Early career faculty development at selected midwestern land-grant colleges of agriculture and related sciences

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on October 21, 2010).Thesis advisor: Dr. Anna L. Ball.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.The purpose of this study was to describe faculty members' perceptions and experiences with early career professional development, and to examine the relationship between personal and professional characteristics and perceptions of professional development. The accepting sample consisted of 51 early career faculty members in colleges of agriculture and related sciences at Iowa State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Respondents participated in 0.92 hours of teaching professional development at the departmental level, 4.49 hours at the college level, and 4.70 hours at the university level. An average of 5.15 hours each week was devoted to improving their teaching and 1.07 hours discussing teaching with colleagues. It was determined that 19% of the variance in how actively faculty seek out teaching professional development can be explained by teaching appointment percentage and sex. Further, 6% of the variance in the number of hours of teaching professional development can be explained by teaching appointment percentage. Finally, 19% of the variance in the number of hours of teaching professional development can be explained by research appointment percentage. Faculty agree that professional development in the areas of evaluation, teaching methods, advising and working with diverse learners, and developing the teaching portion of the promotion and tenure dossier would be helpful to their growth as a teacher. It was concluded that respondents were most confident in their ability to perform tasks related the actual act of teaching (i.e., developing learning objectives, using a variety of teaching approaches, developing effective lectures, etc.).Includes bibliographical references

A genome-wide view of Caenorhabditis elegans base-substitution mutation processes

Knowledge of mutation processes is central to understanding virtually all evolutionary phenomena and the underlying nature of genetic disorders and cancers. However, the limitations of standard molecular mutation detection methods have historically precluded a genome-wide understanding of mutation rates and spectra in the nuclear genomes of multicellular organisms. We applied two high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies to identify and characterize hundreds of spontaneously arising base-substitution mutations in 10 Caenorhabditis elegans mutation-accumulation (MA)-line nuclear genomes. C. elegans mutation rate estimates were similar to previous calculations based on smaller numbers of mutations. Mutations were distributed uniformly within and among chromosomes and were not associated with recombination rate variation in the MA lines, suggesting that intragenomic variation in genetic hitchhiking and/or background selection are primarily responsible for the chromosomal distribution patterns of polymorphic nucleotides in C. elegans natural populations. A strong mutational bias from G/C to A/T nucleotides was detected in the MA lines, implicating oxidative DNA damage as a major endogenous mutagenic force in C. elegans. The observed mutational bias also suggests that the C. elegans nuclear genome cannot be at equilibrium because of mutation alone. Transversions dominate the spectrum of spontaneous mutations observed here, whereas transitions dominate patterns of allegedly neutral polymorphism in natural populations of C. elegans and many other animal species; this observation challenges the assumption that natural patterns of molecular variation in noncoding regions of the nuclear genome accurately reflect underlying mutation processes

Characterizing, modelling and understanding the climate variability of the deep water formation in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

Observing, modelling and understanding the climate-scale variability of the deep water formation (DWF) in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea remains today very challenging. In this study, we first characterize the interannual variability of this phenomenon by a thorough reanalysis of observations in order to establish reference time series. These quantitative indicators include 31 observed years for the yearly maximum mixed layer depth over the period 1980–2013 and a detailed multi-indicator description of the period 2007–2013. Then a 1980–2013 hindcast simulation is performed with a fully-coupled regional climate system model including the high-resolution representation of the regional atmosphere, ocean, land-surface and rivers. The simulation reproduces quantitatively well the mean behaviour and the large interannual variability of the DWF phenomenon. The model shows convection deeper than 1000 m in 2/3 of the modelled winters, a mean DWF rate equal to 0.35 Sv with maximum values of 1.7 (resp. 1.6) Sv in 2013 (resp. 2005). Using the model results, the winter-integrated buoyancy loss over the Gulf of Lions is identified as the primary driving factor of the DWF interannual variability and explains, alone, around 50 % of its variance. It is itself explained by the occurrence of few stormy days during winter. At daily scale, the Atlantic ridge weather regime is identified as favourable to strong buoyancy losses and therefore DWF, whereas the positive phase of the North Atlantic oscillation is unfavourable. The driving role of the vertical stratification in autumn, a measure of the water column inhibition to mixing, has also been analyzed. Combining both driving factors allows to explain more than 70 % of the interannual variance of the phenomenon and in particular the occurrence of the five strongest convective years of the model (1981, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2013). The model simulates qualitatively well the trends in the deep waters (warming, saltening, increase in the dense water volume, increase in the bottom water density) despite an underestimation of the salinity and density trends. These deep trends come from a heat and salt accumulation during the 1980s and the 1990s in the surface and intermediate layers of the Gulf of Lions before being transferred stepwise towards the deep layers when very convective years occur in 1999 and later. The salinity increase in the near Atlantic Ocean surface layers seems to be the external forcing that finally leads to these deep trends. In the future, our results may allow to better understand the behaviour of the DWF phenomenon in Mediterranean Sea simulations in hindcast, forecast, reanalysis or future climate change scenario modes. The robustness of the obtained results must be however confirmed in multi-model studies

