A Neoselachian shark from the non-marine Wessex Formation (Wealden Group: early Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England

Bulk screening of Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation strata exposed on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, southern England, has resulted in the recovery of neoselachian shark teeth referred to the scyliorhinid Palaeoscyllium. These are the first neoselachian remains from the British Wealden Group and represent the geologically oldest neoselachian yet recovered from a freshwater deposit. This is also the only known example of a non-marine occurrence of a member of the Scyliorhinidae

Getting a start in dairying in Alaska

Dairying in Alaska probably will always be confined to areas where milk can reach city markets readily. The demand £or fresh milk, even at present prices, exceeds the supply. Probably the dairy farmer always will be able to produce milk in competition with fluid mlik shipped in from the States if he is a good manager and has high producing cows. A farmer with low producing cows can show a profit at present prices, but if the price of milk dropped two dollars or more per hundred, he would have a tough time making both ends meet. It is doubtful if other dairy products can be produced in Alaska to compete with stateside prices

Pterosaurs of the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England: a review with new data

Micropalaeontological processing of vertebrate-bearing horizons within the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England, reveals a rare, but diverse assemblage of pterosaurs. Besides the previously known euornithocheiran Caulkicephalus, the new material demonstrates the presence of three species of istiodactylid, a ctenochasmatid, and a distinct form that cannot easily be placed in a higher taxon. This elevated diversity is in keeping with pterosaur diversity from other Early Cretaceous localities, having some similarities with assemblages from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, China and Spain. The apparent absence of toothless forms in the Wessex Formation may represent a preservation bias or collecting artefact.El análisis micropaleontológico de los niveles estratigráficos ricos en vertebrados del Barremiense (Cretácico Inferior) de la Formacion Wessex en la Isla de Wight al sur de Inglaterra, demuestra la presencia de una escasa aunque diversa asociacion de pterosaurios. Ademas del conocido euornitoqueriaceo Caulkicephalus los nuevos hallazgos han revelado la presencia de tres especies pertenecientes a las familias Istiodactylidae, un taxon de Ctenochasmatidae, y un taxon singular de difícil atribucion a nivel taxonomico superior. Esta gran diversidad es coherente con la de otras localidades del Cretacico Inferior, y tiene algunas semejanzas con asociaciones del Cretacico Inferior de Brasil, China y Espana. La aparente ausencia de formas edentadas en la Formacion Wessex puede ser debida a un sesgo de conservacion o a un artefacto relacionado con la colecta de ejemplares

Sleep in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU): An Overlooked Opportunity for Occupational Therapists to Fill a Gap in Health Care Service

Sleep hygiene is well-established in the scope of occupational therapy practice; however, this occupation is rarely addressed in the intensive care unit (ICU). The majority of health care practitioners believe patients experience reduced sleep quality in the ICU, which can negatively impact patient outcomes. Through a review of the literature, this paper identifies common factors that negatively influence sleep quality and duration and proposes evidence-based interventions to improve patients’ sleep. Factors that influence sleep and fall in the domain of occupational therapy practice include the environment, psychosocial elements, and patient care. Occupational therapists can use interventions, such as orienting patients during the day, creating sleep-promoting routines, and educating patients on the use of adaptive equipment (earplugs, eye masks, or sound machines for relaxing music). Role confusion and a lack of prioritization of sleep have led to the occupation of rest and sleep not being addressed. This paper will suggest implications for the future of the profession that includes establishing leadership positions on a multidisciplinary team to improve patients’ sleep

Letter from A. C. Van Raalte to Christina de Moen Van Raalte

A letter of A. C. Van Raalte, to his wife, Christina de Moen Van Raalte, written in haste in a dark corner and while the disputation is going on, stating that Simon van Velzen was elected chairman and Hendrik P. Scholte, secretary. Van Raalte was depressed with the difficulties in the synod. V.R. hopes that little Albertus has recovered from his cold.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1830s/1065/thumbnail.jp

Annotation of gene function in citrus using gene expression information and co-expression networks

BACKGROUND: The genus Citrus encompasses major cultivated plants such as sweet orange, mandarin, lemon and grapefruit, among the world's most economically important fruit crops. With increasing volumes of transcriptomics data available for these species, Gene Co-expression Network (GCN) analysis is a viable option for predicting gene function at a genome-wide scale. GCN analysis is based on a "guilt-by-association" principle whereby genes encoding proteins involved in similar and/or related biological processes may exhibit similar expression patterns across diverse sets of experimental conditions. While bioinformatics resources such as GCN analysis are widely available for efficient gene function prediction in model plant species including Arabidopsis, soybean and rice, in citrus these tools are not yet developed. RESULTS: We have constructed a comprehensive GCN for citrus inferred from 297 publicly available Affymetrix Genechip Citrus Genome microarray datasets, providing gene co-expression relationships at a genome-wide scale (33,000 transcripts). The comprehensive citrus GCN consists of a global GCN (condition-independent) and four condition-dependent GCNs that survey the sweet orange species only, all citrus fruit tissues, all citrus leaf tissues, or stress-exposed plants. All of these GCNs are clustered using genome-wide, gene-centric (guide) and graph clustering algorithms for flexibility of gene function prediction. For each putative cluster, gene ontology (GO) enrichment and gene expression specificity analyses were performed to enhance gene function, expression and regulation pattern prediction. The guide-gene approach was used to infer novel roles of genes involved in disease susceptibility and vitamin C metabolism, and graph-clustering approaches were used to investigate isoprenoid/phenylpropanoid metabolism in citrus peel, and citric acid catabolism via the GABA shunt in citrus fruit. CONCLUSIONS: Integration of citrus gene co-expression networks, functional enrichment analysis and gene expression information provide opportunities to infer gene function in citrus. We present a publicly accessible tool, Network Inference for Citrus Co-Expression (NICCE, http://citrus.adelaide.edu.au/nicce/home.aspx), for the gene co-expression analysis in citrus.Darren CJ Wong, Crystal Sweetman and Christopher M For

Tracking the global distribution of persistent organic pollutants accounting for e-waste exports to developing regions

Elevated concentrations of various industrial-use Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have been reported in some developing areas in subtropical and tropical regions known to be destinations of e-waste. We used a recent inventory of the global generation and exports of e-waste to develop various global scale emission scenarios for industrial-use organic contaminants (IUOCs). For representative IUOCs (RIUOCs), only hypothetical emissions via passive volatilization from e-waste were considered whereas for PCBs, historical emissions throughout the chemical life-cycle (i.e., manufacturing, use, disposal) were included. The environmental transport and fate of RIUOCs and PCBs were then simulated using the BETR Global 2.0 model. Export of e-waste is expected to increase and sustain global emissions beyond the baseline scenario, which assumes no export. A comparison between model predictions and observations for PCBs in selected recipient regions generally suggests a better agreement when exports are accounted for. This study may be the first to integrate the global transport of IUOCs in waste with their long-range transport in air and water. The results call for integrated chemical management strategies on a global scale