The First-Year Composition Requirement: An Important Introduction to the Writing Center

I recall having a conversation with a colleague at another university about how to best inform students on campus that his Writing Center was a valuable resource–and that it even existed at all. This colleague was beginning his position as a writing center administrator after having tutored at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Writing Center, where I’ve worked for the past four years under Director Mark Waldo. I told my friend that one of the most effective ways the UNR Writing Center publicized its value was to ask the first-year composition teachers at the university to require their students to visit the center. His response was: “I want to help students who come [and] ask for it on their own, not simply increase the number of appointments to impress the university’s administrators.” This response perplexed me. Sure, I knew that teachers requiring students to use the Writing Center would bolster the number of tutoring appointments. But we have different intentions at UNR. There are, I believe, important pedagogical benefits when composition instructors strongly encourage students to visit a campus writing center. The composition classes, the writing center, and most importantly, the students all benefit from this practice.University Writing Cente

snoDB: An interconnected online database of human snoRNA

L’ARN est bien plus qu’une molécule transitoire entre l’ADN et les protéines. Au-delà des ARN encodant des protéines, on trouve un vaste éventail d’ARN non-codants qui demeurent encore sous-étudiés. Ces ARN ont été découverts dans les années 1960, mais ce n’est qu’au tournant du siècle que leur incroyable prévalence en cellule a pu être confirmée avec la venue de méthodes de séquençage d’ARN à haut débit. Les expériences à haut débit ont également augmenté de façon exponentielle la quantité de données sur l’ARN créant un besoin pour des outils bio-informatiques permettant leur analyse et leur stockage. Un des premiers, et des plus abondant, type d’ARN non-codant à être découvert sont les petit ARN nucléolaires (snoRNA). Canoniquement caractérisés comme guides de modifications spécifiques dans l’ARN ribosomal, ces petits ARN hautement conservés ont maintenant une liste variée de fonctions non-canoniques, notamment au niveau de l’expression génique, ainsi qu’un nombre croissant d’associations à une panoplie de maladies et de cancer. Considérant la littérature grandissante sur les snoRNA chez l’humain, ainsi que leur connexion maintenant apparente à plusieurs domaines de recherche variés, un regroupement accessible de ce large spectre d’information est maintenant indispensable. Malheureusement, les bases de données en ligne de snoRNA humain, snoRNABase, snOPY, et snoRNA Atlas, ne sont plus à jour ou sont trop pointues au niveau de leurs données. De plus, elles figurent peu ou pas de données d’interactions non-canonique et/ou d’expression. Nous avons donc créé snoDB : une base de données interactive de snoRNA humain qui contient des données sur leurs fonctions non-canoniques, trouvées à travers la littérature, des données d’expression dans une panoplie de tissus, et bien plus. Contrairement à ces prédécesseurs, snoDB offre une visualisions sélectives de son plus large éventail de données, au sein d’une table interactive aux options de recherche abondantes. Les données d’expression peuvent également être visualisées dans la même page, sous forme de carte de chaleur, grâce à l’application sœur de snoDB : snoTHAW. snoDB se démarque aussi par sa connectivité à plus d’une douzaine de ressources incluant le consortium RNAcentral, la plus grande base de données d’ARN non-codant, dont snoDB fais maintenant parti. Les données de ces ressources ont été acquises puis jointe ensemble dans une base de données relationnel postgreSQL. De plus, elles sont toutes en lien dans la table de snoDB afin de facilement pouvoir corroborer l’information visible, ainsi qu’accéder aux fonctionnalités des autres sites. Enfin, snoDB a été construit pour être facile à mettre à jour afin d’assurer ces contributions à la recherche pour de nombreuses années.Abstract: RNA is more than just a transitory molecule between DNA and proteins. Beyond the scope of protein-coding RNAs lies a vast underexplored landscape of non-coding RNAs (ncRNA). These RNAs have been slowly uncovered since the 1960s but it took until the turn of the century, and the advent of high-throughput RNA-Sequencing methodologies, for us to finally see how dominated by ncRNAs the transcriptome really is. High-throughput experiments also exponentially expanded the amount of data on RNA and created a need for bioinformatics tools for their analysis and storage. One of the first, and most abundant, ncRNA types to be discovered was small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). Canonically pegged as guides for the modification of pre-ribosomal RNAs, these highly conserved RNAs now boast a diverse list of crucial non-canonical roles, notably in gene expression, as well as being associated to a myriad of diseases and cancers. Considering the growing body of literature surrounding snoRNAs in humans, and their increasing connections to a broad range of fields of study, having an accessible and comprehensive assessment of these data has become essential. Unfortunately, existing online human snoRNA databases, snoRNABase, snOPY, and snoRNA Atlas, are either outdated or too narrow in scope, focusing almost exclusively on canonical snoRNA interactions and lacking expression data. As such, we have created snoDB: a modern, interactive database of human snoRNAs with curated data on non-canonical snoRNA interactions, expression data in a growing range of tissues and cell lines, and more. Unlike the old snoRNA databases, snoDB features extensive visualisation and filtering capabilities, allowing for its larger array of data to be selectively viewed in an interactive and customizable table. Expression data can be further visualised in interactive heatmaps thanks to snoDB’s sister tool: snoTHAW. snoDB also innovates by being much more interconnected with other resources. Data was gathered, and joined together in a relational postgreSQL database, from over a dozen resources, including the RNAcentral database consortium, the largest database of ncRNA sequences, of which snoDB is now a part of. In addition, all resources are linked to in-table, where data they provided appears, to help corroborate the data shown for transparency, as well as to grant access to interesting features housed on remote sites. Finally, snoDB is built to be easily maintainable, updatable and extensible to keep up with ongoing developments and insure that the information it contains will contribute to snoRNA research for years to come

