Climate and society in 20th century Mexico

Mexican agriculture has been greatly transformed by the widespread introduction of 'Green Revolution' technologies (irrigation, chemical fertilizers, and improved seeds), through land reform, and by land use policies oriented to export crops and grain production. Drought prone Mexico provides an excellent case to study how technological and social changes alter the impact of drought on food and agricultural system. A goal is to document and understand how relationships between climate and agriculture in Mexico have changed in the last fifty years. The results for several locations will be interpreted in light of the prospects of regional climate change due to global warming. This analysis will be complimented by four case studies of vulnerability to drought which will use local records and interviews to try and show how environmental, technological, and social changes may have altered the impacts of climate on local agricultural systems

A Study of the Planning Process Utilized by Urban School Divisions in Constructing Public Schools in the State of Virginia, 1984-1989

This research tested utilization of the team approach to planning for new school construction. The team approach is characterized by seven essential variables. To successfully plan a new school building, educators must: (1) involve more than one individual in collecting data; (2) provide quantitative data to the architect; (3) provide qualitative data to the architect; (4) provide data to the architect in advance of design; (5) provide data to the architect in written form; (6) provide original data, not prototype data; and (7) provide data which is used by the architect. Collective use of all seven variables constitute the team approach to planning new school construction. A group of ten urban school divisions which constructed new school buildings since 1984 was selected for review. The question under investigation was: Have urban school divisions which constructed satisfactory school buildings utilized the team approach to planning as described in research literature? Data was collected through personal interviews during on-site visitations to each of ten selected schools. The purpose of the interviews was to measure the degree of satisfaction urban school divisions have with new school buildings and to identify the process used by urban divisions when planning new school construction. Three schools were identified as the most satisfactory and labeled exemplary buildings. Tanner\u27s Creek Elementary School in Norfolk, Willow Springs Elementary School in Fairfax, and Nansemond River High School in Suffolk were perceived by individuals interviewed as the most satisfactory school buildings. Only Norfolk utilized the team approach to planning as defined in school plant planning literature. Fairfax and Suffolk used six of the seven planning variables identified as the team approach to planning. Both Fairfax and Suffolk failed to supply architects with original data for each new school, opting to use prototype data when simultaneously constructing more than one building. The three divisions constructing exemplary schools involve more than a single individual when planning new school construction. Additionally, the individuals planning each of the three exemplary buildings prepare and supply both quantitative and qualitative data to architects in written form in advance of building design. In each case, information presented to architects has been used to produce building designs

Estrogen Signaling in Trigeminal Nociception

Migraine is much more common in women than in men, and painful episodes are linked to the hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle. The MAP kinase extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK) is activated in experimental models of chronic pain, and is also activated by estrogen in sensory neurons. We used an established model of inflammatory trigeminal pain, injection of Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the masseter muscle, to determine whether ERK activation may play a role in hormone-related trigeminal pain disorders. We measured withdrawal responses to stimulation of the masseter (V3, primary allodynia) and whisker pad (V2, secondary allodynia) using graded monofilaments. Estrogen treatment in the presence of inflammation increased withdrawal response to stimulation of either masseter or whisker pad compared to inflammation alone, indicating an additive effect of inflammation and estrogen on both primary and secondary allodynia. We examined ERK activation in trigeminal ganglia from each treatment group using Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Both masseter inflammation and estrogen treatment increased ERK activation, and combined treatment had an additive effect. Both masseter inflammation and estrogen increased the percentage of pERK immunoreactive neurons in divisions 1 and 2 (V1/2), and combined treatment increased pERK immunoreactivity in V1/2 compared to inflammation alone. We stereotactically administered ERK antagonist U0126, or inactive control U0124, to the trigeminal ganglion of CFA+E2-treated rats. U0126 decreased withdrawal responses to mechanical stimulation of the whisker pad compared to U0124-treated rats. Because the secondary allodynia in V2 after inflammation in V3 was reduced by antagonizing ERK activation in the periphery, these data suggest a peripheral component to secondary trigeminal allodynia mediated through ERK activation. Cellular responses to estrogen can occur through both `genomic' and `nongenomic' pathways. The novel estrogen receptor GPR30 (G-protein coupled receptor 30) activates mediators of signal transduction, including ERK. A goal of this study was to determine which estrogen receptor is required for behavioral sensitization. In order to determine whether GPR30 is present in neurons of the trigeminal ganglion, we performed Western blots for GPR30 on trigeminal ganglion from ovariectomized female Sprague-Dawley rats. Our results show the presence of GPR30 protein in the trigeminal ganglion. Immunohistochemistry for GPR30 in trigeminal ganglion sections showed that GPR30 immunoreactivity was localized to neuronal cell bodies. To determine the subpopulation of neurons that express GPR30, we measured the diameters of GPR30 positive and negative neurons. Neurons expressing GPR30 were significantly smaller in diameter, suggesting that GPR30 is present in nociceptors. In order to investigate GPR30 expression within sub-populations, we co-localized GPR30 with peripherin and NFH using double label immunohistochemistry. GPR30 showed a high degree of overlap with peripherin and partial overlap with NFH, indicating that GPR30 is preferentially expressed in neurons with unmyelinated axons. ERK activation by estrogen in the trigeminal ganglion may occur through either the classical estrogen receptor ERα or through GPR30. In order to determine which estrogen receptor mediates ERK activation in trigeminal ganglion neurons, we examined ERK activation in primary cultures of trigeminal ganglion neurons treated with selective agonists for ERα (PPT), ERβ (DPN), and GPR30 (G-1). ERK was activated by selective agonists for ERα and GPR30, suggesting that activation occurs through either receptor. In order to determine which estrogen receptor mediates increased trigeminal sensitivity, we used a previously employed behavioral model of inflammatory trigeminal allodynia. Ovariectomized female Sprague-Dawley rats were injected in the masseter with CFA and subcutaneously administered G-1,PPT, or vehicle. Withdrawal response to stimulation of the whisker pad (V2) was measured using monofilaments. Either G-1 or PPT treatment increased secondary allodynia, indicating that both receptors function in trigeminal sensitization in vivo. Treatment with estrogen increased expression of ERα but not GPR30, while masseter inflammation increased GPR30 but not ERα. Differential modulation of these ERK-coupled receptors by estrogen and inflammation may play a role in increased trigeminal pain during periods of falling estrogen

