Sports Holdings in the Southeastern Conference University Libraries: Football as a Case Study

Of the twelve National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has attained prominence. But how do the SEC’s university libraries fare when evaluated for their football holdings? While university libraries develop their collections mainly to support research and teaching functions, according to accepted collection development practice, the extent to which sports of local importance are represented in their collections is a subject given little attention in the professional literature. In order to help close the gap, this study evaluates the football holdings of the 12 SEC university library systems using the checklist method of each library’s Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) system from a remote location. The evaluation is meant to serve as a case study of sports holdings in the SEC libraries by using an authoritative checklist consisting of the best fiction and nonfiction football books. The checklist method, which compares a library’s holdings to an authoritative list, is an effective means of identifying collection strengths and weaknesses

Investigation into the role of the germline epigenome in the transmission of glucocorticoid-programmed effects across generations.

BACKGROUND: Early life exposure to adverse environments affects cardiovascular and metabolic systems in the offspring. These programmed effects are transmissible to a second generation through both male and female lines, suggesting germline transmission. We have previously shown that prenatal overexposure to the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) in rats reduces birth weight in the first generation (F1), a phenotype which is transmitted to a second generation (F2), particularly through the male line. We hypothesize that Dex exposure affects developing germ cells, resulting in transmissible alterations in DNA methylation, histone marks and/or small RNA in the male germline. RESULTS: We profile epigenetic marks in sperm from F1 Sprague Dawley rats expressing a germ cell-specific GFP transgene following Dex or vehicle treatment of the mothers, using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing, small RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing for H3K4me3, H3K4me1, H3K27me3 and H3K9me3. Although effects on birth weight are transmitted to the F2 generation through the male line, no differences in DNA methylation, histone modifications or small RNA were detected between germ cells and sperm from Dex-exposed animals and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Although the phenotype is transmitted to a second generation, we are unable to detect specific changes in DNA methylation, common histone modifications or small RNA profiles in sperm. Dex exposure is associated with more variable 5mC levels, particularly at non-promoter loci. Although this could be one mechanism contributing to the observed phenotype, other germline epigenetic modifications or non-epigenetic mechanisms may be responsible for the transmission of programmed effects across generations in this model

Phylogeography and Ethnogenesis of Aboriginal Southeast Asians

Studying the genetic history of the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia can provide crucial clues to the peopling of Southeast Asia as a whole. We have analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNAs) control-region and coding-region markers in 447 mtDNAs from the region, including 260 Orang Asli, representative of each of the traditional groupings, the Semang, the Senoi, and the Aboriginal Malays, allowing us to test hypotheses about their origins. All of the Orang Asli groups have undergone high levels of genetic drift, but phylogeographic traces nevertheless remain of the ancestry of their maternal lineages. The Semang have a deep ancestry within the Malay Peninsula, dating to the initial settlement from Africa >50,000 years ago. The Senoi appear to be a composite group, with approximately half of the maternal lineages tracing back to the ancestors of the Semang and about half to Indochina. This is in agreement with the suggestion that they represent the descendants of early Austroasiatic speaking agriculturalists, who brought both their language and their technology to the southern part of the peninsula ∼4,000 years ago and coalesced with the indigenous population. The Aboriginal Malays are more diverse, and although they show some connections with island Southeast Asia, as expected, they also harbor haplogroups that are either novel or rare elsewhere. Contrary to expectations, complete mtDNA genome sequences from one of these, R9b, suggest an ancestry in Indochina around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by an early-Holocene dispersal through the Malay Peninsula into island Southeast Asia

What influence does experience play in heel prick blood sampling?

The objective of this study was to investigate the role of ‘experience’ in performing the heel prick test. Babies (n ¼ 340) were randomly allocated to be tested with either the Tenderfoot or Genie Lancet heel prick device. Testing was conducted by nine midwives (n ¼ 4, experienced, more than 20 years qualified) who performed the heel prick procedure routinely and rotational midwives (n ¼ 5, less experienced, 4e8 years qualified) who only performed the heel prick procedure when working in the community. Test technique outcomes investigated included (1) cleaning of heel, (2) babies position, (3) feeding at test, (4) use of soothing words. Other test outcomes (1) quality of the blood sample, (2) number of heel pricks required to take sample, (3) blood flow, (4) presence of bruising (5) time taken to collect sample, (6) time squeezing the heel and (7) time baby cried were also studied. The experienced midwives were more likely to hold the baby during testing but less likely to clean the infants heel prior to the incision. The experienced midwives collected a better quality sample, in less time and required fewer heel pricks than the less experienced midwifery group

Dynamic changes in DNA modification states during late gestation male germ line development in the rat

