Knemidokoptes mites and their effects on the gripping position of Steller’s jay feet

Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) with swollen legs and feet resembling the signs of scaly leg have been commonly seen around Arcata, California, USA. These signs are thought to be caused by knemidokoptic mites, a group of parasites specialized at exploiting a range of avian hosts. I compared the gripping position in the feet of jays with variable signs of this condition as an index of their ability to perch, confirmed the presence of mites and identified them to the nearest species using genetic analysis, and compared the relatedness of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene between mites collected from different host species. Jays with visible signs of mite infestation had greater variability and a reduced degree of contraction in the gripping position of their feet compared to jays without signs, suggesting infestation may have an impact on the host’s ability to perch. DNA barcoding of the COI gene (578 base pairs) from mites collected from a Steller’s jay was compared to Knemidokoptes jamaicensis, Knemidokoptes derooi, and to unidentified Knemidokoptes sp. collected from different hosts. The mites from a Seller’s jay were most closely related to Knemidokoptes jamaicensis but had a relatively high sequence divergence of 7.8%, supporting the possibility that the form infesting the Steller’s jays may be an undescribed species

Use of steel and tantalum apparatus for molten Cd-Mg-Zn alloys

Steel and tantalum apparatus contains various ternary alloys of cadmium, zinc, and magnesium used in pyrochemical processes for the recovery of uranium-base reactor fuels. These materials exhibit good corrosion resistance at the high temperatures necessary for fuel separation in liquid metal-molten salt solvents

Pandemic legislation in the European Union: Fit for purpose? The need for a systematic comparison of national laws.

Sound governance is central to effective pandemic management. Key international legal instruments governing pandemic management in the European Union (EU): the International Health Regulations (2005) and Decision 1082/13 require EU Member States to develop national plans and invite them to establish national legal frameworks to support compliance with this international legislation. Although Member States may design the legal framework as they choose, the strongest instrument of pandemic governance is national legislation. It is currently unclear what national pandemic governance exists in Member States as it has not been mapped, i.e. identified and collated. Legal analysis and empirical evaluation of implementation and impact have therefore not been possible. We propose comprehensive mapping to create the necessary comparative data for legal analysis assessing national legislation's compliance with international obligations and ethical principles. Empirical research could evaluate its effectiveness in promoting cross-border coherence and robust emergency response. We draw on the U.S. experience with "policy surveillance", the systematic scientific mapping of laws of public health importance. Until national pandemic governance is mapped and evaluated, we cannot know if it is lawful, ethical or effective

Designing and Documenting Community Engagement for Tenure and Promotion

Research over the past two decades has built a compelling case that perceived institutional barriers, including lack of recognition of service-learning pedagogy in tenure and promotion decisions, are one of the greatest deterrents to faculty use of service-learning (Abes, Jackson, & Jones, 2002; Hammond, 1994; Morton & Troppe, 1996; Ward, 1998). Furthermore, faculty members perceive these institutional barriers at every stage of implementation of service-learning pedagogy (Hou & Wilder, 2015). Knowing how to design a service-learning experience, then, with an awareness of the tenure and promotion process can help faculty not only create robust community-engaged courses and research projects, but also demonstrate the value of their work for an audience of academic peers. The goal of this workshop will be to provide faculty and administrators with a toolkit for understanding their institutional culture surrounding community engagement, maximizing community-engaged teaching and scholarship on the tenure and promotion application, and overcoming perceived institutional challenges. Additionally, the workshop will provide a forum for faculty and administrators to share about the challenges they have faced and successful strategies they have employed in seeking recognition for community-engaged teaching and research at their own institutions. Workshop presenters will explore best practices for including community engagement in promotion and tenure documents, facilitate interactive brainstorming activities related to institutional culture and balancing the tenure and promotion application, and lead a collaborative exercise in beginning a service-learning project with the end in mind: successfully earning tenure and promotion

In Situ Characterisation of Permanent Magnetic Quadrupoles for focussing proton beams

High intensity laser driven proton beams are at present receiving much attention. The reasons for this are many but high on the list is the potential to produce compact accelerators. However two of the limitations of this technology is that unlike conventional nuclear RF accelerators lasers produce diverging beams with an exponential energy distribution. A number of different approaches have been attempted to monochromise these beams but it has become obvious that magnetic spectrometer technology developed over many years by nuclear physicists to transport and focus proton beams could play an important role for this purpose. This paper deals with the design and characterisation of a magnetic quadrupole system which will attempt to focus and transport laser-accelerated proton beams.Comment: 20 pages, 42 figure

Measuring the Learning Outcomes of a Continuing Education Seminar About the Aging Process on the Knowledge Level of Registered Nurses

This study aims to increase the level of knowledge about the gerontological knowledge of a sample of registered nurses by creating a portable and concise continuing education seminar that is based upon the fundamental components of the normal aging process. The impact on the learning outcomes of an accredited continuing education seminar that was developed for this study was analyzed. The continuing education seminar focused on some of the major areas of social gerontology pertinent to nursing. Although other variables (age, gender, educational level, and previous gerontological training) were analyzed, none were found to have significant effect on the level of knowledge

Glycosylated Collagen Interaction with Cells Through DDRs and Integrin

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp22/1009/thumbnail.jp