LEAVING MORE THAN FOOTPRINTS: IMPACTS OF TOURISM AND PERCEPTIONS OF CHANGE IN CHILEAN PATAGONIA

Visitation to protected areas is on the rise globally, and the Aysén region of Chilean Patagonia is part of that trend. Within Aysén, Cerro Castillo National Reserve is one of the protected areas that has seen the largest increase in visitation in recent years. Protected area tourism catalyzes changes in surrounding communities, and it is important to understand resident perceptions of these changes in order to inform management planning and to implement effective, equitable conservation policy. In this study, I use qualitative research methods to investigate local residents’ perceptions of social, economic, and ecological changes spurred by or related to increased tourist visitation. Results yielded mixed reactions to and interpretations of changes. Major themes included the inextricable linkages between access and power, the role of external influence in local reality, and the transition of rural economies and values. This case study highlights how historical, cultural, political, and economic factors shape the ways local residents experience tourism development and conservation, which contributes to ongoing debates about protected area tourism as a form of sustainable economic development

Older Adults and Community-based Technological Literacy Programs: Barriers & Benefits to Learning

In this article, we briefl y review national statistics on older adults and computer usage —statistics that led us to volunteer to develop technological literacy programs for older adults at local community centers. Because we recognize that all literacies are developed and used by specifi c people in specifi c contexts, we describe the community centers where we volunteered, our roles as teachers and later as researchers, and the technological literacy curricula we developed and revised based on extensive input from participants. We discuss the barriers and benefi ts to older adults’ acquisition of technological literacies. We argue for the importance of building communities of practice based on relational support and interaction and for the importance of drawing from assets and needs existing within communities

Xenorhabdus nematophila bacteria shift from mutualistic to virulent Lrp‐dependent phenotypes within the receptacles of Steinernema carpocapsae insect‐infective stage nematodes

Xenorhabdus nematophila bacteria are mutualists of Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes and pathogens of insects. Xenorhabdus nematophila exhibits phenotypic variation between insect virulence (V) and the mutualistic (M) support of nematode reproduction and colonization initiation in the infective juvenile (IJ) stage nematode that carries X. nematophila between insect hosts. The V and M phenotypes occur reciprocally depending on levels of the transcription factor Lrp: high‐Lrp expressors are M+V− while low‐Lrp expressors are V+M−. We report here that variable (wild type) or fixed high‐Lrp expressors also are optimized, relative to low‐ or no‐Lrp expressors, for colonization of additional nematode stages: juvenile, adult and pre‐transmission infective juvenile (IJ). In contrast, we found that after the bacterial population had undergone outgrowth in mature IJs, the advantage for colonization shifted to low‐Lrp expressors: fixed low‐Lrp expressors (M−V+) and wild type (M+V+) exhibited higher average bacterial CFU per IJ than did high‐Lrp (M+V−) or no‐Lrp (M−V−) strains. Further, the bacterial population becomes increasingly low‐Lrp expressing, based on expression of an Lrp‐dependent fluorescent reporter, as IJs age. These data support a model that virulent X. nematophila have a selective advantage and accumulate in aging IJs in advance of exposure to insect hosts in which this phenotype is necessary

Effects of Long-term Professional Development Training in Technology Integration on Teacher and Student Performance

The four primary questions addressed by the evaluation were: 1) Does the AZCOTT program influence the frequency of digital technology activities that teachers use with their students and that students perform in the classroom? 2) Does the program influence student performance of computer skills? 3) Does the program influence student self-reports of their technology skills? and 4) Does the program influence student self-reports of their use of technology for classroom activities? Also, investigated were the students’ ability to select appropriate software tools for given tasks and teacher attitudes toward the AZCOTT program