Exploring Teacher Self-Efficacy in Nurse Educators: A Mixed Method Study

In the face of a rapidly changing healthcare environment and a nursing shortage, schools of nursing are pressed to produce higher numbers of fully prepared nurse graduates. In other disciplines, teacher self-efficacy has been linked to better student outcomes, faculty instructional methods, and student engagement. This construct has not been well studied in nursing education. This mixed methods study investigated how current faculty perceive their teacher self-efficacy as measured by the Self-Efficacy Towards Teaching Inventory-Nursing Education (SETTI-NE) survey and identified contributing factors, followed by interviews gathering qualitative data from nine faculty members of varying SETTI-NE scores as well as varying years of nursing experience, the variable of interest. Guided by Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, this study analyzed 352 predominantly female faculty members a majority of whom were over 60 years of age and found factors that positively correlated with SETTI-NE scores were increased age, years of teaching experience, and doctoral preparation (DNP and Ph.D.). There was no correlation with years of nursing experience. This survey tool is composed of for subscales course preparation, teacher behaviors, examination and evaluation, and clinical practice. The low teacher self-efficacy group scored highest in teacher behaviors, while both the moderate and high teacher self-efficacy groups scored highest in course preparation. All groups scored lowest in clinical practice. This is not a measure of their clinical expertise, but rather their ability to teach and evaluate students in clinical practice. This qualitative data further explained that the personal efficacy component of the teacher self-efficacy score may not be associated with years of clinical experience as suggested previously, but rather how that expertise more closely relates to education theory supporting literature suggesting the concept of teaching as a separate expertise. Integrating these findings with the qualitative data, demonstrated that making connections between clinical experiences and didactic material was more impactful than any other factors. This survey indicated that only 12% of participants included simulation in the academic teaching practice which may have impacted the scores in this subscale. Regardless, faculty must be able to connect these learning activities to the classroom and clinical settings for them to contribute to knowledge gains in students. The qualitative finding that faculty with doctoral preparation, either DNP or Ph.D., were making connections between clinical and classroom, through teaching methods that helped students understand the material and bridge the theory to practice gap in the classroom, not just in clinical may provide the missing piece to bridge theory and clinical. Academic nurse education is a complex field that requires clinical expertise as well as knowledge in educational theories to guide faculty in ensuring students acquire the requisite knowledge to perform the skills and clinical decision making of a nurse

Junior Recital, Eric Liverman, trumpet

The presentation of this junior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. Eric Liverman studies trumpet with Kevin Maloney and Rex Richardson

