Crassulacean acid metabolism in the Gesneriaceae

The occurrence of the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) was studied in four epiphytic species of the Gesneriaceae: two neotropical species, Codonanthe crassifolia and Columnea linearis, and two paleotropical species, Aoschynanthus pulcher and Saintpaulia ionantha. Gas exchange parameters, enzymology, and leaf anatomy, including mesophyll succulence and rel­ ative percent of the mesophyll volume occupied by airspace, were studied for each species. Codonanthe crassifolia was the only species to show nocturnal CO2 uptake and a diurnal organic acid fluctuation. According to these results, Codonanthe crassifolia shows CAM-cycling under well-watered conditions and when subjected to drought, it switches to CAM-idling. Other characteristics, such as leaf anatomy, mesophyll succulence, and PEP carboxylase and NADP malic enzyme activity, indicate attributes of the CAM pathway. All other species tested showed C3 photosynthesis. The most C3-like species is Columnea linearis, according to the criteria tested in this investigation. The other two species show mesophyll succulence and relative percent of the leaf volume occupied by airspace within the CAM range, but no other characters of the CAM pathway. The leaf structure of certain genera of the Gesneriaceae and of the genus Peperomia in the Piperaceae are similar, both having an upper succulent, multiple epidermis, a medium palisade of one or a few cell layers, and a lower, succulent spongy parenchyma not too unlike CAM photosynthetic tissue. We report ecophysiological similarities between these two distantly related families. Thus, the occurrence of CAM-cycling may be more common among epiphytic species than is currently known

Economic Impact of Crop Insurance on the North Dakota State Economy

Risk and Uncertainty,

Turbomachinery

The discipline research in turbomachinery, which is directed toward building the tools needed to understand such a complex flow phenomenon, is based on the fact that flow in turbomachinery is fundamentally unsteady or time dependent. Success in building a reliable inventory of analytic and experimental tools will depend on how the time and time-averages are treated, as well as on who the space and space-averages are treated. The raw tools at disposal (both experimentally and computational) are truly powerful and their numbers are growing at a staggering pace. As a result of this power, a case can be made that a situation exists where information is outstripping understanding. The challenge is to develop a set of computational and experimental tools which genuinely increase understanding of the fluid flow and heat transfer in a turbomachine. Viewgraphs outline a philosophy based on working on a stairstep hierarchy of mathematical and experimental complexity to build a system of tools, which enable one to aggressively design the turbomachinery of the next century. Examples of the types of computational and experimental tools under current development at Lewis, with progress to date, are examined. The examples include work in both the time-resolved and time-averaged domains. Finally, an attempt is made to identify the proper place for Lewis in this continuum of research

Turbomachinery

The discipline research in turbomachinery, which is directed toward building the tools needed to understand such a complex flow phenomenon, is based on the fact that flow in turbomachinery is fundamentally unsteady or time dependent. Success in building a reliable inventory of analytic and experimental tools will depend on how we treat time and time-averages, as well as how we treat space and space-averages. The challenge is to develop a set of computational and experimental tools which genuinely increase our understanding of the fluid flow and heat transfer in a turbomachine. Examples of the types of computational and experimental tools under current development, with progress to date, are examined. The examples include work in both the time-resolved and time-averaged domains

Attorney-Client Confidentiality and the Assessment of Claimants Who Allege Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was first recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980. A PTSD diagnosis requires an individual or individual\u27s loved ones to have experienced a traumatic event that was a threat to life or physical integrity and caused the individual to react to the incident with a specific number of avoidance, reexperiencing, and hyper-arousal symptoms. Obtaining a PTSD diagnosis can be of great value to a personal-injury plaintiff who claims damages due to a traumatic event. Further, if the traumatic event is unquestioned and the individual reports the classic symptoms, a PTSD diagnosis is relatively easy to apply and difficult to disprove. These plaintiffs will most often be examined and evaluated by mental-health professionals retained by the defendants. The question of whether the claimant was told or provided materials about common PTSD symptoms is crucial to the defense evaluator\u27s accurate PTSD assessment. One source of such information would be plaintiffs counsel, but questions concerning information provided by counsel implicate the attorney-client privilege. This Article suggests that the policy bases underlying the attorney-client privilege and protecting a defendant\u27s right to test the validity of a plaintiff\u27s claims are best served by the creation of a narrowly drawn waiver or exception to the attorney-client privilege. Consistent with the patient-litigant exception to the physician-patient privilege, the proposed exception would be limited to those matters directly related to the nature, diagnosis, and symptoms of PTSD placed in issue by the plaintiff. The exception would also be limited to statements and materials about PTSD symptoms the attorney provided the client. This Article also notes the difficult ethical boundary between an attorney providing essential advice to a client about the nature of emotional and psychological damages versus improper coaching. The proposed exception would help discourage improper coaching and lead to the discovery of any improper coaching that had already occurred. Even where the information provided by the attorney was appropriate from an ethical standpoint, discovery of that information is essential to an accurate diagnosis and fairness to defendants

