Assessing the Need for Master Naturalist Programs

We present a focus group-based needs assessment for a Master Naturalist program that would increase environmental education capacity in our state using trained volunteers. This assessment explored the potential benefits, challenges, and structure of the program. We conclude that the program would fill an existing need by providing research-based information on environmental issues; we should collaborate broadly with other environmental education programs; the program must become financially self-sufficient after initial supported development; and we need to work with environmental education professionals in the state to ensure the program does not infringe on their job security

Best Practices for Environmental Field Days: Structuring Your Event for Fun and Learning

Six Best Practices for environmental field days will help you deliver a clear message at almost any non-formal educational event involving schoolchildren, natural resource professionals, and volunteers. Based on research and experience, the guidelines form a practical foundation for field-day planning focused on understanding participants\u27 needs, developing concise goals, and communicating goals effectively. The practices will ensure better learning for the hundreds of thousands of students who attend such events around the country every year

Habitat Factors Affecting Trap Success of Swamp Rabbits in Southeastern Arkansas During a Flooding Event

Swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) are found in bottomland hardwood ecosystems that have canopy gaps dispersed throughout. During annual flooding of these ecosystems, swamp rabbits often are displaced to adjacent uplands or higher ground within the bottomlands. Trapping of swamp rabbits is reported to be best during times of flooding. We examined habitat characteristics at trap sites to identify the best suits of habitat characters to target when trapping for swamp rabbits during flooding conditions. We conducted trapping for swamp rabbits during a flooding event from 2 January 2007 to 3 February 2007. A total of 511 trap nights yielded 16 swamp rabbit captures, or an overall capture rate of 3.1%. We reduced the habitat data set using principal component analysis and identified habitat characteristics most important to trapping success using stepwise discriminant function analysis. Variables important for successful trapping of swamp rabbits were canopy cover, percent ground cover of leaves, distance to trees (i.e., tree density), number and stage of decomposition of stumps, diameter at breast height of trees, and distance to temporary water sources. Because some states list swamp rabbits as a species of concern, knowledge of habitat variables most often selected by swamp rabbits during a flooding event may assist with trapping for future studies concerning the species

The State Correction Officer as Keeper and Counselor: An Empirical Investigation of the Role

This paper addresses two essential research needs in criminal justice literature: (1) the need for an assessment of the content of the role of block officer; and (2) the need for an empirical test of the presumed irreconcilable goals of custody and treatment as these are embedded in the role of state correction officer. A Task Inventory approach was adapted and a random sample of 100 correction officers in four heterogeneous state institutions were interviewed. Results of the study reveal that custodial staff spend at least sixty-percent of their on-job time performing duties not classified as security in nature. Results of the study challenge many of the existing stereotypes of correction officers in the literature. *Th

Recommendations for the Creation of a Center for Citizen Science

The explosive growth of citizen science has led to myriad independent projects in Minnesota and beyond. Here, we examine whether the field of citizen science would benefit from a center to coordinate efforts and help citizen science practitioners. We present results of a focus group–based needs assessment involving 52 practitioners active in citizen science. The main conclusions are that establishment of a center for citizen science would benefit efforts and that a statewide center should serve multiple functions. Though this process focused on Minnesota, we believe our findings and recommendations are applicable to and would benefit Extension efforts anywhere

Minnesota State Records for Osmia georgica, Megachile inimica, and Megachile frugalis (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), Including a New Nest Description for Megachile frugalis Compared with Other Species in the Subgenus Sayapis

In this note, we report the first Minnesota state records of Osmia (Helicosmia) georgica Cresson 1878,Megachile (Sayapis) inimica Cresson 1872, and Megachile (Sayapis) frugalis Cresson 1872, which were collected in 2018. We also provide the first description of the nest structure of M. frugalis. All three species typically have more southern distributions. The nest of M. frugalis shows similar structure to other species in the subgenus Sayapis Titus, such as M. inimica and M. pugnata, particularly in that the longitudinal nest cell walls lack a lining of leaf pieces, and the cell partitions are made from a layer of leaf pieces followed by a layer of masticated vegetation and soil particles

What Produced the Ultraluminous Supernova Remnant in NGC 6946?

The ultraluminous supernova remnant (SNR) in NGC 6946 is the brightest known SNR in X-rays, ~1000 times brighter than Cas A. To probe the nature of this remnant and its progenitor, we have obtained high-dispersion optical echelle spectra. The echelle spectra detect H-alpha, [N II], and [O III] lines, and resolve these lines into a narrow (FWHM ~20--40 km/s) component from un-shocked material and a broad (FWHM ~250 km/s) component from shocked material. Both narrow and broad components have unusually high [N II]/H-alpha ratios, ~1. Using the echelle observation, archival HST images, and archival ROSAT X-ray observations, we conclude that the SNR was produced by a normal supernova, whose progenitor was a massive star, either a WN star or a luminous blue variable. The high luminosity of the remnant is caused by the supernova ejecta expanding into a dense, nitrogen-rich circumstellar nebula created by the progenitor.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures. To be published in The Astronomical Journal, March 200

Minor Histocompatibility Antigen DBY Elicits a Coordinated B and T Cell Response after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

We examined the immune response to DBY, a model H-Y minor histocompatibility antigen (mHA) in a male patient with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant from a human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical female sibling. Patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells were screened for reactivity against a panel of 93 peptides representing the entire amino acid sequence of DBY. This epitope screen revealed a high frequency CD4(+) T cell response to a single DBY peptide that persisted from 8 to 21 mo after transplant. A CD4(+) T cell clone displaying the same reactivity was established from posttransplant patient cells and used to characterize the T cell epitope as a 19-mer peptide starting at position 30 in the DBY sequence and restricted by HLA-DRB1*1501. Remarkably, the corresponding X homologue peptide was also recognized by donor T cells. Moreover, the T cell clone responded equally to mature HLA-DRB1*1501 male and female dendritic cells, indicating that both DBY and DBX peptides were endogenously processed. After transplant, the patient also developed antibodies that were specific for recombinant DBY protein and did not react with DBX. This antibody response was mapped to two DBY peptides beginning at positions 118 and 536. Corresponding DBX peptides were not recognized. These studies provide the first demonstration of a coordinated B and T cell immune response to an H-Y antigen after allogeneic transplant. The specificity for recipient male cells was mediated by the B cell response and not by donor T cells. This dual DBX/DBY antigen is the first mHA to be identified in the context of chronic GVHD

Lifetest of the High Output Maximum Efficiency Resonator (HOMER) Laser for the SAFFIRE Instrument on NASA's DESDynI Project

We update the status of a diode-pumped, Nd:YAG oscillator that is the prototype laser for NASA's DESDynI mission. After completing TRL-6 testing, this laser has fired over 5.5 billion shots in lifetesting