Development Of Food Guide Pyramid For Individuals With Achondroplasia

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF KATHRYN E. LAMB, for the Master of Science degree in Food and Nutrition, presented on Tuesday, November 22, 2011, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ACHONDROPLASIA MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Sara Long Roth Previous studies have developed food guide pyramids for different populations. However, no study has developed a food guide pyramid for individuals with achondroplasia. This study used the USDA\u27s food guide pyramid, RDA/DRI, and 2010 Dietary Guidelines to develop a food guide pyramid for individuals with achondroplasia. Although food guide pyramids for different populations exist, there was a lack of nutritional guidelines geared towards individuals with achondroplasia. As this population continues to increase (1 of 26,000), the need for nutrition information increases too. Individuals with ACH are at risk of being overweight or obese just like average sized adults; and with being the height of a child and age of an adult, it can be more of a challenge to maintain a healthy body weight. This indicates how much of a need there is for food guide pyramid for individuals with achondroplasia. Results will benefit individuals with achondroplasia along with parents, physicians, registered dietitians, and other health professionals associated with individuals with achondroplasia. Development of food guide pyramid for individuals with ACH could help develop food guide pyramids for other types of dwarfisms

Rural resilience and prosperity : the relevance of government and community networks

Dominant ‘society centred’ interpretations of social capital in Australia are inadequate to explain the economic fortunes and social prosperity of rural Australian communities. Given the continued contention over interpretations and measurement of social capital, this research sought to assess the relationship between different interpretations of social capital and rural communities’ resilience and prosperity. ¶ Utilising both quantitative and qualitative techniques to establish the relative levels of social capital in two communities of divergent growth, the primary objective was to test the association asserted between levels of social capital and prosperity and resilience in the rural Australian context. ¶ The research findings highlight three notable issues. Surveying social capital with current instruments is only effective in establishing the well being of rural communities which appears related to their resilience, not their ability to prosper. Secondly, the operational frameworks and responsibilities for social capital adopted by governments dictate the manner in, and degree to which they deem bridging and linking networks necessary and appropriate. This significantly affects the role social capital is perceived to play in communities. Lastly, while interpretations of social capital regard it as a normative factor in social life, rather than being comprised of different and dynamic elements affecting communities’ ability to prosper, the concept will remain unable to effectively contribute to the policy domain

The 1863 Melbourne Shakespeare War: Barry Sullivan, Charles and Ellen Kean, and the Play of Cultural Usurpation on the Australian Stage

This essay investigates an intricate drama of cultural identity in performances of Shakespeare on the nineteenth-century Melbourne stage. It considers the rivalry between Charles and Ellen Kean and their competitor, Barry Sullivan, for the two-month period in 1863 during which their Australian tours overlapped. This Melbourne Shakespeare war was anticipated, augmented, and richly documented in Melbourne's papers: The Age, The Argus and Melbourne Punch. This essay pursues two seams of inquiry. The first is an investigation of the discourses of cultural and aesthetic value laced through the language of reviews of their Shakespearean roles. The essay identifies how reviewers register affective engagement with the performers in these roles, and suggests how the roles themselves reflected, by accident or design, the terms of the dispute. The second is concerned with the national identity of the actors. Kean, although born in Waterford, Ireland, had held the post of Queen Victoria's Master of the Revels and identified himself as English. Sullivan, although born in Birmingham, was of Cork parentage and was identified as Irish by both his supporters and his detractors. This essay tracks the development of the actors' national and artistic identities established prior to Melbourne and ask how they played out on in the context of the particularities of Australian reception. It shows that, in this instance, these actors were implicated in complex debates over national authority and cultural ownership

The Digital Public Library of America and Academic Libraries: How the DPLA Advances Teaching, Learning, and Research

A timeline detailing some of the more significant events in DPLA history

Pivoting Toward the Future: Fifty Years of Summer Research Fellowship Success Catalyzes Institutional Change

For 50 years, Smith College’s Summer Research Fellowship (SURF) has provided undergraduate women scientists the opportunity for an immersive experience to conduct independent research under the mentorship of science faculty and staff. This article highlights summative assessment data on SURF program outcomes as well as the institutional planning and responses that followed from careful consideration of SURF’s success and challenges. SURF participation was associated with a full range of student benefits, including a higher overall college gradepoint average, greater advanced research participation, and increased likelihood of completing an advanced degree. Evidence of these powerful and lasting student impacts associated with the SURF program was integral to divisional strategic planning within the sciences and helped propel curricular innovation broadly, creating faculty and institutional investments in a broad range of cuttingedge pedagogical approaches that are student-centered and inquiry-driven

The Digital Public Library of America and Academic Libraries: How the DPLA Advances Teaching, Learning, and Research

Within a very short period of time, the Digital Public Library of America has become an important institution and infrastructure for discovering and working with materials in libraries, archives, and museums. As a portal, platform, and public option for access, DPLA creates exciting opportunities for innovative teaching, learning, and research within academic institutions. DPLA staff and Community Representatives will facilitate a discussion about DPLA’s promising role in fostering collaboration among academic libraries and user communities

Using physical models to improve geographical learning

Bridget, Kathryn, Rob and Alex describe how the use of interactive physical demonstration models can help to reinforce geographical learning outcomes relating to rivers and coasts for secondary students

Seed bank dynamics govern persistence of Brassica hybrids in crop and natural habitats

