PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN ALABAMA

Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Marketing of cottonseed feed products in Tennessee

This study is an analysis of the marketing practices and the marketing agencies of cottonseed feed products in Tennessee. It has four main objectives. The first objective is to determine the source of supply and the agencies marketing cottonseed feed products in this state; the second, to determine the importance of Tennessee as a market for these feeds and the competitive status of soybean and cottonseed meal; the third, to bring out some of the difficulties in marketing; aisd fourth, to show the purposes for which these products are used. It is not the purpose of this report to condemn or defend any of the marketing agencies, marketing practices, or any product, but to analyze the marketing situation in its present condition

Arkansas Cotton Variety Test 2004

The primary aim of the Arkansas Cotton Variety Test is to provide unbiased data regarding the agronomic performance of cotton varieties and advanced breeding lines in the major cotton-growing areas of Arkansas. This information helps seed dealers establish marketing strategies and assists producers in choosing varieties to plant

Cell arrest and cell death in mammalian preimplantation development

The causes, modes, biological role and prospective significance of cell death in preimplantation development in humans and other mammals are still poorly understood. Early bovine embryos represent a very attractive experimental model for the investigation of this fundamental and important issue. To obtain reference data on the temporal and spatial occurrence of cell death in early bovine embryogenesis, three-dimensionally preserved embryos of different ages and stages of development up to hatched blastocysts were examined in toto by confocal laser scanning microscopy. In parallel, transcript abundance profiles for selected apoptosis-related genes were analyzed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Our study documents that in vitro as well as in vivo, the first four cleavage cycles are prone to a high failure rate including different types of permanent cell cycle arrest and subsequent non-apoptotic blastomere death. In vitro produced and in vivo derived blastocysts showed a significant incidence of cell death in the inner cell mass (ICM), but only in part with morphological features of apoptosis. Importantly, transcripts for CASP3, CASP9, CASP8 and FAS/FASLG were not detectable or found at very low abundances. In vitro and in vivo, errors and failures of the first and the next three cleavage divisions frequently cause immediate embryo death or lead to aberrant subsequent development, and are the main source of developmental heterogeneity. A substantial occurrence of cell death in the ICM even in fast developing blastocysts strongly suggests a regular developmentally controlled elimination of cells, while the nature and mechanisms of ICM cell death are unclear. Morphological findings as well as transcript levels measured for important apoptosis-related genes are in conflict with the view that classical caspase-mediated apoptosis is the major cause of cell death in early bovine development

Detection of p-mode Oscillations in HD 35833 with NEID and TESS

We report the results of observations of p-mode oscillations in the G0 subgiant star HD 35833 in both radial velocities and photometry with NEID and TESS, respectively. We achieve separate, robust detections of the oscillation signal with both instruments (radial velocity amplitude $A_{\rm RV}=1.11\pm0.09$ m s$^{-1}$, photometric amplitude $A_{\rm phot}=6.42\pm0.60$ ppm, frequency of maximum power $\nu_{\rm max} = 595.71\pm17.28$ $\mu$Hz, and mode spacing $\Delta \nu = 36.65\pm0.96$ $\mu$Hz) as well as a non-detection in a TESS sector concurrent with the NEID observations. These data shed light on our ability to mitigate the correlated noise impact of oscillations with radial velocities alone, and on the robustness of commonly used asteroseismic scaling relations. The NEID data are used to validate models for the attenuation of oscillation signals for exposure times $t<\nu_{\rm max}^{-1}$, and we compare our results to predictions from theoretical scaling relations and find that the observed amplitudes are weaker than expected by $>4\sigma$, hinting at gaps in the underlying physical models.Comment: 19 Pages, 14 Figures, Appendi

High Glucose Suppresses Human Islet Insulin Biosynthesis by Inducing miR-133a Leading to Decreased Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein-Expression

