Connecting researchers and research

Libraries have long held an established role in the scholarly research process; however the process of scholarly communication is evolving. Citation management software, institutional repositories, open access and open data mandates have opened up new opportunities and new challenges. Researchers have more responsibility for managing their work, but less time to do it. Libraries are struggling to remain an active part of the scholarly communication process. It has become increasingly difficult for institutions to identify their scholarly output. This presentation will show how MBLWHOI is attempting to meet this challenge with the implementation of, Bibapp, an open source tool to manage campus research

Iron Homeostasis in the Legume-Rhizobial Symbiosis

All plants require iron to survive, but those that establish symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria have a particularly high demand. The bacterial nitrogenase enzyme is dependent on iron-sulphur cofactors, and the host plant expresses large amounts of leghaemoglobin in infected cells to protect nitrogenase from oxygen inactivation. Using reverse genetics, this study aims to identify proteins involved in Fe transport and haem cofactor biosynthesis in the nodules of Medicago truncatula and its partner symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti. I identified the major (FECH1B) and minor (FECH1A) nodule ferrochelatases, enzymes responsible for the last stage of haem biosynthesis. I obtained a Tnt1 insertion mutant in each of these and confirmed genotype by PCR. RT-PCR showed that transcript was absent in fech1b but not fech1a, most likely because the insertion in the latter is intronic. fech1b mutants produced fewer pink nodules than the wild type, with some morphological differences. FECH1B-eGFP localised to the plastids. I also identified two highly upregulated nodule-specific vacuolar iron transporter-like (VTL) genes, VTL4 and SEN1. I obtained two Tnt1 insertion mutants in VTL4, and also a mutant, 13U, with a 30 kilobase deletion encompassing VTL4 and SEN1; the only two nodule-expressed VTLs. 13U mutants only produced white nodules, while vtl4 mutants produced more white nodules than the wild type. A novel bacterial iron reporter PmbfA:lux showed that bacteria in 13U nodules perceived less iron than in wild-type nodules, with vtl4 nodules showing an intermediate phenotype. VTL4-mCherry localised to the plasma membrane and infection thread membrane of cells in the infection zone, while SEN1mCherry localised to the symbiosome membrane of interzone cells. Together, these data suggest that VTL4 and SEN1 mediate Fe transport to bacteroids, but at different stages of the infection process

The effect of grading the work of fourth grade students in red ink and their academic self-esteem

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect on fourth grade students\u27 academic self-esteem when marking their work in red ink versus blue or black ink. It was hypothesized that there would not be a significant difference in the academic self-esteem of fourth grade students whose work was marked in red ink, compared to their work that was marked in blue or black ink. The study was a quasi-experimental design, examining students in a fourth grade classroom. Nineteen students participated in the study. Prior to the pretest, student work had been marked in blue or black ink for a period of six months. The students were pretested using a Self-Esteem Inventory Test created by Stanley Coopersmith. After the pretest was administered, students\u27 work was marked in red ink for a period of four weeks. A posttest was given after the four-week period, the same Self-Esteem Inventory Test by Stanley Coopersmith was used. A t-test was administered to determine the significance of the mean of the pretest and posttests scores for the fourth grade class where alpha = 0.05 (alpha value). The t-test revealed no significant difference between the mean pretest and posttest scores of the fourth grade class

2019 IODE Update: AIUs, ODISCat, OceanDocs

This presentation gives an overview of current IODE projects that intersect with IAMSLIC interests. This includes an update on the Associated Data Units program for eligible Library and Information Centers

Object introduction, exploration, and play behavior in Black-throated monitor lizards (Varanus albigularis albigularis)

It is widely accepted that providing stimulus enrichment and opportunities to play is an important part of the development and maintenance of behavior and well-being in mammals. However, extending this idea to non-avian reptiles has barely been explored Observations reported by scientists, zookeepers, and others, however, have suggested that non-avian reptiles can and do perform some form of play and exploration with novel objects and may benefit from enriched environments. Varanids display several advanced mammalian-like characteristics (i.e. physiology, life history, and prey discrimination) compared to other reptiles, and it is plausible that higher cognitive behaviors are also present. It was hypothesized that play and exploratory behaviors would be exhibited in the these trials and that the monitors would react differently to each stimulus. This study, based on systematic videotaped trials, analyzed the behaviors of eight juvenile Blackthroated monitors, Varanus albigularis, in response to an enriched environment. Two objects (food ball and food tube) and one social stimulus were introduced. The food ball allowed the monitors to see and smell, but not attain, the prey while the food tube allowed the monitors to attain the prey through hinged doors. In the social introductions the monitors could see and smell, but had no physical contact with, a conspecific placed in their home enclosure. After constructing a behavioral inventory based on the videotapes, the mean duration and mean occurrence of various state and event behaviors were analyzed. There were many significant differences in the amount and type of behavior patterns elicited (p\u3c0.009) by the different types of stimuli introduced. Responses to the food ball exhibited the most change over time and primarily consisted of exploratory and play-like behaviors after the predatory responses declined. However, this stimulus was presented the most times (10). Responses to the food tube were primarily predatory behaviors and the lizards showed learning in opening the tube and capturing the prey by the second trial. Finally the conspecific elicited social behaviors that were not seen in the other two treatments such as a rocking seesaw behavior. These results suggest these animals are interactive, discriminating, and exploratory. This study provides further evidence for the need for more in depth enrichment, specifically object introductions, in captive non-avian reptiles. The responses seen in captivity can lead us to reassess behavior reported in wild monitors, as well as to look for more affiliative social behavior and novel foraging tactics. Due to the results of this and similar studies, serious consideration should be given to providing enrichment in captive squamate reptiles in general, and large long-lived species in particular

Building an Ocean of Information Drop by Drop : realities of a multi-institutional large scale digitization project

An overview of the workflow process the MBLWHOI Library has created through their digitization efforts with the Internet Archive as the part of two consortial projects. This includes some lessons learned as well as future plans to facilitate access. (21 powerpoint slides

“Interrogating Borders: A Transnational Approach to Refugee Research in Vancouver”

Immigration is predicated on the centrality of the nation-state. The authors argue that analyzing settlement patterns and successful integration within a strictly national context is insufficient to understand the political, social, and economic relations which shape the lives of refugee immigrants in Canada. To support this claim, a less state-centric theoretical framework of transnational migration is outlined. The paper examines methods emerging from transnational migration, focussing in particular on research with Burmese refugees who have settled in the Greater Vancouver Area. Based on 50 personal interviews conducted with refugee newcomers from Burma who are now settled in the Lower Mainland, the authors use the case study as a basis to raise methodological and theoretical questions about immigration research. We argue that the very politics of doing research with this group of refugees and other immigrant groups are shaped by the relations Of power experienced before arriving in Canada