The University of Kansas: Journals@KU
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Mushroom Polysaccharides as Natural Modulators of IL-17: Implications for Gut Microbiota, Autoimmune Diseases and Cancer Therapy
Get PDFInterleukin-17 (IL-17, also known as IL-17A) is a member of the pro-inflammatory cytokine family that plays a pivotal role in immune defense, inflammatory responses, and tissue homeostasis. It contributes to host protection, autoimmune diseases, and cancer progression. Recent studies have highlighted the critical role of gut microbiota in immune regulation and tumor progression. Alterations in its composition can disrupt protective mechanisms, increase infection risk, and elevate the likelihood of metabolic and immune-related diseases. Mushroom polysaccharides are biological macromolecules extracted from the fruiting bodies, mycelia, or fermentation broth of mushrooms. These compounds achieve anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and immune-regulatory effects by modulating gut microbiota, increasing short-chain fatty acid production, enhancing intestinal mucosal barrier function, regulating lipid metabolism, and activating specific signaling pathways. Mushroom polysaccharides have been shown to regulate IL-17 both directly through key signaling pathways and indirectly by modulating gut microbiota, thereby influencing immune-related diseases and tumor progression. Therefore, mushroom polysaccharides, acting as natural regulators of IL-17, possess extensive application potentials in cancer therapy and immune disease management
Course Design in Competency-Based Education: An Approach Based on ADDIE
Get PDFCompetency-Based Education (CBE) is transforming current teaching and learning through prioritizing skill mastery over traditional time-based instruction. This shift in teaching and learning attempts to ensure graduates are job-ready and aligned with industry demands. However, many institutions and instructors face challenges in designing effective CBE programs due to a lack of structured instructional design frameworks. This paper proposes the CBE-ADDIE Model, which integrates the well-established ADDIE framework with CBE principles. The newly developed model provides a more robust and systematic approach for competency mapping, assessment design, content development, implementation, and continuous evaluation. By adopting this model, instructional designers and educators can create high-quality, scalable, and industry-aligned CBE programs that enhance learner success and workforce readiness
Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Jewell County, Kansas
Get PDFThis report describes the geography, geology, and ground-water resources of Jewell County in north-central Kansas. The county has an area of 915 square miles and in 1950 had a population of 9,698. Jewell County lies in the Great Plains Pliocene to Cretaceous ground-water province. The county has three types of topography--the deeply dissected uplands in the northern and central parts of the county, a level or gently sloping plain which bounds the uplands on the east and south, and alluvial valleys.
The rocks that crop out at the surface in Jewell County are sedimentary, ranging in age from Late Cretaceous to Recent. The oldest rocks exposed in the county are sandstone and shale beds of the Dakota formation, which crops out in a small area on the south side of Buffalo Creek valley in the southeastern corner of the county. The Dakota is overlain by a conformable series of marine upper Cretaceous rocks classified, in ascending order: Graneros shale, Greenhorn limestone, Carlile shale, and Niobrara formation. Unconsolidated continental deposits of fluviatile and eolian origin represent at least three stages of the Pleistocene. These deposits include the Meade formation of Kansan age, in the northeastern part of the county between Republican River and White Rock Creek. Stream-laid deposits of the Meade formation also fill a narrow valley extending northward from near Mankato. Volcanic ash deposits and associated silt beds in the northwestern and southern parts of the county also are a part of the Meade formation. Later Pleistocene deposits that are present in Jewell County include terrace deposits of Illinoian and Wisconsinan age, the Loveland and Peoria silt members of the Sanborn formation, and Recent alluvium.
Ground-water recharge in the area is largely from local precipitation; ground-water discharge is mainly by seepage into streams and transpiration by plants. All municipal supplies and most domestic and stock supplies are obtained from wells. Most wells in the county are drilled or dug. No irrigation is practiced in Jewell County. On the whole, ground-water supplies are small.
Ground water in Jewell County is generally hard but otherwise suitable for most uses, except for water from certain wells which is excessively high in dissolved solids content or in nitrate.
