Examining the Demographic Profiles of Thrift Store Donors and Thrift Store Shoppers

ABSTRACT Thrift Stores can be viewed as conversion mechanisms; that is, they accept merchandise from DONORS and then re-sell the merchandise to BUYERS. These are often separate and distinct groups. The challenge for Thrift Store operators is to separately appeal to each group as a place to donate and a place to shop for merchandise. This study profiles the donors and buyers for Thrift Stores so that store and organizational leadership can better develop marketing strategies to reach these distinct groups

Octave-spanning broadband absorption of terahertz light using metasurface fractal-cross absorbers

Synthetic fractals inherently carry spatially encoded frequency information that renders them as an ideal candidate for broadband optical structures. Nowhere is this more true than in the terahertz (THz) band where there is a lack of naturally occurring materials with valuable optical properties. One example are perfect absorbers that are a direct step toward the development of highly sought after detectors and sensing devices. Metasurface absorbers that can be used to substitute for natural materials suffer from poor broadband performance, while those with high absorption and broadband capability typically involve complex fabrication and design and are multilayered. Here, we demonstrate a polarization-insensitive ultrathin (∼λ/6) planar metasurface THz absorber composed of supercells of fractal crosses capable of spanning one optical octave in bandwidth, while still being highly efficient. A sufficiently thick polyimide interlayer produces a unique absorption mechanism based on Salisbury screen and antireflection responses, which lends to the broadband operation. Experimental peak absorption exceeds 93%, while the average absorption is 83% from 2.82 THz to 5.15 THz. This new ultrathin device architecture, achieving an absorption-bandwidth of one optical octave, demonstrates a major advance toward a synthetic metasurface blackbody absorber in the THz ban

The Residual GEM technique and its application to the southwestern Japan/East Sea

The standard gravest empirical mode (GEM) technique for utilizing hydrography in concert with integral ocean measurements performs poorly in the southwestern Japan/East Sea (JES) because of a spatially variable seasonal signal and a shallow thermocline. This paper presents a new method that combines the U.S. Navy\u27s Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System (MODAS) static climatology (which implicitly contains the mean seasonal signal) with historical hydrography to construct a “residual GEM” from which profiles of such parameters as temperature (T) and specific volume anomaly (δ) can be estimated from measurements of an integral quantity such as geopotential height or acoustic echo time (τ). This is called the residual GEM technique. In a further refinement, sea surface temperature (SST) measurements are included in the profile determinations. In the southwestern JES, profiles determined by the standard GEM technique capture 70% of the T variance and 64% of the δ variance, while the residual GEM technique using SST captures 89% of the T variance and 84% of the δ variance. The residual GEM technique was applied to optimally interpolated τ measurements from a two-dimensional array of pressure-gauge-equipped inverted echo sounders moored from June 1999 to July 2001 in the southwestern JES, resulting in daily 3D estimated fields of T and δ throughout the region. These estimates are compared with those from direct measurements and good agreement is found between them

Evasion of autophagy mediated by Rickettsia surface protein OmpB is critical for virulence.

Rickettsia are obligate intracellular bacteria that evade antimicrobial autophagy in the host cell cytosol by unknown mechanisms. Other cytosolic pathogens block different steps of autophagy targeting, including the initial step of polyubiquitin-coat formation. One mechanism of evasion is to mobilize actin to the bacterial surface. Here, we show that actin mobilization is insufficient to block autophagy recognition of the pathogen Rickettsia parkeri. Instead, R. parkeri employs outer membrane protein B (OmpB) to block ubiquitylation of the bacterial surface proteins, including OmpA, and subsequent recognition by autophagy receptors. OmpB is also required for the formation of a capsule-like layer. Although OmpB is dispensable for bacterial growth in endothelial cells, it is essential for R. parkeri to block autophagy in macrophages and to colonize mice because of its ability to promote autophagy evasion in immune cells. Our results indicate that OmpB acts as a protective shield to obstruct autophagy recognition, thereby revealing a distinctive bacterial mechanism to evade antimicrobial autophagy

Brief Communication: Sexual dimorphic expression of myostatin and follistatin like-3 in a rat trans-generational under-nutrition model

