Plant Genome Editing Using CRISPR/Cas9: Investigating the Role of TEN1 in the Maintenance and Protection of Telomeres in Arabidopsis thaliana

Telomeres are highly regulated complexes composed of tandemly-repeated DNA sequences and associated proteins that are located the ends of linear chromosomes. Telomeres are essential for the maintenance and protection of chromosomes due to telomere shortening over successive cell divisions. Short telomeres have previously been associated with age-related disease phenotypes in many models. Telomerase is an enzyme capable of maintaining telomere length, however, it is highly suppressed in somatic cells. The CST complex is a heterotrimeric protein complex (CTC1/STN1/TEN1) that is associated with telomeres and telomerase and is conserved across all eukaryotes. The role of the CTC1 and STN1 proteins in the maintenance and protection of telomeres are well understood, but the role of TEN1 has yet to be fully characterized. This study describes the creation of a CRISPR/Cas9 construct to generate a TEN1 knockout in the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Future research will reveal the role of the TEN1 protein at telomeres

The Decline and Absence of Young Adults at Grace Place Christian Church

The purpose of the study was to address the problem of low attendance and engagement among young adults at Grace Place Christian Church. This topic is given consideration based on the researcher’s observation of the absence of this demographic within the local ministry context. The literature review revealed this is a common problem throughout the Body of Christ. Grace Place Christian Church is a predominately African American within a military community. The unique characteristics of this ministry context warranted research specific to it. The researcher interviewed twenty unchurched young adults and ten pastors and collected over one hundred nine questionnaires related to the problem. A focus group developed a strategic intervention. The intervention was implemented within the local ministry context. The study revealed hindrances to young adult attendance and participation due to cynicism, a general mistrust of Christians whom they perceive as hypocritical, intolerant, dismissive of intellectual inquiry, and negligent of their perceived responsibility of activism supporting moral progress and social justice. The intervention devised and implemented within this ministry context yielded positive results over a ninety-day evaluation period. Further study is needed to determine if immediate results will hold, increase, or decrease over a more extended evaluation period. The perpetuation of Christianity and the message of Christ is inextricably tied to the church’s ability to transfer leadership from one generation to the next. Thus, the attendance and participation of young adults are critical to sustaining the church

INFO2009 Group 6 - Data Security & the Data Protection Act

Content related to the second INFO2009 assignment for Group 6's radio interview on data security and the DP

Push clocks: a new approach to charge-coupled devices clocking

A new approach to charge-coupled device clocking has been developed—dynamic push clocks. With dynamic push clocks, the charge is transferred by pushing it from one storage site to another. The push clock approach results in a larger signal dynamic range, larger signal-to-noise ratio, and better performance at both high and low frequencies

Macroalgae contribute to the diet of Patella vulgata from contrasting conditions of latitude and wave exposure in the UK

Analysis of gut contents and stable isotope composition of intertidal limpets (Patella vulgata) showed a major contribution of macroalgae to their diet, along with microalgae and invertebrates. Specimens were collected in areas with limited access to attached macroalgae, suggesting a major dietary component of drift algae. Gut contents of 480 animals from 2 moderately wave exposed and 2 sheltered rocky shores in each of 2 regions: western Scotland (55–56°N) and southwest England (50°N), were analysed in 2 years (n = 30 per site per year). The abundance of microalgae, macroalgae and invertebrates within the guts was quantified using categorical abundance scales. Gut content composition was compared among regions and wave exposure conditions, showing that the diet of P. vulgata changes with both wave exposure and latitude. Microalgae were most abundant in limpet gut contents in animals from southwest sites, whilst leathery/corticated macroalgae were more prevalent and abundant in limpets from sheltered and northern sites. P. vulgata appears to have a more flexible diet than previously appreciated and these keystone grazers consume not only microalgae, but also large quantities of macroalgae and small invertebrates. To date, limpet grazing studies have focussed on their role in controlling recruitment of macroalgae by feeding on microscopic propagules and germlings. Consumption of adult algae suggests P. vulgata may also directly control the biomass of attached macroalgae on the shore, whilst consumption of drift algae indicates the species may play important roles in coupling subtidal and intertidal production

International Graduate Students: How Do They Choose Academic Majors?

