Effects of prescribed burning on composition of serpentine grassland vegetation

Serpentine grasslands serve as refuges for native grassland plant species. Exotic invasive plants increasingly displace even serpentine natives. Fire is a common tool used by managers to control exotic vegetation. Controlled experimental burns were conducted to evaluate the impacts of early summer burning on plant community species richness and the abundance of Leptosiphon ambiguus, Bromus hordeaceus, Lessingia micradenia var. glabrata, Plantago erecta and grasses in two kinds of patches: those with a high abundance of L. ambiguus and little B. hordeaceus, and those with a moderate abundance of both L. ambiguus and B. hordeaceus. This two-year study, conducted in Santa Clara County, California, used a Randomized Block Repeated Measure design (n = 10) with the treatments (burned, not burned) applied after the first year's data were collected. From a management perspective there were three main benefits and one drawback of burning. Increases in species richness in both types of patches and the increase in L. ambiguus and reduction of B. hordeaceus in the B. hordeaceus-invaded patches were beneficial outcomes. The reduction of L. micradenia in L. ambiguus-rich patches was a drawback. Additionally, the study revealed that there was an increase in P. erecta abundance with higher burn temperatures in L. ambiguus-rich quadrats; in B. hordeaceus-invaded quadrats, there was a decrease in P. erecta abundance with higher burn temperatures. Burning also decreased the abundance of all annual grasses combined. Overall, prescribed burning at the grazed study site appeared to be beneficial

Survey of Medicinal Herbs of Central Illinois Prairie and Woodlands

Illinois has been named the Prairie State for good reason. When the pioneers discovered a vast sea of grasses and forbs, they thought the prairie infertile. However, they soon found out that the blacksoil prairie was composed of a rich diversity of plant species that could provide much of the medical and nutritional needs of everyday life. The medicinal uses of many prairie species have not only been tested throughout history, but today modern science has also discovered their therapeutic importance. The purpose of this study was to survey prairie species growing in the central Illinois counties of Coles and Clark, and compare flowering or fruiting species collected with those of James Hefley\u27s 6-county study (Hefley, 1987). The collected species were stored in the Stover-Ebinger Herbarium on the Eastern Illinois University campus. An analysis was performed of the medicinal properties of these herbs, by researching their functional uses based on the presence of chemical constituents within the tissues of the species in this study. In addition, the species collected were analyzed for their Coefficient of Conservatism and Floristic Quality as an indication of the resulting Natural Quality of the areas in all three studies. It was determined that species found in the 7 counties researched revealed a Mean Conservatism of native species collected in the C to D grade range. The highest value of 4.393 was from Hefley\u27s study. Woodyard and Coleman Farms coefficient of conservatism was 3.423 and 3.226 respectively. Floristic Quality for the natives in both Woodyard Conservation Area and Coleman Farm was ranked as degraded with restoration potential. Of all species researched in this study, 70% showed medicinal properties. This study presents the richness of resources within the central Illinois prairie and the importance of preserving tall-grass prairie remnants. With a very small part of the tall-grass prairie remaining in Illinois, it is crucial that conservation efforts be utilized in an effort to save the last remaining ecosystem: the Grand Prairie of Illinois

Survey of Medicinal Herbs of Central Illinois Prairie and Woodlands

Illinois has been named the Prairie State for good reason. When the pioneers discovered a vast sea of grasses and forbs, they thought the prairie infertile. However, they soon found out that the blacksoil prairie was composed of a rich diversity of plant species that could provide much of the medical and nutritional needs of everyday life. The medicinal uses of many prairie species have not only been tested throughout history, but today modern science has also discovered their therapeutic importance. The purpose of this study was to survey prairie species growing in the central Illinois counties of Coles and Clark, and compare flowering or fruiting species collected with those of James Hefley\u27s 6-county study (Hefley, 1987). The collected species were stored in the Stover-Ebinger Herbarium on the Eastern Illinois University campus. An analysis was performed of the medicinal properties of these herbs, by researching their functional uses based on the presence of chemical constituents within the tissues of the species in this study. In addition, the species collected were analyzed for their Coefficient of Conservatism and Floristic Quality as an indication of the resulting Natural Quality of the areas in all three studies. It was determined that species found in the 7 counties researched revealed a Mean Conservatism of native species collected in the C to D grade range. The highest value of 4.393 was from Hefley\u27s study. Woodyard and Coleman Farms coefficient of conservatism was 3.423 and 3.226 respectively. Floristic Quality for the natives in both Woodyard Conservation Area and Coleman Farm was ranked as degraded with restoration potential. Of all species researched in this study, 70% showed medicinal properties. This study presents the richness of resources within the central Illinois prairie and the importance of preserving tall-grass prairie remnants. With a very small part of the tall-grass prairie remaining in Illinois, it is crucial that conservation efforts be utilized in an effort to save the last remaining ecosystem: the Grand Prairie of Illinois

