Student Involvement & Graduation Rates: A Quantitative Study on the Impact of Adding a Fraternity & Sorority Community at Colleges & Universities in the United States

The National Panhellenic Conference recognized 33 colleges and universities in the United States as having added a fraternity and sorority community between 2000 and 2015. Graduation rate data from these institutions were collected from before the addition of fraternal organizations, and from six years later. Graduation rates after the addition of fraternities and sororities (M = 57.00) were higher than before (M = 52.97), (t [32] = -4.42, p \u3c .01). The results of this study suggest that the addition of a fraternity and sorority community can have a positive overall influence on student and institutional success

Postnatal β2 adrenergic treatment improves insulin sensitivity in lambs with IUGR but not persistent defects in pancreatic islets or skeletal muscle

Placental insufficiency causes intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and disturbances in glucose homeostasis with associated β adrenergic receptor (ADRβ) desensitization. Our objectives were to measure insulin-sensitive glucose metabolism in neonatal lambs with IUGR and to determine whether daily treatment with ADRβ2 agonist and ADRβ1/β3 antagonists for 1 month normalizes their glucose metabolism. Growth, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and glucose utilization rates (GURs) were measured in control lambs, IUGR lambs and IUGR lambs treated with adrenergic receptor modifiers: clenbuterol atenolol and SR59230A (IUGR-AR). In IUGR lambs, islet insulin content and GSIS were less than in controls; however, insulin sensitivity and whole-bodyGUR were not different from controls.Of importance, ADRβ2 stimulation with β1/β3 inhibition increases both insulin sensitivity and whole-body glucose utilization in IUGR lambs. In IUGR and IUGR-AR lambs, hindlimb GURs were greater but fractional glucose oxidation rates and ex vivo skeletal muscle glucose oxidation rates were lower than controls. Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) was lower in IUGR and IUGR-AR skeletal muscle than in controls but GLUT1 was greater in IUGR-AR. ADRβ2, insulin receptor, glycogen content and citrate synthase activity were similar among groups. In IUGR and IUGR-AR lambs heart rates were greater, which was independent of cardiac ADRβ1 activation. We conclude that targeted ADRβ2 stimulation improved whole-body insulin sensitivity but minimally affected defects in GSIS and skeletal muscle glucose oxidation. We show that risk factors for developing diabetes are independent of postnatal catch-up growth in IUGR lambs as early as 1 month of age and are inherent to the islets and myocytes

Electoral Change and Progressive Prosecutors

While it is clear that a debate is happening about new approaches to the prosecutor\u27s work, it is less clear how deep the changes go. Given the large number of prosecutor offices in the United States, it is possible that much of the change that the media documents is limited to only a few offices; it is also possible that newsworthy stories of recent prosecutor campaign debates are merely the most visible layer of a change that goes deeper. Do the media accounts focus on vivid but exceptional election campaigns, or do news stories over the\u27 last decade reflect a period of widespread change in U.S. prosecution leadership? We explore this question by collecting the results from prosecutor elections in 200 high-population districts in the United States between 2012 and 2020. Setting aside the difficult issues of measuring how much change a candidate proposes to implement in the prosecutor\u27s office - or how progressive those changes might be - we simply ask whether prosecutor election campaigns are becoming less favorable for incumbents over time

Islet Adaptations in Fetal Sheep Persist Following Chronic Exposure to High Norepinephrine

Complications in pregnancy elevate fetal norepinephrine (NE) concentrations. Previous studies in NE-infused sheep fetuses revealed that sustained exposure to high NE resulted in lower expression of α2-adrenergic receptors in islets and increased insulin secretion responsiveness after acutely terminating the NE infusion. In this study, we determined if the compensatory increase in insulin secretion following chronic elevation of NE is independent of hyperglycemia in sheep fetuses and whether it is persistent in conjunction with islet desensitization to NE. Following an initial assessment of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) at 129±1 days of gestation, fetuses were continuously infused for seven days with NE and maintained at euglycemia with a maternal insulin infusion. Fetal GSIS studies were again performed on days 8 and 12. Adrenergic sensitivity was determined in pancreatic islets collected at day 12. NE infusion increased (P\u3c0.01) fetal plasma NE concentrations and lowered (P\u3c0.01) basal insulin concentrations compared to vehicle-infused controls. GSIS was 1.8-fold greater (P\u3c0.05) in NE-infused fetuses compared to controls at both one and five days after discontinuing the infusion. Glucose-potentiated arginine-induced insulin secretion was also enhanced (P\u3c0.01) in NE-infused fetuses. Maximum GSIS in islets isolated from NE-infused fetuses was 1.6-fold greater (P\u3c0.05) than controls, but islet insulin content and intracellular calcium signaling were not different between treatments. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration for NE was 2.6-fold greater (P\u3c0.05) in NE-infused islets compared to controls. These findings show that chronic NE exposure and not hyperglycemia produce persistent adaptations in pancreatic islets that augment β-cell responsiveness in part through decreased adrenergic sensitivity

The emergence of modern statistics in agricultural science : Analysis of variance, experimental design and the reshaping of research at Rothamsted Experimental Station, 1919–1933

During the twentieth century statistical methods have transformed research in the experimental and social sciences. Qualitative evidence has largely been replaced by quantitative results and the tools of statistical inference have helped foster a new ideal of objectivity in scientific knowledge. The paper will investigate this transformation by considering the genesis of analysis of variance and experimental design, statistical methods nowadays taught in every elementary course of statistics for the experimental and social sciences. These methods were developed by the mathematician and geneticist R. A. Fisher during the 1920s, while he was working at Rothamsted Experimental Station, where agricultural research was in turn reshaped by Fisher’s methods. Analysis of variance and experimental design required new practices and instruments in field and laboratory research, and imposed a redistribution of expertise among statisticians, experimental scientists and the farm staff. On the other hand the use of statistical methods in agricultural science called for a systematization of information management and made computing an activity integral to the experimental research done at Rothamsted, permanently integrating the statisticians’ tools and expertise into the station research programme. Fisher’s statistical methods did not remain confined within agricultural research and by the end of the 1950s they had come to stay in psychology, sociology, education, chemistry, medicine, engineering, economics, quality control, just to mention a few of the disciplines which adopted them

