Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 34, No. 4

• Coverlets • Sign Painting • Reverse Painting on Glass • Kites • Snake Lore • Horncraft • Weathervanes and Country Signs • Festival Focus • Sheep Shearing & Natural Knits • Bread Baking Among the Pennsylvania Dutch • The Craft of Rushing • Toy Soldier Casting • Pennsylvania Dutch Humor • Fireside Brooms and Whirligigs • Springerlehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1108/thumbnail.jp

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

Tissue Specific Profiling of Females of Schistosoma japonicum by Integrated Laser Microdissection Microscopy and Microarray Analysis

Schistosomes are parasitic worms responsible for important human diseases in tropical and developing nations. There is urgent need to develop new drugs and vaccines to augment current treatments for this disease. In recent years, concerted efforts by many laboratories have led to extensive genetic sequencing of the parasites, and the publication of genome sequence for two agents of schistosomiasis appears imminent. This genetic information has revealed many molecules expressed by the schistosome parasites for which no functional information is available. This lack of information extends to ignorance of where in the complex multicellular schistosome parasites the genes are expressed. We integrated two molecular and cellular techniques to address these knowledge gaps. We used laser microdissection microscopy to dissect small but highly important tissues involved in nutrition and reproduction from sections of female Schistosoma japonicum. From these dissected tissues we then used a broad molecular biology method to identify the multiple genes active in these tissues. Our approach has allowed us to formulate the basis of a “gene atlas” for schistosome parasites, defining the expression repertoire of specific tissues. The better understanding of the roles of tissues in parasite biology, especially in development, reproduction and interactions with its human hosts, should promote future investigations into pathogenesis and control of these significant parasites

Being user-oriented: convergences, divergences, and the potentials for systematic dialogue between disciplines and between researchers, designers, and providers

The challenge this panel addresses is drawn from intersecting literature reviews and critical commentaries focusing on: 1) user studies in multiple fields; and 2) the difficulties of bringing different disciplines and perspectives to bear on user‐oriented research, design, and practice. 1 The challenge is that while we have made some progress in collaborative work, we have some distance to go to become user‐oriented in inter‐disciplinary and inter‐perspective ways. The varieties of our approaches and solutions are, as some observers suggest, an increasing cacophony. One major difficulty is that most discussions are solution‐oriented, offering arguments of this sort ‐‐ if only we addressed users in this way… Each solution becomes yet another addition to the cacophony. This panel implements a central approach documented for its utility by communication researchers and long used by communication mediators and negotiators ‐‐ that of focusing not on communication but rather on meta‐communication: communicating about communication. The intent in the context of this panel is to help us refocus attention from too frequent polarizations between alternative solutions to the possibility of coming to understand what is behind the alternatives and where they point to experientially‐based convergences and divergences, both of which might potentially contribute to synergies. The background project for this panel comes from a series of in‐depth interviews with expert researchers, designers, and providers in three field groupings ‐‐ library and information science; human computer interaction/information technology; and communication and media studies. One set of interviews involved 5‐hour focus groups with directors of academic and public libraries serving 44 colleges and universities in central Ohio; the second involved one‐on‐one interviews averaging 50 minutes with 81 nationally‐internationally known experts in the 3 fields, 25‐27 interviews per field. Using Dervin\u27s Sense‐Making Methodological approach to interviewing, the expert interviews of both kinds asked each interviewee: what he/she considered to be the big unanswered questions about users and what explained why the questions have not been answered; and, what he/she saw as hindering versus helping in attempts to communicate about users across disciplinary and perspective gaps. 2 The panel consists of six teams, two from each field. Prior to the panel presentation at ASIST, each team will have read the set of interviews and completed impressionistic essays of what patterns and themes they saw as emerging. At this stage, team members will purposively not homogenize their differences and most will write solo‐authored essays that will be placed on a web‐site accessible to ASIST members prior to the November meeting. In addition, at least one systematic analysis will be completed and available online. 3 At the ASIST panel, each team\u27s leader will present a brief and intentionally provocative impressionist account of what his/her team came to understand about our struggles communicating across fields and perspectives about users. Again, each team will purposively not homogenize its own differences in viewpoints, but rather highlight them as fodder for discussion. A major purpose will be to invite audience members to join the panel in discussion. At least 20 minutes will be left open for this purpose

Systemic Immune Activation in HIV Infection Is Associated with Decreased MDC Responsiveness to TLR Ligand and Inability to Activate Naive CD4 T-Cells

HIV infection is characterized by ineffective anti-viral T-cell responses and impaired dendritic cell (DC) functions, including response to Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) ligands. Because TLR responsiveness may affect a host's response to virus, we examined TLR ligand induced Myeloid and Plasmacytoid DC (MDC and PDC) activation of naïve T-cells in HIV+ subjects.Freshly purified MDC and PDC obtained from HIV+ subjects and healthy controls were cultured in the presence and absence of TLR ligands (poly I∶C or R-848). We evaluated indices of maturation/activation (CD83, CD86, and HLA-DR expression), cytokine secretion (IFN-alpha and IL-6), and ability to activate allogeneic naïve CD4 T-cells to secrete IFN-gamma and IL-2.MDC from HIV+ subjects had increased spontaneous IL-6 production and increased CD83 and CD86 expression when compared to MDC of controls. MDC IL-6 expression was associated with plasma HIV level. At the same time, poly I∶C induced HLA-DR up-regulation on MDC was reduced in HIV+ persons when compared to controls. The latter finding was associated with impaired ability of MDC from HIV+ subjects to activate allogeneic naïve CD4 T-cells. PDC from HIV+ persons had increased spontaneous and TLR ligand induced IL-6 expression, and increased HLA-DR expression at baseline. The latter was associated with an intact ability of HIV PDC to activate allogeneic naïve CD4 T-cells.These results have implications for the ability of the HIV+ host to form innate and adaptive responses to HIV and other pathogens

Multisite Investigation of Outcomes With Implementation of CYP2C19 Genotype-Guided Antiplatelet Therapy After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

OBJECTIVES: This multicenter pragmatic investigation assessed outcomes following clinical implementation of CYP2C19 genotype-guided antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles impair clopidogrel effectiveness after PCI. METHODS: After clinical genotyping, each institution recommended alternative antiplatelet therapy (prasugrel, ticagrelor) in PCI patients with a loss-of-function allele. Major adverse cardiovascular events (defined as myocardial infarction, stroke, or death) within 12 months of PCI were compared between patients with a loss-of-function allele prescribed clopidogrel versus alternative therapy. Risk was also compared between patients without a loss-of-function allele and loss-of-function allele carriers prescribed alternative therapy. Cox regression was performed, adjusting for group differences with inverse probability of treatment weights. RESULTS: Among 1,815 patients, 572 (31.5%) had a loss-of-function allele. The risk for major adverse cardiovascular events was significantly higher in patients with a loss-of-function allele prescribed clopidogrel versus alternative therapy (23.4 vs. 8.7 per 100 patient-years; adjusted hazard ratio: 2.26; 95% confidence interval: 1.18 to 4.32; p = 0.013). Similar results were observed among 1,210 patients with acute coronary syndromes at the time of PCI (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.87; 95% confidence interval: 1.35 to 6.09; p = 0.013). There was no difference in major adverse cardiovascular events between patients without a loss-of-function allele and loss-of-function allele carriers prescribed alternative therapy (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.14; 95% confidence interval: 0.69 to 1.88; p = 0.60). CONCLUSIONS: These data from real-world observations demonstrate a higher risk for cardiovascular events in patients with a CYP2C19 loss-of-function allele if clopidogrel versus alternative therapy is prescribed. A future randomized study of genotype-guided antiplatelet therapy may be of value

Observations of Lyα\alpha Emitters at High Redshift

In this series of lectures, I review our observational understanding of high-$z$ Ly$\alpha$ emitters (LAEs) and relevant scientific topics. Since the discovery of LAEs in the late 1990s, more than ten (one) thousand(s) of LAEs have been identified photometrically (spectroscopically) at $z\sim 0$ to $z\sim 10$. These large samples of LAEs are useful to address two major astrophysical issues, galaxy formation and cosmic reionization. Statistical studies have revealed the general picture of LAEs' physical properties: young stellar populations, remarkable luminosity function evolutions, compact morphologies, highly ionized inter-stellar media (ISM) with low metal/dust contents, low masses of dark-matter halos. Typical LAEs represent low-mass high-$z$ galaxies, high-$z$ analogs of dwarf galaxies, some of which are thought to be candidates of population III galaxies. These observational studies have also pinpointed rare bright Ly$\alpha$ sources extended over $\sim 10-100$ kpc, dubbed Ly$\alpha$ blobs, whose physical origins are under debate. LAEs are used as probes of cosmic reionization history through the Ly$\alpha$ damping wing absorption given by the neutral hydrogen of the inter-galactic medium (IGM), which complement the cosmic microwave background radiation and 21cm observations. The low-mass and highly-ionized population of LAEs can be major sources of cosmic reionization. The budget of ionizing photons for cosmic reionization has been constrained, although there remain large observational uncertainties in the parameters. Beyond galaxy formation and cosmic reionization, several new usages of LAEs for science frontiers have been suggested such as the distribution of {\sc Hi} gas in the circum-galactic medium and filaments of large-scale structures. On-going programs and future telescope projects, such as JWST, ELTs, and SKA, will push the horizons of the science frontiers.Comment: Lecture notes for `Lyman-alpha as an Astrophysical and Cosmological Tool', Saas-Fee Advanced Course 46. Verhamme, A., North, P., Cantalupo, S., & Atek, H. (eds.) --- 147 pages, 103 figures. Abstract abridged. Link to the lecture program including the video recording and ppt files : https://obswww.unige.ch/Courses/saas-fee-2016/program.cg

The 16th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release from the APOGEE-2 Southern Survey and Full Release of eBOSS Spectra

This paper documents the 16th data release (DR16) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys (SDSS), the fourth and penultimate from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). This is the first release of data from the Southern Hemisphere survey of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2); new data from APOGEE-2 North are also included. DR16 is also notable as the final data release for the main cosmological program of the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), and all raw and reduced spectra from that project are released here. DR16 also includes all the data from the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey and new data from the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Survey programs, both of which were co-observed on eBOSS plates. DR16 has no new data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey (or the MaNGA Stellar Library "MaStar"). We also preview future SDSS-V operations (due to start in 2020), and summarize plans for the final SDSS-IV data release (DR17)

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points