text:
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Access Rights: Public
Partner: UNT Libraries
Language: English
Degree Discipline: [Biology]
Collection: UNT Theses and Dissertations
An Analysis of the Seasonal Food Habits of Two Species of Texas Centrarchids
Date: August 1940
Creator: Faggard, John M.
Description: This thesis explores the feeding habits of sunfish and bluegill in Texas lakes. Data gathered for this study is aimed to aid conservation of these pan fish by making a contribution toward a greater life history understanding of each species.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Bacterial Survey of Representative Denton County Wells with Special Reference to Sanitation
Date: June 1937
Creator: Roberts, Sally Stevens
Description: This thesis aimed to study the seventy-two representative wells of Denton County and to determine the possibilities of infection with typhoid organism. The sanitary survey and the test for Colon-Aerogenes bacteria show that 55% of the 72 wells studied are unsanitary, 27% are sanitary, and 18% are doubtful.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Bottom Fauna of Lake Worth
Date: August 1940
Creator: Jenkins, Jesse Denney
Description: This thesis describes the vertical distribution, quality, and quantity of the fauna found at the bottom of Lake Worth in Texas.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
A Comparative Study of the Bottom Fauna of four Texas Lakes
Date: August 1938
Creator: Lamb, Leonard D.
Description: This thesis attempted to study the bottom productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively with reference to the distribution of bonthos. The study of the bottom fauna in large reservior lakes is a relatively new field. This work will give more information on an unknown field than previously existed, although its scope is not intend to be exhaustive.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
A Comparison of Exotic and Domestic Species in American Zoological Gardens and their Practical Educational Value
Date: August 1940
Creator: Elliott, Zola
Description: This thesis presents a comparison of zoos and zoological gardens in the United States, Europe, and Asia. After an examination of these entities, the appeal and educational value of particular species is determined.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Correlation of Humus and Water Content on Saba Clay, Denton, Texas
Date: August 1938
Creator: Wilson, Clyde Byron
Description: This study is an attempt to determine the relationship between humus and the water found in it and how both effect soil in Denton county, Texas.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
A Correlation of Humus with Water Content and Crop Rotation in San Saba and Denton Clays, Denton County, Texas
Date: August 1939
Creator: Culwell, John Walton
Description: A study of the humus content and the water content of San Saba clay and Denton clay. Studies show that the physical properties of soil are conducive to moisture retention and the availability of moisture to plants.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
A correlation of the Edaphic Factors with the Vegetation of the Woodbine sands, Denton County, Texas
Date: August 1936
Creator: Graham, H. L.
Description: The purpose of this study was to correlate the Vegetation of the Woodbine Sands with the edaphic factors. In the laboratory an analysis of the edephic factors was made of the twenty-two soil types collected from the three formations. The results of these and other analysis are shown in tables and graphs. The results indicate that the vegetational cover of an area that is uniform in its origin and in its resident soil factors is determined by the edaphic factors present.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
A Correlation of the Habitat Factors with the Quantity of Bacterial Colonies as Observed by the Direct Microscopic Method on Twenty Soils of Denton County, Texas
Date: August 1937
Creator: Roach, Cornelia Ann
Description: The aim of this study is to determine what factors are most important in controlling the number of bacterial colonies found in twent represntative Denton County (Texas) soils during the growing season.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
The Ecology of Chlorohydra Viridissima in a Small Perennial Pond
Date: August 1937
Creator: Graham, Elizabeth Coffee
Description: The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of chemical, physical, and bilogical factors on th seasonal variation in population and on reproduction of Chlorohydra Viridissima (Schulze) in a small pernnial pond.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries


text:
B Richins property
This fishing and hunting property is located southeast of Henefer. To reach the property from the intersection of Main Street and Center Street in Henefer, travel east on Center Street to the Henefer Frontage Road, travel southeast on this road to the property entry.
Standard rules:
- All hunters and anglers must register
- Park in the designated area
- Do not drive off the roads
- Do not drive past the parking area
- Please pick up all trash (even if it's not yours)
- Please respect this private property
- No shooting within 600 feet of buildings, houses or machinery
Special rules:Hunting is limited to waterfowl only
When opened: Year round for the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017; ending May 31, 2017
Hunters may harvest: Waterfowl only
Possible catch: Brown trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, whitefish and Utah sucker (Note: You must immediately release any cutthroat trout, or trout with cutthroat markings, that you catch)
Area to hunt: 144 acres
Area to fish: 0.55 miles of the Weber River
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text:
Provisions in the Small Business Jobs Act may soon ease the Great Recession's prolonged credit crunch.
ARDMORE, Pa. — According to the experts, the recession ended in the summer of 2009. Three months after that, however, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said, "This credit crunch is not over." With all the available capital apparently going to big business and government, what can the financially-strapped small-business owner do?
There are a few bright spots among the clouds, as evidenced by new government loan guarantees and financing assistance. And your drycleaning business may be able to benefit from these programs and the funding they offer.STATE CAPITAL
SSBCI—the State Small Business Credit Initiative—encourages financial institutions to lend to small businesses that might not otherwise meet conventional underwriting standards by establishing a "guarantee" reserve account to recover any losses from loans enrolled in the program.
Drycleaning plants can use the loans as working capital, lines of credit, or for the purchase or construction of fixed assets such as buildings and equipment. The program also permits refinancing of existing loans.
An SSBCI borrower must be a small business with annual sales of less than $10 million that creates or retains jobs. Working-capital loans can go up to $250,000, or a maximum of $500,000 if the loan goes toward fixed assets.
The federal government will kick in the funds to a new or existing state CAP. A CAP is a portfolio insurance concept in which the borrower and the state each contribute a percentage of the loan amount into a reserve fund located at the lender's bank. This reserve fund enables the financial institution to make loans beyond its usual risk threshold and can be used to recover losses on loans made under the program.
A CAP loan has been described as a private market transaction between a lender and a borrower with all terms, fees, conditions, rates, collateral, etc., determined by the lending bank. To be eligible for funding, a state CAP is required to:
- Provide portfolio insurance for business loans based upon a separate loan-loss reserve fund for each financial institution;
- Require insurance premiums to be paid by the financial institution's lenders and the business borrowers to the reserve fund to have their loans enrolled in the reserve fund;
- Provide for contributions to be made by the state to the reserve fund in amounts at least equal to the sum of the amount of the insurance premiums paid by the borrower and the financial institution to the reserve fund for any newly enrolled loan; and
- Provide portfolio insurance solely for loans not exceeding $5 million to borrowers with 500 or fewer employees.
- For other types of credit support, states must demonstrate that each $1 of public support will result in $1 of new, private credit, and that individual guarantees will be limited to loans of not greater than $20 million and borrowers with 750 or fewer employees.
The program typically targets borrowers with 500 or fewer employees and loans with an average principal amount of $5 million or less. In addition, states must show that CAP and other credit-support programs together will result in $10 of new small-business lending for each $1 in federal funds.
If a state doesn't have an existing small-business capital-access or credit-support program, it can establish one in order to obtain SSBCI funding. If a state does not file the required notice of intent or fails to meet the June 2011 deadline, municipalities within the state can apply for a pro-rated share of the state's allocation, provided they meet all program criteria. Up to three municipalities in a state may be eligible to receive SSBCI funds.FUNDS ON THE WAY
Michigan and North Carolina were the first to receive SSBCI funds. The funds will, as the Treasury announced, strengthen the states' existing programs that leverage private lending to help finance creditworthy small businesses and manufacturers that are not getting the loans they need to expand and create jobs.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories are can apply for funds for programs that partner with private lenders to extend greater credit to small businesses. States are required to demonstrate a minimum "bang for the buck" of $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding. Accordingly, the $1.5 billion commitment the federal government will make for this program is expected to support $15 billion in private lending.
Now is the time to form a relationship with a small bank in your neighborhood. Get to know the president and loan officers. Ask if they intend to participate in the new financing programs available to small banks. And most importantly, ask how they underwrite small-business loans and whether your drycleaning business is a candidate.
Also investigate the options available from lenders specializing in financing drycleaning businesses. As the credit crunch eases and customers begin to return, everyone will be eager to have you as a client.Click here to read Part 1 of this story.


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Club Book, a series that brings best-selling and award-winning authors to library communities throughout the metropolitan region, is thrilled to announce an exciting new season, kicking off August 11 with a talk by Lev Grossman.
All Club Book events are free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served. Doors open 45 minutes in advance of each program and books will be available for sale/signing. Podcasts of each program will be available on the website and at the iTunes store within a few days of each event. Visit www.clubbook.org for more information.
Mark your calendars for new Club Book events:
Club Book with Lev Grossman
Monday, August 11, 7 p.m.
Roseville Library, 2180 N. Hamline Ave., Roseville
Lev Grossman is the author of the bestselling Magicians trilogy. The much-anticipated third and final installment, The Magician's Land, debuts in August, and the full series is being adapted as a television drama by NBC/Universal. Grossman is also the author of two stand-alone novels, Warp and Codex, and he is lead book critic and technology writer for Time magazine and a regular guest on NPR.
Hosted by: Ramsey County Suburban Libraries
Club Book with Amy Bloom
Thursday, August 14, 7 p.m.
