Genomic Analysis of Metabolic Differences Found in \u3ci\u3eClostridium perfringens\u3c/i\u3e That Cause Necrotic Enteritis in Poultry

Clostridium perfringens is a common member of gut microbiota in healthy animals, but can also be an important pathogen in human and veterinary medicine. It produces several protein toxins that contribute to both histotoxic and enteric diseases in animals. Necrotic enteritis in poultry has been associated with the NetB toxin of C. perfringens; however, this toxin alone is insufficient to cause disease in infected chickens. While considerable research has focused on the presence of toxins and virulence factors, little has been done to assess the function of metabolic factors on the ability of the bacteria to cause disease. In this study, the metabolic differences are examined using genomic sequence analysis between genomes of stains of C. perfringens that are associated with necrotic enteritis. Several metabolic pathways are examined, which show different metabolic genes across C. perfringens lineages. Advisors: Greg Somerville and Etsuko Moriyam

Environmental forensics for characterization of unexploded ordnance in soils at the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area

The West Virginia Maneuver Area includes locations within the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Recreation Area, and private land holdings in Grant, Randolph, and Tucker counties of West Virginia. Between 1943 and 1944, the military trained troops in a 50,000 acre area which is now the Dolly Sods Wilderness area. This training was conducted by the U.S. Department of the Army and involved artillery and mortar training for troops destined for World War II combat in the mountains of Italy. This project focused on characterization and investigation of the environmental contamination resulting from military ordnance existing within areas of the West Virginia Maneuver Area, including the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area -- North, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and private land holdings in Canaan Valley, West Virginia. Field sampling campaigns were performed in July and August 2007. Field sampling procedures followed USEPA Method 8330b multi-increment sampling. Concentrations of explosive residues and their degradation products are reported for soils retrieved from these areas and analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with UV-vis detection. The combination of RDX/HMX was found to be present in soils on the surface and to a depth of at least 20.3 cm (8 in.) in this research

Measuring levels of preparation for decision-making and patient satisfaction in a breast cancer support group

The Carilion Clinic Breast Diagnostic Center diagnoses approximately 250 women with breast cancer annually, all of whom are invited to attend the Carilion Clinic Breast Cancer Support Group (CCBCSG). The primary aim of this project was to evaluate if participants with more frequent attendance of CCBCSG had increased levels of preparation for decision-making (PDM) and higher satisfaction with breast cancer treatment decisions. A REDCap survey was emailed to 137 patients who participated in at least one CCBCSG within the past five years, with a 39.4% response rate. The survey assessed levels of patient PDM, patient satisfaction about treatment decisions, and asked the open-ended question, “What else would you like to share about your CCBCSG experience and treatment decision making?” Attendance for the CCBCSG was the independent variable with four levels: one meeting (27.8%), 2-5 meetings (24.1%), 6-10 meetings (20.4%) and 10+ meetings (27.8%). The non-parametric ANOVA test, Kruskal-Wallis, was used to test for differences in the PDM and patient satisfaction among the groups of participants, based on the number of support groups they attended. Descriptive analysis and testing of statistical assumptions were performed with all quantitative variables. Although the study demonstrated that though the PDMS scores were not statistically significantly different (p=0.0934) for the four attendance groups, trends demonstrated that those who attended the most meetings (\u3e10) were more prepared for decision-making than any other group. Similarly, those who attended 10+ meetings were also statistically more likely to be satisfied with their experience (p=0.0290)

What do you mean my first draft isn\u27t perfect? A study of the impact of reflection journaling a peer review on student writing

Writing is an important component of disciplinary literacy in English classes. Professionals in the field of English write in a variety of styles and formats to express their beliefs and opinions on a variety of literary topics. The use of reflection journaling and peer revision, both highly researched subjects on their own, hold promise in helping students become more aware of how they write as individuals, and how they write for specific audiences. In this explanatory mixed methods action research study, I implemented prompted journal reflections and performed a guided release of peer review. This allowed students to gain understanding of concepts and then progress independently after the first guided attempts. Furthermore, I compared students\u27 reflections and peer reviews to their submitted final drafts, and looked for correlations between the different forms of data to determine what type of connection formed from these exercises