The detrimental effects of maternal under-nutrition during gestation on fetal development are well known with an increased propensity of metabolic disorders identified in the adult offspring. Understanding exactly how and by which molecular pathways inadequate nutrition can impact upon offspring phenotype is critical and necessary for the development of treatment methods and ultimately prevention of any negative health effects. Myostatin, a negative regulator of muscle development, has recently been shown to effect glucose homeostasis and fat deposition. The involvement of myostatin in glucose metabolism and adipogenesis thus supports its ability to act in the continued alterations to the postnatal phenotype of the offspring. This hypothesis was examined in the current study using a trans-generational gestationally under-nourished rat model exposed to a high-fat (HF) diet post-weaning. The body weight, body fat, plasma glucose and insulin concentrations of the offspring, both male and female, were investigated in relation to the protein expression of myostatin and its main inhibitor; follistatin like-3 (FSTL-3), in skeletal muscle of mature offspring. Sexual dimorphism was clearly evident in the majority of these measures, including myostatin and FSTL-3 expression. Generally males displayed higher (P < 0.05) myostatin precursor and dimer expression than females, which was especially apparent (P < 0.01) in both chow and HF trans-generationally undernourished (UNAD) groups. In females only, myostatin precursor and dimer expression was altered by both trans-generational under-nutrition and postnatal diet. Overall FSTL-3 expression did not differ between sexes, although difference between sexes within certain treatments and diets were evident. Most notably, HF fed UNAD females had higher (P < 0.05) FSTL-3 expression than HF fed UNAD males. The former group also displayed higher (P < 0.01) FSTL-3 expression compared to all other female groups. In summary, myostatin may prove to be a key mediator of the effects of inadequate prenatal nutrition, independently or in combination with a high-fat postnatal diet on offspring phenotype. Consequently, further study of myostatin may provide a novel therapeutic pathway for the treatment of metabolic disorders; however, it is vital that the influence of nutrition and gender should be taken into consideration

Application of bifurcation methods for the prediction of low-speed aircraft ground performance

The design of aircraft for ground maneuvers is an essential part in satisfying the demanding requirements of the aircraft operators. Extensive analysis is done to ensure that a new civil aircraft type will adhere to these requirements, for which the nonlinear nature of the problem generally adds to the complexity of such calculations. Small perturbations in velocity, steering angle, or brake application may lead to significant differences in the final turn widths that can be achieved. Here, the U-turn maneuver is analyzed in detail, with a comparison between the two ways in which this maneuver is conducted. A comparison is also made between existing turn-width prediction methods that consist mainly of geometric methods and simulations and a proposed new method that uses dynamical systems theory. Some assumptions are made with regard to the transient behavior, for which it is shown that these assumptions are conservative when an upper bound is chosen for the transient distance. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the results from the dynamical systems analysis are sufficiently close to the results from simulations to be used as a valuable design tool. Overall, dynamical systems methods provide an order-of-magnitude increase in analysis speed and capability for the prediction of turn widths on the ground when compared with simulations. Nomenclature co = oleo damping coefficient, N s2 =m2 cz = tire vertical damping coefficient Fco = damping force in oleo due to the orifice,

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO THE CONTROL OF PATHOGENS: THE FATE OF STREPTOCOCCI IN EQUINE COMPOST.

Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi), causes the potentially fatal respiratory disease called “strangles” in horses, while the closely related Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) causes potentially fatal infections in humans. A study was undertaken to determine the survival of these two organisms in equine compost. Compost piles of equine bedding and feed waste were inoculated with 10 x 1010 c.f.u. of S. zooepidemicus and samples taken at 48, 96, 168 and 336 hours relative to samples placed in the pile at 0 hours. No Streptococci were isolated at 48 hours or subsequent time-points. Next, S. equi was similarly inoculated into equine compost, with samples taken at 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 168 and 336 hours later. No Streptococci were isolated at any time-point. To rule out killing of S. equi by microflora in equine waste, samples of soiled bedding, both autoclaved and un-autoclaved (with water added to match autoclaved moisture) were inoculated with 10 x 1010 c.f.u. of S. zooepidemicus and sampled at 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 120, 168 and 264 hours. In autoclaved bedding, S. zooepidemicus was isolated from 0 – 120 hours, but replaced by other flora at 264 hours. In un-autoclaved samples, Streptococci were not present after 48 hours. A repeated trial with S. equi yielded similar results. This data suggest that microbial activity of equine waste bedding may eliminate streptococci within 24 - 48 hours, indicating that normal microflora may provide sustainable methods for the control of human and animal pathogens