Extraarticular Subtalar Arthrodesis for Pes Planovalgus: An Interim Result of 50 Feet in Patients with Spastic Diplegia

BACKGROUND: There are no reports of the pressure changes across the foot after extraarticular subtalar arthrodesis for a planovalgus foot deformity in cerebral palsy. This paper reviews our results of extraarticular subtalar arthrodesis using a cannulated screw and cancellous bone graft. METHODS: Fifty planovalgus feet in 30 patients with spastic diplegia were included. The mean age at the time of surgery was 9 years, and the mean follow-up period was 3 years. The radiographic, gait, and dynamic foot pressure changes after surgery were investigated. RESULTS: All patients showed union and no recurrence of the deformity. Correction of the abduction of the forefoot, subluxation of the talonavicular joint, and the hindfoot valgus was confirmed radiographically. However, the calcaneal pitch was not improved significantly after surgery. Peak dorsiflexion of the ankle during the stance phase was increased after surgery, and the peak plantarflexion at push off was decreased. The peak ankle plantar flexion moment and power were also decreased. Postoperative elevation of the medial longitudinal arch was expressed as a decreased relative vertical impulse of the medial midfoot and an increased relative vertical impulse (RVI) of the lateral midfoot. However, the lower than normal RVI of the 1st and 2nd metatarsal head after surgery suggested uncorrected forefoot supination. The anteroposterior and lateral paths of the center of pressure were improved postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience suggests that the index operation reliably corrects the hindfoot valgus in patients with spastic diplegia. Although the operation corrects the plantar flexion of the talus, it does not necessarily correct the plantarflexed calcaneus and forefoot supination. However, these findings are short-term and longer term observations will be needed.ope

Impact of Orientational Glass Formation and Local Strain on Photo-Induced Halide Segregation in Hybrid Metal-Halide Perovskites.

Band gap tuning of hybrid metal-halide perovskites by halide substitution holds promise for tailored light absorption in tandem solar cells and emission in light-emitting diodes. However, the impact of halide substitution on the crystal structure and the fundamental mechanism of photo-induced halide segregation remain open questions. Here, using a combination of temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction and calorimetry measurements, we report the emergence of a disorder- and frustration-driven orientational glass for a wide range of compositions in CH3NH3Pb(Cl x Br1-x )3. Using temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements, we find a correlation between halide segregation under illumination and local strains from the orientational glass. We observe no glassy behavior in CsPb(Cl x Br1-x )3, highlighting the importance of the A-site cation for the structure and optoelectronic properties. Using first-principles calculations, we identify the local preferential alignment of the organic cations as the glass formation mechanism. Our findings rationalize the superior photostability of mixed-cation metal-halide perovskites and provide guidelines for further stabilization strategies

Minor impact of probiotic bacteria and egg white on Tenebrio molitor growth, microbial composition, and pathogen infection

The industrial rearing of the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) for feed and food purposes on agricultural by-products may expose larvae and adults to entomopathogens used as biocontrol agents in crop production. Bacterial spores/toxins or fungal conidia from species such as Bacillus thuringiensis or Metarhizium brunneum could affect the survival and growth of insects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential benefits of a wheat bran diet supplemented with probiotic bacteria and dried egg white on larval development and survival and its effects on the gut microbiome composition. Two probiotic bacterial species, Pediococcus pentosaceus KVL B19-01 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum WJB, were added to wheat bran feed with and without dried egg white, as an additional protein source, directly from neonate larval hatching until reaching a body mass of 20 mg. Subsequently, larvae from the various diets were exposed for 72 h to B. thuringiensis, M. brunneum, or their combination. Larval survival and growth were recorded for 14 days, and the bacterial microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S rDNA sequencing prior to pathogen exposure and on days 3 and 11 after inoculation with the pathogens. The results showed increased survival for T. molitor larvae reared on feed supplemented with P. pentosaceus in the case of co-infection. Larval growth was also impacted in the co-infection treatment. No significant impact of egg white or of P. pentosaceus on larval growth was recorded, while the addition of Lb. plantarum resulted in a minor increase in individual mass gain compared with infected larvae without the latter probiotic. On day 14, B. thuringiensis was no longer detected and the overall bacterial community composition of the larvae was similar in all treatments. On the other hand, the relative operational taxonomic unit (OTU) abundance was dependent on day, diet, and probiotic. Interestingly, P. pentosaceus was present throughout the experiments, while Lb. plantarum was not found at a detectable level, although its transient presence slightly improved larval performance. Overall, this study confirms the potential benefits of some probiotics during the development of T. molitor while underlining the complexity of the relationship between the host and its microbiome

