Mating Flights of \u3ci\u3eEphoron Album\u3c/i\u3e (Ephemeroptera: Polymitarcidae) in Michigan

Mating flights of the mayfly Ephoron album (Say) were observed on the Sturgeon River in Houghton County, Michigan, on five evenings between 16 and 22 August, 1977. Peak emergence occurred about 30 minutes befqre sunset on 19 August and the flight period lasted about two hours. Many more adult males than females were collected on three evenings, but on one evening females greatly outnumbered males collected

Will Employers Want Aging Boomers?

Explores the status quo of older workers; why baby boomers are likely to work longer; and how changes in needed skills, the characteristics of older workers, and labor force growth will affect demand for older workers. Includes policy recommendations

Expression and purification of an adenylation domain from a eukaryotic nonribosomal peptide synthetase: Using structural genomics tools for a challenging target

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are large multimodular and multidomain enzymes that are involved in synthesising an array of molecules that are important in human and animal health. NRPSs are found in both bacteria and fungi but most of the research to date has focused on the bacterial enzymes. This is largely due to the technical challenges in producing active fungal NRPSs, which stem from their large size and multidomain nature. In order to target fungal NRPS domains for biochemical and structural characterisation, we tackled this challenge by using the cloning and expression tools of structural genomics to screen the many variables that can influence the expression and purification of proteins. Using these tools we have screened 32 constructs containing 16 different fungal NRPS domains or domain combinations for expression and solubility. Two of these yielded soluble protein with one, the third adenylation domain of the SidN NRPS (SidNA3) from the grass endophyte Neotyphodium lolii, being tractable for purification using Ni-affinity resin. The initial purified protein exhibited poor solution behaviour but optimisation of the expression construct and the buffer conditions used for purification, resulted in stable recombinant protein suitable for biochemical characterisation, crystallisation and structure determination

Interview of Richard Monastra

Richard Monastra is of the “baby boom” generation, having been born in 1946 in Philadelphia. He is the eldest of two children. He remains very close to his sister to this day. Mr. Monastra grew up in South Philadelphia in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He describes South Philly at the time as “magical”. He described his neighborhood as being made up of Euro-Americans who settled in South Philly after the Civil War. He attended St. Edmond’s Parochial Elementary School where there were as many as 60 kids in a class. After elementary school, he attended Bishop Neumann High School. While in high school, he worked at a local pharmacy. He graded from Neumann in 1964. Like most of his friends, he applied to La Salle College and was accepted. He majored in history. Like many of his generation, he was the first one on either side of his family to attend college. Mr. Monastra credits the Christian Brothers with exposing students to things their “familial ancestors could only dream of”. He believes that the Brother practiced their moto; Virtus et Sciencia, virtue and knowledge. He feels the Christian Brothers challenged students to question and think critically. Mr. Monastra did his student teaching in South Philadelphia High School and graduated from La Salle in the spring of 1968. Following his graduation from La Salle, he accepted a job at Collingdale High School in Delaware County, PA. He worked there from the fall of 1968 through the spring of 1970. His contract, as well as several others, was not renewed due to budget cuts. He was then hired at Glassboro Middle School in New Jersey where he worked from 1970-1972. He taught 7th & 8th grade U.S. History and Geography. Once again, he was laid off due to budget cuts. After Glassboro, Mr. Monastra obtained employment at Interboro High School where he taught a myriad of courses from 1972 until another lay off in 1983. He was called back to work there until 1985, when he was laid off again. He worked briefly at Haddonfield High School for two years, until he was hired at Buena Regional High School in January of 1989 and worked there until his retirement in 2009. He has taught, and continues to teach, at the county college level

