A Summary of the Collaborative IS Curriculum Specification of the Joint DPMA, ACM, AIS Task Force

Information Systems \u2795 (IS \u2795), a model curriculum for a bachelor\u27s degree in Information Systems (IS), is the resulting development of collaborative work of a Joint Task Force of the Data Processing Management Association (DPMA), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and Academy for Information Systems (AIS). Representation on the task force includes both academic and industrial members. This paper summarizes the full report (Figure 1). A definition of the IS discipline and its relevance within the business and university community is discussed. Resources needed to support a viable program are identified, including faculty, and information technology. Courses are identified and the characteristics of graduates defined. A paradigm is provided which couples a definition of the IS discipline and its underlying principles to the of characteristics of the IS graduate. An updated IS body of knowledge is presented. It is based on previous efforts of DPMA and ACM (Longenecker and Feinstein 1991a,b,c; Ashenhurst 1972; Couger 1972; ACM 1983 and ACM 1990; DPMA 1981, 1986). The current body of knowledge contains the Computer Science and Engineering body of knowledge (Turner and Tucker 1991). A cognitive behavioral metric is presented for specifying and evaluating depth of knowledge. The specification includes a numeric depth indicator and appropriate language to describe presentation goals and resultant behavior expected of students completing study of specific aspects of the curriculum. A modular concept of learning units is defined and utilized in specifying proposed courses. Methods for mapping the learning units to alternate course plans are discussed. Elements from the body of knowledge are combined in a logical top-down manner to form Learning Units (LU). Each LU contains a goal statement, behavioral objectives and associated elements from the body of knowledge. Five curriculum areas with 20 sub-areas form clusters of these learning units. A complete set of 128 learning units form meta-presentation units which can be organized in different schemes to meet individual institutional missions. One possible organization of these units into ten courses is presented. This paper provides curriculum guidelines for implementing undergraduate programs in information systems. The full report, IS\u2795, provides the detail necessary for design and implementation of courses. Dissemination of the curriculum and plans for review and updating the curriculum are presented

Molecular genetics and pathophysiology of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 deficiency.

Autosomal recessive mutations in the 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 gene impair the formation of testosterone in the fetal testis and give rise to genetic males with female external genitalia. Such individuals are usually raised as females, but virilize at the time of expected puberty as the result of increases in serum testosterone. Here we describe mutations in 12 additional subjects/families with this disorder. The 14 mutations characterized to date include 10 missense mutations, 3 splice junction abnormalities, and 1 small deletion that results in a frame shift. Three of these mutations have occurred in more than 1 family. Complementary DNAs incorporating 9 of the 10 missense mutations have been constructed and expressed in reporter cells; 8 of the 9 missense mutations cause almost complete loss of enzymatic activity. In 2 subjects with loss of function, missense mutations testosterone levels in testicular venous blood were very low. Considered together, these findings strongly suggest that the common mechanism for testosterone formation in postpubertal subjects with this disorder is the conversion of circulating androstenedione to testosterone by one or more of the unaffected 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase isoenzymes

Rats Genetically Selected for High Aerobic Exercise Capacity Have Elevated Plasma Bilirubin by Upregulation of Hepatic Biliverdin Reductase-A (BVRA) and Suppression of UGT1A1

Exercise in humans and animals increases plasma bilirubin levels, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. In the present study, we utilized rats genetically selected for high capacity running (HCR) and low capacity running (LCR) to determine pathways in the liver that aerobic exercise modifies to control plasma bilirubin. The HCR rats, compared to the LCR, exhibited significantly higher levels of plasma bilirubin and the hepatic enzyme that produces it, biliverdin reductase-A (BVRA). The HCR also had reduced expression of the glucuronyl hepatic enzyme UGT1A1, which lowers plasma bilirubin. Recently, bilirubin has been shown to activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), a ligand-induced transcription factor, and the higher bilirubin HCR rats had significantly increased PPARα-target genes Fgf21, Abcd3, and Gys2. These are known to promote liver function and glycogen storage, which we found by Periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) staining that hepatic glycogen content was higher in the HCR versus the LCR. Our results demonstrate that exercise stimulates pathways that raise plasma bilirubin through alterations in hepatic enzymes involved in bilirubin synthesis and metabolism, improving liver function, and glycogen content. These mechanisms may explain the beneficial effects of exercise on plasma bilirubin levels and health in humans

Thinking Through our Processes: How the UCSC Community Psychology Research & Action Team Strives to Embody Ethical, Critically Reflexive Anti-racist Feminist Praxis

Co-written by eight people, this paper describes how the UCSC Community Psychology Research and Action Team (CPRAT) organizes itself in weekly group meetings and how this structure is an attempt to embody an ethical, critically reflexive anti-racist feminist praxis. First, we outline the community psychology core competency of an ethical, reflective practice (Dalton & Wolfe, 2012). We offer a friendly amendment to consider an ethical, critically reflexive anti-racist feminist praxis. Second, we discuss how we organize CPRAT meetings to uphold these ideas. We describe our current structure, which includes personal and project check-ins, rotating facilitation, and attention to broader professional development issues. Third, we provide two examples to illustrate our process: (a) why talking about poop matters in addressing imposter syndrome and (b) getting our team on the same page regarding a research site. We end the paper with a description of a “rough edge,” or an area for growth in our praxis

