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Protein synthesis is a crucial but metabolically costly biological process that must be tightly coordinated with cellular needs and nutrient availability. In response to environmental stress, translation initiation is modulated to control protein output while meeting new demands. The cap-binding protein eIF4E—the earliest contact between mRNAs and the translation machinery—serves as one point of control, but its contributions to mRNA-specific translation regulation remain poorly understood. To survey eIF4E-dependent translational control, we acutely depleted eIF4E and determined how this impacts protein synthesis. Despite its essentiality, eIF4E depletion had surprisingly modest effects on cell growth and protein synthesis. Analysis of transcript-level changes revealed that long-lived transcripts were downregulated, likely reflecting accelerated turnover. Paradoxically, eIF4E depletion led to simultaneous upregulation of genes involved in catabolism of aromatic amino acids, which arose as secondary effects of reduced protein biosynthesis on amino acid pools, and genes involved in the biosynthesis of amino acids. These futile cycles of amino acid synthesis and degradation were driven, in part, by translational activation ofGCN4, a transcription factor typically induced by amino acid starvation. Furthermore, we identified a novel regulatory mechanism governing translation ofPCL5,a negative regulator of Gcn4, that provides a consistent protein-to-mRNA ratio under varied translation environments. This translational control was partial dependent on a uniquely long poly-(A) tract in thePCL55’ UTR and on poly-(A) binding protein. Collectively, these results highlight how eIF4E connects translation to amino acid homeostasis and stress responses and uncovers new mechanisms underlying how cells tightly control protein synthesis during environmental challenges.

In this letter we begin the study of visible dark sector signals coming from binary neutron star mergers. We focus on dark photons emitted in the 10 ms - 1 s after the merger, and show how they can lead to bright transient gamma-ray signals. The signal will be approximately isotropic, and for much of the interesting parameter space will be close to thermal, with an apparent temperature of about $100$ keV. These features can be used to distinguish the dark photon signal from the expected short gamma-ray bursts produced in neutron star mergers, which are beamed in a small angle and non-thermal. We calculate the expected signal strength and show that for dark photon masses in the $1-100$ MeV range it can easily lead to total luminosities larger than $10^{46}$ ergs for much of the unconstrained parameter space. This signal can be used to probe a large fraction of the unconstrained parameter space motivated by freeze-in dark matter scenarios with interactions mediated by a dark photon in that mass range. We also comment on future improvements when proposed telescopes and mid-band gravitational detectors become operational., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Matches version published in Physical Review Letters

We present current direct and astrophysical limits on the cosmological abundance of black holes with extremal magnetic charge. Because they don't Hawking radiate, much lighter primordial black holes could exist today if they are extremal. The dominant constraints come from white dwarf destruction for intermediate masses, and intergalactic gas heating for heavier black holes. Extremal magnetic black holes may catalyze proton decay, and thus we derive robust limits -- independent of the catalysis cross section -- from the above as well as from white dwarf heating. We discuss other bounds such as those from neutron star heating, solar neutrino production, binary formation and annihilation into gamma rays, and magnetic field destruction. We note that stable magnetically charged black holes can assist in the formation of neutron star mass black holes., Comment: 48 pages, 6 figures Typos fixed, text edited for brevity and clarity, references added, minor correction in binary merger rate presented in Appendix B which results in slightly stronger constraints on the EMBH abundance from binary mergers, comments added about bounds evolve if the semi-classical description of Hawking radiation breaks down

Genomic analyses in budding yeast have helped define the foundational principles of eukaryotic gene expression. However, in the absence of empirical methods for defining coding regions, these analyses have historically excluded specific classes of possible coding regions, such as those initiating at non-AUG start codons. Here, we applied an experimental approach to globally annotate translation initiation sites in yeast and identified 149 genes with alternative N-terminally extended protein isoforms initiating from near-cognate codons upstream of annotated AUG start codons. These isoforms are produced in concert with canonical isoforms and translated with high specificity, resulting from initiation at only a small subset of possible start codons. The non-AUG initiation driving their production is enriched during meiosis and induced by low eIF5A, which is seen in this context. These findings reveal widespread production of non-canonical protein isoforms and unexpected complexity to the rules by which even a simple eukaryotic genome is decoded.

