Construction Panel Discussion at San Luis Obispo High School

The senior project idea for conducting a panel discussion presentation at San Luis Obispo (SLO) High School during a tutorial period was completed by Jake Ornellas and Morgan Conway. This paper provides details on the entire process of reserving a tutorial session at SLO High School, contacting and coordinating with trade representatives and university faculty, and executing the group panel discussion. The purpose of the project was to share and inform local high school students with the information regarding what careers in the different construction industry branches look like and what opportunities are there. The goal of this project was to encourage and inspire high school students to pursue and thrive in a career in the various construction industry branches

High-resolution targeted 3C interrogation of cis-regulatory element organization at genome-wide scale

Chromosome conformation capture (3C) provides an adaptable tool for studying diverse biological questions. Current 3C methods generally provide either low-resolution interaction profiles across the entire genome, or high-resolution interaction profiles at limited numbers of loci. Due to technical limitations, generation of reproducible high-resolution interaction profiles has not been achieved at genome-wide scale. Here, to overcome this barrier, we systematically test each step of 3C and report two improvements over current methods. We show that up to 30% of reporter events generated using the popular in situ 3C method arise from ligations between two individual nuclei, but this noise can be almost entirely eliminated by isolating intact nuclei after ligation. Using Nuclear-Titrated Capture-C, we generate reproducible high-resolution genome-wide 3C interaction profiles by targeting 8055 gene promoters in erythroid cells. By pairing high-resolution 3C interaction calls with nascent gene expression we interrogate the role of promoter hubs and super-enhancers in gene regulation

Modern insulation materials for warming of walls

Biodiversity hotspots understandably attract considerable conservation attention. However, deserts are rarely viewed as conservation priority areas, due to their relatively low productivity, yet these systems are home to unique species, adapted to harsh and highly variable environments. While global attention has been focused on hotspots, the world's largest tropical desert, the Sahara, has suffered a catastrophic decline in megafauna. Of 14 large vertebrates that have historically occurred in the region, four are now extinct in the wild, including the iconic scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah). The majority has disappeared from more than 90% of their Saharan range, including addax (Addax nasomaculatus), dama gazelle (Nanger dama) and Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) - all now on the brink of extinction. Greater conservation support and scientific attention for the region might have helped to avert these catastrophic declines. The Sahara serves as an example of a wider historical neglect of deserts and the human communities who depend on them. The scientific community can make an important contribution to conservation in deserts by establishing baseline information on biodiversity and developing new approaches to sustainable management of desert species and ecosystems. Such approaches must accommodate mobility of both people and wildlife so that they can use resources most efficiently in the face of low and unpredictable rainfall. This is needed to enable governments to deliver on their commitments to halt further degradation of deserts and to improve their status for both biodiversity conservation and human well-being. Only by so-doing will deserts be able to support resilient ecosystems and communities that are best able to adapt to climate change. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Mapping social work across 10 countries: Structure, intervention, identity and challenges

An emerging global consciousness and rising attention given to international social work development has seen the recognition of comparative research within the profession. Understanding the functioning and organisation of social work within various country contexts is critical in order to formulate knowledge around its overall impact, successes and challenges, allowing social workers to learn from one another and build professional consolidation. The profession is mapped out in 10 countries, reflecting on its structure, identity and development. Although the profession is developing globally, it is also experiencing significant challenges. Key insights, conclusions and recommendations for future research are presented

Mechanistic Elucidation of the Arylation of Non-Spectator N-Heterocyclic Carbenes at Copper Using a Combined Experimental and Computational Approach

CuI(NHC)Br complexes (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) undergo a direct reaction with iodobenzene to give 2-arylated benzimidazolium products. The nature of the N-substituent on the NHC ligand influences the reactivity of the CuI(NHC)Br complex toward arylation. N-Benzyl or N-phenyl substituents facilitate arylation, whereas N-mesityl substituents hinder arylation. Density functional theory calculations show that an oxidative addition/reductive elimination pathway involving CuIII species is energetically feasible. A less hindered CuI(NHC)Br complex with N-benzyl groups is susceptible to oxidation reactions to give 1,3-dibenzylbenzimidazolium cations containing a CuIBr anion (various polymorphs). The results described herein are of relevance to C–H functionalization of (benz)azoles

