Extending Invitations, Becoming Messmates

As music educators we can model proactive advocacy among community members to prevent individuals\u27 reactive violence in response to intolerance for differences. We can offer music-learning tables as safe spaces in which community members openly and collaboratively learn to know each other as individuals with diverse identities and interests. As messmates around the table, we can identify ways that researching, questioning, and being musical together can eradicate fears and the damaging effects of homophobia

High-frequency carbonate-siliciclastic cycles in the Miocene of the Lorca Basin (Western Mediterranean, SE Spain)

The upper Miocene Parilla Formation, Lorca Basin, Spain, provides an example of stacked high-frequency cycles of mixed carbonates and siliciclastics. Cycles developed on a steep carbonate ramp bordering an alluvialfan system. Three cycle variants are distinguished: siliciclastic-dominated cycles at the proximal part of the ramp, mid-ramp mixed carbonate - siliciclastic cycles, and carbonate-dominated cycles on the more distal parts of the ramp. The vertical thickness of these stacked simple sequences ranges from 0.7 up to 8 m. High-frequency changes in relative sea level resulted in a dynamic interplay between terrigenous sediment supply and carbonate production rates. During falling stage and lowstands, the alluvial system migrated basinwards and coarse-grained siliciclastics were deposited, whereas rising sea level and highstands provided optimal conditions for the production and accumulation of biogenic carbonates. Coral colonies up to 4 m thick provide a minimum measure of the magnitude of sea-level change involved in the development of the cycles. In contrast to previously documented simple carbonate sequences, this hybrid system of carbonates and siliciclastics preserves a more complete record of cyclic sea-level change, where terrigenous sediment supply compensated for the reduction in carbonate production during periods of falling and low sea level

Reducing Stigma toward the Transgender Community: An Evaluation of a Humanizing and Perspective-Taking Intervention

Transgender (TG) individuals are an understudied group at high risk of experiencing discrimination and associated adverse mental health outcomes (IOM, 2011). Although many studies demonstrate that contact reduces negative attitudes toward out-groups, few studies have examined the link between contact and attitudes toward the TG community (Hill & Willoughby, 2005; Walchet al., 2012). This study represents one of the first attempts to understand how to effectively reduce stigma toward the TG community. Results indicate that education alone is not enough to change attitudes; in fact, there is some evidence that associating transgenderism with psychopathology may heighten stigma. Consistent with prior research on stigma towards the mentally ill, the current study suggests that both exposure to intimate media depictions of the “other” (Reinke et al., 2004) and perspective-taking (Mann & Himelein, 2008) could strengthen educational campaigns designed to combat stigma

A piloted simulator study on augmentation systems to improve helicopter flying qualities in terrain flight

Four basic single-rotor helicopters, one teetering, on articulated, and two hingeless, which were found to have a variety of major deficiencies in a previous fixed-based simulator study, were selected as baseline configurations. The stability and control augmentation systems (SCAS) include simple control augmentation systems to decouple pitch and yaw responses due to collective input and to quicken the pitch and roll control responses; SCAS of rate-command type designed to optimize the sensitivity and damping and to decouple the pitch-roll due to aircraft angular tate; and attitude-command type SCAS. Pilot ratings and commentary are presented as well as performance data related to the task. SCAS control usages and their gain levels associated with specific rotor types are also discussed

Learning organisations: A literature review and critique

Approved for Public Release - UnclassifiedA literature review on the Learning Organisation field was conducted, examining the dominant assumptions and creating a solid foundation for the practical application of the learning organisation concept to the Australian Army. In order to examine the literature's dominant assumptions, we asked the following questions: (i) What are the various meanings attributed to learning organisations?; (ii) What sorts of learnings are privileged within the literature?; (iii) What are the key characteristics or "building blocks" that make up a learning organisation? We discovered that the learning organisation construct represents an evolution from bureaucratic and performance-based organisational form to innovative and flexible organisations. In surveying the literature, other factors found to impact on learning organisations included cognitive, social, cultural, technological and structural elements. For example, learning organisations apply increasingly sophisticated understanding of knowledge and personnel management to best exploit their social, intellectual and knowledge capital. In contrast, some factors are not adequately explored in the literature; for example, the significance of power relations, hierarchy and authority on learning within and by organisations has not been fully elucidated. There is an increasing number of studies investigating the direct impact of developing a learner-centric approach on organisational outcomes; the number of studies linking learning to improved organisational performance is growing. There are real, significant and measureable benefits of developing the learning capabilities of an organisation.Steven Talbot, Christina Stothard, Maya Drobnjak and Denise McDowal

