Leading Wnt down a PCP Path: Cthrc1 Acts as a Coreceptor in the Wnt-PCP Pathway

Wnt signaling regulates many aspects of development through canonical and PCP signaling pathways. A paper by Yamamoto et al. in this issue of Developmental Cell identifies collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 as a Wnt-binding cofactor that specifically activates the Wnt-PCP pathway

Privatization in Higher Education: Contracting for Services at Public Colleges and Universities

During the Reagan presidency, a wide variety of privatization alternatives were examined. Among these was contracting for services, an alternative already in use for many years at the state and local level. Contracting for services has also been used by colleges and universities throughout this country, and remains a major focus for facilities managers at these institutions. Survey data from colleges and universities through this country were examined to determine if: 1) the amount of contracting varied by institution size; 2) the amount of contracting varied by region of the country; and 3) the amount of contracting varied with the relative degree of unionization. The results of the analysis indicate that 1) large institutions contract to a lesser extent than do small and medium institutions; 2) the extent of contracting does vary by region, with the Midwest region contracting to a greater extent than the Southwestern, Central, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast regions; 3) the differences in the extent of contracting for services between institutions with non-union, mixed, or union workforces was not statistically significant.Master of Public AdministrationPublic AdministrationUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143458/1/Kelley.pd

Moenia sine fine: Vergil's use of Homer's wall theme

This dissertation will explore the city wall theme in Vergil’s Aeneid, particularly in the battle scenes, using Homer’s Iliad as a lodestone to help identify significance. Aeneas’s mission is to found the moenia of a city, but he never does so within the epic—yet practically all warfare occurs in the context of fighting over walls. Looking at what walls are being fought over and by whom, an organizing principle emerges: the Trojan walled camp is analogous to the Greek walled camp from the Iliad, and, with some ambiguity, Laurentum is analogous to Troy. The role of the walls in the events is best examined by looking at what the characters themselves actually do regarding the walls. It becomes clear that from the start of the war Turnus is a Hector figure and Aeneas an Achilles figure, despite their own desires. History is to an extent replaying, but Vergil points to key differences to show how the war in Italy is different, even with the Trojan roles reversed. Chapter 1 begins with examining the wall theme throughout the early portions of the Aeneid, focusing attention on the importance of walls in the proem, the Prophecy of Jupiter, and the simile between Roma and Cybele spoken by Anchises in the Underworld. The theme that emerges is that Rome becomes an idealized concept that is represented by walls, pointing to a new ideology which can apply to all. Chapter 2 looks at the battle books through the behavior of the soldiers as a whole, comparing them to Homer’s Greeks, who are shamed into fighting to defend walls and into fighting metaphorically as walls themselves. Chapter 3 investigates how shame prevents both Turnus and Hector from fighting in ways that defend their walls and benefit their people. This comparison highlights how Turnus actually changes his sense of shame and ends up saving his walls and people. Chapter 4 shows that Aeneas is not merely an Achilles figure in the war, but that is he is closely compared to Achilles specifically in his threat to walls. The major difference is that Aeneas is also a founder figure, and thus Vergil creates a paradox by having Aeneas both threatening Laurentum but eager to preserve it. The Conclusion will place the findings in historical context, showing that Vergil’s theme and conception of Roman national identity fit with other poetry, architecture, plastic arts, and even cult worship of the Augustan period

Retardation of cochlear maturation and impaired hair cell function caused by deletion of all known thyroid hormone receptors

The deafness caused by early onset hypothyroidism indicates that thyroid hormone is essential for the development of hearing. We investigated the underlying roles of the TRa1 and TRß thyroid hormone receptors in the auditory system using receptor-deficient mice. TRa1 and TRß, which act as hormone-activated transcription factors, are encoded by the Thra and Thrb genes, respectively, and both are expressed in the developing cochlea. TRß is required for hearing because TRß-deficient (Thrb tm1/tm1) mice have a defective auditory-evoked brainstem response and retarded expression of a potassium current (I K,f) in the cochlear inner hair cells. Here, we show that although TRa1 is individually dispensable, TRa1 and TRß synergistically control an extended array of functions in postnatal cochlear development. Compared with Thrb tm1/tm1 mice, the deletion of all TRs inThra tm1/tm1 Thrb tm1/tm1mice produces exacerbated and novel phenotypes, including delayed differentiation of the sensory epithelium, malformation of the tectorial membrane, impairment of electromechanical transduction in outer hair cells, and a low endocochlear potential. The induction ofI K,f in inner hair cells was not markedly more retarded than in Thrb tm1/tm1mice, suggesting that this feature of hair cell maturation is primarily TRß-dependent. These results indicate that distinct pathways mediated by TRß alone or by TRß and TRa1 together facilitate control over an extended range of functions during the maturation of the cochlea