The field data upon which this report is based are given in tables. They include records of 259 wells, chemical analyses of water from 36 representative wells, and logs of 13 test holes
Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Linn County, Kansas
Get PDFLinn County is located along the Kansas-Missouri boundary in east-central Kansas and is a nearly square area of about 605 square miles. The relief in this area is moderate, and the topography is characterized by northeast-trending cuestas that face southeast. The county is located mostly within the Marais des Cygnes River drainage basin and contains a segment of this river in its northeastern part.
Pennsylvanian rocks, Desmoinesian and Missourian Stages, are exposed in the county and have an aggregate thickness of 660 feet. The dominant lithology is shale followed by limestone, sandstone, and minor amounts of coal. Rocks in this part of Kansas are gently tilted to the northwest at about 20 feet per mile.
All but the smallest tributary stream valleys are filled to some depth with locally derived and unconsolidated materials. These materials are mainly clay and silt with several feet of medium to coarse gravel near the base. Thickness of these valley-fill deposits ranges from several feet in smaller stream valleys to 50 feet in the principal valleys.
Approximately 780 feet of Arbuckle Group (Cambrian and Ordovician), 20 feet of Devonian, 320 feet of Mississippian, and 400 feet of Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) rock underlie the oldest outcropping Pennsylvanian rocks in Linn County.
Small domal structures of modest relief and a number of small-scale structures related to compaction and collapse are noted at the surface. Two apparent collapse-related structures in southeastern Linn County are associated with lead and zinc mineralization.
Only very small quantities of ground water are obtained from Pennsylvanian rocks in Linn County. Yields rarely exceed 1 gallon per minute and are normally barely sufficient for domestic purposes. Limestones are the most productive aquifers, and limestones of the lower part of the Kansas City Group are the best of the bedrock aquifers.
Ground water below a depth of about 100 feet in this area is normally too highly mineralized for use. However, in areas in Missouri close to the southeast corner of Linn County, water is obtained from the Cherokee Group at depths of 400 to 600 feet. At still greater depths in this area, large quantities (150 gallons per minute) of highly mineralized water are obtained from Ordovician rocks and moderate quantities (10 gallons per minute) from Mississippian rocks.
Large quantities (30 to 100 gallons per minute) of good quality water are obtained from properly constructed and developed wells in Illinoisan and Wisconsinan valley-fill deposits, mainly from thin gravel deposits near the base
New Neotropical cleptoparasites in the genus Austrostelis (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Anthidiini)
Get PDFThree new species of cleptoparasites of the rare genus Austrostelis Michener & Griswold are described. Austrostelis mexicana Griswold n. sp. and A. costaricensis Griswold n.sp. represent a northern extension of the genus into Mesoamerica while A. bicolor Griswold n. sp. from Venezuela adds to our limited knowledge for northern South America. A key to the species from Mesoamerica and northern South America is provided
The Role of the Cedar Hills/Lyons Sandstone Aquifer in the Dissolution of Halite Cement from Siliciclastic Sediments of the Permian Nippewalla Group in the Syracuse Basin in Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado
Get PDFThe Syracuse Basin presents a rare opportunity to study a salt- and salt-cement-dissolution system over an extremely large area. Abundant geophysical well-log control spanning the salt- bearing interior sediments and their lateral salt-dissolved equivalents is available to define and characterize this salt-dissolution phenomenon. Detailed regional mapping using this abundant well-log database reveals a broad salt-cement-dissolution halo around the entire perimeter of the Syracuse Basin in Nippewalla Group siliciclastic sediments radiating outward from the central salt-preserved interior of the basin.
Five areas around the perimeter of the basin were selected for detailed study to illustrate the dominant role of the Cedar Hills/Lyons Sandstone aquifer in the salt-dissolution system. The Cedar Hills/Lyons Sandstone stands out as the most prominent and regionally widespread aquifer within Permian sediments of the Syracuse Basin and surrounding region. Detailed regional subsurface mapping and cross sections presented in this paper clearly show that this high-quality confined aquifer delivered (and is still delivering) groundwater that is unsaturated with respect to sodium chloride and is responsible for this major regional phenomenon of dissolution of halite in salt-cemented siliciclastics.