BACKGROUND: Prolonged periods of high glucose exposure results in human islet dysfunction in vitro. The underlying mechanisms behind this effect of high glucose are, however, unknown. The polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) is required for stabilization of insulin mRNA and the PTB mRNA 3'-UTR contains binding sites for the microRNA molecules miR-133a, miR-124a and miR-146. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate whether high glucose increased the levels of these three miRNAs in association with lower PTB levels and lower insulin biosynthesis rates. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Human islets were cultured for 24 hours in the presence of low (5.6 mM) or high glucose (20 mM). Islets were also exposed to sodium palmitate or the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and IFN-gamma, since saturated free fatty acids and cytokines also cause islet dysfunction. RNA was then isolated for real-time RT-PCR analysis of miR-133a, miR-124a, miR-146, insulin mRNA and PTB mRNA contents. Insulin biosynthesis rates were determined by radioactive labeling and immunoprecipitation. Synthetic miR-133a precursor and inhibitor were delivered to dispersed islet cells by lipofection, and PTB was analyzed by immunoblotting following culture at low or high glucose. Culture in high glucose resulted in increased islet contents of miR-133a and reduced contents of miR-146. Cytokines increased the contents of miR-146. The insulin and PTB mRNA contents were unaffected by high glucose. However, both PTB protein levels and insulin biosynthesis rates were decreased in response to high glucose. The miR-133a inhibitor prevented the high glucose-induced decrease in PTB and insulin biosynthesis, and the miR-133a precursor decreased PTB levels and insulin biosynthesis similarly to high glucose. CONCLUSION: Prolonged high-glucose exposure down-regulates PTB levels and insulin biosynthesis rates in human islets by increasing miR-133a levels. We propose that this mechanism contributes to hyperglycemia-induced beta-cell dysfunction

Development time and new product sales: A contingency analysis of product innovativeness and price

Opposing theories and conflicting empirical results with regard to the effect of development time on new product sales suggest the need for a contingency analysis into factors affecting this relationship. This study uses a unique combination of accounting and perceptual data from 129 product development projects to test the combined contingency effect of product innovativeness and new product price on the relationship between development time and new product sales. The results show that for radically new products with short development times, price has no effect on new product sales. When the development time is long, price has a negative effect on the sales of radical new products. The findings additionally show that price has no effect on sales for incremental new products with short development times and a negative effect for incremental new products with long development times. Together, these findings shed new light on the relationship between development time and new product sales

TOI-2015b: A Warm Neptune with Transit Timing Variations Orbiting an Active mid M Dwarf

We report the discovery of a close-in ($P_{\mathrm{orb}} = 3.349\:\mathrm{days}$) warm Neptune with clear transit timing variations (TTVs) orbiting the nearby ($d=47.3\:\mathrm{pc}$) active M4 star, TOI-2015. We characterize the planet's properties using TESS photometry, precise near-infrared radial velocities (RV) with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HP) Spectrograph, ground-based photometry, and high-contrast imaging. A joint photometry and RV fit yields a radius $R_p~=~3.37_{-0.20}^{+0.15} \:\mathrm{R_\oplus}$, mass $m_p~=~16.4_{-4.1}^{+4.1}\:\mathrm{M_\oplus}$, and density $\rho_p~=~2.32_{-0.37}^{+0.38} \:\mathrm{g cm^{-3}}$ for TOI-2015b, suggesting a likely volatile-rich planet. The young, active host star has a rotation period of $P_{\mathrm{rot}}~=~8.7 \pm~0.9~\mathrm{days}$ and associated rotation-based age estimate of $1.1~\pm~0.1\:\mathrm{Gyr}$. Though no other transiting planets are seen in the TESS data, the system shows clear TTVs of super period $P_{\mathrm{sup}}~\approx~430\:\mathrm{days}$ and amplitude $\sim$$100\:\mathrm{minutes}$. After considering multiple likely period ratio models, we show an outer planet candidate near a 2:1 resonance can explain the observed TTVs while offering a dynamically stable solution. However, other possible two-planet solutions -- including 3:2 and 4:3 resonance -- cannot be conclusively excluded without further observations. Assuming a 2:1 resonance in the joint TTV-RV modeling suggests a mass of $m_b~=~13.3_{-4.5}^{+4.7}\:\mathrm{M_\oplus}$ for TOI-2015b and $m_c~=~6.8_{-2.3}^{+3.5}\:\mathrm{M_\oplus}$ for the outer candidate. Additional transit and RV observations will be beneficial to explicitly identify the resonance and further characterize the properties of the system.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures, 6 tables. As submitted to AAS Journal