The Professional Development Series: A Path for Achieving Career-Focused Learning Outcomes

Eastern Kentucky University’s College of Business proactively responded to the well-documented student need for developing professional skills by creating a series of courses that provide the critical skills needed for success throughout their careers. The implementation and content of these courses are described, as well as preliminary indicators of their impact

A Classification of Infographics

Classifications are useful for describing existing phenomena and guiding further investigation. Several classifications of diagrams have been proposed, typically based on analytical rather than empirical methodologies. A notable exception is the work of Lohse and his colleagues, published in Communications of the ACM in December 1994. The classification of diagrams that Lohse proposed was derived from bottom-up grouping data collected from sixteen participants and based on 60 diagrams. Mean values on ten Likert-scales were used to predict diagram class. We follow a similar methodology to Lohse, using real-world infographics (i.e. embellished data charts) as our stimuli. We propose a structural classification of infographics, and determine whether infographics class can be predicted from values on Likert scales

Antiferromagnetic Domain Wall Engineering in Chromium Films

We have engineered an antiferromagnetic domain wall by utilizing a magnetic frustration effect of a thin iron cap layer deposited on a chromium film. Through lithography and wet etching we selectively remove areas of the Fe cap layer to form a patterned ferromagnetic mask over the Cr film. Removing the Fe locally removes magnetic frustration in user-defined regions of the Cr film. We present x-ray microdiffraction microscopy results confirming the formation of a 90{\deg} spin-density wave propagation domain wall in Cr. This domain wall nucleates at the boundary defined by our Fe mask.Comment: submitted to AP

2014-2015 Master Class - Raisa Isaacs (Harpsichord)

https://spiral.lynn.edu/conservatory_masterclasses/1031/thumbnail.jp

Group Chase and Escape

We describe here a new concept of one group chasing another, called "group chase and escape", by presenting a simple model. We will show that even a simple model can demonstrate rather rich and complex behavior. In particular, there are cases in which an optimal number of chasers exists for a given number of escapees (or targets) to minimize the cost of catching all targets. We have also found an indication of self-organized spatial structures formed by both groups.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted and to appear in New Journal of Physic

Theory of indirect resonant inelastic X-ray scattering

We express the cross section for indirect resonant inelastic X-ray scattering in terms of an intrinsic dynamic correlation function of the system that is studied with this technique. The cross section is a linear combination of the charge response function and the dynamic longitudinal spin density correlation function. This result is asymptotically exact for both strong and weak local core-hole potentials. We show that one can change the relative charge and spin contribution to the inelastic spectral weight by varying the incident photon energy.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure embedde

Amplification and next generation sequencing of near full-length human enteroviruses for identification and characterisation from clinical samples

© 2018, The Author(s). More than 100 different enterovirus (EV) genotypes infect humans and contribute to substantial morbidity. However, current methods for characterisation of full-length genomes are based on Sanger sequencing of short genomic regions, which are labour-intensive and do not enable comprehensive characterisation of viral populations. Here, we describe a simple and sensitive protocol for the amplification and sequencing of near full-length genomes of human EV species using next generation sequencing. EV genomes were amplified from 89% of samples tested, with Ct values ranging between 15.7 and 39.3. These samples included 7 EV-A genotypes (CVA2, 5–7, 10, 16 and EV71), 19 EV-B genotypes (CVA9, CVB1-6, ECHO3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 16, 18, 25, 29, 30, and EV69), 3 EV-C genotypes (CVA19 and PV2, 3) and 1 EV-D genotype (EV70). We characterised 70 EVs from 58 clinical stool samples and eight reference strains, with a minimum of 100X depth. We found evidence of co-infection in four clinical specimens, each containing two distinct EV genotypes (CVB3/ECHO7, CVB3/ECHO18 and ECHO9/30). Characterisation of the complete genome provided conclusive genotyping of EVs, which can be applied to investigate the intra-host virus evolution of EVs, and allows further identification and investigation of EV outbreaks

Engineering ligand-responsive RNA controllers in yeast through the assembly of RNase III tuning modules

The programming of cellular networks to achieve new biological functions depends on the development of genetic tools that link the presence of a molecular signal to gene-regulatory activity. Recently, a set of engineered RNA controllers was described that enabled predictable tuning of gene expression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae through directed cleavage of transcripts by an RNase III enzyme, Rnt1p. Here, we describe a strategy for building a new class of RNA sensing-actuation devices based on direct integration of RNA aptamers into a region of the Rnt1p hairpin that modulates Rnt1p cleavage rates. We demonstrate that ligand binding to the integrated aptamer domain is associated with a structural change sufficient to inhibit Rnt1p processing. Three tuning strategies based on the incorporation of different functional modules into the Rnt1p switch platform were demonstrated to optimize switch dynamics and ligand responsiveness. We further demonstrated that these tuning modules can be implemented combinatorially in a predictable manner to further improve the regulatory response properties of the switch. The modularity and tunability of the Rnt1p switch platform will allow for rapid optimization and tailoring of this gene control device, thus providing a useful tool for the design of complex genetic networks in yeast

Methotrexate: Underused and Ignored?

For greater than a decade, methotrexate has been known to be an effective therapeutic agent in the treatment of steroid dependent active Crohn's disease. However, international data on medication utilization suggest that this drug is rarely used in clinical practice for an indication of Crohn's disease. This review investigates the potential reasons for the underuse of methotrexate in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases