Economic feasibility of an Oklahoma switchgrass biorefinery: What role does infrastructure play?

This research uses a net present value model developed on Microsoft Excel to determine the feasibility and advisability of a lignocellulosic ethanol supply chain in Calvin, Oklahoma. The research addresses challenges facing Oklahoma with switchgrass production. Dedicated energy crops (DEC) such as switchgrass, can be produced on marginal or Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. DECs provide an avenue for biomass to be produced while not hindering or competing with conventional crop production or rangeland uses. Considering the advantages of switchgrass biomass production, it is important to establish a successfully optimized lignocellulosic supply chain. Supply chain for feedstock delivery can be difficult to manage and optimize based on the infrastructure, feedstock availability, farm field locations, and length of haul. These factors play a key role in determining the feasibility and are heavily considered for this research due to the limitations faced by Oklahoma's infrastructure and feedstock availability. Transportation cost implications are of most importance when considering a cellulosic ethanol supply chain. For this research, transportation costs were quantified to reflect issues faced within Oklahoma. In conclusion, for the average yield state of 1.5 tons acre-1, a 69 million gallon capacity (50 million gallons production capacity) biorefinery there will be a required 81,707 truckloads per year. In addition, in the average yield state of nature, under no given price are the projects feasible. Compared to states with a busting corn market with higher yields, multiple inputs, and improved rural infrastructure, Oklahoma has to pay a high premium for the delivery of feedstock. Into the future, Oklahoma will have to improve rural infrastructure and improve yields acre to become profitable

Incorporating flavor into a wheat breeding program

Wheat is a major cash crop in Oklahoma, accounting for nearly 2.6 million harvested acres in 2020. Many farmers rely on wheat varieties developed at Oklahoma State University (OSU), as these varieties have proven capable of producing robust yields despite Oklahoma’s unique climatic characteristics and disease pressures. Flavor is not a formal consideration in the breeding program; this is perhaps unfortunate, as milling entrepreneurs are developing a local market for flour produced from specific OSU varieties. Thus, the objective of this research is to assess the ability to document variety-specific flavors in bread by having food professionals sample breads made from different wheat varieties. First, a qualitative study is conducted to identify the range of flavor attributes bread made from different wheat varieties can possess. Then a quantitative analysis is performed to measure the extent to which similar flavors are manifested in the same wheat variety grown in different Oklahoma regions. Both analyses use professionals in the food industry as sensory analysts.The first study compares nine different OSU and three different heirloom wheat varieties. Fourteen food professionals sampled the breads, describing flavor characteristics and likeability. A Napping-Ultra Flash Profile exercise is also performed, providing data for measuring differences in flavor, allowing millers to identify which varieties can be blended while still preserving a common flavor profile. The OSU varieties provided a distinct and largely superior eating experience compared to the heirlooms, suggesting recent genetic changes to promote disease resistance, yield increases, and baking quality have not sacrificed flavor. The results of this exploratory analysis are then used to identify a more quantitative instrument for analyzing flavor differences in wheat varieties by food professionals.If Oklahoma is to associate specific wheat varieties with specific flavors it is important those flavors be present in bread regardless of where in Oklahoma it is grown. The second study asks a similar sample of food professionals to sample breads made from five different OSU varieties and two different regions. By sampling the same variety grown in both the northern and southern region, and using a more quantitative instrument, it is possible to measure the extent to which the same flavor emerges regardless of the region. Twelve food professionals rated the intensity of nine flavor attributes, selected the presence of other attributes from a word bank, and completed a napping ultra-flash profile exercise. Overall, the same wheat variety can impart considerably different flavors when grown in different regions of Oklahoma, suggesting it is difficult to associate a wheat variety with a specific flavor profile without knowing where in Oklahoma it is grown

Modelling microtube driven invasion of glioma

Malignant gliomas are notoriously invasive, a major impediment against their successful treatment. This invasive growth has motivated the use of predictive partial differential equation models, formulated at varying levels of detail, and including (i) "proliferation-infiltration" models, (ii) "go-or-grow" models, and (iii) anisotropic diffusion models. Often, these models use macroscopic observations of a diffuse tumour interface to motivate a phenomenological description of invasion, rather than performing a detailed and mechanistic modelling of glioma cell invasion processes. Here we close this gap. Based on experiments that support an important role played by long cellular protrusions, termed tumour microtubes, we formulate a new model for microtube-driven glioma invasion. In particular, we model a population of tumour cells that extend tissue-infiltrating microtubes. Mitosis leads to new nuclei that migrate along the microtubes and settle elsewhere. A combination of steady state analysis and numerical simulation is employed to show that the model can predict an expanding tumour, with travelling wave solutions led by microtube dynamics. A sequence of scaling arguments allows us reduce the detailed model into simpler formulations, including models falling into each of the general classes (i), (ii), and (iii) above. This analysis allows us to clearly identify the assumptions under which these various models can be a posteriori justified in the context of microtube-driven glioma invasion. Numerical simulations are used to compare the various model classes and we discuss their advantages and disadvantages

