Whitewash Morally Considered by May Travis, First UND Commencement: June 13, 1889

Text of the speech delivered by May Travis, a member of the first graduating class, at the first UND Commencement on June 13, 1889. Travis entitled her remarks: Whitewash Morally Considered. (Text reprinted from the Grand Forks Daily Herald (evening edition), June 13, 1889.

Porewater Carbonate Chemistry Dynamics in a Temperate and a Subtropical Seagrass System

Seagrass systems are integral components of both local and global carbon cycles and can substantially modify seawater biogeochemistry, which has ecological ramifications. However, the influence of seagrass on porewater biogeochemistry has not been fully described, and the exact role of this marine macrophyte and associated microbial communities in the modification of porewater chemistry remains equivocal. In the present study, carbonate chemistry in the water column and porewater was investigated over diel timescales in contrasting, tidally influenced seagrass systems in Southern California and Bermuda, including vegetated (Zostera marina) and unvegetated biomes (0–16 cm) in Mission Bay, San Diego, USA and a vegetated system (Thallasia testudinium) in Mangrove Bay, Ferry Reach, Bermuda. In Mission Bay, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) exhibited strong increasing gradients with sediment depth. Vertical porewater profiles differed between the sites, with almost twice as high concentrations of DIC and TA observed in the vegetated compared to the unvegetated sediments. In Mangrove Bay, both the range and vertical profiles of porewater carbonate parameters such as DIC and TA were much lower and, in contrast to Mission Bay where no distinct temporal signal was observed, biogeochemical parameters followed the semi-diurnal tidal signal in the water column. The observed differences between the study sites most likely reflect a differential influence of biological (biomass, detritus and infauna) and physical processes (e.g., sediment permeability, residence time and mixing) on porewater carbonate chemistry in the different settings

Local and regional ecological morphology of dung beetle assemblages across four biogeographic regions

Aim Niche partitioning within species assemblages is thought to influence species packing and/or total niche space occupied. The evolution of dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) is likely to have been strongly influenced by inter-specific competition, leading to niche partitioning. We consider whether local-scale processes leave a signature in regional patterns of functional diversity in dung beetle assemblages, and investigate the correlation between total exploited ecomorphological space and density of species packing with increased species richness. We test whether ecomorphological space occupied by local assemblages reflects that of their regional species pool, and the extent to which ecomorphological space is convergent or divergent within functional groups across regional pools. Location Neotropics, Africa, Australia and Madagascar. Methods Dung beetle assemblages were collected in a standardized manner from four biogeographic regions. Ecomorphological similarity among the assemblages was assessed by multivariate analysis of 19 linear measurements for 300 species and three functional nesting types (roller, tunneller or dweller), firstly on a local level within the Neotropics and Afrotropics, and then between the regional species pools. Results Key body measurements, in particular the hind tibia, separated rollers and tunnellers into largely non-overlapping entities along the first three axes of the shape analysis. Three Neotropical assemblages, which vary widely in species numbers, each harboured a similar amount of morphometric variation, resulting in increasingly dense species packing with greater species richness. Similar findings were obtained in two South African assemblages. Assemblages in the four biogeographic regions showed largely similar distributions of ecomorphological variation, including the separation of rollers and tunnellers, despite their distant phylogenetic relationships. Ecomorphological similarity among regions was particularly high in tunnellers, whilst the rollers exhibited greater regional differentiation. Main conclusions Local assemblages evidently represent the full diversity of functional groups available in the regional pool, even in species-poor assemblages. There is a strong trend towards convergence in morphology separating tunnellers and rollers in phylogenetically independent lineages. The ecomorphological similarity of regional assemblages suggests that morphological convergence is the result of common selective forces active within the assemblages themselves. This lends support to the widely hypothesized effect of inter-specific interactions and niche partitioning in determining assemblage composition and lineage evolution in the Scarabaeinae. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Anti-tumor activity and mechanistic characterization of APE1/Ref-1 inhibitors in bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is the ninth most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although cisplatin is used routinely in treating bladder cancer, refractory disease remains lethal for many patients. The recent addition of immunotherapy has improved patient outcomes; however, a large cohort of patients does not respond to these treatments. Therefore, identification of innovative molecular targets for bladder cancer is crucial. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (APE1/Ref-1) is a multifunctional protein involved in both DNA repair and activation of transcription factors through reduction-oxidation (redox) regulation. High APE1/Ref-1 expression is associated with shorter patient survival time in many cancer types. In this study, we found high APE1/Ref-1 expression in human bladder cancer tissue relative to benign urothelium. Inhibition of APE1/Ref-1 redox signaling using APE1/Ref-1-specific inhibitors attenuates bladder cancer cell proliferation in monolayer, in three-dimensional cultures, and in vivo. This inhibition corresponds with an increase in apoptosis and decreased transcriptional activity of NF-κB and STAT3, transcription factors known to be regulated by APE1/Ref-1, resulting in decreased expression of downstream effectors survivin and Cyclin D1 in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrate that in vitro treatment of bladder cancer cells with APE1/Ref-1 redox inhibitors in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy cisplatin is more effective than cisplatin alone at inhibiting cell proliferation. Collectively, our data demonstrate that APE1/Ref-1 is a viable drug target for the treatment of bladder cancer, provide a mechanism of APE1/Ref-1 action in bladder cancer cells, and support the use of novel redox-selective APE1/Ref-1 inhibitors in clinical studies. SIGNIFICANCE: This work identifies a critical mechanism for APE1/Ref-1 in bladder cancer growth and provides compelling preclinical data using selective redox activity inhibitors of APE1/Ref-1 in vitro and in vivo

