United We Ride National Dialogue

The Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) asked the National Academy of Public Administration and Easter Seals Project ACTION to develop and host the first United We Ride (UWR) National Dialogue. The goal of the Dialogue was to help shape future policy direction and provide input to the next CCAM strategic plan. The National Academy also assembled a small work group with representatives of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility, Easter Seals Project ACTION, and the National Resource Center on Human Service Transportation to help guide the process of design and implementation.The CCAM includes 11 federal departments, nine of which are responsible for providing transportation for people with disabilities, older adults, and people with limited incomes. CCAM officially launched United We Ride in 2004 to (1) provide more rides for target populations while using the same or fewer assets, (2) simplify access, and (3) increase customer satisfaction.Key FindingsThe process used to create coordinated transportation plans needs improvement. Significant federal policy barriers still exist to strategies that would facilitate access to transportation services. Mobility management strategies are underutilized in communities across the country, and missed opportunities to bridge gaps between transportation and other community services still need to be addressed

Determining alpha-smooth muscle actin expression in embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells of assorted mammals seeded in collagen scaffolds in vitro

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 28).Healing by contraction is responsible for scarring in adults. Embryos heal by regeneration but the mechanism is unknown. Alpha-smooth muscle actin ([alpha]-SMA) is the protein responsible for contraction, thus determining if it is present in embryos which heal by regeneration will further our knowledge about the causes of regenerative healing. This thesis experimentally determined the presence of [alpha]-SMA in these cell types by the following procedure. Embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells of various species were cultured and seeded into collagen scaffolds. Contractile behavior was determined by measuring the diameter change of the scaffolds over time. Alpha-smooth muscle actin presence was determined by immunohistochemical evaluation. This study found that while all the cell types displayed alpha smooth muscle actin presence in monolayer, not every cell type contracted when seeded into the collagen scaffolds designed to mimic the in vivo environment. Specifically, the embryonic stem cells did not contract. Upon staining, the embryonic stem cell seeded scaffolds and several of the mesenchymal stem cell seeded scaffolds, which did contract, did not stain positive for [alpha]-SMA. These results imply that the embryonic scaffolds did not generate actin filament bundles, and that several of the mesenchymal stem cell seeded scaffolds were imaged after [alpha]-SMA expression in them ceased.by Edward B. Jennings, III.S.B

Migrating existing multimedia courseware to Moodle

Open source course management systems offer increased flexibility for instructors and instructional designers. Communities can influence the development of these systems and on an individual basis, the possibility to modify the system software exists. Migrating existing courseware to these systems can therefore be beneficial, sometimes even required. We report here about our experience in migrating an existing courseware system consisting of multimedia content and interactive, integrated infrastructure functionality to an open source course management system called Moodle. We will assess the difficulties that we have encountered during this process and, discuss the importance of standards in this context, and we aim to provide other instructors or instructional designers with guidelines and assessment support for other migration projects

Oxidative Stress Response in Archaea: Elucidation of Oxidant Sensing and Tolerance Mechanisms in Methanosarcina acetivorans

Methanogens are archaea possessing a conserved metabolic pathway which produces methane. Many of the enzymes in the methanogenesis pathway are Fe-S proteins, meaning methanogens are sensitive to conditions which disrupt Fe-S clusters. Molecular oxygen is capable of disrupting Fe-S clusters through oxidation of the iron atoms. Furthermore, reduced iron can facilitate the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), meaning methanogens must possess antioxidant mechanisms. Detection and eradication of ROS is important for all cells, due to the potentially fatal consequences of unchecked oxidation. This dissertation presents two separate projects investigating mechanisms the model methanogen Methanosarcina acetivorans possess for dealing with ROS. One project investigated the roles two [4Fe-4S] clusters present in RNA polymerase (RNAP) subunit D play in assembly and activity of RNAP; to determine if a mechanism exists for linking sensitivity of the clusters to oxygen to RNAP function. My data shows that both clusters and the cluster binding domain play an important role in assembly of RNAP downstream of D-L heterodimer formation, preventing optimal assembly of at least subunits B’ and A’’ when the clusters are absent. Cluster one plays a more critical role in this process compared to cluster two. Coupled with experimental evidence that the clusters are oxygen sensitive, this provides support for the hypothesis that the clusters regulate RNAP assembly in response to redox state of the cell. The second project investigated two putative catalase genes present in the M. acetivorans genome. Experimental evidence showed neither catalase was functional. Engineering of a M. acetivorans strain to express functional catalase from Escherichia coli increased the tolerance of M. acetivorans to H2O2, but not oxygen during growth in standard conditions. Catalase does not appear to be an important component in the oxidative stress response of M. acetivorans

EJournal: An Account of the First Two Years

As I write these first paragraphs of EJournal's autobiography, it is the morning after the first issue hit the "newsstands." Yesterday, I uploaded the mailing list to the list server from my personal account on SUNY Albany's VAX. Then I finished the unexpected task of deleting 283 copies of the subscription confirmation message that was sent to recipients. Ready at last, I e-mailed the fourth "final" version of the 421-line issue to the list server for network distribution. Then came the catch: I was not privileged to send anything to the list from that account. So, it wasn't until I had gone through one more file transfer and the deletion of a "wrong-address" header that EJournal 1.1 went off into the "matrix." Yesterday's episode is typical of the last two years: one adjustment of expectations after another. This essay will fill in some of the twists and turns along EJournal's short journey. It will be a kind of editorial autobiography, and I will finish up with a rationalized interpretation of the response to the midMarch 1991 mailing. Near the top of EJournal's front page is the line: "An Electronic Journal concerned with the implications of electronic networks and texts." My interest in paperless texts goes back to an experimental course in 1985. In it, we almost abandoned the classroom in favor of writing to each other from terminals. My awareness of larger networks began when Frank Madden, of SUNY's Westchester Community College, introduced me to an Exxonsponsored project out of New York Institute of Technology. Michael Spitzer had convinced several people interested in using computers to help students figure out how to write more confidently. In the spring of 1989, after Michael's funding had dried up and Fred Kemp started MegaByte University (MBU) on BITNET, several intriguing issues began to pop up with some frequency. Let's turn the clock back, then, to Spring 1989