Connected to Give: Faith Communities

This is the third report in the "Connected to Give" series, and compares the relationship between the charitable giving behavior of American's from a variety of backgrounds, including their key demographics; an examination their motivations for giving; and the types of organizations to which they contribute

Population-scale organization of cerebellar granule neuron signaling during a visuomotor behavior.

Granule cells at the input layer of the cerebellum comprise over half the neurons in the human brain and are thought to be critical for learning. However, little is known about granule neuron signaling at the population scale during behavior. We used calcium imaging in awake zebrafish during optokinetic behavior to record transgenically identified granule neurons throughout a cerebellar population. A significant fraction of the population was responsive at any given time. In contrast to core precerebellar populations, granule neuron responses were relatively heterogeneous, with variation in the degree of rectification and the balance of positive versus negative changes in activity. Functional correlations were strongest for nearby cells, with weak spatial gradients in the degree of rectification and the average sign of response. These data open a new window upon cerebellar function and suggest granule layer signals represent elementary building blocks under-represented in core sensorimotor pathways, thereby enabling the construction of novel patterns of activity for learning

Single Event Effects (SEE) Testing of Embedded DSP Cores within Microsemi RTAX4000D Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Devices

Motivation for this work is: (1) Accurately characterize digital signal processor (DSP) core single-event effect (SEE) behavior (2) Test DSP cores across a large frequency range and across various input conditions (3) Isolate SEE analysis to DSP cores alone (4) Interpret SEE analysis in terms of single-event upsets (SEUs) and single-event transients (SETs) (5) Provide flight missions with accurate estimate of DSP core error rates and error signatures

Regulation of artisanal small scale gold mining (ASGM) in Ghana and Indonesia as currently implemented fails to adequately protect aquatic ecosystems

Artisanal small scale gold mining (ASGM) operations are largely unregulated, informal and transient. Rudimentary mining and processing techniques used in ASGM often result in degraded environmental, safety, health and social conditions. ASGM requires permanent sources of water, placing most operations close to natural water bodies. Until recently, the impact on these environments has been largely overlooked, with most studies focussing primarily on mercury contamination and health concerns. Based on Ghanaian and Indonesian experiences, regulation of ASGM is a good step toward improvement, but here we argue that regulation alone is insufficient to improve environmental performance, particularly when the impacts of ASGM on aquatic ecosystems are largely unknown

Supplementary feeding of the reintroduced Red Kite (Milvus milvus) in UK gardens

Capsule The provision of meat for garden birds is unusual in the UK but a reintroduced raptor, the Red Kite Milvus milvus, is now regularly fed in some areas. A questionnaire of garden kite feeders revealed that people were most often motivated to feed by a desire to see kites close up and that most provisioning falls within available guidelines. We estimated the median amount of food thought to be taken by kites per kite-feeding garden per day as 21 g, sufficient to support 0.12–0.26 individuals

Supplementary feeding of wild birds indirectly affects ground beetle populations in suburban gardens

Supplementary feeding of wild birds by domestic garden-holders is a globally widespread and popular form of human–wildlife interaction, particularly in urban areas. Vast amounts of energy are thus being added to garden ecosystems. However, the potential indirect effects of this activity on non-avian species have been little studied to date, with the only two previous studies taking place under experimentally manipulated conditions. Here we present the first evidence of a localised depletive effect of wild bird feeding on ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in suburban gardens under the usual feeding patterns of the garden-holders. We trapped significantly fewer ground beetles directly under bird-feeding stations than in matched areas of habitat away from feeders. Video analysis also revealed significantly higher activity by ground-foraging birds under the feeding stations than in the control areas. Small mammal trapping revealed no evidence that these species differ in abundance between gardens with and without bird feeders. We therefore suggest that local increases in ground-foraging activity by bird species whose diets encompass arthropods as well as seed material are responsible for the reduction in ground beetle numbers. Our work therefore illustrates that providing food for wild birds can have indirect negative effects on palatable prey species under typical conditions

Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein 1 (LRP1) as a Novel Regulator of Early Astroglial Differentiation

