The Future of the University: Commonalities Between Research 1 Institutions With Significant Graduate-Level Online Enrollments

The purpose of this research study is to identify the shared characteristics for developing and administering online learning initiatives among leading nonprofit higher education institutions. By conducting qualitative, in-depth interviews with university leadership at 12 of the 15 institutions enrolling the greatest amount of online graduate students, the researcher identified the commonalities present in regard to developing and administering online graduate courses for their respective institution. The findings revealed that graduate-level online learning helps expand access to the institution for an alternative type of learner. University leadership prioritized online learning by promoting its virtues and looked for avenues to strategically grow online learning opportunities on their respective campuses. These schools largely developed and administered online learning through a centralized unit that works to build relationships with faculty members across their campuses. The findings conclude as leaders considered the future of online learning at higher education institutions and how it will evolve over time. This research is meant for leadership at higher education institutions who are interested in mobilizing and scaling online learning opportunities at their respective campus by adapting and implementing the commonalities gleaned from leaders in the field in a way that is authentic and fits within the mission and vision of each individual institution.Master of Art

Contribution of increasing plasma membrane to the energetic cost of early zebrafish embryogenesis

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Rodenfels, J., Sartori, P., Golfier, S., Nagendra, K., Neugebauer, K. M., & Howard, J. Contribution of increasing plasma membrane to the energetic cost of early zebrafish embryogenesis. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 31(7), (2020): 520-526, doi:10.1091/mbc.E19-09-0529.How do early embryos allocate the resources stored in the sperm and egg? Recently, we established isothermal calorimetry to measure heat dissipation by living zebra­fish embryos and to estimate the energetics of specific developmental events. During the reductive cleavage divisions, the rate of heat dissipation increases from ∼60 nJ · s−1 at the two-cell stage to ∼90 nJ · s−1 at the 1024-cell stage. Here we ask which cellular process(es) drive this increasing energetic cost. We present evidence that the cost is due to the increase in the total surface area of all the cells of the embryo. First, embryo volume stays constant during the cleavage stage, indicating that the increase is not due to growth. Second, the heat increase is blocked by nocodazole, which inhibits DNA replication, mitosis, and cell division; this suggests some aspect of cell proliferation contributes to these costs. Third, the heat increases in proportion to the total cell surface area rather than total cell number. Fourth, the heat increase falls within the range of the estimated costs of maintaining and assembling plasma membranes and associated proteins. Thus, the increase in total plasma membrane associated with cell proliferation is likely to contribute appreciably to the total energy budget of the embryo.The analysis of these data was initiated in the 2019 Physical Biology of the Cell course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. We acknowledge the support and feedback from the course directors and participants. This work was supported by funding from EMBO Long-Term Fellowship ALTF 754–2015 (to J.R.), the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Membership in Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study (to P.S.), National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21 HD094013 (to K.M.N.), and NIH R01 GM110386 (to J.H.). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH

Der Wohnraumbedarf in Hessen nach ausgewählten Zielgruppen und Wohnformen

DER WOHNRAUMBEDARF IN HESSEN NACH AUSGEWÄHLTEN ZIELGRUPPEN UND WOHNFORMEN Der Wohnraumbedarf in Hessen nach ausgewählten Zielgruppen und Wohnformen / Vaché, Martin (Rights reserved) ( -

The ecdysteroidome of Drosophila: influence of diet and development

Ecdysteroids are the hormones regulating development, physiology and fertility in arthropods, which synthesize them exclusively from dietary sterols. But how dietary sterol diversity influences the ecdysteroid profile, how animals ensure the production of desired hormones and whether there are functional differences between different ecdysteroids produced in vivo remains unknown. This is because currently there is no analytical technology for unbiased, comprehensive and quantitative assessment of the full complement of endogenous ecdysteroids. We developed a new LC-MS/MS method to screen the entire chemical space of ecdysteroid-related structures and to quantify known and newly discovered hormones and their catabolites. We quantified the ecdysteroidome in Drosophila melanogaster and investigated how the ecdysteroid profile varies with diet and development. We show that Drosophila can produce four different classes of ecdysteroids, which are obligatorily derived from four types of dietary sterol precursors. Drosophila makes makisterone A from plant sterols and epi-makisterone A from ergosterol, the major yeast sterol. However, they prefer to selectively utilize scarce ergosterol precursors to make a novel hormone 24,28-dehydromakisterone A and trace cholesterol to synthesize 20-hydroxyecdysone. Interestingly, epi-makisterone A supports only larval development, whereas all other ecdysteroids allow full adult development. We suggest that evolutionary pressure against producing epi-C-24 ecdysteroids might explain selective utilization of ergosterol precursors and the puzzling preference for cholesterol.Max Planck Geselleschaft, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (TRR 83, projects A17 and A19), European Molecular Biology Organization Long Term Fellowship, University Pierre and Marie Curie

