Inbreeding Affects on Beetle Clustering

The Red Flour Beetle (Tribolium castaneum; Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is a common pest in many grain mills (Baldwin and Fasulo 2010) and found wherever grains or other dried foods are stored (Schröder 2008). The Red Flour Beetle ”facilitates genetic analysis with ease of culture, a short life cycle, high fecundity and facility for genetic crosses, allowing efficient genetic screens (Schröder 2008).” This can allow for them to have a strong genetic code the longer that they are bred in the lab. So, for this experiment we will be trying to see what affect inbreeding has on the aggregation behavior in the Red Flour Beetle. The purpose of this experiment is to see how genetic background influences grouping behavior. Two different strains of Tribolium castaneum were used in this experiment. The one strain used was the Hudson Red Flour Beetle which originates from Hudson, Kansas. They have been bred in the lab for 10 years. The other beetle that was used is the NDG Red Flour Beetle, which originates from Manitoba, Canada and has been in the lab 30 years. After completing this experiment, our findings are that the Hudson are considerably more light sensitive than the Hudson and as soon as light hit them they become very active. There was a noticeably higher percentage of NDG beetles that would cluster together and when they clustered they only clustered with their own strain. This leads us to believe that the NDG beetles have stronger aggregation behavior due to the significant amount of time they have been in lab breeding, compared to the Hudson beetle. The inbreeding that occurred might of allowed for the beetles to develop a more similar genetic code that allows them to group together more easily

Digital Systems Teaching and Research (DSTR) Robot: A Flexible Platform for Education and Applied Research

The DSTR (pronounced “Disaster”) robot has a strong history of being adaptable to different user’s needs, and there are many opportunities ahead that indicate that the sky, quite literally, is not the limit for this robust platform. This paper provides a historical perspective on the development of the DSTR robot as a collaborative design developed by the Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory (MISL) at Texas A&M University and ASEP 4X4 Inc. Texas Instruments has been a major partner in the integration of the control electronics, and Texas Space Technology Applications and Research (T STAR) LLC has played a significant role in the propagation of the DSTR robot as an adaptable applied research/education/STEM outreach platform. The paper will present examples of the strong industry-academic relationships that allow the DSTR robot to be utilized in a multitude of experiential learning environments. In addition to a number of STEM outreach activities, the DSTR robots are being used in the Introduction to Engineering course at Blinn College and in the Freshman Engineering curriculum at Texas A&M University. DSTRs have also been selected by NASA scientists as a low-cost lunar sample collector. The paper will also discuss the newly developed DSTR-E (DSTR Engineering) unit which requires students to perform several engineering tasks during the build process. The paper will also include the lessons learned from initial design through its transfer to the private sector for commercialization and future plans.Cockrell School of Engineerin

A Phenomenological Study of Digital Business Simulation Games and Implementation for Corporate Learning

This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the experiences of a purposive sample of eight Learning and Development executives to understand the circumstances leading to, as well as the experiences implementing Digital Business Simulation Games (DBSG) in a corporate learning environment, specifically related to the financial service industry. Their perception of the organizational needs, decision-making process of those involved, as well as the experience in design, development, and implementation may contribute to a better understanding of the circumstances within an organization where a DBSG would be an effective solution to achieve the development goals of learners within that organization. This study will also investigate the impact the implementation of the DBSG had on the organization, as well as provide further insight into best practices and critical success factors for future implementations. The research technique employed was a modified van Kaam method as described by Moustakas (1994) based upon transcribed interviews using semi-structured questions to capture the organizational needs, decision-making, and implementation experiences as well as perceptions of the participants. Five significant themes with two subthemes that emerged are prevalent from within the collected data from the participants: 1) needs intake and leadership support, 2) safe space to practice, 3) innovation on current curricula, 4) higher degrees of engagement, and 5) positive measurement results. The resulting analysis also led to considerable collection of best practices and critical success factors in deciding to undertake a DBSG program, and the design, development and implementation of a DBS