The vernacular of light : Wallace Stevens\u27 Constructions of Belief

Wallace Stevens\u27 poetry is known for its exploration of imagination and meditation as part of the search for what he called the supreme fiction. This potential fiction, necessary in Stevens\u27 view for the modern age, would replace the myth-remnants of past religions, vestigial beliefs and mythologies which could no longer satisfy. In my thesis, I examine Stevens\u27 drafts and unpublished manuscripts, as well as his body of poetic work, letters, essays, reviews, journal entries, and interviews, to explore in particular the way this search for a sustaining but temporary fiction incorporates the intersection of his claims for religious belief, love, and art

Making the Grade: Authentic Assessment through Music Portfolios

Research shows assessment is an important part of education. However, information on assessment in music is often limited to secondary education leaving elementary music teachers to devise their own systems of evaluation students. This teacher research addresses elementary music assessment by examining the implementation of student portfolios as a way to manage the data that is created in the music classroom. The portfolios were compiled using fourth grade student work which was divided into section that mirror the MENC National Standards. This research shows that student portfolios provide tangible evidence of student understanding to be shared with teachers, parents, and administrators. Portfolios save time by utilizing embedded assessments and result in more authentic assessment. The portfolios reveal the standards students struggle with as well as the standards in which they show competency. This research also provides suggestions on how to improve the process of creating student portfolios

A Comparison of Cosmological Parameters Determined from CMB Temperature Power Spectra from the South Pole Telescope and the Planck Satellite

The Planck cosmic microwave background temperature data are best fit with a ΛCDM model that mildly contradicts constraints from other cosmological probes. The South Pole Telescope (SPT) 2540 deg^2 SPT-SZ survey offers measurements on sub-degree angular scales (multipoles 650 ⩽ ℓ ⩽ 2500) with sufficient precision to use as an independent check of the Planck data. Here we build on the recent joint analysis of the SPT-SZ and Planck data in Hou et al. by comparing ΛCDM parameter estimates using the temperature power spectrum from both data sets in the SPT-SZ survey region. We also restrict the multipole range used in parameter fitting to focus on modes measured well by both SPT and Planck, thereby greatly reducing sample variance as a driver of parameter differences and creating a stringent test for systematic errors. We find no evidence of systematic errors from these tests. When we expand the maximum multipole of SPT data used, we see low-significance shifts in the angular scale of the sound horizon and the physical baryon and cold dark matter densities, with a resulting trend to higher Hubble constant. When we compare SPT and Planck data on the SPT-SZ sky patch to Planck full-sky data but keep the multipole range restricted, we find differences in the parameters n_s and A_se^(-2τ). We perform further checks, investigating instrumental effects and modeling assumptions, and we find no evidence that the effects investigated are responsible for any of the parameter shifts. Taken together, these tests reveal no evidence for systematic errors in SPT or Planckdata in the overlapping sky coverage and multipole range and at most weak evidence for a breakdown of ΛCDM or systematic errors influencing either the Planck data outside the SPT-SZ survey area or the SPT data at ℓ > 2000

eQTL Viewer: visualizing how sequence variation affects genome-wide transcription

BACKGROUND: Expression Quantitative Trait Locus (eQTL) mapping methods have been used to identify the genetic basis of gene expression variations. To map eQTL, thousands of expression profiles are related with sequence polymorphisms across the genome through their correlated variations. These eQTL distribute in many chromosomal regions, each of which can include many genes. The large number of mapping results produced makes it difficult to consider simultaneously the relationships between multiple genomic regions and multiple expressional profiles. There is a need for informative bioinformatics tools to assist the visualization and interpretation of these mapping results. RESULTS: We have developed a web-based tool, called eQTL Viewer, to visualize the relationships between the expression trait genes and the candidate genes in the eQTL regions using Scalable Vector Graphics. The plot generated by eQTL Viewer has the capacity to display mapping results with high resolutions at a variety of scales, and superimpose biological annotations onto the mapping results dynamically. CONCLUSION: Our tool provides an efficient and intuitive way for biologists to explore transcriptional regulation patterns, and to generate hypotheses on the genetic basis of transcriptional regulations