1941 research outputs found
Sort by
Strategies for teaching evolution in the public school system
No full textWhat is Intelligent Design? What is evolution? Though there are vast political and social forces behind these movements what happens when the arguments are evaluated independently? The arguments over design v. descent have risen and fallen over the last few hundred years. Intelligent Design asserts that there are certain irreducibly complex systems that require a Creator of some sort to exist. It uses theories developed in criminology and invokes them on the earth. Evolution is a hypothetico-deductive approach to looking at nature invoking a testable, naturalistic worldview. The goal of this study was to determine a set of guidelines for high school teachers who teach evolution and focused in on the scientific, legal, and pedagogical factors involved with how to address Intelligent Design in the public classroom. First-year students at Drake in the FYS entitled “Religion and Science” were surveyed about their views on evolution and intelligent design and how they were taught science and evolution. Results showed that the majority of students still believe in some form of creationism though maybe not the strictly Biblical form. Teachers should use three general principles when discussing Intelligent Design in the science classroom: (1) Understand the audience (students, parents, and the local community), (2) Help students understand the historical and philosophical development of science, and (3) Use controversy-based approaches emphasizing no right answers only well-supported ones
Faculty grants awarded in FY07
No full textGrant recipients for FY07 include: John Burney, Jack Gerlovich, Neil Hamilton, Susan Roberts, Doug Ireland, Susan Ladd, Suzanne Levitt, Jerry Foxhoven, Anne Murr, Scott Raecker, Michael Rieck, Tom Rosburg, Raylene Rospond, John Rovers, Michael Miller, Georgia Sheriff, Denise Soltis, Keith Summerville, Jody Swilky, Brad Tice, Deb Bishop, Amy Wisniewski, Garry Frank, Shelley Fairburn, Russell Lovell, Kristine Rossmiller, Bob Soltis, Hassan Almoazen, Maria Bohorquez, Klaus Bartschat, Matt Bruinekool, Charisse Buising, Jerry Honts, Jan McMahill, Jan Barston, Eunice Meredith, Marion Panyan, Sandra Patton-Imani, and Robert Stensrud.Program or research grants awarded during fiscal year 2007, as reported by the Office of Sponsored Programs, Drake University. One file is arranged by type of research or grant (private, state, and federal), and another file is arranged by the quarter in which they were awarded. Private grants: 578.311, and Federal grants: 10,879,065
Britain’s Right to Roam: Redefining the Landowner's Bundle of Sticks
Get PDFJerry L. Anderson is the Richard M. and Anita Calkins Professor of Law, Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa.Britain recently enacted a “right to roam” in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) 2000. At first glance, CRoW appears to be a dramatic
curtailment of the landowner’s traditional right to exclude; it opens up all private land classified as “mountain, moor, heath, or down” to the public for hiking and picnicking. Yet, when viewed in the light of history, CRoW may be seen as partially restoring to the commoner rights lost during the enclosure period, when the commons system ended. CRoW also represents a return to a functional rather than spatial form of land ownership, allowing more than one party to have rights in a particular piece of land. The new law highlights some important public values regarding freedom of access that have been all but forgotten in the United States. The law calls into question U.S. Supreme Court precedent that has enshrined the right to exclude as an “essential” stick in the bundle of property rights and serves as a powerful alternative to the Court’s formalistic notion of property rights. Given the differences in its history, culture, and legal system, the
United States is unlikely to follow Britain’s lead in enacting a right to roam; nevertheless, the study of CRoW contains valuable lessons for Americans.The author wishes to thank the anonymous donor of the Drake International Research Stipend who generously enabled this research
Self-concept, depression, and negative peer interactions: Exploring the social and psychological health of college students
No full textThis exploratory self-report study examined the links between self-concept, psychological health, and negative peer interactions among college students. While a wealth of past research is devoted to examining such constructs individually no attempt has been made to simultaneously explore these three areas of research and their connections to one another. Participants were 87 college students with a mean age of 18.84 (SD = 1.28). These participants were given a packet of surveys that assessed self-esteem, self-consciousness, fear of negative evaluation, relational aggression, relational victimization, rejection sensitivity, frequency of self-reinforcement, depression, and anxiety. All of the aforementioned variables were significantly correlated with depression (p < .00) and with the likelihood to engage in self-reinforcement behaviors (p < .05, with the exception of relational aggression which was insignificant). Multiple linear regression modeling indicates that rejection sensitivity, relational victimization, and fear of negative evaluation were all significantly predictive of depression. This model accounted for 28.3% of the variance in depression. A second model indicates that rejection sensitivity, self-reinforcement, and depression all significantly predict self-esteem, with this model accounting for 48.2% of the variance in self-esteem. A third model indicates that self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, and depression all significantly predict self-consciousness, with the model accounting for 40.9% of the variance in self-consciousness. All independent variables in each of the aforementioned models reached individual significance (p < .05). These results contribute to a growing body of research asserting that peer interactions play a major role in the social and psychological health of college students
Drake University 2008 Self-Study Report
Get PDFIntroduction--Criterion 1. Mission and Integrity--Criterion 2. Preparing for the Future--Criterion 3. Student Learning and Effective Teaching--Criterion 4. Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge--Criterion 5. Engagement and Service--Challenges and Opportunities--Appendices.The Drake University accreditation self-study was initiated in January 2004. After becoming
familiar with the new Higher Learning Commission accreditation criteria, President Maxwell
and Provost Troyer determined that the self-study process could assist the University to move
forward toward several of its assessment and planning goals. They appointed Sue Wright,
Associate Provost and Director of Institutional Research, as Self-Study Coordinator.
