation between the exomes of the two, which provides the basis for minor histocompatibility antigens (mHA). The mHA presented on the HLA class I and II molecules and the ensuing T cell response to these antigens results in graft vs. host disease. In this paper, results of a whole exome sequencing study are presented, with resulting alloreactive polymorphic peptides and their HLA class I and HLA class II (DRB1) binding affinity quantified. Large libraries of potentially alloreactive recipient peptides binding both sets of molecules were identified, with HLA-DRB1 generally presenting a greater number of peptides. These results are used to develop a quantitative framework to understand the immunobiology of transplantation. A tensor-based approach is used to derive the equations needed to determine the alloreactive donor T cell response from the mHA-HLA binding affinity and protein expression data. This approach may be used in future studies to simulate the magnitude of expected donor T cell response and determine the risk for alloreactive complications in HLA matched or mismatched hematopoietic cell and solid organ transplantation

A scoping review of nurse-led randomised controlled trials

Background: Nurses comprise the largest portion of the healthcare workforce worldwide. However, nurse representation in the leadership of clinical research and research funding is largely unknown. The Australasian Nursing and Midwifery Clinical Trials Network was established to provide a coordinated network, focussed on building research capacity in nursing and midwifery. To support this work, this scoping review of nurse-led randomised controlled trials was conducted to summarise research activity, as well as highlight future research directions, gaps and resources. Midwife-led trials will be reported elsewhere. Aim: To quantify number, type and quality of nurse-led randomised controlled trials registered between 2000–2021. Design: A scoping review of RCTs. Data Sources: Medline, Emcare and Scopus were searched from 2000 to August 2021. ANZCTR, NHMRC, MRFF and HRC (NZ) registries were searched from inception to July 2021. Review Methods: This review was informed by the JBI scoping review framework using the PRISMA-ScR. Results: Our search yielded 186 nurse-led publications and 279 registered randomised controlled trials. Multiple trials had the same nurse leaders. There were more registrations than publications. Publications were predominantly of high methodological quality; however, there was a reliance on active controls and blinding low. Trial registrations indicate that universities and hospital/healthcare organisations were the major sources of funding, while publications indicate that Governments and the National Health and Medical Research Council were the main funding bodies. Conclusion: A small number of high-quality, large-scale, nationally funded randomised controlled trials were identified, with a larger number of locally funded small trials. There was a disparity between the number of registered trials and those published. Additional infrastructure, funding and career frameworks are needed to enable nurses to design, conduct and publish clinical trials that inform the health system and improve health outcomes. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Research initiated and led by nurses has the potential to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities, and current nurse-led research is of high methodological quality; however, there were very few nurse-led RCTs, conducted by a small pool of nurse researchers. This gap highlights the need for support in the design, conduct and publishing of nurse-led RCTs. Patient or Public Contribution: This is a scoping review; therefore, patient or public contribution is not applicable