Genes differentially expressed at 1 day, 6 weeks, and 6 months of age in aortas of spontaneously atherosclerotic White Carneau pigeons

Genetics is reported to be the primary causative factor for individuals diagnosed with atherosclerosis, in the absence of known risk factors. The development of atherosclerosis in White Carneau (WC) pigeons is of genetic origin, making it an excellent model to study genetic factors. Representational Difference Analysis (RDA) was used to determine genes differentially upregulated between three ages, at the celiac bifurcation of the aorta in WC pigeons. Genes responsible for spontaneous initiation of atherosclerosis were hypothesized as being differentially expressed at 1 day, while those differentially expressed at 6 weeks and 6 months were related to progression. Multiple candidate genes were upregulated at 1 day, although they were not definitively assigned to initiation. Genes upregulated at 6 weeks reflected increases in protein synthesis, loss of cellular integrity, and changes in muscle contraction. By 6 months, increases in lipid metabolism and changes in energy metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis were apparent

The Influence of Career-Technical Student Organizations on Non-Traditional and Traditional Community College Students

Student organizations have been contributing to adult education for years. The need to recruit non-traditional students and retain them is very important to the financial support of the career and technical program. If a career-technical student organization (CTSO) can encourage retention and completion of traditional and non-traditional students in a field of study, the state might realize the need to increase the funding provided to the advisers/instructors of the CTSO and the financial support of the CTSO. This study investigated what motivates a student to become an active member in a CTSO and to what extent the CTSO contributed to non-traditional and traditional students\u27 GPAs and completion/graduation rates. Permission from a rural community college in MS was given to view data of career and technical students enrolled in 2006-2007, specifically CTSO membership, identification of traditional and non-traditional students, GPAs for each quarter, and graduation rates. Rosters from four CTSOs were used: Phi Beta Lambda, National-Technical Honor Society, Health Occupations Students of America, and SkillsUSA. The qualitative portion interviewed 24 students using a set of core questions that identified some of the factors that influenced them to join or not to join a CTSO, the impact the CTSO did or did not have on their college experience, the benefits gained from being active, and the possible reasons for not joining a CTSO. The research found that non-traditional CTSO members achieved higher GPAs and higher graduation rates than non-traditional students who were not CTSO members. Traditional CTSO members achieved higher GPAs and higher graduation rates than the traditional students who were not CTSO members. Therefore, the CTSOs were associated with higher GPAs and higher graduation rates for all members. While these variables are correlated, interviews revealed that non-traditional students were highly motivated to graduate irrelevant of CTSO membership. Non-traditional students were found to be self-motivated and would probably have completed with higher GPAs and graduation status because they attend college with a specific purpose in mind. Support through CTSO funding and CTSO recruitment strategies are recommended. Funding and recruitment programs need to be implemented to inform students of the CTSO benefits

Sandia Pueblo: Persistence and Change in a New Mexican Indian Community

The dissertation has a twofold purpose: to redress the lacuna in the social anthropological literature with respect to the Tiwa-speaking pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico, and to account for the persistence of this traditionally oriented community despite dependence upon a complex industrial society which is potentially conducive to sociocultural disorganization. To accomplish this dual aim, field work was conducted at Sandia for two and one-half years, during which observations were made of contemporary pueblo social relations and lengthy interviews were conducted with selected residents

Latent rank change detection for analysis of splice-junction microarrays with nonlinear effects

Alternative splicing of gene transcripts greatly expands the functional capacity of the genome, and certain splice isoforms may indicate specific disease states such as cancer. Splice junction microarrays interrogate thousands of splice junctions, but data analysis is difficult and error prone because of the increased complexity compared to differential gene expression analysis. We present Rank Change Detection (RCD) as a method to identify differential splicing events based upon a straightforward probabilistic model comparing the over- or underrepresentation of two or more competing isoforms. RCD has advantages over commonly used methods because it is robust to false positive errors due to nonlinear trends in microarray measurements. Further, RCD does not depend on prior knowledge of splice isoforms, yet it takes advantage of the inherent structure of mutually exclusive junctions, and it is conceptually generalizable to other types of splicing arrays or RNA-Seq. RCD specifically identifies the biologically important cases when a splice junction becomes more or less prevalent compared to other mutually exclusive junctions. The example data is from different cell lines of glioblastoma tumors assayed with Agilent microarrays.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOAS389 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Quantification of the Group B Soyasaponins by High-PerformanceLiquid Chromatography

