Assessment of Melanistic Lesions in Smallmouth Bass ( Micropterus dolomieu) of the Chesapeake Bay, USA

Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) are an important sportfish in the Susquehanna and Potomac River Basins of the Chesapeake Bay drainage. However, population declines in portions of the Susquehanna, fish kills and reports of visible abnormalities such as melanistic spots have raised concern among the public and resource managers. Although the etiology or risk factors associated with melanistic lesions are unknown, there is a propensity to attribute the abnormality to contaminants. Melanistic lesions of smallmouth bass were assessed using histopathology and gene expression analysis to evaluate the cellular and molecular changes compared to normal skin. The prevalence of melanistic bass at specific sites in the Chesapeake Bay drainage was also examined. Higher incidences of bass with melanistic lesions were documented in the Susquehanna River compared to the Potomac River. Typical melanistic lesions consisted of rounded to spindle shaped, melanin-containing cells (or melanophores) in a thickened epidermis whereas normal skin only contains melanophores in the dermal-epidermal interface. RNA-Seq data revealed the expression of a papillomavirus helicase exclusively in melanistic areas. Transcript abundance analyses of DCT (L-dopachrome tautomerase), MC5R (melanocortin receptor 5), MITF (micropthalmia-associated transcription factor), PMEL (melanocyte protein), TYR (tyrosinase), TYRP-1 (tyrosinase-related protein 1), Rab38 (Ras-related protein Rab-38), Akt1 (RAC-alpha serine threonine-kinase), KRT8 (keratin type II cytoskeletal 8), and MT-1 (metallothionein) showed differential expression in melanistic areas. Further research will be needed to determine the roles of a potentially novel papilloma virus and chemical contaminants in induction of melanistic areas of smallmouth bass

Colleen Young Elwood

Colleen Young Elwood discovered her interest in nursing after finishing a Bachelor’s of Science in psychology and starting her career at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Learning about diabetes and working with diabetics sparked an interest in public and community health so she enrolled in Thomas Jefferson University’s two-year BSN program, which she graduated from in 2013. While at Jefferson her clinical experiences confirmed she was not interested in hospital nursing but instead in community nursing. After graduating she started working at Nurse Family Partnership, first as an intern and then as a Nurse-Home Visitor, where she helps new mothers during their pregnancy and through their child’s second year

Next Steps in Discovery Implementation: User‐Centered Discovery System Redesign

This paper will discuss a discovery system redesign project at the University of Houston Libraries, and in particular the Discovery Redesign Team’s collaborative, user‐centered approach. Throughout the redesign process, the team collected information about the needs and expectations of internal and external users regarding the Library’s discovery system. The team worked with two internal working groups to gather and evaluate the collected information. The results of this evaluation were used to make user‐centered design decisions. The Discovery Redesign Team worked with the Discovery Advisory Group, made up of library employees from various departments, to seek feedback and suggestions throughout the redesign process. Working collaboratively with this Group informed design decisions made by the team while also generating buy‐in for the discovery redesign. The team worked with the Discovery Usability Group to collect information from end‐users to inform the Team’s design decisions. The Committee held focus groups with the Library Information Desk staff to learn how the discovery system was serving users, and where it was falling short; they conducted usability tests with students to find out where users were experiencing breakdowns while completing common tasks. The methodologies and findings of the team’s various activities will be discussed. Changes to system interfaces affect both internal and external users. The University of Houston’s discovery system redesign is an example of a successful, user‐centered, collaborative design project

Enabling III-V-based optoelectronics with low-cost dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Silicon is the dominant semiconductor in many semiconductor device applications for a variety of reasons, including both performance and cost. III-V materials have improved performance compared to silicon, but currently they are relegated to applications in high-value or niche markets due to the absence of a low-cost, high-quality production technique. Here we present an advance in III-V materials synthesis using hydride vapor phase epitaxy that has the potential to lower III-V semiconductor deposition costs by orders of magnitude while maintaining the requisite optoelectronic material quality that enables III-V-based technologies to outperform Si. We demonstrate the impacts of this advance by addressing the use of III-Vs in terrestrial photovoltaics, a highly cost-constrained market. The emergence of a low-cost III-V deposition technique will enable III-V electronic and opto-electronic devices, with all the benefits that they bring, to permeate throughout modern society.Comment: pre-prin