The Provost and Self-Study Coordinator sought agreement of individuals to serve on
the Steering Committee and to chair or co-chair criterion committees. The Steering Committee
membership was intended to emphasize the importance accorded to the tasks being undertaken
in the self-study. Chaired by the Provost, the Steering Committee included chairs of
the five Criterion Committees, the President, Vice President Business and Finance, Associate
Director of Athletics, the Chief Information Officer, and Self-Study Coordinator. The
Committee met for the first time in June 2004 and began to discuss the new accreditation
criteria. Working with committee chairs, the Steering Committee appointed members for
each of the five criterion committees.
On September 10, 2004, the self-study officially kicked off with a lunch and orientation
for all self-study committee members. At that event members were introduced to the process,
the self-study criteria and to Drake’s commitment to using the process for real self-study.
Each committee was first asked to consider how examining the University using their
criterion and its components could help Drake University better achieve its mission. These
deliberations led to several major campus initiatives discussed in Intro7.C. During succeeding
years the committees identified evidence and drafted information for the “Self-Study Report.”
With normal transition among chairs and members, the committees continued to meet
through spring 2007 when they submitted reports to the Self-Study Coordinator.
In addition to the steering and criterion committees, a publicity and promotion task
force met to recommend ways to get the campus involved in the self-study process. They also
considered issues such as publication of the requests for third-party comments. A logistics
committee prepared for the team visit.
Self-Study Committee Rosters
Self-Study Committee MinutesDrake Universit
Isolation of yeast genes that suppress the chromosome loss defect of 'YAC stability in mitosis' mutants.
Get PDFThe eukaryotic cell cycle and processes that maintain genome stability occur with high fidelity. Mutations in genes important for the structure, replication, repair, and/or segregation of chromosomes are correlated with genome instability (i.e., chromosome rearrangements, increased mutation rates, aneuploidy, abnormal chromatin structure, and/or abnormal gene expression). As part of an effort to identify proteins important for genome stability, we previously implemented a genetic screen in the yeast Saccharomyces cervisiae that allows for visual detection of mutants with increased loss of an ADE2-marked yeast artificial chromosome (YAC). This screen resulted in 132 –AC stability in mitosis (ysm) mutants. Three mutants, ysm76, ysm83, and ysm84, have been further characterized for phenotypes related to genome instability. In addition, both high copy and single copy suppressors of these mutants’ YAC loss defects are being isolated. Identification of these suppressors will contribute to our understanding of protein networks and processes important for eukaryotic genome stability
Inhibition of drug efflux by pluronics in S. cerevisiae
No full textOverexpression of P-gp efflux pumps is believed to be responsible for multidrug resistance of mammalian cancer cells. Inhibition of these pumps is expected to increase the efficacy and decrease the toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents. The non-ionic triblock copolymer Pluronic P85 is reported to inhibit mammalian P-gp efflux pumps, leading to higher intracellular drug concentrations. An analogous, well-characterized efflux transporter, Pdr5p, has been identified in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but the effect of Pluronic copolymers on this transporter has not been studied. We have examined the inhibitory effects of P85 on three strains of S. cerevisiae: a pdr5 deletion strain, a PDR5 over-expressing strain, and the PDR5 wild-type strain using the hydrophilic Pdr5p substrate cycloheximide (CHX) as a model antifungal “drug”. Yeast cells were grown in the presence of a range of CHX (0-0.3 mcg/ml) and P85 (0-10 mg/ml). After incubation for 24hrs at 30°C, the ability of P85 to inhibit Pdr5 efflux activity was examined as a function of cellular growth (as determined by absorbance at 600 nm). Our results indicate that P85 lowers the minimal inhibitory concentration of cycloheximide in both the PDR5 wild-type and PDR5 over-expressing strains, while having no effect on the pdr5 deletion strain. This shows that P85 can increase intracellular concentrations of CHX by inhibiting the Pdr5 transporter. Our results in S. cerevisiae are consistent with reported observations in mammalian cells. Further investigations are being performed to (1) see if pluronics F127, L64, and L81 also inhibit Pdr5 using substrates CHX and itraconazole (ITZ), a hydrophobic antifungal drug, and (2) determine whether solubilization of ITZ in P85 micelles influences its antifungal activity
The Development of the P300 event related potential in rats during the initial stages of shaping lever pressing