Particles beyond the Standard Model (SM) can generically have lifetimes that are long compared to SM particles at the weak scale. When produced at experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, these longlived particles (LLPs) can decay far from the interaction vertex of the primary proton–proton collision. Such LLP signatures are distinct from those of promptly decaying particles that are targeted by the majority of searches for new physics at the LHC, often requiring customized techniques to identify, for example, significantly displaced decay vertices, tracks with atypical properties, and short track segments. Given their non-standard nature, a comprehensive overview of LLP signatures at the LHC is beneficial to ensure that possible avenues of the discovery of new physics are not overlooked. Here we report on the joint work of a community of theorists and experimentalists with the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments—as well as those working on dedicated experiments such as MoEDAL, milliQan, MATHUSLA, CODEX-b, and FASER—to survey the current state of LLP searches at the LHC, and to chart a path for the development of LLP searches into the future, both in the upcoming Run 3 and at the high-luminosity LHC. The work is organized around the current and future potential capabilities of LHC experiments to generally discover new LLPs, and takes a signaturebased approach to surveying classes of models that give rise to LLPs rather than emphasizing any particular theory motivation. We develop a set of simplified models; assess the coverage of current searches; document known, often unexpected backgrounds; explore the capabilities of proposed detector upgrades; provide recommendations for the presentation of search results; and look towards the newest frontiers, namely high-multiplicity ‘dark showers’, highlighting opportunities for expanding the LHC reach for these signals.

Current theories of source persuasion and endorser credibility posit that celebrities become ineffective endorsers when they have been involved in a scandal. However, little attention has b...

Purpose This paper aims to examine preferences for different smoking cessation tools, investigates smokers’ perceptions of these tools by examining their brand personalities and determines whether these perceptions predict intentions to use particular cessation tools. Design/methodology/approach Two surveys of smokers evaluated cessation tools from electronic cigarettes to hypnosis. Findings Smokers showed a strong preference for electronic cigarettes over other cessation tools. Different aspects of brand personality predicted intention to use different cessation tools. Research limitations/implications The research used online surveys rather than real purchasing behavior. The results indicate that advertisements emphasizing the personality attributes of different cessation tools could be effective in encouraging the use of appropriate cessation tools. Social implications If research validates e-cigarettes as a valuable cigarette smoking cessation tool, then public service advertisements encouraging their use should emphasize their sincerity and excitement. If e-cigarettes have a net negative effect on public health, public service advertising should stress that the marketing of e-cigarettes is not sincere. Originality/value This research extends the idea of brand personality, showing how it can encourage behavior that promotes public health goals.

Accurate representations of canopy cover are essential for directing natural resource management efforts targeted at issues such as carbon storage, habitat modeling, fire spread, water resources, and ecosystem services. A two-phase classification approach utilizing an iterative classification of high-resolution aerial imagery to develop training data for a regional-scale classification of percentage woody canopy cover (PWCC) using Sentinel-2 imagery is presented in this study, and is tested for a large portion of South Texas (9,200,000 ha). The modeled PWCC for the study area belonged to the respective classes as follows, PWCC0 = 26%, PWCC90 = 14%, PWCC10 = 12%, PWCC80 = 8%, PWCC20 = 7%, PWCC30 = 7%, PWCC70 = 6%, PWCC50 = 5%, PWCC40 = 5%, and PWCC60 = 5%. Statistics indicated that the overall weighted accuracy for the mapped PWCC classes (Aow) was 0.82 and that the overall weighted kappa ( k w) was 0.49. To demonstrate the usefulness of the PWCC mapping approach to produce reasonable canopy cover estimates, the relative accuracies of modeled PWCC and other similar canopy cover products (LANDFIRE, NLCD) for the study area were summarized. MAE and RSS values were calculated based on five sample areas of directly measured LiDAR canopy cover estimates. The PWCC mapping approach presented here exhibited significantly MAE values for 5 out of 5 sample areas, and lower RSS values for 4 of 5 sample areas. By class MAE and RSS values were lower for all percentage cover classes. Overall, comparisons of the mapping result with high-resolution aerial imagery and the quantitative assessments indicated that the approach presented here was effective for developing highly detailed canopy cover estimates that can be used for planning and modeling at multiple scales (e.g. regional or local). Additionally, this approach can be employed by individual researchers and is less time and resource consumptive when compared to other large scale approaches. To date, only a limited number of existing studies have focused on approaches that can be used to map tree canopy cover for large areas.

