SEROLOGIC SURVEY OF SELECTED PATHOGENS IN WHITE-TAILED AND MULE DEER IN WESTERN NEBRASKA

Exposure of free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in western Nebraska to selected livestock pathogens was determined by serology and attempted virus isolation. Antibodies to bluetongue virus, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus, and bovine respiratory syncytial virus were present in both species of deer. No serologic reactors to Brucella or Anaplasma were found. Attempts to isolate bluetongue virus were negative

Spread of Plague Among Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs Is Associated With Colony Spatial Characteristics

Sylvatic plague (Yersinia pestis) is an exotic pathogen that is highly virulent in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) and causes widespread colony losses and individual mortality rates \u3e95%. We investigated colony spatial characteristics that may influence inter-colony transmission of plague at 3 prairie dog colony complexes in the Great Plains. The 4 spatial characteristics we considered include: colony size, Euclidean distance to nearest neighboring colony, colony proximity index, and distance to nearest drainage (dispersal) corridor. We used multi-state mark–recapture models to determine the relationship between these colony characteristics and probability of plague transmission among prairie dog colonies. Annual mapping of colonies and mark–recapture analyses of disease dynamics in natural colonies led to 4 main results: 1) plague outbreaks exhibited high spatial and temporal variation, 2) the site of initiation of epizootic plague may have substantially influenced the subsequent inter-colony spread of plague, 3) the longterm effect of plague on individual colonies differed among sites because of how individuals and colonies were distributed, and 4) colony spatial characteristics were related to the probability of infection at all sites although the relative importance and direction of relationships varied among sites. Our findings suggest that conventional prairie dog conservation management strategies, including promoting large, highly connected colonies, may need to be altered in the presence of plague

Minimizing Unsatisfaction in Colourful Neighbourhoods

Colouring sparse graphs under various restrictions is a theoretical problem of significant practical relevance. Here we consider the problem of maximizing the number of different colours available at the nodes and their neighbourhoods, given a predetermined number of colours. In the analytical framework of a tree approximation, carried out at both zero and finite temperatures, solutions obtained by population dynamics give rise to estimates of the threshold connectivity for the incomplete to complete transition, which are consistent with those of existing algorithms. The nature of the transition as well as the validity of the tree approximation are investigated.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, substantially revised with additional explanatio

Multivariate explanation of the 1985–1990 and 1995–2000 destination choices of newly arrived immigrants in the United States: the beginning of a new trend?

This paper identifies the salient features in the 1985–1990 and 1995–2000 destination choices of newly arrived immigrants, and performs multivariate explanation of these choices, based on an application of a multinomial logit model to the state-specific immigration data of the 1990 and 2000 censuses. The salient features are that: (1) the destination choice pattern of the newly arrived immigrants became more dispersed from the late 1980s to the late 1990s; (2) the change was pervasive in the sense that it was true for all combinations of five broad ethnic groups and four levels of educational attainment; (3) the change was much greater for Hispanics and Blacks than for Asians and Whites; (4) the lower the level of education, the greater the increase in dispersion; and (5) the Hispanics with the lowest education experienced the greatest increase in dispersion. Our multivariate analysis reveals that: (1) while the attraction of co-ethnic communities as destinations remained strong for both periods, it became much less intense in the late 1990s, especially for Hispanics and Blacks; (2) the newly arrived immigrants were subject to the strong pull of higher income level in both periods; (3) the pull of employment growth became stronger and more industry-specific from the late 1980s to the late 1990s; and (4) the pull of service employment growth, especially for the least-educated Hispanic immigrants, became much stronger in the later period. In the context of the progressive entrenchment of neoliberalism and the major changes in immigration policies, our empirical findings suggest that the ethnically selective dispersal of immigrants in the late 1990s is probably the beginning of a new trend. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56164/1/459_ftp.pd

On the Role of Object Information in Action Observation: An fMRI Study

Observing other people’s actions activates a network of brain regions that is also activated during the execution of these actions. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to test whether these “mirror” regions in frontal and parietal cortices primarily encode the spatiomotor aspects or the functional goal-related aspects of observed tool actions. Participants viewed static depictions of actions consisting of a tool object (e.g., key) and a target object (e.g., keyhole). They judged the actions either with regard to whether the objects were oriented correctly for the action to succeed (spatiomotor task) or whether an action goal could be achieved with the objects (function task). Compared with a control condition, both tasks activated regions in left frontoparietal cortex previously implicated in action observation and execution. Of these regions, the premotor cortex and supramarginal gyrus were primarily activated during the spatiomotor task, whereas the middle frontal gyrus was primarily activated during the function task. Regions along the intraparietal sulcus were more strongly activated during the spatiomotor task but only when the spatiomotor properties of the tool object were unknown in advance. These results suggest a division of labor within the action observation network that maps onto a similar division previously proposed for action execution

Financial Capability and Asset Building: Achievements, Challenges, and Next Steps

In the midst of a global pandemic that brought untold numbers of families to a financial precipice, experts came together to examine the role of social work in ensuring financial security and equity for all. This conference report details the most recent of five Financial Capability and Asset Building (FCAB) conferences held since 2015. The two-part virtual conference, held in September 2020 and February 2021, convened leaders in the academy and in the field to discuss achievements, challenges, and next steps in FCAB

Parametric in vivo imaging of benzodiazepine receptor distribution in human brain

Emission computed tomographic methods for the in vivo quantification of radioligand-binding sites in human brain have previously been limited either by a lack of correction for possible effects of altered ligand transport or by highly complicated physiological models that preclude display of binding data in a detailed anatomical format. We investigated the application of a simplified compartmental model to the kinetic analysis of in vivo ligand binding to central benzodiazepine receptors. The human brain distribution of { 11 C}flumazenil, as determined by dynamic positron emission tomography, combined with metabolite-corrected arterial blood samples, permitted estimations of local cerebral ligand transport and of receptor binding. This approach allows calculation of transport and binding “maps” on a pixel-by-pixel basis, resulting in the display of binding data in a familiar tomographic format while maintaining much of the physiological accuracy inherent in more complex methods. The results obtained in a study of 6 normal volunteers revealed good interindividual precision, with coefficients of variation between 10 and 15% of mean regional values, suggesting the utility of this approach in future clinical studies of benzodiazepine receptor binding.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50347/1/410300506_ftp.pd