Fortschritte beim Wärmeschutz der Wohngebäude

Durch eine repräsentative Befragung von Hauseigentümern wurden Daten zum energetischen Zustand der deutschen Wohngebäude erhoben. Diese zeigen, dass höhere Modernisierungsraten beim Wärmeschutz notwendig sind, um die Klimaschutzziele zu erreichen

Ermittlung der existenzsichernden Bedarfe für die Kosten der Unterkunft und Heizung in der Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende nach dem Zweiten Buch Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB II) und in der Sozialhilfe nach dem Zwölften Buch Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB XII): Endbericht mit Materialband vom 30.11.2016

Die vorliegende Studie befasst sich mit der Ermittlung existenzsichernder Bedarfe der Unterkunft und Heizung für Bedarfs- und Einstandsgemeinschaften nach SGB II und SGB XII. Zum einen untersucht sie auf der Grundlage einer bundesweiten Kommunalbefragung, zwölf Fallstudien sowie zwanzig Expertengesprächen die aktuelle Umsetzungspraxis. Es werden unterschiedliche Verfahrensweisen der Grundsicherungs- und Sozialhilfeträger unter Berücksichtigung der wohnungsmarktlichen Rahmbedingungen analysiert und zentrale Herausforderungen und Probleme der Umsetzung diskutiert. Hier zeigt sich eine Vielfalt an Umsetzungswegen, die letztlich durch normative Entscheidungsspielräume auf kommunaler Ebene geprägt und weniger durch unterschiedliche Wohnungsmarktkontexte begründet ist. Zum anderen werden in der Studie mit dem Ziel einer existenzsichernden Bedarfsdeckung unterschiedliche Verfahren entwickelt, mit Hilfe derer mögliche Mietobergrenzen berechnet werden. Dabei differenziert die Studie zwischen drei grundlegenden Bemessungsansätzen, die im Wesentlichen auf der Abbildung der Wohnkosten einer definierten Referenzgruppe, den ortsüblichen Miete eines bestimmten Wohnstandards oder den Kosten für die Neuanmietung einer ausreichenden Menge von Wohnraum basieren. Verknüpft mit den verschiedenen Ansätzen sind unterschiedliche Datengrundlagen und Berechnungsschritte. Die Vergleichsberechnung in den zwölf Fallstudien und 878 deutschen Mittelbereichen zeigt im Ergebnis deutliche Unterschiede. Abschließend werden unterschiedliche Wege der Weiterentwicklung der rechtlichen Rahmensetzung diskutiert. Hier werden Möglichkeiten der Bedarfsbemessung durch den Bund, die durch die aktuelle Datenlage beschränkt werden, und Empfehlungen bezüglich einzelner Verfahrensschritte der Bemessung beschrieben.The study seeks to appraise the rent benefit level necessary to meet welfare recipients’ basic need for housing and heating. First, it examines the actual practice at a local level based on a nationwide survey, twelve case studies and twenty interviews with experts. The study analyses the different approaches of welfare authorities while considering regional housing market conditions. The crucial challenges and problems regarding implementation are also discussed, revealing that there are a variety of implementation paths. These are determined by normative decisions at a local level rather than different housing market contexts. Second, the study develops different approaches with the goal of calculating potential limits to ensure that the rent benefit level can meet the basic requirements for housing and heating. Here, the study differentiates between three basic assessment options based on: the housing costs of a defined reference group of low-income recipients, the usual local rent for a simple dwelling or the cost that allows for access to a share of the rental housing market that satisfies demand. Different data sources and calculation steps are linked with these three basic assessment options. A comparative calculation regarding the twelve case studies and the 878 German Mittelbereiche (geographical regions served by central places of the second out of four levels of importance) shows very different results. Finally, the study discusses different ways of developing the legal framework. This includes options for determining the rent benefit level by the federal government, that are constrained by the current lack of data, and suggestions referring to the different steps of determining the level by the local authorities

