Thermal Ecology of the Australian Agamid Pogona barbata

This study compares the thermal ecology of male bearded dragon lizards (Pogona barbata) from south-east Queensland across two seasons: summer (1994-1995) and autumn (1995). Seasonal patterns of body temperature (Tb) were explored in terms of changes in the physical properties of the thermal environment and thermoregulatory effort. To quantify thermoregulatory effort, we compared behavioral and physiological variables recorded for observed lizards with those estimated for a thermoconforming lizard. The study lizards' field Tbs varied seasonally (summer: grand daily mean (GDM) 34.6 +/- 0.6 degrees C, autumn: GDM 27.5 +/- 0.3 degrees C) as did maximum and minimum available operative temperatures (summer: GDM Tmax 42.1 +/- 1.7 degrees C, Tmin 32.2 +/- 1.0 degrees C, autumn: GDM Tmax 31.7 +/- 1.2 degrees C, Tmin 26.4 +/- 0.5 degrees C). Interestingly, the range of temperatures that lizards selected in a gradient (selected range) did not change seasonally. However, P. barbata thermoregulated more extensively and more accurately in summer than in autumn; lizards generally displayed behaviors affecting heat load nonrandomly in summer and randomly in autumn, leading to the GDM of the mean deviations of lizards' field Tbs from their selected ranges being only 2.1 +/- 0.5 degrees C in summer, compared to 4.4 +/- 0.5 degrees C in autumn. This seasonal difference was not a consequence of different heat availability in the two seasons, because the seasonally available ranges of operative temperatures rarely precluded lizards from attaining field Tbs within their selected range, should that have been the goal. Rather, thermal microhabitat distribution and social behavior appear to have had an important influence on seasonal levels of thermoregulatory effort

Assessing vertical axis rotations in large-magnitude extensional settings: A transect across the Death Valley extended terrane, California

Models for Neogene crustal deformation in the central Death Valley extended terrane, southeastern California, differ markedly in their estimates of upper crustal extension versus shear translations. Documentation of vertical axis rotations of range-scale crustal blocks (or parts thereof) is critical when attempting to reconstruct this highly extended region. To better define the magnitude, aerial extent, and timing of vertical axis rotation that could mark shear translation of the crust in this area, paleomagnetic data were obtained from Tertiary igneous and remagnetized Paleozoic carbonate rocks along a roughly east-west traverse parallel to about 36°N latitude. Sites were established in ∼7 to 5 Ma volcanic sequences (Greenwater Canyon and Brown's Peak) and the ∼10 Ma Chocolate Sundae Mountain granite in the Greenwater Range, ∼8.5 to 7.5 Ma and 5 to 4 Ma basalts on the east flank of the Black Mountains, the 10.6 Ma Little Chief stock and upper Miocene(?) basalts in the eastern Panamint Mountains, and Paleozoic Pogonip Group carbonate strata in the north central Panamint Mountains. At the site level, most materials yield readily interpretable paleomagnetic data. Group mean directions, after appropriate structural corrections, suggest no major vertical axis rotation of the Greenwater Range (e.g., D = 359°, I = 46°, α_(95) = 8.0°, N = 12 (7 normal (N), 5 reversed (R) polarity sites)), little post-5 Ma rotation of the eastern Black Mountains (e.g., D = 006°, I = 61°, α_(95) = 4.0°, N = 9 N, 6 R sites), and no significant post-10 Ma rotation of the Panamint Range (e.g., D = 181°, I = −51°, α_(95) = 6.5°, N = 9 R sites). In situ data from the Greenwater Canyon volcanic rocks, Chocolate Sundae Mountain granite, Funeral Peak basalt rocks, the Little Chief stock, and Paleozoic carbonate rocks (remagnetized) are consistent with moderate south east-side-down tilting of the separate range blocks during northwest directed extension. The paleomagnetic data reported here suggest that the Panamints shared none of the 7 Ma to recent clockwise rotation of the Black Mountains crystalline core, as proposed in recent models for transtensional development of the central Death Valley extended terrane

The Search for Invariance: Repeated Positive Testing Serves the Goals of Causal Learning

Positive testing is characteristic of exploratory behavior, yet it seems to be at odds with the aim of information seeking. After all, repeated demonstrations of one’s current hypothesis often produce the same evidence and fail to distinguish it from potential alternatives. Research on the development of scientific reasoning and adult rule learning have both documented and attempted to explain this behavior. The current chapter reviews this prior work and introduces a novel theoretical account—the Search for Invariance (SI) hypothesis—which suggests that producing multiple positive examples serves the goals of causal learning. This hypothesis draws on the interventionist framework of causal reasoning, which suggests that causal learners are concerned with the invariance of candidate hypotheses. In a probabilistic and interdependent causal world, our primary goal is to determine whether, and in what contexts, our causal hypotheses provide accurate foundations for inference and intervention—not to disconfirm their alternatives. By recognizing the central role of invariance in causal learning, the phenomenon of positive testing may be reinterpreted as a rational information-seeking strategy

