Investigating the molecular mechanisms of the metabolic syndrome

This thesis aims to highlight molecular mechanisms that have been altered by prenatal undernutrition and may be involved in the metabolic syndrome. Two sepa- rate studies were conducted both using a rat model developed through manipulation of the maternal diet to provoke the key features of the metabolic syndrome in adult o spring. Microarray technology was used to detect changes in gene expression in tar- get tissues between o spring of control (normally fed, AD) and undernourished (UN) mothers to obtain a broader picture of the cellular functions and genetic pathways that may be implicated in the metabolic syndrome. The rst study compared gene expression di erences in liver, skeletal muscle, and white adipose tissue between 55 day old male o spring of AD and UN mothers. No signi cant changes were found in muscle or adipose tissue; however, the di erences in the liver suggested the UN animals had been metabolically programmed to favour fat as an energy source. To investigate whether DNA methylation might be responsible for the observed transcriptional changes, pooled liver samples from the rst study were used with the McrBC restriction enzyme assay to determine full, partial, incomplete, or no methylation between AD and UN. Two di erentially expressed genes (Zfand2a and Mapk4) showed methylation changes. The same liver samples were hybridised to a miRNA array. Two miRNAs showed a nearly 2-fold upregulation in the UN livers. Both were found to be either directly or indirectly associated with the metabolic syndrome. MiR-335 has been shown to be upregulated in the livers of obese/diabetic mice. By association with miR-27a, miR-451 might be involved in aspects of lipid metabolism in adipose tissue. A second study used microarray to analyse the liver tissues of day 170 female o - spring of the same rat model with additional insults (neonatal leptin treatment and post-weaning high-fat (HF) diet). Leptin has been shown to reverse the programming e ects of the restricted maternal diet and this study aimed to highlight mechanisms that could be involved in this reversal. The results revealed the importance of the in- teraction between treatments. Signi cant gene expression changes were only present when two or more treatments were combined. This study revealed signi cantly, dif- ferentially expressed genes involved in immune function, regulation of the circadian rhythm, and metabolism. These ndings provide a number of interesting genes and pathways for further studies and also highlight the need to conduct a thorough study in multiple tissues at di erent time-points to pinpoint the window of developmental plasticity.University of Auckland Liggins Institut

James Madison University Special Collections

This newsletter article summarizes highlights from manuscript and archival collections recently acquired by James Madison University Special Collections. Includes images and references to collections likely to be of interest to genealogical researchers of families located in the central Shenandoah Valley. Collections highlighted include the Blackley family papers, the Heatwole family papers, and the Henkel family papers. Includes information about other repositories and resources in Harrisonburg, Virginia with genealogical holdings

James Madison University Special Collections: Collections Management

This presentation covers different facets of collections management at James Madison University Special Collections. Presented to archival professionals from institutions and organizations within the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the presenters also discuss collection development, access, and outreach operations at their repository. Established in 1983, Special Collections serves as JMU Libraries’ repository for rare, irreplaceable, unique, or otherwise valuable materials in various formats which warrant special handling or care to assure their long-term availability. Historically, Special Collections has acquired materials that document the Central Shenandoah Valley, the history of James Madison University, as well as other unique materials that support the curriculum of the University. JMU Special Collections strives to build on current collection strengths as well as encourage new initiatives

Student Recital: Tiffany Sitton, Flute

Tiffany Sitton is a student of Patti Watters. This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Music, Music Education degree. Tiffany Sitton, fluteOksana Lutsyshyn, piano Tristan Morris-Man, flut

Initiatives to Find the Lost Einsteins through the Integration of Independent Scientific Research Projects in Early College

This exploratory study examines the effects of incorporating Independent Scientific Research Projects (ISRP) into early college biology curriculum. The authors present their findings, which are steeped in the goal of increasing minority students’ interest in STEM careers, by analyzing student engagement in classrooms with and without ISRP integration

Archival Continuum

Presentation to JMU Libraries and Furious Flower Poetry Center

Comparison of Primary Care Physician Reimbursement Rates in the United States

With a growing shortage of physicians, particularly primary care physicians, the issue of adequate pay in Hawai‘i is increasingly important. Anecdotal reports of low pay in Hawai‘i have rarely been substantiated. Data from FAIR Health, a company that tracks private insurance reimbursement rates, is compared across the United States (US) for the CPT code 99213. In addition, FAIR Health and Medicare rates are compared for cities with both similar and disparate cost of living to Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i is in the second lowest quintile for payment in the US for private insurances, and providers are reimbursed significantly lower than in cities with similar cost of living by both Medicare and private insurances. Methods for increasing payment to physicians in Hawai‘i are essential to recruiting the necessary workforce. Revising payment methodologies that increase pay for services in areas of unmet need, revising Medicare Geographic Price Cost Indices to better balance pay in areas of need, and making use of the 10% Medicare Bonus Program for physicians working in Health Professions Shortage Areas are first steps to creating a sustainable plan for physician payment in the future

Accredited qualifications for capacity development in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation

Increasingly practitioners and policy makers working across the globe are recognising the importance of bringing together disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. From studies across 15 Pacific island nations, a key barrier to improving national resilience to disaster risks and climate change impacts has been identified as a lack of capacity and expertise resulting from the absence of sustainable accredited and quality assured formal training programmes in the disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation sectors. In the 2016 UNISDR Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, it was raised that most of the training material available are not reviewed either through a peer-to-peer mechanism or by the scientific community and are, thus, not following quality assurance standards. In response to these identified barriers, this paper focuses on a call for accredited formal qualifications for capacity development identified in the 2015 United Nations landmark agreements in DRR and CCA and uses the Pacific Islands Region of where this is now being implemented with the launch of the Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Professionals, for DRR and CCA. A key issue is providing an accreditation and quality assurance mechanism that is shared across boundaries. This paper argues that by using the United Nations landmark agreements of 2015, support for a regionally accredited capacity development that ensures all countries can produce, access and effectively use scientific information for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The newly launched Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Professionals who work in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation may offer a model that can be used more widely