An encoded N-terminal extension results in low levels of heterologous protein production in Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND: The tdk gene (encoding deoxythymidine kinase) of the gamma-proteobacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila has two potential translation start sites. The promoter-distal start site was predicted to be functional based on amino acid sequence alignment with closely related Tdk proteins. However, to experimentally determine if either of the two possible start codons allows production of a functional Tdk, we expressed the "long-form" (using the promoter-proximal start codon) and "short-form" (using the promoter-distal start codon) X. nematophila tdk genes from the T7 promoter of the pET-28a(+) vector. We assessed Tdk production and activity using a functional assay in an Escherichia coli tdk mutant, which, since it lacks functional Tdk, is able to grow in 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR)-containing medium. RESULTS: Short-form Tdk complemented the E. coli tdk mutant strain, resulting in FUdR sensitivity of the strain. However, the E. coli tdk mutant expressing the long form of tdk remained FUdR resistant, indicating it did not have a functional deoxythymidine kinase enzyme. We report that long-form Tdk is at least 13-fold less abundant than short-form Tdk, the limited protein produced was as stable as short-form Tdk and the long-form transcript was 1.7-fold less abundant than short-form transcript. Additionally, we report that the long-form extension was sufficient to decrease heterologous production of a different X. nematophila protein, NilC. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the difference in the FUdR growth phenotype between the E. coli tdk mutant carrying the long-or short-form X. nematophila tdk is due to a difference in Tdk levels. The lower long-form protein level does not result from protein instability, but instead from reduced transcript levels possibly combined with reduced translation efficiency. Because the observed effect of the encoded N-terminal extension is not specific to Tdk production and can be overcome with induction of gene expression, these results may have particular relevance to researchers attempting to limit production of toxic proteins under non-inducing conditions

Knowledge translation and occupational therapy: A survey of Canadian university programs

While Canadian occupational therapy recognizes knowledge translation (KT) as essential to clinical interactions, there has been little attention paid to KT activity in education and research. The objective of this study was to identify the nature of KT activities in which Canadian occupational therapy faculty engage. An electronic survey was sent to faculty at 14 Canadian occupational therapy programs to explore the nature of KT activities, including research, education, strategies, evaluation, and barriers and facilitators. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results show that faculty engage in a range of KT activities, with conferences and peer-reviewed publications being the most common. Faculty collaborate frequently with researchers at their institutions and favor both integrated and end-of-grant KT. Collaboration and personal interest were identified as facilitators; time and funding were seen as barriers. Understanding the profile of KT activity across universities creates opportunities for developing institutional and pan-Canadian plans to enhance KT training and capacity

An Entomopathogenic Nematode by Any Other Name

Among the diversity of insect-parasitic nematodes, entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are distinct, cooperating with insect-pathogenic bacteria to kill insect hosts. EPNs have adapted specific mechanisms to associate with and transmit bacteria to insect hosts. New discoveries have expanded this guild of nematodes and refine our understanding of the nature and evolution of insect–nematode associations. Here, we clarify the meaning of “entomopathogenic” in nematology and argue that EPNs must rapidly kill their hosts with the aid of bacterial partners and must pass on the associated bacteria to future generations

Nematode-Bacterium Symbioses—Cooperation and Conflict Revealed in the “Omics” Age

Nematodes are ubiquitous organisms that have a significant global impact on ecosystems, economies, agriculture, and human health. The applied importance of nematodes and the experimental tractability of many species have promoted their use as models in various research areas, including developmental biology, evolutionary biology, ecology, and animal-bacterium interactions. Nematodes are particularly well suited for the investigation of host associations with bacteria because all nematodes have interacted with bacteria during their evolutionary history and engage in a variety of association types. Interactions between nematodes and bacteria can be positive (mutualistic) or negative (pathogenic/parasitic) and may be transient or stably maintained (symbiotic). Furthermore, since many mechanistic aspects of nematode-bacterium interactions are conserved, their study can provide broader insights into other types of associations, including those relevant to human diseases. Recently, genome-scale studies have been applied to diverse nematode-bacterial interactions and have helped reveal mechanisms of communication and exchange between the associated partners. In addition to providing specific information about the system under investigation, these studies also have helped inform our understanding of genome evolution, mutualism, and innate immunity. In this review we discuss the importance and diversity of nematodes, “omics”' studies in nematode-bacterial systems, and the wider implications of the findings