Astrocytes are the most abundant cell type within the central nervous system (CNS) with various functions. Furthermore, astrocytes show a regional and developmental heterogeneity traceable with specific markers. In this study, the influence of the lowdensity lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) on astrocytic maturation within the hippocampus was analyzed during development. Previous studies mostly focused on the involvement of LRP1 in the neuronal compartment, where the deletion caused hyperactivity and motor dysfunctions in knockout animals. However, the influence of LRP1 on glia cells is less intensively investigated. Therefore, we used a newly generated mouse model, where LRP1 is specifically deleted from GLAST-positive astrocytes colocalized with the expression of the reporter tdTomato to visualize recombination and knockout events in vivo. The influence of LRP1 on the maturation of hippocampal astrocytes was assessed with immunohistochemical stainings against stage-specific markers as well as on mRNA level with RT-PCR analysis. The examination revealed that the knockout induction caused a significantly decreased number of mature astrocytes at an early developmental timepoint compared to control animals. Additionally, the delayed maturation of astrocytes also caused a reduced activity of neurons within the hippocampus. As previous studies showed that the glial specification and maturation of astrocytes is dependent on the signaling cascades Ras/Raf/MEK/Erk and PI3K/Akt, the phosphorylation of the signaling molecules Erk1/2 and Akt was analyzed. The hippocampal tissue of LRP1-deficient animals at P21 showed a significantly decreased amount of activated Erk in comparison to control tissue leading to the conclusion that the activation of this signaling cascade is dependent on LRP1 in astrocytes, which in turn is necessary for proper maturation of astrocytes. Our results showed that the deletion of LRP1 at an early developmental timepoint caused a delayed maturation of astrocytes in the hippocampus based on an altered activation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/Erk signaling pathway. However, with ongoing development these effects were compensated and the number of mature astrocytes was comparable as well as the activity of neurons. Therefore, LRP1 acts as an early regulator of the differentiation and maturation of astrocytes within the hippocampus

RCAN1 regulates vesicle recycling and quantal release kinetics via effects on calcineurin activity

Author version made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.We have previously shown that Regulator of Calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) regulates multiple stages of vesicle exocytosis. However, the mechanisms by which RCAN1 affects secretory vesicle exocytosis and quantal release kinetics remain unknown. Here we use carbon fiber amperometry to detect exocytosis from chromaffin cells and identify these underlying mechanisms. We observe reduced exocytosis with repeated stimulations in chromaffin cells overexpressing RCAN1 (RCAN1ox), but not in wild type (WT) cells, indicating a negative effect of RCAN1 on vesicle recycling and endocytosis. Acute exposure to calcineurin inhibitors, cyclosporine A and FK-506, replicates this effect in WT cells but has no additional effect in RCAN1ox cells. When we chronically expose WT cells to cyclosporine A and FK-506 we find that catecholamine release per vesicle and pre-spike foot (PSF) signal parameters are decreased, similar to that in RCAN1ox cells. Inhibiting calcineurin activity in RCAN1ox cells has no additional effect on the amount of catecholamine release per vesicle but further reduces PSF signal parameters. Electron microscopy studies indicate these changes are not due to altered vesicle number or distribution in RCAN1ox cells but reduced vesicle release may be cause by decreased vesicle and dense core size in RCAN1ox cells. Thus, our results indicate that RCAN1 may negatively affects vesicle recycling and quantal release kinetics via the inhibition of calcineurin activity

Journeying with Communities: A Community Engagement and Organizing Handbook for University Extension Workers

This handbook highlights the public and social mission of higher educational institutions (HEI) through Community Engagement; a term that brings forth the important use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Community Organizing for Community Development (COCD). The unique contribution of this handbook is that it specifically situates HEI Community Engagement within the unique historical context of the Philippines; thus adding a Philippine voice in the literature of Community-Engaged Scholarship (CEnS). It also provides activity exercises and case studies where readers can situate themselves and apply the theories; concepts; and tools they have learned so they can enhance the Community Engagement programs and projects of their respective colleges and universities with their partner communities