Observations of a midlatitude squall line boundary layer wake

Includes bibliographical references (pages 90-93).June 1987.Mesoscale pressure perturbations frequently observed with mesoscale convective systems (MCS) are examined with special emphasis on the characteristics, structure, lifecycle and driving mechanism of the "wake depression" found in the wake region of the convection. A severe squall line which traversed the OK PRE-STORM surface and upper air mesonetwork on 10-11 June 1985 is the focus of this observational study. Extensive surface, upper air and digitized radar data collected during the OK PRE-STORM field experiment were used for analysis. Various mesoanalyses of this squall line at the surface and aloft have allowed for intensive examination of three pressure features observed with this squall line: the mesohigh, wake depression and pre-squall mesolow. Their relationship to and interaction with other meteorological parameters such as precipitation, temperature, potential temperature and moisture are explored. Furthermore, the mesoscale system-relative "jets" observed with midlatitude squall lines are examined for their possible influence on the pressure field. The mesohigh develops quickly during the early growth of the squall line and precedes the wake depression by several hours. The predominant mesohigh is linked to the formation of a large cold pool which developed as a result of widespread hail and intense rainfall from a supercell ahead of the young squall line. Analyses show that the wake depression is not a uniform, stagnant feature behind the mesohigh but has embedded small-scale features, a distinct lifecycle and can undergo rapid intensification. The wake depression also is related to some aspects of the squall line's precipitation pattern. The low consistently "hugs" the back edge of the stratiform precipitation and is observed to split into two separate lows as the convective line splits. Additionally, the wake depression is a hydrostatic response to a layer of warm, dry air (produced by subsidence) found just above the surface. It is suggested that the wake depression is in part a surface manifestation of forced subsidence by the descending rear inflow jet.Sponsored by the National Science Foundation - ATM-8507961

Statistical Models of Reconstructed Phase Spaces for Signal Classification

This paper introduces a novel approach to the analysis and classification of time series signals using statistical models of reconstructed phase spaces. With sufficient dimension, such reconstructed phase spaces are, with probability one, guaranteed to be topologically equivalent to the state dynamics of the generating system, and, therefore, may contain information that is absent in analysis and classification methods rooted in linear assumptions. Parametric and nonparametric distributions are introduced as statistical representations over the multidimensional reconstructed phase space, with classification accomplished through methods such as Bayes maximum likelihood and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The technique is demonstrated on heart arrhythmia classification and speech recognition. This new approach is shown to be a viable and effective alternative to traditional signal classification approaches, particularly for signals with strong nonlinear characteristics

Preliminary Evaluation of the Effects of a Pumping Well on Existing Surface Water Resources Located in T. 12N, R. 2E, Sec. 23, Cache and Box Elder Counties

This report contains the results of a preliminary study of the impact of pumping a well located in T. 12N, R. 2E, sec. 23, Cache and Box Elder Counties, Utah. A semianalytical capture zone analysis was performed to determine if pumping at the well is likely to reduce flow in Willow Creek or any of three springs in the surrounding area. The well has been used from 1974 to present and is sometimes pumped at 90 gallons per minute (gpm) (verbal communication, Veibell, 1996)

Generalized Phase Space Projection for Nonlinear Noise Reduction

Improved phase space projection methods, adapted from related work in the linear signal processing field based on subspace decomposition, are presented for application to the problem of additive noise reduction in the context of phase space analysis. These methods improve upon existing methods such as Broomhead–King singular spectrum analysis projection by minimizing overall signal distortion subject to constraints on the residual error, rather than using a direct least-squares fit. This results in a range of weighted projections which estimate and compensate for the portion of the principal component\u27s singular values corresponding to noise rather than signal energy, and which include least-squares (LS) and least minimum mean square error (LMMSE) as subcases. The nature of phase space covariance, the key element in construction of the projection matrix, is examined across global phase spaces as well as within local neighborhood regions. The resulting algorithm, illustrated on a noisy Henon map as well as on the task of speech enhancement, is applicable to a wide variety of nonlinear noise reduction tasks

Metasynchronous Rupture of Both Achilles Tendons in a Patient Undergoing Statin Therapy: A Case Report

In treating cholesterol-related cardiovascular diseases, statins are commonly used as preventative medication and are associated with few side effects. However, recent studies have described a connection between statins and development of tendinopathy. Similar research has noted bilateral rupture of the Achilles tendon, a rare injury, in patients undergoing statin therapy. We describe a 74-yearold man undergoing statin (ie, simvastatin) therapy who presented with pain and swelling in the right ankle after exertional-type activity. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a rupture of the Achilles tendon, with rupture of the left Achilles tendon identified 5 weeks later without any obvious trauma-related event. Nonoperative treatment included nonweight bearing in short-leg casts, physical therapy, and eventual temporary discontinuation of simvastatin therapy, which resulted in full return to previous levels of activity by 6-month follow-up. Orthopaedic surgeons should be aware of potential musculoskeletalrelated side effects in patients undergoing statin therapy