Beneath the Veneer of Sex Equity in Education

Consideration of the future prospects for sex equity in education fosters a challenge to create a vision of excellence in education for all

Prospectus, March 5, 2014

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The Lantern Vol. 23, No. 3, May 1955

• Les Assassins • Golf • The Dance • Philosophy for the Beginner • Spelling - Why Bother • The Hooded Paperweight • The Wonderful Gizmo • The Accident • What Happened • Old Dog Tilts Her Head • Interlude • The Monastery Mouse • Study in Rhime Royalhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1066/thumbnail.jp

Autistic women’s experiences of self-compassion and receiving their diagnosis in adulthood.

Knowledge of autistic individuals’ experiences of self-compassion is very limited. This study investigated autistic women’s experiences of self-compassion after receiving their diagnosis in adulthood. Eleven autistic women completed semi-structured interviews analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three super-ordinate themes were identified: ‘Disconnect between the autistic self and experience of societal expectations’ (the burden of conformity; autism is misunderstood; social challenges; mental health impact); ‘Unmasking: the process of self-understanding’ (autonomy and self-compassion; validation and grief) and ‘Impact on relationships’ (diagnosis disclosure dilemmas; connection and understanding). Frustration with society’s misconceptions of autism and unhelpful thinking styles were presented as barriers to self-compassion. Most participants reported that their diagnosis had led to the development of a greater sense of self-understanding, which facilitated self-compassion. Some participants suggested their own increased understanding of autism facilitated their compassion towards others. Findings from this study have clinical implications for increasing understanding about autistic women’s experiences of self-compassion and possibly ways to facilitate its development, to enhance well-being

Further clinical and molecular delineation of the 15q24 microdeletion syndrome

Background Chromosome 15q24 microdeletion syndrome is a rare genomic disorder characterised by intellectual disability, growth retardation, unusual facial morphology and other anomalies. To date, 20 patients have been reported; 18 have had detailed breakpoint analysis. Aim To further delineate the features of the 15q24 microdeletion syndrome, the clinical and molecular characterisation of fifteen patients with deletions in the 15q24 region was performed, nearly doubling the number of reported patients. Methods Breakpoints were characterised using a custom, high-density array comparative hybridisation platform, and detailed phenotype information was collected for each patient. Results Nine distinct deletions with different breakpoints ranging in size from 266 kb to 3.75 Mb were identified. The majority of breakpoints lie within segmental duplication (SD) blocks. Low sequence identity and large intervals of unique sequence between SD blocks likely contribute to the rarity of 15q24 deletions, which occur 8-10 times less frequently than 1q21 or 15q13 microdeletions in our series. Two small, atypical deletions were identified within the region that help delineate the critical region for the core phenotype in the 15q24 microdeletion syndrome. Conclusion The molecular characterisation of these patients suggests that the core cognitive features of the 15q24 microdeletion syndrome, including developmental delays and severe speech problems, are largely due to deletion of genes in a 1.1-Mb critical region. However, genes just distal to the critical region also play an important role in cognition and in the development of characteristic facial features associated with 15q24 deletions. Clearly, deletions in the 15q24 region are variable in size and extent. Knowledge of the breakpoints and size of deletion combined with the natural history and medical problems of our patients provide insights that will inform management guidelines. Based on common phenotypic features, all patients with 15q24 microdeletions should receive a thorough neurodevelopmental evaluation, physical, occupational and speech therapies, and regular audiologic and ophthalmologic screenin

Science in neo-Victorian poetry

This article considers the work of three contemporary poets and their engagement, in verse, with Victorian science. Beginning with the outlandish ‘theories’ of Mick Imlah’s ‘The Zoologist’s Bath’ (1983), it moves on to two works of biografiction – Anthony Thwaite’s poem ‘At Marychurch’ (1980), which outlines Philip Henry Gosse’s doomed attempts to unite evolution and Christianity, and Ruth Padel’s Darwin: A Life in Poems (2009). Starting off with John Glendening’s idea that science in neo-Victorian fiction, if fully embraced, provides an opportunity for self-revelation to characters, this article explores the rather less happy resolutions of each of these poems, while in addition discussing the ways in which these poems perform the formal changes and mutability discussed within them

