Paspalum in Iowa

A single entity in the genus Paspalum is known to be native to Iowa. With one exception, the Iowa specimens in the herbaria of Iowa State College and the University of Iowa are from the eastern half of the state. The material is from the following ten counties: Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Johnson, Muscatine, Louisa, Lee, Davis, Monroe and Harrison (Fig. 1). These collections have been made at varying intervals from 1875 to 1943. From the descriptive labels such as a sandy river terrace, Big Sand Mound, Muscatine Island, sandy fields, the habitat is one of dry sandy situations. Future collecting may reveal a wider distribution for the state, as is suggested by the specimen from Harrison County and. the presence of the species in the surrounding states. Specimens from Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin are in the Iowa State College herbariurn

Behavioural disinhibition in the syndromes associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration

The different clinical syndromes caused by frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) have highly heterogenous and overlapping features which complicate clinical and research practice. Behavioural impairments are associated with all FTLD syndromes, cause high morbidity and lack proven symptomatic treatments. Treatments for cognitive and behavioural impairment in other neurodegenerative diseases include restoration of neurotransmitter deficits. Deficits in the neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA occur in FTLD syndromes and are associated with behavioural disinhibition in other diseases. I propose that these neurotransmitter deficits contribute to behavioural change in FTLD syndromes. This thesis has two main aims. First, to develop a transdiagnostic approach to FTLD syndromes to facilitate a better understanding of aetiology, pathophysiology and in due course their symptomatic treatment. Second, to use this approach to test the hypothesis that glutamate and GABA deficits are associated with behavioural disinhibition in FTLD syndromes. In a cross-sectional epidemiological study, I examined 310 of 365 regional patients with a FTLD-associated syndrome, including behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, the nonfluent and semantic variants of primary progressive aphasia, progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal syndrome. Multivariate analyses of clinical features and brain morphometry identified components that showed considerable overlap across the diagnostic groups. The transdiagnostic components of clinical features predicted neuropathology better than the current FTLD diagnostic labels. Behavioural disturbance, including disinhibition, was associated with reduced functionally independent survival, irrespective of diagnosis. Next, I investigated the role of glutamate and GABA in behavioural disinhibition. Ultrahigh-field magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure glutamate and GABA in the frontal cortex of 44 patients with a FTLD syndrome and 20 healthy controls. Bayesian modelling of a response inhibition task was used to quantify behavioural disinhibition. Both neurotransmitters were reduced in the frontal cortex, but not occipital cortex, of patients compared to controls. Glutamate and GABA concentrations in the frontal cortex were inversely associated with behavioural disinhibition. In summary, the transdiagnostic approach provided new insights into the phenotypic heterogeneity in FTLD syndromes. Behavioural disinhibition, which can occur to a variable degree in all FTLD syndromes, was associated with reduced functionally independent survival. GABA and glutamate deficits in the frontal cortex are associated with behavioural disinhibition and are a potential target for future treatments.Holt Fellowshi

A Seed Key to Fourteen Species of Geraniaceae

A program of seed identification by keys has been initiated in the Iowa State College Seed laboratory. The recognition of external structural characteristics of seeds is of primary importance to the seed analyst who has no material to serve as a basis of classification and identification other than seeds or fruits. Descriptions of features that aid in placing a seed in its family, genus, or species are of value not only for the seed analyst but for the taxonomic botanist as well. The Geraniaceae has been chosen for a beginning in this investigation. Fernald (1935) working on the annual and biennial species of Geranium found the seeds to have some characters of taxonomic value. Jones and Jones (1943) in their revision of the perennial species of Geranium stated, The seeds of the perennial larger flowered species, contrary to our expectations, have proved to be altogether too, uniform for taxonomical purposes. Possibly other characters were sufficient and they felt no need for a detailed study of the seed

The impact of Edward Perry Warren on the study and collections of Greek and Roman antiquities in American academia.

This dissertation assesses the influence of Edward Perry Warren (1860- 1928) on the development of collegiate collections of Greek and Roman art and the rise of art history and archaeology in elite academic institutions in the United States. It employs archival research to explore Warren\u27s motivations for acquiring thousands of antiquities which he sold or gave to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and six collegiate museums and study collections. Organized into six chapters, this multidisciplinary dissertation describes Warren\u27s roles at these institutions. It highlights antiquities that have figured prominently in scholarship and that demonstrate the range and variety of his collecting tastes. In the first three chapters, the dissertation places Warren\u27s collecting in light of its social, economic, intellectual, and cultural backdrop and considers how Warren both reflects and diverges from his family\u27s values. It also weighs how Warren\u27s sexuality impacted his collecting tastes and resulted in the establishment of his antiquities emporium in Lewes, England. It chronicles his partnership with John Marshall, Edward Robinson, and John Davidson Beazley and ascertains what is known about his relationships with those who established the classical collections at Harvard, Bowdoin, the University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr, the University of Chicago, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Chapters 4,5, and 6 function as a selective catalogue of Warren\u27s antiquities, organized by medium. Chapter 4 is devoted to a discussion of how the Greek vases and other ceramic antiquities he obtained for American collections have been pivotal in developing the American scholarship on these objects. Chapter 5 considers the impact of Warren\u27s collecting on Greek numismatics as well as on ancient gems, jewelry, ivory, and glass. Chapter 6 features bronze and stone antiquities that illustrate his connoisseurial acumen. This dissertation argues that the collecting of Edward Perry Warren is essential to understanding the rise of art history and archaeology as academic disciplines in the United States. Antiquities that he obtained for American collections continue to figure prominently in the scholarship and exhibitions focusing on Greek and Roman material culture and social history