No full textSeveral experiments in our laboratory have shown that P300 ERP amplitude in rats is a decremental function of conditioned stimulus proximity to primary reinforcement in behavioral chains. We have also demonstrated robust P300 ERPs to stimuli predicting the occurrence as well as the omission of expected reinforcers. These findings support the hypothesis that the P300 is a correlate of the brain’s response to recognizing a conditioned reinforcer. In all the experiments we have conducted, the P300 was measured well after the response was established. The present experiment investigated the growth of the P300 during the shaping of the response to food delivery magazine (click training) and subsequent lever pressing. During this training a target tone (5.5 KHz, 70 db SPL) predicted the click of the pellet delivery magazine while a random non-target tone (2.5 KHz, 70 db SPL) was presented on a 8:1 non-target to target ratio. Seven rats received this training across 12 training sessions that consisted of 60 target tone-click-food pairings and 480 non-target tones. The mean amplitude of the P300 ERP to the target tone increased significantly across the 12 days reaching 128 µV and 95 µV on Days 11 and 12 respectively. Latency of the peak amplitude was about 800 msec and did not change significantly across the training sessions. Since the P30 ERP amplitude increased gradually across the sessions, during the time that the target stimulus was acquiring conditioned reinforcing properties, these findings further support the working hypothesis that the P300 ERP is a correlate of the brains recognition of a conditioned reinforcing stimulus
Monitoring microvascular blood flow during hemorrhage and resuscitation
No full textBlood flow through the microvascular (arterioles, capillaries, venules) is critical to survival. Until recently, microvascular responses to cardiovascular events, such as hemorrhage and resuscitation, have been difficult to assess. Macrovascular responses (blood pressure, heart rate, large artery flow) have generally been easier to monitor, but aren’t always indicative of microvascular responses. While monitoring macrovascular reactions, we used orthogonal polarization spectral imaging (OPSI) to monitor microvascular responses to hemorrhage, low-pressure stabilization, and resuscitation. Methods: 8 anesthetized, ventilated dogs were hemorrhaged (H, 90min mean arterial pressure [MAP]=35-40mmHg or MAP10min or MAP1min), hypotensively stabilized (S, 120min enalaprilat 0.01mg/kg/hr + hemoglobin based oxygen carrier [HBOC] or 7.8% hypertonic saline dextran 70 [HSD] for MAP=40-45mmHg), resuscitated (60min lactated Ringer’s for MAP=75-80mmHg), then only monitored (60min no fluids), and euthanized. Sublingual and jejunal mucosal microvascular blood flow, visualized by OPSI, was recorded every 10 minutes. Results: 2 early non-survivors: NS1 (1 of 5 HBOC, died 117min into S) and NS2 (1 of 3 HSD, died 9min into S). Cardiac output, carotid blood flow, and systemic arterial blood pressure decreased during bleeding, were variably affected by low-pressure stabilization, and increased during resuscitation. Sublingual and jejunal mucosal microvascular blood flow video was collected, but motion and focus issues were extremely prevalent. Microvascular blood flow was decreased by hemorrhage and increased during resuscitation, but the microvascular effects of the low-pressure stabilization were difficult to analyze. Conclusion: Microvascular blood flow responses can be monitored, but motion and focus issues can make analysis quite difficult.Eagles, Iowa Space Grant Consortiu
Proteomic analysis of the membrane skeleton of Tetrahymena thermophila
No full textThe membrane skeleton of the Tetrahymena is likely to determine many aspects of the cell surface structure of this ciliated protozoan. The availability of the genomic sequence of Tetrahymena thermophila has facilitated a proteomic analysis of the non-microtubular portion of the cortical cytoskeleton of Tetrahymena thermophila. Potassium iodide-Triton X-100 insoluble residues of these cells retain the cell surface organization of this ciliate, while being depleted in microtubular proteins. Proteins in these membrane skeletal residues have been subsequently fractionated into distinct sets by means of selective extraction and precipitation steps. We have initiated a proteomic analysis of one group of membrane skeletal proteins: the set containing epiplasmin C and associated proteins. Bands containing each of the specific proteins were excised from preparative SDS-polyacrylamide gels. These proteins were reduced, alkylated and digested in-gel with trypsin with the resulting enzymatic peptide fragments analyzed by LC-MS using electrospray ionization. The observed peptide molecular weights were used to search a database of predicted Tetrahymena proteins in order to identify the protein in the original gel band. Further confirmation was obtained by sequencing several enzymatically-derived peptides in the mass spectrometer. Two major components of these structures were identified – epiplasmin C and epiplasmin A – both of which are predicted to be coiled coil proteins. The other major protein to be identified was TCBP-25, an EF-hand containing calcium-binding protein. Several other minor proteins were identified, including epiplasmin B protein, another coiled coil protein. Intriguingly, among the minor proteins present in these preparations were proteins predicted to be related to lipid or protein kinases. Another minor protein was found to be related to a centromeric calcium-binding protein. These minor proteins suggest the possibility of the linkage of these cytoskeletal proteins to cellular signaling processes. We are currently working to analyze protein-protein interactions within the membrane skeleton by means of non-denaturing gel electrophoresis of protein complexes, as well as far-Western blotting experiments