Age-associated changes in the neuroinflammatory response to toll-like receptor 4 and 9 stimulation

During the perinatal time period, the mammalian brain is developing rapidly and is particularly sensitive to inflammation. Inflammation during this time period may be linked to later neurological illness in humans. Disease-associated alterations in learning and behavior can be modeled in rodents using perinatal immune stimulation with either infectious agents or Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists. Although the gestational period is a particularly sensitive time for neurodevelopment, it is not known for how long after birth this sensitivity persists. In mice, susceptibility to neurological infection declines dramatically during the first weeks of life. Therefore, we sought to compare the neuroinflammatory responses of neonatal and weanling mice. To do so, we injected neonatal and weanling mice intracerebrally (IC) with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or CpG oligodinucleotides (CpG), ligands of TLRs 4 and 9, respectively. We compared the production of inflammatory mediators and immune cell activation in the brain at each age. Despite lower Tlr mRNA expression in neonatal brains, TLR4 and TLR9 stimulation induced substantially higher levels of some cytokines in neonatal brains. We also detected age-associated differences in expression of a subset of microglial activating and inhibitory receptors, as well as age-associated differences in the immune populations present in the brain. We specifically examined whether the prion protein, PrPc , plays an immunomodulatory role in the brain. PrPc expression influences immune cell activation in the periphery, increases in the brain with age, and influences several aspects of glial cell function. Since glia are the primary immune-responsive cells in the brain, we hypothesized that PrPc would influence the neuroinflammatory response. However, we found no PrPc –dependent differences in cytokine production or glial activation in vivo in neonatal or weanling mice. Collectively, our data demonstrate that the neuroinflammatory response to TLR stimulation is developmentally regulated in young mice, although independent of PrPc expression

The mixed glass former effect in 0.35Na2O + 0.65[xB2O3 + (1-x)P2O5] glasses

Energy storage is a growing concern in an ever increasingly battery driven society. Development of safer, smaller, and longer lasting batteries is in demand. Ion conducting glasses are an important type of solid electrolyte that could be used to answer this need. Unfortunately, many known ion conducting glasses, such as binary lithium oxide glasses with conductivities in the 10-7 - 10-8 S/cm range, are not conductive enough for practical use. In order for ion conducting glasses to be used as a commercial solid electrolyte, a method of increasing the glasses\u27 ionic conductivity must be found. While alkali mixed glass former glasses, such as Bi2O3+B2O3+LiO2 and Li2S+SiS2+GeS2, have shown increases in the alkali ion conductivity up to two orders of magnitude, the cause of this increase is unclear. This phenomena has become known as the Mixed Glass Former Effect (MGFE) and is defined by a non-linear, non-additive change in ionic conductivity. Although the MGFE has been observed in the literature, it has not been observed in all mixed glass former (MGF) glasses and has also been seen as a negative or positive effect. In this talk, I will review our comprehensive study of the physical properties, structure, and the effect of composition on MGF sodium borophosphate glasses. It is our hypothesis that changes in the short range order structures, caused by the mixing of the boron and phosphate networks, are responsible for the MGFE. I will show a strong correlation between physical properties and structural changes with changing glass former composition

Exploring conceptions of disability held by Anishinaabe secondary school students