Managers can improve conservation of lotic systems over large geographies if they have tools to assess total watershed conditions for individual stream segments and can identify segments where conservation practices are most likely to be successful (i.e., primary management capacity). The goal of this research was to develop a suite of threat indices to help agriculture resource management agencies select and prioritize watersheds across Missouri River basin in which to implement agriculture conservation practices. We quantified watershed percentages or densities of 17 threat metrics that represent major sources of ecological stress to stream communities into five threat indices: agriculture, urban, point-source pollution, infrastructure, and all non-agriculture threats. We identified stream segments where agriculture management agencies had primary management capacity. Agriculture watershed condition differed by ecoregion and considerable local variation was observed among stream segments in ecoregions of high agriculture threats. Stream segments with high non-agriculture threats were most concentrated near urban areas, but showed high local variability. 60 % of stream segments in the basin were classified as under U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) primary management capacity and most segments were in regions of high agricultural threats. NRCS primary management capacity was locally variable which highlights the importance of assessing total watershed condition for multiple threats. Our threat indices can be used by agriculture resource management agencies to prioritize conservation actions and investments based on: (a) relative severity of all threats, (b) relative severity of agricultural threats, and (c) and degree of primary management capacity.

The values of coming-of-age millennials in the United States, Sweden, and New Zealand were studied to determine if their values are similar, thus enabling marketers to stress the same values panculturally. While similarities were found on some value dimensions, many differences were noted as well. U.S. and Swedish millennials were most different from one another while New Zealand millennials were more similar to U.S. respondents than Swedes, a finding consistent with Hofstede's model of cultural values. The findings support the need to understand cohort-based values and cultural values in designing a marketing strategy targeting millennials across cultures.

A new generational cohort is emerging from the Millennial market segment as a result of cataclysmic events that have occurred since 2008. Interviews with college upperclassmen in the United States identified significant events influencing their values, the values arising from these events, and new values not associated with older Millennials. The most important events identified included the Great Recession, 9/11, and the election of the first African-American president. Values of Millennials were assessed in online surveys of college juniors and seniors in the United States in the fall of 2009 and 2010 and among older Millennials, aged 27–31, during the summer of 2010. The values most strongly differentiating the younger and older Millennials were “piety” and “thrift.” Younger Millennials in the United States are less thrifty and more secular and sexually permissive than older Millennials. They are also less patriotic and less concerned about politics, sustainability, saving, and making mistakes in life. This suggests a splintering of the Millennials cohort as a result of the Great Recession and the potential emergence of a younger “entitlement” cohort. It also suggests further investigation of cross-national value shifts among younger Millennials, prompted by the Great Recession. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sinovenous thrombosis (SVT) is a well-recognized and serious complication in children treated for acute leukemia. This frequently occurs during or immediately upon completion of induction therapy and is commonly attributed to asparaginase therapy.Headache is the first and most common clinical symptom to occur during the early development of SVT. With advancement of the thrombosis, the clinical symptoms can progress to increased sleepiness, focal neurological deficit, seizures, and altered consciousness. We report the case of a 4-year-old girl who presented after several days of headaches and anorexia, which then progressed to seizures, left-sided weakness, and altered consciousness. She was later found to have a widespread and occlusive SVT with right cerebral hemorrhagic infarction. This case is notable for the extensive nature of the cerebral SVT and the child's complete clinical recovery from the neurological event. The report discusses the relation of the thrombosis and leukemia and also emphasizes the importance of early recognition and prompt management, while incorporating a collaborative multidisciplinary approach to prevent long-term consequences.

Here we investigate the feasibility of textile based piezoresistive sensors to accurately measure increases in spinal extension, on-body for clinical application in the Modified Modified Schober's test. The proposed sensor combines the accuracy of standard metallic strain sensors with the comfort and usability of textiles, offering innumerable wearable applications. Calibration testing of the textile sensors showed a linear dependency between sensor's electrical resistance and strain in the region of interest (25–60% strain) with great reproducibility (relative standard deviation 0.0296–2.04%, n=10). On-body testing of the device has shown accurate results validated by standard measurements done with a steel measuring tape, proving the viability of the sensor for real-time monitoring of spinal extension.

