Activation of TLR3 in keratinocytes increases expression of genes involved in formation of the epidermis, lipid accumulation, and epidermal organelles.

Injury to the skin, and the subsequent release of noncoding double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) from necrotic keratinocytes, has been identified as an endogenous activator of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3). As changes in keratinocyte growth and differentiation follow injury, we hypothesized that TLR3 might trigger some elements of the barrier repair program in keratinocytes. dsRNA was observed to induce TLR3-dependent increases in human keratinocyte mRNA abundance for ABCA12 (ATP-binding cassette, sub-family A, member 12), glucocerebrosidase, acid sphingomyelinase, and transglutaminase 1. Additionally, treatment with dsRNA resulted in increases in sphingomyelin and morphologic changes including increased epidermal lipid staining by Oil Red O and TLR3-dependent increases in lamellar bodies and keratohyalin granules. These observations show that dsRNA can stimulate some events in keratinocytes that are important for skin barrier repair and maintenance

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF A U.S./CANADIAN WHEAT POOL: A GAME THEORY ANALYSIS

The problem of declining wheat prices and excess supply has been the subject of recent economic studies partly because it coincides with the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act of 1996, and partly because efforts to decrease supply domestically have led to increased imports from Canada. This paper develops a game theory optimization model of market efficiency and derives conditions under which voluntary pooling is sustained for U.S./Canadian durum and hard red spring wheat producers. Analysis reveals that U.S. and Canadian farmers can increase farm returns with efficiency gains from pooling and by internalizing benefits from grain blending and logistics. The model is used to analyze diverse factors affecting the sustainability of such a pool.Voluntary pooling, game theory, efficiency gains, durum and HRS wheat marketing, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

Paleoecology and Stratigraphy of Ordovician Carbonates, Mohawk Valley, New York

Guidebook for field trips in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont: 61st annual meeting at the State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York October 10, 11, 12, 1969: Trip 1

Glacial cycles drive variations in the production of oceanic crust

Glacial cycles redistribute water between oceans and continents causing pressure changes in the upper mantle, with consequences for melting of Earth's interior. Using Plio-Pleistocene sea-level variations as a forcing function, theoretical models of mid-ocean ridge dynamics that include melt transport predict temporal variations in crustal thickness of hundreds of meters. New bathymetry from the Australian-Antarctic ridge shows significant spectral energy near the Milankovitch periods of 23, 41, and 100 ky, consistent with model predictions. These results suggest that abyssal hills, one of the most common bathymetric features on Earth, record the magmatic response to changes in sea level. The models and data support a link between glacial cycles at the surface and mantle melting at depth, recorded in the bathymetric fabric of the sea floor.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures (including supplementary information). Resubmitted to Science on 12 December 201

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED NORTH DAKOTA WHEAT POOL

The ND Durum Wheat Pool may provide additional revenue to durum wheat producers by raising the domestic prices in the North American market with full cooperation from the Canadian Wheat Board. The pool also could provide additional revenue to its members by improving marketing efficiency. On the other hand, the ND Spring Wheat Pool is less likely to provide additional revenue to spring wheat producers by raising domestic prices, mainly because hard red spring and winter wheat are highly substitutable. Efficiency gains also could be smaller than for durum wheat.marketing pool, market power, efficiency gains, durum wheat, hard red spring wheat, pool price, organizational structure, operating costs, Marketing,

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF US/CANADA WHEAT POOL: A GAME THEORY ANALYSIS

This paper develops a game theory optimization model of market efficiency and derives conditions under which voluntary pooling is sustained for US/Canada durum and hard red spring wheat producers. Analysis reveals that United States and Canadian farmers can increase farm returns with efficiency gains from pooling and by internalizing benefits from grain blending and logistics. The model is used to analyze diverse factors affecting the sustainability of such a pool.Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED NORTH DAKOTA WHEAT POOL; SUMMARY

The ND Durum Wheat Pool may provide additional revenue to durum wheat producers by raising the domestic prices in the North American market with full cooperation from the Canadian Wheat Board. The pool also could provide additional revenue to its members by improving marketing efficiency. On the other hand, the ND Spring Wheat Pool is less likely to provide additional revenue to spring wheat producers by raising domestic prices, mainly because hard red spring and winter wheat are highly substitutable. Efficiency gains also could be smaller than for durum wheat.marketing pool, market power, efficiency gains, durum wheat, hard red spring wheat, pool price, organizational structure, operating costs, Marketing,

The Tribolium castaneum cell line TcA: a new tool kit for cell biology

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is an agriculturally important insect pest that has been widely used as a model organism. Recently, an adherent cell line (BCIRL-TcA-CLG1 or TcA) was developed from late pupae of the red flour beetle. Next generation transcriptome sequencing of TcA cells demonstrated expression of a wide variety of genes associated with specialized functions in chitin metabolism, immune responses and cellular and systemic RNAi pathways. Accordingly, we evaluated the sensitivity of TcA cells to dsRNA to initiate an RNAi response. TcA cells were highly sensitive to minute amounts of dsRNA, with a minimum effective dose of 100 pg/mL resulting in significant suppression of gene expression. We have also developed a plasmid containing two TcA-specific promoters, the promoter from the 40S ribosomal protein subunit (TC006550) and a bi-directional heat shock promoter (TcHS70) from the intergenic space between heat shock proteins 68a and b. These promoters have been employed to provide high levels of either constitutive (TC006550) or inducible (TcHS70) gene expression of the reporter proteins. Our results show that the TcA cell line, with its sensitivity to RNAi and functional TcA-specific promoters, is an invaluable resource for studying basic molecular and physiological questions

WORKPLACE ORGANIZATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES: THE RETAIL FOOD INDUSTRY

Most retail food firms adhere to traditional human resources management practices, with employees enjoying little involvement in decision-making and little participation in company financial returns. More than one tenth of non-food firms have innovative human resources systems, with much individual and group involvement in decision-making and financial returns, but only a minuscule proportion of food firms have such systems. At the other end of the spectrum, more than one-fifth of food stores and eating and drinking places (and nearly one-third of food wholesale firms) have traditional systems, as compared to only one-tenth of non-food firms. The tasks and the human resource practices typical of retail food firms are consistent with each other. Core employees in these firms perform tasks that are generally simpler and less variable than those in other industries, and the firms' human resource practices generally give workers less autonomy and incentives than those in other industries. Whether the structure and variability of tasks are the result of a particular business strategy or adoption of a certain technology is not known. Which came first, these simple tasks, the workers who perform them, or these human resource policies is similarly unknown. We arrive at these conclusions through analysis of an original data set composed of 806 Minnesota firms, including 211 food firms, which allows us to characterize the change in human resource practices since the early 1980s, and to examine differences in the organization of work across companies. Work organization and human resource practices in the retail food industry have changed substantially, although the change has been less pronounced than in most other industries.Labor and Human Capital, Marketing,