Borderline Re-Order: Negotiating the Edge between City and Greenspace

Does development of urban areas naturally lies at odds with maintaining any memory of their historic character, e.g. historic artifacts, structures, land? If so, such a perspective may have warrant. The Atlanta area serves as an easy example: the Loew’s Grand was conveniently burned down by arsonists after it received historic status and protection; the Fox Theatre was almost redeveloped into a parking deck, and; the placard for the site of Leo Frank’s lynching was moved across the street to make room for an entrance ramp to a toll freeway. But this single perspective, or prejudice rather, despite warrant, is a myopic projection onto all new redevelopment. Development that respects historic sites can improve those sites to the advantage of both the observance of their history and the desirability of redevelopment. Consider further that given cities must change and grow (or even encroach), development must formulate such a new approach. It cannot preserve an Immaculate archive of that past, and it must not erase every sign of it either. How can Architecture orient toward nature while protecting it from predatory development? Given the dearth of examples for protecting natural environments and historic sites in Atlanta in particular, this proposal will seek to interrogate, investigate, and recommend a small set of architectural approaches to respect and vivify sites while encouraging sustainable redevelopment. For the sake of such a wide and tenuous scope, this proposal will select, and constrain, its parameters to a useful and commonplace condition within the metropolitan Atlanta region: small forests within urbanizing centers. Architecture can act as a barrier to invasive unsustainable development and boon to public quality of life: By creating a barrier against development outside a border; By reuse of low-performing development inside a border; By retracting land from sprawl, And by expansion of public access. The undertaking will consider the following: I. Use, the social and urban need for such spaces; II. Method, the systematic method for attaining them, and; III. Purpose, the larger conceptual and theoretical purpose they fulfill. Lastly, it will conclude with a specific site and hypothetical approach with discrete architectural solutions

Regulation Mechanisms of Peptide Hormones in Neuroendocrine Cancers

In the work described in this thesis, analytical methods for the detection and quantification of peptide hormones featuring on-line analyte concentration, post-separation tagging and HPLC-fluorescence detection were presented. These methods were used to detect and quantify calcitonin (CT) and its prohormones glycyllysyllysine-extended CT (CTGKK), glycyllysine-extended CT (CTGK) and glycine-extended CT (CT-G) for the first time, in DMS53 small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) cell culture medium and lysate. Additionally, novel glycosylated versions of each species were also identified, suggesting the presence of a parallel biosynthetic pathway in DMS53. Extracellular but not intracellular levels of CT were reduced as a result of treatment with biosynthesis inhibitors, and it was suggested CT precursor flux through the glycosylated pathway acts as a bypass mechanism to maintain intracellular CT levels. Moreover, the up-regulation of extracellular levels of CT-related species in response to increased medium volume provided evidence of a homeostatic feedback loop maintaining extracellular CT concentrations. To interrogate the mechanism of this feedback, DMS53 cultures were treated with a specific human calcitonin receptor (hCTR) agonist, SUNB8155, to determine if the hCTR is involved in the regulation of CT. It was observed that the relative levels of extracellular CT increased with SUNB8155 treatment, but that the relative levels of the intracellular CT-related species were unchanged. This suggested that hCTR is expressed in DMS53, and that activation of the receptor influences the expression and biosynthetic processing of CT-related species. To investigate this hypothesis, hCTR was identified in DMS53 cells using reverse transcription PCR and Western blot analyses. Specifically, transcriptional and translational evidence of the isoform hCTR2 was identified. Thus, for the first time,hCTR activation was implicated in the up-regulation of CT. This suggested that a positive autocrine feedback loop was operating in DMS53, and based on the hCTR2 isoform, may be mediated by signal transduction through the cAMP- and Ca2+- dependent signalling pathways. To assess which signalling enzymes are activated by hCTR, signal transduction pathways were investigated using small molecule enzymes inhibitors, and their effects on the levels of CT-related species observed. It was observed that treatment of DMS53 cultures with the protein kinase C inhibitor, GF109203X had an effect on the levels of CT-related species in the medium. Again, the relative levels of the intracellular CT-related species were not changed by treatment with this inhibitor. This implicated PKC as a component of the hCTR signal transduction pathway. It was concluded that DMS53 cultures have mechanisms to maintain the intracellular and extracellular concentrations of CT-related species. The concentration of extracellular CT is regulated by a positive feedback mechanism, mediated by hCTR activation, and subsequent signalling involving PKC and AC. Treatment with biosynthetic and signalling inhibitors had no significant effect on the intracellular levels of CT-related species, demonstrating that DMS53 cultures prioritise tight control of intracellular concentrations over extracellular concentrations. With the methodology to detect and quantify peptide hormones in cell culture medium and lysate in hand, the generality of CT glycosylation was explored. Preliminary experiments successfully characterised the presence of glycosylated CT and CT-G in the medullary thyroid carcinoma cell line, TT. To broaden the range of detected hormones, HPLC-fluorescence methodology was developed to detect and quantify oxytocin (OT) and its precursors, and this methodology was used to investigate the presence of OT in the DMS79 SCLC cell line

