UAF Libraries Graduate Student Library Use Survey Fall 2010

Triennial campus-wide UAF libraries use survey, summary of results for graduate students

UAF Libraries Faculty and Researchers Library Use Survey Fall 2010

Triennial campus-wide UAF libraries use survey, summary of results for faculty and researchers

UAF Libraries Undergraduate Student Library Use Survey Fall 2007 

Triennial campus-wide UAF libraries use survey, summary of results for undergraduate students

UAF Libraries Undergraduate Student Library Use Survey Fall 2010

Triennial campus-wide UAF libraries use survey, summary of results for undergraduate students

Abundances of PNe in the Outer Disk of M31

We present spectroscopic observations and chemical abundances of 16 planetary nebulae (PNe) in the outer disk of M31. The [O III] 4363 line is detected in all objects, allowing a direct measurement of the nebular temperature essential for accurate abundance determinations. Our results show that the abundances in these M31 PNe display the same correlations and general behaviors as Type II PNe in the Milky Way Galaxy. We also calculate photoionization models to derive estimates of central star properties. From these we infer that our sample PNe, all near the peak of the Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function, originated from stars near 2 M_sun. Finally, under the assumption that these PNe are located in M31's disk, we plot the oxygen abundance gradient, which appears shallower than the gradient in the Milky Way.Comment: 48 pages, including 12 figures and 8 tables, accepted by Astrophysical Journa

Relational response: Preservice teachers providing writing feedback in three middle school partnerships

Providing meaningful feedback to student writers is a nuanced, fully human endeavor. Thus, teaching preservice teachers, in all disciplines, to respond to students’ writing is a complex task, one that requires intentional instruction and practice. In this article, we use practitioner inquiry to analyze our experiences and teaching approaches with preservice teachers who provided feedback to middle school writers through three public school partnerships. The partnerships employed varied modes of communication, including digital platforms, paper notebooks, letter writing, one-to-one tutoring, and face-to-face school visits. Response patterns suggest authentic experiences that explicitly teach and support writing practice spur the ability of preservice teachers in crafting relational, generative feedback to student writers while considering the affective experience

Physical function assessment tools in pediatric rheumatology

Pediatric rheumatic diseases with predominant musculoskeletal involvement such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and juvenile dermatomyositis(JDM) can cause considerable physical functional impairment and significantly affect the children's quality of life (QOL). Physical function, QOL, health-related QOL (HRQOL) and health status are personal constructs used as outcomes to estimate the impact of these diseases and often used as proxies for each other. The chronic, fluctuating nature of these diseases differs within and between patients, and complicates the measurement of these outcomes. In children, their growing needs and expectations, limited use of age-specific questionnaires, and the use of proxy respondents further influences this evaluation. This article will briefly review the different constructs inclusive of and related to physical function, and the scales used for measuring them. An understanding of these instruments will enable assessment of functional outcome in clinical studies of children with rheumatic diseases, measure the impact of the disease and treatments on their lives, and guide us in formulating appropriate interventions

Defective DNA Strand Break Repair Causes Chromosomal Instability and Accelerates Liver Carcinogenesis in Mice

Chromosomal instability is a characteristic feature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but its origin and role in liver carcinogenesis are undefined. We tested whether a defect in the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA repair gene Ku70 was associated with chromosomal abnormalities and enhanced liver carcinogenesis. Male Ku70 NHEJ-deficient (Ku70-/-), heterozygote (Ku70 +/-), and wild-type (WT) mice were injected with diethylnitrosamine (DEN), a liver carcinogen, at age 15 days. Animals were killed at 3, 6, and 9 months for assessment of tumorigenesis and hepatocellular proliferation. For karyotype analysis, primary liver tumor cell cultures were prepared from HCCs arising in Ku70 mice of all genotypes. Compared to WT littermates, Ku70-/- mice injected with DEN displayed accelerated HCC development. Ku70-/- HCCs harbored clonal increases in numerical and structural aberrations of chromosomes 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, and 19, many of which recapitulated the spectrum of equivalent chromosomal abnormalities observed in human HCC. Ku70-/- HCCs showed high proliferative activity with increased cyclin D1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression, Aurora A kinase activity, enhanced ataxia telangiectasia mutated kinase and ubiquitination, and loss of p53 via proteasomal degradation, features which closely resemble those of human HCC. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that defects in the NHEJ DNA repair pathway may participate in the disruption of cell cycle checkpoints leading to chromosomal instability and accelerated development of HCC

Characterization of a mutant polyoma that expresses in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells: Morphology, tumorigenicity, and restriction enzyme analysis

A mutant polyoma virus (TT340), which replicates in F9 embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells and contains 2500 base pairs (bp) of additional DNA located in the early noncoding region of the genome, was analyzed to determine the DNA origin of the mutant insertion. Two fragments, representing repeated units of the 2500-bp insert, were isolated from TT340, labeled, and hybridized to the parental wild-type viral DNA. A BglI 500-bp unit, of which there are approximately five copies within the 2500-bp insert, contains sequences homologous to regions on the early and late side of the viral origin of replication. A HpaII 400-bp repeated fragment shows homology to sequences on the early side with little hybridization to the late side. Removal of the 2500-bp insert results in the loss of infectivity on F9 EC cells but not on 3T6 or mouse embryo fibroblasts. Insertion of the BglI 500-bp repeat element into wild-type DNA at the BglI site allows replication of the constructed virus in F9 cells. The mutant virions were tumorigenic in newborn Syrian hamsters and the morphology of the virus was that of wild-type as assayed by electron microscopy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26615/1/0000156.pd