American Indians are less likely to claim identification with major American political parties.

Much has been written recently about the partisan preferences of Hispanics and Asians, but the political orientations of Native Americans are less well understood. In new research, Jeffrey Koch uses national election study data to examine how Native Americans identify with political parties. He find that, for the most part, Native Americans are less likely to identify with a major US political party, but when they do, it’s more likely to be with the Democratic Party

Follow the Leader? Presidential Approval, Presidential Support, and Representatives\u27 Electoral Fortunes

While the link between presidential approval and congressional election outcomes is long established, scholars have generally ignored the role of a member’s own voting record in mediating these effects. If voters truly use the congressional ballot to express support or opposition toward the President, then they should not reward or punish all of his fellow partisans equally. Instead, the degree of reward or punishment meted out by voters ought to depend on the member’s level of support for the president’s legislative initiatives. Using data from the 1993, 1994, and 1996 National Election Studies, we demonstrate two key points: that representatives’ actual levels of support for the president are the single greatest predictor of their perceived levels of presidential support, and that perceived levels of presidential support interact powerfully with citizen presidential approval to shape attitudes toward congressional incumbents. These effects dwarf simple partisan heuristics in explaining congressional vote choice, suggesting that citizens are much more discriminating than is typically assumed in using the congressional vote as a referendum on presidential policy

The Novel Nonlinear Adaptive Doppler Shift Estimation Technique and the Coherent Doppler Lidar System Validation Lidar

The signal processing aspect of a 2-m wavelength coherent Doppler lidar system under development at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia is investigated in this paper. The lidar system is named VALIDAR (validation lidar) and its signal processing program estimates and displays various wind parameters in real-time as data acquisition occurs. The goal is to improve the quality of the current estimates such as power, Doppler shift, wind speed, and wind direction, especially in low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) regime. A novel Nonlinear Adaptive Doppler Shift Estimation Technique (NADSET) is developed on such behalf and its performance is analyzed using the wind data acquired over a long period of time by VALIDAR. The quality of Doppler shift and power estimations by conventional Fourier-transform-based spectrum estimation methods deteriorates rapidly as SNR decreases. NADSET compensates such deterioration in the quality of wind parameter estimates by adaptively utilizing the statistics of Doppler shift estimate in a strong SNR range and identifying sporadic range bins where good Doppler shift estimates are found. The authenticity of NADSET is established by comparing the trend of wind parameters with and without NADSET applied to the long-period lidar return data

Balancing Preservation and Promotion of Natural Resources: A Case Study of Newaygo County, Michigan

Natural resource management (NRM) involves a multitude of levels and interests. Options for sustainable management must involve all stakeholders and balance levels of decision-makers, whether local, regional, or national. No one-size-fits-all approach applies to NRM; instead, co-management of resources and multi-stakeholder collaborations assist in achieving sustainable solutions, given the multiple interest groups involved in the commons. Through good governance, flexibility to change, and community engagement efforts, NRM has a better chance for success and sustainability. Clearly, natural resources cross governmental boundaries and jurisdictions, and NRM strategies must compensate for this dynamic. The region of West Michigan contains a wealth of natural resources, from rivers and lakes to farmland and forests. Taking advantage of these resources through agriculture and tourism value chains may spur economic development while also providing for sustainable management. Key stakeholders provided specific recommendations for preservation and promotion of natural resources which could fit into philanthropic strategies. They also pointed out Newaygo County’s major natural resource assets. Gaining insights about where protection is needed most and where promotion has the greatest potential can help target philanthropic investments. Newaygo County’s natural resources have the potential for improving local livelihoods and raising people out of poverty. Many other foundations and organizations are focused on these crossovers, between environment and economy, and environment and equity. Lessons can be taken for Newaygo County’s context in order to achieve triple bottom line impact

American Airlines: Bankrupt, Like Every Other Legacy Airline

American held out to the end, being the last of the large legacy carriers to file for Chapter 11 protection. This case reviews the history of American from its inception through its filing. Current strategies and industry trends are also examined

ECONOMICS OF VARIABLE RATE NEMATICIDE FOR SUGAR BEETS

The benefit of applying fumigant for control of the sugar beet nematode on a variable versus uniform rate basis is examined. Compared to fumigating an entire filed at a constant full-label rate, varialbe rate application provides a savings ranging from $31/ac (heavily infested field) to$69/ac (lightly infested field).Crop Production/Industries,

Airborne Wind Profiling With the Data Acquisition and Processing System for a Pulsed 2-Micron Coherent Doppler Lidar System

A pulsed 2-micron coherent Doppler lidar system at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia flew on the NASA's DC-8 aircraft during the NASA Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) during the summer of 2010. The participation was part of the project Doppler Aerosol Wind Lidar (DAWN) Air. Selected results of airborne wind profiling are presented and compared with the dropsonde data for verification purposes. Panoramic presentations of different wind parameters over a nominal observation time span are also presented for selected GRIP data sets. The realtime data acquisition and analysis software that was employed during the GRIP campaign is introduced with its unique features

