Geology Programs and Disciplinary Accreditation

This report raises the question of whether accreditation may be coming to the geology discipline, and attempts to quantify the positions on accreditation of academic department heads/chairs. The study makes a distinction between institutional and specialized (or disciplinary) accreditation and explores attitudes toward both types. Results of the analysis are presented with a discussion of two methods of data interpretation, a multivariate analysis technique and the Chi square test for heterogeneity or independence. The report concludes that there is currently insufficient support for establishing disciplinary accreditation in geology. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Vulnerability, Coping and Policy (Editorial Introduction)

Through the new insights from their fieldwork and analysis, the contributors to this IDS Bulletin show how ignorant, and sometimes how wrong, we in the development professions have been. Through local study and individual cases, they also show how varied is that universe of vulnerability and poverty for which we seek simple explanations and single solutions. Most who read these articles will feel unease at the confidence with which in the past we have combined ignorance with error. They may speculate too on how wrong we continue to be. The lesson for the future is to enquire and question, doubting what we think we know, and learning from and with those who are vulnerable and poor, as contributors to this IDS Bulletin have done; and to do this, not once, not in one locality, and not for one group only, but again and again, in each place, and for each sort of person. For that is the surest path to better understanding, and to action that will better fit and serve the diversity of conditions and people and their changing priorities and needs

Geology and Habitats of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Geology, The University of AkronThis field trip to the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in northeast Ohio has been prepared in association with the National Association of Geology Teachers' (NAGT) symposium entitled Public Lands and the Teaching of Geology. Stops are in a logical sequence to examine the geologic section, glacial deposits, and the following habitats: slump, hemlock ravine, upland dry woods, floodplain, slope, old field and wetland. Activity by man is minimal; sites are accessible and protected from future development; and the sequence of stops follows ages of bedrock, oldest to youngest. In order to protect the sites, national park policy prohibits collection of samples

Retrospective Assessment of a Potential Cadmium Hazard

Author Institution: Department of Geology, The University of AkronIn 1968 an accidental discharge of cadmium plating solution caused a significant fish kill near Ravenna, Ohio. Water (130 samples) from West Branch Reservoir in 1971 and 1973 contained up to 0.055 mg/l cadmium, and fish (nine species, muscle tissue) contained up to 0.34 mg/kg. As a control, water and fish were sampled from Nimisila Reservoir. Cadmium was not detected in water (eight samples, 0.001 mg/l detection limit) and was detected in only one of eight species of fish (0.21 mg/kg)

Application of new genomic methods to the characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana photomorphogenesis

The ability of plants to not only detect but also adjust to their environment is crucial for their survival. The genes involved in photomorphogenesis â developmental changes in response to light â and their regulation have long been of interest to researchers. While the phytochrome and cryptochrome photoreceptors have been isolated and partially characterized, the downstream components of the light signaling pathway which transmit the perceived light signals and regulate gene expression are still being discovered. A negative regulator of photomorphogenesis, DET1 (de-etiolated 1), was discovered in a mutant screen for plants that develop a light grown phenotype in the dark. DET1 is nuclear localized, but its exact function remains unknown. Two contrasting mechanisms for the role of DET1 in the regulation of gene expression have been proposed based on studies of the tomato and human orthologs of DET1. In order to reveal the mechanism and molecular context of DET1 action, suppressor mutant screens were employed to discover additional genes acting in conjunction with DET1 (designated as TED genes). In this research, new genomic methods were developed and employed to identify the genes underlying the ted1-1SD and ted2-1D suppressor mutations. A long hypocotyl QTL and suppression of the det1-1 dark grown phenotype by the Bensheim (Be-0) ecotype of Arabidopsis mapped to the HAT4 gene, a homeoboxdomain leucine-zipper transcription factor involved in shade-avoidance responses. Sequence analysis uncovered two functionally distinct alleles of HAT4 in the Be-0 alleles of HAT4 compared to the genomic standard Columbia (Col-0) ecotype. Expression analysis showed that in addition to negative autoregulation by itself, HAT4 is also negatively regulated by DET1. The ted2-1D mutation was mapped to a 57 Kbp interval on chromosome I containing three likely candidate genes. Suppression of the det1-1 phenotype by ted2-1D is overdominant which is highly unusual and typically associated with hybrid vigor or heterosis traits. The discovery of the genes underlying the ted1-1SD and ted2-1D suppressor mutations have furthered the understanding of the role for DET1 in regulation of photomorphogenesis as well as mechanisms involved in overall gene regulation during light signaling

A Study of Metallic Eutectics

All of the metals have definite melting points. When a metal is heated above the melting point, it exists as a liquid. Now if the melt is allowed to cool, it will solidify when a temperature corresponding to the melting point is reached. However, if one metal is added to another metal, both of which are mutually soluble in the liquid state, a certain effect can be noted. The melt will not solid­ify when the melting point of the pure metal is reached, but will freeze at a lower temperature