Factors associated with young adult use of Facebook for emotional support

The present study sought to learn about the factors associated with young adult use of Facebook for emotional support. The population of interest was individuals born in the years 1980 to 1994, also known as Generation Y . Inclusion criteria included being at least age 18, born in or between the years 1980 to 1994, literacy in English, and having a Facebook account. An anonymous, online survey was used to collect quantitative data, including demographic information, perceived financial need, social support, coping behavior, Facebook intensity, Facebook satisfaction, emotional support received and provided on Facebook, and categories of Facebook use. The researcher emailed 95 friends, requesting that they send the survey link to at least 10 of their own friends, unknown to the researcher. Recruitment efforts yielded a sample of 167 individuals, primarily Caucasian (83.1%) and female (76.5%), with a mean age of 25.7. Findings indicate that being female, having a seeking social support coping style, Facebook intensity, and Facebook satisfaction were all positively associated with use of Facebook for both receiving and providing emotional support. Additionally, general emotions and friendships were the only two of 12 possible categories of Facebook use for which the majority of participants reported seeking emotional support on Facebook. Further examination of these and additional findings is provided. The implication of findings for social work practice, policy, and research is discussed. Greater emphasis is needed on expanding our understanding of the relationship between social work, social networking sites, emotional support, and mental health

MT FdR: a ferredoxin reductase from M. tuberculosis that couples to MT CYP51

AbstractWe report the molecular cloning, expression and partial characterization of MT FdR, an FAD-associated flavoprotein, from Mycobacterium tuberculosis similar to the oxygenase-coupled NADH-dependent ferredoxin reductases (ONFR). We establish, through kinetic and spectral analysis, that MT FdR preferentially uses NADH as cofactor. Furthermore, MT FdR forms a complex with mycobacterial ferredoxin (MT Fdx) and MT CYP51, a cytochrome P450 (CYP) from M. tuberculosis that is similar to lanosterol 14α-demethylase isozymes. This reconstituted system transfers electrons from the cofactor to the heme iron of MT CYP51 and effects the demethylation of lanosterol

The Slothful Claw: Osteology and Taphonomy of \u3cem\u3eNothronychus mckinleyi\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eN. graffami\u3c/em\u3e (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and Anatomical Considerations for Derived Therizinosaurids

Nothronychus was the first definitive therizinosaurian discovered in North America and currently represents the most specialized North American therizinosaurian genus. It is known from two species, No. mckinleyi from the Moreno Hill Formation (middle Turonian) in west-central New Mexico, and No. graffami from the Tropic Shale (early Turonian) in south-central Utah. Both species are represented by partial to nearly complete skeletons that have helped elucidate evolutionary trends in Therizinosauria. In spite of the biogeographical and evolutionary importance of these two taxa, neither has received a detailed description. Here, we present comprehensive descriptions of No. mckinleyi and No. graffami, the latter of which represents the most complete therizinosaurid skeleton known to date. We amend previous preliminary descriptions of No. mckinleyi and No. graffami based on these new data and modify previous character states based on an in-depth morphological analysis. Additionally, we review the depositional history of both specimens of Nothronychus and compare their taphonomic modes. We demonstrate that the species were not only separated geographically, but also temporally. Based on ammonoid biozones, the species appear to have been separated by at least 1.5 million years and up to 3 million years. We then discuss the impacts of diagenetic deformation on morphology and reevaluate potentially diagnostic characters in light of these new data. For example, the ulna of No. mckinleyi is curved whereas the ulna of No. graffami was considered straight, a character originally separating the two species. However, here we present the difference as much more likely related to diagenetic compression in No. graffami rather than as a true biologic difference. Finally, we include copies of three-dimensional surface scans of all major bones for both taxa for reference

Book Review Of Leap Of Faith By Danielle Steel

Leap of Faith is a novel by a famous novelist Danielle Steel. Leap of Faith debuted at the New York Times and is listed as the best-selling novel to fifty-two of Danielle Steel. This novel is about a girl from France, she is Marie-Ange Hawkins who lives in a magnificent castle name, Chateau de Marmouton. At the castle, she has childhood like everyone\u27s dream. She has the freedom, security and abundant affection of both parents and her brother. But when Marie-Ange Hawkins is eleven years old, a tragic accident that befell his parents take her happiness. She becomes an orphan and is sent to America to live with a cruel aunt of her father. Alone in a foreign land, Marie-Ange Hawkins becomes slave of agricultural land by her aunt, only her friendship with Billy and her dream to return to the castle of her childhood memories that make Marie-Ange endures. But the magic happens when Marie-Ange is 21 years old. She makes it back to the castle Chateau de Marmouton again and even get a chance to be the hostess which is the new owner of the castle, Comte Bernard de Beauchamp proposed her. But behind his proposal, Comte Bernard de Beauchamp keeps his hidden bad intentions to Marie-Ange Hawkins. In desperation and uncertainty areas around her, Marie-Ange has to find the faith and courage to take her last step to save her love ones and herself. Danielle Steel packed this book with very interesting by a simple writing style and storyline in the 1800s which is different from the usual. This book is quite interesting and deserves to be read as entertainment by teenagers and adults

