Venezuela\u27s Collapsed Economy and the Resulting Effect on International Business with the United States

This thesis explores the current economic and political state of Venezuela, as well as the factors that contributed to the nation’s present challenges. By evaluating current information regarding international relations and international business affiliations, this study investigates and summarizes how Venezuela’s current instability has affected the country’s trade relations with the United States. The research found in this thesis demonstrates that the actions of Venezuela’s government have severely injured international business relations with multi-national firms operating out of the United States

Messy supply chains

Extant research has made many advances in our understanding of how relatively stable, repetitive supply chains (SCs) can be run effectively. This study focuses on the less researched SCs that are not stable or repetitive. To capture the management challenges of this type of SC, a definition of "messy supply chains" (MSCs) for SCs presenting "wicked" (Rittel and Webber, 2007) or "messy" problems (Ackoff, 1981) is proposed. A conceptual framework is explored in the context of the literature on humanitarian operations. This framework will form the foundation of an in-depth examination of MSCs to aid research and managerial practice. Keywords: suppl

Stage for Success

Drama therapy students work with kids on autism spectrum at summer camps

Investigating the Impact of Nonenzymatic Lysine Acetylation on the Function of the Bacterial Ribosome

An under-investigated target of lysine acetylation is the bacterial ribosome. Although lysine acetylations on the ribosome are common and conversed in diverse bacterial species, little work has been done to understand how lysine acetylation affects the bacterial ribosome. The goal of this work is to determine if lysine acetylation has functional impact on the bacterial ribosome. I have identified in vitro and in vivo effects of nonenzymatic, AcP-dependent lysine acetylation on translation and the ribosome. In vitro acetylation of transcription-translation reactions causes a translation-specific defect that is unaffected by the addition of the CobB deacetylase. This suggests certain AcP-sensitive residues that are part of the translation machinery can inhibit translation, and these acetylations are not reversible. In vivo, I have demonstrated that high acetylation bacterial cultures have a ribosome population that favors the presence of dissociated 30S and 50S subunits over intact 70S ribosomes in stationary phase. This is true for cultures that are acetylation high due to manipulation and cultures that are acetylation high due to media manipulation. This suggests that the impact of nonenzymatic lysine acetylation on the ribosome is linked to central carbon metabolism, due to the relationship between AcP levels and carbon flux. I have also demonstrated that there is some contribution by the CobB deacetylase to the subunit skew pattern. However, complications caused by the sensitivity of the pattern to growth conditions have stymied efforts to determine if the shift is caused primarily by CobB-sensitive acetylated lysines or a mixture of CobB-sensitive and -insensitive acetylated lysines. Finally, preliminary mass spectrometry data of 30S, 50S, and 70S fractions from wild-type E. coli grown in a rich medium until stationary phase have allowed me to identify 18 acetylated lysine that are only observed in the subunit fractions. Of these acetylations, acetylated lysines on uS7 and bL12 have functional roles that make them promising targets for future studies into the mechanistic effects of lysine acetylation on the ribosome

Patent Focus: Grand-slam Inventions

Kansas State University Research Foundation helps researchers run the base

Graduate Scholars: Future defenders

Kaitlynn Schuck, Laura Constance, Chester McDowell, Victoria Ayers, and Christian Cook are part of the NBAF Scientist Training Program, which supports student development and biodefense workforce

Faculty Focus: Drawing--in Place

Art professor Erin Wiersma uses char from tallgrass burns and an intensely physical process to capture the prairie. Gaze at Flint Hills tallgrass prairie, and you may see scenic hills stretching under an open sky, a home to richly diverse wildlife, or an ancient sea floor. Erin Wiersma, associate professor of art at Kansas State University, sees a new way to draw and understand her adopted home

Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

Novel starch makes processed foods healthier

UDP focus: Innovator, teacher, mentor, friend: Meet Jim Edgar

Innovator, teacher, mentor, friend: Meet Jim Edgar University distinguished professor James Edgar is no stranger to surprising innovations

College Focus: Living History

Kansas\u27 largest teacher preparation college using original documentaries to aid classroom teachers, benefit students