November 2015 School of Graduate Studies Newsletter

Faculty Spotlight Call for Papers: ICRAT 2016 Chair\u27s Corner AERIShttps://commons.erau.edu/db-sgs-newletter/1008/thumbnail.jp

Would ACES Academy Benefit Your University?

In 1989 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) entered into a collaborative effort with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to design a model Aviation Career Education (ACE) Academy seminar. This collaboration was initially made exclusively with Embry-Riddle with the intent to replicate the program at other institutions after the model was established. The objective of the seminar was to introduce high school juniors and seniors to various aviation careers, allowing them to plan their final semesters in high school and set their higher-education goals. Additional goals of the program included: 1. Guiding high school students in exploring the role of aviation in history. 2. Discussing the airplane as a vehicle and identifying its parts and the principles by which it flies. 3. Taking participants on a flight to give them firsthand experience. 4. Helping students explore careers in aviation and aerospace. 5. Explaining the role of government in aviation and the overall socio-economic benefits of aviation. The FAA contacted Patricia Ryan, director of the Teacher Resource Center at Embry-Riddle, who developed the program with the assistance of Dave Esser, an associate professor in Embry-Riddle\u27s Aeronautical Science Department. The FAA has since offered the program developed by Ryan and Esser at various locations around the nation. In 1994, Ryan and Esser decided the project could be better tailored to meet individual needs if each student was allowed to select a particular career field to explore. The enhanced program was renamed Aviation Career Education Specialization (ACES) Academy

The anomalous Hall effect in non-collinear antiferromagnetic Mn3_{3}NiN thin films

We have studied the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in strained thin films of the frustrated antiferromagnet Mn$_{3}$NiN. The AHE does not follow the conventional relationships with magnetization or longitudinal conductivity and is enhanced relative to that expected from the magnetization in the antiferromagnetic state below $T_{\mathrm{N}} = 260$\,K. This enhancement is consistent with origins from the non-collinear antiferromagnetic structure, as the latter is closely related to that found in Mn$_{3}$Ir and Mn$_{3}$Pt where a large AHE is induced by the Berry curvature. As the Berry phase induced AHE should scale with spin-orbit coupling, yet larger AHE may be found in other members of the chemically flexible Mn$_{3}A$N structure

Autochthonous facility-specific microbiota dominates washed-rind Austrian hard cheese surfaces and its production environment

Cheese ripening involves the succession of complex microbial communities that are responsible for the organoleptic properties of the final products. The food processing environment can act as a source of natural microbial inoculation, especially in traditionally manufactured products. Austrian Vorarlberger Bergkäse (VB) is an artisanal washed-rind hard cheese produced in the western part of Austria without the addition of external ripening cultures. Here, the composition of the bacterial communities present on VB rinds and on different processing surfaces from two ripening cellars was assessed by near full length 16S rRNA gene amplification, cloning and sequencing. Non-inoculated aerobic bacteria dominated all surfaces in this study. VB production conditions (long ripening time, high salt concentration and low temperatures) favor the growth of psychro- and halotolerant bacteria. Several bacterial groups, such as coryneforms, Staphylococcus equorum and Halomonas dominated VB and were also found on most environmental surfaces. Analysis of OTUs shared between different surfaces suggests that VB rind bacteria are inoculated naturally during the ripening from the processing environment and that cheese surfaces exert selective pressure on these communities, as only those bacteria better adapted flourished on VB rinds. This study analyzed VB processing environment microbiota and its relationship with VB rinds for the first time, elucidating that the processing environment and the cheese microbiota should be considered as microbiologically linked ecosystems with the goal of better defining the events that take place during cheese maturation

