Implications of Couchsurfing: Sustainability, Education, Capitol

Implications of Couchsurfing (CS): Sustainability, Education, Capitol Abstract Some travelers are motivated beyond simply arriving at beautiful destinations. Money, budget travel, and convenience are also important concerns. Recent growth of the community of Couchsurfing (CS) is worth a reflection concerning its portrayal of our society. The sustainability of CS is an interesting phenomena. Simply sharing a couch, rather than building a hotel can reverberate with themes of ecology and preservation. Further, if the CS participants take their genre seriously, then the ensuing conversation and relationships can indeed have an impact throughout the world. Therefore, it is worth our time to focus on the safeness of this experience. CS requires that the individual trusts the host adequately in order to safely sleep on a stranger’s couch. Thirty participants volunteered to join CS and to attend one of the events of the CS experience. After this process they evaluated the program especially its safeness. We found those who participant in CS promote sustainable travel, learn more about themselves and the world, and they are saving money. More important we found a simple way to be safe while couchsurfing. This involved traveling with another, allowing enough time to search for a host, having a backup plan, and communicating with one’s host several times before arriving. Negative issues of CS seem to revolve around disappointment in the host, trying to relax in the home of a stranger, and the length of time required to find a responsible host

Lifelong Learning in the County: A Context of Nature, Community, and Simplicity

The purpose of this study was to understand more about the impact of living in a rural area on personal learning with older adults. This is important to consider because of the higher concentration of older adults in rural areas. This qualitative research was based on twenty interviews with older adults. All of the participants lived in the same rural county in south Georgia (USA). One of the results from this research was the positive description of living in a rural area. Despite literature that often describes rural areas in a negative light; all of the participants spoke about the positive aspect of living in a rural area. These positive characteristics were discussed as simplicity, quiet, community, and nature. Negative aspects of rural life were mentioned as lack of resources and fewer people. Ten participants were purposefully chosen who were identified as active older adults who continue to learn. Two interviews with each person were conducted and the interviews were transcribed verbatim. The findings were based on recurring themes as a result of comparative analysis throughout the process. Public schools can contribute to the continued education of older adults by holding various classes as well as incorporating volunteerism

Tourists\u27 perceptions of capital cities: The case study of Zagreb, Croatia

Tourism is an expanding industry throughout the world. Croatia has an extended history with tourism. Most tourists come to Croatia in order to visit the coastline with its many islands, blue sea, and ancient towns. The coastline of Croatia is a rare and beautiful destination. There are old towns, clear water, and a stunning contrast of sea and mountains. In addition, a multitude of islands, the native Mediterranean food, and clean sea help to sustain an attraction for travelers. Adding to this, the towns of Dubrovnik, Split, and Hvar are often in the headlines of popular tourist magazines. Yet, the often bypassed capital of Croatia, Zagreb, can be easily visited on the way to the coast. Therefore, it is important for the city of Zagreb to regularly gain information about tourists who visit Zagreb. Also, there is a need for the tourism industry of Croatia to include more than the Adriatic coast, especially the hinterlands as well as the capital city Zagreb. The purpose of this research is to understand English speaking tourist\u27s specific recommendations for Zagreb, relying on qualitative research. Three researchers had 89 interviews with a total of 129 participants. This general qualitative research incorporated interviews as the main source of information. After analyzing the data, the findings indicate Zagreb as friendly, easy to get around, and as an old, quaint town with enjoyable activities. The main suggestion for the city of Zagreb was to find ways to improve the physical structure and provide more information for tourists

Three-Dimensional Dose Model for the Comparison of 177Lu-HuCC49ΔCH2 and 177Lu-HuCC49 Radioimunotherapy in Mice Bearing Intraperitoneal Xenografts

Uptake and dose distributions in peritoneal LS174T colon tumor xenografts were compared for a humanized construct of the CC49 (HuCC49) high-affinity anti-TAG-72 monoclonal antibody and a construct with the CH2 region deleted (HuCC49ΔCH2), both labeled with 177Lu using a PA-DOTA bifunctional chelating agent and injected in the peritoneum. Tumors were resected and serially sectioned at 1 h, 4 h, 24 h, and 48 h postinjection. Between 5 and 24 (average 16) sections were retained per tumor for autoradiography. The typical section interval was 340 μm and thickness was 16 μm. Tumor sections were air dried and placed on film and/or phosphor screen. Section images were digitized at 100 μm resolution electronically (phosphor screen) or by laser densitometer (film). Section images were used to generate tumor surface descriptions and activity distributions by reconstructing the activity densities in three dimensions. Three-dimensional dose-rate calculations, performed using a point kernel for 177Lu, were used to prepare radial histograms describing the variation in dose rate as a function of distance from the tumor center to surface. At early times postinjection, the 177Lu-HuCC49ΔCH2 antibody displayed higher dose rates near the tumor surface compared to the 177Lu-HuCC49 antibody. At 24 h postinjection, dose rate distributions appeared similar for both antibodies and more uniform than at earlier times. The 177Lu-HuCC49ΔCH2 antibody indicated improved uniformity at 48 h postinjection. Cell survival calculations based on the three-dimensional dose rate distributions favored 177Lu-HuCC49ΔCH2 for equal injection activities. However the most significant effect was the greater injected dose tolerated for the 177Lu-HuCC49ΔCH2 antibody based on equivalent estimated bone marrow dose.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63413/1/108497803765036418.pd