Antismoking campaigns have traditionally ignored the differences between social and regular smokers. This paper reports the results of three studies: interviews with 17 college students describing themselves as social smokers, a survey verifying the interview results with a larger sample of undergraduates, and an experimental test of advertising appeals based on the survey results. In the interviews, social smokers differentiated themselves from regular smokers and described smoking mostly in situations where drinking and smoking goes hand in hand. They did not feel vulnerable to the long-term consequences of smoking. The survey confirmed differences between the behaviors, motivations, and perceived vulnerability of social and regular smokers. The experimental study found that both social and regular smokers were persuaded by an advertisement describing the risk of cancer, but social smokers expressed the lowest vulnerability to this risk. A message strategy describing the risk of addiction was particularly effective in capturing the attention of social smokers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Nonprofits that depend on charitable giving operate in a competitive context and cannot simply expect to receive donations because they represent a “good” or “deserving” cause. To increase the chances of receiving donations, they have to communicate the positive impact of the donor's actions (perceived efficacy) and ensure that the appeals are seen as motivating (persuasiveness). We sampled donors from the database of a local charity and found that perceived efficacy for the charity was significantly influential. We also found that persuasiveness of an appeal fully mediated their charitable giving behavior. Thus, to receive a fair share, or any share, of an individual's donations, even the willing need to be persuaded.

Does congruity between an ad and its context improve ad memory? This research examines task orientation and perceived ad clutter as moderating and mediating influences on the relationship between ad-context congruity and ad memory in an e-magazine context. The results show ad-context congruity increases ad recognition for information seekers, whereas it does not have any effect for surfers of an e-magazine. Perceived clutter plays a crucial role in this relationship, partially mediating the impact of ad-context congruity on recall and completely mediating the effect of ad-context congruity on recognition. The managerial implications for the burgeoning e-magazine format include indications that when recall is paramount, adjacent incongruent ads and content can be used, but when recognition is important, congruent ads and content should be used and targeted toward people who consume the medium to gather specific information.

North America harbors an astounding proportion of the world's freshwater species, but it is facing a freshwater biodiversity crisis. A first step to slowing the loss of biodiversity involves identifying gaps in existing efforts to conserve biodiversity and prioritizing opportunities to fill these gaps. In this monograph we detail two separate, but complementary, conservation planning efforts—a Gap Analysis (GAP) and a State Wildlife Action Plan (WAP)—for Missouri that address this first step. The goal of the Missouri Aquatic GAP Project was to identify riverine ecosystems, habitats, and species not adequately represented (i.e., gaps) within existing conservation lands. The goal of the freshwater component of the Missouri Wildlife Action Plan was to identify and map a set of conservation-opportunity areas (COAs) that holistically represent all riverine ecosystems, habitats, and species in Missouri. Since conservation planning is a geographical exercise, both efforts utilized geographic information systems (GIS). Four principal GIS data sets were used in each planning effort: (1) a hierarchical riverine ecosystem classification, (2) predicted species distributions, (3) public ownership/stewardship, and (4) a human-threat index. Results of the gap analyses are not encouraging. Forty five, mostly rare, threatened, or endangered, species are not represented in lands set aside for conserving biodiversity. Results also illustrate the fragmented nature of conservation lands, which are mainly situated in the uplands and fail to provide connectivity among riverine habitats. Furthermore, many conservation lands are severely threatened by an array of human disturbances. In contrast, results of the WAP provide hope that relatively intact riverine ecosystems still exist. A total of 158 COAs, representing ;6% of the total kilometers of stream in Missouri, were selected for the WAP. This illustrates that a wide spectrum of biodiversity can be represented within a small portion of the total resource base, but the area of conservation concern is often much larger. Identifying priority riverscapes for conservation is an important first step toward effective biodiversity conservation. Yet, achieving the ultimate goal of conserving biodiversity will require vigilance on the part of all responsible parties, with particular attention to addressing and coordinating the many remaining logistical tasks.

This article presents a study examining the effect on direct mail response rates of two different types of enclosures or premiums included in a fund raising packet. Also, the effect of audience involvement combined with the effect of varying enclosure types was examined. A field experiment was conducted on individuals from two mailing lists of recent charitable donors. Managerial implications are discussed.

There is much interest from the fisheries industry in developing rapid methods to evaluate real-time freshness of fish and seafood products. Emphasis is on the ones that would reflect and account for the products history and their storage conditions from “harvest-to-home”. The development of a “smart packaging” that monitors the microbial breakdown products in the headspace of packaged fish is described. When fish spoils it releases a variety of basic volatile amines which are detectable with appropriate pH indicating sensors. These are prepared by entrapping within a polymer matrix a pH sensitive dye that responds, through visible color changes to the spoilage volatile compounds that contribute to a quantity known as total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N). Laboratory trials on fresh fish filets showed that the sensor accurately tracks the increase in amines concentration in the package headspace. The response was also found to correlate to changing microbial populations (total viable count or TVC and Pseudomonas spp.). In addition, leaching of the dye was assessed over time to assess the suitability of the sensor formulation for food packaging application.

