Learning Communities: Through the Lens of a Groupworker

Learning communities are becoming increasingly common as a means of assisting incoming students with their transition to college. They have been shown to improve student retention, academic performance, and student-faculty relationships. Learning communities are prime examples of group work in action, and can provide opportunities for educators to teach and model social group work concepts and principles. This paper 1) defines and describes learning communities, 2) discusses the theoretical basis for the application of group work principles to the learning community experience, and 3) describes and assesses three years of experience with the application of group work principles in social work learning communities in an undergraduate university in the Midwestern United States

Supplemental materials for Largemouth Bass respirometry research: data archived in support of open-access publication

Fisheries induced evolution (FIE) is hypothesized to cause changes in the life history, physiology and behavior of exploited fish stocks. Most studies evaluating FIE have occurred in exploited marine stocks which offer little opportunity for replication and few unexploited stocks exist for comparison. Inland recreational fisheries, however, offer the opportunity to replicate experiments in multiple systems, and while rare, unexploited populations exist for comparison. We measured the resting metabolic rate of four populations of largemouth bass, two exploited and two unexploited, to evaluate whether patterns of resting metabolic rates conformed to expectations for fisheries induced evolution. This document contains the resting metabolic rate data collected in the field from September 16th 2013 through October 22nd 2013. These data form the basis for an open access publication and are archived here as supplemental information

Génomique des populations et adaptation des champignons pathogènes responsables de la maladie hollandaise de l'orme

La Maladie Hollandaise de l'Orme (MHO) est causée par des champignons du genre Ophiostoma. Ceux-ci sont responsables de la mort de plusieurs centaines de milliers d'ormes adultes en Europe ainsi qu'en Amérique du Nord, modifiant de manière drastiques les paysages forestiers et urbains. L'étude de la MHO a permis de caractériser deux espèces différentes, O. ulmi et O. novo-ulmi, qui présentent des phénotypes différents en terne de virulence et de croissance. L'analyse de données de séquençage à haut débit (génomique) associée à l'utilisation de données phénotypiques s'est répandue ces dernières décennies dans le domaine de la phytopathologie et permet de comprendre plus en détails la structure des populations ainsi que les gènes et mécanismes impliqués dans l'adaptation chez les champignons pathogènes. Dans le premier chapitre, nous comparons les caractéristiques évolutives des champignons phytopathogènes des cultures et des forêts. Nous contrastons l'impact des différents degrés de domestication et de gestion des milieux agricoles et forestiers sur ces populations de pathogènes. Les milieux agricoles et les forêts présentent des caractéristiques très différentes, comme le temps de génération ou le niveau de domestication. Cependant, nous trouvons que les mécanismes modelant les populations de pathogènes restent similaires, comme l'hybridation, les sauts d'hôtes, la sélection, la spécialisation et l'expansion clonale. Dans un second temps nous faisons un bilan des méthodes et techniques disponibles pour la gestion et l'amélioration des plantes de ces systèmes afin de prévenir ou lutter contre de futures épidémies. Dans le second chapitre, nous avons utilisé des données de génomiques pour examiner la structure génétique des populations des champignons responsables de la Maladie Hollandaise de l'Orme (MHO) Ophiostoma ulmi et Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. Nous quantifions et caractérisons la diversité génétique au sein des quatre lignées génétiques, ainsi que la divergence et la phylogénie entre chaque taxon. Nous décrivons le rôle de l'hybridation et de l'introgression dans l'histoire évolutive de ces pathogènes comme étant le mécanisme principal générant de la diversité génétique. La production de données phénotypiques nous permet également de caractériser l'impact de l'introgression sur l'adaptation de ces espèces. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous avons utilisé une approche « GWAS » (Genome Wide Analysis Study) pour révéler les marqueurs impliqués dans l'adaptation à la température et à un composé de défense de l'hôte chez O. ulmi et O. novo-ulmi. Nous trouvons d'importants gènes et familles de gènes associés avec les phénotypes de croissance et de virulence comme des transporteurs, des cytochromes, des protéines de choc thermique ou des protéines impliquées dans le système d'incompatibilité végétative qui pourraient jouer un rôle dans la protection contre les virus.Dutch Elm Disease (DED) is a highly destructive tree disease caused by fungi from the Ophiostoma genus. These fungi are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of mature elm trees both in Europe and in North America. Studies on DED allowed the characterization of two disctinct species, O. ulmi and O. novo-ulmi, that exhibit different virulence and growth phenotypes. Global pathogen genomics data including population genomics and high-quality reference assemblies are crucial for understanding the evolution and adaptation of pathogens. In a first chapter, we review crops and forest pathosystems with remarkably different characteristics, such as generation time and the level of domestication. They also have different management systems for disease control which is more intensive in crops than forest trees. By comparing and contrasting results from pathogen population genomic studies done on widely different agricultural and forest production systems, we can improve our understanding of pathogen evolution and adaptation to different selective pressures. We find that despite these differences, similar processes such as hybridization, host jumps, selection, specialization, and clonal expansion are shaping the pathogen populations in both crops and forest trees. We propose some solutions to reduce these impacts and to lower the probability of global pathogen outbreaks so that we can envision better management strategies to sustain global food production as well as ecosystem services. In a second chapter, we investigate how hybridization and the resulting introgression can drive the success of DED fungi via the rapid acquisition of adaptive traits. Using whole-genome sequences and growth phenotyping of a worldwide collection of isolates, we show that introgression has been the main driver of genomic diversity and that it impacted fitness-related traits. Introgressions contain genes involved in host-pathogen interactions and reproduction. Introgressed isolates have enhanced growth rate at high temperature and produce different necrosis sizes on an in vivo model for pathogenicity. In addition, lineages diverge in many pathogenicity-associated genes and exhibit differential mycelial growth in the presence of a proxy of a host defence compound, implying an important role of host trees in the molecular and functional differentiation of these pathogens. In the third chapter, we performed the identification of O. ulmi and O. novo-ulmi genes potentially associated with virulence and growth using Genome-Wide Association (GWA) analysis. We measured necrosis size induced on apples as a proxy for fungal virulence and measured growth rates at three different temperatures and two different media. We found several candidate genes for virulence, such as a CFEM domain containing protein and a HC-toxin efflux carrier. For growth, we identify several important gene families such as ABC and MFS transporters, cytochromes, transcription factors and proteins from the vegetative incompatibility complex