High-performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for the isolation and quantitative determination of the group B soyasaponins, including 2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran- 4-one (DDMP)-conjugated soyasaponins Rg, f3g, and f3a, and their non-DDMP counterparts, soyasaponins V, I, and II, respectively, with formononetin used as the internal standard. The limits of quantification for soy products were 0.11-4.86 µmol/g. The within-day and between-days assay coefficients of variation were \u3c9.8 and \u3c 14.3%, respectively. The group B soyasaponin concentrations in 46 soybean varieties ranged from 2.50 to 5.85 µmol/g. Soy ingredients (soybean flour, toasted soy hypocotyls, soy protein isolates, textured vegetable protein, soy protein concentrates, and Novasoy) and soy foods (commercial soy milk, tofu, and tempeh) contained the group B soyasaponins from 0.20 to 114.02 µmol/g. There was no apparent correlation between isoflavone and soyasaponin concentrations in the soy products examined

\u3cem\u3eAlderwood Associatesv. Washington Environmental Council\u3c/em\u3e: State Action and the Washington State Constitution

In Alderwood Associates v. Washington Environmental Council, the Washington Supreme Court reversed a temporary restraining order forbidding the defendant\u27s solicitation or demonstration on plaintiff\u27s privately owned shopping mall. Although there was no majority opinion because the court split four-one-four, the result of the several opinions is that the Washington constitution now bars private as well as state action that interferes with the gathering of initiative signatures on certain private property. However, four justices also concluded that the free speech sections of the Washington constitution restricts private as well as state action. The Alderwood result is desirable, but could have been reached without an abandonment of the state action requirement. Such an abandonment, although subscribed to by less than a majority, strays from principled constitutional analysis and inhibits further reasoned development of the state constitution

Self-control mediates the relationship between time perspective and BMI

Trait future time perspective measures the extent to which behaviour is dominated by a striving for future goals and rewards. Trait present time perspective measures orientation towards immediate pleasure. Previous research has explored the relationship between future and present time perspective and BMI with mixed findings. In addition, the psychological mechanism underlying this relationship is unclear. Self-control is a likely candidate, as it has been related to both BMI and time perspective, but the relationship between all of these concepts has not been examined in a single study. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine if trait self-control mediates the relationship between time perspective (future and present) and BMI. Self-report time perspective (ZTPI), self-control (SCS) and height/weight data were collected using an online survey from a mixed student and community sample (N=218) with wide ranging age (mean 29, SD 11, range 18-73 years) and BMI (mean 24, SD 4, range 15-43). The results of a structural equation model including both facets of time perspective suggested that the traits are related yet distinct measures that independently predict BMI through changes in self-control. Bootstrap mediation analysis showed that self-control mediated the relationship between both future time perspective (95% CI, -.10 to -.02) and present time perspective (95% CI, .03 to .17), and BMI in opposite directions. Participants with higher future time perspective scores (higher present time perspective scores) had higher (lower) self-control, which predicted lower (higher) BMI. These results are consistent with previous research suggesting an important role for time perspective in health outcomes. Self-control likely mediates the relationship between temporal perspectives and BMI, suggesting that time perspective may be a target for individualised interventions

\u3cem\u3eAlderwood Associatesv. Washington Environmental Council\u3c/em\u3e: State Action and the Washington State Constitution

In Alderwood Associates v. Washington Environmental Council, the Washington Supreme Court reversed a temporary restraining order forbidding the defendant\u27s solicitation or demonstration on plaintiff\u27s privately owned shopping mall. Although there was no majority opinion because the court split four-one-four, the result of the several opinions is that the Washington constitution now bars private as well as state action that interferes with the gathering of initiative signatures on certain private property. However, four justices also concluded that the free speech sections of the Washington constitution restricts private as well as state action. The Alderwood result is desirable, but could have been reached without an abandonment of the state action requirement. Such an abandonment, although subscribed to by less than a majority, strays from principled constitutional analysis and inhibits further reasoned development of the state constitution

(Re)Sequencing the Research/Writing Process in the Writing Classroom

What are the outcomes of sequencing writing assignments so that students are introduced to primary sources and allowed to browse these sources prior to selecting a research topic? (This as opposed to the standard sequence by which instructors ask students to choose a topic before completing any sort of preliminary research in source material.