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The increasing availability of satellite imagery has supported a rapid expansion in forward‐looking studies seeking to track and predict how climate change will influence wild population dynamics. However, these data can also be used in retrospect to provide additional context for historical data in the absence of contemporaneous environmental measurements. We used 167 Landsat‐5 Thematic Mapper (TM) images spanning 13 years to identify environmental drivers of fitness and population size in a well‐characterized population of banner‐tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) in the southwestern United States. We found evidence of two decoupled processes that may be driving population dynamics in opposing directions over distinct time frames. Specifically, increasing mean surface temperature corresponded to increased individual fitness, where fitness is defined as the number of offspring produced by a single individual. This result contrasts with our findings for population size, where increasing surface temperature led to decreased numbers of active mounds. These relationships between surface temperature and (i) individual fitness and (ii) population size would not have been identified in the absence of remotely sensed data, indicating that such information can be used to test existing hypotheses and generate new ecological predictions regarding fitness at multiple spatial scales and degrees of sampling effort. To our knowledge, this study is the first to directly link remotely sensed environmental data to individual fitness in a nearly exhaustively sampled population, opening a new avenue for incorporating remote sensing data into eco‐evolutionary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining trends and issues is important for the health of any profession. The purpose of this research was to determine the current and future trends and issues facing technology and engineering education (TEE) in the United States (U.S.). The researchers used a three-round Modified-Delphi method to solicit information from technology and engineering education stakeholders across the U.S. In the first round, participants listed what they felt were current trends, future trends, current issues, and future issues facing TEE. The second round was designed to prioritize trends and issues. In the third round, participants were presented with one table for each current and future trend and issue and asked to identify if they felt each was essential or non-essential for technology and engineering leaders to address. Two hundred sixty-eight participants responded in the third round, and the resulting trends and issues were categorized into eight themes: 1) teacher shortage; 2) secondary and university TEE programs; 3) funding programs and teachers; 4) curriculum; 5) technology and engineering education identity and relevance; 6) collaborative efforts; 7) teacher certification and development; and 8) student-centered foci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the international spillover effects of large-scale asset purchases (LSAPs) using an estimated two-country dynamic stochastic general-equilibrium model with nominal and real rigidities and portfolio balance effects. Portfolio balance effects arise from imperfect substitutability between short- and long-term bond portfolios in each country, as well as between domestic and foreign bonds within these portfolios. We show that LSAPs in the United States lower long-term yields and stimulate economic activity not only in the United States, but also in the rest of the world (ROW) economy. This occurs despite the currency appreciation in the ROW and the resulting deterioration in their trade balance. The key for this result is the decline in the ROW term premia through the portfolio balance channel, as the relative demand for ROW long-term bonds increases following an LSAP in the United States. Our model indicates that US asset purchases that generate the same output effect as US conventional monetary policy has larger international spillovers due to stronger portfolio balance effects. We also show that international openness in financial markets reduces the stimulatory effects of LSAPs in the originating country, while increasing their international spillover effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost-effective heat mitigation strategies are imperative for maintaining milk production and dairy farm profitability in the U.S. with projected climate change. This study investigated the cost-effectiveness of four heat abatement strategies, including Minimal (open barn or shading), Moderate (forced ventilation), High (fans and misting), and Intense (air conditioning). Heat stress and subsequent impacts on milk production per cow were predicted across nine climatic regions in the U.S. for early (2015 to 2034), mid (2045 to 2064) and late (2081 to 2100) 21st century, using downscaled climate projections. Heat abatements were used to adjust predicted milk production losses and illustrate the potential to reduce milk production losses due to heat stress. Economic analysis included a cost-benefit ratio calculation associated with the implementation of each heat abatement. Results showed that milk production losses were expected to accelerate across the U.S. at a mean rate of 174±7 kg/cow/decade, with the fastest rate in the Southeast region. Relative to Minimal heat abatement, Moderate, High, and Intense heat abatements increased annual milk production per cow by 3%, 4%, and 6% during early-21st century, 3%, 6%, and 11% during mid-21st century, and 3%, 8%, and 21% during late-21st century, respectively. The cost effectiveness of different heat abatement strategies generally increased with subsequently stronger heat abatements. In mid- and late-21st century, mean annual net values of High and Intense heat stress abatement implementation approached -$30 to $190 /cow and -$20 to $590 /cow, respectively, with the largest net annual benefit in late-21st century under Intense abatement. Findings from the study demonstrate the value of using downscaled climate projections to shed light on local and regional strategies to abate heat stress on cattle and mitigate potential milk production losses due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses why the implementation of intelligence quotient (IQ) cutoffs for determining intellectual disability in the U.S. is considered to be unconstitutional. Topics discussed include the definition of mental retardation following the U.S. Supreme Court case Atkins v. Virginia, the implications of the Supreme Court's decision in the case Moore v. Texas on the rights of people with intellectual disability, and the constitutional exemption for intellectually disabled people.

