A scale invariant clustering of genes on human chromosome 7

BACKGROUND: Vertebrate genes often appear to cluster within the background of nontranscribed genomic DNA. Here an analysis of the physical distribution of gene structures on human chromosome 7 was performed to confirm the presence of clustering, and to elucidate possible underlying statistical and biological mechanisms. RESULTS: Clustering of genes was confirmed by virtue of a variance of the number of genes per unit physical length that exceeded the respective mean. Further evidence for clustering came from a power function relationship between the variance and mean that possessed an exponent of 1.51. This power function implied that the spatial distribution of genes on chromosome 7 was scale invariant, and that the underlying statistical distribution had a Poisson-gamma (PG) form. A PG distribution for the spatial scattering of genes was validated by stringent comparisons of both the predicted variance to mean power function and its cumulative distribution function to data derived from chromosome 7. CONCLUSION: The PG distribution was consistent with at least two different biological models: In the microrearrangement model, the number of genes per unit length of chromosome represented the contribution of a random number of smaller chromosomal segments that had originated by random breakage and reconstruction of more primitive chromosomes. Each of these smaller segments would have necessarily contained (on average) a gamma distributed number of genes. In the gene cluster model, genes would be scattered randomly to begin with. Over evolutionary timescales, tandem duplication, mutation, insertion, deletion and rearrangement could act at these gene sites through a stochastic birth death and immigration process to yield a PG distribution. On the basis of the gene position data alone it was not possible to identify the biological model which best explained the observed clustering. However, the underlying PG statistical model implicated neutral evolutionary mechanisms as the basis for this clustering

Manajemen Sekolah Penyelenggara Pendidikan Inklusif: Kajian Aplikatif Pentingnya Menghargai Keberagaman Bagi Anak-anak Berkebutuhan Khusus

Inclusive education is a system of education that provides opportunities to all learners who have the disorder have the potential of intelligence and special talents to keep learning in educational environments together with the students in general. Based on Permendiknas 70 of 2009 article 4 (1) stated that the district appoint at least one primary, one secondary school in each district and one unit of secondary education for inclusive education are obliged to accept students with special needs. Implementation of inclusive education is done by adapting to the eight national educationstandards, the content standards, processes, competence of graduates, teachers/staff, facilities andinfrastructure, management, financing, and assessment standards. The adaptation process includes the activities of organizing, directing, coordinating, supervising, and evaluating. In providing services for children with special needs, learning activitiesin the inclusion classes have created a cooperative learning atmosphere among students familiar with students with special needs. For children to be conditioned to havean empathy for children who need special education, so children who need special education will feel comfortable learning with other kids my age, which ultimatelydid not feel inferior. ?é?á Pendidikan inklusif pada dasarnya merupakan system penyelenggaraan pendidikan yang memberikan kesempatan kepada semua peserta didik yang memiliki kelainan dan memiliki potensi kecerdasan dan/atau bakat istimewa untuk mengikuti pendidikan atau pembelajaran dalam lingkungan pendidikan secara bersama-sama dengan peserta didik pada umumnya. Berdasarkan Permendiknas No.70 tahun 2009 pasal 4 (1) menyebutkan bahwa pemerintah kabupaten/kota menunjuk paling sedikit satu sekolah dasar, satu sekolah menengah pertama pada setiap kecamatan dan satu satuan pendidikan menengah untuk menyelenggarakan pendidikan inklusif yang wajib menerima peserta didik berkebutuhan khusus. Penyelenggaraan pendidikan inklusif dilakukan dengan melakukan adaptasi terhadap delapan standar nasional pendidikan, yakni standar isi, proses, kompetensi lulusan, pendidik/tenaga kependidikan, sarpras, pengelolaan, pembiayaan, dan penilaian. Proses adaptasi tersebut mencakupi kegiatan mengorganisasikan (organizing), mengarahkan (directing), mengkoordinasikan (coordinating), mengawasi (controlling), dan mengevaluasi (evaluation), hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan proses penyelenggaraan pendidikan inklusif. Dalam konteks aplikatif, dalam memberikan layanan bagi anak-anak berkebutuhan khusus, kegiatan pembelajaran dalam kelas-kelas inklusi harus tercipta suasana belajar yang kooperatif antara siswa-siswa biasa dengan siswa yang berkebutuhan khusus. Anak-anak biasa harus dikondisikan untuk memiliki sikap empati terhadap anak yang membutuhkan pendidikan khusus, dengan demikian anak yang membutuhkan pendidikan khusus akan merasa nyaman belajar bersama-sama dengan anak-anak sebaya lainnya, yang akhirnya tidak merasa inferior (rendah diri)

Matrix Metalloproteinases and Minocycline: Therapeutic Avenues for Fragile X Syndrome