Evaluation of Dynamic Cell Processes and Behavior Using Video Bioinformatics Tools

Just as body language can reveal a person’s state of well-being, dynamic changes in cell behavior and morphology can be used to monitor processes in cultured cells. This chapter discusses how CL-Quant software, a commercially available video bioinformatics tool, can be used to extract quantitative data on: (1) growth/proliferation, (2) cell and colony migration, (3) reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and (4) neural differentiation. Protocols created using CL-Quant were used to analyze both single cells and colonies. Time-lapse experiments in which different cell types were subjected to various chemical exposures were done using Nikon BioStations. Proliferation rate was measured in human embryonic stem cell colonies by quantifying colony area (pixels) and in single cells by measuring confluency (pixels). Colony and single cell migration were studied by measuring total displacement (distance between the starting and ending points) and total distance traveled by the colonies/cells. To quantify ROS production, cells were pre-loaded with MitoSOX Red™, a mitochondrial ROS (superoxide) indicator, treated with various chemicals, then total intensity of the red fluorescence was measured in each frame. Lastly, neural stem cells were incubated in differentiation medium for 12 days, and time lapse images were collected daily. Differentiation of neural stem cells was quantified using a protocol that detects young neurons. CLQuant software can be used to evaluate biological processes in living cells, and the protocols developed in this project can be applied to basic research and toxicological studies, or to monitor quality control in culture facilities

Oceanic influence on atmospheric mercury at coastal and inland sites: a springtime noreaster in New England

Continuous measurements of elemental (Hg<sup>0</sup>) and reactive mercury were conducted at two sites in New Hampshire during a powerful April 2007 noreaster. During the most intense period of the storm, enhancements of ~30–50 ppqv in Hg<sup>0</sup> were observed at a coastal and a high elevation inland site. This enhancement occurred simultaneously with elevated mixing ratios of three marine tracers, CH<sub>3</sub>I, CH<sub>2</sub>Br<sub>2</sub> and CHBr<sub>3</sub>. These observations suggest a marine source of Hg<sup>0</sup>, possibly outgassing from the ocean surface during strong turbulence. The Hg<sup>0</sup> enhancement observed 100 km inland suggests that the impact of coastal storms on terrestrial Hg cycling may not be limited to near-shore environments. Combining Hg<sup>0</sup> and marine tracer measurements during the storm with estimates of oceanic tracer fluxes during previous strong storms yields an order-of-magnitude estimate of the oceanic source of Hg<sup>0</sup> during the storm (~7 ppqv h<sup>−1</sup>) which can account for the observed enhancement at the field sites

A comparison of GC-FID and PTR-MS toluene measurements in ambient air under conditions of enhanced monoterpene loading

Toluene was measured using both a gas chromatographic system (GC), with a flame ionization detector (FID), and a proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) at the AIRMAP atmospheric monitoring station Thompson Farm (THF) in rural Durham, NH during the summer of 2004. Simultaneous measurements of monoterpenes, including alpha- and beta-pinene, camphene, Delta(3)-carene, and d-limonene, by GC-FID demonstrated large enhancements in monoterpene mixing ratios relative to toluene, with median and maximum enhancement ratios of similar to 2 and similar to 30, respectively. A detailed comparison between the GC-FID and PTR-MS toluene measurements was conducted to test the specificity of PTR-MS for atmospheric toluene measurements under conditions often dominated by biogenic emissions. We derived quantitative estimates of potential interferences in the PTR-MS toluene measurements related to sampling and analysis of monoterpenes, including fragmentation of the monoterpenes and some of their primary carbonyl oxidation products via reactions with H(3)O(+), O(2)(+) and NO(+) in the PTR-MS drift tube. The PTR-MS and GC-FID toluene measurements were in good quantitative agreement and the two systems tracked one another well from the instrumental limits of detection to maximum mixing ratios of similar to 0.5 ppbv. A correlation plot of the PTR-MS versus GC-FID toluene measurements was described by the least squares regression equation y=(1.13 +/- 0.02)x-(0.008 +/- 0.003) ppbv, suggesting a small similar to 13% positive bias in the PTR-MS measurements. The bias corresponded with a similar to 0.055 ppbv difference at the highest measured toluene level. The two systems agreed quantitatively within the combined 1 sigma measurement precisions for 60% of the measurements. Discrepancies in the measured mixing ratios were not well correlated with enhancements in the monoterpenes. Better quantitative agreement between the two systems was obtained by correcting the PTR-MS measurements for contributions from monoterpene fragmentation in the PTR-MS drift tube; however, the improvement was minor (\u3c10%). Interferences in the PTRMS measurements from fragmentation of the monoterpene oxidation products pinonaldehyde, caronaldehyde and alpha-pinene oxide were also likely negligible. A relatively large and variable toluene background in the PTR-MS instrument likely drove the measurement bias; however, the precise contribution was difficult to accurately quantify and thus was not corrected for in this analysis. The results from THF suggest that toluene can be reliably quantified by PTR-MS using our operating conditions (drift tube pressure, temperature and voltage of 2.0 mbar, 45 degrees C and 600V, respectively) under the ambient compositions probed. This work extends the range of field conditions under which PTR-MS validation studies have been conducted

