Production, utilization, and nutritional quality of northern bobwhite foods in western Oklahoma

Wildlife and Fisheries Ecolog

Games and enculturation: A cross-cultural analysis of games and values in Austronesia

While most animals play, only humans play games. As animal play serves to teach offspring important life-skills in a safe scenario, human games might, in similar ways, teach important culturally relevant skills. Humans in all cultures play games; however, it is not clear whether variation in the characteristics of games across cultural groups is related to group-level attributes. Here we investigate specifically whether the cooperativeness of games covaries with socio-ecological differences across cultural groups. We hypothesize that cultural groups that engage in frequent inter-group conflict, cooperative sustenance acquisition, or that have less stratified social structures, might more frequently play cooperative games as compared to groups that do not share these characteristics. To test these hypotheses, we gathered data from the ethnographic record on 25 ethnolinguistic groups in the Austronesian language family. We show that cultural groups with higher levels of inter-group conflict and cooperative land-based hunting play cooperative games more frequently than other groups. Additionally, cultural groups with higher levels of intra-group conflict play competitive games more frequently than other groups. These findings indicate that games are not randomly distributed among cultures, but rather relate to the socio-ecological settings of the cultural groups that practice them. We argue that games serve as training grounds for group-specific norms and values and thereby have an important function in enculturation during childhood. Moreover, games might server an important role in the maintenance of cultural diversity.Introduction Children’s play Games Possible drivers of cooperative goal structures - Interdependence in foraging. - Intra- and inter-group conflict. Lack of social stratification Methods - Games - Cultural covariate data - Statistical analyses Results - Descriptive statistics - Cultural variables and goal structures Discussion Conclusio

Identification and Characterization of Bovine Pol III Promoters to Express a Short-Hairpin RNA

The use of molecular biology as a means to advance agriculture has proven beneficial in many fields. However, the development lentiviral vectors that utilize a livestock promoter to express short hairpin RNA (shRNA) has been limited to date. The goal of this research project was to develop and characterize lentiviral bovine Pol III mir30 shRNA expression vectors for future use in livestock research. The bovine Pol III promoter (7sk, U6-2, or H1) was inserted directly upstream of a mir30 shRNA expression sequence in the lentiviral vector pNef-GT. A transient luciferase knockdown assay in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells was used to compare the functionality of these vectors. The bPol III mir30 shRNA expression vector was co-transfected with the pGL3 luciferase expression vector and the renilla expression vector pLB at a ratio of 5:10:1 respectively. The vectors were allowed 48 hrs to produce their respective products before luciferase activity was measured with the Stop-n-Glo Assay (Promega). Each bPol III promoter was able to express a functional shRNA resulting in a reduction of luciferase activity greater than 68 percent. The bH1 and bU6-2 Luc shRNA vectors were the most effective vectors when transfected with >76 percent (p-value <0.05) reduced luciferase activity. To confirm that these promoters were functional after integration into a bovine genome, recombinant lentivirus was made from these vectors. These particles were then used to transduce a bovine kidney (MDBK) cell line that expressed luciferase. After transduction, transgenic cells were selected by the addition of the antibiotic, Geneticin to the culture media until a population of 100 percent bPol III expression cells were observed for two passages and luciferase activity was measured. The 7sk promoter was the most effective bPol III promoter that reduced luciferase activity in these cells by 72 percent (p-value <0.05), while the bU6-2 and bH1 were moderately effective at reducing luciferase levels (37 percent, 46 percent respectively). These experiments were the first to quantify the bovine Pol III promoter function after integration into a bovine genome. While variability was observed, for livestock based research, the b7sk lentiviral vector appears to be the best choice to express a shRNA from the genome of a bovine genome

The Austronesian game taxonomy: A cross-cultural dataset of historical games

Humans in most cultures around the world play rule-based games, yet research on the content and structure of these games is limited. Previous studies investigating rule-based games across cultures have either focused on a small handful of cultures, thus limiting the generalizability of findings, or used cross-cultural databases from which the raw data are not accessible, thus limiting the transparency, applicability, and replicability of research findings. Furthermore, games have long been defined as competitive interactions, thereby blinding researchers to the cross-cultural variation in the cooperativeness of rule-based games. The current dataset provides ethnographic, historic information on games played in cultural groups in the Austronesian language family. These game descriptions (Ngames = 907) are available and codeable for researchers interested in games. We also develop a unique typology of the cooperativeness of the goal structure of games and apply this typology to the dataset. Researchers are encouraged to use this dataset to examine cross-cultural variation in the cooperativeness of games and further our understanding of human cultural behaviour on a larger scale.Background and summary Methods - Defining games. - Defining the goal structure of games Search criteria and methodology - eHRAF - Pulotu - American Anthropologist - The Journal of the Polynesian Society - Additional sources Data records - Variable definitions - Descriptive statistics of games Technical validation - Cultural group identifiers - Record linkage - Filtering and coding of games - Austronesian language phylogeny Research opportunitie

Status and specifications of a Project X front-end accelerator test facility at Fermilab

This paper describes the construction and operational status of an accelerator test facility for Project X. The purpose of this facility is for Project X component development activities that benefit from beam tests and any development activities that require 325 MHz or 650 MHz RF power. It presently includes an H- beam line, a 325 MHz superconducting cavity test facility, a 325 MHz (pulsed) RF power source, and a 650 MHz (CW) RF power source. The paper also discusses some specific Project X components that will be tested in the facility.Comment: 3 pp. Particle Accelerator, 24th Conference (PAC'11) 2011. 28 Mar - 1 Apr 2011. New York, US

Population status, threats and conservation of the Yangtze finless porpoise

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) is currently limited to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from Yichang to Shanghai, China, and the adjoining Poyang and Dongting Lakes. Its population size has decreased remarkably during the last several decades due to the heavy impact of human activities, including overfishing of prey species, water development projects that cause attendant habitat loss and degradation, water pollution, and accidental deaths caused by harmful fishing gear and collisions with motorized vessels. It was estimated that the number of remaining individuals was down to approximately 1800 in 2006, a number that is decreasing at a rate as high as 5% per year. Three conservation measures - in situ and ex situ conservation and captive breeding have been applied to the protection of this unique porpoise since the early 1990s. Seven natural and two "semi-natural" reserves have so far been established. Since 1996, a small group of finless porpoises has been successfully reared in a facility at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; three babies were born in captivity on July 5, 2005, June 2, 2007 and July 5, 2008. These are the first freshwater cetaceans ever born in captivity in the world. Several groups of these porpoises caught in the main stream of the Yangtze River, or rescued, have been introduced into the Tian'e-Zhou Semi-natural Reserve since 1990. These efforts have proven that, not only can these animals survive in the area, they are also to reproduce naturally and successfully. More than 30 calves had been born in the reserve since then, with one to three born each year. Taking deaths and transfers into account, there were approximately 30 individuals living in the reserve as of the end of 2007. Among eight mature females captured in April 2008, five were confirmed pregnant. This effort represents the first successful attempt at off-site protection of a cetacean species in the world, and establishes a solid base for conservation of the Yangtze finless porpoise. A lesson must be drawn from the tragedy of Chinese River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer), which has already been declared likely extinct. Strong, effective and appropriate protective measures must be carried out quickly to prevent the Yangtze finless porpoise from becoming a second Chinese River Dolphin, and save the biodiversity of the Yangtze River as a whole