The U.S.-UK “Special Military Relationship”: Resetting the Partnership

The article of record as published may be found at https://doi.org/10.1080/01495933.2012.665722Although the “special relationship” between U.S. and British officials is a fixture of the international scene, recent events have raised concerns about the nature and strength of the partnership. This article explores the issues that animate the dialogue between Washington and London and describes insights gathered from a recent Anglo-American forum held in the United Kingdom. Both countries have shared interests in Afghanistan, Libya, and in the nuclear and intelligence fields more generally. Nevertheless, a chang- ing geopolitical setting, especially increasing U.S. preoccupation with China and the declining British defense budget, suggests that sustaining the special relationship will become more difficult

Hyper-arousal decreases human visual thresholds

Arousal has long been known to influence behavior and serves as an underlying component of cognition and consciousness. However, the consequences of hyper-arousal for visual perception remain unclear. The present study evaluates the impact of hyper-arousal on two aspects of visual sensitivity: visual stereoacuity and contrast thresholds. Sixty-eight participants participated in two experiments. Thirty-four participants were randomly divided into two groups in each experiment: Arousal Stimulation or Sham Control. The Arousal Stimulation group underwent a 50-second cold pressor stimulation (immersing the foot in 0–2° C water), a technique known to increase arousal. In contrast, the Sham Control group immersed their foot in room temperature water. Stereoacuity thresholds (Experiment 1) and contrast thresholds (Experiment 2) were measured before and after stimulation. The Arousal Stimulation groups demonstrated significantly lower stereoacuity and contrast thresholds following cold pressor stimulation, whereas the Sham Control groups showed no difference in thresholds. These results provide the first evidence that hyper-arousal from sensory stimulation can lower visual thresholds. Hyper-arousal\u27s ability to decrease visual thresholds has important implications for survival, sports, and everyday life

A Two Year Study of Potential Resistance in the Adult Western Corn Rootworm in South Dakota

The western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera Le Conte, and the northern corn rootworm Diabrotica longicornis Say, are major pests affecting corn in South Dakota. Jones (1968) considered the rootworm the number one corn pest in South Dakota and estimated that the rootworm caused fifty percent of all insect damage done to corn. Prior to 1961 the northern corn rootworm was the predominant species causing damage in South Dakota. The western corn rootworm is presently the predominant species (Nearman, 1968). Cultural and chemical control methods have been used to control corn rootworms in the past with varying degrees of success. Crop rotation, one of the first methods used (Forbes, 1915), has given some degree of control (Bigger, 1932). With the increase in land values in the late 1940s farming practices changed considerably. It became necessary to continuously place a high value crop such as corn on the best soil. Corn on corn then became the common practice. A rapid increase in corn rootworm populations coincided with these practices (Jessen, 1970). During this same period, following World War II, the feasibility of chemical control of corn rootworms was enhanced with the development of a new family of insecticides, the chlorinated hydrocarbons. From numerous tests in several states, aldrin and heptachlor became the recommended materials for corn rootworm control (Hill, Hixson and Muma, 1948), (Muma, Hill and Hixson, 1949), (Cox and Lilly, 1953), (Lilly, 1954), (Burkhardt, 1954), (Bigger and Blanchard, 1955), and (Apple, 1957). The economic damage to corn by the rootworms and the cost of control have been high. The estimated total loss to farmers in South Dakota in 1968 was seven million dollars (Jones, 1968). The estimated total loss in 1969 was also seven million dollars (P.A. Jones, personal communication). Although the loss attributed to rootworms has been high, the savings from use of recommended insecticides must be considered. In 1968, over 1,100,000 acres of corn were treated with rootworm insecticides. South Dakota farmers realized a savings of 800,000 bushels of corn above the cost of treatment. In 1969, an estimated 900,000 acres of corn were treated with corn rootworm insecticides. This treatment saved 1,500,000 bushels of corn above the cost of treatment (B.H. Kantack, personal communication). Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides were used extensively until the early 1960s, when failures of aldrin and heptachlor occurred (Weekman, 1961). Other groups of insecticides including organophosphates and carbamates were tested and subsequently recommended. Ball and Weekman (1962) tested and recommended two organophosphates, diazinon and phorate, for use of corn rootworms. With the subsequent use of large amounts of organophosphates the possibility of resistance comparable to that of the chlorinated hydrocarbons was anticipated. Ball (1968) reported a trend to resistance of corn rootworms to diazinon and phorate in Nebraska. The study reported in this thesis was initiated in the summer of 1969 as a test model for an annual monitoring system of most rootworm insecticides used in South Dakota. The primary objective was to determine the LD50’s of the recommended rootworm insecticides on western corn rootworm adults collected each year from several sites in the more intensive corn growing areas of the State. Comparison of the yearly LD50’s should disclose if a trend towards resistance exists. Only adults were used in this study since larvae were very difficult to collect from the field in any number and rearing techniques were time consuming and unsure. From tests which compared LD50’s on larvae and adults, it has been concluded that if the adults were resistant the larvae were also resistant (Hamilton, 1966), (Brazzel, 1970)

The fishes of ascension Island, central Atlantic Ocean - new records and an annotated checklist