The genetic interactome of prohibitins: coordinated control of cardiolipin and phosphatidylethanolamine by conserved regulators in mitochondria

Prohibitin ring complexes in the mitochondrial inner membrane regulate cell proliferation as well as the dynamics and function of mitochondria. Although prohibitins are essential in higher eukaryotes, prohibitin-deficient yeast cells are viable and exhibit a reduced replicative life span. Here, we define the genetic interactome of prohibitins in yeast using synthetic genetic arrays, and identify 35 genetic interactors of prohibitins (GEP genes) required for cell survival in the absence of prohibitins. Proteins encoded by these genes include members of a conserved protein family, Ups1 and Gep1, which affect the processing of the dynamin-like GTPase Mgm1 and thereby modulate cristae morphogenesis. We show that Ups1 and Gep1 regulate the levels of cardiolipin and phosphatidylethanolamine in mitochondria in a lipid-specific but coordinated manner. Lipid profiling by mass spectrometry of GEP-deficient mitochondria reveals a critical role of cardiolipin and phosphatidylethanolamine for survival of prohibitin-deficient cells. We propose that prohibitins control inner membrane organization and integrity by acting as protein and lipid scaffolds

Ordered patterning of the sensory system is susceptible to stochastic features of gene expression

Sensory neuron numbers and positions are precisely organized to accurately map environmental signals in the brain. This precision emerges from biochemical processes within and between cells that are inherently stochastic. We investigated impact of stochastic gene expression on pattern formation, focusing on senseless (sens), a key determinant of sensory fate in Drosophila. Perturbing microRNA regulation or genomic location of sens produced distinct noise signatures. Noise was greatly enhanced when both sens alleles were present in homologous loci such that each allele was regulated in trans by the other allele. This led to disordered patterning. In contrast, loss of microRNA repression of sens increased protein abundance but not sensory pattern disorder. This suggests that gene expression stochasticity is a critical feature that must be constrained during development to allow rapid yet accurate cell fate resolution

The Role of Systemically Circulating Hedgehog in Drosophila melanogaster

The physiological response to environmental cues involves complex interorgan communication via endocrine factors and hormones, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In particular, little is known about how animals coordinate systemic growth and developmental timing in response to environmental changes. The morphogen Hedgehog (Hh), which is well studied in tissue patterning and homeostasis, has only recently been implicated in the regulation of lipid and sugar metabolism. Interestingly, Hh is present in systemic circulation in both, ies and mammals. Here, we demonstrate that systemic Hh is produced in the midgut and secreted in association with the lipoprotein particle lipophorin (Lpp) into the hemolymph to mediate the interorgan communication between the midgut and two tissues, the fat body and the prothoracic gland (PG). We show that midgut hh expression is regulated by dietary sugar and amino acid levels, and RNAi-mediated knock-down of circulating Hh leads to starvation sensitivity. We demonstrate that circulating Hh is required to inhibit systemic growth and developmental progression. In insects, developmental transitions are regulated by steroid hormones, which are produced by the PG. Nutritional regulation of growth is, in part, mediated by the Drosophila fat body. Strikingly, canonical Hh pathway components are present in both tissues, the fat body and the PG. To understand the Hh-mediated function during nutritional stress, we ectopically activated or inhibited the Hh signaling pathway specifically in the fat body and the PG. Our results show that systemic Hh exerts its function through these two target tissues. Hh signaling in the fat body is required for survival during periods of nutrient deprivation, and ectopic activation of fat body Hh signaling causes an inhibition of systemic growth. Hh signaling in the PG slows down developmental progression by inhibiting steroid hormone biosynthesis. In conclusion, we propose that the midgut senses the uptake of dietary sugar and amino acids and secrets Hh in association with Lpp particles into circulation to relay information about the feeding status to the developing animal. Therefore, circulating Hh functions as a hormone and signals in an endocrine manner to the fat body and the prothoracic gland to coordinate systemic growth and developmental timing in response to changes in nutrient availability