International graduate students are a sizeable segment of the student body in the U.S. higher educational system, but remain an understudied population in the educational literature. As a result, this student population is not adequately understood by higher education administrators and faculty. The current study explored 16 factors associated with international graduate students’ choice of academic majors for their American degrees and how factors affected this population’s academic choice among four academic categories. Based on the findings, this study suggests recruitment and admission policies and support services and programs to attract and retain international graduate students, in order to understand and direct this population of students during their study in the United States, and to increase international graduate students’ contributions in economy, innovation, and diversity

Oklahoma stocker cattle industry: Structure and function

Little information exists on the decision making and management of the Oklahoma stocker industry and the economic flexibility of the stocker industry. A survey was conducted in 2017 by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. The survey focused on stocker production and management practices, including the timing and duration of stocker production, health, forage use, purchase and marketing of stocker cattle, the timing and distance of shipping, and biosecurity practices. This thesis initially summarizes the survey, then, uses the survey data to profile individuals participating in the Oklahoma stocker cattle industry, by examining the marginal values from logit models. Understanding which individuals use specific combinations of practices across the Oklahoma stocker industry will increase information availability for agency planning and policy considerations. The buying and selling patterns of Oklahoma stocker cattle producers are used to further explain the dynamics of the fed cattle market in Oklahoma. The preferences given by the respondents in the survey were used to create a series of profiles that uncovers the trends of producers in the industry

Evaluating pharmacological models of high and low anxiety in sheep

New tests of animal affect and welfare require validation in subjects experiencing putatively different states. Pharmacological manipulations of affective state are advantageous because they can be administered in a standardised fashion, and the duration of their action can be established and tailored to suit the length of a particular test. To this end, the current study aimed to evaluate a pharmacological model of high and low anxiety in an important agricultural and laboratory species, the sheep. Thirty-five 8-month-old female sheep received either an intramuscular injection of the putatively anxiogenic drug 1-(m-chlorophenyl)piperazine (mCPP; 1 mg/kg; n = 12), an intravenous injection of the putatively anxiolytic drug diazepam (0.1 mg/kg; n = 12), or acted as a control (saline intramuscular injection n = 11). Thirty minutes after the treatments, sheep were individually exposed to a variety of tests assessing their general movement, performance in a ‘runway task’ (moving down a raceway for a food reward), response to startle, and behaviour in isolation. A test to assess feeding motivation was performed 2 days later following administration of the drugs to the same animals in the same manner. The mCPP sheep had poorer performance in the two runway tasks (6.8 and 7.7 × slower respectively than control group; p < 0.001), a greater startle response (1.4 vs. 0.6; p = 0.02), a higher level of movement during isolation (9.1 steps vs. 5.4; p < 0.001), and a lower feeding motivation (1.8 × slower; p < 0.001) than the control group, all of which act as indicators of anxiety. These results show that mCPP is an effective pharmacological model of high anxiety in sheep. Comparatively, the sheep treated with diazepam did not display any differences compared to the control sheep. Thus we suggest that mCPP is an effective treatment to validate future tests aimed at assessing anxiety in sheep, and that future studies should include other subtle indicators of positive affective states, as well as dosage studies, so conclusions on the efficacy of diazepam as a model of low anxiety can be drawn

Abnormal microglia and enhanced inflammation-related gene transcription in mice with conditional deletion of Ctcf in Camk2a-Cre-expressing neurons

CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is an 11 zinc finger DNA-binding domain protein that regulates gene expression by modifying 3D chromatin structure. Human mutations inCTCFcause intellectual disability and autistic features. Knocking outCtcfin mouse embryonic neurons is lethal by neonatal age, but the effects of CTCF deficiency in postnatal neurons are less well studied. We knocked outCtcfpostnatally in glutamatergic forebrain neurons under the control ofCamk2a-Cre. CtcfloxP/loxP;Camk2a-Cre+(CtcfCKO) mice of both sexes were viable and exhibited profound deficits in spatial learning/memory, impaired motor coordination, and decreased sociability by 4 months of age.CtcfCKO mice also had reduced dendritic spine density in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Microarray analysis of mRNA fromCtcfCKO mouse hippocampus identified increased transcription of inflammation-related genes linked to microglia. Separate microarray analysis of mRNA isolated specifically fromCtcfCKO mouse hippocampal neurons by ribosomal affinity purification identified upregulation of chemokine signaling genes, suggesting crosstalk between neurons and microglia inCtcfCKO hippocampus. Finally, we found that microglia inCtcfCKO mouse hippocampus had abnormal morphology by Sholl analysis and increased immunostaining for CD68, a marker of microglial activation. Our findings confirm thatCtcfKO in postnatal neurons causes a neurobehavioral phenotype in mice and provide novel evidence that CTCF depletion leads to overexpression of inflammation-related genes and microglial dysfunction.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTCCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is a DNA-binding protein that organizes nuclear chromatin topology. Mutations inCTCFcause intellectual disability and autistic features in humans. CTCF deficiency in embryonic neurons is lethal in mice, but mice with postnatal CTCF depletion are less well studied. We find that mice lackingCtcfinCamk2a-expressing neurons (CtcfCKO mice) have spatial learning/memory deficits, impaired fine motor skills, subtly altered social interactions, and decreased dendritic spine density. We demonstrate thatCtcfCKO mice overexpress inflammation-related genes in the brain and have microglia with abnormal morphology that label positive for CD68, a marker of microglial activation. Our findings suggest that inflammation and dysfunctional neuron–microglia interactions are factors in the pathology of CTCF deficiency.</jats:p