A New Battleground for Free Speech: The Impact of Snyder v. Phelps

[Excerpt] “On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States put forth a set of constitutional amendments, ten of which would later become the Bill of Rights. The first of these amendments states, ―Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech . . . . In subsequent caselaw, the U.S. Supreme Court has applied this prohibition to the federal government, as well as state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. Although this appears to be a simple standard to follow, history has proven otherwise, and the deviations taken have been the subject of much debate.

Quick Response Codes in Visual Materials Exhibits

This paper presents the findings of a study designed to assess the use of Quick Response (QR) Codes in visual materials exhibits in library, archive, and museum visual materials exhibits. Seven institutions were recruited to fill out a survey to assess the perceived ease or difficulty of implementation of QR Codes, usefulness of the technology, and likelihood of using this or other mobile technology in future exhibits. A lack of adequate survey responses prevented the author from presenting substantive statistical conclusions; however, the author speculates about a perceived decline in use of QR Codes in libraries, archives, and museums, as well as potential future research into mobile technologies in visual materials exhibits.Master of Science in Information Scienc

Evaluating a Women\u27s Studies Course

Some fifty women attended the first Women\u27s Studies Evaluation Conference in June 1973, at Wesleyan University. About half had previously taught women\u27s studies courses. Literature and the social sciences were heavily represented; there were no hard scientists. We came with questions about the value, even the possibility, of evaluating women\u27s studies courses and programs. We wondered whether any measuring technique could isolate one class as the cause of change in a student. We questioned social science methodology, and we speculated about possible alternative methodologies

The Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) DNA Polymerase Accessory Protein, BMRF1, Activates the Essential Downstream Component of the EBV oriLyt

The EBV DNA polymerase accessory protein, BMRF1, is an essential component of the viral DNA polymerase and is required for lytic EBV replication. In addition to its polymerase accessory protein function, we have recently reported that BMRF1 is a transcriptional activator, inducing expression of the essential oriLyt promoter, BHLF1. Here we have precisely mapped the BMRF1-response element in the BHLF1 promoter. We demonstrate that a region of oriLyt (the "downstream component"), previously shown to be one of two domains absolutely essential for oriLyt replication, is required for BMRF1-induced activation of the BHLF1 promoter. Furthermore, the downstream component of oriLyt is sufficient to confer BMRF1-responsiveness to a heterologous promoter. The downstream component contains Sp1 binding sites, and confers Sp1-responsiveness to a heterologous promoter. A series of plasmids containing various protions of the oriLyt downstream component were constructed and analyzed for their ability to respond to the BMRF1 versus Sp1 transactivators. Although the BMRF1-responsive region of the downstream component overlaps the Sp1-responsive element, certain oriLyt sequences required for maximal BMRF1-responsiveness were not required for maximal Sp1-responsiveness. In particular, a site-directed mutation altering the downstream component sequence GATGG (located from -588 to -592 relative to the BHLF1 transcription initiation site) did not affect Sp1-responsiveness, but reduced BMRF-1-responsiveness by 75% and abolished oriLyt replication. Although BMRF1 possesses nonspecific DNA binding activity, were unable to demonstrate specific BMRF1 binding to the downstream component of oriLyt. Our results suggest that BMRF1-induced activation of the essential downstream component of oriLyt may play an important role in oriLyt replication

Radiometry for Nighttime Sub-Cloud Imaging of Venus' Surface in the Near-InfraRed Spectrum

Does radiometry (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio) limit the performance of near-IR subcloud imaging of our sister planet's surface at night? It does not. We compute subcloud radiometry using above-cloud observations, an assumed ground temperature, sub-cloud absorption and emission modeling, and Rayleigh scattering simulations. We thus confirm both archival and recent studies that deployment of a modest subcloud camera does enable high-resolution surface imaging.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Proliferation and patterning are mediated independently in the dorsal spinal cord downstream of canonical Wnt signaling

AbstractCanonical Wnt signaling can regulate proliferation and patterning in the developing spinal cord, but the relationship between these functions has remained elusive. It has been difficult to separate the distinct activities of Wnts because localized changes in proliferation could conceivably alter patterning, and gain and loss of function experiments have resulted in both types of defects. To resolve this issue we have investigated canonical Wnt signaling in the zebrafish spinal cord using multiple approaches. We demonstrate that Wnt signaling is required initially for proliferation throughout the entire spinal cord, and later for patterning dorsal progenitor domains. Furthermore, we find that spinal cord patterning is normal in embryos after cell division has been pharmacologically blocked. Finally, we determine the transcriptional mediators of Wnt signaling that are responsible for patterning and proliferation. We show that tcf7 gene knockdown results in dorsal patterning defects without decreasing the mitotic index in dorsal domains. In contrast, tcf3 gene knockdown results in a reduced mitotic index without affecting dorsal patterning. Together, our work demonstrates that proliferation and patterning in the developing spinal cord are separable events that are regulated independently by Wnt signaling

An ongoing role for Wnt signaling in differentiating melanocytes in vivo.

A role for Wnt signaling in melanocyte specification from neural crest is conserved across vertebrates, but possible ongoing roles in melanocyte differentiation have received little attention. Using a systems biology approach to investigate the gene regulatory network underlying stable melanocyte differentiation in zebrafish highlighted a requirement for a positive-feedback loop involving the melanocyte master regulator Mitfa. Here, we test the hypothesis that Wnt signaling contributes to that positive feedback. We show firstly that Wnt signaling remains active in differentiating melanocytes and secondly that enhanced Wnt signaling drives elevated transcription of mitfa. We show that chemical activation of the Wnt signaling pathway at early stages of melanocyte development enhances melanocyte specification as expected, but importantly that at later (differentiation) stages, it results in altered melanocyte morphology, although melanisation is not obviously affected. Downregulation of Wnt signaling also results in altered melanocyte morphology and organization. We conclude that Wnt signaling plays a role in regulating ongoing aspects of melanocyte differentiation in zebrafish