Targeting Extension Programs to Opinion Leaders Guiding Genetic Modification Discussions

Despite communication efforts developed to educate the public about genetic modification (GM) science designed to ensure consumers are making educated purchasing decisions, most consumers do not seek out information about GM science and make emotional purchasing decisions. GM supporters and opponents can also be very vocal about their opinions, having an impact on those within their social realms of influence. Using opinion leadership theory, this study sought to identify GM opinion leaders within the U.S. who consider themselves to be outspoken and a source of information for GM science. An online survey was deployed with the purpose of identifying GM opinion leaders, determining their views on GM science, identifying where they go for information, and determining how they want to learn so that Extension professionals can better serve their needs. The findings imply GM science opinion leaders are younger, white or African American men, with a high average family household income, that are well educated. The GM science opinion leaders have a slightly negative attitude toward GM and want to learn about GM science from universities researching GM science and organizations in support of GM science through online mediums. Recommendations are offered for how Extension professionals can reach this audience

Seasonal Migration and Home Ranges of Female Elk in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming

Understanding the movement and dispersion patterns of elk (Cervus elaphus) on public lands and the underlying factors that affect each will facilitate elk management and help resolve conflicts between management that benefit elk and other uses of land resources. Consequently, there is a need to identify and examine the movement and dispersion patterns of elk in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. Our study quantified seasonal movements, determined home ranges of female elk in two areas of the Black Hills, and examined underlying factors associated with each. Elk in the northern area did not demonstrate seasonal migration patterns. Rather, winter ranges in the northern area were contained mostly within the boundaries of the summer range. Elk in the southern area exhibited a north-south migration pattern that coincided with seasonal patterns of snowfall. These elk migrated to winter range in late November and returned to summer range in late April. Home ranges of elk in the southern area were larger (P \u3c 0.01) than home ranges in the northern area. Landscape characteristics with marginally-significant correlations to elk home range area included road density (P = 0.10), and forage:cover ratio (P = 0.08); density of primary and secondary roads and average slope were significantly correlated with elk home range area (P \u3c 0.01). Managers can use this information to develop strategies that meet population goals and reduce conflicts between management for elk and with other resources

Performing heritage: the use of live 'actors' in heritage presentations

This paper investigates the phenomenon of 'living history' presentations of heritage, using live 'actors' to portray historical characters. Its aim is to discuss these presentations in the context of what may be understood as 'heritage', and of the nature of 'performance'. Four case studies of heritage sites, each important as a tourist attraction, have been selected for detailed study, together with a number of other examples of heritage performance. It is clear from the empirical work that different performance strategies are employed within the heritage industry and by individual 'actors'. Most of the performers take part as a leisure activity, and many do not consider themselves to be 'performing' at all. The greatest concern of participants lies in the degree of authenticity of the performance. Through 'living history', the 'actors' are drawn into an experience of heritage which has real meaning for them, and which may contribute both to a sense of identity and to an enhanced understanding of society, past and present. The popularity of such presentations with visitors also indicates that similar benefits are perceived by the 'audience'

Room temperature vacuum-deposition of CsPbI2Br perovskite films from multiple-sources and mixed halide precursors

Fully inorganic cesium lead halide perovskites, such as CsPbI2Br, show enhanced thermal stability compared to hybrid ones and are being widely investigated as wide bandgap absorbers for tandem applications. Despite their simple stoichiometry, the preparation of highly crystalline and stable cesium lead halide thin films is not trivial. In general, high-efficiency solar cells based on solution-processed CsPbI2Br thin films are prepared by hightemperature annealing or the use of chemical additives. In this work, we use solvent-free synthesis to investigate the formation of CsPbI2Br in bulk or in thin films via mechanochemical synthesis and multiple-source vacuum deposition, respectively. We demonstrate the importance of fostering halide alloying in the vacuum processing of inorganic lead halide perovskites, which can be attained either by using mixed halide precursors or by increasing the number of precursors (and hence deposition sources). These strategies lead to highly oriented perovskite films even at room temperature, with improved optoelectronic properties. We obtained promising power conversion efficiencies of 8.3% for solar cells employing asdeposited perovskites (without any annealing) and 10.0% for devices based on CsPbI2Br annealed at low temperatures (150 °C). This study allowed us to highlight the most promising processes and strategies to further optimize the material deposition as well as the solar cell architecture

The Antarctic Peninsula Under a 1.5 degrees C Global Warming Scenario

Warming of the Antarctic Peninsula in the latter half of the twentieth century was greater than any other terrestrial environment in the Southern Hemisphere, and clear cryospheric and biological consequences have been observed. Under a global 1.5°C scenario, warming in the Antarctic Peninsula is likely to increase the number of days above 0°C, with up to 130 of such days each year in the northern Peninsula. Ocean turbulence will increase, making the circumpolar deep water (CDW) both warmer and shallower, delivering heat to the sea surface and to coastal margins. Thinning and recession of marine margins of glaciers and ice caps is expected to accelerate to terrestrial limits, increasing iceberg production, after which glacier retreat may slow on land. Ice shelves will experience continued increase in meltwater production and consequent structural change, but not imminent regional collapses. Marine biota can respond in multiple ways to climatic changes, with effects complicated by past resource extraction activities. Southward distribution shifts have been observed in multiple taxa during the last century and these are likely to continue. Exposed (ice free) terrestrial areas will expand, providing new habitats for native and non-native organisms, but with a potential loss of genetic diversity. While native terrestrial biota are likely to benefit from modest warming, the greatest threat to native biodiversity is from non-native terrestrial species

