A Case Study of Health Risk Communication: What the Public Wants and What It Gets

Dr. Trauth presents a content analysis of 40 years of coverage of a major local source of air pollution by a Pittsburgh newspaper. She also summarizes the results of a survey conducted to determine the extent to which citizens of most likely affected communities, e.g., understand health risks and desire further information

Germinal Epithelium Cytology during Spermatogenesis in the Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii (Reptilia: Chelydridae)

We investigated the cytology of the seminiferous epithelia of the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). Spermatogenic and regressed testes were assessed from 2 adult individuals collected in Arkansas in May and September of 1993. Specifically, we focused on the cellular phases of germ cell development and maturation. The germ cell morphology and developmental strategy within the germinal epithelium of M. temminckii appear similar to that of other genera of turtles previously studied. Interestingly, mitotic, meiotic, and spermiogeneic cells are nearly identical to that of other turtles studied based on light microscopy. There are also 6 recognizable steps to spermiogenesis, which is slightly different than the 7 steps of most turtles (step 7 absent). Though this study only uses 2 individuals (because of its endangered status), M. temminckii appears to start spermatogenesis in the spring, and the climax of spermiogenesis occurs in the fall similar to that of other temperate turtles studied to date based on light microscopy. Peculiar to both turtles in this study were the regular appearance of very large germ cells in the basal compartment of the germinal epithelium. Based on previous research and our histological analysis these enlarged spermatogonia exhibit hypertrophic characteristics typical of cells undergoing apoptosis

Comparing modern and Pleistocene ENSO-like influences in NW Argentina using nonlinear time series analysis methods

Higher variability in rainfall and river discharge could be of major importance in landslide generation in the north-western Argentine Andes. Annual layered (varved) deposits of a landslide dammed lake in the Santa Maria Basin (26 deg S, 66 deg W) with an age of 30,000 14C years provide an archive of precipitation variability during this time. The comparison of these data with present-day rainfall observations tests the hypothesis that increased rainfall variability played a major role in landslide generation. A potential cause of such variability is the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The causal link between ENSO and local rainfall is quantified by using a new method of nonlinear data analysis, the quantitative analysis of cross recurrence plots (CRP). This method seeks similarities in the dynamics of two different processes, such as an ocean-atmosphere oscillation and local rainfall. Our analysis reveals significant similarities in the statistics of both modern and palaeo-precipitation data. The similarities in the data suggest that an ENSO-like influence on local rainfall was present at around 30,000 14C years ago. Increased rainfall, which was inferred from a lake balance modeling in a previous study, together with ENSO-like cyclicities could help to explain the clustering of landslides at around 30,000 14C years ago.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Knowledge Transfer Challenges for Universities and SMEs in the USA

Accompanying the global redistribution of commodity production to low wage countries, comes the need for companies to enhance innovation in order to remain competitive. Therefore, in order to better understand the barriers to leveraging research universities for revitalizing legacy industrial regions, field interviews were conducted with researchers at a Midwestern public university and its industry partners. The goal was to identify and better understand knowledge exchange barriers and facilitators. The constructs from Social Exchange Theory (reciprocity, cohesion, balance and power) guided the investigation of issues surrounding workplace collaboration and knowledge sharing across these organizations. The results of this investigation show that an important factor for productive exchange relationships is both maintenance and the awareness of mutual and balanced dependency (i.e. cohesion) between exchange partners. This can be facilitated by maintaining open communication channels that reinforce a perception of reciprocity and minimize perceptions of power and dominance among exchange partners

Seasonal Activity of the Ozark Highlands Leech, Macrobdella diplotertia, (Annelida: Hirudinea) in North-central Arkansas

The Ozark Highlands Leech, Macrobdella diplotertia, occurs intermittently throughout Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. Limited natural history of this species is known. Herein, we report a new county occurrence for this leech from a cattle pond in southern Marion County, Arkansas. We also report on the seasonal activity and novel hosts of this species. We surveyed the inhabited pond monthly to determine activity and collected natural history data on this species. This study indicated that this species appears to be most active in spring, summer, and early fall, but inactive during the winter. We also documented five new anuran hosts for this species. The Central Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, was also present in this pond, which further supports a mimetic relationship previously proposed between these two animals

