Professors’ perspectives on truth-seeking and new literacy

New media and new literacy are essential in our contemporary paradigms of education and communication research. Though truth-seeking is one of the primary objectives inherent in higher education, the process for students may be less clear than it may be for trained academics or professors. The current study sought to explore how professors recommend that students seek truth in the information age. Relying on an assignment from a communication course, this study examined responses from student-led interviews with professors from across the U.S. and categorized trends in their recommendations for students. Overall twelve themes taken from advice on student truth-seeking emerged from the professors’ responses. We couch these findings in the current internet era that is faced with overwhelming amounts of information, channels, problems of misinformation, and the spreading of false stories via social media. Conclusions center around the need for new literacy and new media awareness

Evaluation of a Direct Fed Microbial and/or an Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Yeast Product in Diets Containing Monensin Sodium on Feedlot Phase Growth Performance, Efficiency of Dietary Net Energy Utilization, and Carcass Characteristics in Newly Weaned Beef Steers Fed in Confinement for 258 Days

Study Description: Single-sourced, newly weaned steers (n = 256; initial body weight (BW) = 542 ± 3.7 lb) were allotted to 32 pens (n = 8 pens/treatment with 8 steers/pen). Steers were blocked by location in a 2x2 factorial treatment arrangement of DFM (Certillus CP B1801 Dry; Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum; 28 g/steer·d-1) and YCW (Celmanax; 18 g/steer·d-1). Steers were vaccinated and poured at processing and individually weighed on d 1, 14, 42 (end of receiving phase; implanted), 77, 105 (end of growing phase), 133, 161 (implanted), 182, 230 (start ractopamine HCl) and 258. Growth performance and carcass measurements were recorded

Evaluation of a Direct Fed Microbial an an Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Yeast Product Fed Alone or in Combination to Beef Steers Administered Ractopamine Hydrochloride 28 Days Prior to Harvest During Summer Months in the Northern Plains

Study Description: Single-sourced, newly weaned steers (n=256; initial BW=542 ± 3.7lb; n=64 steers/treatment; 8 steers/pen) were blocked by location in a 2×2 factorial arrangement of DFM (Certillus CP B1801 Dry; Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum; 28 g/steer·d-1) and YCW (Celmanax; 18 g/steer·d-1). Temperature-humidity index (THI) was calculated as: THI=0.81×ambient temperature+[relative humidity×(ambient temperature-14.40)]+46.40. On d-1 and 2 and d-21 and 22 on RH, respiration rate (RR) and panting scores (PS) were determined before and after AM and PM feedings (0700h, 1100h, 1400h, 1700h). RR (n=3 steers/pen) was calculated from: 600/seconds required for 10 flank movements. PS utilized this scoring system: 0 (not distressed) to 4.5 (severely distressed)

Effects of On-Arrival Application of a Modified-Live Respiratory and Clostridia Vaccination on Health, Growth Performance, and Antibody Titers of Newly-Weaned Calves

Study Description: Single-sourced, newly weaned steers (n=70; initial body weight (BW)=560±12.9lb) were allotted to 10 pens (n=5 pens/treatment with 7 steers/pen). Steers were blocked by BW in a randomized complete block design of VAC [vaccinated for IBR, BVD 1 and 2, PI3, and BRSV (Bovi-Shield Gold 5, Zoetis, Parsippany, NJ) and clostridial (Ultrabec 7/Somubac, Zoetis) upon arrival] or NOVAC (not vaccinated for IBR, BVD 1 and 2, PI3, and BRSV or clostridial species upon arrival). Steers were individually weighed on d 0 (arrival), 1, 21, and 42 for growth performance measures. Whole blood samples (10 mL) were collected (n=3 steers/pen closest to the pen mean BW) on d 1, 21, and 42 via jugular venipuncture for metabolite and antibody titer responses

Near Resonant Spatial Images of Confined Bose-Einstein Condensates in the '4D' Magnetic Bottle