Galaxie Library, 14955 Galaxie Ave., Apple Valley
Amy Bloom is among the elite set of contemporary American storytellers to see international success as a novelist, short story author, and screenwriter. Bloom's short fiction has been nominated for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and appeared in popular anthologies including The Best American Short Stories and O. Henry Prize Stories. A psychotherapist by training, Bloom also created, wrote, and produced the Lifetime psychiatry drama "State of Mind." She brings all this talent and experience to bear in her third full-length novel, Lucky Us.
Hosted by: Dakota County Library
Club Book with Louise Penny
Saturday, August 30, 2 p.m.
Prior Lake Library, 16210 Eagle Creek Ave. SE, Prior Lake
Canadian phenom Louise Penny is the author behind the wildly popular Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in Quebec but translated into twenty different languages. Between the ten installments to date, Penny has won or been in contention for nearly every major prize awarded in the mystery genre: five Agatha Awards, four Anthony Awards, two Barry Awards, two Macavity Awards, and an Edgar Award. Penny also executive-produced the 2013 film adaptation of Still Life. The tenth Gamache novel, The Long Way Home, is out in August.
Hosted by: Scott County Library
Club Book with Jennifer McMahon
Thursday, September 11, 6:30 p.m.
Chanhassen Library, 7711 Kerber Blvd., Chanhassen
Jennifer McMahon's unique brand of suspense straddles the line between conventional mystery and supernatural thriller. Her novels have been staples on The New York Times bestseller list since her 2009 breakout, Promise Not to Tell. McMahon's latest, The Winter People was an Indie Next pick, Library Reads selection, and Amazon Best Book of the Month (Mystery) in February, its debut month. McMahon is also the author of My Tiki Girl, a well-received GLBT young adult novel included on ALA's Rainbow List for 2009.
Hosted by: Carver County Library
Club Book with Sue Miller
Thursday, September 25, 6:30 p.m.
Central Park Amphitheater, 8595 Central Park Pl., Woodbury
Sue Miller is the author of nearly a dozen bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. Her first two hits, The Good Mother and Inventing the Abbotts, saw successful big screen adaptations in 1988 and 1997. Her third, Family Pictures, was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award, and her sixth, While I Was Gone, became a popular Oprah's Book Club selection in 2000. Miller has earned a number of fellowships and other honors, including the Carl Sandburg Award and Kate Chopin Literary Award. Her newest, The Arsonist, is a "suspenseful and romantic novel," according to Booklist.
Hosted by: Washington County Library
Club Book with Hampton Sides
Monday, October 13, 7 p.m.
Southdale Library, 7001 York Ave S., Edina
Hampton Sides is one of the best known – and bestselling – American historians of the past decade. Sides first made a name for himself with 2001's Ghost Soldiers, which received the PEN USA Award for Nonfiction and also became the basis for documentaries on the History Channel and PBS. His gripping follow-ups, Blood and Thunder and Hellhound on His Trail (focused on key chapters of America's westward expansion and civil rights movement, respectively) also saw successful small-screen adaptations. His newest, In the Kingdom of Ice, is "a white-knuckle tale of polar exploration and survival" (Random House).
Hosted by: Hennepin County Library
Club Book with Julie Klassen
Tuesday, October 21, 7 p.m.
Rum River Library, 4201 6th Ave., Anoka
Julie Klassen is Minnesota's answer to Jane Austen. Her romances are set in Regency-era England. Two of these, The Maid of Fairbourne Hall and The Girl in the Gatehouse, have the rare distinction of receiving both a Midwest Book Award and the Christy Award for Historical Romance. Her third hit, The Silent Governess, also earned a Christy Award, and was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award and the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award. The Dancing Master, her latest book, shines the spotlight on the unsung professionals responsible for teaching young ladies the social graces necessary for a public life in high society.
Hosted by: Anoka County Library
Club Book with Rebecca Rasmussen
Thursday, November 6, 7 p.m.
Stillwater Public Library, 224 3rd St. N., Stillwater
Rebecca Rasmussen garnered accolades in 2011 for The Bird Sisters, an "achingly authentic, almost completely character driven" novel chronicling the remarkable lives of two spinster sisters in rural Wisconsin according to Publisher's Weekly. Rasmussen also pens short fiction; her stories have appeared in or won prizes from notable journals including The Mid-American Review, Narrative Magazine, and TriQuarterly. Rasmussen currently resides in California, but her creative interests remain in her native Midwest. Her newest book, Evergreen, also centers around siblings, and plays out against the picturesque backdrop of Minnesota's verdant northwoods.
Hosted by: Stillwater Public Library
Club Book with Nikki Giovanni
Thursday, November 13, 7 p.m.
Arlington Hills Library and Community Center, 1200 Payne Ave., Saint Paul
Over a prolific career spanning five decades, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni has penned nearly twenty popular poetry collections including Acolytes (2007), Bicycles: Love Poems (2009), and Chasing Utopia (2013). She is also the author or co-author of ten children's books. Prominent among other awards and accolades, Giovanni is a five-time NAACP Image Award winner, holds the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry, and is the first-ever recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award. She is currently serving as a Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech.
Hosted by: Saint Paul Public Library
About Club Book:
Club Book collaborates with the library systems in the seven-county region to pair bestselling and award-winning authors with audiences in all corners of the Twin Cities metro. A program of the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) and coordinated by Library Strategies, the nonprofit consulting group of the Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, Club Book is made possible through Minnesota's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund, a portion of the state's 2008 Legacy Amendment aimed at preserving and enlivening Minnesota's rich cultural traditions.
Club Book welcomes the support of the following partners: Media sponsors: Minnesota Public Radio and MinnPost. Bookseller partner: Common Good Books. Author transportation: Around Town Agency. Hotel accommodations: The Crowne Plaza – Saint Paul Riverfront. Library hosts include: Anoka County, Carver County, Dakota County, Hennepin County, Ramsey County Suburban, Saint Paul Public, Scott County, Stillwater Public, and Washington County.


text:
Worst-case scenarios aside, other issues are also conspiring to keep insurance rates from falling in 2007.
First among those
factors is the stock market.
Even though the Dow Jones Industrial
Average is hitting new highs,
insurance executives worry the
stock market cannot sustain
its recent run and some of those
gains will be given back.
Stock value increases are important because insurance companies invest their reserves in stocks and other equities. Earnings from those investments help subsidize rates consumers pay.
If stocks don't continue to grow, insurers must rely more on premium payments to support claims, which translates into higher costs for consumers.
Another issue
that might tighten access to
insurance is the scheduled expiration
of the Terrorism Risk Insurance
Act, put in place following
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
The act was intended to serve as a backstop for insurance companies and cap their potential losses. Lawmakers designed the act to encourage insurers to write large commercial policies when none were willing to take on the potentially catastrophic risks. That act is scheduled to expire in December 2007.
Opponents of the bill, such as the Consumer Federation of America, claim it is no longer necessary because commercial insurance markets can now fully assume the risk.
Supporters of the bill, such as Jim Donelon, insurance commissioner for Louisiana, say that not only is the bill necessary to ensure a competitive insurance marketplace, but that a second federal backstop should be put in place to protect against the potential losses from a major natural disaster.
"If we could get that in place, companies would feel comfortable to continue to write coverage for hurricanes, terrorist attacks, etc., because they would know what their maximum exposure would be and they could price accordingly," he says.
Such a move could not be made without overcoming significant resistance, especially from regions, such as the Midwest, who would be essentially subsidizing the insurance rates for more at-risk regions.
But Donelon counters that 70 percent of the nation's population lives along the costal regions and in high-risk regions.
"One of these days an earthquake will do more damage to San Francisco than Katrina did to New Orleans. And when that happens, I sure hope we have a national backstop in place," he says.
And while he supports the idea of a federal backstop, Donelon acknowledges it would be an uphill battle to put it in place.
"There's plenty of resistance to the idea," he says. "Congress and the White House are even hesitant to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act because of how much of a potential hit it could mean to future budgets."
Michael Giusti is a freelance writer based in New Orleans.
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text:
TC TO JANE WELSH CARLYLE ; 27 September 1838; DOI: 10.1215/lt-18380927-TC-JWC-01; CL 10: 188-193
Scotsbrig, Ecclefechan, 27th Septr, 1838—
Dear Goody,
This is probably the last Letter you will get from me dated here at this time; I begin to make serious arrangements for departure: some time next week, as I compute it, I shall be with you at Chelsea, and then the rest can be learned by word of mouth,—which will be a far better way; will it not? Meanwhile, Jack has arrived duly; and all goes whirling with doubled confusion. I seize an hour of the morning, snatched from a Day as to which no Plan, after various attempts, could be formed; I will send you forth a word or two of Autobiography, and make that certain at least.
