Introduction to Section on Services

published or submitted for publicatio

The Lantern Vol. 33, No. 2, May 1967

• The Plea • Arrival • Nouvelle • Poem on Theme by Leroi Jones • Night Thoughts • Finals • Caught in the Act • Tomorrow • The Rail • The Price • Lost • It\u27s a Svaden Spring • No Thanks to City Hall • Grinding Them to Dust • Four • Five • Nine • Ten • Twelve • Thirty-Six • Psyched Up and Out • Gutted Gloryhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1091/thumbnail.jp

Survey of Blueberry (\u3ci\u3eVaccinium\u3c/i\u3e spp.) Problems in the Gulf South

The blueberry (Vaccinium) industry in Mississippi has been steadily increasing since the early 1980s, but some plants in older fields are now in decline. The root rot pathogen, Phytophthora cinnamomi, is endemic in the southeastern United States and has caused severe losses to blueberries in North Carolina and Arkansas. Because the warm, humid climate of Mississippi, with periods of high precipitation, provides a favorable environment for Phytophthora root rot disease, it was suspected to be the cause of plant decline in older blueberry fields. Members of the Gulf South Blueberry Growers Association were mailed surveys to determine cultural practices and the extent of losses in their blueberry fields. The survey was written in partial, open-ended question format with 33 questions pertaining to cultivars, number of hectares planted, cultural practices, overall health of the blueberry plants, and losses due to diseases, insects, or other problems. Fifty-eight of 146 surveys (40%) were completed and returned. 89% of respondents grew rabbiteye (Vaccinium ashei) cultivars and the balance grew southern highbush (V. corymbosum hybrids) cultivars. The average number of plants per hectare was 1523 with the majority of plants 10 - 20 years old. 79% of the growers described the overall condition of their plants as average, healthy, or vigorous. The most common cause of plant death cited was environmental with damage caused by the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes at the top of the list. No major diseases were reported by 36% of the respondents, while mummy berry (Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi [Reade] Honey), leaf spots (many causal organisms), and root rot (Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands) were noted as problems by 22, 15, and 10% of the growers, respectively. Phytophthora species were isolated from root and soil samples collected from symptomatic plants on three farms. Weeds were listed as problems on 100% of the surveys. 47% of the respondents plan to increase their blueberry plantings mainly with rabbiteye cultivars

Environmental and Farm Management Factors Associated with Tuberculosis on Cattle Farms in Northeastern Michigan

Objective—To identify major environmental and farm management factors associated with the occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) on cattle farms in northeastern Michigan. Design—Case-control study. Sample Population—17 cattle farms with infected cattle and 51 control farms. Procedure—Each case farm (laboratory confirmed diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection) was matched with 2 to 4 control farms (negative whole-herd test results within previous 12 months) on the basis of type of farm (dairy or beef) and location. Cattle farm data were collected from in-person interviews and mailed questionnaires. Wildlife TB data were gathered through state wildlife surveillance. Environmental data were gathered from a satellite image-based geographic information system. Multivariable conditional logistic regression for matched analysis was performed. Results—Major factors associated with increased farm risk of TB were higher TB prevalence among wild deer and cattle farms in the area, herd size, and ponds or creeks in cattle housing areas. Factors associated with reduced farm risk of TB were greater amounts of natural open lands in the surrounding area and reducing deer access to cattle housing areas by housing cattle in barns, barnyards, or feedlots and use of electrified wire or barbed wire for livestock fencing. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that certain environmental and management factors may be associated with risk of TB on cattle farms

Relationship Between LIBS Ablation and Pit Volume for Geologic Samples: Applications for the In Situ Absolute Geochronology

These first results demonstrate that LIBS spectra can be an interesting tool to estimate the ablated volume. When the ablated volume is bigger than 9.10(exp 6) cubic micrometers, this method has less than 10% of uncertainties. Far enough to be directly implemented in the KArLE experiment protocol. Nevertheless, depending on the samples and their mean grain size, the difficulty to have homogeneous spectra will increase with the ablated volume. Several K-Ar dating studies based on this approach will be implemented. After that, the results will be shown and discussed

Computer Administered Safety Planning for Individuals at Risk for Suicide: Development and Usability Testing

BACKGROUND: Safety planning is a brief intervention that has become an accepted practice in many clinical settings to help prevent suicide. Even though it is quick compared to other approaches, it frequently requires 20 min or more to complete, which can impede adoption. A self-administered, Web-based safety planning application could potentially reduce clinician time, help promote standardization and quality, and provide enhanced ability to share the created plan. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to design, build, and test the usability of a Web-based, self-administered safety planning application. METHODS: We employed a user-centered software design strategy led by a multidisciplinary team. The application was tested for usability with a target sample of suicidal patients. Detailed observations, structured usability ratings, and Think Aloud procedures were used. Suicidal ideation intensity and perceived ability to cope were assessed pre-post engagement with the Web application. RESULTS: A total of 30 participants were enrolled. Usability ratings were generally strong, and all patients successfully built a safety plan. However, the completeness of the safety plan varied. The mean number of steps completed was 5.5 (SD 0.9) out of 6, with 90% (27/30) of participants completing at least 5 steps and 67% (20/30) completing all 6 steps. Some safety planning steps were viewed as inapplicable to some individuals. Some confusion in instructions led to modifications to improve understandability of each step. Ratings of suicide intensity after completion of the application were significantly lower than preratings, pre: mean 5.11 (SD 2.9) versus post: mean 4.46 (SD 3.0), t27=2.49, P=.02. Ratings of ability to cope with suicidal thoughts after completion of the application were higher than preratings, with the difference approaching statistical significance, pre: mean 5.93 (SD 2.9), post: mean 6.64 (SD 2.4), t27=-2.03, P=.05. CONCLUSIONS: We have taken the first step toward identifying the components needed to maximize usability of a self-administered, Web-based safety planning application. Results support initial consideration of the application as an adjunct to clinical contact. This allows for the clinician or other personnel to provide clarification, when needed, to help the patient build the plan, and to help review and revise the draft

Electrical Stimulation Modulates High γ Activity and Human Memory Performance.

