Laser ablation ICP-MS on KCC microstructure - pilot study

In a two week pilot study at the Keck Laser Ice Facility at the Climate Change Institute in Orono, Maine, laser ablation ICP-MS experiments were conducted on samples from four depths of the Alpine ice core KCC from Colle Gnifetti that were selected based on available fabric and microstructure data. Impurity fractions of sodium, iron and calcium were measured with respect to the visible microstructure on the ice sample surface. The first assessment of the data suggests that sodium concentrations are increased in the grain bound- aries regardless of ice core depth and grain properties, while iron concentrations show no discernible spatial pattern. Althought the results cannot be interpreted conclusively – due to the pilot character of the study – the po- tential of this technique for high-resolution impurity measurements with regard to the local microstructure becomes evident and possible improvements for deeper studies could be identified

Analysis of Dystrophin Gene Deletions by Multiplex PCR in Moroccan Patients

Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD and BMD) are X-linked diseases resulting from a defect in the dystrophin gene located on Xp21. DMD is the most frequent neuromuscular disease in humans (1/3500 male newborn). Deletions in the dystrophin gene represent 65% of mutations in DMD/BMD patients. We have analyzed DNA from 72 Moroccan patients with DMD/BMD using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to screen for exon deletions within the dystrophin gene, and to estimate the frequency of these abnormalities. We found dystrophin gene deletions in 37 cases. Therefore the frequency in Moroccan DMD/BMD patients is about 51.3%. All deletions were clustered in the two known hot-spots regions, and in 81% of cases deletions were detected in the region from exon 43 to exon 52. These findings are comparable to those reported in other studies. It is important to note that in our population, we can first search for deletions of DMD gene in the most frequently deleted exons determined by this study. This may facilitate the molecular diagnosis of DMD and BMD in our country

Teacher Education in the Time of COVID-19: Creating Digital Networks as University-School-Family Partnerships

As COVID-19 has suddenly transformed the landscape of learning in the United States, teachers are doing what they do best: figuring out how to effectively respond to support their students on their own. However, by creating digital networks that include university-school-family partnerships, the reach of teachers and teacher educators can increase. Teacher educators can provide support, systems, and strategies to maneuver the additional stressors and challenges posed by teaching during COVID-19. In this essay, we discuss how university-school-family partnerships mitigate the impacts of trauma, augment digital learning, and provide support for a variety of instructional scenarios happening in homes. Our focus on middle grade learners provides promise for meeting the needs of diverse students while capitalizing on the resources and expertise of universities, schools, teachers, and families

A formação de tecnólogos em processos gerenciais no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul sob a perspectiva da educação para a cidadania