Our journey, my Mother's and mine, to Nithsdale took effect; but not very prosperously. Our Gig-horse, a huge nag of Jamie's not used to such work, became unwilling to perform before we reached Dumfries; you can figure it, with my Mother in all her tremulous apprehensiveness, sitting by me! We got to Dumfries, however; procured a better gig for the morrow, and yoked the ugly quadruped again: this time before ever leaving the pavement, he flatly refused to act at all; he would not even take us back to Annandale: we had to unyoke him, and send him home, giving up Templand for that day. I had already seen M'Diarmid and Aird; had nothing more to do in Dumfries, but wander up and down with such entertainment as my own sour thoughts, full of pity rage and sorrow would afford me. One good thing was, M'Diarmid had faithfully paid me, nine sovereigns for you for Puttoch; which coins I have or will account for.1 He would take no percentage this time; we shall have to make him some acknowledgement by and by. His wife2 was fat-sentimental, as on former occasions; little Mac himself as kind as could be,—wretched only that I could not eat and drink with him. He has not succeeded well for this year with the letting of Puttoch; but has better outlooks for a near future. A certain Colonel Somebody of Mabie3 has the House and Game this season at the easy rate of £4, there being no Game; but he will preserve the Game this year, and in future years give £10 for his accommodation, and perhaps plague us less about it. As for Goody she with Macqueen's4 and Macdiarmid's instalments in her pocket will really be in funds for the present; able to bind Revolution Books5 and what not (considering the Savings Bank too), according to her own sweet will. Nay there are other funds too, I guess! A Letter from your Mother, unrefusable, but which seemed to me to hold cash: a truly monied Goody! Poor Aird6 is the same interesting rustic he always was; vegetating, like willow in flowerpot, regretting the free watercourses, where his right place were. We walked to Lincluden Abbey,7 in the soft evening; talking wersh [insipid] philosophy about the "glorious spirit of the Past," and such like, not a word of which would I dissent from, but let it all pass in peace. I also saw Burns's House,8 the little oblique angled hut where the great soul had to adjust itself, and be a King without Kingdom: it seems vacant since the Widow's death;9 some dirty children sat on the doorsill, and the knocker seemed torn half off;—the soul of the man is now happily far away from all that.— Jean and Jamie were both as kind as could be; but you know what their house is! We huggermuggered as we could. They are prosperous both, I think; have a noisy gleg [lively] little child,10 and near prospect of another I should fancy. Jean received your Parcel with great expressions of thankfulness; she made your last gown, I think I heard, into quite an eminent one. Mary too at Annan was emphatic in her gratitude, in her affectionate remembrance of you. All which was pleasant to hear.
But to get along. On the wednesday morning (morrow of that nag-business, second morning of mine in Dumfries), I got upon the Edinburgh Coach, leaving my Mother whose health did not promise well; and got safely to Templand before breakfast was begun there. A certain fat good-natured "Mr Boswell"11 with a Greenock dialect garnished by Lancashire "dock English," otherwise a very excellent young man, sat there; "waiting for Mr Alick Welsh12 down from Crawford." Your Mothered [sic] entered soon, right blithe to see me; then Alick as expected; then breakfast, and a pleasant tho' too talking day. Templand and Nithsdale, all moist and green but sunny (for the time) and yellow with harvest, looked as beautiful as ever; your Mother looks no older, not altered in any way: the chief danger now as ever that you be overloaded with good victual, or otherwise killed with Kindness. I spent the whole time talking to her, the youths having soon gone out to fish or see the Grey Mare's Tail;13 I flatter myself I was very agreeable. She was kissing kind; made me promise, if it were in any manner possible, that I would bring up John and my Mother still, and stay there for a series of days. She packed up apples for Sister Jean; a small pot of marmalade for my use at Scotsbrig; two larger ones of "rasp jam" for your use at Chelsea:—sinner that I am, they took to leaking on the way to Dumfries, stained as with blood in many places a clean shirt for me, and I left them there. One of them now has got hither; I will still try to fetch it on, bad company tho' it be. There is also the Letter I spoke of,—evidently not full of writing. On the Thursday afternoon I came off again by the Glasgow coach. Little Whigham of Allanton14 sat on the top beside me; very cheerful, speechful: Poor Mrs Brydone [sic] of Dunscore15 had just been sent off to Glasgow Madhouse; so he told me. A new horse was waiting at Dumfries, but the night wet and too late for travelling
On the morrow afternoon arriving at Ecclefechan we found Letters at Alick's; one from the Speddings, announcing first their joy at the certainty they seemed to have of seeing me; then, of later date, a Postscript signifying that they had been at Scotsbrig seeking me, and that I was now bound to come!16 The other Letter was from Jack; it indicated that in all likelihood he had been at Annan some hours, waiting the sight of me. After refreshment, and new misventures with horses, I set off to Annan with our old horse; and then at Mary's in the cool of the evening did actually find Jack, found Goody's Letter, Review of Sartor, gift to my Mother, and all as right as it could be! Thanks to thee, my good Wife, tho' my hot-tempered one! O my dear Jeannie I have more regard for thee than perhaps thou wilt ever rightly know of. But let that pass.— Jack, as you say, is the very [De]mon of the Uncertain, Démon de la chose incertaine.17 I have even less tolerance of that than [form]erly; yet the man's good-nature at bottom is inexhaustible; one cannot long be angry at him, the best way is to go your own road, and laugh. No peace has been here since he came, except two days that he spent at Dumfries (having failed of Templand, and only sent off a letter of mine, inclosed in excuses, by Andrew Watson);18 last night (it was Rood Fair)19 he returned again with Jamie. Rome is evidently the place he will go to: indeed at Dumfries yesterday he found a Letter from Lady Clare, offering him the old terms if he will wait till February and then go back with her! I incline to think it will perhaps really be the best way; no man in that humour need try London, need try anything resembling London. But for the present his haste to be back thither, "by the 3d of October," is like that of a lover on assignation; the rather as he finds I have not completed my arrangements, and cannot well go till the 5th or 6th. It is clear he comes back with me; but nothing farther is clear.
I have bought Lawrence a cap, one of the best ever seen: I cannot conceive all this you tell me about his sketch, and imagine it must be a foolish fondness that blinds the black eyes of the woman. I have also got two waistcoats from Shankland.20 I have not got my Tobacco yet, but hope to get it. A stone or so of tolerable oatmeal I will bring; the rest shall follow in some four or five weeks. Shall I order any butter, and how much? Poor Isabella does not herself superintend it this year, and the price (owing to Steamboats) is 11d a pound; it is good butter, but very salt; what shall I do? Wait till we meet, and then send some order about it? I would furthermore fain try to get a morsel of whisky, and bring it with me. John Fergus says, all Scotchmen do it.21 These little things once ready, I am ready and the Railway brings us down with the velocity of light,—Goody boiling the kettle in expectancy! Poor Goody I wrote to Alzdorf a hurried Letter from Dumfries; I could testify little of him; I said what I knew. Bravo, Goodykin! it was well done to demolish that Southwood Smith; were it only that he was the stuffer of old Bentham he is avoidable to me forevermore.22 I am sorry for Hunt; but man cannot help him. I wrote to Emerson yesterday; in a very confused manner; but directing, as you advised, that he should proceed with his further printing on his own footing. I am to write again when I get home. Hast thou got me any shirts? Wreck [ruin] is the word here.
And so in fine my Dearest I am coming back to thee, like the ill sixpence; whither else can I go? It is very right as thou sayest that I am chained: London is the place I do at bottom believe; Rome surely we will not at all think of since (God be thanked!) there is now no cough in the business. In about a week from this date then, a Steamer may be setting out; and in eight-and-forty hours after that! But I will write, or otherwise indicate the day. Do not you write after Tuesday at latest.— For us here two things present themselves as possible in the interim; both of which may very readily fail: To run over to the Speddings, whose brief call here, and no one to receive them, presses on me; or else to run up to Templand, according to promise exacted and given. I had brought myself to the point of Speddingdom this morning, and proferred it to Jack; but he will and will not. It hangs uncertain till the hour. We have a gig and carthorse till Wednesday next, and weather seeming to mend. But on the whole, I am perhaps as well entirely dormant here. My last travel gave me a dirty little cold, a continual small headache which sticks by me still. Consider it all as "chose incertaine" except that I shall be with thee, and—! O my dear Good Wife. But the Angel, as thou sayest, does stir the waters,23 more ways than one: surely our better days are still coming.— All here salute you right heartily. My mother is proud of her gift. Ever your own
T. Carlyle—
Your Mother did not seem to me to contemplate going to Liverpool sooner than about the end of October. Your Aunt there was in a less painful state for the time,24 your Mother wanted to wait till Walter25 were gone &c &c. Gibson,26 it seems, is there at present; extremely brisk.
Speddingdom is as good as given up, I apprehend, for this year. You and I will go next year; shall we?—Templand is not likely either.— The Uncertains27 last word, as he passes me this moment, is: "Tell her that I'll be there on Wednesday night": pay no regard to that! Do not write later than Monday (we will now say), if you write at all. But indeed an old Newspaper and strokes will do as well as anything for general purposes. Farewell, dear Jeanie mine! My Mother sends special "best respects," and "thank her most kindly."


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Tendonitis (also tenonitis or tendinitis) is an inflammation of a tendon. For example, patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee) is an inflammation of the patellar tendon, which connects the tibia to the patella.
Homeopathy is a safe, natural form of medicine, based on the practice of treating like with like. Homeopathy is derived from the Greek words homios, meaning like or similar, and italios, meaning suffering. Homeopathy is concerned with treating the whole person rather than the illness alone. The homeopath will consider the patient as a wbole, both physically and psychologically, taking into account the patient's physical appearance, their likes, dislikes and their temperament. It is there fore...
Tendonitis as related to Homeopathy
- Homeopathic Ruta graveolens | Homeopathy for Tendonitis …
Homeopathy heals strained, sprained and injured muscles and tendons with homeopathic remedies. One special remedy, Ruta graveolens, is often used for Tendonitis ...
- tendonitis - definition of tendonitis by Medical dictionary
tendonitis /ten·do·ni·tis/ (ten″do-ni´tis) tendinitis. ten·do·ni·tis (tĕn′də-nī′tĭs) n. Variant of tendinitis. tendonitis. See tendinitis. tendinitis ...