We will show that water unsaturated with sodium chloride encroaches on salt-bearing siliciclastic units of the Nippewalla Group in the Syracuse Basin by first invading the Cedar Hills/Lyons Sandstone, where the water is under hydrostatic pressure. Unsaturated water then is forced down into the underlying Salt Plain Formation and Harper Sandstone, dissolving interstitial salt in those formations, and may then go deeper and dissolve the Stone Corral salt. Unsaturated water in the Cedar Hills/Lyons is locally forced upward to dissolve some or all of the overlying Flowerpot salt—mainly where the overlying Y-anhydrite aquitard is absent.
A preliminary semi-regional resistivity map is presented for the Cedar Hills/Lyons Sandstone aquifer. Dramatic resistivity contrasts between fresher unsaturated recharge groundwaters (with higher resistivity readings of 10 to 20+ ohm-meters) and highly saline brines (with ultra-low resistivity readings of less than 0.1 to 0.5 ohm-meters) associated with salt-dissolution events can reveal clues about modern- and paleo-hydrologic history as well as about the dissolution and flushing history of the highly saline brines created by this process.
Semi-regional dissolution “halo” maps and resistivity (water-salinity) maps are herein generated by well-log studies of the Nippewalla Group evaporitic sediments in the Syracuse Basin region. Oil and gas regulatory agencies may use these maps in well permitting, plugging, and underground injection control (UIC) activities (saltwater-disposal permitting). Industry personnel can use these maps in well planning and design in the areas affected by salt and salt-cement dissolution. Additionally, oil and gas seismic surveys could benefit by consulting the regional dissolution “halo” maps to assist in avoiding seismic-velocity pitfalls that could interfere with data interpretation.
Although Permian aquifers in close association with evaporitic sediments are not typically developed for domestic use because of their poor water quality, hydrologists may be interested in mapping these saline aquifers to gain an understanding of their potential to cross contaminate nearby freshwater aquifers. This is particularly true when underlying highly saline confined aquifers could discharge upward into a shallower, overlying freshwater aquifer
Distribution and ecology of the Cedar Keys Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius insularis)
Get PDFWe conducted surveys for the Cedar Keys Mole Skink, Plestiodon egregius insularis (Mount), during 1989‒1999 and 2015‒2024, examined museum vouchers, and compiled personal observations from others to determine the status and distribution of this subspecies, which has the smallest geographic distribution of the five subspecies and is being considered for federal listing. We observed Cedar Keys Mole Skinks on airstrip island, Atsena Otie, Cedar Point, Deer Island, North Key, Scale Key, Seahorse Key, Snake Key, and possibly Dog Island. We have anecdotal reports of Mole Skinks on Way Key, which contains the most potential habitat and is the main island occupied by the city of Cedar Key. We found Mole Skinks along shorelines in tidal wrack and under debris instead of in island interiors, which presumably shelter populations from storm surges that periodically scour beaches of refugia. This subspecies is primarily threatened by habitat loss from rising sea levels and increased storm strength in the future.
Copyright Anxiety and Legal Chill in Higher Education: A Comparison of Canada and the United Kingdom (UK)
Get PDFThis study builds upon and extends previous research into the phenomenon of copyright anxiety, initially measured through the Copyright Anxiety Scale (CAS) developed by Wakaruk et al. (2021). The primary aims are to explore levels of copyright anxiety within the higher education sectors of the UK and Canada, and to examine whether copyright law and the way it is perceived in these sectors inhibits innovative research and teaching practices. Using an adapted version of the copyright anxiety scale survey, we collected responses from over 500 participants in the UK and Canada during the summer of 2023. Additionally, we conducted seven focus groups with 32 individuals to gain deeper insights into the phenomenon and explore potential interventions.
Our findings indicate that those working in higher education are more worried about copyright than those outside the sector. Copyright concerns can cause significant anxiety and emotional labor, which may lead to legal chill that hampers teaching, research, and the provision of library programs and services. For example, academics may use less appropriate materials due to copyright concerns, negatively affecting pedagogical impact. Librarians, often acting as copyright advisors, may experience heightened anxiety, leading them to provide more risk-averse guidance to users and decision-makers. Future publications from this research will further develop a coding frame and explore options for mitigating copyright anxiety and chill in this sector