ExCEEd II: Advanced training for even better teaching

In 2007, the American Society of Civil Engineering’s Committee on Faculty Development (CFD) conducted a longitudinal survey of all the past participants of the ExCEEd Teaching Workshop (ETW). The CFD received 173 responses, representing 40% of the ETW population at that time, to its survey about skills and the long term value of ETW. Important to this paper, 73% of the survey respondents said that they were interested in attending a post, advanced ETW. Motivated by these survey results, the CFD began its planning for a pilot ExCEEd II workshop during the 2008-2009 academic year. In the summer of 2009, ASCE offered its first ExCEEd II workshop for past ETW participants. This paper describes the day and a half ExCEEd II workshop along with a summary of results captured from two structured evaluations. All activities, except two, received average scores for value and conduct of 4.0 or better on a 1.0 to 5.0 scale. The participant teaching experience followed by the demonstration class taught by a master teacher were rated the highest in terms of their value to the participants. For some participants, the hands-on teaching experience coupled with the constructive and supportive feedback environment were cited as the main reasons for attending ExCEEd II. The program’s cost was deemed reasonable and appropriate to the length, value, and conduct of the workshop. The participants recommended increasing the length of the workshop to two days; incorporating two participant teaching sessions; providing more information or time to the topics of brain functions, problem based learning, ETW review, and short in-class demonstrations or models; and adding content on evaluating student learning and integrating new teaching technologies

Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) Paraprofessional Supervision: Crucial Components for Program Success

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) national leadership and university program partners initiated a discussion about EFNEP paraprofessional supervision due to concerns raised by state coordinators and a belief that the quality and adequacy of paraprofessional supervision have a considerable impact on program outcomes and effectiveness. An EFNEP Paraprofessional Supervision Committee was formed and tasked with developing a framework of paraprofessional supervisory components necessary for effective local supervision of EFNEP within various university and state contexts. The committee conceptualized EFNEP supervision as consisting of three crucial components: responsibilities; traits and skills; and critical support. Responsibilities outline the day-to-day tasks that EFNEP supervisors are expected to complete. Traits and skills underscore the qualities and behaviors that assist a supervisor with the effective implementation of duties, and are categorized as essential, important, or helpful. Critical support articulates the core functions that are shared by the EFNEP supervisor and those who support the supervisor and the program, both specifically and more generally, including administrators and directors. The committee outlined a call to action to address the needs expressed by those who implement EFNEP on a daily basis. The committee proposes that applying and further developing these crucial components will strengthen EFNEP supervision and enhance the program’s effectiveness.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_pubs/1252/thumbnail.jp

ExCEEd teaching workshop: Tenth year anniversary

In response to the need for faculty training, the American Society of Civil Engineers developed and funded the ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Workshop that is today – the summer of 2008 – celebrating its tenth year of existence. For the past decade, nineteen ExCEEd Teaching Workshops (ETW) have been held at the United States Military Academy, the University of Arkansas, and Northern Arizona University, with two more workshops scheduled for this summer for a total of 21 offerings. ETW has realized 449 graduates from 203 different U.S. and international colleges and universities. This paper summarizes the content of ETW, assesses its effectiveness, highlights changes in the program as a result of the assessment, and outlines future directions. The assessment data were obtained from multiple survey instruments conducted during each workshop, surveys taken six months to a year after the workshop, and a ten year longitudinal survey

A Plasmid-Transposon Hybrid Mutagenesis System Effective in a Broad Range of Enterobacteria.

Random transposon mutagenesis is a powerful technique used to generate libraries of genetic insertions in many different bacterial strains. Here we develop a system facilitating random transposon mutagenesis in a range of different Gram-negative bacterial strains, including Pectobacterium atrosepticum, Citrobacter rodentium, Serratia sp. ATCC39006, Serratia plymuthica, Dickeya dadantii, and many more. Transposon mutagenesis was optimized in each of these strains and three studies are presented to show the efficacy of this system. Firstly, the important agricultural pathogen D. dadantii was mutagenized. Two mutants that showed reduced protease production and one mutant producing the previously cryptic pigment, indigoidine, were identified and characterized. Secondly, the enterobacterium, Serratia sp. ATCC39006 was mutagenized and mutants incapable of producing gas vesicles, proteinaceous intracellular organelles, were identified. One of these contained a β-galactosidase transcriptional fusion within the gene gvpA1, essential for gas vesicle production. Finally, the system was used to mutate the biosynthetic gene clusters of the antifungal, anti-oomycete and anticancer polyketide, oocydin A, in the plant-associated enterobacterium, Dickeya solani MK10. The mutagenesis system was developed to allow easy identification of transposon insertion sites by sequencing, after facile generation of a replicon encompassing the transposon and adjacent DNA, post-excision. Furthermore, the system can also create transcriptional fusions with either β-galactosidase or β-glucuronidase as reporters, and exploits a variety of drug resistance markers so that multiple selectable fusions can be generated in a single strain. This system of various transposons has wide utility and can be combined in many different ways.The authors would like to acknowledge several funding sources. D. Smith was supported by a PhD studentship from the BBSRC. Work in the MW lab is supported by the BBSRC (grants BB/G015171/1 and BB/M019411/1). K. Roberts was funded by an MRC studentship. R. Monson and the Salmond lab were supported by grants from the BBSRC (Grant No Provisional BB/K001833/1). M.A. Matilla was supported by the EU Marie-Curie Intra-European Fellowship for Career Development (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF), grant number 298003. B. Richardson was supported by a Harry Smith vacation studentship from the SGM, UK. The authors would also like to thank Ray Chai for careful reading and comments on this manuscript. Alison Drew provided technical support. Work with plant pathogens was carried out under DEFRA licence No. 50864/197900/1.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from Frontiers via http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.0144