The article discusses the experiences of women college students as victims of drugging, using data from the Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) Study and the Historically Black College and University Campus Sexual Assault (HBCU-CSA) Study. Topics include social differences between predominately white institutions (PWIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs); situational risk in settings such as bars, clubs, or fraternities; and the use of defensive drinking strategies.

Reduction of dietary sodium by reduction of sodium in foods is a current industry target. Quantitative information on consumer knowledge of sodium and reduction of dietary sodium is limited. The objectives of this study were to characterize consumer knowledge and awareness of sodium and salt reduction in foods. Consumers ( n= 489) participated in a quantitative internet survey designed to gather knowledge and attitudes towards dietary sodium, sodium in foods, and health. Eating habits and food consumption characteristics, knowledge of salt and sodium, and interest in health and wellness were probed. Saltiness believe and sodium knowledge indices were calculated based on correct responses to salt levels in food products. Kano analysis was conducted to determine the role of nutrition labels and satisfaction/dissatisfaction of foods. Consumers were aware of the presence of sodium in 'salty' foods, and that sodium was part of salt. People who had a family history of certain diseases associated with a higher intake of dietary sodium did not necessarily have more knowledge of the relationship between sodium intake and a specific disease compared to consumers with no family history. Sodium content on the food label panel did not influence consumer dissatisfaction; however, sodium content did not necessarily increase consumer product satisfaction either. The addition of a healthy nutrient (that is, whole grain, fiber) into a current food product was appealing to consumers. For nutrient labeling, a 'reduced' claim was more appealing to consumers than a 'free' claim for 'unhealthy' nutrients such as fat, sodium, and sugar. Practical Application: This study demonstrated the current state of consumer knowledge on sodium and salt reduction, and consumer perception of the relationship between diets high in sodium and many chronic diseases. Information that may contribute to consumer satisfaction on nutrition panel labeling was also determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first part of this essay, I develop the argument that Michel Foucault's work should be read with geographical and topological ideas in mind. I argue that Foucault's archeology and genealogy are fundamentally determined by spatial, topological, geographical, and geometrical metaphors and concepts. This spatial dimension of genealogy is explicitly related to racism and the regimes that domesticate agents through the practices, institutions and ideologies of racialization. The second part offers a genealogical reading of US history and spatiality in terms of its racial institutions. I suggest that if we want to read the US geographies of topographies and cartographies of racism in a Foucauldian manner, then we must focus on plantations, ghettos, and prisons as the spaces-institutions-geographies that consolidated the racial matrix of US polity. My goal is to acculturate Foucauldian racial genealogy to the US racial matrix, and, conversely, to read US geo-history in terms of racializing spatialities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the legal work of Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) and also discusses how MSBA makes the bills compatible with existing laws in the U.S.

The article reports data on physics graduates from U.S. colleges and universities in 2005. The numbers of both bachelors degrees and doctorates in physics increased. Foreign students comprised 60% of those receiving doctorates. The number of women receiving Ph.Ds declined for the second year in a row.