Immunocytochemistry and retrograde labeling were used to define the thalamic projections of calbindin- and parvalbumin-containing cells in superficial layers of the rat's superior colliculus (SC). Quantitative analysis revealed that 90.8 ± 2.2% (mean ± standard deviation) of the calbindin-immunoreactive neurons in the stratum griseum superficiale (SGS) projected to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) and that 91.3 ± 4.3% of calbindin-immunoreactive neurons in the stratum opticum (SO) projected to the lateral posterior nucleus (LP). In contrast, only 17.3 ± 2.5% of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the SGS were found to project to the LGNd and 16.5 ± 3.1% of the parvalbumin-immunoreactive SO cells were retrogradely labeled after LP injections. Few of the parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in either the SGS (7.2 ± 2.5%) or the SO (9.2 ± 2.5%) were GABA positive. The retrograde-labeling results suggest that parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the rat's SO and SGS may either be primarily interneurons or have descending projections, while calbindin-containing cells are primarily thalamic projection neurons. These results are consistent with data from other rodents, but almost exactly the opposite of data that have been reported for the cat for these same populations of SC projection neurons. Such interspecies differences raise questions regarding the functional importance of expressing one calcium-binding protein versus another in a specific neuronal population.

We present the results of eighteen non-continuous nights of time series photometric observations of a 1.25 deg2 field in Cygnus centered on the NASA Kepler Mission field of view. Using the Case Western Burrell Schmidt telescope we gathered a dataset containing light curves of roughly 30,000 stars with 14 < r < 19. We have statistically examined each light curve to test for variability, periodicity, and unusual light curve trends, including exoplanet transits. We present a summary of our photometric project including a characterization of the level and content of stellar variability in this field. We will also discuss our potential exoplanet candidates.

A spectroscopy and isotope study has been performed on igneous sediments from Lake Hoare, a nearly isolated ecosystem in the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. The mineralogy and chemistry of these sediments were studied in order to gain insights into the biogeochemical processes occurring in a permanently ice-covered lake and to assist in characterizing potential habitats for life in paleolakes on Mars. Obtaining visible/near-infrared, mid-infrared and Raman spectra of such sediments provides the ground truth needed for using reflectance, emittance and Raman spectroscopy for exploration of geology, and perhaps biology, on Mars. Samples measured in this study include a sediment from the ice surface, lake bottom sediment cores from oxic and anoxic zones of the lake and the magnetic fractions of two samples.

These sediments are dominated by quartz, pyroxene, plagioclase and K-feldspar, but also contain calcite, organics, clays, sulphides and iron oxides/hydroxides that resulted from chemical and biological alteration processes. Chlorophyll-like bands are observed in the spectra of the sediment-mat layers on the surface of the lake bottom, especially in the deep anoxic region. Layers of high calcite concentration in the oxic sediments and layers of high pyrite concentration in the anoxic sediments are indicators of periods of active biogeochemical processing in the lake. Micro-Raman spectra revealed the presence of ~5 μm-sized pyrite deposits on the surface of quartz grains in the anoxic sediments. C, N and S isotope trends are compared with the chemistry and spectral properties. The δ13C and δ15N trends highlight the differences in the balance of microbial processes in the anoxic sediments versus the oxic sediments. The biogenic pyrite found in the sediments from the anoxic zone is associated with depleted δ34S values, high organic C levels and chlorophyll spectral bands and could be used as a potential biomarker mineral for paleolakes on Mars.

Proto-Industrialization has been defined as a transitional phase on the way to modern, factory industrialization, characterized by “the development of rural regions in which a large part of the population lived entirely or to a considerable extent from industrial mass production for inter-regional and international markets” (Kriedte, Medick, and Schlumbohm [KMS] 1981:6). This article will use protoindustrialization as a lens through which to reexamine a number of issues in early modern Japanese history, including the relationship between commercial agriculture and rural industry, the role of the state in economic development, and the economic geography of the late Tokugawa period. Perhaps most importantly, I hope by looking at proto-industrialization to reach a better understanding of the transition from the feudalism of the Tokugawa era to the capitalist development of the Meiji period and beyond.

The International Dark-Sky Association, Inc. (or IDA, Inc.) is a new tax-exempt, non-profit corporation formed to serve the public and the amateur and professional astronomer communities by providing information, education, and research on light pollution and related topics. IDA will share knowledge of the issue on a local, national, and international basis and will assist with members’ problems. It was organized for the purpose of preserving dark skies for astronomy and for the general public. Solutions to the problem of light pollution will, at the same time, also promote maximum effectiveness for all outdoor lighting and will conserve natural resources.

Things were not right in the Kantō region during the early nineteenth century. In his memoirs, Mastsudaira Sadanobu, architect of the Kansei Reforms, lamented the sorry state of the villages in Edo's hinterland:

Much land throughout the Kantō is going to waste for want of cultivators. All the people of some villages have left for Edo, leaving only the headman behind. … Many Kantō villagers are suffering great hardship. Babies are killed, the population has declined, and land has gone to waste.