Systematics of Desmognathus monticola

Undergraduate Basi

The Radio Evolution of SN 2001gd

We present the results of observations of the radio emission from Supernova 2001gd in NGC 5033 from 2002 February 8 through 2006 September 25. The data were obtained using the Very Large Array at wavelengths of 1.3 cm (22.4 GHz), 2 cm (14.9 GHz), 3.6 cm (8.4 GHz), 6 cm (4.9 GHz), and 20 cm (1.5 GHz), with one upper limit at 90 cm (0.3 GHz). In addition, one detection has been provided by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 21 cm (1.4 GHz). SN 2001gd was discovered in the optical well past maximum light, so that it was not possible to obtain many of the early radio "turn-on" measurements which are important for estimating the local circumstellar medium (CSM) properties. Only at 20 cm were turn-on data available. However, our analysis and fitting of the radio light curves, and the assumption that the Type IIb SN 2001gd resembles the much better studied Type IIb SN 1993J, enables us to describe the radio evolution as being very regular through day ~550 and consistent with a nonthermal-emitting model with a thermal absorbing CSM. The presence of synchrotron-self absorption (SSA) at early times is implied by the data, but determination of the exact relationship between the SSA component from the emitting region and the free-free absorption component from the CSM is not possible as there are insufficient early measurements to distinguish between models. After day ~550, the radio emission exhibits a dramatically steeper decline rate which, assuming similarity to SN 1993J, can be described as an exponential decrease with an e-folding time of 500 days. We interpret this abrupt change in the radio flux density decline rate as implying a transition of the shock front into a more tenuous region of circumstellar material. A similar change in radio evolution has been seen earlier in other SNe such as SN 1988Z, SN 1980K, and SN 1993J.Comment: 3 tables, 2 figures, To appear in the Astrophysical Journa

The Effectiveness of Prophylactic Ankle Braces in Reducing the Incidence of Acute Ankle Injuries in Adolescent Athletes: A Critically Appraised Topic

Clinical Scenario: Ankle injuries constitute a large number of injuries sustained by adolescent athletes participating in high school athletics. Prophylactic ankle bracing may be an effective and efficient method to reduce the incidence of ankle injuries in adolescent athletes in the secondary-school setting. Clinical Question: Do prophylactic ankle braces reduce the incidence of acute ankle injuries in adolescent athletes? Summary of Key Findings: Two of the three included studies reported that prophylactic ankle braces reduced the incidence of ankle injuries compared with no ankle bracing. Clinical Bottom Line: There is moderate evidence to support the use of prophylactic ankle braces in adolescent athletes, particularly those who participate in football and basketball, to reduce the incidence of acute ankle injuries. Strength of Recommendation: Grade B evidence exists that prophylactic ankle braces reduce the incidence of acute ankle injuries in adolescent athletes

Long Term Radio Monitoring of SN 1993J

We present our observations of the radio emission from supernova (SN) 1993J, in M 81 (NGC 3031), made with the VLA, from 90 to 0.7 cm, as well as numerous measurements from other telescopes. The combined data set constitutes probably the most detailed set of measurements ever established for any SN outside of the Local Group in any wavelength range. Only SN 1987A in the LMC has been the subject of such an intensive observational program. The radio emission evolves regularly in both time and frequency, and the usual interpretation in terms of shock interaction with a circumstellar medium (CSM) formed by a pre-SN stellar wind describes the observations rather well considering the complexity of the phenomenon. However: 1) The 85 - 110 GHz measurements at early times are not well fitted by the parameterization, unlike the cm wavelength measurements. 2) At mid-cm wavelengths there is some deviation from the fitted radio light curves. 3) At a time ~3100 days after shock breakout, the decline rate of the radio emission steepens without change in the spectral index. This decline is best described as an exponential decay starting at day 3100 with an e-folding time of ~1100 days. 4) The best overall fit to all of the data is a model including both non-thermal synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) and a thermal free-free absorbing (FFA) components at early times, evolving to a constant spectral index, optically thin decline rate, until the break in that decline rate. Moreover, neither a purely SSA nor a purely FFA absorbing models can provide a fit that simultaneously reproduces the light curves, the spectral index evolution, and the brightness temperature evolution. 5) The radio and X-ray light curves exhibit similar behavior and suggest a sudden drop in the SN progenitor mass-loss rate at ~8000 years prior to shock breakout.Comment: 45 pages, 13 figures, accepted for Ap

A new reference genome assembly for the microcrustacean Daphnia pulex

Comparing genomes of closely related genotypes from populations with distinct demographic histories can help reveal the impact of effective population size on genome evolution. For this purpose, we present a high quality genome assembly of Daphnia pulex (PA42), and compare this with the first sequenced genome of this species (TCO), which was derived from an isolate from a population with >90% reduction in nucleotide diversity. PA42 has numerous similarities to TCO at the gene level, with an average amino acid sequence identity of 98.8 and >60% of orthologous proteins identical. Nonetheless, there is a highly elevated number of genes in the TCO genome annotation, with similar to 7000 excess genes appearing to be false positives. This view is supported by the high GC content, lack of introns, and short length of these suspicious gene annotations. Consistent with the view that reduced effective population size can facilitate the accumulation of slightly deleterious genomic features, we observe more proliferation of transposable elements (TEs) and a higher frequency of gained introns in the TCO genome

Infinitely stackable interconnect device and method

A device having the capability for electrical, thermal, optical, and fluidic interconnections to various layers is described. Through-substrate vias in the interconnect device are filled to enable electrical and thermal connection or optionally hermetically sealed relative to other surfaces to enable fluidic or optical connection. Optionally, optical components may be placed within the region in order to manipulate optical signals. Redistribution of electrical interconnection is accomplished on both top and bottom surfaces of the substrate of the interconnect chip