Teacher Responsivity to Preschoolers with Autism Relative to Levels of Challenging Behavior

University of Minnesota M.A. thesis. September 2015. Major: Educational Psychology. Advisor: LeAnne Johnson. 1 computer file (PDF); iv, 34 pages.Understanding how child characteristics influence teacher behavior is crucial for knowing the impact that differentiated teacher responses may have on later development. This study explored the relation between levels of problem behavior and adult language acts for 15 matched pairs of preschoolers with autism. Frequencies, types, and timing of teacher language acts were examined relative to engagement and communicative acts for children with high and low levels of problem behavior. Matched pairs were created from a pool of 205 children who participated in a larger evaluation study. Teacher ratings on the Child Teacher Rating Form (CTRF) were used to establish the top or bottom quartiles from which the high and low problem behavior groups were formed. Pairs, differentiated by level of challenging behavior, were then matched on language skills. Videos from natural play routines were coded and analyzed using t-tests and sequential analyses. Teacher redirectives occurred significantly more often for the high problem behavior group. Both groups displayed similar levels of engagement and time spent in child led activities

The Use of Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Technology in Unraveling the Eruptive History of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona

While traditional geologic mapping includes the examination of structural relationships between rock units in the field, more advanced technology now enables us to simultaneously collect and combine analytical datasets with field observations. Information about tectonomagmatic processes can be gleaned from these combined data products. Historically, construction of multi-layered field maps that include sample data has been accomplished serially (first map and collect samples, analyze samples, combine data, and finally, readjust maps and conclusions about geologic history based on combined data sets). New instruments that can be used in the field, such as a handheld xray fluorescence (XRF) unit, are now available. Targeted use of such instruments enables geologists to collect preliminary geochemical data while in the field so that they can optimize scientific data return from each field traverse. Our study tests the application of this technology and projects the benefits gained by real-time geochemical data in the field. The integrated data set produces a richer geologic map and facilitates a stronger contextual picture for field geologists when collecting field observations and samples for future laboratory work. Real-time geochemical data on samples also provide valuable insight regarding sampling decisions by the field geologis

In-Situ XRF Measurements in Lunar Surface Exploration Using Apollo Samples as a Standard

Samples collected during the Apollo lunar surface missions were sampled and returned to Earth by astronauts with varying degrees of geological experience. The technology used in these EVAs, or extravehicular activities, included nothing more advanced than traditional terrestrial field instruments: rock hammer, scoop, claw tool, and sample bags. 40 years after Apollo, technology is being developed that will allow for a high-resolution geochemical map to be created in the field real-time. Handheld x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology is one such technology. We use handheld XRF to enable a broad in-situ characterization of a geologic site of interest based on fairly rapid techniques that can be implemented by either an astronaut or a robotic explorer. The handheld XRF instrument we used for this study was the Innov-X Systems Delta XRF spectrometer

GeoLab's First Field Trials, 2010 Desert RATS: Evaluating Tools for Early Sample Characterization

As part of an accelerated prototyping project to support science operations tests for future exploration missions, we designed and built a geological laboratory, GeoLab, that was integrated into NASA's first generation Habitat Demonstration Unit-1/Pressurized Excursion Module (HDU1-PEM). GeoLab includes a pressurized glovebox for transferring and handling samples collected on geological traverses, and a suite of instruments for collecting preliminary data to help characterize those samples. The GeoLab and the HDU1-PEM were tested for the first time as part of the 2010 Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS), NASA's analog field exercise for testing mission technologies. The HDU1- PEM and GeoLab participated in two weeks of joint operations in northern Arizona with two crewed rovers and the DRATS science team