A Cryogenic Mass Spectrometer for Action Spectroscopy of Single Nanoparticles

Diese Dissertation legt den Grundstein für eine neue experimentelle Technik zur Untersuchung einzelner Nanopartikel in der Gasphase, durch Kombination von Nanopartikel-Massenspektrometrie (NPMS) mit Photodissoziations-Wirkungsspektroskopie. Zu diesem Zweck wurde ein neues NPMS Experiment entworfen, konstruiert und charakterisiert. NPMS, ist eine Technik bei der die absolute Masse eines einzelnen Nanopartikels in einer Paul-Falle optisch und daher zerstörungsfrei bestimmt wird. Die wesentliche Neuerung des aktuellen Aufbaus, und Kernelement dieser Arbeit, ist eine neue Tieftemperatur-Ionenfalle, mit verbessertem optischen Zugang, Temperaturkontrolle (8 to 350 K) und elektrischem Potential im Vergleich zu bisher verwendeten Modellen.This doctoral thesis lays the foundations for a novel experimental technique, combining nanoparticle mass spectrometry (NPMS) with photodissociation action spectroscopy, to investigate single nanoparticles in the gas phase. To this end, a new NPMS setup was designed, constructed and characterized. NPMS , currently used in only a few laboratories worldwide, is a technique where the absolute mass of a single nanoparticle, trapped in a quadrupole ion trap (QIT), is determined non-destructive by optical means. The essential novelty of the current setup, and core element of this thesis, is a new cryogenic split-ring electrode trap (SRET) design, with improved optical access, temperature control (8 to 350 K) and trapping potential compared to previously used versions

A rule-based analysis and comparison of the case Studies

Rougeot Pierre-Claude. Descriptions d'Attacidae éthiopiens inédits du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle [Lep.]. In: Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, volume 76 (3-4), Mars-avril 1971. pp. 106-108

inbreedR: An R package for the analysis of inbreeding based on genetic markers

1. Heterozygosity fitness correlations (HFCs) have been used extensively to explore the impact of inbreeding on individual fitness. Initially, most studies used small panels of microsatellites, but more recently with the advent of next generation sequencing, large SNP datasets are becoming increasingly available and these provide greater power and precision to quantify the impact of inbreeding on fitness. 2. Despite the popularity of HFC studies, effect sizes tend to be rather small. One reason for this may be a low variation in inbreeding level across individuals. Using genetic markers, it is possible to measure variance in inbreeding through the strength of correlation in heterozygosity across marker loci, termed identity disequilibrium (ID). 3. ID can be quantified using the measure g2 which is also a central parameter in HFC theory that can be used within a wider framework to estimate the direct impact of inbreeding on both marker heterozygosity and fitness. However, no software exists to calculate g2 for large SNP datasets nor to implement this framework. 4. inbreedR is an R package that provides functions to calculate g2 based on microsatellite and SNP markers with associated p-values and confidence intervals. Within the framework of HFC theory, inbreedR also estimates the impact of inbreeding on marker heterozygosity and fitness. Moreover, we implemented easy-to-use simulations to explore the precision and magnitude of estimates based on different numbers of genetic markers. We hope this package will facilitate good practice in the analysis of HFCs and help to deepen our understanding of inbreeding effects in natural populations

HIV sero-conversion during late pregnancy – when to retest

The South African National Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV programme has resulted in significant reductions in vertical transmission, but new infant HIV infections continue to occur. We present two cases of HIV seroconversion during late pregnancy, demonstrating the limitations of the current programme. These could be mitigated by expanding the programme to include maternal testing at delivery and at immunisation clinic visits as we pursue the elimination of mother-to-child transmission

A Non-Canonical E-Box Within the \u3cem\u3eMyoD\u3c/em\u3e Core Enhancer is Necessary for Circadian Expression in Skeletal Muscle

The myogenic differentiation 1 (MyoD) gene is a master regulator of myogenesis. We previously reported that the expression of MyoD mRNA oscillates over 24 h in skeletal muscle and that the circadian clock transcription factors, BMAL1 (brain and muscle ARNT-like 1) and CLOCK (circadian locomotor output cycles kaput), were bound to the core enhancer (CE) of the MyoD gene in vivo. In this study, we provide in vivo and in vitro evidence that the CE is necessary for circadian expression of MyoD in adult muscle. Gel shift assays identified a conserved non-canonical E-box within the CE that is bound by CLOCK and BMAL1. Functional analysis revealed that this E-box was required for full activation by BMAL1/CLOCK and for in vitro circadian oscillation. Expression profiling of muscle of CEloxP/loxP mice found approximately 1300 genes mis-expressed relative to wild-type. Based on the informatics results, we analyzed the respiratory function of mitochondria isolated from wild-type and CEloxP/loxP mice. These assays determined that State 5 respiration was significantly reduced in CEloxP/loxP muscle. The results of this work identify a novel element in the MyoD enhancer that confers circadian regulation to MyoD in skeletal muscle and suggest that loss of circadian regulation leads to changes in myogenic expression and downstream mitochondrial function