Spinal Progenitor-Laden Bridges Support Earlier Axon Regeneration Following Spinal Cord Injury.

Impact statementSpinal cord injury (SCI) results in loss of tissue innervation below the injury. Spinal progenitors have a greater ability to repair the damage and can be injected into the injury, but their regenerative potential is hampered by their poor survival after transplantation. Biomaterials can create a cell delivery platform and generate a more hospitable microenvironment for the progenitors within the injury. In this work, polymeric bridges are used to deliver embryonic spinal progenitors to the injury, resulting in increased progenitor survival and subsequent regeneration and functional recovery, thus demonstrating the importance of combined therapeutic approaches for SCI

Housing, the Neighborhood Environment, and Physical Activity among Older African Americans

Abstract This study examines the association of neighborhood environment, as measured by housing factors, with physical activity among older African Americans. Context is provided on the effects of structural inequality as an inhibitor of health enhancing neighborhood environments. The study population included African Americans participating in the UAB Study of Aging (n=433). Participants demonstrated the ability to walk during a baseline in-home assessment. The strength and independence of housing factors were assessed using neighborhood walking for exercise as the outcome variable. Sociodemographic data, co-morbid medical conditions, and rural/urban residence were included as independent control factors. Homeownership, occupancy, and length of residency maintained positive associations with neighborhood walking independent of control factors. Housing factors appear to be predictive of resident engagement in neighborhood walking. Housing factors, specifically high rates of homeownership, reflect functional and positive neighborhood environments conducive for physical activity. Future interventions seeking to promote health-enhancing behavior should focus on developing housing and built-environment assets within the neighborhood environment

Attorney-Client Confidentiality and the Assessment of Claimants Who Allege Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was first recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980. A PTSD diagnosis requires an individual or individual\u27s loved ones to have experienced a traumatic event that was a threat to life or physical integrity and caused the individual to react to the incident with a specific number of avoidance, reexperiencing, and hyper-arousal symptoms. Obtaining a PTSD diagnosis can be of great value to a personal-injury plaintiff who claims damages due to a traumatic event. Further, if the traumatic event is unquestioned and the individual reports the classic symptoms, a PTSD diagnosis is relatively easy to apply and difficult to disprove. These plaintiffs will most often be examined and evaluated by mental-health professionals retained by the defendants. The question of whether the claimant was told or provided materials about common PTSD symptoms is crucial to the defense evaluator\u27s accurate PTSD assessment. One source of such information would be plaintiffs counsel, but questions concerning information provided by counsel implicate the attorney-client privilege. This Article suggests that the policy bases underlying the attorney-client privilege and protecting a defendant\u27s right to test the validity of a plaintiff\u27s claims are best served by the creation of a narrowly drawn waiver or exception to the attorney-client privilege. Consistent with the patient-litigant exception to the physician-patient privilege, the proposed exception would be limited to those matters directly related to the nature, diagnosis, and symptoms of PTSD placed in issue by the plaintiff. The exception would also be limited to statements and materials about PTSD symptoms the attorney provided the client. This Article also notes the difficult ethical boundary between an attorney providing essential advice to a client about the nature of emotional and psychological damages versus improper coaching. The proposed exception would help discourage improper coaching and lead to the discovery of any improper coaching that had already occurred. Even where the information provided by the attorney was appropriate from an ethical standpoint, discovery of that information is essential to an accurate diagnosis and fairness to defendants