Orders of Recombination in Complete Perovskite Solar Cells – Linking Time-Resolved and Steady-State Measurements

Funder: EPSRC; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000266Abstract: Ideally, the charge carrier lifetime in a solar cell is limited by the radiative free carrier recombination in the absorber which is a second‐order process. Yet, real‐life cells suffer from severe nonradiative recombination in the bulk of the absorber, at interfaces, or within other functional layers. Here, the dynamics of photogenerated charge carriers are probed directly in pin‐type mixed halide perovskite solar cells with an efficiency >20%, using time‐resolved optical absorption spectroscopy and optoelectronic techniques. The charge carrier dynamics in complete devices is fully consistent with a superposition of first‐, second‐, and third‐order recombination processes, with no admixture of recombination pathways with non‐integer order. Under solar illumination, recombination in the studied solar cells proceeds predominantly through nonradiative first‐order recombination with a lifetime of 250 ns, which competes with second‐order free charge recombination which is mostly if not entirely radiative. Results from the transient experiments are further employed to successfully explain the steady‐state solar cell properties over a wide range of illumination intensities. It is concluded that improving carrier lifetimes to >3 µs will take perovskite devices into the radiative regime, where their performance will benefit from photon‐recycling

RNAcentral 2021: secondary structure integration, improved sequence search and new member databases

RNAcentral is a comprehensive database of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) sequences that provides a single access point to 44 RNA resources and >18 million ncRNA sequences from a wide range of organisms and RNA types. RNAcentral now also includes secondary (2D) structure information for >13 million sequences, making RNAcentral the world’s largest RNA 2D structure database. The 2D diagrams are displayed using R2DT, a new 2D structure visualization method that uses consistent, reproducible and recognizable layouts for related RNAs. The sequence similarity search has been updated with a faster interface featuring facets for filtering search results by RNA type, organism, source database or any keyword. This sequence search tool is available as a reusable web component, and has been integrated into several RNAcentral member databases, including Rfam, miRBase and snoDB. To allow for a more fine-grained assignment of RNA types and subtypes, all RNAcentral sequences have been annotated with Sequence Ontology terms. The RNAcentral database continues to grow and provide a central data resource for the RNA community. RNAcentral is freely available at https://rnacentral.org

RNAcentral 2021: secondary structure integration, improved sequence search and new member databases

RNAcentral is a comprehensive database of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) sequences that provides a single access point to 44 RNA resources and >18 million ncRNA sequences from a wide range of organisms and RNA types. RNAcentral now also includes secondary (2D) structure information for >13 million sequences, making RNAcentral the world's largest RNA 2D structure database. The 2D diagrams are displayed using R2DT, a new 2D structure visualization method that uses consistent, reproducible and recognizable layouts for related RNAs. The sequence similarity search has been updated with a faster interface featuring facets for filtering search results by RNA type, organism, source database or any keyword. This sequence search tool is available as a reusable web component, and has been integrated into several RNAcentral member databases, including Rfam, miRBase and snoDB. To allow for a more fine-grained assignment of RNA types and subtypes, all RNAcentral sequences have been annotated with Sequence Ontology terms. The RNAcentral database continues to grow and provide a central data resource for the RNA community

RNAcentral 2021: secondary structure integration, improved sequence search and new member databases.

RNAcentral is a comprehensive database of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) sequences that provides a single access point to 44 RNA resources and >18 million ncRNA sequences from a wide range of organisms and RNA types. RNAcentral now also includes secondary (2D) structure information for >13 million sequences, making RNAcentral the world's largest RNA 2D structure database. The 2D diagrams are displayed using R2DT, a new 2D structure visualization method that uses consistent, reproducible and recognizable layouts for related RNAs. The sequence similarity search has been updated with a faster interface featuring facets for filtering search results by RNA type, organism, source database or any keyword. This sequence search tool is available as a reusable web component, and has been integrated into several RNAcentral member databases, including Rfam, miRBase and snoDB. To allow for a more fine-grained assignment of RNA types and subtypes, all RNAcentral sequences have been annotated with Sequence Ontology terms. The RNAcentral database continues to grow and provide a central data resource for the RNA community. RNAcentral is freely available at https://rnacentral.org