- tendon - definition of tendon by The Free Dictionary
It transpired that he had twisted a tendon out of place, and could never have gotten well without attention.
- What Are the Differences Between Tendonitis and Arthritis …
Arthritis pain typically is localized specifically to a joint, while tendonitis pain tends to be just off the joint and generally covers a larger area.
- Homeopathy : Arnica.com
Treating Shoulder Pain and Injuries With Homeopathy. Dr. Thaddeus Jacobs. With its shallow ball-and-socket joint surface and thin, albeit, very strong layer of ...
- UBaseball
Dale Carey selected by the Nationals in the seventh round - way to go, Dale!
- Natural Remedies for Tendonitis - About.com Health
Learn about natural remedies for tendonitis, including acupuncture and friction massage.
- Advanced Tendon Injury and Tendonitis Treatments …
MendMeShop - the fastest road to Permanent Tendon Injury Recovery!
- Natural Health School - Glossary
Natural Health School Glossary ... 7-Keto (n) a metabolite of DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) which boosts the thyroid gland's production of T3 hormone, …


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It's been in the works for a while — such is the peril of having two stars with such busy schedules — but now, it's finally here: B.o.B and Hayley Williams' video for "Airplanes" premiered on iTunes on Tuesday (June 15).
B.o.B shot his scenes for the video in April, and Williams didn't do her part until after Paramore finished their spring tour. But despite the fact that the two stars were never even in the same room during filming, the final result is quite seamless: a moody, swirling video that perfectly matches the ominous, somber tone of the song.
B.o.B performs his scenes in an empty warehouse, a dark, dead space that's given an electric overhaul (and faint heartbeat) with the creative lighting (and lasers!) of director Hiro Murai. Williams' scenes also take place in the dark, though Murai bathes her in a swirling cosmos of lights and colors, a psychedelic effect that almost swallows her up.
Much like the song itself, there's an emptiness to the "Airplanes" video, a dark, cavernous space that light cannot penetrate. It implies a void that will never be filled, no matter how hard you try. It can be seen as a metaphor for fame — the loneliness that only the famous know, the cavernous expanses of geography and emotion. It's sort of a beautiful bummer, to be honest. In that sense, "Airplanes" recalls Drake and Trey Songz's equally somber "Successful" video , another clip that explored the downside of celebrity and success.
There's an art to such metaphors. It's not complaining if you do it right. And in the case of "Airplanes," a deft, decidedly human take on the pitfalls of everyone knowing your name (but never understanding your pain), B.o.B and Hayley Williams definitely did it right.
What do you think of the "Airplanes" video? Share your reviews below.


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What to Do When You're Feeling Antsy
From Margaret Everton on April 08, 2008 in Siding
When it comes to complaints about pests, ants bear much of the brunt. According to The Ant Institute, ants are the number one "nuisance pest" in the United States. Perhaps it's because these social critters don't stay hidden away like termites do. Instead, they let themselves in through plumbing gaps or foundation cracks and make themselves at home, marching single file across your kitchen counter in their quest for food.
If you wonder which type of ant may be invading your home, a pest professional can help. Carpenter ants are the largest variety found in buildings, and they make their presence known through their habit of tunneling "galleries" through your wood. Here, they lay their eggs and tend their young. You'll recognize their tunnels by the smooth insides and little windows from which they come and go. Carpenter ants don't eat wood and prefer soft, moisture damaged material in which to make their home. Aside from wood, anything warm and humid will do, from the hollow of a curtain rod to the interior of an unused garden hose.
So how do you prevent mature colonies of 4,000 ants from tunneling holes in your siding? While most of the damage is minor, structural damage can ensue if satellite nests continue expanding unchecked. Rest assured, though, because the solutions are easy. Here are some recommendations from the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP):
- Caulk potential entry points, such as cracks, electrical lines, and water lines.
- Trim branches away from your home. These are potential entry points.
- Store food in ant-proof containers.
- Consider installing a gravel or stone strip around your house.
- Fix leaks in roofing and plumbing pipes.
- Replace damaged structural wood.
- Remove logs, stumps, and waste wood near and under your house.
- Eliminate damp conditions near your home.
Visit the NCAP website for a complete list. Have you found a carpenter ant nest via a sawdust pile? Remove the nest itself if you can, otherwise, remove the ants themselves with a vacuum. Colonies grow slowly, so take action, but don't panic!
How to Identify Carpenter Ant Damage
Keeping Tabs on Termites
Keep Woodpeckers Off Your Siding


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Someway, somehow, the Nets keep finding ways to win.
With Deron Williams dealing with recurrent ankle issues and Brook Lopez already out for the season, the ragtag Nets scrapped together one of their best efforts of the season against the red hot Golden State Warriors. The Nets withstood an early shooting barrage and carried the play en route to a 102-98 win. They snapped the Warriors' 10-game winning streak in the process.
"Right off the bat they came out and had a 32-point quarter and normally, it would have gone the other way," head coach Jason Kidd said. "But we stayed the course and in 2014, we have been doing that. The guys just kept playing."
Joe Johnson finished with a game-high 27 points while Kevin Garnett and Shaun Livingston added 13 points apiece. Andray Blatche came off the bench to score 17 points.
The Nets won their fourth straight game heading into a litmus test Friday night when the defending-champion Miami Heat come to Barclays Center.
Kidd needed to get creative in order to play his desired unit down the stretch. He stashed Andrei Kirilenko and Garnett in the third quarter in order to keep them fresh for the closing run.
The strategy paid off for the rookie head coach.
"I pretty much knew with the minutes," Kirilenko said. "I believe coach wanted to keep me late in the game."
Garnett summoned the fountain of youth, knocking down four of his six jump shots and grabbing two steals. The one steal iced the game in the final seconds.
"I work on my craft every day so I expect it to be a certain way when I go to dial it up, I want her to pick the phone up," Garnett said. "Tonight, I dialed and she was right there, answering, like she's supposed to. Honestly, I work really hard on my craft. Tonight, I was able to get into a nice little groove and some shots fell."
As Kidd said, a new year and a new team. The Nets added the Warriors to their 2014 belt, which already included wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Atlanta Hawks.
The Nets reversed their course from earlier in the season when lesser teams came into the Barclays Center and ran roughshod. The Nets have now won consecutive home games against playoff teams.
Although the Nets lost Williams and Lopez, they gained Kirilenko, who continues to spur the Nets on both ends of the floor. His contagious hustle plays translated into 12 steals and 10 offensive rebounds Wednesday night.
"I'm not the messiah," Kirilenko joked. "Don't look at me like that. I think there's different factors combined together. ... I want [the energy] to be contagious. Our job coming from the bench is to bring the spark."


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REVIEW: 'Water for Elephants'
3 stars
Romance set in a traveling circus, starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. Based on the bestselling novel. Opens Thursday 12 May, click here for movie times & the trailer.
Some films are so entertaining, their flaws can be forgiven. Such is the case with Water for Elephants. It's an imperfect, schmaltzy beast that feels like a film from a bygone era, and not just because it's set in the 1930s. This is no prequel or sequel; it doesn't rely heavily on CGI. It's a fast-paced adventure tale like they used to make 'em, a slice of old-fashioned Hollywood that traverses tragedy, romance and exotic travel. Step right up folks and join the circus.
Animal lovers may find it hard going watching the trained cats and star pachyderm, Rosie. The rest will likely thrill to its good versus evil characters, compelling theme of illusion and of course, the fact that Twilight's Robert Pattinson plays the lead, Jacob.
He is really nice to look at, although his performance feels flat and uncertain, possibly because he's playing opposite luminous Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon, who puts in a capable performance as one of the circus' star attractions. Pattinson is just as easily outshone by another fiery Oscar winner, Christopher Waltz who plays the antagonist, August.
There are a few too many holes in the logic, too. A knife appears a little too conveniently in one of the film's climactic scenes and the old man narrative that bookends the story feels unnecessary (Since when did Hal Holbrook look anything like Pattinson?). But director Francis Lawrence keeps tensions high throughout, the costumes look authentic and the story – based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Sara Gruen – is riveting enough to make it feel like two hours well spent.


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KotOR II patch 1.0c & TSLRCM?
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Join Date
: Sep 2009
: 71
KotOR II patch 1.0c & TSLRCM?
Okay, so I have a small dilemma:
I just arrived at Telos and entered the cantina to attempt the swoop racing minigame. Unfortunately, I'm getting that stupid bug that makes the swoop bike levitate to the ceiling when the race starts, making it virtually impossible to succeed at gaining first place. I did some searching around and, apparently, it's because I'm using an old no-CD cracked EXE to play.
I'm not going to argue about legality with this: I purchased the new KotOR I and II bundle that was just released like a month ago. Great compilation, but they decided to be asshats about it by including new EXE's, embedded with a stronger variant of SecuROM, that manage to prevent widescreen mods such as UniWS from working. Believe me when I say that I explored every avenue that I could find to try to reconcile these new EXE's with said mod. Finally, I said, "**** it, I'm not putting up with this DRM bull**** from these companies, especially when the games are almost ten years old." I got the 2.1 fixed EXE from GameCopyWorld so that I could have my bloody widescreen gameplay and who would have guessed that the new Windows 7 stability benefits of both
still work
even when the cracked EXE's aren't the current versions (the included versions for KotOR I and II in the bundle are, respectively, 126.96.36.199 and 2.2)? Unfortunately, considering the age of the cracks, they retain some bugs like the one mentioned above. Finding no individual mod on KotORfiles that fixes this, I soon stumbled upon unofficial patch 1.0c, which apparently
fix it.