The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: Evidence for radiative heating in Serpens MWC 297 and its influence on local star formation

We present SCUBA-2 450micron and 850micron observations of the Serpens MWC 297 region, part of the JCMT Gould Belt Survey of nearby star-forming regions. Simulations suggest that radiative feedback influences the star-formation process and we investigate observational evidence for this by constructing temperature maps. Maps are derived from the ratio of SCUBA-2 fluxes and a two component model of the JCMT beam for a fixed dust opacity spectral index of beta = 1.8. Within 40 of the B1.5Ve Herbig star MWC 297, the submillimetre fluxes are contaminated by free-free emission with a spectral index of 1.03+-0.02, consistent with an ultra-compact HII region and polar winds/jets. Contamination accounts for 73+-5 per cent and 82+-4 per cent of peak flux at 450micron and 850micron respectively. The residual thermal disk of the star is almost undetectable at these wavelengths. Young Stellar Objects are confirmed where SCUBA-2 850micron clumps identified by the fellwalker algorithm coincide with Spitzer Gould Belt Survey detections. We identify 23 objects and use Tbol to classify nine YSOs with masses 0.09 to 5.1 Msun. We find two Class 0, one Class 0/I, three Class I and three Class II sources. The mean temperature is 15+-2K for the nine YSOs and 32+-4K for the 14 starless clumps. We observe a starless clump with an abnormally high mean temperature of 46+-2K and conclude that it is radiatively heated by the star MWC 297. Jeans stability provides evidence that radiative heating by the star MWC 297 may be suppressing clump collapse.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 7 table

The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: A First Look at the Auriga–California Molecular Cloud with SCUBA-2

We present 850 and 450 μm observations of the dense regions within the Auriga–California molecular cloud using SCUBA-2 as part of the JCMT Gould Belt Legacy Survey to identify candidate protostellar objects, measure the masses of their circumstellar material (disk and envelope), and compare the star formation to that in the Orion A molecular cloud. We identify 59 candidate protostars based on the presence of compact submillimeter emission, complementing these observations with existing Herschel/SPIRE maps. Of our candidate protostars, 24 are associated with young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Spitzer and Herschel/PACS catalogs of 166 and 60 YSOs, respectively (177 unique), confirming their protostellar nature. The remaining 35 candidate protostars are in regions, particularly around LkHα 101, where the background cloud emission is too bright to verify or rule out the presence of the compact 70 μm emission that is expected for a protostellar source. We keep these candidate protostars in our sample but note that they may indeed be prestellar in nature. Our observations are sensitive to the high end of the mass distribution in Auriga–Cal. We find that the disparity between the richness of infrared star-forming objects in Orion A and the sparsity in Auriga–Cal extends to the submillimeter, suggesting that the relative star formation rates have not varied over the Class II lifetime and that Auriga–Cal will maintain a lower star formation efficiency

An anemia of Alzheimer\u27s disease

Lower hemoglobin is associated with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Since brain iron homeostasis is perturbed in AD, we investigated whether this is peripherally reflected in the hematological and related blood chemistry values from the Australian Imaging Biomarker and Lifestyle (AIBL) study (a community-based, cross-sectional cohort comprising 768 healthy controls (HC), 133 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 211 participants with AD). We found that individuals with AD had significantly lower hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentrations, packed cell volume and higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates (adjusted for age, gender, APOE-ε4 and site). In AD, plasma iron, transferrin, transferrin saturation and red cell folate levels exhibited a significant distortion of their customary relationship to hemoglobin levels. There was a strong association between anemia and AD (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=2.43, confidence interval (CI) (1.31, 4.54)). Moreover, AD emerged as a strong risk factor for anemia on step-down regression, even when controlling for all other available explanations for anemia (adjusted OR=3.41, 95% CI (1.68, 6.92)). These data indicated that AD is complicated by anemia, which may itself contribute to cognitive decline

Chemical data evaluation: General considerations and approaches for IUPAC projects and the chemistry community (IUPAC Technical Report)

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has a long tradition of supporting the compilation of chemical data and their evaluation through direct projects, nomenclature and terminology work, and partnerships with international scientific bodies, government agencies, and other organizations. The IUPAC Interdivisional Subcommittee on Critical Evaluation of Data has been established to provide guidance on issues related to the evaluation of chemical data. In this first report, we define the general principles of the evaluation of scientific data and describe best practices and approaches to data evaluation in chemistryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Molecular Biomarkers for the Evaluation of Colorectal Cancer: Guideline From the American Society for Clinical Pathology, College of American Pathologists, Association for Molecular Pathology, and American Society of Clinical Oncology

OBJECTIVES: - To develop evidence-based guideline recommendations through a systematic review of the literature to establish standard molecular biomarker testing of colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues to guide epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapies and conventional chemotherapy regimens. METHODS: - The American Society for Clinical Pathology, College of American Pathologists, Association for Molecular Pathology, and American Society of Clinical Oncology convened an expert panel to develop an evidence-based guideline to establish standard molecular biomarker testing and guide therapies for patients with CRC. A comprehensive literature search that included more than 4,000 articles was conducted. RESULTS: - Twenty-one guideline statements were established. CONCLUSIONS: - Evidence supports mutational testing for EGFR signaling pathway genes, since they provide clinically actionable information as negative predictors of benefit to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody therapies for targeted therapy of CRC. Mutations in several of the biomarkers have clear prognostic value. Laboratory approaches to operationalize CRC molecular testing are presented