The spectrum of hot methane in astronomical objects using a comprehensive computed line list

Hot methane spectra are important in environments ranging from flames to the atmospheres of cool stars and exoplanets. A new spectroscopic line list, 10to10, for $^{12}$CH$_4$ containing almost 10 billion transitions is presented. This comprehensive line list covers a broad spectroscopic range and is applicable for temperatures up to 1 500 K. Previous methane data are incomplete leading to underestimated opacities at short wavelengths and elevated temperatures. Use of 10to10 in models of the bright T4.5 brown dwarf 2MASS 0559-14 leads to significantly better agreement with observations and in studies of the hot Jupiter exoplanet HD 189733b leads to up to a twentifold increase in methane abundance. It is demonstrated that proper inclusion of the huge increase in hot transitions which are important at elevated temperatures is crucial for accurate characterizations of atmospheres of brown dwarfs and exoplanets, especially when observed in the near-infrared.Comment: PNAS, Early Edition, June 16, 201

Boston Hospitality Review: Winter 2016

The Evolution of Dual-Branded Hotels: How the Marriott/Starwood Acquisition Enhances Opportunities for Developers By Daniel Lesser, Jonathan Jaeger, & Jeremy Gilston of LW Hospitality Advisors® -- The Making of Airbnb by Morgan Brown -- Hotel E-Commerce: Navigating the Complex Hospitality Digital Marketing Landscape by Leora Halpern Lanz -- Being Lord Grantham: Aristocratic Brand Heritage and the Cunard Transatlantic Crossing by Bradford Hudson -- Hospitality Management: Learning, Doing, Knowing by Christopher Muller -- Disruption from the Inside-Out: Innovation in the Restaurant Industry By Makaela Reink

A murine model of variant late infantile ceroid lipofuscinosis recapitulates behavioral and pathological phenotypes of human disease.

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs; also known collectively as Batten Disease) are a family of autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorders. Mutations in as many as 13 genes give rise to ∼10 variants of NCL, all with overlapping clinical symptomatology including visual impairment, motor and cognitive dysfunction, seizures, and premature death. Mutations in CLN6 result in both a variant late infantile onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (vLINCL) as well as an adult-onset form of the disease called Type A Kufs. CLN6 is a non-glycosylated membrane protein of unknown function localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In this study, we perform a detailed characterization of a naturally occurring Cln6 mutant (Cln6(nclf)) mouse line to validate its utility for translational research. We demonstrate that this Cln6(nclf) mutation leads to deficits in motor coordination, vision, memory, and learning. Pathologically, we demonstrate loss of neurons within specific subregions and lamina of the cortex that correlate to behavioral phenotypes. As in other NCL models, this model displays selective loss of GABAergic interneuron sub-populations in the cortex and the hippocampus with profound, early-onset glial activation. Finally, we demonstrate a novel deficit in memory and learning, including a dramatic reduction in dendritic spine density in the cerebral cortex, which suggests a reduction in synaptic strength following disruption in CLN6. Together, these findings highlight the behavioral and pathological similarities between the Cln6(nclf) mouse model and human NCL patients, validating this model as a reliable format for screening potential therapeutics