Identification of Small Molecule and Genetic Modulators of AON-Induced Dystrophin Exon Skipping by High-Throughput Screening

One therapeutic approach to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) recently entering clinical trials aims to convert DMD phenotypes to that of a milder disease variant, Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD), by employing antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) targeting splice sites, to induce exon skipping and restore partial dystrophin function. In order to search for small molecule and genetic modulators of AON-dependent and independent exon skipping, we screened ∼10,000 known small molecule drugs, >17,000 cDNA clones, and >2,000 kinase- targeted siRNAs against a 5.6 kb luciferase minigene construct, encompassing exon 71 to exon 73 of human dystrophin. As a result, we identified several enhancers of exon skipping, acting on both the reporter construct as well as endogenous dystrophin in mdx cells. Multiple mechanisms of action were identified, including histone deacetylase inhibition, tubulin modulation and pre-mRNA processing. Among others, the nucleolar protein NOL8 and staufen RNA binding protein homolog 2 (Stau2) were found to induce endogenous exon skipping in mdx cells in an AON-dependent fashion. An unexpected but recurrent theme observed in our screening efforts was the apparent link between the inhibition of cell cycle progression and the induction of exon skipping

Resonant Soft X-Ray Contrast Variation Methods as Composition-Specific Probes of Thin Polymer Film Structure

We have developed complementary soft x-ray scattering and reflectometry techniques that allow for the morphological analysis of thin polymer films without resorting to chemical modification or isotopic 2 labeling. With these techniques, we achieve significant, x-ray energy-dependent contrast between carbon atoms in different chemical environments using soft x-ray resonance at the carbon edge. Because carbon-containing samples absorb strongly in this region, the scattering length density depends on both the real and imaginary parts of the atomic scattering factors. Using a model polymer film of poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate), we show that the soft x-ray reflectivity data is much more sensitive to these atomic scattering factors than the soft x-ray scattering data. Nevertheless, fits to both types of data yield useful morphological details on the polymer?slamellar structure that are consistent with each other and with literature values

Large-Scale Evaluation of Candidate Genes Identifies Associations between VEGF Polymorphisms and Bladder Cancer Risk

Common genetic variation could alter the risk for developing bladder cancer. We conducted a large-scale evaluation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes for cancer to identify common variants that influence bladder cancer risk. An Illumina GoldenGate assay was used to genotype 1,433 SNPs within or near 386 genes in 1,086 cases and 1,033 controls in Spain. The most significant finding was in the 5′ UTR of VEGF (rs25648, p for likelihood ratio test, 2 degrees of freedom = 1 × 10(−5)). To further investigate the region, we analyzed 29 additional SNPs in VEGF, selected to saturate the promoter and 5′ UTR and to tag common genetic variation in this gene. Three additional SNPs in the promoter region (rs833052, rs1109324, and rs1547651) were associated with increased risk for bladder cancer: odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 2.52 (1.06–5.97), 2.74 (1.26–5.98), and 3.02 (1.36–6.63), respectively; and a polymorphism in intron 2 (rs3024994) was associated with reduced risk: 0.65 (0.46–0.91). Two of the promoter SNPs and the intron 2 SNP showed linkage disequilibrium with rs25648. Haplotype analyses revealed three blocks of linkage disequilibrium with significant associations for two blocks including the promoter and 5′ UTR (global p = 0.02 and 0.009, respectively). These findings are biologically plausible since VEGF is critical in angiogenesis, which is important for tumor growth, its elevated expression in bladder tumors correlates with tumor progression, and specific 5′ UTR haplotypes have been shown to influence promoter activity. Associations between bladder cancer risk and other genes in this report were not robust based on false discovery rate calculations. In conclusion, this large-scale evaluation of candidate cancer genes has identified common genetic variants in the regulatory regions of VEGF that could be associated with bladder cancer risk