Integration of Service-Learning into Civil and Environmental Engineering Curriculum

Service-learning is defined as integrating the community service experience of students with their academic study so that learning is enhanced. The level of student participation in community service is at an all time high as students feel the need to confront today\u27s technical and societal problems. However, service-learning is more than community service or volunteerism. Service-learning as defined above, integrates the community service experience with the student’s academic study (note the hyphen in service-learning means that both are considered equal). This enhances learning which is a fundamental goal of colleges and universities. Boyer highlights the need for service-learning stating that At no time in our history has the need been greater for connecting the work of the academy to the social and environmental changes beyond the campus. Service-learning is a campus wide learning pedagogy including a range of disciplines and has been implemented at over 600 institutions; however, not as widely implemented in engineering and science. A noteworthy contribution in the engineering education, is the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program at Purdue University (http://epics.ecn.purdue.edu) that partners undergraduate students and local community not-for-profit organizations to solve engineering-based problems in the community

Development of Sstreamflow Projections Under Changing Climate Conditions Over Colorado River Basin Headwaters

The current drought over the Colorado River Basin has raised concerns that the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) may impose water shortages over the lower portion of the basin for the first time in history. The guidelines that determine levels of shortage are affected by relatively short-term (3 to 7 month) forecasts determined by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) using the National Weather Service (NWS) River Forecasting System (RFS) hydrologic model. While these forecasts by the CBRFC are useful, water managers within the basin are interested in long-term projections of streamflow, particularly under changing climate conditions. In this study, a bias-corrected, statistically downscaled dataset of projected climate is used to force the NWS RFS utilized by the CBRFC to derive projections of streamflow over the Green, Gunnison, and San Juan River headwater basins located within the Colorado River Basin. This study evaluates the impact of changing climate to evapotranspiration rates and contributes to a better understanding of how hydrologic processes change under varying climate conditions. The impact to evapotranspiration rates is taken into consideration and incorporated into the development of streamflow projections over Colorado River headwater basins in this study. Additionally, the NWS RFS is modified to account for impacts to evapotranspiration due to changing temperature over the basin. Adjusting evapotranspiration demands resulted in a 6% to 13% average decrease in runoff over the Gunnison River Basin when compared to static evapotranspiration rates. Streamflow projections derived using projections of future climate and the NWS RFS provided by the CBRFC resulted in decreased runoff in 2 of the 3 basins considered. Over the Gunnison and San Juan River basins, a 10% to 15% average decrease in basin runoff is projected through the year 2099. However, over the Green River basin, a 5% to 8% increase in basin runoff is projected through 2099. Evidence of nonstationary behavior is apparent over the Gunnison and San Juan River basins

Development of Streamflow Projections Under Changing Climate Conditions Over Colorado River Basin Headwaters

The current drought over the Colorado River Basin has raised concerns that the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) may impose water shortages over the lower portion of the basin for the first time in history. The guidelines that determine levels of shortage are affected by forecasts determined by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC). While these forecasts by the CBRFC are useful, water managers within the basin are interested in long-term projections of streamflow, particularly under changing climate conditions. In this study, a bias-corrected, statistically downscaled dataset of projected climate is used to force a hydrologic model utilized by the CBRFC to derive projections of streamflow over the Green, Gunnison, and San Juan River headwater basins located within the Colorado River Basin. This study evaluates the impact of changing climate to evapotranspiration rates. The impact to evapotranspiration rates is taken into consideration and incorporated into the development of streamflow projections over Colorado River headwater basins in this study. Additionally, the CBRFC hydrologic model is modified to account for impacts to evapotranspiration due to changing temperature over the basin. Adjusting evapotranspiration demands over the Gunnison resulted in a 6% to 13% average decrease in runoff over the Gunnison River Basin when compared to static evapotranspiration rates. Streamflow projections derived using projections of future climate and the CBRFC’s hydrologic model resulted in decreased runoff in 2 of the 3 basins considered. Over the Gunnison and San Juan River basins, a 10% to 15% average decrease in basin runoff is projected through the year 2099. However, over the Green River basin, a 5% to 8% increase in basin runoff is projected through 2099. Evidence of nonstationary behavior is apparent over the Gunnison and San Juan River basins