Maximal quantum yield of photosynthesis in the northwestern Sargasso Sea

The magnitude and variability of the maximal quantum yield of photosynthesis were examined in the northwestern Sargasso Sea in April 1985. Maximal quantum yield was calculated from light-limited photosynthetic rates and spectrally-weighted absorption coefficients. The absorption by total particulates collected on a glass fiber filter was partitioned into two components, one associated with living phytoplankton and one associated with other absorbing particles. Two types of maximal quantum yield were calculated: one from the absorption by total particulates and one from the absorption by the phytoplanktonic component alone. Maximal quantum yield calculated from absorption by total particulates was low [0.014 to 0.071 mol C (mol photons)–1] and decreased as the proportion of absorption due to the non phytoplanktonic particles increased. The phytoplanktonic maximal quantum yield was higher [0.033 to 0.102 mol C (mol photons)–1] and varied by a factor of two over a period of two weeks during and following a spring bloom. Use of the phytoplanktonic component of absorption to calculate maximal quantum yield allowed analysis of changes in maximal quantum yield as a function of changes in phytoplankton physiology rather than changes in the amount of absorption by particulate detritus. The pattern of variation in quantum yield was related to nitrogen flux; these data suggest that maximal quantum yield can be predicted from environmental conditions on a regional or seasonal basis

Evaluation of the significance of polyamines and their oxidases in the aetiology of human cervical carcinoma.

The risk of cancer of the cervix is linked with sexual behaviour. Although infectious agents such as human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are implicated, these alone may be insufficient to induce the disease. We have investigated the potential role of oxidation products of the polyamines spermine and spermidine and the diamine putrescine in seminal plasma (SP) as co-factors in the development of cervical cancer. These amines are oxidised by polyamine oxidase (PAO) and diamine oxidase (DAO) to generate oxygen radicals and hydrogen peroxide, reactive aldehydes and acrolein, which are likely to exert local mutagenic, cytotoxic and immunosuppressive effects in vivo. Using a chemiluminescence assay, we determined the levels of these amines in 187 samples of SP. Spermine plus spermidine, as substrates for PAO, were present in a range equivalent to 0-4.8 mg ml-1 spermine. Putrescine, as a substrate for DAO, was detectable in only 4 of 40 samples assayed (range 0-168 micrograms ml-1) and constitutes a minor component of the oxidisable content of SP. Cervical mucus (126 samples) was assayed for the presence of PAO and DAO. Both enzymes were present in 14.3% of the samples, PAO only in 21.4%, DAO only in 15.1% and neither enzyme in 49.2%. PAO levels ranged from 0 to 0.828 pmol peroxide generated min-1 mg-1 mucus and DAO levels ranged from 0 to 7.0 pmol peroxide generated min-1 mg-1 mucus. These results suggest that sexual activity in the absence of physical barrier contraception may lead to the generation of mutagenic and immunosuppressive polyamine oxidation products within the female genital tract. We thus propose that women with high levels of PAO and/or DAO in their cervical mucus may be at increased risk of cervical cancer, especially if the male partner's SP shows high polyamine levels. HPV infection may synergise with the effects of polyamine oxidation by suppressing apoptosis in keratinocytes carrying potentially oncogenic mutations, leading to the survival and proliferation of transformed cells in the cervix