My only concern: does said unofficial patch work with TSLRCM v1.8?
If it does not, no big deal, I'll probably have to find another way, but I guess you can consider this a request for such a mod that will fix this bug via Override folder script or something.
By the way, if any of you are wondering why I'm not asking this question on Deadly Stream, it's because that site won't send me my damn validation e-mail. Probably has problems with Gmail or something and no, I do not want to create a whole new address on another service just so that it will.
I appreciate it.
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Contact: Guy Lamolinara (202) 707-9217
September 5, 1997
Library of Congress To Host First Meeting of National Digital Library Advisory Committee
On Sept. 12, the Library of Congress will host the first meeting of its National Digital Library (NDL) Advisory Committee, established to advise the institution on key policy issues related to its National Digital Library Program.
American Memory, a project of the Library's National Digital Library Program, is making freely available on the Internet the most important of the Library's American historical collections at http://www.loc.gov/.
The NDL Advisory Committee is a distinguished group of nine historians, educators and librarians. One of the group's chief duties will be to assist the Library in selecting which collections to digitize for American Memory by pointing out those materials that will best serve the educational and research needs of the nation. The committee will also advise on how to present the raw materials of American history to students, researchers and lifelong learners.
The one-day meeting on Sept. 12 will be followed in six months by another meeting that will conclude with the committee's first major recommendations.
Members of the National Digital Library Advisory Committee are:
Educators: James R. Giese, Social Science Education Consortium, Boulder, Colo.; Joy Joyce, Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, Ill.; Jacqueline Mancall, College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, Philadelphia
Historians: Edward Ayers, University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Thomas Holt, University of Chicago
Librarians: Charles Beard, State University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Ga.; Martin Gomez, Brooklyn Public Library; Deanna Marcum, Council on Library and Information Resources, Washington, D.C.; William Walker, New York Public Library
The National Digital Library Program has already made available more than 300,000 rare items from the Library's incomparable collections of American history. Recently added materials include important manuscripts dating from the 15th to the mid-20th centuries, panoramic photographs and images documenting the women's suffrage movement. Other on-line collections include selected notebooks of Walt Whitman, early films of Thomas Edison, sound recordings of political leaders and documents relating to the civil rights movement.
# # #


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The Grundfos line of SL submersible wastewater pumps are designed to handle raw, unscreened sewage, effluent, large volumes of surface water and process water in municipal, utility and industrial applications.
Plant managers who are responsible for safely transferring volatile chemicals and/or gases can now do so using the air-driven Flex-I-Liner pump from Vanton Pump and Equipment Corp.
Gorman-Rupp, pump manufacturer of Mansfield, Ohio introduces a new line of horizontal end suction centrifugal pumps.
Unit sets up faster because it can be transported full of fluid.
An HDPE canopy masks noise when moving large volumes of water and sewage.
"Self-cleaning" impeller reduces unplanned downtime due to rags and other common wastewater debris.
These new M318F and M320F Wheel Excavators can handle those special plant projects.
Outfit your high-flow and pressure industrial and wastewater applications with the BMS booster module.
Watson-Marlow Pumps Group announces the launch of its Qdos 60 peristaltic metering pump.
Based on flooding in the vendor's hometown, this program is designed to manage the physical assets most directly related to controlling water: floodwalls, levees, and pumps.
Self-priming pump operates with one or two manual handles, electric drive motors, or power take-off.
The Moyno 2000 HS system is significant technology advancement for the wastewater treatment industry. It can pump filter cake further distances with higher volumetric efficiencies than any other progressing cavity pump.
These full-size shelters can be comparable in cost to concrete blocks.
The company's full line of pumps meets every dewatering need — from its smallest centrifugal units for effectively pumping clear water to its large diaphragm models for handling thicker, debris-litt
More produts from the APWA Congress show floor
Copyright ©
2016 Hanley Wood Media, Inc. All rights reserved.


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During the summer of 2013 a new and architecturally significant addition was made to the numerous impressive monuments that grace Columbia's historic Elmwood Memorial Gardens.
It is difficult to miss the elegant mausoleum recently erected by Gregory Nelson Ballentine. Just drive through the main entrance and look to your right, and there it is.
The first mausoleum inside the grounds.
And it is a beauty. Narrow but substantial, the structure occupies a prime six-plot space coped in the same smooth granite of which the small mausoleum itself is constructed.
On the side of the building which faces the entrance, a name and beginning date -- with requisite dash -- is carved:
1958 -
Beneath the name of the man whose earthly remains will someday be entombed there is engraved a cryptic sentiment often seen in old English cemeteries:
Remember man as you pass by, as you are now so once was I, as I am now so must you be, remember man that you must die.
The double doors are of burnished bronze with a design incorporating the owner's initial "B."
Ballentine has chosen the lower compartment to someday house his own casket. There is space for a second interment above but so far, no future occupant has been specified.
Being possessed of a droll -- even impish -- sense of humor, the genial Ballentine enjoys decorating the empty space in his someday-tomb.
Last October, if one peered inside, a startle was in store. For on the "top shelf" rested a life-sized replica of a mostly-decomposed human skeleton.
The "corpse" is still parked there. On the face is a most convincing death-grimace. Upon closer scrutiny, those who enjoy black humor will see it's all very tongue-in-cheek.
Later the skeletal "remains" were draped coyly in a voluminous Confederate flag.
In January we arranged a meeting with the creative and courteous Ballentine, who met us at his mausoleum for a photo shoot. It was a cold day; we later repaired to the nearby Lizard's Thicket for coffee and a chat.
We wanted to know what had prompted Ballentine, a former software developer for SCE&G and still a relatively young man, to plan for and purchase his mausoleum.
Turns out that in 2002, during the course of treatment for a deviated septum, then forty-four-year-old Ballentine's doctors discovered a malignant tumor in his sinuses.
What followed was the stark reality of two surgeries and as much radiation as Ballentine's body will ever be able to withstand. Ballentine feared he was done for.
"I didn't think I had thirty more years," he says.
But five years later -- during which time his survival rate was estimated at twenty percent -- Ballentine received the welcome news that he was at last free of cancer and its threat.
During the life-and-death crisis, Ballentine took stock.
"I thought that I'd better start getting my affairs in order," he said.
When it comes to burial grounds he prefers cemeteries, where headstones and other higher-profile monuments are allowed, to memorial parks featuring mostly flat bronze plaque-like grave markers.
"I like monuments. I love monuments. I'd like to be remembered," he revealed.
Having already purchased the prime Elmwood plot with space for six graves, Ballentine decided to develop his real estate.
The idea of placing a mausoleum on the plot didn't occur to him at first. But, with help and guidance from Elmwood's own Susie Baier, the decision to choose a genuine "statement piece" emerged.
With Baier's assistance, Ballentine came up with a design for his mausoleum. In due time the order was placed.
So it was that last June, a truck arrived in Columbia bearing the burden of Gregory Nelson Ballentine's tomb. Ruts caused by the complicated and heavy transport can still be seen in the blacktop of Elmwood's entrance.
"Whatever your wishes are, that's all they are: wishes," says Ballentine.
He makes a clear and convincing case for detailed pre-planning of not only one's burial site, but what adornments -- whether simple or elaborate -- will identify one's final resting place.
"What you want, plan for it," says Ballentine. "Don't wait until it's too late."
Ballentine wanted something beautiful and impressive to mark the spot of his interment.
"Something that says, 'I lived,'" he says.
And he got just that. But as fascinating a process as it proved to be, he isn't finished.
Ballentine plans to further enhance his mausoleum by adding landscaping, benches -- "The kind with backs," he says -- and perhaps even a piece of statuary.
When asked what type of statue he would choose, the good-natured grin that is never far from Ballentine's face returns.
He asks if we are familiar with a statue that (famously) stands in the English Cemetery in Florence, Italy. The statue is known as the Memento Mori.
"It's not an angel," says Ballentine. "Think the opposite of an angel."
Ah. The Grim Reaper. Now that will be a statement piece to write home about.
And when the time comes that a replica of the Memento Mori decorates the courtyard of Gregory Nelson Ballentine's exquisitely-crafted crypt, you may rest assured you will read about it here on Examiner.
Jennifer Weber is the owner of Angel Funeral Photography and Jennifer Weber Photography. When she's not preoccupied with casual portraiture, funeral photography, or taking pictures in cemeteries just for fun, she blogs at I'm Having A Thought Here. She is active on Find A Grave, where she is known as AngelSeeker. She is also a contributor to American Cemetery, an independent trade magazine for cemeterians. American Cemetery is a product of Kates-Boylston Publications.


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Video Industry News Video Company News Technology Industry News Technology Company News Novelty Industry News Novelty Company News Gay Industry News Gay Company News Legal Industry News All Company News
Released: Mar 01st, 1986
Running Time: 87
Director: Charles De Santos
Company: Vista Video
Cast: John C. Holmes, Jon Martin, Sibil Fine, Kirk Wilder, Janes Robbins, Lili Marlene, Kay Parker
Critical Rating: AAA
Genre: Feature
The makers of Night on the Wild Side literally spent months fine-tuning this project, so that technically, everything seems just right. Kay Parker enters The Wild Side, a hotel where people abandon their inhibitions and participate in unabashed sex. She watches and wonders, as the likes of Janey Robbins takes on three mens' rods at once or two in some double penetration. She's amazed (as I'm sure you'll bee, too) when Lili Marlene does Jon Martin orally while and oversized John Holmes enters from the rear.
