Quantitation and organic geochemical characterization of petroleum-like materials found on an undisturbed beach of the Padre Island National Seashore

On June 3, 1979 the IXTOC I well in the Bay of Campeche 'blew out' with the subsequent release of 3 to 4 million barrels of oil. A major portion of that oil is known to have escaped recovery or was deliberately dispersed into the environment. This catastrophic source appears to be a major contributor to coastal water petroleum residues of the Gulf. Two questions which arise are: 1) What quantities of this petroleum-like material are being deposited annually on the south Texas beaches? And 2), is there a single source of beach tar (seeps) or are there multiple sources (spilled or dumped crudes as well as seeps)? This study is part of an effort to find answers to these questions.A report submitted to: United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Southwest RegionMarine Scienc

'The empire of learning': the School Board of Glasgow and elementary education, 1872-1885, with particular reference to the work of William Mitchell

No abstract available

Role of Membrane Tension Sensitive Endocytosis and Rho GTPases in the Uptake of the Alzheimer\u27s Disease Peptide Aβ(1-42)

Intraneuronal accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) is an early pathological signum of Alzheimer\u27s disease, and compartments of the endolysosomal system have been implicated in both seeding and cell-cell propagation of Aβ aggregation. We have studied how clathrin-independent mechanisms contribute to Aβ endocytosis, exploring pathways that are sensitive to changes in membrane tension and the regulation of Rho GTPases. Using live cell confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, we show the uptake of monomeric Aβ(1-42) into endocytic vesicles and vacuole-like dilations, following relaxation of osmotic pressure-induced cell membrane tension. This indicates Aβ(1-42) uptake via clathrin independent carriers (CLICs), although overexpression of the bar-domain protein GRAF1, a key regulator of CLICs, had no apparent effect. We furthermore report reduced Aβ(1-42) uptake following overexpression of constitutively active forms of the Rho GTPases Cdc42 and RhoA, whereas modulation of Rac1, which is linked to macropinosome formation, had no effect. Our results confirm that uptake of Aβ(1-42) is clathrin-and dynamin-independent and point to the involvement of a new and distinct clathrin-independent endocytic mechanism which is similar to uptake via CLICs or macropinocytosis but that also appear to involve yet uncharacterized molecular players

Healthy Minds: A child and adolescent mental health research project: What are the mental health needs of Bradford's Pakistani Muslim children and young people and how can they be addressed?

This report was commissioned by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (MDC) Directorate of Social Services; the aims and objectives are presented in section two, but simply stated the research seeks to determine the mental health needs of Bradford’s Pakistani Muslim children and young people and, based on the findings, recommend ways in which those needs can be addressed. It is important to mention here that the research was commissioned following a Joint Planning Team recommendation that noted a lack of information around the mental health needs of Bradford’s ‘Asian’ population. A population that makes up a sizeable component of Bradford and yet whose children and young people are significantly under represented in Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). In recognition of the complexity of cultural, religious, language, geographical regions of origin and socio- economic experience encompassed in the term ‘Asian’ (Patel K, 2000) the decision was taken to concentrate on the Pakistani Muslim community, which is the largest minority ethnic group in Bradford. This introduction will, therefore, through narrative and through a review of the relevant literature, seek to prepare the ground for the views of the professionals, young people, children, parents, carers and community members that follow this chapter. It will paint a broad demographic picture of the UK’s and Bradford’s Pakistani Muslim population; bearing in mind the universal environmental, family and child risk factors as identified by the Health Advisory Service (HAS. 1995) identifying those specific to the Pakistani Muslim population in the Bradford Metropolitan District; and discussing the impact of the findings, negative and positive, on the mental health and mental health needs of the children and young people of this population