SDSS J092455.87+021924.9: an Interesting Gravitationally Lensed Quasar from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We report the discovery of a new gravitationally lensed quasar from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, SDSS J092455.87+021924.9 (SDSS J0924+0219). This object was selected from among known SDSS quasars by an algorithm that was designed to select another known SDSS lensed quasar (SDSS 1226-0006A,B). Five separate components, three of which are unresolved, are identified in photometric follow-up observations obtained with the Magellan Consortium's 6.5m Walter Baade telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. Two of the unresolved components (designated A and B) are confirmed to be quasars with z=1.524; the velocity difference is less than 100 km sec^{-1} according to spectra taken with the W. M. Keck Observatory's Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea. A third stellar component, designated C, has the colors of a quasar with redshift similar to components A and B. The maximum separation of the point sources is 1.78". The other two sources, designated G and D, are resolved. Component G appears to be the best candidate for the lensing galaxy. Although component D is near the expected position of the fourth lensed component in a four image lens system, its properties are not consistent with being the image of a quasar at z~1.5. Nevertheless, the identical redshifts of components A and B and the presence of component C strongly suggest that this object is a gravitational lens. Our observations support the idea that a foreground object reddens the fourth lensed component and that another unmodeled effect (such as micro- or milli-lensing) demagnificates it, but we cannot rule out the possibility that SDSS0924+0219 is an example of the relatively rare class of ``three component'' lens systems.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, accepted by A

The Incidence of Highly-Obscured Star-Forming Regions in SINGS Galaxies

Using the new capabilities of the Spitzer Space Telescope and extensive multiwavelength data from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS), it is now possible to study the infrared properties of star formation in nearby galaxies down to scales equivalent to large HII regions. We are therefore able to determine what fraction of large, infrared-selected star-forming regions in normal galaxies are highly obscured and address how much of the star formation we miss by relying solely on the optical portion of the spectrum. Employing a new empirical method for deriving attenuations of infrared-selected star-forming regions we investigate the statistics of obscured star formation on 500pc scales in a sample of 38 nearby galaxies. We find that the median attenuation is 1.4 magnitudes in H-alpha and that there is no evidence for a substantial sub-population of uniformly highly-obscured star-forming regions. The regions in the highly-obscured tail of the attenuation distribution (A_H-alpha > 3) make up only ~4% of the sample of nearly 1800 regions, though very embedded infrared sources on the much smaller scales and lower luminosities of compact and ultracompact HII regions are almost certainly present in greater numbers. The highly-obscured cases in our sample are generally the bright, central regions of galaxies with high overall attenuation but are not otherwise remarkable. We also find that a majority of the galaxies show decreasing radial trends in H-alpha attenuation. The small fraction of highly-obscured regions seen in this sample of normal, star-forming galaxies suggests that on 500pc scales the timescale for significant dispersal or break up of nearby, optically-thick dust clouds is short relative to the lifetime of a typical star-forming region.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; emulateapj style, 30 pages, 18 figures (compressed versions), 3 table

Trend-TDT – a transmission/disequilibrium based association test on functional mini/microsatellites

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Minisatellites and microsatellites are associated with human disease, not only as markers of risk but also involved directly in disease pathogenesis. They may play significant roles in replication, repair and mutation of DNA, regulation of gene transcription and protein structure alteration. Phenotypes can thus be affected by mini/microsatellites in a manner proportional to the length of the allele. Here we propose a new method to assess the linear trend toward transmission of shorter or longer alleles from heterozygote parents to affected child.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This test (trend-TDT) performs better than other TDT (Transmission/Disequilibrium Test) type tests, such as TDT_maxand TDT_L/S, under most marker-disease association models.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The trend-TDT test is a more powerful association test when there is a biological basis to suspect a relationship between allele length and disease risk.</p

Islands of ice: Influence of free-drifting Antarctic icebergs on pelagic marine ecosystems

Regional warming around West Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula, is related to the retreat of glaciers that has resulted in significant ice mass loss in recent decades. We examined freedrifting icebergs in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in December 2005, aboard ARSV Laurence M. Gould, and in June 2008 and March/April 2009, aboard RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer. Prior to these studies, little information was available about the effects of icebergs on the pelagic realm.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Ultra supercritical steamside oxidation

Ultra supercritical (USC) power plants offer the promise of higher efficiencies and lower emissions, which are part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Vision 21 goals. Most current coal power plants in the U.S. operate at a maximum steam temperature of 538 C. However, new supercritical plants worldwide are being brought into service with steam temperatures of up to 620 C. Vision 21 goals include steam temperatures of up to 760 C. This research examines the steamside oxidation of advanced alloys for use in USC systems. Emphasis is placed on alloys for high- and intermediate-pressure turbine sections. Initial results of this research are presented