Eventually, Parker takes part in the action —first in a lesbian sequence with Robbins on the stairs that turns into a four-person mini-orgy; then with Kirk Wilder in a great scene that leaves Kay hanging off the bed. She looks great here and thankfully so, since one gets tired of seeing the horrid tattoo on Janey Robbins' back.
Sexually, this feature works well, as everything, including leather, is used. the story, which attempts to be mystical, goes nowhere and does not lead smoothly into the fantasy segments as do similar styled features (such as Squalor Motel). In fact, the plot makes very little sense. However, Night on the Wild Side is a meticulously crafted shot-on-video feature, well-directed, and featuring a very hot Kay Parker before her migration to the front offices of Caballero. So it's definitely worth a look.


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The effect of energetic condition on growth dynamics ...
|The effect of energetic condition on growth dynamics and health of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)
|J. D. Dutil, G. Godbout, P. U. Blier, David B. Groman
|Journal of Applied Ichthyology
|Start page
|End page
|Prolonged starvation resulting in sublethal condition factor values was hypothesized to have a detrimental effect on short-term growth capacity upon refeeding. Cod (Gadus morhua) were food-deprived and their length and mass measured before refeeding and after 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks of ad libitum feeding. Total mass increase during the first 3 weeks of feeding was greatest in fish with a higher initial condition factor. The reverse situation was observed during the last 3 weeks of feeding. Specific growth rate peaked in the period from week 4 to week 6, except in cod with the highest condition factor for which a steady decline in specific growth rate was observed, and was not influenced by the condition factor at the start of the feeding period. Total mass increase over 12 weeks was also not influenced by initial condition factor. Thus by the end of the experiment, condition factors were lowest in fish with initially low condition factors. The hepatosomatic index and gonadosomatic index did not differ at the end of the experiment, but the proportion of mature cod increased with increasing initial condition factor. A disease outbreak caused significant mortalities among fish shortly after the start of the feeding period. Forty-one percent of the fish had died after 84 days. No mortality was observed among fish that had started the experiment with the highest condition factor. Mortality was inversely related to initial condition factor. Growth was examined for survivors exclusively. Poor condition in wild fish may increase vulnerability to diseases and compensatory growth may not allow cod with low condition factors to fully recover unless food availability remains high over a long period of time..
|Contact Publisher
Using APA 6th Edition citation style.
Times viewed: 526


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Chapter 2. Cells and Structures: The Anatomy of the Nervous System
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Laura Sanders A type of brain cell formerly known for its supporting role has landed a glamorous new job. Astrocytes, a type of glial cell known to feed, clean and guide the growth of their flashier nerve cell neighbors, also help nerve cells send electrical transmissions, scientists report in the Aug. 5 Journal of Neuroscience. The results are the latest in scientists' efforts to uncover the mysterious and important ways in which cells other than nerve cells keep the nervous system humming. Astrocytes deliver nutrients to nerve cells, flush waste out of the brain (SN: 9/22/12) and even help control appetite (SN: 6/28/14). The latest study suggests that these star-shaped cells also help electrical messages move along certain nerve cells' message-sending axons, a job already attributed to other glial cells called oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells. Courtney Sobieski of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues grew individual rat nerve cells in a single dish that contained patches of astrocytes. Some nerve cells grew on the patches; others did not. The nerve cells deprived of astrocyte contact showed signs of sluggishness. The researchers think that astrocytes guide nerve cell growth in a way that enables the nerve cells to later fire off quick and precise messages. It's not clear how the astrocytes do that, but the results suggest that proximity is the key: Astrocytes needed to be close to the nerve cell to help messages move. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2015
Keyword: Glia; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 21264 - Posted: 08.05.2015
Alison Abbott Six years might seem like a long time to spend piecing together the structure of a scrap of tissue vastly smaller than a bead of sweat. But that is how long it has taken a team led by cell biologist Jeff Lichtman from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to digitally reconstruct a tiny cube of mouse brain tissue. The resulting three-dimensional map1 is the first complete reconstruction of a piece of tissue in the mammalian neocortex, the most recently evolved region of the brain. Covering just 1,500 cubic microns, it is still a far cry from reconstructing all 100 billion or so cells that make up the entire human brain. But Christof Koch, president of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, Washington, notes that the various technologies involved will speed up "tremendously" over the next decade: "I would call this a very exciting promissory note," he says. Lichtman's team already has its eyes on a much bigger challenge: reconstructing a cubic millimetre of rodent neocortex — a piece of tissue around 600,000 times larger than the present achievement. The researchers will be doing this as part of a consortium that earlier this month received preliminary approval for major funding by the US government agency IARPA (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity), which promotes high-risk, high pay-off research. The goal of the consortium, based at Harvard and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, is to map the function as well as the anatomy of this tiny brain volume, while also working out how it computes information as an animal learns. © 2015 Nature Publishing Group,
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21249 - Posted: 08.01.2015
Jon Hamilton Lihong Wang creates the sort of medical technology you'd expect to find on the starship Enterprise. Wang, a professor of biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has already helped develop instruments that can detect individual cancer cells in the bloodstream and oxygen consumption deep within the body. He has also created a camera that shoots at 100 billion frames a second, fast enough to freeze an object traveling at the speed of light. "It's really about turning some of these ideas that we thought were science fiction into fact," says Richard Conroy, who directs the Division of Applied Science & Technology at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Wang's ultimate goal is to use a combination of light and sound to solve the mysteries of the human brain. The brain is a "magical black box we still don't understand," he says. Wang describes himself as a toolmaker. And when President Obama unveiled his BRAIN initiative a couple of years ago to accelerate efforts to understand how we think and learn and remember, Wang realized that brain researchers really needed a tool he'd been working on for years. "We want to conquer the brain," Wang says. "But even for a mouse brain, which is only a few millimeters thick, we really don't have a technique that allows us to see throughout the whole brain." Current brain-imaging techniques such as functional MRI or PET scans all have drawbacks. They're slow, or not sharp enough, or they can only see things near the surface. So Wang has been developing another approach, one he believes will be fast enough to monitor brain activity in real time and sharp enough to reveal an individual brain cell. © 2015 NPR
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21226 - Posted: 07.27.2015
A study showed that scientists can wirelessly determine the path a mouse walks with a press of a button. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, created a remote controlled, next-generation tissue implant that allows neuroscientists to inject drugs and shine lights on neurons deep inside the brains of mice. The revolutionary device is described online in the journal Cell. Its development was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health. "It unplugs a world of possibilities for scientists to learn how brain circuits work in a more natural setting." said Michael R. Bruchas, Ph.D., associate professor of anesthesiology and neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine and a senior author of the study. The Bruchas lab studies circuits that control a variety of disorders including stress, depression, addiction, and pain. Typically, scientists who study these circuits have to choose between injecting drugs through bulky metal tubes and delivering lights through fiber optic cables. Both options require surgery that can damage parts of the brain and introduce experimental conditions that hinder animals' natural movements. To address these issues, Jae-Woong Jeong, Ph.D., a bioengineer formerly at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, worked with Jordan G. McCall, Ph.D., a graduate student in the Bruchas lab, to construct a remote controlled, optofluidic implant. The device is made out of soft materials that are a tenth the diameter of a human hair and can simultaneously deliver drugs and lights.
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21184 - Posted: 07.18.2015
By Ariel Sabar In televised remarks from the East Room of the White House on April 2, 2013, President Obama unveiled a scientific mission as grand as the Apollo program. The goal wasn't outer space, but a frontier every bit as bewitching: the human brain. Obama challenged the nation's "most imaginative and effective researchers" to map in real time the flickerings of all 100 billion nerve cells in the brain of a living person, a voyage deep into the neural cosmos never attempted at so fine a scale. A panoramic view of electric pulses pinballing across the brain could lead to major new understandings of how we think, remember and learn, and how ills from autism to Alzheimer's rewire our mental circuitry. "We have a chance to improve the lives of not just millions," the president said, "but billions of people on this planet." The next month, six miles from the White House, a Harvard professor named Florian Engert grabbed a mic and, in front of the nation's top neuroscientists, declared Obama's effort essentially futile. "We have those data now," said Engert, who, in a room full of professorial blazers and cardigans, was wearing a muscle shirt that afforded ample views of his bulging biceps. "We discovered they're actually not all that useful." ("I think whole-brain imaging is just a bunch of bull----," is how he put it to me later.) To the other researchers, he must have sounded like a traitor. Engert, who is 48, was basically the first person on the planet to observe a brain in the wall-to-wall way Obama envisioned. He and his colleagues had done it with a sci-fi-worthy experiment that recorded every blip of brain activity in a transparent baby zebrafish, a landmark feat published just a year earlier in the marquee scientific journal Nature. For Engert to suggest that the president's brain quest was bunk was a bit like John Glenn returning from orbit and telling JFK not to bother with a lunar landing.
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21119 - Posted: 07.02.2015
By GARY MARCUS SCIENCE has a poor track record when it comes to comparing our brains to the technology of the day. Descartes thought that the brain was a kind of hydraulic pump, propelling the spirits of the nervous system through the body. Freud compared the brain to a steam engine. The neuroscientist Karl Pribram likened it to a holographic storage device. Many neuroscientists today would add to this list of failed comparisons the idea that the brain is a computer — just another analogy without a lot of substance. Some of them actively deny that there is much useful in the idea; most simply ignore it. Often, when scientists resist the idea of the brain as a computer, they have a particular target in mind, which you might call the serial, stored-program machine. Here, a program (or "app") is loaded into a computer's memory, and an algorithm, or recipe, is executed step by step. (Calculate this, then calculate that, then compare what you found in the first step with what you found in the second, etc.) But humans don't download apps to their brains, the critics note, and the brain's nerve cells are too slow and variable to be a good match for the transistors and logic gates that we use in modern computers. If the brain is not a serial algorithm-crunching machine, though, what is it? A lot of neuroscientists are inclined to disregard the big picture, focusing instead on understanding narrow, measurable phenomena (like the mechanics of how calcium ions are trafficked through a single neuron), without addressing the larger conceptual question of what it is that the brain does. This approach is misguided. Too many scientists have given up on the computer analogy, and far too little has been offered in its place. In my view, the analogy is due for a rethink. To begin with, all the standard arguments about why the brain might not be a computer are pretty weak. Take the argument that "brains are parallel, but computers are serial." Critics are right to note that virtually every time a human does anything, many different parts of the brain are engaged; that's parallel, not serial. © 2015 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21099 - Posted: 06.27.2015
By Nellie Bowles One recent Friday night, at a software-development firm's warehouse in San Francisco, Mikey Siegel called to order the hundred and fifty or so meditators, video gamers, and technocrats who had gathered for one of the city's biweekly Consciousness Hacking meet-ups. Siegel, the primary organizer of the event and the founder of a Santa Cruz–based biofeedback startup called Bio Fluent, asked the crowd, men and women of widely varied ages, to go around the room introducing themselves in three words. Everyone laughed, but took the task seriously. The introductions moved quickly through the room in a brisk beat: "Me Technological Cartoon" "Heather Curious About Brains" "Neuromore Singularity Atom Here" "Dan Thoughtful Helpful Software" "Harry Self-Modification Exploration" "David Psychiatrist Technological Retarded Curious" "Jordan Moving Meditation Butts" "Juliana Joel's Aunt" "Ben Existence Existence Existence" "Zohara Chocolate Maker Meditation Awareness" "Lila Awake Empath Warrior" San Francisco's Consciousness Hacking meet-ups are an opportunity for engineers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts to test the fleet of still experimental self-examination technologies emerging largely from Silicon Valley. The region's tech community is a body culture, obsessed with monitoring and perfecting its food (Soylent), fitness (Fitbit), and physiology (23andMe). As brain-wave technologies get cheaper and more popular, some company founders hope that consumers, who seem to be acclimating to devices like the increasingly ubiquitous Fitbit, will consider other, more cumbersome devices and procedures. Consciousness Hackers are a kind of self-selected early market-research group. Tonight, that was especially clear.
Keyword: Brain imaging; Depression
Link ID: 21093 - Posted: 06.25.2015
By Amanda Montañez As someone who works at the intersection of art and science, I have always found it easy to make the case that all artists are scientists. From the moment we pick up a crayon and make our first mark, we are experimenting. The perceived successes and failures of our craft are indelibly tied to the many variables—physical, chemical and psychological—inherent in the experiences of creating and consuming works of art. Yet, it seems a longer stretch, somehow, to argue that all scientists are artists. At the very least, in my experience, scientists seem less willing to claim this alternate title. In fact, almost anyone who does not see her or himself as artistically inclined tends to be a little too quick to proclaim, "Oh, I'm not an artist. I can't even draw a straight line!" With a sigh, I'll avoid the temptation to digress into the utter irrelevance of straight lines and one's ability to draw them. Instead, I'd like to posit the idea that, while we may not all identify as artists, scientists, of all people, really should be artists. Throughout history, much of scientific discovery and advancement has hinged not just on our ability to see certain things, but also on our capacity to reproduce what we see in faithful, critical and/or meaningful ways. The drawings of the famous Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal provide an ideal example of this phenomenon. In the late 1800s, using a novel histological staining technique developed by Italian physician Camillo Golgi, Ramón y Cajal spent countless hours examining brain tissues under the microscope and recording what he saw in pen and ink.
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21083 - Posted: 06.23.2015
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — To the untrained eye, it looked like a seismograph recording of a violent earthquake or the gyrations of a very volatile day on Wall Street — jagged peaks and valleys in red, blue and green, displayed on a wall. But the story it told was not about geology or economics. It was a glimpse into the brains of Shaul Yahil and Shaw Bronner, two researchers at a Yale lab, as they had a little chat. "This is a fork," Yahil observed, describing the image on his computer. "A fork is something you use to stab food while you're eating it. Common piece of cutlery in the West." "It doesn't look like a real fancy sterling silver fork, but very useful," Bronner responded. And then she described her own screen: "This looks like a baby chimpanzee ..." The jagged, multicolored images depicted what was going on in the two researchers' heads — two brains in conversation, carrying out an intricate dance of internal activity. This is no parlor trick. The brain-tracking technology at work is just a small part of the quest to answer abiding questions about the workings of a three-pound chunk of fatty tissue with the consistency of cold porridge. How does this collection of nearly 100 billion densely packed nerve cells, acting through circuits with maybe 100 trillion connections, let us think, feel, act and perceive our world? How does this complex machine go wrong and make people depressed, or delusional, or demented? What can be done about that? These are the kinds of questions that spurred President Barack Obama to launch the BRAIN initiative in 2013. Its aim: to spur development of new tools to investigate the brain. Europe and Japan are also pursuing major efforts in brain research. © 2015 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21081 - Posted: 06.22.2015
by Kate Solomon Jean-Dominique Bauby famously wrote The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by blinking as an assistant read out the alphabet, but locked-in patients could soon have a much easier way to communicate. For the first time, scientists have successfully transcribed brainwaves as text, which could mean that those unable to speak could use the system to "talk" via a computer. Carried out by a group of informatics, neuroscience and medical researchers at Albany Medical Centre, the team managed to identify the brainwaves relating to speech by using electrocorticographic (ECoG) technology to monitor the frontal and temporal lobes of seven epileptic volunteers. This involves using needles to record signals directly from a person's neurons; it's an invasive procedure requiring an incision through the skull. The participants then read aloud from a sample text while machine learning algorithms pulled out the most likely word sequence from the signals recorded by the EcOG. Existing speech-to-text tools then transcribed the continuously spoken speech directly from the brain activity. Error rates were as low as 25 percent during the study, which means the potential for the system is pretty vast. The findings could offer locked-in and mute patients a valuable communication method but it also means humans could one day communicate directly with a computer without needing any intermediary equipment.
Keyword: Brain imaging; Language
Link ID: 21078 - Posted: 06.20.2015
Elizabeth Gibney A simple injection is now all it takes to wire up a brain. A diverse team of physicists, neuroscientists and chemists has implanted mouse brains with a rolled-up, silky mesh studded with tiny electronic devices, and shown that it unfurls to spy on and stimulate individual neurons. The implant has the potential to unravel the workings of the mammalian brain in unprecedented detail. "I think it's great, a very creative new approach to the problem of recording from large number of neurons in the brain," says Rafael Yuste, director of the Neurotechnology Center at Columbia University in New York, who was not involved in the work. If eventually shown to be safe, the soft mesh might even be used in humans to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease, says Charles Lieber, a chemist at Harvard University on Cambridge, Massachusetts, who led the team. The work was published in Nature Nanotechnology on 8 June1. Neuroscientists still do not understand how the activities of individual brain cells translate to higher cognitive powers such as perception and emotion. The problem has spurred a hunt for technologies that will allow scientists to study thousands, or ideally millions, of neurons at once, but the use of brain implants is currently limited by several disadvantages. So far, even the best technologies have been composed of relatively rigid electronics that act like sandpaper on delicate neurons. They also struggle to track the same neuron over a long period, because individual cells move when an animal breathes or its heart beats. © 2015 Nature Publishing Group
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21034 - Posted: 06.09.2015
by Hal Hodson Electricity is the brain's language, and now we can speak to it without wires or implants. Nanoparticles can be used to stimulate regions of the brain electrically, opening up new ways to treat brain diseases. It may even one day allow the routine exchange of data between computers and the brain. A material discovered in 2004 makes this possible. When "magnetoelectric" nanoparticles (MENs) are stimulated by an external magnetic field, they produce an electric field. If such nanoparticles are placed next to neurons, this electric field should allow them to communicate. To find out, Sakhrat Khizroev of Florida International University in Miami and his team inserted 20 billion of these nanoparticles into the brains of mice. They then switched on a magnetic field, aiming it at the clump of nanoparticles to induce an electric field. An electroencephalogram showed that the region surrounded by nanoparticles lit up, stimulated by this electric field that had been generated. "When MENs are exposed to even an extremely low frequency magnetic field, they generate their own local electric field at the same frequency," says Khizroev. "In turn, the electric field can directly couple to the electric circuitry of the neural network." Khizroev's goal is to build a system that can both image brain activity and precisely target medical treatments at the same time. Since the nanoparticles respond differently to different frequencies of magnetic field, they can be tuned to release drugs. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 21033 - Posted: 06.09.2015
By Neuroskeptic | Neuroscientists might need to rethink much of what's known about the amygdala, a small brain region that's been the focus of a lot of research. That's according to a new paper just published in Scientific Reports: fMRI measurements of amygdala activation are confounded by stimulus correlated signal fluctuation in nearby veins draining distant brain regions. The amygdala is believed to be involved in emotion, especially negative emotions such as fear. Much of the evidence for this comes from fMRI studies showing that the amygdala activates in response to stimuli such as images of scared faces. However, according to the authors of the new paper, Austrian neuroscientists Roland N. Boubela and colleagues, there's a flaw in these fMRI studies. The problem, they say, is that the amygdala happens to be located next to a large vein, called the basal vein of Rosenthal (BVR). fMRI works by detecting blood oxygenation, so changes in the oxygen level in the blood within the BVR could produce signal changes that could be mistaken for activation in the amygdala. Because the BVR drains blood from several brain regions, some of which are themselves involved in emotion processing, the BVR could act as a proxy for emotion-related neural activation elsewhere in the brain, which is then projected onto the amygdala. Neuroscientists have long been aware of potential large vein contributions to the fMRI signal, but it hasn't generally been seen as a serious concern. According to Boubela et al., however, the problem is serious, when it comes to the amygdala.
