Alumni Notes

Schedule of upcoming events, brief articles about alumni activities, and a column by the alumni directo

A Pharmacist’s Role in the Prevention and Management of Perioperative Atrial Fibrillation and Flutter

This home-study CPE has been developed to educate pharmacists about recently published guidelines for perioperative atrial fibrillation and flutter management and prevention, and discuss the role a pharmacist can have in the care of these patients

GABA-B controls persistent Na+ current and coupled Na+-activated K+ current

AbstractThe GABA-B receptor is densely expressed throughout the brain and has been implicated in many CNS functions and disorders, including addiction, epilepsy, spasticity, schizophrenia, anxiety, cognitive deficits, and depression, as well as various aspects of nervous system development. How one GABA-B receptor is involved in so many aspects of CNS function remains unanswered. Activation of GABA-B receptors is normally thought to produce inhibitory responses in the nervous system, but puzzling contradictory responses exist. Here we report that in rat mitral cells of the olfactory bulb, GABA-B receptor activation inhibits both the persistent sodium current (INaP) and the sodium-activated potassium current (IKNa), which is coupled to it. We find that the primary effect of GABA-B activation is to inhibit INaP, which has the secondary effect of inhibiting IKNabecause of its dependence on persistent sodium entry for activation. This can have either a net excitatory or inhibitory effect depending on the balance of INaP/IKNacurrents in neurons. In the olfactory bulb, the cell bodies of mitral cells are densely packed with sodium-activated potassium channels. These channels produce a large IKNawhich, if constitutively active, would shunt any synaptic potentials traversing the soma before reaching the spike initiation zone. However, GABA-B receptor activation might have the net effect of reducing the IKNablocking effect, thus enhancing the effectiveness of synaptic potentials.</jats:p

Strive and Struggle: Documenting the Civil Rights Movement at Cal Poly, 1967-1975

“Strive and Struggle: Documenting the Civil Rights Movement at Cal Poly, 1967-1975,” pays tribute to the students, administration, and national civil rights leaders that brought about lasting changes to Cal Poly. In collaboration with University Archives, Kennedy Library staff, Graphic Design student assistants, and History Department graduate students, the exhibition is presented through the pages of the campus newspaper, the Mustang Daily, and explores campus reactions, struggles and triumphs during the Civil Rights years, as well as the efforts to establish Ethnic Studies courses, recruit Black faculty, and combat racial prejudice on campus. Though the peak of the Civil Rights Era fell between 1955 and 1968, as Myrlie Evers indicated, the struggle continued long after this period. The exhibit focuses on the height of the Civil Rights Movement on the Cal Poly campus during these latter years. The exhibit also highlights national Black leaders who visited Cal Poly’s campus during this period. Visitors included political leaders, sports legends, comedians, musicians, educators, and civil rights activists. These men and women shared their experiences combating racism, encouraged cooperation, and discouraged apathy. “We must continue to strive and struggle for equality no matter how tired or successful we are ourselves, to help all our brothers and sisters... we must pick up and finish the work that others have died for trying to get our rights.” -- Myrlie Evers, African American Activist, as quoted during her campus visit on Jan. 8, 1973. The Mustang Daily, Cal Pol

Where We Stand: 1975-2011

Where We Stand is an extension of the 2009 exhibit Strive & Struggle: Documenting the Civil Rights Movement at Cal Poly, 1967 – 1975 and similarly draws from Mustang Daily articles, student club documents, and oral accounts to construct a brief history of African American advocacy on the Cal Poly campus from the Civil Rights Movement to the present day. The exhibit documents the roles that student and faculty organizations played in building awareness of issues of diversity and identity on campus. Assessing their efforts reveals both what has changed since 1975 and what remains to be addressed on the Cal Poly campus. The Black Student Union, fraternities and sororities, faculty groups, the Society of Black Engineers & Scientists, and the Multicultural Center served as catalysts for student empowerment. These organizations promoted African American culture and diversity on campus at a grassroots level and established a community for black students at Cal Poly. Despite difficulties in obtaining both members and recognition from the student population, these organizations remain relevant and are crucial to campus efforts to reach a shared understanding of issues of race and diversity