BACKGROUND: Epigenetic reprogramming of fetal germ cells involves the genome-wide erasure and subsequent re-establishment of DNA methylation. Mouse studies indicate that DNA demethylation may be initiated at embryonic day (e) 8 and completed between e11.5 and e12.5. In the male germline, DNA remethylation begins around e15 and continues for the remainder of gestation whilst this process occurs postnatally in female germ cells. Although 5-methylcytosine (5mC) dynamics have been extensively characterised, a role for the more recently described DNA modifications (5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC)) remains unclear. Moreover, the extent to which the developmental dynamics of 5mC reprogramming is conserved across species remains largely undetermined. Here, we sought to describe this process during late gestation in the male rat. RESULTS: Using immunofluorescence, we demonstrate that 5mC is re-established between e18.5 and e21.5 in the rat, subsequent to loss of 5hmC, 5fC and 5caC, which are present in germ cells between e14.5 and e16.5. All of the evaluated DNA methyl forms were expressed in testicular somatic cells throughout late gestation. 5fC and 5caC can potentially be excised through Thymine DNA Glycosylase (TDG) and repaired by the base excision repair (BER) pathway, implicating 5mC oxidation in active DNA demethylation. In support of this potential mechanism, we show that TDG expression is coincident with the presence of 5hmC, 5fC and 5caC in male germ cell development. CONCLUSION: The developmental dependent changes in germ cell DNA methylation patterns suggest that they are linked with key stages of male rat germline progression

Every child mattered in England: but what matters to children?

“Every Child Matters” under New Labour provided a framework for services for young children’s care and education. It was pushed aside by the Conservative led coalition and replaced by “More Great Childcare”. The UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and therefore has obligations for legislation, policy and curriculum, specifically with regard to children’s rights and participation. On the 25th anniversary of the UNCRC, in practice there may be different levels of participation employed to engage children’s views in the development of policy about them. This project set out to ask children about what “matters” to them. Ninety finalist Early Childhood Studies students worked as co-researchers in this project. Five themes are discussed highlighting the powerful thoughts and ideas of children. A range of ‘child-friendly’ methods were used to collect data from children including role-play, interviews, drawings and artefacts, and story-telling

New leaders in Early Years: making a difference for children in England

This paper examines the extent by which the four domains of the sustainable early childhood leadership model were evident in the experiences of New Leaders in Early Years (NLEY) participants. This original piece of research explores the impact of pedagogical leadership and focuses on participants recruited to a national pilot to make a difference for children in areas of social disadvantage in England. The significance of this paper is timely given the continued focus on leadership, evidenced in the ‘Early Years Workforce Strategy’ (2017). This paper contributes a conceptual framework for early childhood leadership as a methodological tool to make sense of the data. The findings suggest that NLEY did have an impact on the settings and the families they were working with and that the conceptual framework for early childhood leadership was an effective tool for making sense of their journey from novice to leader

Phenotypic Characterization of EIF2AK4 Mutation Carriers in a Large Cohort of Patients Diagnosed Clinically With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease with an emerging genetic basis. Heterozygous mutations in the gene encoding the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2 (BMPR2) are the commonest genetic cause of PAH, whereas biallelic mutations in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4 gene (EIF2AK4) are described in pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis. Here, we determine the frequency of these mutations and define the genotype-phenotype characteristics in a large cohort of patients diagnosed clinically with PAH. METHODS: Whole-genome sequencing was performed on DNA from patients with idiopathic and heritable PAH and with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis recruited to the National Institute of Health Research BioResource-Rare Diseases study. Heterozygous variants in BMPR2 and biallelic EIF2AK4 variants with a minor allele frequency of <1:10 000 in control data sets and predicted to be deleterious (by combined annotation-dependent depletion, PolyPhen-2, and sorting intolerant from tolerant predictions) were identified as potentially causal. Phenotype data from the time of diagnosis were also captured. RESULTS: Eight hundred sixty-four patients with idiopathic or heritable PAH and 16 with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis were recruited. Mutations in BMPR2 were identified in 130 patients (14.8%). Biallelic mutations in EIF2AK4 were identified in 5 patients with a clinical diagnosis of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis. Furthermore, 9 patients with a clinical diagnosis of PAH carried biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations. These patients had a reduced transfer coefficient for carbon monoxide (Kco; 33% [interquartile range, 30%-35%] predicted) and younger age at diagnosis (29 years; interquartile range, 23-38 years) and more interlobular septal thickening and mediastinal lymphadenopathy on computed tomography of the chest compared with patients with PAH without EIF2AK4 mutations. However, radiological assessment alone could not accurately identify biallelic EIF2AK4 mutation carriers. Patients with PAH with biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations had a shorter survival. CONCLUSIONS: Biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations are found in patients classified clinically as having idiopathic and heritable PAH. These patients cannot be identified reliably by computed tomography, but a low Kco and a young age at diagnosis suggests the underlying molecular diagnosis. Genetic testing can identify these misclassified patients, allowing appropriate management and early referral for lung transplantation