Background and Aims: Gene flow from crops to their wild relatives has the potential to alter population growth rates and demography of hybrid populations, especially when a new crop has been genetically modified (GM). This study introduces a comprehensive approach to assess this potential for altered population fitness, and uses a combination of demographic data in two habitat types and mathematical (matrix) models that include crop rotations and outcrossing between parental species. Methods: Full life-cycle demographic rates, including seed bank survival, of non-GM Brassica rapa × B. napus F1 hybrids and their parent species were estimated from experiments in both agricultural and semi-natural habitats. Altered fitness potential was modelled using periodic matrices including crop rotations and outcrossing between parent species. Key Results: The demographic vital rates (i.e. for major stage transitions) of the hybrid population were intermediate between or lower than both parental species. The population growth rate (λ) of hybrids indicated decreases in both habitat types, and in a semi-natural habitat hybrids became extinct at two sites. Elasticity analyses indicated that seed bank survival was the greatest contributor to λ. In agricultural habitats, hybrid populations were projected to decline, but with persistence times up to 20 years. The seed bank survival rate was the main driver determining persistence. It was found that λ of the hybrids was largely determined by parental seed bank survival and subsequent replenishment of the hybrid population through outcrossing of B. rapa with B. napus. Conclusions: Hybrid persistence was found to be highly dependent on the seed bank, suggesting that targeting hybrid seed survival could be an important management option in controlling hybrid persistence. For local risk mitigation, an increased focus on the wild parent is suggested. Management actions, such as control of B. rapa, could indirectly reduce hybrid populations by blocking hybrid replenishment

Transcript profiling of two alfalfa genotypes with contrasting cell wall composition in stems using a cross-species platform: optimizing analysis by masking biased probes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The GeneChip^®<it>Medicago </it>Genome Array, developed for <it>Medicago truncatula</it>, is a suitable platform for transcript profiling in tetraploid alfalfa [<it>Medicago sativa </it>(L.) subsp. <it>sativa</it>]. However, previous research involving cross-species hybridization (CSH) has shown that sequence variation between two species can bias transcript profiling by decreasing sensitivity (number of expressed genes detected) and the accuracy of measuring fold-differences in gene expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Transcript profiling using the <it>Medicago </it>GeneChip^®was conducted with elongating stem (ES) and post-elongation stem (PES) internodes from alfalfa genotypes 252 and 1283 that differ in stem cell wall concentrations of cellulose and lignin. A protocol was developed that masked probes targeting inter-species variable (ISV) regions of alfalfa transcripts. A probe signal intensity threshold was selected that optimized both sensitivity and accuracy. After masking for both ISV regions and previously identified single-feature polymorphisms (SFPs), the number of differentially expressed genes between the two genotypes in both ES and PES internodes was approximately 2-fold greater than the number detected prior to masking. Regulatory genes, including transcription factor and receptor kinase genes that may play a role in development of secondary xylem, were significantly over-represented among genes up-regulated in 252 PES internodes compared to 1283 PES internodes. Several cell wall-related genes were also up-regulated in genotype 252 PES internodes. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR of differentially expressed regulatory and cell wall-related genes demonstrated increased sensitivity and accuracy after masking for both ISV regions and SFPs. Over 1,000 genes that were differentially expressed in ES and PES internodes of genotypes 252 and 1283 were mapped onto putative orthologous loci on <it>M. truncatula </it>chromosomes. Clustering simulation analysis of the differentially expressed genes suggested co-expression of some neighbouring genes on <it>Medicago </it>chromosomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The problems associated with transcript profiling in alfalfa stems using the <it>Medicago </it>GeneChip as a CSH platform were mitigated by masking probes targeting ISV regions and SFPs. Using this masking protocol resulted in the identification of numerous candidate genes that may contribute to differences in cell wall concentration and composition of stems of two alfalfa genotypes.</p

Long-term impact of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination on nasopharyngeal carriage in children previously vaccinated with various pneumococcal conjugate vaccine regimes

Previously, the Fiji Pneumococcal Project (FiPP) evaluated reduced dose immunization schedules that incorporated pneumococcal protein conjugate and/or polysaccharide vaccine (PCV7 and 23vPPV, respectively). Immune hyporesponsiveness was observed in children vaccinated with 23vPPV at 12 months of age compared with children who did not receive 23vPPV.Here we assess the long-term impact of 23vPPV vaccination on nasopharyngeal carriage rates and densities of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis. Nasopharyngeal swabs (n = 194) were obtained from healthy children who participated in FiPP (now aged 5&ndash;7 years). S. pneumoniae were isolated and identified by standard culture-based methods, and serotyped using latex agglutination and the Quellung reaction. Carriage rates and densities of S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, S. aureus and M. catarrhalis were determined using real-time quantitative PCR.There were no differences in the rate or density of S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae or M. catarrhalis carriage by PCV7 dose or 23vPPV vaccination in the vaccinated participants overall. However, differences were observed between the two main ethnic groups: Fijian children of Indian descent (Indo-Fijian) were less likely to carry S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis, and there was evidence of a higher carriage rate of S. aureus compared with indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) children. Polysaccharide vaccination appeared to have effects that varied between ethnic groups, with 23vPPV vaccination associated with a higher carriage rate of S. aureus in iTaukei children, while there was a lower carriage rate of S. pneumoniae associated with 23vPPV vaccination in Indo-Fijian children.Overall, polysaccharide vaccination had no long-term impact on pneumococcal carriage, but may have impacted on S. aureus carriage and have varying effects in ethnic groups, suggesting current WHO vaccine schedule recommendations against the use of 23vPPV in children under two years of age are appropriate