Keyword: Brain imaging; Emotions
Link ID: 20986 - Posted: 05.27.2015
by Bas den Hond Watch your language. Words mean different things to different people – so the brainwaves they provoke could be a way to identify you. Blair Armstrong of the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language in Spain and his team recorded the brain signals of 45 volunteers as they read a list of 75 acronyms – such as FBI or DVD – then used computer programs to spot differences between individuals. The participants' responses varied enough that the programs could identify the volunteers with about 94 per cent accuracy when the experiment was repeated. The results hint that such brainwaves could be a way for security systems to verify individuals' identity. While the 94 per cent accuracy seen in this experiment would not be secure enough to guard, for example, a room or computer full of secrets, Armstrong says it's a promising start. Techniques for identifying people based on the electrical signals in their brain have been developed before. A desirable advantage of such techniques is that they could be used to verify someone's identity continuously, whereas passwords or fingerprints only provide a tool for one-off identification. Continuous verification – by face or ear recognition, or perhaps by monitoring brain activity – could in theory allow someone to interact with many computer systems simultaneously, or even with a variety of intelligent objects, without having to repeatedly enter passwords for each device. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd
Keyword: Language; Brain imaging
Link ID: 20959 - Posted: 05.20.2015
Jon Hamilton When the brain needs to remember a phone number or learn a new dance step, it creates a circuit by connecting different types of neurons. But scientists still don't know how many types of neurons there are or exactly what each type does. "How are we supposed to understand the brain and help doctors figure out what schizophrenia is or what paranoia is when we don't even know the different components," says Christof Koch, president and chief scientific officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, a nonprofit research center in Seattle. So the institute is creating a freely available online database that will eventually include thousands of nerve cells. For now, the Allen Cell Types Database has detailed information on 240 mouse cells, including their distinctive shapes. More than 100 years ago, Golgi staining on nerve cells opened the gates to modern neuroscience. Scientists recently developed the Technicolor version of Golgi staining, Brainbow, allowing more detailed reconstructions of brain circuits. "They look like different trees," Koch says. "Some fan out at the top. Some are like a Christmas tree; they fan out at the bottom. Others are like three-dimensional fuzz balls." The database also describes each cell by the electrical pattern it generates. And eventually it will include information about which genes are expressed. Once researchers have a complete inventory of details about the brain's building blocks, they'll need to know which combinations of blocks can be connected, Koch says. After all, he says, it is these connections that make us who we are. © 2015 NPR
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 20927 - Posted: 05.14.2015
Alison Abbott It is only when you read the words that Andreas Vesalius wrote as an angry young man in the 1540s that you get a feeling for what drove him to document every scrap of human anatomy his eye could see. His anger was directed at Galen, the second-century physician whose anatomical teachings had been held as gospel for more than a millennium. Roman Empire law had barred Galen from dissecting humans, so he had extrapolated as best he could from animal dissections — often wrongly. Human dissections were also banned in most of sixteenth-century Europe, so Vesalius travelled to wherever they were allowed. He saw Galen's errors and dared to report them, most explicitly in his seven-volume De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body), which he began aged 24, working with some of the best art professionals of the time. His mission to learn through direct and systematic observation marked the start of a new way of doing science. In Brain Renaissance, neuroscientists Marco Catani and Stefano Sandrone present a translation from the Latin of the Fabrica's last volume, which focuses on the brain. Through it we can appreciate Vesalius's extraordinary attention to detail, and his willingness to believe his eyes, even when what he saw contradicted established knowledge. We learn his anatomical vocabulary. For example, he called the rounded surface protuberances near the brain stem "buttocks" and "testes"; these are now known as the inferior and superior colliculi, or 'little hills', which process sound and vision. © 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited.
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 20924 - Posted: 05.14.2015
Andrew Griffin Companies are taking out a huge amount of patents related to reading brainwaves, according to analysis, with a range of different applications. Fewer than 400 neuro-technology related patents were filed between 2000-2009. But in 2010 alone that reached 800, and last year 1,600 were filed, according to research company SharpBrains. The patents are for a range of uses, not just for the healthcare technology that might be expected. The company with the most patents is market research firm Nielsen, which has 100. Microsoft also has 89 related patents. Other uses of the technology that have been patented include devices that can change the thoughts of feelings of those that they are used on. But there are still medical uses — some of those patents awarded include technology to measure brain lesions and improve vision. The volume and diversity of the patents shows that we are at the beginning of "the pervasive neurotechnology age", the company's CEO Alvaro Fernandez said. "Neurotech has gone well beyond medicine, with non-medical corporations, often under the radar, developing neurotechnologies to enhance work and life," said Fernandez.
Keyword: Brain imaging; Robotics
Link ID: 20897 - Posted: 05.08.2015
By Jonathan Webb Science reporter, BBC News Scientists have stumbled upon one of the secrets behind the big gulps of the world's biggest whales: the nerves in their jaws are stretchy. Rorquals, a family that includes blue and humpback whales, feed by engulfing huge volumes of water and food, sometimes bigger than themselves. Researchers made the discovery by inadvertently stretching a thick cable they found in the jaw of a fin whale. Most nerves are fragile and inelastic, so this find is first for vertebrates. The work is reported in the journal Current Biology. A Canadian research team had travelled to Iceland to investigate some of these whales' other anatomical adaptations to "lunge feeding" - things like their muscles, or the remarkable sensory organ in their jaws, discovered in 2012. They were working with specimens in collaboration with commercial whalers. "It's probably one of the only places in the world where you can do this sort of work, because these animals are so huge that even getting in through the skin is something you can't do without having heavy machinery around," said Prof Wayne Vogl, an anatomist at the University of British Columbia and the study's first author. When you are working with a 20m fin whale, it's important to have the right equipment, he said. "If a heart falls on you, it could kill you." © 2015 BBC.
Keyword: Miscellaneous; Evolution
Link ID: 20889 - Posted: 05.05.2015
By Ashley Yeager The image is made using Brainbow, a technique developed in 2007 that inserts genes for fluorescent proteins into animals. When activated, the proteins illuminate some cells in a range of colors. While most researchers use Brainbow to visualize connections between nerve cells in the brain, Alain Chédotal of the Institut de la Vision in Paris and colleagues customized the technique to trace networks of cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells wrap a material called myelin, the biological equivalent of electrical insulation, around long strands of nerve cells that transmit electrical signals in the brain and throughout the body. How oligodendrocytes work together to wrap nerve fibers in myelin becomes evident in Brainbow photos of the roughly 3-millimeter-long optic nerve, the team reports in the April Glia. The myelin shields the precious link between brain and eyes. Studying interactions among oligodendrocytes as well as the cells' reactions to various drugs may lead to improved therapies for multiple sclerosis, a disease caused by the destruction of myelin. Citations L. Dumas et al. Multicolor analysis of oligodendrocyte morphology, interactions, and development with Brainbow. Glia. Vol. 63, April 2015, p. 699. doi: 10.1002/glia.22779 © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2015.
Keyword: Glia; Brain imaging
Link ID: 20885 - Posted: 05.05.2015
by Simon Oxenham As regular readers will be well aware, much of what I've covered on this blog has been about the use and abuse of the prefix "neuro" to mislead. You don't have to look far to see that most people seem to be pretty disconnected from the science of the brain. This becomes a problem once you realize how this allows us to be misled. Take, for example, the adverts for "brain training" games that stalk you on the internet with claims that don't even remotely hold water; or the fact that a laughable technique called "Brain Gym" that involves making children perform pointless exercises and is based on no evidence whatsoever continues to be widespread in schools across the world at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and has been used by as many as 39 percent of teachers in the UK. Drop a few brain-related words and it seems even teachers can lose the capacity for critical thought en masse. In 2008, a paper titled "The Seductive Allure of Neuroscience Explanations," struck a chord with me when it made the case that we can be suckered into judging bad psychological explanations as better than they really are if they are served with a side order of irrelevant neuroscience. Another paper published the same year suggested that just showing an image of the brain alongside articles describing fictitious neuroscience research (for example claiming that watching TV improves mathematical ability) resulted in people rating the standard of reasoning in the articles as higher. In 2013 however, a paper was published that remains a strong contender for the award of best-named paper of all time: "The Seductive Allure of Seductive Allure." The paper pointed out flaws in both of the 2008 papers: The neuroscience explanations were longer and arguably added to the psychological explanations. It could be the case that more complicated-sounding, or seemingly better-explained explanations are simply more persuasive. © Copyright 2015, The Big Think, Inc.
Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 20870 - Posted: 05.02.2015