Genome sequence of the Ornithopus/Lupinus-nodulating Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM471

Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM471 is an aerobic, motile, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming rod that was isolated from an effective nitrogen-(N-2) fixing root nodule formed on the annual legume Ornithopus pinnatus (Miller) Druce growing at Oyster Harbour, Albany district, Western Australia in 1982. This strain is in commercial production as an inoculant for Lupinus and Ornithopus. Here we describe the features of Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM471, together with genome sequence information and annotation. The 7,784,016 bp high-quality-draft genome is arranged in 1 scaffold of 2 contigs, contains 7,372 protein-coding genes and 58 RNA-only encoding genes, and is one of 20 rhizobial genomes sequenced as part of the DOE Joint Genome Institute 2010 Community Sequencing Program

Revolutionary Self-Sustaining Pasture-Crop Rotation Systems Developed by Researcher-Farmer Collaboration for Southern Australian Farming Systems

Mixed farming pasture-crop rotation systems in southern Australia have traditionally relied on subterranean clover and annual medics. Concern over the long-term persistence of these species was raised in the 1980‟s with the cessation of manufacture of suction harvesters required for seed production. Subsequently, their adaptation has been tested due to climate change. More frequent droughts, particularly the millennium drought (2002-2009), increased incidence of false breaks and dry spring conditions causing decline or complete loss of seedbank reserves and failure of new sowings. A concerted effort developing new legume species for Australian farming systems, led by Western Australia, resulted in domestication of biserrula, bladder clover and gland clover and development of new cultivars of French and yellow serradella. These species/varieties possess characteristics including one or more of the following: higher hard seed content, deeper root systems, greater acid soil tolerance in symbiosis, increased herbage and seed production, wider tolerance to pest and diseases. They can also be harvested with conventional cereal harvesters reducing seed cost and enabling farmers to produce their own seed (Loi et al., 2005). A survey of farmers showed adoption of new species was limited by a lack of detailed management information on how to grow and manage them, to maximise their impact on crop and livestock productivity (Hackney et al., 2012). This paper reports on efforts made over a decade by a multidisciplinary WA and NSW team of plant breeders, rhizobiologists, agronomists and animal scientists, formed to develop new self-sustaining pasture-crop rotation systems to fill the void left by the failure of traditional rotation systems. The critical role and early recruitment of „champion‟ farmers in achieving the successful adoption of new technology is discussed, as is the difficulty in organizing and funding systems research

Postnatal β2 adrenergic treatment improves insulin sensitivity in lambs with IUGR but not persistent defects in pancreatic islets or skeletal muscle

Placental insufficiency causes intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and disturbances in glucose homeostasis with associated β adrenergic receptor (ADRβ) desensitization. Our objectives were to measure insulin-sensitive glucose metabolism in neonatal lambs with IUGR and to determine whether daily treatment with ADRβ2 agonist and ADRβ1/β3 antagonists for 1 month normalizes their glucose metabolism. Growth, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and glucose utilization rates (GURs) were measured in control lambs, IUGR lambs and IUGR lambs treated with adrenergic receptor modifiers: clenbuterol atenolol and SR59230A (IUGR-AR). In IUGR lambs, islet insulin content and GSIS were less than in controls; however, insulin sensitivity and whole-bodyGUR were not different from controls.Of importance, ADRβ2 stimulation with β1/β3 inhibition increases both insulin sensitivity and whole-body glucose utilization in IUGR lambs. In IUGR and IUGR-AR lambs, hindlimb GURs were greater but fractional glucose oxidation rates and ex vivo skeletal muscle glucose oxidation rates were lower than controls. Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) was lower in IUGR and IUGR-AR skeletal muscle than in controls but GLUT1 was greater in IUGR-AR. ADRβ2, insulin receptor, glycogen content and citrate synthase activity were similar among groups. In IUGR and IUGR-AR lambs heart rates were greater, which was independent of cardiac ADRβ1 activation. We conclude that targeted ADRβ2 stimulation improved whole-body insulin sensitivity but minimally affected defects in GSIS and skeletal muscle glucose oxidation. We show that risk factors for developing diabetes are independent of postnatal catch-up growth in IUGR lambs as early as 1 month of age and are inherent to the islets and myocytes

Genome sequence of the lupin-nodulating Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM1417

Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM1417 is an aerobic, motile, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming rod that was isolated from an effective nitrogen (N(2)) fixing root nodule of Lupinus sp. collected in Papudo, Chile, in 1995. However, this microsymbiont is a poorly effective N(2) fixer with the legume host Lupinus angustifolius L.; a lupin species of considerable economic importance in both Chile and Australia. The symbiosis formed with L. angustifolius produces less than half of the dry matter achieved by the symbioses with commercial inoculant strains such as Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM471. Therefore, WSM1417 is an important candidate strain with which to investigate the genetics of effective N(2) fixation in the lupin-bradyrhizobia symbioses. Here we describe the features of Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM1417, together with genome sequence information and annotation. The 8,048,963 bp high-quality-draft genome is arranged in a single scaffold of 2 contigs, contains 7,695 protein-coding genes and 77 RNA-only encoding genes, and is one of 20 rhizobial genomes sequenced as part of the DOE Joint Genome Institute 2010 Community Sequencing Program