Seasonal Activity of the Ozark Highlands Leech, Macrobdella diplotertia, (Annelida: Hirudinea) in North-central Arkansas

The Ozark Highlands Leech, Macrobdella diplotertia, occurs intermittently throughout Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. Limited natural history of this species is known. Herein, we report a new county occurrence for this leech from a cattle pond in southern Marion County, Arkansas. We also report on the seasonal activity and novel hosts of this species. We surveyed the inhabited pond monthly to determine activity and collected natural history data on this species. This study indicated that this species appears to be most active in spring, summer, and early fall, but inactive during the winter. We also documented five new anuran hosts for this species. The Central Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, was also present in this pond, which further supports a mimetic relationship previously proposed between these two animals

IDENTITY AND CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT IN GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WORK

An interpretive case study was conducted to examine how team members construct their identities and manage cultural differences in globally distributed information technology work. Research investigating globally distributed information technology work acknowledges the influence of culture on team members and their work activities, but issues of team members’ individual identity and agency are under explored. Guided by social identity theory, our research findings suggest four identity categories constructed by global virtual team members, which are affected by societal culture, organizational culture, individual experience, and structure of the globally distributed IT work. They are: national identity, organizational identity, individual identity, and power identity. Manifestation of each identity is discussed along with how the enactment of these identities affects the ways in which global virtual team members manage cultural differences

Genome-wide linkage analyses identify Hfhl1 and Hfhl3 with frequency-specific effects on the hearing spectrum of NIH Swiss mice

BACKGROUND: The mammalian cochlea receives and analyzes sound at specific places along the cochlea coil, commonly referred to as the tonotopic map. Although much is known about the cell-level molecular defects responsible for severe hearing loss, the genetics responsible for less severe and frequency-specific hearing loss remains unclear. We recently identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) Hfhl1 and Hfhl2 that affect high-frequency hearing loss in NIH Swiss mice. Here we used 2f1-f2 distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) measurements to refine the hearing loss phenotype. We crossed the high frequency hearing loss (HFHL) line of NIH Swiss mice to three different inbred strains and performed linkage analysis on the DPOAE data obtained from the second-generation populations. RESULTS: We identified a QTL of moderate effect on chromosome 7 that affected 2f1-f2 emissions intensities (Hfhl1), confirming the results of our previous study that used auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds to identify QTLs affecting HFHL. We also identified a novel significant QTL on chromosome 9 (Hfhl3) with moderate effects on 2f1-f2 emissions intensities. By partitioning the DPOAE data into frequency subsets, we determined that Hfhl1 and Hfhl3 affect hearing primarily at frequencies above 24 kHz and 35 kHz, respectively. Furthermore, we uncovered additional QTLs with small effects on isolated portions of the DPOAE spectrum. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies QTLs with effects that are isolated to limited portions of the frequency map. Our results support the hypothesis that frequency-specific hearing loss results from variation in gene activity along the cochlear partition and suggest a strategy for creating a map of cochlear genes that influence differences in hearing sensitivity and/or vulnerability in restricted portions of the cochlea

Ecology of the Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella) in Southern Arkansas

We conducted an ecological study of the Squirrel Treefrog, Hyla squirella near El Dorado, Union Co., Arkansas from May-Oct. 2013. We extended the known distribution by ~2 km and documented the first breeding occurring on 28 May and the first transformation of juveniles on 27 Aug. Three endoparasites were documented: Opalina sp., Nyctotherus cordiformis, and Physaloptera sp. larvae. We also provide information on endoparasites of Florida H. squirella as well as a summary of helminths of this frog

Revisiting Career Path Assumptions: The Case of Woment in the IT Workforce

Many researchers have argued that additional systematic analysis of the information technology (IT) workforce is necessary in order to more deeply understand organizational human behavior as it relates to career anchors or values and motivations that attract an individual to a particular career. For these reasons the purpose of this paper is to examine the career anchors of women in the American IT workforce and their relationships to occupational decisions. The data for this examination comes from interpretive interviews conducted with 92 women and a quantitative survey conducted with an additional 210 women. The results of our analyses give cause for challenging some longstanding assumptions about career anchors that exist in the literature. This research also makes a theoretical contribution through its extension of an emergent theory about within-gender variation to the context of career anchor variations among women in the IT field