Development of the Data Acquisition and Processing System for a Pulsed 2-Micron Coherent Doppler Lidar System

A general overview of the development of a data acquisition and processing system is presented for a pulsed, 2-micron coherent Doppler Lidar system located in NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, USA. It is a comprehensive system that performs high-speed data acquisition, analysis, and data display both in real time and offline. The first flight missions are scheduled for the summer of 2010 as part of the NASA Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) campaign for the study of hurricanes. The system as well as the control software is reviewed and its requirements and unique features are discussed

The influence of tropical adaptation and breedtype on adrenal and testicular function in beef bulls

Bulls of various breedtypes including Angus (Bos taurus), Bonsmara (Sanga X Bos taurus), Brahman (Bos indicus), Romosinuano (Criollo), Tuli (Sanga) and Wagyu (Japanese Bos taurus) were utilized to evaluate the influence of tropical adaptation on adrenal and testicular function. The objectives were to determine if tropical adaptation influenced: a) response to management stressors, b) organ and gland weights, adrenal and testis StAR and P450 content and total adrenal, medullary and cortical areas, c) basal and hCG-induced testosterone and d) testis and epididymal sperm concentrations. Blood samples were obtained within 5 min before and after transportation and during restraint every 15 min for 6 h to evaluate cortical response. Angus, Brahman and Romosinuano bulls were slaughtered following sexual maturity. Cortical responses to transportation and restraint were not influenced by tropical adaptation. Response to these stressors could be categorized into high responders (Angus, Brahman), intermediate responders (Romosinuano, Tuli) and low responders (Wagyu, Bonsmara). Tropically-adapted breedtypes were not categorized into a single group; therefore, cortical responses to management stressors were influenced by breedtype, but not by tropical adaptation. Most organ and gland weights (actual weight and weight corrected for BW) and the steroid precursors, StAR and P450, were not influenced by tropical adaptation, but were by breedtype. Paired adrenal gland weight, total adrenal area, medullary and cortical areas were influenced by tropical adaptation. Tropically-adapted breedtypes had lighter glands and smaller areas than the temperate Bos taurus breedtypes. All breedtypes except Wagyu had similar basal concentrations of plasma testosterone prior to hCG administration; therefore, basal testosterone was not influenced by tropical adaptation, but only by breedtype. Wagyu had greater basal concentrations of testosterone than other breedtypes. Testosterone concentrations following hCG administration was similar between adaptation groups and breedtypes. As expected, testis and epididymal sperm concentrations were influenced by tropical adaptation. Tropically-adapted breedtypes had greater testicular and epididymal sperm concentrations than the temperate Bos taurus breedtypes during the summer months. In summary, adrenal weight and area and testicular and epididymal sperm concentrations were influenced by tropical adaptation. Cortical response to management stressors, basal testosterone and StAR and P450 content were influenced by breedtype, not tropical adaptation

Pepducin-mediated cardioprotection via β-arrestin-biased β2-adrenergic receptor-specific signaling

Reperfusion as a therapeutic intervention for acute myocardial infarction-induced cardiac injury itself induces further cardiomyocyte death. β-arrestin (βarr)-biased β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) activation promotes survival signaling responses in vitro; thus, we hypothesize that this pathway can mitigate cardiomyocyte death at the time of reperfusion to better preserve function. However, a lack of efficacious βarr-biased orthosteric small molecules has prevented investigation into whether this pathway relays protection against ischemic injury in vivo. We recently demonstrated that the pepducin ICL1-9, a small lipidated peptide fragment designed from the first intracellular loop of β2AR, allosterically engaged pro-survival signaling cascades in a βarr-dependent manner in vitro. Thus, in this study we tested whether ICL1-9 relays cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced injury in vivo. Methods: Wild-type (WT) C57BL/6, β2AR knockout (KO), βarr1KO and βarr2KO mice received intracardiac injections of either ICL1-9 or a scrambled control pepducin (Scr) at the time of ischemia (30 min) followed by reperfusion for either 24 h, to assess infarct size and cardiomyocyte death, or 4 weeks, to monitor the impact of ICL1-9 on long-term cardiac structure and function. Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM) were used to assess the impact of ICL1-9 versus Scr pepducin on cardiomyocyte survival and mitochondrial superoxide formation in response to either serum deprivation or hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) in vitro and to investigate the associated mechanism(s). Results: Intramyocardial injection of ICL1-9 at the time of I/R reduced infarct size, cardiomyocyte death and improved cardiac function in a β2AR- and βarr-dependent manner, which led to improved contractile function early and less fibrotic remodeling over time. Mechanistically, ICL1-9 attenuated mitochondrial superoxide production and promoted cardiomyocyte survival in a RhoA/ROCK-dependent manner. RhoA activation could be detected in cardiomyocytes and whole heart up to 24 h post-treatment, demonstrating the stability of ICL1-9 effects on βarr-dependent β2AR signaling. Conclusion: Pepducin-based allosteric modulation of βarr-dependent β2AR signaling represents a novel therapeutic approach to reduce reperfusion-induced cardiac injury and relay long-term cardiac remodeling benefits