Augustana College (Illinois)

About: Augustana College (Illinois) is a education organization based out in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Higher education & Population. The organization has 491 authors who have published 763 publications receiving 14274 citations. The organization is also known as: Augustana College and Theological Seminary.

Daily thermal fluctuations to a range of subzero temperatures enhance cold hardiness of winter-acclimated turtles

Abstract: Although seasonal increases in cold hardiness are well documented for temperate and polar ectotherms, relatively little is known about supplemental increases in cold hardiness during winter. Because many animals are exposed to considerable thermal variation in winter, they may benefit from a quick enhancement of cold tolerance prior to extreme low temperature. Hatchling painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) overwintering in their natal nests experience substantial thermal variation in winter, and recently, it was found that brief subzero chilling of winter-acclimated hatchlings decreases subsequent chilling-induced mortality, increases blood concentrations of glucose and lactate, and protects the brain from cryoinjury. Here, we further characterize that phenomenon, termed 'cold conditioning', by exposing winter-acclimated hatchling turtles to -3.5, -7.0, or -10.5 °C gradually or repeatedly via daily thermal fluctuations over the course of 5 days and assessing their survival of a subsequent cold shock to a discriminating temperature of -12.7 °C. To better understand the physiological response to cold conditioning, we measured changes in glucose and lactate concentrations in the liver, blood, and brain. Cold conditioning significantly increased cold-shock survival, from 9% in reference turtles up to 74% in cold-conditioned turtles, and ecologically relevant daily thermal fluctuations were at least as effective at conferring cryoprotection as was gradual cold conditioning. Cold conditioning increased glucose concentrations, up to 25 μmol g-1, and lactate concentrations, up to 30 μmol g-1, in the liver, blood, and brain. Turtles that were cold conditioned with daily thermal fluctuations accumulated more glucose in the liver, blood, and brain, and had lower brain lactate, than those gradually cold conditioned. Given the thermal variation to which hatchling painted turtles are exposed in winter, we suggest that the supplemental protection conferred by cold conditioning, especially that induced by daily thermal fluctuations, may be important for their overwinter survival. Investigation into the duration of the cold-conditioning induced protection and its occurrence in natural field conditions is needed to better understand its ecological significance. We suggest that future work exploring the underlying mechanisms of cold conditioning should focus on non-colligative effects of glucose, expression of small Hsps, changes in membrane structure, and ion homeostasis.

African Americans in U.S. foreign policy: from the era of Frederick Douglass to the age of Obama

Abstract: projects as shaped by a pragmatic viewpoint, one that does not result in a paradox since it confines itself to using a political and legal framework for addressing race, steering clear from a scientific perspective. However, in his overview of conceptions of racism in writing history, teaching philosophy, and teaching sociology (including the approaches found in major textbooks), he concludes that theoretical advance has been stymied by emphasizing political purposes at the expense of scientific goals. When he turns to the concept of ethnicity, which gained currency in the 1940s as a less polemical alternative to race, nation, and minority and has witnessed considerable theoretical attention since then, Banton concludes that a consensus about precisely what the concept means is still lacking. Near the end of the book, in seeking to point the discipline he has contributed so much to in what he considers to be a more intellectually promising direction, Banton turns to Weber’s writings on closure and ethnic groups, which he considers to be a useful starting point. The challenge, as he sees it, is formidable. To advance the field, the sociological community must be firmly grounded in an institutionally embedded tradition, building on it but also correcting it. This tradition, as he sees it, “can be read as a sequence of efforts to find a better framework”, concluding that “[n]one of the attempts so far has succeeded” (153). I suspect that there will be readers who might not be so inclined to agree with Banton on many particulars or even be convinced that there is a paradox needing to be resolved. Nevertheless, I suspect that most will agree that if they join him on this reflective journey, they will be rewarded.

The Swedish American Press and the American Protective Association

Abstract: The story of the American Protective Association, a manifestation of narrow nationalism in the closing years of the last century, is an almost forgotten phase of American history. Though a few may be fairly familiar with certain aspects of the history of the American Protective Association, a study of the attitude of the Swedish American press toward the Association, supposedly hostile to the immigrants, may offer some interesting side-lights on general trends of American history from 1890 to 1896.