Classtalk: A Classroom Communication System for Active Learning

This pdf file is an article describing the advantages of using Classtalk technology in the classroom to enhance classroom communication. Classtalk technology cab facilitate the presentation of questions for small group work, collec the student answers and then display histograms showing how the class answered. This new communication technology can help instructors create a more interactive, student centered classroom, especially when teaching large courses. The article describes Classtalk as a very useful tool not only for engaging students in active learning, but also for enhancing the overall communication within the classroom. This article is a selection from the electronic Journal for Computing in Higher Education. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Isotopic Variability of Mercury in Ore, Mine-Waste Calcine, and Leachates of Mine-Waste Calcine from Areas Mined for Mercury

The isotopic composition of mercury (Hg) was determined in cinnabar ore, mine-waste calcine (retorted ore), and leachates obtained from water leaching experiments of calcine from two large Hg mining districts in the U.S. This study is the first to report significant mass-dependent Hg isotopic fractionation between cinnabar ore and resultant calcine. Data indicate that δ202Hg values relative to NIST 3133 of calcine (up to 1.52‰) in the Terlingua district, Texas, are as much as 3.24‰ heavier than cinnabar (−1.72‰) prior to retorting. In addition, δ202Hg values obtained from leachates of Terlingua district calcines are isotopically similar to, or as much as 1.17‰ heavier than associated calcines, most likely due to leaching of soluble, byproduct Hg compounds formed during ore retorting that are a minor component in the calcines. As a result of the large fractionation found between cinnabar and calcine, and because calcine is the dominant source of Hg contamination from the mines studied, δ202Hg values of calcine may be more environmentally important in these mined areas than the primary cinnabar ore. Measurement of the Hg isotopic composition of calcine is necessary when using Hg isotopes for tracing Hg sources from areas mined for Hg, especially mine water runoff

Design, development and validation of a model of problem solving for Egyptian Science classes

Educators and policymakers envision the future of education in Egypt as enabling learners to acquire scientific inquiry and problem-solving skills. In this article, we describe the validation of a model for problem solving and the design of instruments for evaluating new teaching methods in Egyptian science classes. The instruments were based on an established model for problem solving and were designed to assess seventh grade students’ problem solving, experimental strategy knowledge, achievement and motivation towards science. The test for assessing students’ knowledge has been developed based on the topic, density and buoyancy which will be taught in seventh grade in a later intervention study. The instruments were partly self-developed and partly adapted from newly performed studies on strategy knowledge and problem solving in Germany. All instruments were translated into Arabic; the translation process and quality control are described. In order to determine the quality of the instruments, 44 students in Egypt completed the questionnaires and tests. The study’s aim to develop and validate the instruments did require an ad hoc and typical sample which was drawn from an accessible population. Accordingly, the characteristics of the sample are described. Data were analysed according to the classical test theory, but to underpin the results, the instruments were additionally analysed using the even stronger Rasch model. The findings demonstrated the reliability of the items and aspects of validity. In addition, this study showed how test items can be successfully developed and adapted in an international study and applied in a different language

Cloning and Functional Analysis of FLJ20420: A Novel Transcription Factor for the BAG-1 Promoter

BAG-1 is an anti-apoptotic protein that interacts with a variety of cellular molecules to inhibit apoptosis. The mechanisms by which BAG-1 interacts with other proteins to inhibit apoptosis have been extensively explored. However, it is currently unknown how BAG-1 expression is regulated at the molecular level, especially in cancer cells. Here we reported to clone a novel down-regulated BAG-1 expression gene named FLJ20420 using hBAG-1 promoter as a probe to screen Human Hela 5′ cDNA library by Southernwestern blot. The FLJ20420 gene encodes a ∼26-kDa protein that is localized in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. We proved that FLJ20420 protein can specially bind hBAG-1 promoter region by EMSA in vivo and ChIP assay in vivo. Northern blot analysis revealed a low level of FLJ20420 transcriptional expression in normal human tissues (i.e., brain, placenta, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and cervix), except for heart and skeletal muscles, which showed higher levels. Furthermore, enhanced FLJ20420 expression was observed in tumor cell lines (i.e., MDA468, BT-20, MCF-7, C33A, HeLa and Caski). Knockdown of endogenous FLJ20420 expression significantly increased BAG-1 expression in A549 and L9981 cells, and also significantly enhanced their sensitivity to cisplatin-induced apoptosis. A microarray assay of the FLJ20420 siRNA –transfectants showed altered expression of 505 known genes, including 272 upregulated and 233 downregulated genes. Finally, our gene array studies in lung cancer tissue samples revealed a significant increase in FLJ20420 expression in primary lung cancer relative to the paired normal lung tissue controls (p = 0.0006). The increased expression of FLJ20420 corresponded to a significant decrease in BAG-1 protein expression in the primary lung cancers, relative to the paired normal lung tissue controls (p = 0.0001). Taken together, our experiments suggest that FLJ20420 functions as a down-regulator of BAG-1 expression. Its abnormal expression may be involved in the oncogenesis of human malignancies such as lung cancer

Frost flowers growing in the Arctic ocean‐atmosphere–sea ice–snow interface: 2. Mercury exchange between the atmosphere, snow, and frost flowers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95146/1/jgrd17360.pd

Disulfide-activated protein kinase G I alpha regulates cardiac diastolic relaxation and fine-tunes the Frank-Starling response

British Heart Foundation, European Research Council (ERC Advanced award), Medical Research Council and the Department of Health via the NIHR cBRC award to Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Part supported by the NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre