Museums Providing Opportunities for Promoting a Positive Sense of Self in the Early Years

Ethnicity and culture impact every person in both overt and subtle ways. At a very young age, children develop a sense of who they are and begin to construct meaning regarding their heritage, families, and communities. Research shows that children form ‘pre-prejudices’ that are set firmly in place by the age of eight. Evidence also suggests that parents and teachers need tools to provide children with the support they need to build a positive self-identity and an appreciation for others. Through collections, cultural artifacts, artistic masterpieces and everyday objects, museums are in a unique position to provide teachers and parents with important information that helps children gain insight about themselves and others from around the world

Comparison of TaqMan PCR assays for detection of the melioidosis agent Burkholderia pseudomallei in clinical specimens

Melioidosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by the soil bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. In diagnostic and forensic settings, molecular detection assays need not only high sensitivity with low limits of detection but also high specificity. In a direct comparison of published and newly developed TaqMan PCR assays, we found the TTS1-orf2 assay to be superior in detecting B. pseudomallei directly from clinical specimens. The YLF/BTFC multiplex assay (targeting the Yersinia-like fimbrial/Burkholderia thailandensis-like flagellum and chemotaxis region) also showed high diagnostic sensitivity and provides additional information on possible geographic origin

Obesity-Associated Alterations in Inflammation, Epigenetics, and Mammary Tumor Growth Persist in Formerly Obese Mice

Using a murine model of basal-like breast cancer, we tested the hypothesis that chronic obesity, an established breast cancer risk and progression factor in women, induces mammary gland epigenetic reprogramming and increases mammary tumor growth. Moreover, we assessed whether the obesity-induced epigenetic and protumor effects are reversed by weight normalization. Ovariectomized female C57BL/6 mice were fed a control diet or diet-induced obesity (DIO) regimen for 17 weeks, resulting in a normal weight or obese phenotype, respectively. Mice on the DIO regimen were then randomized to continue the DIO diet or were switched to the control diet, resulting in formerly obese (FOb) mice with weights comparable to control mice. At week 24, all mice were orthotopically injected with MMTV-Wnt-1 mouse mammary tumor cells. Mean tumor volume, serum IL-6 levels, expression of pro-inflammatory genes in the mammary fat pad, and mammary DNA methylation profiles were similar in DIO and FOb mice, and higher than in controls. Many of the genes found to have obesity-associated hypermethylation in mice were also found to be hypermethylated in the normal breast tissue of obese versus non-obese human subjects, and nearly all of these concordant genes remained hypermethylated after significant weight loss in the FOb mice. Our findings suggest that weight normalization may not be sufficient to reverse the effects of chronic obesity on epigenetic reprogramming and inflammatory signals in the microenvironment that are associated with breast cancer progression

Insights into the Musa genome: Syntenic relationships to rice and between Musa species

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Musa </it>species (Zingiberaceae, Zingiberales) including bananas and plantains are collectively the fourth most important crop in developing countries. Knowledge concerning <it>Musa </it>genome structure and the origin of distinct cultivars has greatly increased over the last few years. Until now, however, no large-scale analyses of <it>Musa </it>genomic sequence have been conducted. This study compares genomic sequence in two <it>Musa </it>species with orthologous regions in the rice genome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We produced 1.4 Mb of <it>Musa </it>sequence from 13 BAC clones, annotated and analyzed them along with 4 previously sequenced BACs. The 443 predicted genes revealed that Zingiberales genes share GC content and distribution characteristics with eudicot and Poaceae genomes. Comparison with rice revealed microsynteny regions that have persisted since the divergence of the Commelinid orders Poales and Zingiberales at least 117 Mya. The previously hypothesized large-scale duplication event in the common ancestor of major cereal lineages within the Poaceae was verified. The divergence time distributions for <it>Musa</it>-Zingiber (Zingiberaceae, Zingiberales) orthologs and paralogs provide strong evidence for a large-scale duplication event in the <it>Musa </it>lineage after its divergence from the Zingiberaceae approximately 61 Mya. Comparisons of genomic regions from <it>M. acuminata </it>and <it>M. balbisiana </it>revealed highly conserved genome structure, and indicated that these genomes diverged circa 4.6 Mya.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results point to the utility of comparative analyses between distantly-related monocot species such as rice and <it>Musa </it>for improving our understanding of monocot genome evolution. Sequencing the genome of <it>M. acuminata </it>would provide a strong foundation for comparative genomics in the monocots. In addition a genome sequence would aid genomic and genetic analyses of cultivated <it>Musa </it>polyploid genotypes in research aimed at localizing and cloning genes controlling important agronomic traits for breeding purposes.</p

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared space telescope that has recently started its science program which will enable breakthroughs in astrophysics and planetary science. Notably, JWST will provide the very first observations of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe and start a new era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. This transformative science is enabled by a 6.6 m telescope that is passively cooled with a 5-layer sunshield. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 controllable, low areal density hexagonal segments, that were aligned and phased relative to each other in orbit using innovative image-based wavefront sensing and control algorithms. This revolutionary telescope took more than two decades to develop with a widely distributed team across engineering disciplines. We present an overview of the telescope requirements, architecture, development, superb on-orbit performance, and lessons learned. JWST successfully demonstrates a segmented aperture space telescope and establishes a path to building even larger space telescopes.Comment: accepted by PASP for JWST Overview Special Issue; 34 pages, 25 figure

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The Research Center: Creating an Environment for Interactive Research Consultations

Purpose This paper aims to report on the University of Denver Penrose Library\u27s Research Center, a new reference service model created to respond to the changing needs of students and to strengthen the connection between research and writing. Design/methodology/Approach An increase in reference questions requiring more time, a financial gift to the university which provided an opportunity to propose a new vision of integrating research and writing, and the opening of a new Writing Center in the library prompted the reference librarians to implement a consultation model in fall quarter 2008. A highly visible, dedicated space for one‐on‐one, in‐depth consultations, the Research Center reinforces skills learned in library instruction sessions and effectively promotes reference services. Findings A successful new Research Center reaches a larger segment of the university community, better serves student research needs, and enhances library instructional services. During the course of the academic year, 856 consultations were provided to students and faculty, attesting to the popularity of the service. Research Limitations/Implications More robust assessment data are needed to establish the impact of the Research Center on student learning. Practical Implications The paper outlines a successful method of delivering research services that leverages existing staff resources, increases the visibility of library services, and provides more personalized, in‐depth research consultations to the university community. Originality/Value Adapted from the Writing Center consultation model, the Research Center\u27s prominent location and configuration encourage active learning interactions, complement the library instruction program, and actively promote consultations with subject‐specialist librarians

Application of Fault Tree Analysis - Failure Mode and Effect Analysis to Evaluate Critical Factors Influencing Non-GM Segregation in the U.S. Grain and Feed Supply Chain

Background and objective: Adventitious presence (AP) or unintentional commingling of genetically modified (GM) grain in non-GM grain lots is a concern for stakeholders who wish to produce non-GM grain and grain-based products. AP that exceeds tolerance levels results in the loss of product marketability as ‘non-GM’ and subsequent loss of a premium market price. The objective of this study was to evaluate the U.S. commodity corn supply chain using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) to assess factors contributing to AP in supply chains that handle both GM and non-GM products. Findings: Systematic analysis of the farm-to-feed supply chain identified key processes and actors involved. FTA identified twenty-seven factors potentially contributing to AP along with their root causes. Ranking of factors using FMEA prioritized fourteen factors as ‘critical’ with a comparatively higher likelihood of occurrence and impact on AP levels. Conclusions: AP contributing factors were found across the supply chain, indicating that successful segregation relies on all supply chain participants. Identification and prioritization of critical factors make it possible to target resources to a small number of significant factors to attain low AP levels rather than distributing resources across the entire set of factors. Significance and novelty: This study is an initial attempt to provide insights into the assessment and management of AP in the grain and feed supply chain with a novel application of FTA and FMEA techniques.This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Gupta, Priyanka, Charles R. Hurburgh, Erin L. Bowers, and Gretchen A. Mosher. "Application of Fault Tree Analysis‐Failure Mode and Effect Analysis to Evaluate Critical Factors Influencing Non‐GM Segregation in the US Grain and Feed Supply Chain." Cereal Chemistry. It has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/cche.10601. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Copyright 2022 John Wiley and Sons. Posted with permission