Correction: Archibong, A.E., et al. Effects of Benzo(a)pyrene on Intra-testicular Function in F-344 Rats

We found some errors in Figure 4 in our paper published in the International journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [1].[...

Indirect validation of the age-reading method for Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) using otoliths from marked and recaptured fish

Two examples of indirect validation are described for age-reading methods of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus). Aging criteria that exclude faint translucent zones (checks) in counts of annuli and criteria that include faint zones were both tested. Otoliths from marked and recaptured fish were used to back-calculate the length of each fish at the time of its release by using measurements of the area of annuli. Estimated fish size at time of release and actual observed fish size were similar, supporting the assumption that translucent zones are laid down on an annual basis. A second method for validating reading criteria used otolith age and von Bertalanffy parameters, estimated from the tagging data, to predict how much each fish grew in length after tagging. We found that otolith aging criteria applied to otoliths from tagged and recovered Pacific cod predicted quite accurately the growth increments that we observed in these specimens. These results provide further evidence that the current aging criteria are not underestimating the age of the fish and support our current interpretation of checks (i.e., as subannual marks). We expect these indirect validations to advance age determination for Pacific cod, which in turn would enhance development of stock assessment methods based on age structure for this species in the eastern Bering Sea

General dynamical equations of motion for elastic body systems

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76290/1/AIAA-11407-643.pd

Adverse Effects of a Clinically Relevant Dose of Hydroxyurea Used for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease on Male Fertility Endpoints

Two experiments were conducted to determine: 1) whether the adult male transgenic sickle cell mouse (Tg58 × Tg98; TSCM), exhibits the patterns of reproductive endpoints (hypogonadism) characteristic of men with sickle cell disease (SCD) and 2) whether hydroxyurea (HU) exacerbates this condition. In Experiment 1, blood samples were collected from adult age-matched TSCM and ICR mice (ICRM) (N = 10/group) for plasma testosterone measurements. Subsequently, mice were sacrificed, testes excised and weighed and stored spermatozoa recovered for the determination of sperm density, progressive motility and percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology. In experiment 2, adult male TSCM were orally treated with 25 mg HU/kg body weight/day for 28 or 56 days. Control mice received the vehicle for HU (saline) as described above. At the end of the treatment periods, blood samples were collected for quantification of circulating testosterone. Subsequently, mice were sacrificed, testes and epididymides were recovered and weighed and one testis per mouse was subjected to histopathology. Stored spermatozoa were recovered for the determination of indices of sperm quality mentioned in Experiment 1. Testis weight, stored sperm density, progressive motility, percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology and plasma testosterone concentrations of TSCM were significantly lower by 40, 65, 40, 69 and 66%, respectively than those of ICRM. These data indicate that adult TSCM used in this study suffered from hypogonadism, characteristically observed among adult male SCD patients. In Experiment 2, HU treatment significantly decreased testis weight on day 28, (0.09 ± 0.004g) that was further decreased on day 56 (0.06 ± 0.003g; treatment x time interaction) compared with controls (day 28, 0.15 ± 0.01g; day 56, 2, 0.16 ± 0.01g). Concomitant with a 52% shrinkage (P<0.001) in area of testes in 56 days of HU treatment, testes from HU-treated TSCM exhibited significant atrophic degeneration in the seminiferous tubules compared with controls. Furthermore, treated TSCM had only Sertoli cells and cell debris remaining in most of the seminiferous tubules in comparison with controls. Leydig cell prominence and hyperplasia were more evident (P<0.05) in the steroidogenic compartments of testes of HU-treated TSCM compared with controls. However, plasma testosterone concentrations were reduced by HU treatment (P<0.05; treatment x time interaction) compared with controls on the two time periods studied. Epididymides from HU-treated TSCM sustained a 25% shrinkage (P<0.05), along with 69 (P<0.005) and 95% reduction (P<0.005), in stored sperm density and sperm progressive motility (treatment x time interaction P<0.05), respectively on day 56 of treatment compared with controls. These data demonstrate that TSCM used in this study exhibited SCD-induced hypogonadism, thus authenticating their use for studying the effect of HU on male reproductive endpoints observed in SCD patients. Secondarily, our data show that HU treatment exacerbated the already SCD-induced hypogonadism to gonadal failure

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development