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Summary: The desire to study macromolecular complexes within their cellular context requires the ability to produce thin samples suitable for cryo‐TEM (cryo‐transmission electron microscope) investigations. In this paper, we discuss two similar approaches, which were developed independently in Utrecht (the Netherlands) and Albany (USA). The methods are particularly suitable for both tissue samples and cell suspensions prepared by a high‐pressure freezer (HPF). The workflows are explained with particular attention to potential pitfalls, while underlying principles are highlighted ('why to do so'). Although both workflows function with a high success rate, full execution requires considerable experience and remains demanding. In addition, throughput is low. We hope to encourage other research groups worldwide to take on the challenge of improving the HPF– cryo‐FIB‐SEM – cryo‐TEM workflow. We discuss a number of suggestions to this end. Lay Description: Life is ultimately dictated by the interaction of molecules in our bodies. Highly complex equipment is being used and further developed to study these interactions. The present paper describes methods to prepare small, very thin lamellae (area of 5×5 µm2, thickness 50–300 nm) of a cell to be studied in a cryo‐transmission electron microscope (cryo‐TEM). Special care must be taken to preserve the natural state of molecules in their natural environment. In the case of cryo‐TEM, the samples must be frozen and kept frozen to be compatible with the vacuum conditions in the microscope. The frozen condition imposes technical challenges which are addressed. Two approaches to obtain the thin lamellae are described. Both make use of a focused ion beam (FIB) microscope. The FIB allows removal of material with nanometre precision by focusing a beam of ionised atoms (gallium ions) onto the sample. Careful control of the FIB allows cutting out of the required thin lamellae. In both strategies, the thin lamellae remain attached to the original sample, and the ensemble of sample with section and sample holder is transported from the FIB microscope to the TEM while being kept frozen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system dynamics group at the Rockefeller College of the University at Albany has been developing techniques to create system dynamic models with groups of managers during the last 25 years. Building upon their tradition in decision conferencing, the group has developed a particular style that involves a facilitation team in which people play different roles. Throughout these years of experience, the group has also developed several “scripts” to elicit knowledge from experts based on small-groups research, and well-established practices in the development of system dynamics models. This paper constitutes a detailed documentation of a relatively small-scale modeling effort that took place in early 2001, offering a “soup to nuts” description of group model building at Albany. The paper describes in detail nine of the scripts that the group has developed, offering some reflections about their advantages and limitations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat restoration is costly and it is often necessary to justify the costs with evidence of benefits to society. These benefits are difficult to quantify because they are measured in terms of ecosystem services rather than currency. This paper introduces a somewhat novel restoration-related ecosystem service, a reduction in the risk of tick-borne disease, and incorporates it into a cost/benefit analysis of the restoration of a rare habitat. We use a cost-of-illness study to calculate the costs averted by preventing Lyme disease (LD), and a contingent-valuation survey to estimate the benefit of biodiversity protection. The restoration, removal of an invasive tree, reduced the risk of LD by approximately 98%. Cost-of-illness studies show that the restoration would be financially justifiable if it averted 75 cases of LD per year. Given the local LD rate and the visitation rate to the preserve, the habitat restoration can plausibly be justified solely on the benefit of LD cases averted. However, as we do not know how many cases of LD are contracted in the preserve, we also establish the perceived value of protecting biodiversity in a contingent-valuation survey. Results show that residents were willing to pay a significant fraction of the net cost of restoration to protect biodiversity. When these benefits are taken into account, the number of cases of disease that must be averted to justify remediation is reduced. This exercise spotlights an underappreciated ecosystem service that, when appropriate, can help establish the cost effectiveness of restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead isotopes are a powerful and versatile tool to elucidate fundamental geological problems related to the formation and evolution of continental crust. K‐feldspar is a popular target for Pb isotope measurement as it is prevalent in many rock types and tends to capture the initial Pb isotope composition of its parental magma. We present data for a new Pb isotope reference material: Albany K‐feldspar; as well as updated data for Shap K‐feldspar. Results of Pb double‐spike TIMS for Albany K‐feldspar are 206Pb/204Pb = 16.7872 ± 0.0062, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.5640 ± 0.0056, and 208Pb/204Pb = 36.6600 ± 0.0168 (2s). TIMS measurement results for Shap K‐feldspar indicate two isotopically distinct Pb populations. LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS, with a spatial resolution as high as 15 μm, indicates a homogeneous Pb isotopic composition in Albany K‐feldspar. In accord with previous studies, our results show that scatter in the measured Pb isotope ratios, related to the low natural isotopic abundance of 204Pb, along with the effect of isobaric 204Hg‐204Pb interference, increases at lower count rates. However, the mean Pb isotope ratios measured via LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS using a range of spot sizes are in excellent agreement with TIMS results thus highlighting the feasibility of Pb isotope determination via LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS to access geological information preserved in small crystals, including mineral inclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper (Fishbein et at., 1992) gay men's attitudes and subjective norms were found to be accurate predictors of their intentions to perform a variety of sexual behaviors. In addition, the relative importance of norms as determinants of intention was found to be greater in Seattle (a city with a well organized gay community) than in Albany (a city in which the gay community is not well organized). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which the men's attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions were influenced by a number of situational and individual difference variables. Three hundred and fourteen self-identified gay or bisexual men from Seattle (134), Denver (78), and Albany (102) completed a questionnaire specifically designed for this study. As expected, type of partner and type of sexual activity significantly influenced attitudes, perceived norms, and intentions. In addition, these dependent variables were also influenced, in part, by city of residence, age, and perceived risk of HIV infection. The findings provide additional justification for developing different interventions for gay men in different cities, age, and perceived risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we introduce a methodology for improving the accuracy and efficiency of reduced order models (ROMs) constructed using the least‐squares Petrov–Galerkin (LSPG) projection method through the introduction of preconditioning. Unlike prior related work, which focuses on preconditioning the linear systems arising within the ROM numerical solution procedure to improve linear solver performance, our approach leverages a preconditioning matrix directly within the minimization problem underlying the LSPG formulation. Applying preconditioning in this way has the potential to improve ROM accuracy for several reasons. First, preconditioning the LSPG formulation changes the norm defining the residual minimization, which can improve the residual‐based stability constant bounding the ROM solution's error. The incorporation of a preconditioner into the LSPG formulation can have the additional effect of scaling the components of the residual being minimized to make them roughly of the same magnitude, which can be beneficial when applying the LSPG method to problems with disparate scales (e.g., dimensional equations, multi‐physics problems). Importantly, we demonstrate that an "ideal preconditioned" LSPG ROM (a ROM in which the preconditioner is the inverse of the Jacobian of its corresponding full order model) emulates projection of the full order model solution increment onto the reduced basis. This quantity defines a lower bound on the error of a ROM solution for a given reduced basis. By designing preconditioners that approximate the Jacobian inverse—as is common in designing preconditioners for solving linear systems—it is possible to obtain a ROM whose error approaches this lower bound. The proposed approach is evaluated on several mechanical and thermo‐mechanical problems implemented within the Albany HPC code and run in the predictive regime, with prediction across material parameter space. We demonstrate numerically that the introduction of simple Jacobi, Gauss‐Seidel, and ILU preconditioners into the proper orthogonal decomposition/LSPG formulation reduces significantly the ROM solution error, the reduced Jacobian condition number, the number of nonlinear iterations required to reach convergence, and the wall time (thereby improving efficiency). Moreover, our numerical results reveal that the introduction of preconditioning can deliver a robust and accurate solution for test cases in which the unpreconditioned LSPG method fails to converge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We investigated seasonal changes in brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation and metabolism in a temperate‐climate Albany, NY population. Methods: Data were collected among 58 participants (21 males, 37 females, ages: 18–51) in the summer and 59 participants (23 males, 36 females, ages: 18–63) in the winter in Albany, New York. BAT activity was inferred by comparing metabolic rate, heat dissipation in the supraclavicular area, and respiratory quotient at room temperature and cold exposure. Seasonal variation in BAT was determined by comparing these measurements from summer and winter. Results: At mild cold exposure, heat dissipation of the supraclavicular area was significantly greater in the winter compared to summer (p <.001); however, no significant differences were found between seasons in metabolic rate measurements. This suggests BAT activation may be metabolically more efficient in the winter, due to prolonged lower seasonal temperatures relative to summer. Respiratory quotient significantly increased upon mild cold exposure in the winter compared to summer (p <.001). While carbohydrate utilization increased in the winter, fat remained the primary metabolic substrate for BAT activity across both seasons. Conclusion: The seasonal variations in the effects of nonshivering thermogenesis on metabolic rate and substrate metabolism suggest a buffering of energy expenditure and an increased use of glucose as fuel by BAT as a result of acclimatization to cold in the winter. These findings point towards a potential role of BAT in human whole‐body mediated glucose disposal and cold adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a note from the new editor of the journal "Sociological Forum," for the first issue processed in the Albany office in New York. The issue is similar to the issues from offices in Ithaca and Stony Brook. Two reasons for this continuity are that the papers in editorial process at Stony Brook were sent to Albany in the editorial office transition and that editors are at the mercy of the authors who submit manuscripts. The plea made to authors by editor Stephen Cole was that if one had a manuscript ready for submission, one should first think of the "Sociological Forum."

