The emerging roles of ribosome biogenesis in craniofacial development.

Neural crest cells (NCCs) are a transient, migratory cell population, which originates during neurulation at the neural folds and contributes to the majority of tissues, including the mesenchymal structures of the craniofacial skeleton. The deregulation of the complex developmental processes that guide migration, proliferation, and differentiation of NCCs may result in a wide range of pathological conditions grouped together as neurocristopathies. Recently, due to their multipotent properties neural crest stem cells have received considerable attention as a possible source for stem cell based regenerative therapies. This exciting prospect underlines the need to further explore the developmental programs that guide NCC differentiation. This review explores the particular importance of ribosome biogenesis defects in this context since a specific interface between ribosomopathies and neurocristopathies exists as evidenced by disorders such as Treacher-Collins-Franceschetti syndrome (TCS) and Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA)

Incorporating System Properties into Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration with Concurrent Design

Student research poste

Multi-attribute Tradespace Exploration

Student research poster for INCOSE conferenc

Rapid product characterization for release using membrane microscopy

Cell, protein, and viral aggregates are critical quality attributes for all biological products. Subvisible biotherapeutic product aggregates indicate low product stability and low shelf life. In addition, these attributes are a crucial indicator of potential immunogenicity for a given biological drug. The FDA suggests that “strategies to minimize aggregate formation should be developed as early as feasible in product development.” Cell therapies present a unique challenge in that cells themselves are subvisible in nature, and distinguishing cells vs. large cellular aggregates and other product impurities remains a challenge, until now. Aura™ is the first system specifically designed to count, characterize, and ID particles in a rapid and low-volume assay by combining membrane microscopy with labeled fluorescence. Here, we demonstrate how to the Aura quickly and accurately finds trace amounts of subvisible and visible particle contaminants in cell and gene therapy materials. Some examples include residual Dynabeads in CAR-T cell products, identifying the presence of extraneous fibers, and lentiviral aggregates. Aura enables the ability to characterize, size and identify every particle in across every cell and gene therapy experiment

Developing a framework for assisting entrepreneurs: A case study of the Michigan State University Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources

Agribusiness, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Precursor Analysis for Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling: From Prescriptive to Risk-Informed Regulation

The Oil Spill Commission’s chartered mission—to “develop options to guard against … any oil spills associated with offshore drilling in the future” (National Commission 2010)—presents a major challenge: how to reduce the risk of low-frequency oil spill events, and especially high-consequence events like the Deepwater Horizon accident, when historical experience contains few oil spills of material scale and none approaching the significance of the Deepwater Horizon. In this paper, we consider precursor analysis as an answer to this challenge, addressing first its development and use in nuclear reactor regulation and then its applicability to offshore oil and gas drilling. We find that the nature of offshore drilling risks, the operating information obtainable by the regulator, and the learning curve provided by 30 years of nuclear experience make precursor analysis a promising option available to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to bring cost-effective, risk-informed oversight to bear on the threat of catastrophic oil spills.catastrophic oil spills, quantitative risk analysis, risk-informed regulation

Integrated technology: does it affect learner outcomes?

Because technology has become prevalent in classrooms, this study was undertaken to test whether the use of integrated technology, specifically computers and online activities, affects learner outcomes in a classroom setting. The outcomes from classes taught using integrated technology were compared to classes taught with traditional teaching strategies. Students in a 7th grade life-science class were given pre-tests and post-tests to determine their learning gains on the topics of genetics and photosynthesis. Each class was assigned different activities based on the subject. Each unit was covered in four 90 minute periods. When one set of classes was using integrated technology for a topic, the other set was using traditional methods of learning such as notes, discussions and book work. The integrated technology had no detectable effect on learner outcomes. There were no significant difference between mean learning gains and the different variables tested: class size, gender and teaching styles. However, there did appear to be a positive effect on the students’ behavior and attitude for learning the material. The technology-based methods did not detract from student learning. Over a more extended time frame, implementation of technology-based methods in the classroom may increase learning gains and/or foster increases in engagement and class attendance