Initial characteristics of RbcX proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana

Form I of Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) is composed of eight large (RbcL) and eight small (RbcS) subunits. Assembly of these subunits into a functional holoenzyme requires the assistance of additional assembly factors. One such factor is RbcX, which has been demonstrated to act as a chaperone in the assembly of most cyanobacterial Rubisco complexes expressed in heterologous system established in Escherichia coli cells. Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana genomic sequence revealed the presence of two genes encoding putative homologues of cyanobacterial RbcX protein: AtRbcX1 (At4G04330) and AtRbcX2 (At5G19855). In general, both RbcX homologues seem to have the same function which is chaperone activity during Rubisco biogenesis. However, detailed analysis revealed slight differences between them. AtRbcX2 is localized in the stromal fraction of chloroplasts whereas AtRbcX1 was found in the insoluble fraction corresponding with thylakoid membranes. Search for putative “partners” using mass spectrometry analysis suggested that apart from binding to RbcL, AtRbcX1 may also interact with β subunit of chloroplast ATP synthase. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of AtRbcX1 and AtRbcX2 expression under various stress conditions indicated that AtRbcX2 is transcribed at a relatively stable level, while the transcription level of AtRbcX1 varies significantly. In addition, we present the attempts to elucidate the secondary structure of AtRbcX proteins using CD spectroscopy. Presented results are the first known approach to elucidate the role of RbcX proteins in Rubisco assembly in higher plants

Plasma Corticosterone Activates SGK1 and Induces Morphological Changes in Oligodendrocytes in Corpus Callosum

Repeated stressful events are known to be associated with onset of depression. Further, stress activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) system by elevating plasma cortisol levels. However, little is known about the related downstream molecular pathway. In this study, by using repeated water-immersion and restraint stress (WIRS) as a stressor for mice, we attempted to elucidate the molecular pathway induced by elevated plasma corticosterone levels. We observed the following effects both, in vivo and in vitro: (1) repeated exposure to WIRS activates the 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase (PDK1)–serum glucocorticoid regulated kinase (SGK1)–N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1)–adhesion molecule (i.e., N-cadherin, α-catenin, and β-catenin) stabilization pathway via an increase in plasma corticosterone levels; (2) the activation of this signaling pathway induces morphological changes in oligodendrocytes; and (3) after recovery from chronic stress, the abnormal arborization of oligodendrocytes and depression-like symptoms return to the control levels. Our data strongly suggest that these abnornalities of oligodendrocytes are possibly related to depression-like symptoms

Reconstruction of major maternal and paternal lineages of the Cape Muslim population

The earliest Cape Muslims were brought to the Cape (Cape Town - South Africa) from Africa and Asia from 1652 to 1834. They were part of an involuntary migration of slaves, political prisoners and convicts, and they contributed to the ethnic diversity of the present Cape Muslim population of South Africa. The history of the Cape Muslims has been well documented and researched however no in-depth genetic studies have been undertaken. The aim of the present study was to determine the respective African, Asian and European contributions to the mtDNA (maternal) and Y-chromosomal (paternal) gene pool of the Cape Muslim population, by analyzing DNA samples of 100 unrelated Muslim males born in the Cape Metropolitan area. A panel of six mtDNA and eight Y-chromosome SNP markers were screened using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). Overall admixture estimates for the maternal line indicated Asian (0.4168) and African mtDNA (0.4005) as the main contributors. The admixture estimates for the paternal line, however, showed a predominance of the Asian contribution (0.7852). The findings are in accordance with historical data on the origins of the early Cape Muslims.Web of Scienc