Provides information on the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research institute of the State University of New York in Albany. Contributions of the research institute to the study and research of political and public issues in New York; Projects of the institute to build trust between academics and policymakers; Effect of the autonomy of the research institute on its research works.

Prebroadcast screenings were organized to measure the impact of a TV documentary. íBack Wards to Back Streets." on information levels, attitudes toward community-based treatment facilities, and beliefs about mental illness. Audiences of mental health professionals, political decision makers, and public TV subscribers were invited to screenings in New York City and Albany. New York. Based on an experi- mental design, half of each audience was randomly selected to respond to both pre- and postfilm questionnaires; others responded to postfilm questionnaires only. Among the New York City audience the film raised information levels, created more favorable attitudes, and changed beliefs about mental illness. One methodological implication is that small-scale screenings are a viable technique for studying TV's impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers from the State University of New York at Albany and the New York State Office of Mental Health have been engaged in testing an experimental approach to evaluating systems thinking interventions. This research calls for a similar systems thinking intervention to be repeated in four counties with four control counties also selected and observed via pre- and post-intervention measures. The overall context of the project focuses on integration of mental health and vocational rehabilitation services. The experiment is designed to evaluate measurable outcomes, including shifts in goal structures and change strategies of the management team, shifts in relative alignment of the management team as a whole, perceived success of the intervention, and changes in systems and procedures necessary to improve client services. This article presents a framework for evaluating systems-thinking interventions as well as preliminary findings from the pilot test. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the outcomes assessment framework of Regents College of the University of the State of New York. Information provided on Regents College; Fundamental beliefs on which Regents' outcomes framework is based on; Goals of Regents College's outcomes assessment; Further description of the framework.

Cites important events and personalities in the history of geology. Role of a false geological map in the miracle at Dunkirk in 1940; Geological exploration; Legal battle over Earth sciences in Albany, New York in 1849-51; Elizabethan seadog/explorer Martin Frobisher.