After a century of using schooling to denigrate Indigenous populations, Canada’s Indigenous communities were granted self-governance over schooling in 1982. In the wake of self-governance, special education remains largely unreformed, caused in part by assumed universality. This research therefore explores the conceptions of disability held by Anishinaabe youth within their communities, and school. Under Canada’s dual system of schooling, the federal government oversees Indigenous self-governing schools and allocates funding, while provincial governments control settler schooling. The federal system remains largely invisible because of a lack of policies, and exclusion from regional, national, and international assessments. This research occurred in a recently established, Anishinaabe self-governing secondary school that services six Anishinaabe communities. Uniquely positioned to examine disability, the students attending this school had all previously accessed special education provisions in their former provincial schools. This topic was examined during a 10-month multisite case study in Canada’s Sub-Arctic region. As a disabled, white, former teacher, and female researcher, I attempt to become an Anishinaabe-ally, by employing Indigenist methodologies. Centring the voices of the participants was demonstrated by using photovoice projects, Anishinaabe talking circles, and walking interviews. Maintaining three types of research journals, and ensuring participatory collaboration, led to the emergence of walking interviews as a data collection tool. The students expanded the research to include a student-led community powwow, which became a fascinating opportunity for data collection and community involvement. In seeking to contextualise the participants, data collection also includes recorded, semi-structured interviews, and casual conversations with students, teachers, elders, chiefs and family members, are recounted in my research journals. The role of schooling in Canada’s genocide, seems to cause the Anishinaabe self-governing school to be framed by the students, their family members, and elders, as a critical space for healing. In an apartheid-like state that segregates and isolates reserves, my findings highlight the significance of the school as a location for racial interaction in Canada. The school involved in this research became the central location for contact between settlers and Anishinaabe people. Thus, Indigenous self-governing schools seem to be a crucial space for convergence between settler and Indigenous worldviews. For instance, notions of disability enacted in the school’s programming attempted to align with Anishinaabe conceptions. Within my findings, conceptions of disability were intertwined with Anishinaabe spiritual beliefs, most significantly, interrelatedness. This belief caused Anishinaabe participants to conceptualise disability as an imbalance in the “medicine wheel”, which frames humans as seeking a balance in mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of themselves. The students engaged in myriad individual and community spiritual practices, for the purpose of seeking balance at home and at school. Repeatedly, the Anishinaabe participants considered their imbalances to be rooted in settler colonialism. As such, culturally-appropriate school programming for Anishinaabe students, seems to necessitate facilitating Anishinaabe spiritual practices related to healing, and addressing disparities stemming from settler colonialism.Cambridge Trust scholarship British Association of International and Comparative Education fieldwork scholarshi

Student Recital: Pamela Burd, String Bass; Linda Mack, Piano; Beth Christensen, Oboe; April 26, 1974

Centennial East Recital HallFriday EveningApril 26, 19748:15 p.m

The Detail Behind Web-Scale: Selecting and Configuring Web-Scale Discovery Tools to Meet Music Information Retrieval Needs.

Web-scale discovery tools are rapidly gaining popularity as a purported "one-stop search" for discovering library information. Music, particularly printed music and recordings, presents unique information retrieval needs. This article identifies, explores, and makes recommendations regarding key music-related aspects to consider when selecting and implementing a discovery tool, considering scope, metadata, and interface

Burgundian Quintet: Carol Neuleib, Flute; Barry Kolman, Clarinet; Beth Christensen, Oboe; Mary Dalziel, Bassoon; Rodger Burnett, Horn; December 4, 1974

Hayden AuditoriumWednesday EveningDecember 4, 19748:30 p.m

Burgundian Quintet: Carol Neuleib, Flute; Barry Kolman, Clarinet; Beth Christensen, Oboe; Mary Dalziel, Bassoon; Rodger Burnett, Horn; February 2, 1975

Hayden AuditoriumSunday AfternoonFebruary 2, 19754:00 p.m

Best Practices in Honors Pedagogy: Teaching Innovation and Community Engagement through Design Thinking

Honors colleges aim to provide unique first-year experiences that promote life skills and emphasize process over product in an interdisciplinary setting that builds community. A two-semester, five-semester-hour course sequence with colloquia tackles these challenges by introducing an entrepreneurial mindset that pushes students toward innovative understanding and building of community. The first iteration includes an introduction to design thinking; identification of wicked problems; collection of data using immersion experiences, interviews, and literature review; and experiments (n = 35) in project-based entrepreneurial methodologies using Lean LaunchPad. The second iteration involves assessment, applied qualitative analysis, out-of-class learning, and peer mentoring. Results provide a framework for developing innovative thinking, an entrepreneurial mindset, and community engagement among first-year students—a design that, the authors conclude, has not only developed in students specific, non-academic skills (such as resiliency and creative self-confidence) but effectively doubled the size (as mandated by the university) of the first-year class. Implications for future iterations are considered, calling for strengthening administrative support, increasing academic/community partnership, and sustaining funding beyond the first year

Utah State University Flutes Solo Recital

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/music_programs/1021/thumbnail.jp