Here we investigate the feasibility of detecting the photo-reversible inter-conversion between the two thermo-dynamically stable states of the photochromic molecule spiropyran, using silicon microcantilever sensors. The merging of microcantilever technology and spiropyran photochromic brushes for the first time, offers a good route for the pairing of a sensitive transducer with a sensing surface which can be optically controlled. Photo-induced switching between the spiropyran isomers has been tracked through changes in surface stress of the cantilever that can be detected by monitoring the cantilever deflection.

This contribution describes for the first time the fabrication and the performance of a reversible ionogel microvalve in-situ photopolymerised into a reusable disc platform for fluid control. During storage and spinning, the swollen microvalve provides a permanent liquid barrier due to the special chemical characteristics of the ionogel. The microvalve is easy actuated using a white light LED allowing open of the channel at a desired time. The actuation mechanism is chemically reversible when an acid solution is provided to the microvalve. Here a perpendicular microchannel, connected to the valve from behind, is used to ensure the re-swelling of the ionogel and therefore reusability of the Lab-on-a-disc.

A low-power, high sensitivity, very low-cost light emitting diode (LED)-based device developed for low-cost sensor networks was modified with bromocresol green membrane to work as a solid-state pH sensor. In this approach, a reverse-biased LED functioning as a photodiode is coupled with a second LED configured in conventional emission mode. A simple timer circuit measures how long (in microsecond) it takes for the photocurrent generated on the detector LED to discharge its capacitance from logic 1 (+5 V) to logic 0 (+1.7 V). The entire instrument provides an inherently digital output of light intensity measurements for a few cents. A light dependent resistor (LDR) modified with similar sensor membrane was also used as a comparison method. Both the LED sensor and the LDR sensor responded to various pH buffer solutions in a similar way to obtain sigmoidal curves expected of the dye. The pKa value obtained for the sensors was found to agree with the literature value.

The golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) is a federally endangered, Neotropical migrant songbird that breeds exclusively in central Texas. Previous studies have identified habitat characteristics associated with the warbler, but a predictive model incorporating data collected over the entire breeding range is lacking. Using logistic regression, we constructed models at 2 scales based on vegetational and topographical data from individual survey points (local-scale) and potential habitat patches (landscape-scale). Models identified similar characteristics important in predicting golden-cheeked warbler occupancy, despite a difference in scale. The models suggested that warbler occupancy was positively associated with steep slopes, forest interior, Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) canopy cover, a tall canopy, and proximity to protected lands.

We analyze the superfine structure of the supermaser H2O emission region in Orion KL over the period 1979–1999. The angular resolution reached 0.1 mas, which corresponds to 0.045 AU at a distance to Orion KL of 450 pc. We determined the velocity of the local standard of rest, V LSR = 7.65 km s−1. The formation of a protostar is accompanied by a structure that consists of an accretion disk, a bipolar outflow, and a surrounding envelope. The disk is at the stage of separation into protoplanetary rings. The disk plane is warped like the brim of a hat. The disk is 27 AU in diameter and ∼0.3 AU in thickness. The rings contain ice granules. Radiation and stellar wind sublimate and blow away the water molecules to form halos around the rings, maser rings. The radiation from the rings is concentrated in the azimuthal plane, and its directivity reaches 10−3. The relative velocities of the rings located in the central part of the disk 15 AU in diameter correspond to rigid-body rotation, V rot = ΩR. The rotation period is T ≈ 170 yr. The injector is surrounded by a toroidal structure 1.2 AU in diameter. The diameter of the injected flow does not exceed 0.05 AU. A highly collimated bipolar outflow with a diameter of ∼0.1 AU is observed at a distance as large as 3 AU. Precession of the injector axis with a period of ∼10 yr forms a spiral flow structure. The flow velocity is ∼10 km s−1. The kinetic energy of the accreting matter and the disk is assumed to be transferred to the bipolar outflow, causing the rotation velocity distribution of the rings to deviate from the Keplerian velocity. The surrounding envelope amplifies the emission from the structure at a velocity of 7.65 km s−1 in a band of ∼0.5 km s−1 by more than two orders of magnitude, which determines the supermaser emission.

