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CONFRONTED BY THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN and rising prices, foodservice distributors find themselves caught in the middle of the food system value chain--pressured by both suppliers and buyers. Manufactures increasingly are [...]

OSIRIS is a near-infrared integral field spectrograph operating behind the adaptive optics system at W. M. Keck Observatory. While OSIRIS has been a scientifically productive instrument to date, its sensitivity has been limited by a grating efficiency that is less than half of what was expected. The spatially averaged efficiency of the old grating, weighted by error, is measured to be 39.5% ± 0.8% at ? = 1.310 ?m, with a large field-dependent variation of 11.7% due to efficiency variation across the grating surface. Working with a new vendor, we developed a more efficient and uniform grating with a weighted average efficiency at ? = 1.310 ?m of 78.0% ± 1.6%, with field variation of only 2.2%. This is close to double the average efficiency and 5 times less variation across the field. The new grating was installed in 2012 December, and on-sky OSIRIS throughput shows an average factor of 1.83 improvement in sensitivity between 1 and 2.4 ?m. We present the development history, testing, and implementation of this new near-infrared grating for OSIRIS and report on the comparison with the predecessors. The higher sensitivities are already having a large impact on scientific studies with OSIRIS.

The article profiles Steelton, Pennsylvania historian Barbara Barksdale. Topics discussed include the career history of Barksdale, her role in preserving and maintaining the Midland Cemetery for African Americans in Swatara Township and her establishment of the nonprofit group Friends of Midland. Also mentioned are the 19th century coffin handles and fittings donated by the Friends of Midland to the State Museum of Pennsylvania in 1998.

The article discusses Glen Foerd, a historic mansion and estate located in the Torresdale, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, overlooking the Delaware River built by businessman Charles Macalester focusing on the restoration and preservation of the estate throughout the years.

The article announces artists who received awards for their work at the State Museum of Pennsylvania's 2015 Art of the State competition including Allen Capriotti, Mike Korsak, and Jo Margolis.

The article presents information on an awards ceremony for Pennsylvania's 2014 Art of the State Awards and on a 2014 immigrant naturalization ceremony held at the Pennsbury Manor historic site in Pennsylvania. Details on artist Michael Pavol's award-winning painting "Josie" and on a speech given by former Russian citizen Vasily Dolgushey at the naturalization ceremony are also presented.

The article announces the partnership of Pennsylvania State Archives with Ancestry.com in digitizing part of its collection.

The article explores the recovery and disaster planning efforts for historic properties in Pennsylvania after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 by the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office. Pennsylvania reportedly received a grant to repair and stabilize hurricane damage from the National Park Service. Also discussed are the historical and economic value of the properties and the strategies of property owners to address flood damage.

The article discusses discovery of dinosaur Velocirapto by paleontologist Steven Jasinski.

A review is offered for the remodeled Pennsylvania Lumber Museum located in Pennsylvania.

The article features the tattoo designed by Greg Lodato of Planet New York Tattoo for Sara K. Lewis that was inspired by the statue of Pennsylvania founder William Penn, created by sculptor Janet de Coux for the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

The article discusses the event known as "Ask a Curator Day" that took place on September 17, 2014, via the social media resource Twitter. According to the article, the organization the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) curators Todd Galle, Sarah Buffington, and Susan Beates participated in the event. The article provides a sampling of questions and answers from the event.