Alumni Notes

Schedule of upcoming events, brief articles about alumni activities, and a column by the alumni directo

Archiving Appalachia

Led by the staff of the Archives of Appalachia, this roundtable discussion will focus on how archival collections can capture and perpetuate the creative, dynamic force of Appalachia. The participants, along with Amy Collins, Director of the Archives of Appalachia, will briefly remark on the development and use of archival collections, media in the archives, and measures taken to ensure that collections reflect the diversity of the region’s history and culture. The audience will be encouraged to share their perspectives on archival research, thereby creating dialogue about archival access and use, as well as archiving digital scholarship, and the potential for growing Appalachian collections. The intent of this discussion is to prompt ASA members to think about how archival research can contribute to their work on Appalachia and to consider the benefits of placing their own documents, photographs, books, and media in archival repositories. After the session, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the Archives and talk with staff

Strata-bound vein array in the basal Pierre Shale, Lake Francis Case, South Dakota, U.S.A

A distinctive strata-bound vein array occurs in the basal Pierre Shale exposed along the shores of Lake Francis Case, a reservoir on the Missouri River in south-central South Dakota. Typically 2–4 meters in thickness, the array consistently outcrops over a \u3e50-km distance, a significant areal footprint. Ash layers define the upper and lower bounds of the vein array. Two, suborthogonal, preferred directions of vertical veins (northeast and southeast strike) define a regional pattern. By volume, vertical veins comprise 1–2% of the rock. Thinner, more discontinuous, and irregular horizontal veins also occur. Comparisons between array orientations and the joint/vein pattern in the immediately underlying marls of the top of the Niobrara Chalk identify distinct differences. Traverse data suggest that the vein arrays are characterized by uniform horizontal extension. Vertical veins in the array are typically 1–2 centimeters thick and contain massive jarosite, selenite, and fibrous gypsum. The abundance of jarosite and fibrous gypsum distinctly correlates with position in the weathering profile, and these phases are interpreted as due to replacement of original selenite during modern weathering. However, for initial vein array formation, the following suggests that they are not related to modern weathering and formed at depth: (1) a lack of correlation of vein width/frequency with position in the weathering profile; (2) the regional extent; (3) the consistent preferred orientations; (4) the uniform horizontal extension; and (5) the coarse-grained character of the selenite. The consistent strike pattern suggests influence of a regional stress field. The mechanism/timing of vein array formation is unclear. Formation due to diagenetic processes, which are especially significant in mud rocks, would explain the strata-bound character and isotropic horizontal strain and is considered most likely. Formation during glacial loading is one intriguing possibility. Localization of the vein array may be due to the organic-rich character of the host Burning Brule Member of the Sharon Springs Formation

Changing minds: Children's inferences about third party belief revision

By the age of 5, children explicitly represent that agents can have both true and false beliefs based on epistemic access to information (e.g., Wellman, Cross, & Watson, 2001). Children also begin to understand that agents can view identical evidence and draw different inferences from it (e.g., Carpendale & Chandler, 1996). However, much less is known about when, and under what conditions, children expect other agents to change their minds. Here, inspired by formal ideal observer models of learning, we investigate children's expectations of the dynamics that underlie third parties' belief revision. We introduce an agent who has prior beliefs about the location of a population of toys and then observes evidence that, from an ideal observer perspective, either does, or does not justify revising those beliefs. We show that children's inferences on behalf of third parties are consistent with the ideal observer perspective, but not with a number of alternative possibilities, including that children expect other agents to be influenced only by their prior beliefs, only by the sampling process, or only by the observed data. Rather, children integrate all three factors in determining how and when agents will update their beliefs from evidence.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (1231216)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (0744213)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (STC Center for Brains, Minds and Machines Award CCF-1231216)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (0744213