In response to significant environmental health challenges in Southeast Texas, a National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences Center at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston was created to promote and conduct inter-disciplinary research in the areas of: (1) the molecular biology of DNA repair, replication and mutagenesis, (2) asthma pathogenesis in response to oxidative stress and viral exposures, and (3) environmental toxicant biotransformation. In addition, the NIEHS Center maintains close ties with neighboring communities through an active Community Outreach & Education Program (COEP) that develops and disseminates translational materials for use in environmental health awareness outreach, toxicology consultation, K-12 curriculum enrichment and in developing site-specific Community Partnership projects. The COEP core service divisions include: Environmental Arts & Sciences, Asthma Outreach & Education, Theater Outreach & Education, and Public Forum & Toxics Assistance. Public Forums focus on the use of Augusto Boal's Forum Theater dramaturgy to include the voices and local knowledge of communities within the process of Participatory Research. Forums create the preconditions for significant partnerships that link the hazardous risk perceptions and environmental health needs of communities with the expertise of NIEHS Center investigators and translational services provided through COEP outreach programs. The Forum process also creates leadership cores within environmentally challenged communities that facilitate the ongoing translational process and maintain the vital linkage between the health needs of communities and the analytic tools and the field and clinical technologies of the environmental sciences.

The development and evaluation of time-resolved (minutes) measurement technologies to characterize the physical and chemical make up of ambient aerosols/particulate matter in the atmosphere are essential to our improved understanding of aerosol process science, source attribution, and population exposure. During the PMTACS-NY summer 2001 campaign in Queens/New York, a wide variety of on-line aerosol analysis instruments were deployed together with gas-phase and filter sampling techniques. Here, we report on the intercomparison of four semi-continuous PM 2.5 sulfate instruments and evaluation of these instruments with one set of 6 h and three sets of 24-h filter measurements, collected at the same site. The semi-continuous instruments were an aerosol mass spectrometer, a particle-into-liquid sampler coupled with ion chromatograph, a Rupprecht & Patashnick Sulfate Monitor (R&P 8400S), and a continuous sulfate monitor developed by George Allen at Harvard School of Public Health and built in the field by one of us (J.J.S.). We found an excellent almost one-to-one correlation between the four semi-continuous instruments with typical multiple R -squared values >0.9. In addition, the correlations of the semi-continuous data with the filter measurements are also highly linear ( R 2 0.86–0.98) but the semi-continuous instruments recover only about 85% of the sulfate mass collected by the filter techniques. The most likely explanation for this deviation is a combination of positive sampling artifacts on the filters (collection of particles with diameter greater then 2.5 μm, oxidation/condensation processes on the filters) with negative biases of the semi-continuous measurements (inlet line losses, limited collection efficiency for small particles below ca. 0.1 μm).

This study examined whether we could use a Solicitation Response Model adapted from the consumer research literature to increase our understanding of nonprofit direct mail solicitations. We sent 389 surveys to people listed in the database of a homeless shelter. In response, 166 people rated an envelope and appeal from the shelter. The model successfully explained potential donors' intention to open the envelope and intention to donate. Emotional responses to the envelope and attitude toward the envelope were more important influences upon acquisition (or new) donors' intention to open the envelope than upon renewal donors' intention. Attitude toward the appeal had a stronger effect upon acquisition donors' intention to donate than it did upon renewal donors' intention. The study suggests differences in the way that appeals should be designed for acquisition and renewal donors. As well, we present a small sample method for diagnosing direct mail charitable solicitations.

Although relationship marketing has been recognized as a feasible strategy in mass consumer markets, the research and development of theory in the field has focused primarily on the analysis of social bonds between people, either in a B2B context, the services sector, or both. It has been acknowledged, however, that the development of strong and lasting customer-brand bonds creates a competitive advantage for companies. Therefore, understanding the ways in which consumers relate to brands is an important area of research. The current research investigates the relationships among self-brand congruence, brand attachment, customer engagement, and brand loyalty. These constructs represent different ways in which customers relate to brands. Using an experimental design, we show that self-brand congruence positively affects brand attachment and customer engagement. We also show that brand attachment predicts brand loyalty. We fail to support the hypothesized positive relationship between customer engagement and brand loyalty, which is a perplexing finding considering that companies are constantly looking for ways in which to engage their customers.