A checklist of the fishes of Ascension Island is presented. The species Rhincodon typus, Alopias superciliosus, Isurus oxyrinchus, Carcharhinus obscurus, Galeocerdo cuvier, Sphyrna lewini, Hexanchus griseus, Manta birostris, Gymnothorax vicinus, Hippocampus sp., Epinephelus itajara, Cookeolus japonicus, Apogon pseudomaculatus, Phaeoptyx pigmentaria, Remora albescens, Caranx bartholomaei, Carangoides ruber, Decapterus tabl, Seriola dumerili, Thalassoma sanctaehelenae, Cryptotomus sp., Ruvettus pretiosus, Acanthocybium solandri, Auxis rochei, Auxis thazard, Euthynnus alletteratus, Katsuwonus pelamis, Thunnus alalunga, Thunnus obesus, Xiphias gladius, Istiophorus platypterus, Kajikia albida, Makaira nigricans, Tetrapturus pfluegeri, Hyperoglyphe perciformis, Schedophilus sp., Cantherhines macrocerus, Sphoeroides pachygaster and Diodon eydouxii are recorded for the first time from Ascension Island. We have recognized two previous records as identification errors and indicate 11 other records as doubtful. Including the 40 new records, we now list 173 fish species from Ascension Island, of which 133 might be considered 'coastal fish species'. Eleven of these (8.3%) appear to be endemic to the island and a further 16 species (12%) appear to be shared endemics with St Helena Island.Darwin Initiative [EIDCF012]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Combining SOA and BPM Technologies for Cross-System Process Automation

This paper summarizes the results of an industry case study that introduced a cross-system business process automation solution based on a combination of SOA and BPM standard technologies (i.e., BPMN, BPEL, WSDL). Besides discussing major weaknesses of the existing, custom-built, solution and comparing them against experiences with the developed prototype, the paper presents a course of action for transforming the current solution into the proposed solution. This includes a general approach, consisting of four distinct steps, as well as specific action items that are to be performed for every step. The discussion also covers language and tool support and challenges arising from the transformation

An Analysis of the Website Strategies of Top Fee-Generating U.S.-Based Public Relations Agencies

The current paper presents a content analysis of a group of 102 websites of major U.S.-based public relations agencies and a critique of how principles of dialogic communication have been applied to these websites. Our analysis revealed that the agency websites were very strong in the areas of usefulness of information and ease of interface, as might be expected. There was much wider variation in the areas of conservation of visitors and generation of return visitors. For example, only one website featured an explicit invitation to return, and none of the websites had a FAQ or Q&A page. Similarly, closing the dialogic loop was mixed, with many agencies allowing for comments to be left by visitors but with few comments or dialog. We discuss our findings in light of dialogic communication and where we suggest researchers might focus their efforts in the future. In particular, we suggest that an agency-client relationship may represent an example where dialogic communication is appropriate but where that communication style is not enacted via the agency’s website. We also highlight examples in which certain agencies use their websites to create dialog with clients and potential clients

MTHFD1 controls DNA methylation in Arabidopsis.

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that has important functions in transcriptional silencing and is associated with repressive histone methylation (H3K9me). To further investigate silencing mechanisms, we screened a mutagenized Arabidopsis thaliana population for expression of SDCpro-GFP, redundantly controlled by DNA methyltransferases DRM2 and CMT3. Here, we identify the hypomorphic mutant mthfd1-1, carrying a mutation (R175Q) in the cytoplasmic bifunctional methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase/methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase (MTHFD1). Decreased levels of oxidized tetrahydrofolates in mthfd1-1 and lethality of loss-of-function demonstrate the essential enzymatic role of MTHFD1 in Arabidopsis. Accumulation of homocysteine and S-adenosylhomocysteine, genome-wide DNA hypomethylation, loss of H3K9me and transposon derepression indicate that S-adenosylmethionine-dependent transmethylation is inhibited in mthfd1-1. Comparative analysis of DNA methylation revealed that the CMT3 and CMT2 pathways involving positive feedback with H3K9me are mostly affected. Our work highlights the sensitivity of epigenetic networks to one-carbon metabolism due to their common S-adenosylmethionine-dependent transmethylation and has implications for human MTHFD1-associated diseases

Primary open angle glaucoma due to T377M MYOC: Population mapping of a Greek founder mutation in Northwestern Greece

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the MYOC gene have been shown to explain 5% of unrelated primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in different populations. In particular, the T377M MYOC mutation has arisen at least three separate times in history, in Great Britain, India, and Greece. The purpose of this study is to investigate the distribution of the mutation among different population groups in the northwestern region of Greece. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We explored the distribution of the "Greek" T377M founder mutation in the Epirus region in Northwestern Greece, which could be its origin. Genotyping was performed in POAG cases and controls by PCR amplification of the MYOC gene, followed by digestion with restriction enzyme. Statistical analyses were performed by an exact test, the Kaplan-Meier method and the t-test. RESULTS: In the isolated Chrysovitsa village in the Pindus Mountains, a large POAG family demonstrated the T377M mutation in 20 of 66 family members while no controls from the Epirus region (n = 124) carried this mutation (P < 0.001). Among other POAG cases from Epirus, 2 out of 14 familial cases and 1 out of 80 sporadic cases showed the mutation (P = 0.057). The probability of POAG diagnosis with advancing age among mutation carriers was 23% at age 40, and reached 100% at age 75. POAG patients with the T377M mutation were diagnosed at a mean age of 51 years (SD +/- 13.9), which is younger than the sporadic or familial POAG cases: 63.1 (SD +/- 11) and 66.8 (SD +/- 9.8) years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The T377M mutation was found in high proportion in members of the Chrysovitsa family (30.3%), in lower proportion in familial POAG cases (14.2%) and seems rare in sporadic POAG cases (1.2%), while no controls (0%) from the Epirus region carried the mutation. Historical and geographical data may explain the distribution of this mutation within Greece and worldwide