Gaps in Topological Magnon Spectra: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Effects

For topological magnon spectra, determining and explaining the presence of a gap at a magnon crossing point is a key to characterize the topological properties of the system. An inelastic neutron scattering study of a single crystal is a powerful experimental technique that is widely employed to probe the magnetic excitation spectra of topological materials. Here, we show that when the scattering intensity rapidly disperses in the vicinity of a crossing point, such as a Dirac point, the apparent topological gap size is extremely sensitive to experimental conditions including sample mosaic, resolution, and momentum integration range. We demonstrate these effects using comprehensive neutron-scattering measurements of CrCl$_3$. Our measurements confirm the gapless nature of the Dirac magnon in CrCl$_3$, but also reveal an artificial, i.e. extrinsic, magnon gap unless the momentum integration range is carefully controlled. Our study provides an explanation of the apparent discrepancies between spectroscopic and first-principles estimates of Dirac magnon gap sizes, and provides guidelines for accurate spectroscopic measurement of topological magnon gaps.Comment: 6 pages and 4 figure

Detection of Optogenetic Stimulation in Somatosensory Cortex by Non-Human Primates - Towards Artificial Tactile Sensation

Neuroprosthesis research aims to enable communication between the brain and external assistive devices while restoring lost functionality such as occurs from stroke, spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative diseases. In future closed-loop sensorimotor prostheses, one approach is to use neuromodulation as direct stimulus to the brain to compensate for a lost sensory function and help the brain to integrate relevant information for commanding external devices via, e.g. movement intention. Current neuromodulation techniques rely mainly of electrical stimulation. Here we focus specifically on the question of eliciting a biomimetically relevant sense of touch by direct stimulus of the somatosensory cortex by introducing optogenetic techniques as an alternative to electrical stimulation. We demonstrate that light activated opsins can be introduced to target neurons in the somatosensory cortex of non-human primates and be optically activated to create a reliably detected sensation which the animal learns to interpret as a tactile sensation localized within the hand. The accomplishment highlighted here shows how optical stimulation of a relatively small group of mostly excitatory somatosensory neurons in the nonhuman primate brain is sufficient for eliciting a useful sensation from data acquired by simultaneous electrophysiology and from behavioral metrics. In this first report to date on optically neuromodulated behavior in the somatosensory cortex of nonhuman primates we do not yet dissect the details of the sensation the animals exerience or contrast it to those evoked by electrical stimulation, issues of considerable future interest

Exploring the dynamics of compliance with community penalties

In this paper, we examine how compliance with community penalties has been theorized hitherto and seek to develop a new dynamic model of compliance with community penalties. This new model is developed by exploring some of the interfaces between existing criminological and socio-legal work on compliance. The first part of the paper examines the possible definitions and dimensions of compliance with community supervision. Secondly, we examine existing work on explanations of compliance with community penalties, supplementing this by drawing on recent socio-legal scholarship on private individuals’ compliance with tax regimes. In the third part of the paper, we propose a dynamic model of compliance, based on the integration of these two related analyses. Finally, we consider some of the implications of our model for policy and practice concerning community penalties, suggesting the need to move beyond approaches which, we argue, suffer from compliance myopia; that is, a short-sighted and narrowly focused view of the issues

The spread and persistence of infectious diseases in structured populations

A basic assumption of many epidemic models is that populations are composed of a homogeneous group of randomly mixing individuals. This is not a realistic assumption. Most actual populations are divided into a number of subpopulations, within which there may be relatively random mixing, but among which there is nonrandom mixing. As a consequence of the structuring of the population, there are several sources of heterogeneity within populations that can affect the course of an infection through the population. Two of these sources of heterogeneity are differences in contact number between subpopulations, and differences in the patterns of contact among subpopulations. A model for the spread of a disease in such a population is described. The model considers two levels of interaction: interactions between individuals within a subpopulation because of geographic proximity, and interactions between individuals of the same or different subpopulations because of attendance at common social functions. Because of this structure, it is possible to analyze with the model both heterogeneity in contact number and variation in the patterns of contact. A stability analysis of the model is presented which shows that there is a unique threshold for disease maintenance. Below the threshold the disease goes extinct, and the equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable. Above the threshold, the extinction equilibrium is unstable, and there is a unique endemic equilibrium. The analysis presents a sufficient condition for disease maintenance, which determines critical subpopulation sizes above which the disease cannot go extinct. The condition is a simple inequality relating the removal rate of infectives to the infection rate of susceptibles. In addition, bounds on the actual threshold and the effect of symmetry in the interaction matrix on the threshold are presented.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27249/1/0000257.pd

Theories of Reference: What Was the Question?

The new theory of reference has won popularity. However, a number of noted philosophers have also attempted to reply to the critical arguments of Kripke and others, and aimed to vindicate the description theory of reference. Such responses are often based on ingenious novel kinds of descriptions, such as rigidified descriptions, causal descriptions, and metalinguistic descriptions. This prolonged debate raises the doubt whether different parties really have any shared understanding of what the central question of the philosophical theory of reference is: what is the main question to which descriptivism and the causal-historical theory have presented competing answers. One aim of the paper is to clarify this issue. The most influential objections to the new theory of reference are critically reviewed. Special attention is also paid to certain important later advances in the new theory of reference, due to Devitt and others