Sampling impacts the assessment of tooth growth and replacement rates in archosaurs: implications for paleontological studies

Dietary habits in extinct species cannot be directly observed; thus, in the absence of extraordinary evidence, they must be reconstructed with a combination of morphological proxies. Such proxies often include information on dental organization and function such as tooth formation time and tooth replacement rate. In extinct organisms, tooth formation times and tooth replacement rate are calculated, in part via extrapolation of the space between incremental lines in dental tissues representing daily growth (von Ebner Line Increment Width; VEIW). However, to date, little work has been conducted testing assumptions about the primary data underpinning these calculations, specifically, the potential impact of differential sampling and data extrapolation protocols. To address this, we tested a variety of intradental, intramandibular, and ontogentic sampling effects on calculations of mean VEIW, tooth formation times, and replacement rates using histological sections and CT reconstructions of a growth series of three specimens of the extant archosaurian Alligator mississippiensis. We find transect position within the tooth and transect orientation with respect to von Ebner lines to have the greatest impact on calculations of mean VEIW—a maximum number of VEIW measurements should be made as near to the central axis (CA) as possible. Measuring in regions away from the central axis can reduce mean VEIW by up to 36%, causing inflated calculations of tooth formation time. We find little demonstrable impact to calculations of mean VEIW from the practice of subsampling along a transect, or from using mean VEIW derived from one portion of the dentition to extrapolate for other regions of the dentition. Subsampling along transects contributes only minor variations in mean VEIW (<12%) that are dwarfed by the standard deviation (SD). Moreover, variation in VEIW with distance from the pulp cavity likely reflects idiosyncratic patterns related to life history, which are difficult to control for; however, we recommend increasing the number of VEIW measured to minimize this effect. Our data reveal only a weak correlation between mean VEIW and body length, suggesting minimal ontogenetic impacts. Finally, we provide a relative SD of mean VEIW for Alligator of 29.94%, which can be used by researchers to create data-driven error bars for tooth formation times and replacement rates in fossil taxa with small sample sizes. We caution that small differences in mean VEIW calculations resulting from non-standardized sampling protocols, especially in a comparative context, will produce inflated error in tooth formation time estimations that intensify with crown height. The same holds true for applications of our relative SD to calculations of tooth formation time in extinct taxa, which produce highly variable maximum and minimum estimates in large-toothed taxa (e.g., 718–1,331 days in Tyrannosaurus)

TURNING TEENS INTO FOSSILPHILES: CITIZEN SCIENCE AND ADVANCED VISUALIZATION OF PALEONTOLOGY COLLECTIONS

In 2016, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) received funding from NSF’s Collections in Support of Biological Research Program to launch a new citizen science initiative—FossilPhiles—aimed at improving publically accessible natural history specimen data. The FossilPhiles project supported NCMNS’ ongoing efforts to digitize paleontology collections and provide STEM opportunities for historically underrepresented student populations by engaging middle and high school students in authentic data collection. Five students were chosen from area schools with underserved populations to digitize highly significant or visually impactful vertebrate, invertebrate, and paleobotanical fossil specimens (e.g., type specimens, rare collections, specimens of high public interest). Students were trained in specimen handling, collections data, and archiving. They collected standard measurement data, photographed specimens in 2D, and constructed 3D photorealistic models using photogrammetry. Over a period of six months, students took over 13,000 photos, documenting 176 specimens in 2D and 137 in 3D. Of these, 124 photos have already been uploaded to the NCMNS’ open-access collections database, accessible through the NCMNS’ website, GBIF, VertNet, and iDigBio. Future project plans include creation of a publicly accessible, interactive portal of the 3D specimen models. Throughout their internships, FossilPhiles students were provided training and opportunities to communicate their experiences with the broader community. The entirety of the FossilPhiles project took place within the glass-walled Paleontology Research Lab (PRL) in the Nature Research Center of the NCMNS, on view to NCMNS’ ~1 million annual visitors. Additionally, students were regularly engaged with communicating about the project in real-time via social media outlets (e.g., Twitter, blogs), sharing photos of fossils they worked on, facts and skills that they learned, and challenges they overcame. FossilPhiles students also partnered with peers engaged in non-STEM museum internships to promote cross-learning. They collaborated with the NCMNS’ Teen Newsroom program to produce a video interview about their evolving impressions on what it means to be a scientist