Considerando o contexto do Ensino Superior de Administração no Brasil bem como as finalidades e características tão peculiares dos Institutos Federais (onde a principal delas diz respeito à formação e à qualificação de cidadãos para a atuação profissional no mundo do trabalho), esta tese tem como objetivo conhecer e compreender a formação de Tecnólogos em Processos Gerenciais no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul sob a perspectiva da Educação para a Cidadania. Para tanto, discorre-se sobre os marcos históricos e legais do Ensino Superior de Administração no Brasil, caracterizam-se os cursos de Tecnólogos em Administração e aborda-se a trajetória da Educação Profissional no Brasil. A discussão teórico-conceitual refere-se à Educação para a Cidadania, essa entendida aqui como uma “concepção ampliada de educação”, pois abrange todos os “processos formativos que se realizam nas práticas sociais relacionadas às diferentes manifestações de convivência humana que ocorrem na vida familiar, no trabalho, no lazer, na participação política e no aprendizado escolar” (RIBEIRO, 2002, p. 115). Sob um olhar interpretativista, esta pesquisa fica caracterizada pela sua natureza qualitativa e pelo seu delineamento exploratório. O Estudo de Caso Único foi construído com base em pesquisa documental realizada em documentos legais da instituição (no caso, o Projeto Pedagógico Institucional e os Projetos Político-Pedagógicos dos Cursos Superiores de Tecnologia em Processos Gerenciais – CSTPGs), cinco Grupos de Foco com Discentes, quatorze entrevistas semiestruturadas com Docentes, quatro entrevistas com Coordenadores de CSTPGs e quatro entrevistas com representantes das Diretorias de Ensino, nos Campi de Porto Alegre, Osório, Rolante e Caxias do Sul. Foi realizada a triangulação das informações do corpus e a análise qualitativa do seu respectivo conteúdo. A partir da apresentação, análise e interpretação do corpus, conclui-se que: a Educação para a Cidadania faz-se presente, parcialmente, no currículo do CSTPG (nas ementas de algumas disciplinas que são oferecidas na matriz curricular); é promovida/incentivada em temas e atividades propostos nas disciplinas, tanto por meio de debates e reflexões (sobre a relação entre teoria e prática ou sobre questões diversas do contexto social) como pela prática educativa desenvolvida pelos docentes (os quais compartilham suas experiências pessoais – profissionais e de vida); não é desenvolvida, pelos alunos do CSTPG, em meio a Projetos de Pesquisa e Inovação porque nenhum deles participou dessas atividades ao longo de sua formação (ou seja, configurando um aspecto inexiste na formação destes); e, por fim, é promovida (de maneira muito incipiente, ainda) nas Atividades de Extensão desenvolvidas pelo IFRS (um aspecto que carece de mais atenção por parte da instituição).Taking into consideration the context of higher education in Business Administration in Brazil, as well as the objectives and characteristics which are so peculiar at the Federal Institutions (the main one is concerned with qualifying citizens to be part of the work force), this thesis aims at knowing and understanding the formation of technologists in Management Processes at the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul from the perspective of Educating for Citizenship. Thus, historical and legal turning points in Business Higher Education in Brazil are studied. Technological Business courses are described and the development of Professional Education in Brazil is researched. The conceptual-theoretical discussion refers to Educating for Citizenship, which is understood as a “broader conception of education”, for it comprehends all “formation processes in social practices related to different manifestations of family living, work, leisure, political participation and school learning (Ribeiro, 2002, P.115). From an interpretative perspective, this research is characterized by its qualitative nature and exploratory delineation. The single case study was constructed based on a documentary research carried out through the use of legal documents of the institution (Institutional Pedagogical Projects and Political Pedagogical Projects of Technological Higher Education in Management Processes – CSTPGs), 5 focus groups with students, 14 semi-structured interviews with professors, 4 interviews with members of Education Management Offices at campuses in Porto Alegre, Osório, Rolante and Caxias do Sul. It was the triangulation of corpus information and the qualitative analysis of the contents. From this presentation, analysis and interpretation of the corpus, it was concluded that Education for Citizenship is partially present in the academic program of CSTPGs (in the description of some disciplines offered as part of the curriculum). It is promoted/encouraged in themes and activities proposed in the disciplines, both through debates and reflections (on the relationship between theory and practice or different questions in the social context) and the educative practice developed by professors (who share their professional and life personal experiences. It is not developed by the students at CSTPGs in research projects because none of them has participated in these activities throughout their formation, that is, this aspect did not exist in their formation. Finally, it has been incipiently encouraged in the extension activities at IFRS. This aspect lacks more attention from the institution

Crystal-orientation fabric variations on the cm-scale in cold Alpine ice: Interaction with paleo-climate proxies under deformation and implications for the interpretation of seismic velocities

The macroscopic flow of a glacier is substantially influenced by the plastic anisotropy of individual ice crystals on the microscale. A preferred crystal orientation develops with depth in a glacier and is subjected to the influence of the temperature, deformation and recrystallisation regime as well as the climate-dependent impurity load in the ice. Detailed knowledge about the crystal anisotropy in a glacier is thus required to better constrain the response of ice sheets in a changing climate. While the gradual change in anisotropy on a large scale of tens to hundreds of metres can mostly be explained, this is not the case for changes in anisotropic fabric on a shorter scale of centimetres to decimetres. This work aims to improve the understanding of how and why the anisotropic crystal-orientation fabric (COF) changes on a short scale in a glacier. Fabric data from an ice core, drilled at the high-altitude Alpine site Colle Gnifetti, were measured in continuously sampled sections, covering 10 % of the entire core length. The distribution of crystal axes was analysed in high-resolution together with impurity data from meltwater analysis. It is found that the fabric anisotropy exhibits a strong variability on the short scale in all depths of the ice core with extreme eigenvalue differences within one metre of ∼ 0.2, often associated with small- or large-grained layers. The clear connection between the grain size variation and the impurity content leads to the conclusion that the influence of impurities on short-scale fabric variations is partially conveyed by the impurity-controlled grain size in combination with the local deformation regime. To further connect ice-core fabric data and COF measurements using seismics, a framework for the exact calculation of seismic phase velocities based on the asymmetric fabric distributions obtained from ice cores is developed and evaluated in two case studies

