Interview with Grady Douglass

Includes (computer-generated) transcript.San Angelo Museum of Fine Art

Leadership Practices During Teacher Incentive Allotment Implementation in Rural Texas Districts: A Phenomenological Study Poster

Rural Texas school leaders face significant challenges in implementing the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) system, a performance-based compensation system that ties salary supplements to teacher evaluations and student growth measures. This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of six rural campus and district leaders within Education Service Center Region 15 in West Texas, using semi-structured interviews triangulated with field notes, journal entries, and district documents. Thematic analysis was guided by authentic leadership theory (Walumbwa et al., 2008). Findings revealed that successful implementation of the TIA system depended less on technical compliance than on authentic leadership; leaders who framed the TIA system as an extension of shared values, sustained ongoing communication, and responded personally to teacher concerns navigated implementation more effectively than those who did not. Rural relationship density emerged as both an asset and a source of tension, underscoring the need for authentic leadership. These findings offer practical guidance for rural leaders, education service centers, and state agencies seeking to strengthen leadership capacity during high-stakes compensation reform

Investigating the Potential Virulence of Legionella antarctica as a Human Pathogen through Comparative Genomic Analysis

Our original objective was to experimentally evaluate the infection potential of L. antarctica in human macrophage models using THP-1 and alveolar macrophages. However, due to delayed bacterial sample availability, the study shifted to a comparative genomic analysis using the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) BLAST to investigate potential virulence genes. Legionella pneumophila causes a severe pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease by infecting and replicating within human macrophages. Its intracellular survival depends on key virulence factors, including: Dot/Icm Type IV secretion system – injects bacterial proteins into host cells Type IV Effector proteins – manipulate host cellular pathways to promote replication Surface adhesion proteins – aid in host attachment, motility, and infection. Research Question Does L. antarctica possess virulence genes similar to those found in L. pneumophila?Legionella pneumophila is the primary cause of Legionnaires' disease and infects human macrophages through specialized virulence factors, including the Dot/Icm Type IV secretion system, effector proteins, and surface proteins. However, many environmental Legionella species remain understudied. Legionella antarctica is a recently identified cold-adapted species isolated from Antarctic freshwater sediments and later detected in Texas. This study used comparative genomics to determine whether L. antarctica contains homologs of major virulence-associated proteins found in Legionella pneumophila. Protein sequences from L. pneumophila were retrieved from NCBI and analyzed using BLASTp against the L. antarctica genome. Ten virulence-associated proteins were examined, including Type IV secretion structural proteins, effector proteins, and surface proteins. Results demonstrated conservation of multiple structural proteins but reduced similarity among several effectors and surface proteins, suggesting that L. antarctica may possess partial virulence machinery while remaining less adapted for human infection. These findings contribute to understanding environmental Legionella evolution and potential public health risks..We would like to thank the Office of Sponsored Projects for the Undergraduate Faculty-Montored Grant which sponsored this research

Interview with Audrey Legatowicz

Includes 2 audio files and 2 (computer-generated) transcripts.San Angelo Museum of Fine Art

Interview with José Santos Gómez

Includes (computer-generated) transcript.San Angelo Museum of Fine Art

Use of ddRAD-sequencing to diagnose cryptic species with low interspecific mitochondrial divergence

Sister species that have diverged from each other recently can appear similar morphologically but typically have genetic features that can distinguish them due to a lack of gene flow. In the case of two sympatric species of bat (Myotis californicus and M. ciliolabrum) that are cryptic, they can be distinguished by features of their echolocation call, but no genetic marker has been discovered that can easily distinguish them. A simple diagnostic genetic marker, like a DNA sequence barcode, would assist researchers to identify species from wing punches or fecal pellets from a roost without the need to collect the bat. Despite research on their mitochondrial genome from specimens across their range, a barcoding approach does not seem to work for this complex. We tested the hypothesis that these two species can be diagnosed using a genomic approach. We used reduced representation genome sequencing (ddRAD-seq) to identify and analyze single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from individuals of M. californicus and M. ciliolabrum. Using principal component analysis, population structure analysis, and a RAxML phylogenetic tree, we found that the samples formed three distinct groups rather than the two we expected. We found more cryptic biological diversity than expected within the morphologically-similar complex. The two clusters recovered within M. ciliolabrum appear to be consistent with previously recognized subspecies