Enzymatic Activity in the Chorion for Hatching in the California Grunion

Leuresthes tenuis is a small, silverside fish that spawns on the beaches during some of the highest tides of the summer months. Of the many unique traits to the species including that the eggs develop fully out of water to the point of hatching competence but will not hatch until presented with an environmental cue, which causes them to hatch in less than a minute. The purpose of this study is to better understand the role of enzymes called chorionases, which act to break down the chorion (egg membrane). I hypothesize that the chorion begins to weaken in this species when it is hatching competent but before it receives the stimulus to hatch. Unlike most organisms, the grunion embryo reaches hatching competence when it is fully developed, once it reaches competence, it stalls development and waits for an environmental cue. Before this, the egg is not hatching competent and will not hatch even if the trigger is there. The fact that it hatches so quickly could be evidence that an enzyme is acting to break down the chorion and this is what I hypothesize causes hatching competence. Some related fish have two chorionases while some only have one. To see whether one or two enzymes act in hatching in the grunion, I made a solution of the hatching enzyme, concentrated it, ran both SDS-PAGE and native-PAGE gels to separate out the protein by size, and cut out and sent those bands away for sequencing. To test whether the egg weakens upon hatching competence, I measured change in diameter of eggs that were pressed under a weight. We found no significant difference in pliability between the two groups of eggs using this methodology. If there are two enzymes, one may be acting before the other. If there is only one enzyme, another mechanism is at play

Supreme Court Brief Amicus Curiae of Administrative Law Scholars in Support of Neither Party

This brief on behalf of 29 administrative law scholars takes no position on whether Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are employees or inferior officers. It urges the Court to issue an opinion that respects the decision that Congress made unanimously in 1946 to enact numerous statutory safeguards that assure that ALJs have decisional independence from the agencies where they work while assuring that agencies retain control over the policy content and legal basis for any decision made in an adjudication in which an ALJ presides. The brief describes the fifteen years of study and deliberation that led to the unanimous decision of Congress to enact the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946. It describes the particular attention that Congress devoted to the critical task of providing ALJs with the combination of statutory safeguards that minimize the risk that they will favor the agencies for whom they adjudicate cases while assuring that the agencies retain control of the policy content of any decision made in such an adjudication. It then describes the series of opinions the Supreme Court issued during the 1950s in which the Justices unanimously praised the provisions of the APA that assure that ALJs conduct adjudicatory hearings in an unbiased manner, explained the importance of those statutory provisions in protecting the values reflected in the Due Process Clause, and urged Congress to make those safeguards applicable to all agency adjudications. It concludes by urging the Court to issue an opinion that respects the decision that Congress made in 1946 to insulate ALJs from potential sources of pro-agency bias by including in the APA a combination of provisions that confer decisional independence on ALJs

Ecological opportunity and the rise and fall of crocodylomorph evolutionary innovation

Understanding the origin, expansion and loss of biodiversity is fundamental to evolutionary biology. The approximately 26 living species of crocodylomorphs (crocodiles, caimans, alligators and gharials) represent just a snapshot of the group's rich 230-million-year history, whereas the fossil record reveals a hidden past of great diversity and innovation, including ocean and land-dwelling forms, herbivores, omnivores and apex predators. In this macroevolutionary study of skull and jaw shape disparity, we show that crocodylomorph ecomorphological variation peaked in the Cretaceous, before declining in the Cenozoic, and the rise and fall of disparity was associated with great heterogeneity in evolutionary rates. Taxonomically diverse and ecologically divergent Mesozoic crocodylomorphs, like marine thalattosuchians and terrestrial notosuchians, rapidly evolved novel skull and jaw morphologies to fill specialized adaptive zones. Disparity in semi-aquatic predatory crocodylians, the only living crocodylomorph representatives, accumulated steadily, and they evolved more slowly for most of the last 80 million years, but despite their conservatism there is no evidence for long-term evolutionary stagnation. These complex evolutionary dynamics reflect ecological opportunities, that were readily exploited by some Mesozoic crocodylomorphs but more limited in Cenozoic crocodylians.Sampling. We sample 240 crocodylomorph skulls and 204 lower jaws Shape analyses. Disparity was quantified using 2-D geometric morphometrics, with a mixed landmark/semi-landmarks approach. Phylogeny. A composite crocodylomorph supertree was assembled . Disparity. Disparity was quantified using custom code and the R package dispRity. Evolutionary rates. Rates of evolution were analysed in a Bayesian framework based on the multivariate variable-rates model in BayesTraits