Laser written mirror profiles for open-access fiber Fabry-P\'erot microcavities

We demonstrate laser-written concave hemispherical structures produced on the endfacets of optical fibers that serve as mirror substrates for tunable open-access microcavities. We achieve finesse values of up to 250, and a mostly constant performance across the entire stability range. This enables cavity operation also close to the stability limit, where a peak quality factor of $1.5\times 10^4$ is reached. Together with a small mode waist of $2.3\; \mathrm{\mu m}$, the cavity achieves a Purcell factor of $C \sim 2.5$, which is useful for experiments that require good lateral optical access or otherwise large separation of the mirrors. Laser-written mirror profiles can be produced with a tremendous flexibility in shape and on various surfaces, opening new possibilities for microcavities.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Components of the Plasminogen Activation System Promote Engraftment of Porous Polyethylene Biomaterial via Common and Distinct Effects

Rapid fibrovascularization is a prerequisite for successful biomaterial engraftment. In addition to their well-known roles in fibrinolysis, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) or their inhibitor plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) have recently been implicated as individual mediators in non-fibrinolytic processes, including cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Since these events are critical for fibrovascularization of biomaterial, we hypothesized that the components of the plasminogen activation system contribute to biomaterial engraftment. Employing in vivo and ex vivo microscopy techniques, vessel and collagen network formation within porous polyethylene (PPE) implants engrafted into dorsal skinfold chambers were found to be significantly impaired in uPA-, tPA-, or PAI-1-deficient mice. Consequently, the force required for mechanical disintegration of the implants out of the host tissue was significantly lower in the mutant mice than in wild-type controls. Conversely, surface coating with recombinant uPA, tPA, non-catalytic uPA, or PAI-1, but not with non-catalytic tPA, accelerated implant vascularization in wild-type mice. Thus, uPA, tPA, and PAI-1 contribute to the fibrovascularization of PPE implants through common and distinct effects. As clinical perspective, surface coating with recombinant uPA, tPA, or PAI-1 might provide a novel strategy for accelerating the vascularization of this biomaterial

Neutrophils promote venular thrombosis by shaping the rheological environment for platelet aggregation

In advanced inflammatory disease, microvascular thrombosis leads to the interruption of blood supply and provokes ischemic tissue injury. Recently, intravascularly adherent leukocytes have been reported to shape the blood flow in their immediate vascular environment. Whether these rheological effects are relevant for microvascular thrombogenesis remains elusive. Employing multi-channel in vivo microscopy, analyses in microfluidic devices, and computational modeling, we identified a previously unanticipated role of leukocytes for microvascular clot formation in inflamed tissue. For this purpose, neutrophils adhere at distinct sites in the microvasculature where these immune cells effectively promote thrombosis by shaping the rheological environment for platelet aggregation. In contrast to larger (lower-shear) vessels, this process in high-shear microvessels does not require fibrin generation or extracellular trap formation, but involves GPIb alpha-vWF and CD40-CD40L-dependent platelet interactions. Conversely, interference with these cellular interactions substantially compromises microvascular clotting. Thus, leukocytes shape the rheological environment in the inflamed venular microvasculature for platelet aggregation thereby effectively promoting the formation of blood clots. Targeting this specific crosstalk between the immune system and the hemostatic system might be instrumental for the prevention and treatment of microvascular thromboembolic pathologies, which are inaccessible to invasive revascularization strategies