Cumulative contributions of weak DNA determinants to targeting the Drosophila dosage compensation complex

Fine-tuning of X chromosomal gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster involves the selective interaction of the Dosage Compensation Complex (DCC) with the male X chromosome, in order to increase the transcription of many genes. However, the X chromosomal DNA sequences determining DCC binding remain elusive. By adapting a ‘one-hybrid’ assay, we identified minimal DNA elements that direct the interaction of the key DCC subunit, MSL2, in cells. Strikingly, several such novel MSL2 recruitment modules have very different DNA sequences. The assay revealed a novel, 40 bp DNA element that is necessary for recruitment of DCC to an autosomal binding site in flies in the context of a longer sequence and sufficient by itself to direct recruitment if trimerized. Accordingly, recruitment of MSL2 to the single 40 bp element in cells was weak, but as a trimer approached the power of the strongest DCC recruitment site known to date, the roX1 DH site. This element is the shortest MSL2 recruitment sequence known to date. The results support a model for MSL2 recruitment according to which several different, degenerate sequence motifs of variable affinity cluster and synergise to form a high affinity site

Diffusion and retention are major determinants of protein targeting to the inner nuclear membrane

Newly synthesized membrane proteins are constantly sorted from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to various membranous compartments. How proteins specifically enrich at the inner nuclear membrane (INM) is not well understood. We have established a visual in vitro assay to measure kinetics and investigate requirements of protein targeting to the INM. Using human LBR, SUN2, and LAP2 beta as model substrates, we show that INM targeting is energy-dependent but distinct from import of soluble cargo. Accumulation of proteins at the INM relies on both a highly interconnected ER network, which is affected by energy depletion, and an efficient immobilization step at the INM. Nucleoporin depletions suggest that translocation through nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) is rate-limiting and restricted by the central NPC scaffold. Our experimental data combined with mathematical modeling support a diffusion-retention-based mechanism of INM targeting. We experimentally confirmed the sufficiency of diffusion and retention using an artificial reporter lacking natural sorting signals that recapitulates the energy dependence of the process in vivo

Investigation of NRXN1 deletions: Clinical and molecular characterization

Deletions at 2p16.3 involving exons of NRXN1 are associated with susceptibility for autism and schizophrenia, and similar deletions have been identified in individuals with developmental delay and dysmorphic features. We have identified 34 probands with exonic NRXN1 deletions following referral for clinical microarray‐based comparative genomic hybridization. To more firmly establish the full phenotypic spectrum associated with exonic NRXN1 deletions, we report the clinical features of 27 individuals with NRXN1 deletions, who represent 23 of these 34 families. The frequency of exonic NRXN1 deletions among our postnatally diagnosed patients (0.11%) is significantly higher than the frequency among reported controls (0.02%; P  = 6.08 × 10 −7 ), supporting a role for these deletions in the development of abnormal phenotypes. Generally, most individuals with NRXN1 exonic deletions have developmental delay (particularly speech), abnormal behaviors, and mild dysmorphic features. In our cohort, autism spectrum disorders were diagnosed in 43% (10/23), and 16% (4/25) had epilepsy. The presence of NRXN1 deletions in normal parents and siblings suggests reduced penetrance and/or variable expressivity, which may be influenced by genetic, environmental, and/or stochastic factors. The pathogenicity of these deletions may also be affected by the location of the deletion within the gene. Counseling should appropriately represent this spectrum of possibilities when discussing recurrence risks or expectations for a child found to have a deletion in NRXN1 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97220/1/35780_ftp.pd

Biocolloid retention in partially saturated soils

Unsaturated soils are considered excellent filters for preventing the transport of pathogenic biocolloids to groundwater, but little is known about the actual mechanisms of biocolloid retention. To obtain a better understanding of these processes, a number of visualization experiments were performed and analyzed