A Culture of Fire: Identifying Community Risk Perceptions Surrounding Prescribed Burning in the Flint Hills, Kansas

In the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas, there is a long tradition of spring prescribed burns. However, air quality concerns in downwind communities have sparked conversation regarding the environmental and social impacts of these burns. This study aimed to identify the risk perceptions associated with prescribed burns using two theoretical frameworks: the social amplification of risk framework and the protective action decision model. In April 2022, we conducted 18 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Flint Hills community members from different social stations. Participants identified several benefits of prescribed burns: cattle production gains, invasive species management, prairie ecological health maintenance, and wildfire prevention. Some participants viewed prescribed burning as a protective response. However, risk perceptions differed between rural and urban participants: rural community members were primarily concerned with prescribed fires that went out of control, while those in downwind cities were primarily concerned with smoke exposure. Participants sometimes used protective actions to mitigate their risks, but also explained the complexities of changing burn practices that are integral to the local culture, economies, and greater society. Additionally, formal communication of health and safety risks from prescribed burns is not uniform across Kansas counties. We therefore recommend systematic county and statewide communication of burn practices and protective behaviors. Understanding community perceptions of the risks and effects of prescribed burns, and any protective actions taken, can inform how professional communicators approach burning in similar agricultural and ranching communities

Algae and Clay Water Additives Differentially Impact Survival and Microbial Community Structure in Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) Rearing Tanks

Algae, or “greenwater,” is a traditional water additive used in finfish aquaculture but it is associated with high costs and potentially harmful bacterial growth. “Claywater,” a mix of clay and seawater, has been explored as a replacement for greenwater. In some fish species, however, claywater reduces survival rates, but the mechanisms are not understood. A link between water additive and microbial community composition may exist. In this study, the effects of different water additives on the microbial communities of larval sablefish were studied. Three treatments were evaluated: a traditional greenwater additive, a claywater additive, and a greenwater additive switched to claywater after 1 week. Microbial communities were characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and sablefish survival and growth were recorded. Tank seawater microbial communities were significantly influenced by water additive (treatment). Sablefish microbiomes were significantly but weakly influenced by treatment, and there were time-specific differences within the claywater treatment. Sablefish, from the treatment that was switched after 1 week, maintained microbiomes that were more similar to the initial greenwater treatment. In general, sablefish were dominated by Vibrionaceae operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Variability in the sablefish microbiomes between tanks from the same treatment was high, especially in the claywater treatment, which may have confounded treatment effects. Larvae in the claywater treatment had significantly lower survival rates compared to greenwater and greenwater-claywater treatments, but no treatment effect was observed on sablefish growth (length). Overall, results suggest that claywater does not negatively impact survival or the microbial community of sablefish when preceded by 1 week of greenwater

Reliability and Criterion Validity of Knee Frontal Plane Projection Angles Measured Using the Technique Application

Context: Abnormal knee frontal plane projection angles (FPPA) during movement have been associated with patellofemoral pain (PFP). As such, clinicians are interested in valid and reliable instruments suitable for broad-based clinical use that allow them to objectively measure such variables. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the criterion validity and reliability of knee FPPA measures obtained by clinicians using a free tablet application called Technique. Design: validity/reliability study Methods: To examine validity, the same raters measured ten, two-dimensional criterion reference angles at the first testing session. To examine reliability, the knee FPPA of sixteen subjects was measured by 6 raters (3 physical therapists and 3 student physical therapists) on two separate occasions while performing a single-limb stepdown task. Validity was investigated by calculating the 95% limits of agreement (LA), mean absolute differences, and Bland-Altman plots. Reliability was examined by calculating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and the standard error of measure (SEM). Results: For validity, the mean absolute difference between rater and criterion reference angle measures ranged from 0.20 to 0.90 degrees. 95% of expected errors between rater and criterion reference angle measures were 2.04 degrees or less. For reliability, the ICC values for inter- and intrarater reliability were excellent ranging from 0.994 to 0.998 with SEM ranging from 0.44 to 0.84 degrees. Conclusions: These findings indicate that knee FPPA measures obtained during a single-limb stepdown task using the Technique tablet application are valid and reliable, and suitable for clinical use