Investigating cold based summit glaciers through direct access to the glacier base: a case study constraining the maximum age of Chli Titlis glacier, Switzerland

Cold glaciers at the highest locations of the European Alps have been investigated by drilling ice cores to retrieve their stratigraphic climate records. Findings like the Oetztal ice man have demonstrated that small ice bodies at summit locations of comparatively lower altitudes may also contain old ice if locally frozen to the underlying bedrock. In this case, constraining the maximum age of their lowermost ice part may help to identify past periods with minimum ice extent in the Alps. However, with recent warming and consequent glacier mass loss, these sites may not preserve their unique climate information for much longer. Here we utilized an existing ice cave at Chli Titlis (3030 m), central Switzerland, to perform a case study for investigating the maximum age of cold-based summit glaciers in the Alps. The cave offers direct access to the glacier stratigraphy without the logistical effort required in ice core drilling. In addition, a pioneering exploration had already demonstrated stagnant cold ice conditions at Chli Titlis, albeit more than 25 years ago. Our englacial temperature measurements and the analysis of the isotopic and physical properties of ice blocks sampled at three locations within the ice cave show that cold ice still exists fairly unchanged today. State-of-the-art micro-radiocarbon analysis constrains the maximum age of the ice at Chli Titlis to about 5000 years before present. By this means, the approach presented here will contribute to a future systematic investigation of cold-based summit glaciers, also in the Eastern Alps

Examining phenolic induction in Fraxinus americana in response to herbivory.

General EcologyMany plants contain chemical defenses known as secondary compounds; one of the most prevalent classes is known as phenolics. Certain plants have been known to induce phenolics in response to damage, while others maintain constant levels of phenolics even after damage. In order to determine if phenolic induction occurs in white ash trees (Fraxinus americana) in response to herbivory, leaflets were sampled to test for local induction (at the site of herbivory) and systemic induction (induction throughout the plant). Induction as a response to mechanical damage (e.g. slicing) was measured in order to remove a potential noisy variable from the results. Leaflets for the local/systemic test were eaten by forest tent caterpillars (Malacosoma disstria) and samples of induced leaflets were collected 24 hours after herbivory. The Folin-Denis analysis was used to determine the magnitude of change in phenolics between the constitutive and induced levels. Local induction was not found, but systemic induction was found to occur evenly between leaflets, despite predictions that there would be a spatial differences. One potential explanation for this was volatile gaseous compounds sending airborne cues to the undamaged leaflets, causing induction. Slicing was not found to cause significant levels of induction.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78384/1/Boos_Kerch_Poisson_Reid_2010.pd

Crystallographic analysis of temperate ice on Rhonegletscher, Swiss Alps

Crystal orientation fabric (COF) analysis provides information about the c-axis orientation of ice grains and the associated anisotropy and microstructural information about deformation and recrystallisation processes within the glacier. This information can be used to introduce modules that fully describe the microstructural anisotropy or at least direction-dependent enhancement factors for glacier modelling. The COF was studied at an ice core that was obtained from the temperate Rhonegletscher, located in the central Swiss Alps. Seven samples, extracted at depths between 2 and 79 m, were analysed with an automatic fabric analyser. The COF analysis revealed conspicuous four-maxima patterns of the c-axis orientations at all depths. Additional data, such as microstructural images, produced during the ice sample preparation process, were considered to interpret these patterns. Furthermore, repeated high-precision global navigation satellite system (GNSS) surveying allowed the local glacier flow direction to be determined. The relative movements of the individual surveying points indicated longitudinal compressive stresses parallel to the glacier flow. Finally, numerical modelling of the ice flow permitted estimation of the local stress distribution. An integrated analysis of all the data sets provided indications and suggestions for the development of the four-maxima patterns. The centroid of the four-maxima patterns of the individual core samples and the coinciding maximum eigenvector approximately align with the compressive stress directions obtained from numerical modelling with an exception for the deepest sample. The clustering of the c axes in four maxima surrounding the predominant compressive stress direction is most likely the result of a fast migration recrystallisation. This interpretation is supported by air bubble analysis of large-area scanning macroscope (LASM) images. Our results indicate that COF studies, which have so far predominantly been performed on cold ice samples from the polar regions, can also provide valuable insights into the stress and strain rate distribution within temperate glaciers