Direct electrical stimulation of the brain has emerged as a powerful treatment for multiple neurological diseases, and as a potential technique to enhance human cognition. Despite its application in a range of brain disorders, it remains unclear how stimulation of discrete brain areas affects memory performance and the underlying electrophysiological activities. Here, we investigated the effect of direct electrical stimulation in four brain regions known to support declarative memory: hippocampus (HP), parahippocampal region (PH) neocortex, prefrontal cortex (PF), and lateral temporal cortex (TC). Intracranial EEG recordings with stimulation were collected from 22 patients during performance of verbal memory tasks. We found that high γ (62-118 Hz) activity induced by word presentation was modulated by electrical stimulation. This modulatory effect was greatest for trials with poor memory encoding. The high γ modulation correlated with the behavioral effect of stimulation in a given brain region: it was negative, i.e., the induced high γ activity was decreased, in the regions where stimulation decreased memory performance, and positive in the lateral TC where memory enhancement was observed. Our results suggest that the effect of electrical stimulation on high γ activity induced by word presentation may be a useful biomarker for mapping memory networks and guiding therapeutic brain stimulation

Human Verbal Memory Encoding Is Hierarchically Distributed in a Continuous Processing Stream.

Processing of memory is supported by coordinated activity in a network of sensory, association, and motor brain regions. It remains a major challenge to determine where memory is encoded for later retrieval. Here, we used direct intracranial brain recordings from epilepsy patients performing free recall tasks to determine the temporal pattern and anatomical distribution of verbal memory encoding across the entire human cortex. High γ frequency activity (65-115 Hz) showed consistent power responses during encoding of subsequently recalled and forgotten words on a subset of electrodes localized in 16 distinct cortical areas activated in the tasks. More of the high γ power during word encoding, and less power before and after the word presentation, was characteristic of successful recall and observed across multiple brain regions. Latencies of the induced power changes and this subsequent memory effect (SME) between the recalled and forgotten words followed an anatomical sequence from visual to prefrontal cortical areas. Finally, the magnitude of the memory effect was unexpectedly found to be the largest in selected brain regions both at the top and at the bottom of the processing stream. These included the language processing areas of the prefrontal cortex and the early visual areas at the junction of the occipital and temporal lobes. Our results provide evidence for distributed encoding of verbal memory organized along a hierarchical posterior-to-anterior processing stream

The impact of culture on physiological processes of emotion regulation: a comparison of US and Chinese preschoolers

Cognitive determinants of emotion regulation, such as effortful control, have been hypothesized to modulate young children's physiological response to emotional stress. It is unknown, however, whether this model of emotion regulation generalizes across Western and non‐Western cultures. The current study examined the relation between both behavioral and questionnaire measures of effortful control and densely sampled, stress‐induced cortisol trajectories in U.S. and Chinese preschoolers. Participants were 3‐ to 5‐ year‐old children recruited from the United States (N = 57) and Beijing, China (N = 60). Consistent with our hypothesis, U.S. children showed a significant negative relation between maternal‐rated inhibitory control and both cortisol reactivity and recovery. However, this was not replicated in the Chinese sample. Children in China showed a significant positive relation between maternal‐rated attentional focusing and cortisol reactivity that was not seen in the U.S. Results suggest that children who reside in Western and non‐Western cultures have different predictors of their emotion‐related stress response.We compared associations between specific effortful control subcomponents and stress‐induced cortisol trajectories in preschool children residing in the U.S. and China. U.S. preschoolers showed an expected negative association between maternal‐rated inhibitory control with cortisol reactivity and recovery. In contrast, Chinese preschoolers showed a positive association between maternal‐rated attentional focusing and cortisol reactivity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111122/1/desc12227.pd

Development of the Potassium-Argon Laser Experiment (KArLE) Instrument for In Situ Geochronology

Absolute dating of planetary samples is an essential tool to establish the chronology of geological events, including crystallization history, magmatic evolution, and alteration. Traditionally, geochronology has only been accomplishable on samples from dedicated sample return missions or meteorites. The capability for in situ geochronology is highly desired, because it will allow one-way planetary missions to perform dating of large numbers of samples. The success of an in situ geochronology package will not only yield data on absolute ages, but can also complement sample return missions by identifying the most interesting rocks to cache and/or return to Earth. In situ dating instruments have been proposed, but none have yet reached TRL 6 because the required high-resolution isotopic measurements are very challenging. Our team is now addressing this challenge by developing the Potassium (K) - Argon Laser Experiment (KArLE) under the NASA Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP), building on previous work to develop a K-Ar in situ instrument [1]. KArLE uses a combination of several flight-proven components that enable accurate K-Ar isochron dating of planetary rocks. KArLE will ablate a rock sample, determine the K in the plasma state using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), measure the liberated Ar using quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS), and relate the two by the volume of the ablated pit using an optical method such as a vertical scanning interferometer (VSI). Our preliminary work indicates that the KArLE instrument will be capable of determining the age of several kinds of planetary samples to +/-100 Myr, sufficient to address a wide range of geochronology problems in planetary science