Pitch Perfect: Selling to Libraries and Selling Libraries to Nonusers

Sales is the art of persuasion. It is intentional activity to move another individual (or group of individuals) to a desired outcome—for example, “no” to “yes”; “maybe” to “yes; ”yes, someday”; to “yes, now.” And, not surprisingly, there are numerous strategies for selling—challenger, consultative, high-touch, solution selling, etc. Regardless of the particular sales method in use, it is important to recognize that sales activity is purposeful, goal driven, and remarkably effective. Paradoxically, the most effective sales interactions are those where the customer does not even recognize that they have been “sold.” The mark of a great sales person is the ability to leave customers thinking that it is they—the customers—who have realized their will. This program looks at three questions related to library sales: 1) What are the characteristics that library suppliers look for in their sales personnel? 2) How do library vendors train, manage and incentivize their sales teams? 3) Should librarians—especially subject liaisons in academic libraries—be recruited, trained and managed as if they were sales workers, charged with influencing faculty and student uptake of library materials and services? While libraries generally characterize themselves as “learning organizations” as opposed to “sales organizations,” the fact remains that when libraries talk about liaisons assigned to provide “outreach” or “engagement,” they might just as well be talking about sales. And, if they were to think about library work in the context of sales, administrators would undoubtedly hire differently, manage differently, and use different criteria to evaluate and incentivize library staff. They would also recognize the need for different strategies for management, including the recruitment of experienced sales managers to direct the goals and activity of their library sales force. This program, led by librarians and professional sales managers, is intended to address the need of libraries, as customers and service providers, to understand more about the theory, practice and management of sales, including the potential use of tools like Salesforce.com to monitor and evaluate librarian performance

Pull factors: A measure of retail sales success; Estimates for 77 Oklahoma cities (2018)

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Muscle weakness in Ryr1 I4895T/WT knock-in mice as a result of reduced ryanodine receptor Ca 2+ ion permeation and release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum

The type 1 isoform of the ryanodine receptor (RYR1) is the Ca 2+ release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) that is activated during skeletal muscle excitation–contraction (EC) coupling. Mutations in the RYR1 gene cause several rare inherited skeletal muscle disorders, including malignant hyperthermia and central core disease (CCD). The human RYR1 I4898T mutation is one of the most common CCD mutations. To elucidate the mechanism by which RYR1 function is altered by this mutation, we characterized in vivo muscle strength, EC coupling, SR Ca 2+ content, and RYR1 Ca 2+ release channel function using adult heterozygous Ryr1 I4895T/+ knock-in mice (IT/+). Compared with age-matched wild-type (WT) mice, IT/+ mice exhibited significantly reduced upper body and grip strength. In spite of normal total SR Ca 2+ content, both electrically evoked and 4-chloro- m -cresol–induced Ca 2+ release were significantly reduced and slowed in single intact flexor digitorum brevis fibers isolated from 4–6-mo-old IT/+ mice. The sensitivity of the SR Ca 2+ release mechanism to activation was not enhanced in fibers of IT/+ mice. Single-channel measurements of purified recombinant channels incorporated in planar lipid bilayers revealed that Ca 2+ permeation was abolished for homotetrameric IT channels and significantly reduced for heterotetrameric WT:IT channels. Collectively, these findings indicate that in vivo muscle weakness observed in IT/+ knock-in mice arises from a reduction in the magnitude and rate of RYR1 Ca 2+ release during EC coupling that results from the mutation producing a dominant-negative suppression of RYR1 channel Ca 2+ ion permeation

Microbiome definition re-visited: old concepts and new challenges

peer-reviewedAbstract The field of microbiome research has evolved rapidly over the past few decades and has become a topic of great scientific and public interest. As a result of this rapid growth in interest covering different fields, we are lacking a clear commonly agreed definition of the term “microbiome.” Moreover, a consensus on best practices in microbiome research is missing. Recently, a panel of international experts discussed the current gaps in the frame of the European-funded MicrobiomeSupport project. The meeting brought together about 40 leaders from diverse microbiome areas, while more than a hundred experts from all over the world took part in an online survey accompanying the workshop. This article excerpts the outcomes of the workshop and the corresponding online survey embedded in a short historical introduction and future outlook. We propose a definition of microbiome based on the compact, clear, and comprehensive description of the term provided by Whipps et al. in 1988, amended with a set of novel recommendations considering the latest technological developments and research findings. We clearly separate the terms microbiome and microbiota and provide a comprehensive discussion considering the composition of microbiota, the heterogeneity and dynamics of microbiomes in time and space, the stability and resilience of microbial networks, the definition of core microbiomes, and functionally relevant keystone species as well as co-evolutionary principles of microbe-host and inter-species interactions within the microbiome. These broad definitions together with the suggested unifying concepts will help to improve standardization of microbiome studies in the future, and could be the starting point for an integrated assessment of data resulting in a more rapid transfer of knowledge from basic science into practice. Furthermore, microbiome standards are important for solving new challenges associated with anthropogenic-driven changes in the field of planetary health, for which the understanding of microbiomes might play a key role. Video Abstrac

Constitutivism

A brief explanation and overview of constitutivism