New and conventional strategies for lung recruitment in acute respiratory distress syndrome

Mechanical ventilation is a supportive and life saving therapy in patients with acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Despite advances in critical care, mortality remains high. During the last decade, the fact that mechanical ventilation can produce morphologic and physiologic alterations in the lungs has been recognized. In this context, the use of low tidal volumes (VT) and limited inspiratory plateau pressure (Pplat) has been proposed when mechanically ventilating the lungs of patients with ALI/ARDS, to prevent lung as well as distal organ injury. However, the reduction in VT may result in alveolar derecruitment, cyclic opening and closing of atelectatic alveoli and distal small airways leading to ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) if inadequate low positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is applied. On the other hand, high PEEP levels may be associated with excessive lung parenchyma stress and strain and negative hemodynamic effects, resulting in systemic organ injury. Therefore, lung recruitment maneuvers have been proposed and used to open up collapsed lung, while PEEP counteracts alveolar derecruitment due to low VT ventilatio

Acute myeloid leukemia of donor origin after allogeneic stem cell transplantation from a sibling who harbors germline XPD and XRCC3 homozygous polymorphisms

A 54-year-old woman was diagnosed with infiltrative ductal breast carcinoma. Two years after treatment, the patient developed an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) which harbored del(11q23) in 8% of the blast cells. The patient was submitted for allogeneic stem cell transplantation (aSCT) from her HLA-compatible sister. Ten months after transplantation, she relapsed with an AML with basophilic maturation characterized by CD45low CD33high, CD117+, CD13-/+, HLA Drhigh, CD123high, and CD203c+ blast cells lacking expression of CD7, CD10, CD34, CD15, CD14, CD56, CD36, CD64, and cytoplasmic tryptase. Karyotype analysis showed the emergence of a new clone with t(2;14) and FISH analysis indicated the presence of MLL gene rearrangement consistent with del(11q23). Interestingly, AML blast cell DNA tested with microsatellite markers showed the same pattern as the donor's, suggesting that this AML emerged from donor cells. Additionally, polymorphisms of the XPA, XPD, XRCC1, XRCC3 and RAD51 DNA repair genes revealed three unfavorable alleles with low DNA repair capacity

Maternal high fat diet compromises survival and modulates lung development of offspring, and impairs lung function of dams (female mice)

© 2019 The Author(s). Published in Respiratory Research. Background: Epidemiological studies have identified strong relationships between maternal obesity and offspring respiratory dysfunction; however, the causal direction is not known. We tested whether maternal obesity alters respiratory function of offspring in early life. Methods: Female C57Bl/6 J mice were fed a high or low fat diet prior to and during two rounds of mating and resulting pregnancies with offspring lung function assessed at 2 weeks of age. The lung function of dams was measured at 33 weeks of age. Results: A high fat diet caused significant weight gain prior to conception with dams exhibiting elevated fasting glucose, and glucose intolerance. The number of surviving litters was significantly less for dams fed a high fat diet, and surviving offspring weighed more, were longer and had larger lung volumes than those born to dams fed a low fat diet. The larger lung volumes significantly correlated in a linear fashion with body length. Pups born from the second pregnancy had reduced tissue elastance compared to pups born from the first pregnancy, regardless of the dam's diet. As there was reduced offspring survival born to dams fed a high fat diet, the statistical power of lung function measures of offspring was limited. There were signs of increased inflammation in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of dams (but not offspring) fed a high fat diet, with more tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin(IL)-5, IL-33 and leptin detected. Dams that were fed a high fat diet and became pregnant twice had reduced fasting glucose immediately prior to the second mating, and lower levels of IL-33 and leptin in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Conclusions: While maternal high fat diet compromised litter survival, it also promoted somatic and lung growth (increased lung volume) in the offspring. Further studies are required to examine downstream effects of this enhanced lung volume on respiratory function in disease settings