Biofilms formed by isolates from recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis patients are heterogeneous and insensitive to fluconazole

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a global health problem affecting ∼75% of women at least once in their lifetime. Here we examined the epidemiology of VVC from a patient cohort to identify the causative organisms associated with VVC. Biofilm forming capacity and antifungal sensitivity profiles were also assessed. We report a shifting prevalence of Candida species with heterogeneous biofilm forming capacity, both of which are associated with altered antifungal drug sensitivity

Constraining emissions of volatile organic compounds from western US wildfires with WE-CAN and FIREX-AQ airborne observations

The impact of biomass burning (BB) on the atmospheric burden of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is highly uncertain. Here we apply the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM) to constrain BB emissions in the western US at ~25 km resolution. Across three BB emission inventories widely used in CTMs, the total of 14 modeled BB VOC emissions in the western US agree with each other within 30&ndash;40 %. However, emissions for individual VOC differ by up to a factor of 5 (i.e., lumped &ge; C4 alkanes), driven by the regionally averaged emission ratios (ERs) among inventories. We further evaluate GEOS-Chem simulations with aircraft observations made during WE-CAN (Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen) and FIREX-AQ (Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality) field campaigns. Despite being driven by different global BB inventories or applying various injection height assumptions, GEOS-Chem simulations underpredict observed vertical profiles by a factor of 3&ndash;7. The model shows small-to-no bias for most species in low/no smoke conditions. We thus attribute the negative model biases mostly to underestimated BB emissions in these inventories. Tripling BB emissions in the model reproduces observed vertical profiles for primary compounds, i.e., CO, propane, benzene, and toluene. However, it shows no-to-less significant improvements for oxygenated VOCs, particularly formaldehyde, formic acid, acetic acid, and lumped &ge; C3 aldehydes, suggesting the model is missing secondary sources of these compounds in BB-impacted environments. The underestimation of primary BB emissions in inventories is likely attributable to underpredicted amounts of effective dry matter burned, rather than errors in fire detection, injection height, or ERs. We cannot rule out potential sub-grid uncertainties (i.e., not being able to fully resolve fire plumes) in the nested GEOS-Chem which could explain the model negative bias partially, though the back-of-the-envelope calculation and evaluation using longer-term ground measurements help increase the argument of the dry matter burned underestimation. The ERs of the 14 BB VOCs implemented in GEOS-Chem account for about half of the total 161 measured VOCs (~75 versus 150 ppb ppm-1). This reveals a significant amount of missing reactive organic carbon in widely-used BB emission inventories. Considering both uncertainties in effective dry matter burned and unmodeled VOCs, we infer that BB contributed up to 10 % in 2019 and 45 % in 2018 (240 and 2040 GgC) of the total VOC primary emission flux in the western US during these two fire seasons, compared to only 1&ndash;10 % in the standard GEOS-Chem.</p

Agricultural Contracting

The information in this presentation was assimilated during a University of Missouri Outreach & Extension Professional Implementation Experience (Train the Trainer) program held on April 4 and 5, 2000. The information assimilated herein was provided by the individual speakers. Please feel free to use this information for educational and informative uses

Interim Report: Uranium Stabilization Through Polyphosphate Injection - 300 Area Uranium Plume Treatability Demonstration Project

This report presents results from bench-scale treatability studies conducted under site-specific conditions to optimize the polyphosphate amendment for implementation of a field-scale technology demonstration to treat aqueous uranium within the 300 Area aquifer of the Hanford site. The general treatability testing approach consists of conducting studies with site sediment and under site conditions, in order to develop an effective chemical formulation for the polyphosphate amendments and evaluate the transport properties of these amendments under site conditions. Phosphorus-31 (31P) NMR was utilized to determine the effects of Hanford groundwater and sediment on the degradation of inorganic phosphates. Static batch tests were conducted to optimize the composition of the polyphosphate formulation for the precipitation of apatite and autunite, as well as to quantify the kinetics, loading and stability of apatite as a long-term sorbent for uranium. Dynamic column tests were used to further optimize the polyphosphate formulation for emplacement within the subsurface and the formation of autunite and apatite. In addition, dynamic testing quantified the stability of autunite and apatite under relevant site conditions. Results of this investigation provide valuable information for designing a full-scale remediation of uranium in the 300 aquifer