We present quantitative measurements of the spatial density profile of Bose-Einstein condensates of sodium atoms confined in a new '4D' magnetic bottle. The condensates are imaged in transmission with near resonant laser light. We demonstrate that the Thomas-Fermi surface of a condensate can be determined to better than 1%. More generally, we obtain excellent agreement with mean-field theory. We conclude that precision measurements of atomic scattering lengths and interactions between phase separated cold atoms in a harmonic trap can be measured with high precision using this method.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. Submitted 10/30/97, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. A Rapid Com

Stoichiometric Shifts in Soil C:N:P Promote Bacterial Taxa Dominance, Maintain Biodiversity, and Deconstruct Community Assemblages

Imbalances in C:N:P supply ratios may cause bacterial resource limitations and constrain biogeochemical processes, but the importance of shifts in soil stoichiometry are complicated by the nearly limitless interactions between an immensely rich species pool and a multiple chemical resource forms. To more clearly identify the impact of soil C:N:P on bacteria, we evaluated the cumulative effects of single and coupled long-term nutrient additions (i.e., C as mannitol, N as equal concentrations NH4+ and NO3−, and P as Na3PO4) and water on communities in an Antarctic polar desert, Taylor Valley. Untreated soils possessed relatively low bacterial diversity, simplified organic C sources due to the absence of plants, limited inorganic N, and excess soil P potentially attenuating links between C:N:P. After 6 years of adding resources, an alleviation of C and N colimitation allowed one rare Micrococcaceae, an Arthrobacter species, to dominate, comprising 47% of the total community abundance and elevating soil respiration by 136% relative to untreated soils. The addition of N alone reduced C:N ratios, elevated bacterial richness and diversity, and allowed rare taxa relying on ammonium and nitrite for metabolism to become more abundant [e.g., nitrite oxidizing Nitrospira species (Nitrosomonadaceae), denitrifiers utilizing nitrite (Gemmatimonadaceae) and members of Rhodobacteraceae with a high affinity for ammonium]. Based on community co-occurrence networks, lower C:P ratios in soils following P and CP additions created more diffuse and less connected communities by disrupting 73% of species interactions and selecting for taxa potentially exploiting abundant P. Unlike amended nutrients, water additions alone elicited no lasting impact on communities. Our results suggest that as soils become nutrient rich a wide array of outcomes are possible from species dominance and the deconstruction of species interconnectedness to the maintenance of biodiversity

Palladin Mutation Causes Familial Pancreatic Cancer and Suggests a New Cancer Mechanism

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease. Discovery of the mutated genes that cause the inherited form(s) of the disease may shed light on the mechanism(s) of oncogenesis. Previously we isolated a susceptibility locus for familial pancreatic cancer to chromosome location 4q32–34. In this study, our goal was to discover the identity of the familial pancreatic cancer gene on 4q32 and determine the function of that gene. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A customized microarray of the candidate chromosomal region affecting pancreatic cancer susceptibility revealed the greatest expression change in palladin (PALLD), a gene that encodes a component of the cytoskeleton that controls cell shape and motility. A mutation causing a proline (hydrophobic) to serine (hydrophilic) amino acid change (P239S) in a highly conserved region tracked with all affected family members and was absent in the non-affected members. The mutational change is not a known single nucleotide polymorphism. Palladin RNA, measured by quantitative RT-PCR, was overexpressed in the tissues from precancerous dysplasia and pancreatic adenocarcinoma in both familial and sporadic disease. Transfection of wild-type and P239S mutant palladin gene constructs into HeLa cells revealed a clear phenotypic effect: cells expressing P239S palladin exhibited cytoskeletal changes, abnormal actin bundle assembly, and an increased ability to migrate. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that the presence of an abnormal palladin gene in familial pancreatic cancer and the overexpression of palladin protein in sporadic pancreatic cancer cause cytoskeletal changes in pancreatic cancer and may be responsible for or contribute to the tumor's strong invasive and migratory abilities