Quaternary marine deposits of the Springdale - Hall's Bay area, Newfoundland

Quaternary glaciomarine deposits form a complex sedimentary succession in the Springdale - Hall's Bay area of north-central Newfoundland. Marine incursion due to isostatic depression was extensive throughout the Indian Brook and South Brook valleys, reaching at least 10 km inland. Sedimentological, palaeontological, and geomorphological analyses have permitted reconstruction of the history of sea level change for the area since 12,470 years B.P. Stratified coarse sediment sequences with surfaces ranging up to 75 m above the present sea level were a result of higher sea-level stands. A succession of ice-contact deltas, representing the proximal units associated with the marine incursion, and a series of successively lower terraces (indicating isostatic rebound) are present. Most of the deposits were formed in ice-contact fan-deltas, but deposits at two sites are interpreted as ice-distal fans. Clay and silt were deposited by a combination of suspension settling and sediment gravity flows in low energy, distal locations. Dropstones indicative of ice rafting are present throughout the clay strata. Vanadium concentrations in these deposits indicate deposition in brackish-marine environments. Shells of Mya arenaria, BaIanus hameri, Macoma ballhica, and Hiatella arclica found in life positions also indicate brackish depositional environments. Four 14C dates were obtained from the marine fossils giving an age range of 11,300 ± 120 to 12,470 ± 380 years B.P. This suggests that the silt and clay deposits represent the distal sediments associated with glaciomarine delta formation. RÉSUMÉ Les dépôts glaciomarins d'âge Quaternaire forment une succession sédimentaire complexe dans la région Springdale - baie Hall, dans le centre nord de Terre-Neuve. L'incursion marine reliée à l'enfoncement isostatique à affecté de grandes surfaces dans les valines des ruisseaux Indian et South, pénétrant jusqu'à 10 km à l'intérieur des terres. Les analyses sédimentologiques, paléontologiques et géomorphologiques ont permis de reconstruire l'histoire des variations du niveau marin pour la région dépuis 12,470 B.P. La présence de séquences sédimentaires grossieres et stratifies sont le produit de niveaux marins plus élevés. Il y à une succession de deltas formes au contact du glacier et de la mer, qui représentent les unités proximales associées à l'incursion marine, et une seiie de terrasses à des niveaux successivement plus bas (qui indiquent un rebondissement isostatique). La plupart des dépôts se sont formée dans des cones deltaiques au contact du glacier et de la mer mais, à deux endroits, les dépôts sont interpréts comme étant des cones formés à distance du glacier. L'argile et le silt ont été déposés par une combinaison de suspension et de courants de turbidité en des milieux distaux et de basse énergie. Des cailloux de délestage, indicateurs de transport par glaces flottantes, sont présents dans toutes les couches d'argile. Les concentrations en vanadium de ces dépôts indiquent des milieux marins saumatres. Les coquilles de Mya arenaria, de Balanus hameri, de Macoma ballhica, et de Hiatella artica, trouvdes en position de vie, indiquent aussi des milieux de déposition saumatres. Quatre datations par 14C obtenues sur des fossiles marins ont donné un intervallede 11,300 ± 120 à 12,470 ±380 B.P. Ceci suggére que les dépôts de silt et d'argile représentent des sédiments distaux associés à la formation de deltas glaciomarins. [Traduit par le journal

Comparing the rates of absorption and weight loss during a desorption test using near infrared spectroscopy

The importance of determining skin hydration has over the years prompt the development of many instruments and methods, specifically designed to assess this parameter or water contents especially in the stratum corneum, and have greatly matured to suit different anatomical sites and measure multiple attributes. Of those, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) has gained wide interest as a precise, safe, fast and noninvasive technique for determining skin hydration due to its high sensitivity to hydrogen bonding and ability to measure the amount of water in skin directly using the intensities of overtone and combination bands of OH and HOH water bonds occurring in the NIR region, that are good indicators of the state of skin hydration. This paper reports near infrared spectrophotometric measurements using a highly sophisticated spectrophotometer in the region of 1000-2500 nm to study the water uptake and dehydration properties of skin in vitro using samples of porcine skin. Initial results of pure liquid water and skin samples have clearly displayed the prominent bands associated with water content, and desorption tests have been able to verify changes in these bands associated with water content, although a clear correlation between the rates of weight loss and absorbance loss at various hydration periods has not yet been established. These preliminary results are expected to further explain the relationship between water and skin, and its role within, in hope to aid the future development of a portable instrument based on near infrared spectroscopy that would be capable of directly measuring skin hydration and/or water content in a fast and noninvasive manner