Adapting to College Life After Military Service

This study explores how student veterans draw on principles of self-determination theory, focusing on the learning processes shaping their abilities to adapt to new environments, namely college. By developing intrinsic motivation, student veterans successfully embrace their college student identities. Using a case study method along with self-determination theory, this study demonstrates how characteristics of intrinsic motivation assisted student veterans to shape their development as college students. As such, student veterans were enabled to become self-determined, which fostered their transition to the college environment. Implications for higher education practitioners and counselors are discussed

Electromechanical imaging of biomaterials by scanning probe microscopy

The majority of calcified and connective tissues possess complex hierarchical structure spanning the length scales from nanometers to millimeters. Understanding the biological functionality of these materials requires reliable methods for structural imaging on the nanoscale. Here, we demonstrate an approach for electromechanical imaging of the structure of biological samples on the length scales from tens of microns to nanometers using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), which utilizes the intrinsic piezoelectricity of biopolymers such as proteins and polysaccharides as the basis for high-resolution imaging. Nanostructural imaging of a variety of protein-based materials, including tooth, antler, and cartilage, is demonstrated. Visualization of protein fibrils with sub-10 nm spatial resolution in a human tooth is achieved. Given the near-ubiquitous presence of piezoelectricity in biological systems, PFM is suggested as a versatile tool for micro- and nanostructural imaging in both connective and calcified tissues

The promoter from SlREO, a highly-expressed, root-specific Solanum lycopersicum gene, directs expression to cortex of mature roots

Root-specific promoters are valuable tools for targeting transgene expression, but many of those already described have limitations to their general applicability. We present the expression characteristics of SlREO, a novel gene isolated from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). This gene was highly expressed in roots but had a very low level of expression in aerial plant organs. A 2.4-kb region representing the SlREO promoter sequence was cloned upstream of the uidA GUS reporter gene and shown to direct expression in the root cortex. In mature, glasshouse-grown plants this strict root specificity was maintained. Furthermore, promoter activity was unaffected by dehydration or wounding stress but was somewhat suppressed by exposure to NaCl, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid. The predicted protein sequence of SlREO contains a domain found in enzymes of the 2-oxoglutarate and Fe(II)-dependent dioxygenase superfamily. The novel SlREO promoter has properties ideal for applications requiring strong and specific gene expression in the bulk of tomato root tissue growing in soil, and is also likely to be useful in other Solanaceous crop

Knee extensor fatigability after bedrest for 8 weeks with and without countermeasure.

Contains fulltext : 52187.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)We analyzed the effects of gravitational unloading on muscular fatigability and the effectiveness of resistive vibration exercise to counteract these changes. Changes in knee extensor fatigability as a consequence of 8 weeks of horizontal bedrest with or without daily resistive vibration exercise were evaluated in 17 healthy male volunteers. Bedrest increased fatigability (% decrease in maximal voluntary isometric torque per minute exercise) from -7.2 +/- 0.5 to -10.2 +/- 1.0%/min (P < 0.05), which was accompanied by a decline (of 52.0 +/- 3.7%, P < 0.05) in muscle blood flow. Daily resistive vibration exercise training during bedrest prevented increases in fatigability (from -10.8 +/- 1.8 to -8.4 +/- 1.6%/min, P < 0.05), and mitigated the reduction in blood flow (decline of 26.1 +/- 5.1%, P < 0.05). Daily resistive exercise may thus be suggested as an effective countermeasure during spaceflight and illness-related prolonged bedrest to combat the detrimental changes in muscle endurance that result from gravitational unloading

Complete Genomic Structure of the Cultivated Rice Endophyte Azospirillum sp. B510

We determined the nucleotide sequence of the entire genome of a diazotrophic endophyte, Azospirillum sp. B510. Strain B510 is an endophytic bacterium isolated from stems of rice plants (Oryza sativa cv. Nipponbare). The genome of B510 consisted of a single chromosome (3 311 395 bp) and six plasmids, designated as pAB510a (1 455 109 bp), pAB510b (723 779 bp), pAB510c (681 723 bp), pAB510d (628 837 bp), pAB510e (537 299 bp), and pAB510f (261 596 bp). The chromosome bears 2893 potential protein-encoding genes, two sets of rRNA gene clusters (rrns), and 45 tRNA genes representing 37 tRNA species. The genomes of the six plasmids contained a total of 3416 protein-encoding genes, seven sets of rrns, and 34 tRNAs representing 19 tRNA species. Eight genes for plasmid-specific tRNA species are located on either pAB510a or pAB510d. Two out of eight genomic islands are inserted in the plasmids, pAB510b and pAB510e, and one of the islands is inserted into trnfM-CAU in the rrn located on pAB510e. Genes other than the nif gene cluster that are involved in N2 fixation and are homologues of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 include fixABCX, fixNOQP, fixHIS, fixG, and fixLJK. Three putative plant hormone-related genes encoding tryptophan 2-monooxytenase (iaaM) and indole-3-acetaldehyde hydrolase (iaaH), which are involved in IAA biosynthesis, and ACC deaminase (acdS), which reduces ethylene levels, were identified. Multiple gene-clusters for tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic-transport systems and a diverse set of malic enzymes were identified, suggesting that B510 utilizes C4-dicarboxylate during its symbiotic relationship with the host plant

Essays on Technology Transfer at American Universities at Critical Time Points

This dissertation investigates technology transfer within American higher education across time. As such, the second section of this dissertation explores the formation of the first technology transfer office at a public university. Here, historical arguments for and against a public institution delving into academic entrepreneurialism via patenting are explored. Critical to this section is understanding the importance of the intersection between the university and the state’s key industry. Importantly, this paper argues that academic capitalism pre-dated the Bayh–Dole Act of 1980. In other words, the landscape of higher education underwent a shift to a more market-like regime decades prior to 1980, paving a new norm. Beyond a changing face of American higher education, a different type of change is examined in the third section. Said section focuses on the passing of the America Invents Act (AIA), where the legal inventor(s) would be the one(s) who filed for a patent first. Pre-AIA, the legal inventor(s) would be the one(s) who created an idea first. Accordingly, the patenting behavior of universities was examined to see if it spurred after the passage of the AIA, as time became a critical component for patenting rights. Using a difference-in-differences model, R1 institutions, or very high research institutions, are found to be patenting more than R2s post-AIA, or high research activity institutions, supporting the argument that the passage of the AIA widened the patenting gap between institution types. Thereby, such legislation further prompted universities into market-like behaviors in order for them to be competitive in the new patenting system. Lastly, the fourth section focuses on how the passage of the AIA affected the patenting activities of female personnel at American universities. Accordingly, using a difference-indifferences approach, this section found that males are out-patenting females at R1 institutions. While there are programs that exist to support female patenting engagement at higher education institutions, the persistent gender patenting gap calls for more support in order to encourage females’ patenting pursuits. Overall, these sections provide a larger overview of technology transfer at American universities over time, and how academic capitalism continues to evolve within the context of American higher education