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common known genetic form of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders. FXS patients suffer a broad range of other neurological symptoms, including hyperactivity, disrupted circadian activity cycles, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and childhood seizures. The high incidence and devastating effects of this disease state make finding effective pharmacological treatments imperative. Recently, reports in both mouse and Drosophila FXS disease models have indicated that the tetracycline derivative minocycline may hold great therapeutic promise for FXS patients. Both models strongly suggest that minocycline acts on the FXS disease state via inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a class of zinc-dependent extracellular proteases important in tissue remodeling and cell-cell signaling. Recent FXS clinical trials indicate that minocycline may be effective in treating human patients. In this paper, we summarize the recent studies in Drosophila and mouse FXS disease models and human FXS patients, which indicate that minocycline may be an effective FXS therapeutic treatment, and discuss the data forming the basis for the proposed minocycline mechanism of action as an MMP inhibitor

5 Professional Benefits of Volunteering as an OLC Accelerate Field Guide

Blog post for the #OLCAccelerate conference website, about the Online Learning Consortium's Field Guide social engagement program for the 2018 Accelerate conference

Large-scale genomic correlations in Arabidopsis thaliana relate to chromosomal structure

BACKGROUND: The chromosomes of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana contain various genomic elements, distributed with appreciable spatial heterogeneity. Clustering of and/or correlations between these elements presumably should reflect underlying functional or structural factors. We studied the positional density fluctuations and correlations between genes, indels, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), retrotransposons, 180 bp tandem repeats, and conserved centromeric sequences (CCSs) in Arabidopsis in order to elucidate any patterns and possible responsible factors for their genomic distributions. RESULTS: The spatial distributions of all these elements obeyed a common pattern: the density profiles of each element within chromosomes exhibited low-frequency fluctuations indicative of regional clustering, and the individual density profiles tended to correlate with each other at large measurement scales. This pattern could be attributed to the influence of major chromosomal structures, such as centromeres. At smaller scales the correlations tended to weaken – evidence that localized cis-interactions between the different elements had a comparatively minor, if any, influence on their placement. CONCLUSION: The conventional notion that retrotransposon insertion sites are strongly influenced by cis-interactions was not supported by these observations. Moreover, we would propose that large-scale chromosomal structure has a dominant influence on the intrachromosomal distributions of genomic elements, and provides for an additional shared hierarchy of genomic organization within Arabidopsis

Surplus? What is Surplus? Did the pension funds second amendment act achieve its aims ?

The Pension Funds Second Amendment Act, 2001 required funds to provide statutory minimum benefits for exiting members and pensioners. Any surplus arising at the statutory valuation following the promulgation of this Act was to be distributed—initially to former members and pensioners to top up their benefits to the statutory minimum, and then equitably to all stakeholders. Surplus available in retirement funds was originally estimated at R80bn, but the surplus distributed by May 2012 was only about R47,6bn. This paper considers some reasons for this discrepancy and, in particular, gives an analysis of 447 surplus valuation reports. It shows that, by strengthening their valuation assumptions and motivating contingency reserves, actuaries reduced the surplus by R10bn for these 447 funds. The paper questions whether the strengthening of valuation bases was justified and examines critically the new actuarial methods introduced following the promulgation of the Act

Characterization of the boundedness of fractional maximal operator and its commutators in Orlicz and generalized Orlicz–Morrey spaces on spaces of homogeneous type

In this paper, we establish the necessary and sufficient conditions for the boundedness of fractional maximal operator Mα and the fractional maximal commutators Mb,α in Orlicz LΦ(X) and generalized Orlicz–Morrey spaces MΦ,φ(X) on spaces of homogeneous type X= (X, d, μ) in the sense of Coifman-Weiss. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG part of Springer Nature

Tunneling and Drilling for OTEC Cold Water Pipes

This report summarizes the results of a study to determine the feasibility of using a tunnel or large-diameter drilled shaft as a conduit for transporting cold water from an ocean depth of 2000 ft to an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant located on shore. The report identifies five possible cold water pipe (CWP) approaches that are dependent on the geologic formation and hydrology of the site. For this survey, the site under consideration is Keahole Point on the west coast of the big island of Hawaii. The site was chosen because of the easy access to deep cold water provided by the steep offshore slope, the proximity to air and sea transportation, and the availability of land. The survey concludes that although many site-specific factors must be considered, tunneling or drilling is in general a viable option for meeting the long-term OTEC cost goals. This study was carried out for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) by the Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) as part of the OTEC Cold Water Pipe Technology program.Prepared for the United States Department of Energy, Ocean Engineering Technology Division, under Contract Number DE-AC03-76-SF00700, Task 43532-6530