The poleward migration of the location of tropical cyclone maximum intensity

Temporally inconsistent and potentially unreliable global historical data hinder the detection of trends in tropical cyclone activity. This limits our confidence in evaluating proposed linkages between observed trends in tropical cyclones and in the environment. Here we mitigate this difficulty by focusing on a metric that is comparatively insensitive to past data uncertainty, and identify a pronounced poleward migration in the average latitude at which tropical cyclones have achieved their lifetime-maximum intensity over the past 30 years. The poleward trends are evident in the global historical data in both the Northern and the Southern hemispheres, with rates of 53 and 62 kilometres per decade, respectively, and are statistically significant. When considered together, the trends in each hemisphere depict a global-average migration of tropical cyclone activity away from the tropics at a rate of about one degree of latitude per decade, which lies within the range of estimates of the observed expansion of the tropics over the same period. The global migration remains evident and statistically significant under a formal data homogenization procedure, and is unlikely to be a data artefact. The migration away from the tropics is apparently linked to marked changes in the mean meridional structure of environmental vertical wind shear and potential intensity, and can plausibly be linked to tropical expansion, which is thought to have anthropogenic contributions

Coverage of high biomass forests by the ESA BIOMASS mission under defense restrictions

The magnitude of the global terrestrial carbon pool and related fluxes to and from the atmosphere are still poorly known. The European Space Agency P-band radar BIOMASS mission will help to reduce this uncertainty by providing unprecedented information on the distribution of forest above-ground biomass (AGB), particularly in the tropics where the gaps are greatest and knowledge is most needed. Mission selection was made in full knowledge of coverage restrictions over Europe, North and Central America imposed by the US Department of Defense Space Objects Tracking Radar (SOTR) stations. Under these restrictions, only 3% of AGB carbon stock coverage is lost in the tropical forest biome, with this biome representing 66% of global AGB carbon stocks in 2005. The loss is more significant in the temperate (72%), boreal (37%) and subtropical (29%) biomes, with these accounting for approximately 12%, 15% and 7%, respectively, of the global forest AGB carbon stocks. In terms of global carbon cycle modelling, there is minimal impact in areas of high AGB density, since mainly lower biomass forests in cooler climates are affected. In addition, most areas affected by the SOTR stations are located in industrialized countries with well-developed national forest inventories, so that extensive information on AGB is already available. Hence the main scientific objectives of the BIOMASS mission are not seriously compromised. Furthermore, several space sensors that can estimate AGB in lower biomass forests are in orbit or planned for launch between now and the launch of BIOMASS in 2021, which will help to fill the gaps in mission coverage

Enhancer viruses and a transgenic platform for combinatorial cell subclass-specific labeling

The rapid pace of cell type identification by new single-cell analysis methods has not been met with efficient experimental access to the newly discovered types. To enable flexible and efficient access to specific neural populations in the mouse cortex, we collected chromatin accessibility data from individual cells and clustered the single-cell data to identify enhancers specific for cell classes and subclasses. When cloned into adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) and delivered to the brain by retro-orbital injections, these enhancers drive transgene expression in specific cell subclasses in the cortex. We characterize several enhancer viruses in detail to show that they result in labeling of different projection neuron subclasses in mouse cortex, and that one of them can be used to label the homologous projection neuron subclass in human cortical slices. To enable the combinatorial labeling of more than one cell type by enhancer viruses, we developed a three-color Cre-, Flp- and Nigri- recombinase dependent reporter mouse line, Ai213. The delivery of three enhancer viruses driving these recombinases via a single retroorbital injection into a single Ai213 transgenic mouse results in labeling of three different neuronal classes/subclasses in the same brain tissue. This approach combines unprecedented flexibility with specificity for investigation of cell types in the mouse brain and beyond

Escala de Coping da Dor para Bailarinos (COPAIN-Dancer): Construção e evidências de validade

Dancers experience daily pain that impacts their health, but the pain is mediated by coping with pain. We elaborated the Scale of Coping with Pain for Dancers (COPAIN-Dancer) based on the Motivational Theory of Coping with 12 categories of coping. This study presents the validity of the COPAIN-Dancer. The content analysis conducted judges reduced 118 items to 35, that were then administered to 386 Brazilian dancers between 10 and 19 years old (M=15.35; SD=3.36). Applying the Exploratory Factor Analysis, a low correlation resulted among the items that represent the 12 coping categories. However, after conducting Item Response Theory and Network Analysis, we obtained two factors: Adaptive Coping and Maladaptive Coping. The COPAIN-DANCER shows reliability and can be used in adolescent dancers.Los bailarines viven diariamente con dolores que afectan su salud, pero que son mediados por el proceso de afrontamiento. Este estudio presenta la Escala de afrontamiento del dolor para bailarines (COPAIN-Dancer), basado en la Motivational Theory of Coping, y sus evidencias de validez. Jueces evaluaron 118 ítems a su validez de contenido. Los ítems se redujeron a 35 y se administraron a 386 bailarines entre 10-19 años (M=15.35; DE=3.36). Aplicando análisis factorial exploratorio (EPT), se dio una baja correlación entre los ítems que representan a las 12 familias de afrontamiento teorizadas. Sin embargo, utilizando la Teoría de Respuesta al Ítem y Análisis de Redes, se obtuvo dos factores: Afrontamiento Adaptativo y Afrontamiento Maladaptivo. El COPAIN-Dancer muestra fiabilidad, y puede ser utilizado en bailarines adolescentes.Les danseurs vivent chaque jour dans une douleur qui a un impact sur leur santé, mais ils sont médiés par le processus d’adaptation. Pour accéder à ce processus, nous avons élaboré l’Échelle d’Adaptation à la Douleur pour les Danseurs (COPAIN-DANCER), basée sur la Motivational Theory of Coping, avec 12 familles de coping. Cette étude présente le COPAINDancer et ses preuves de validité. L’analyse de contenu par les juges a réduit 118 items à 35, qui ont été administrés à 386 danseurs brésiliens avec 10-19 ans (M= 15.35; SD= 3.36).En appliquant l’analyse factorielle exploratoire, une faible corrélation est apparue parmi les items qui représentent les 12 familles. Cependant, grâce à la Théorie de la Réponse à l’item et à l’analyse du réseau, nous avons obtenu deux facteurs: Adaptative et Maladaptive Coping. La COPAIN-Dancer fait preuve de fiabilité et peut être indiqué aux danseurs adolescents.Os bailarinos convivem diariamente com dores que afetam sua saúde, mas mediados pelo processo de coping. Este estudo apresenta a Escala de Coping da Dor para Bailarinos (COPAIN-Dancer), baseada na Motivational Theory of Coping, e suas evidências de validade. Os juízes avaliaram 118 itens quanto à validade de conteúdo. Os itens foram reduzidos para 35 e aplicados a 386 bailarinos entre 10 e 19 anos (M = 15.35; SD= 3.36). Aplicando a análise fatorial exploratória (AFE), foi encontrada uma baixa correlação entre os elementos que representam 12 famílias de coping teoricamente embasadas. Entretanto, pela Teoria da Resposta ao Item e Análise de Rede, foram obtidos dois fatores: Coping Adaptativo e Coping Mal Adaptativo. O COPAIN-Dancer mostra confiabilidade e pode ser indicado para dançarinos adolescentes

Functional enhancer elements drive subclass-selective expression from mouse to primate neocortex

Viral genetic tools to target specific brain cell types in humans and non-genetic model organisms will transform basic neuroscience and targeted gene therapy. Here we used comparative epigenetics to identify thousands of human neuronal subclass-specific putative enhancers to regulate viral tools, and 34% of these were conserved in mouse. We established an AAV platform to evaluate cellular specificity of functional enhancers by multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and single cell RNA sequencing. Initial testing in mouse neocortex yields a functional enhancer discovery success rate of over 30%. We identify enhancers with specificity for excitatory and inhibitory classes and subclasses including PVALB, LAMP5, and VIP/LAMP5 cells, some of which maintain specificity in vivo or ex vivo in monkey and human neocortex. Finally, functional enhancers can be proximal or distal to cellular marker genes, conserved or divergent across species, and could yield brain-wide specificity greater than the most selective marker genes