A time of flight method to measure the speed of sound using a stereo sound card

We present an inexpensive apparatus for measuring the speed of sound, with a time of flight method, using a computer with a stereo sound board. Students measure the speed of sound by timing the delay between the arrivals of a pulse to two microphones placed at different distances from the source. It can serve as a very effective demonstration, providing a quick measurement of the speed of sound in air; we have used it with great success in Open Days in our Department. It can also be used for a full fledged laboratory determination of the speed of sound in air.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Physics Teache

Polyphenol oxidase-mediated protection against oxidative stress is not associated with enhanced photosynthetic efficiency

Background and Aims Polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) catalyse the oxidation of monophenols and/or o-diphenols to highly reactive o-quinones, which in turn interact with oxygen and proteins to form reactive oxygen species (ROS) and typical brown-pigmented complexes. Hence PPOs can affect local levels of oxygen and ROS. Although the currently known substrates are located in the vacuole, the enzyme is targeted to the thylakoid lumen, suggesting a role for PPOs in photosynthesis. The current study was designed to investigate the potential involvement of PPOs in the photosynthetic response to oxidative stress. Methods Photosynthesis (A, F(v)/F(m), ΦPSII, q(N), q(P), NPQ) was measured in leaves of a wild-type and a low-PPO mutant of red clover (Trifolium pratense ‘Milvus’) under control conditions and under a stress treatment designed to induce photooxidative stress: cold/high light (2 °C/580 µmol m(2 )s(–1)) or 0–10 µm methyl viologen. Foliar protein content and oxidation state were also determined. Key Results Photosynthetic performance, and chlorophyll and protein content during 4 d of cold/high light stress and 3 d of subsequent recovery under control growth conditions showed similar susceptibility to stress in both lines. However, more extensive oxidative damage to protein in mutants than wild-types was observed after treatment of attached leaves with methyl viologen. In addition, PPO activity could be associated with an increased capacity to dissipate excess energy, but only at relatively low methyl viologen doses. Conclusions The presence of PPO activity in leaves did not correspond to a direct role for the enzyme in the regulation or protection of photosynthesis under cold stress. However, an indication that PPO could be involved in cellular protection against low-level oxidative stress requires further investigation

Reliability and validity of the Safe Routes to school parent and student surveys

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the U.S. National Center for Safe Routes to School's in-class student travel tallies and written parent surveys. Over 65,000 tallies and 374,000 parent surveys have been completed, but no published studies have examined their measurement properties. Methods Students and parents from two Charlotte, NC (USA) elementary schools participated. Tallies were conducted on two consecutive days using a hand-raising protocol; on day two students were also asked to recall the previous days' travel. The recall from day two was compared with day one to assess 24-hour test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing parent-reports of students' travel mode with student-reports of travel mode. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey was assessed by comparing within-parent responses. Reliability and validity were assessed using kappa statistics. Results A total of 542 students participated in the in-class student travel tally reliability assessment and 262 parent-student dyads participated in the validity assessment. Reliability was high for travel to and from school (kappa > 0.8); convergent validity was lower but still high (kappa > 0.75). There were no differences by student grade level. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey (n = 112) ranged from moderate to very high for objective questions on travel mode and travel times (kappa range: 0.62 - 0.97) but was substantially lower for subjective assessments of barriers to walking to school (kappa range: 0.31 - 0.76). Conclusions The student in-class student travel tally exhibited high reliability and validity at all elementary grades. The parent survey had high reliability on questions related to student travel mode, but lower reliability for attitudinal questions identifying barriers to walking to school. Parent survey design should be improved so that responses clearly indicate issues that influence parental decision making in regards to their children's mode of travel to school

Mount Gilead Campground

Prepared by the Fall 1990 Conservation of Historic Building Materials class. This Historic Structure Report contains Historical considerations and information about the Mt. Gilead Campground, physical description of the Arbor, Historical Overview of the site, Prospective Use Rationale and Recommendations for rehabilitation of existing structures, as well as, future property development. The purpose of this report is two-fold - provide a rehabilitation plan for existing structures and a future development plan to expand the use areas of the site.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_heritagepreservation/1018/thumbnail.jp