Evaluation of Potential Translocation Sites for an Imperiled Cyprinid, the Hornyhead Chub

Translocation of isolated species into suitable habitats may help to secure vulnerable, geographically limited species. Due to the decline of Wyoming Hornyhead Chub Nocomis biguttatus, conservation actions, such as the translocation of populations within the plausible historical range, are being considered to improve population redundancy and resiliency to disturbance events. Translocation of Wyoming Hornyhead Chub must be rigorously evaluated because a hatchery stock does not exist, so all fish used in translocations will come from the wild population. We present an approach to identify the best available translocation sites prior to translocation efforts taking place. We evaluated fish community composition and habitat conditions at 54 potential translocation sites for Hornyhead Chub within 12 streams of the North Platte River basin of Wyoming. We used two analyses to identify translocation sites that were most similar to currently occupied Hornyhead Chub sites on the Laramie River: hurdle models to predict hypothetical abundance of Hornyhead Chub at translocation sites and nonmetric multidimensional scaling with fish community and habitat conditions. Presence and abundance of Hornyhead Chub were positively related to a lack of nonnative predators and to habitat features characteristic of backwater and velocity refuge habitats (e.g., minimum water velocity and width-to-depth ratio). We used a rank scoring system to weight the outcomes of each analysis, and the highest-ranking translocation sites occurred at a historically occupied locality, the Sweetwater River. Our approach may be appropriate for other at-risk species with isolated distributions and little historical data

Study of high-speed angular-contact ball bearings under dynamic load

Research program studies behavior of specific high-speed, angular-contact ball bearings. Program is aimed at detailed investigation of ball-separator behavior and lubrication surface-finish effects in a specific gyro wheel

Connecting Libraries to Campus Communities Through Collaborative Displays

To elevate diverse voices and collections at Winthrop University, the Dacus Library Display Committee began collaborating with campus community partners to coordinate library displays with campus events. We found that collaborative displays had a higher rate of engagement, and encouraged additional partnerships throughout our campus community

Nature of yrast excitations near N=40: Level structure of Ni-67

Excited states in Ni-67 were populated in deep-inelastic reactions of a Ni-64 beam at 430 MeV on a thick U-238 target. A level scheme built on the previously known 13 micro-s isomer has been delineated up to an excitation energy of ~5.3 MeV and a tentative spin and parity of (21/2-). Shell model calculations have been carried out using two effective interactions in the f5/2pg9/2 model space with a Ni-56 core. Satisfactory agreement between experiment and theory is achieved for the measured transition energies and branching ratios. The calculations indicate that the yrast states are associated with rather complex configurations, herewith demonstrating the relative weakness of the N=40 subshell gap and the importance of multi particle-hole excitations involving the g9/2 neutron orbital.Comment: Accepted by Physical Review

Final report for the flow excursion follow-on testing

The purpose of the Mark 22 Flow Excursion Follow-On testing was to investigate the theory that approximately 15% of the flow bypassed the primary flow channels in previous testing, whereas the design called for only a 3% bypass. The results of the follow-on tests clearly confirmed this theory. The testing was performed in two phases. During the first phase, characterization tests performed during the earlier test program were repeated

Final report for the flow excursion follow-on testing

The purpose of the Mark 22 Flow Excursion Follow-On testing was to investigate the theory that approximately 15% of the flow bypassed the primary flow channels in previous testing, whereas the design called for only a 3% bypass. The results of the follow-on tests clearly confirmed this theory. The testing was performed in two phases. During the first phase, characterization tests performed during the earlier test program were repeated

Indiana Primary Health Care: Description, Distribution, Challenges, and Strategic Recommendation to Empowered Decision Making

Over the past few years, and in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the result of the 2012 Presidential election, access to health care services has been in the forefront of health care discussions. Driving these discussions are rising chronic disease rates, skyrocketing health care costs, and the ever increasing number of individuals falling into that black hole known as the “uninsured” -- all of which are major burdens on Indiana’s health system. Regardless of ones perspective on health reform, the links between primary health care access, health outcomes, and health care costs are undeniable [1-3]. People with access to primary health care services live longer, healthier lives, and the overall cost of their health care are less than those without access to these services. Ensuring a strong primary health care system across the State of Indiana is crucial to ensuring the health of Hoosiers and improving the efficiency of Indiana’s health system. However, before our current system can be strengthened, it must be understood. This begs the following questions: what is primary care?; why is it important?; who provides these services?; and where are they located? The development and implementation of health policies and primary health care programs that would secure Hoosier health relies on the ability of the State of Indiana to make informed decisions

Zinc inhibits TRPV1 to alleviate chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain

Zinc is a transition metal that has a long history of use as an anti-inflammatory agent. It also soothes pain sensations in a number of animal models. However, the effects and mechanisms of zinc on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy remain unknown. Here we show that locally injected zinc markedly reduces neuropathic pain in male and female mice induced by paclitaxel, a chemotherapy drug, in a TRPV1-dependent manner. Extracellularly applied zinc also inhibits the function of TRPV1 expressed in HEK293 cells and mouse DRG neurons, which requires the presence of zinc-permeable TRPA1 to mediate entry of zinc into the cytoplasm. Moreover, TRPA1 is required for zinc-induced inhibition of TRPV1-mediated acute nociception. Unexpectedly, zinc transporters, but not TRPA1, are required for zinc-induced inhibition of TRPV1-dependent chronic neuropathic pain produced by paclitaxel. Together, our study demonstrates a novel mechanism underlying the analgesic effect of zinc on paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain that relies on the function of TRPV1