A plan is being developed for the conversion of the NIST research reactor (NBSR) from high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. The LEU fuel may be a monolithic foil (LEUm) of U10Mo (10% molybdenum by weight in an alloy with uranium) or a dispersion of U7Mo in aluminum (LEUd). A previous report provided neutronic calculations for the LEUm fuel and this report presents the neutronics parameters for the LEUd fuel. The neutronics parameters for the LEUd fuel are compared to those previously obtained for the present HEU fuel and the proposed LEUm fuel. The results show no significant differences between the LEUm and the LEUd other than the LEUd fuel requires slightly less uranium than the LEUm fuel due to less molybdenum being present. The calculations include kinetics parameters, reactivity coefficients, reactivity worths of control elements and abnormal configurations, and power distributions under normal operation and with misloaded fuel elements.

This report documents calculations of the fuel cladding temperature during loss-of-coolant accidents in the NBSR. The probability of a pipe failure is small and procedures exist to minimize the loss of water and assure emergency cooling water flows into the reactor core during such an event. Analysis in the past has shown that the emergency cooling water would provide adequate cooling if the water filled the flow channels within the fuel elements. The present analysis is to determine if there is adequate cooling if the water drains from the flow channels. Based on photographs of how the emergency water flows into the fuel elements from the distribution pan, it can be assumed that this water does not distribute uniformly across the flow channels but rather results in a liquid film flowing downward on the inside of one of the side plates in each fuel element and only wets the edges of the fuel plates. An analysis of guillotine breaks shows the cladding temperature remains below the blister temperature in fuel plates in the upper section of the fuel element. In the lower section, the fuel plates are also cooled by water outside the element that is present due to themore » hold-up pan and temperatures are lower than in the upper section. For small breaks, the simulation results show that the fuel elements are always cooled on the outside even in the upper section and the cladding temperature cannot be higher than the blister temperature. The above results are predicated on assumptions that are examined in the study to see their influence on fuel temperature.« less

The relationship between the United States federal government law enforcement agencies and American Indian tribes, and an overview of how criminal law is enforced in Indian Country.

Two studies examined consumers’ defenses against to catalog and charitable direct mail solicitations. First, 157 survey respondents completed questions about their charitable giving behavior. Significant correlations between four resulting principal components and demographic variables showed how people defend themselves against repeated appeals. In a second study, 34 subjects provided scripts of responses to charitable and catalog solicitations. The scripts further illustrated defensive responses. Several conclusions were drawn from these studies. First, recipients of charitable solicitations often use defensive mechanisms to protect themselves from frequent solicitations. Second, frequent recipients of charitable direct mail process their mail differently than infrequent recipients. Frequent recipients are much more likely to use defensive script elements. Multiple solicitations to prospective donors may increase charitable contributions. However, excess solicitation could lead them to develop a greater repertoire of defenses against solicitations and decrease the pool of available contributions over the long term.

Neutropenia is considered a significant risk factor for invasive aspergillosis but is almost always associated with concurrent thrombocytopenia. Studies determined that platelets, like neutrophils, attached to cell walls of the invasive hyphal form of Aspergillus fumigatus . Organisms were damaged as shown by loss of cell wall integrity in scanning laser confocal microscopy and release of defined hyphal surface glycoproteins. Rapid expression appearance of surface antigen CD63 and release of markers of platelet degranulation confirmed activation during attachment to hyphae. Optimal platelet activation required opsonization of hyphae with fresh or heat-inactivated whole plasma. These effects of opsonization with whole plasma could not be duplicated by pooled human serum, immunoglobulin G, or fibrinogen, whether used separately or combined. Thus, platelets in the presence of whole plasma have the potential to play an important role in normal host defenses against invasive aspergillosis.

Survey data merged with contribution records from a development office database provided a basis for understanding alumni support for a university. The survey randomly sampled alumni of a state university school of management who had graduated between 1980 and 1988. Subjects filled out mail questionnaires measuring social psychological constructs from the literature on prosocial behavior. The determinants of obligation to donate included perceived efficacy, perceived need, reciprocity, and individual attachment to the university. Obligation and other constructs explained the number of donations recorded in the development office database over 6 years. The model also predicted intentions to support the university by working for an alumni association or attending reunions. This model of alumni donation leads to recommendations for designing university fund-raising communications.

Who controls American Indian tribal membership and enrollment? The legal background of membership determination, enrollment and the recent trend of disenrollment. A guide to litigation over tribal citizenship status.