Junius and Joseph: Presidential Politics and the Assassination of the First Mormon Prophet

Junius and Joseph examines Joseph Smith\u27s nearly forgotten [1844] presidential bid, the events leading up to his assassination on June 27, 1844, and the tangled aftermath of the tragic incident. It... establishes that Joseph Smith\u27s murder, rather than being the deadly outcome of a spontaneous mob uprising, was in fact a carefully planned military-style execution. It is now possible to identify many of the key individuals engaged in planning his assassination as well as those who took part in the assault on Carthage jail. And furthermore, this study presents incontrovertible evidence that the effort to remove the Mormon leader from power and influence extended well beyond Hancock County [Illinois] (and included prominent Whig politicians as well as the Democratic governor of the state), thereby transforming his death from an impulsive act by local vigilantes into a political assassination sanctioned by some of the most powerful men in Illinois. The circumstances surrounding Joseph Smith\u27s death also serve to highlight the often unrecognized truth that a full understanding of early Mormon history can be gained only when considered in the context of events taking place in American society as a whole. Beginning with this provocative thesis from the introduction, Wicks and Foister engage in a thorough reexamination of Joseph Smith\u27s 1844 presidential candidacy, its political context and implications, and its probable connection to his murder. While their work asserts controversial conclusions about what and who were behind that murder, its import extends further since it provides unprecedented, detailed portraits of political Mormonism, politics in 1844 Illinois and the Midwest, the web of connections and personalities that linked the two, and the events of June 27. ---Book Review can be found in: The Western Historical Quarterly Winter 2006, by: Stephen C. Taysom.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/1041/thumbnail.jp

Medical training simulation for central venous catheterization

Our Creative Inquiry, in collaboration with clinicians, local hospitals, and MBA students, has involved the development, testing, and commercialization of a central venous catheterization training simulator. Medical training simulators are important tools for educating physicians without needing to practice on patients. Central venous catheterization (CVC) is the insertion of a catheter into a sizable vein in order to deliver a large influx of drugs to the heart. The risky nature of the procedure comes from the proximity of the vein to the heart, lungs, and major arteries. Many complications can arise, often the cause of expensive and ineffective training methods. We have created an affordable simulator with features that address the limitations of current simulators, including a fully rotatable head, proper anatomical landmarks, and ultrasoundability. Our patent-pending design is currently being prepared for manufacturing and marketing in hopes of increasing the safety of CVC procedures

Improved nuclear localization of DNA-binding polyamides

Regulation of endogenous genes by DNA-binding polyamides requires effective nuclear localization. Previous work employing confocal microscopy to study uptake of fluorophore-labeled polyamides has demonstrated the difficulty of predicting a priori the nuclear uptake of a given polyamide. The data suggest that dye identity influences uptake sufficiently such that a dye-conjugate cannot be used as a proxy for unlabeled analogs. Polyamides capable of nuclear localization unaided by fluorescent dyes are desirable due to size and other limitations of fluorophores. Recently, a polyamide-fluorescein conjugate targeted to the hypoxia response element (HRE) was found to inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in cultured HeLa cells. The current study uses inhibition of VEGF expression as a biological read-out for effective nuclear localization of HRE-targeted polyamides. We synthesized a focused library of non-fluorescent, HRE-targeted polyamides in which the C-terminus ‘tail’ has been systematically varied. Members of this library bind the HRE with affinities comparable or superior to that of the fluorescein-labeled analog. Although most library members demonstrate modest or no biological activity, two non-fluorescent polyamides are reported with activity rivaling that of the previously reported fluorescein-labeled polyamide. We also show evidence that promoter occupancy by HIF-1, the transcription factor that binds the HRE, is inhibited by HRE-targeted polyamides

Guiding the Design of Synthetic DNA-Binding Molecules with Massively Parallel Sequencing

Genomic applications of DNA-binding molecules require an unbiased knowledge of their high affinity sites. We report the high-throughput analysis of pyrrole-imidazole polyamide DNA-binding specificity in a 10^(12)-member DNA sequence library using affinity purification coupled with massively parallel sequencing. We find that even within this broad context, the canonical pairing rules are remarkably predictive of polyamide DNA-binding specificity. However, this approach also allows identification of unanticipated high affinity DNA-binding sites in the reverse orientation for polyamides containing β/Im pairs. These insights allow the redesign of hairpin polyamides with different turn units capable of distinguishing 5′-WCGCGW-3′ from 5′-WGCGCW-3′. Overall, this study displays the power of high-throughput methods to aid the optimal targeting of sequence-specific minor groove binding molecules, an essential underpinning for biological and nanotechnological applications

An Experimental Investigation of Ultrasonic “Grain Noise” in Titanium -6AL-4V

Ultrasonic testing is used for the detection of flaws in critical parts, such as forgings in gas turbines[3]. Benign features within the microstructure, such as grain boundaries, also reflect part of the ultrasonic pulse. These signals will generally be of a lower amplitude than flaw signals, since they represent a softer discontinuity in material properties. Figure 1 shows a simplified distribution of such ‘grain noise’ signals, and a possible distribution of signals resulting from small flaws. Two difficulties arise due to the presence of grain noise: (1) The smallest flaw signals cannot be observed since they are masked by the grain noise. This defines the limiting resolution of the scan. (2) The largest noise signals are mistaken for flaws, leading to ‘false calls’ and the rejection of sound material.</p

An investigation of the interactions between ultrasonic signals and the material structure of titanium-6AL-4V

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