Work disability, economic situation, and societal costs of multiple sclerosis in Sweden

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects many aspects of life and often leads to a reduction in an individual’s work capacity. This reduction, referred to as work disability, may lead to the use of social protections to replace lost earnings upon being absent and societal costs from the lost production. This thesis aimed to investigate the working life and economic situation of individuals in the early stages of their MS as well as the societal costs of MS. Methods: Four cohort studies using Swedish register data of working-aged individuals were conducted. Work disability was operationalised as net days with sickness absence (SA) and/or disability pension (DP). In Study I, the heterogeneity of disposable income (DI) trajectories from 7 years before to 4 years after the diagnosis year (2008-9) of 1528 people with MS (PwMS) was explored with group-based trajectory modelling. The trajectory members were characterised through use of chi2-tests and multinomial logistic regressions. In Study II, common patterns of working life among 2652 PwMS diagnosed in 2008-11 were identified with sequence analysis. Sequences from 1 year before and 5 years after the diagnosis year were constructed and the members of the sequence types were characterised with multinomial logistic regressions and dependent t-tests. In Study III and IV, productivity losses were calculated with the human capital approach from the days with work disability. Healthcare costs included the costs of specialised out- and inpatient healthcare as well as dispensed drugs. Excess costs of MS were estimated by comparing the all-cause costs of PwMS with the costs of matched references with independent t-tests. Study III quantified the annual excess costs of 1988 PwMS and 7981 matched references without MS from 4 years before to 4 years after the diagnosis year (2010-12). Generalised estimation equation (GEE) models tested the interaction of MS and time. In Study IV, the excess costs from resource use in 2018 with bootstrapped 95% CIs were estimated for 2806 PwMS in Stockholm and 28,060 matched references without MS. Primary healthcare and disease modifying therapies were also costed, with analyses stratified by time since diagnosis. Results: Seven DI trajectories were identified in Study I: Four increasing with different gradients (39.0% of individuals), two constantly low (50.7%), and one decreasing (10.3%). Older age profiles and higher proportions of men were observed in the increasing trajectories and higher proportions with work disability and without university education in the decreasing and constantly low trajectories. In Study II, six types of working life sequences were identified: Stable High Activity (48.4% of the sequences), three types with mixed activity and varying SA/DP regarding the number of days per year and timing (32.6%), Stable High SA/DP (14.5%), and Other (4.5%). Stable High Activity had the highest odds for university education. All sequence types, except Stable High SA/DP, had higher DI in the final study year than the first. In Study III, excess costs of MS were observed already before MS diagnosis. Mean annual excess costs of MS of 2285 SEK (95% CI: 613-3956) per person for healthcare costs and 16,310 SEK (95% CI: 8980-23,640) for productivity losses were observed four years before diagnosis. The excess costs of MS increased thereafter and were reflected in the MS and time interaction estimates. In Study IV, the mean annual excess healthcare costs of MS were 77,383 SEK (95% CI: 73,299-81,950) per person with MS. Primary healthcare accounted for 9% and disease modifying therapies for 48% of the excess healthcare costs. The mean annual excess productivity losses of MS were 138,121 SEK (95% CI: 149,224-146,985) per person with MS, mostly due to DP (79%). The resource use behind the excess costs of MS differed by time since diagnosis. Conclusions: The findings describe the economic situation of PwMS and quantify the excess societal costs of early MS. Most PwMS were in work and had increasing or stable DI in the study periods close to MS diagnosis. However, work disability was often and increasingly a part of PwMS’ working life and was associated with decreasing DI trajectories or relatively low levels of DI as well as unstable working life sequences. Excess costs of MS for lost production and healthcare use were incurred already before MS diagnosis and increased thereafter. The progression of the excess costs of MS reflected different patterns of resource use with time from MS diagnosis. The increasing excess costs of MS from productivity losses began in the early stages of MS and may reflect unmet needs of PwMS regarding morbidity and work capacity which early intervention may ameliorate

Private Enforcement of the Social Contract: \u3cem\u3eDeShaney\u3c/em\u3e and the Second Amendment Right to Own Firearms

What is the meaning of the phrase the right to bear arms ? The United States Supreme Court has not granted certiorari to a Second Amendment case since 1939. The author suggests that the Court\u27s ruling in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep\u27t of Social Svcs. provides an important insight into Second Amendment issues that should be considered by citizens, legislators, and the Court in resolving the gun control controversy

Using Geographic Information Systems to Evaluate Energy Initiatives in Austere Environments

Organizations that operate in austere environments at the end of long logistics chains face significant energy challenges which often represent financial and security vulnerabilities. Reducing fuel consumption in these operations causes a proportional fuel reduction throughout the supply system as the need for transportation of fuel is reduced. Accordingly, the total fuel reduction across the supply system should be considered to capture the fully burdened cost savings when conducting economic analysis of energy reduction initiatives. This research examined the energy savings potential of improving the thermal properties of expeditionary shelters, and then evaluated these measures using a fully burdened cost savings technique. Geographic Information Systems, Radiant Time Series cooling load analysis, and fully burdened concepts were applied to develop a model that analyzes the economic effectiveness of various shelter improvements in any climate and location in the world. Specifically, solar flies developed through Solar Integrated Power Shelter System (SIPSS) program for installation on fabric shelters were examined. The model was validated against test data provided by the SIPSS program, and then it was applied to two case studies. Results indicated that the energy savings in transportation associated with point-of-use energy reduction initiatives can represent a substantial portion of the overall fuels savings, which validates the idea that cost savings should be evaluated on a fully-burdened basis. Additionally, the SIPSS solar flies were overwhelming economically justified in most regions studied, but a lack of effectiveness in certain regions validated the need for the developed methodology