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Hox genes control homocercal caudal fin development and evolution
No full textAncient bony fishes had heterocercal tails, like modern sharks and sturgeons, with asymmetric caudal fins and a vertebral column extending into an elongated upper lobe. Teleost fishes, in contrast, developed a homocercal tail characterized by two separate equal-sized fin lobes and the body axis not extending into the caudal fin. A similar heterocercal-to-homocercal transition occurs during teleost ontogeny, although the underlying genetic and developmental mechanisms for either transition remain unresolved. Here, we investigated the role of genes in caudal fin formation as these genes control posterior identity in animals. Analysis of expression profiles of zebrafish paralogs and phenotypes of CRISPR/Cas9-induced mutants showed that double and mutants fail to form a caudal fin. Furthermore, single mutants display heterocercal-like morphologies not seen since Mesozoic fossil teleosteomorphs. Relaxation of functional constraints after the teleost genome duplication may have allowed duplicates to neo- or subfunctionalize, ultimately contributing to the evolution of a homocercal tail in teleost fishes
History, Memory, and Meaning: A Study of Enslaved Narratives from the Five Southeastern Tribes
No full textSubmitted to the Department of History of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for departmental honors.This paper explores the testimony of people formerly enslaved by plantation owners in the Five Southeastern Tribes to understand the relationship between memory, identity, and meaning. Throughout the WPA Writer’s Project Slave Narratives Collection collected in Oklahoma, the overwhelming majority of the stories from formerly enslaved individuals who lived on Native American plantations expressed positive feelings towards their former enslavers. This observation has led many scholars studying slavery within these nations to conclude that Native American plantation owners exhibited greater benevolence towards enslaved peoples compared to their white counterparts in the South. While recent scholarly discourse has challenged this conclusion and the broader comparison it brings, the discussions surrounding Native American benevolence remain pertinent for understanding the constructed meanings derived from the memories of formerly enslaved individuals. This paper focuses on narratives that Native American enslavers were kinder to enslaved peoples than white southern plantation owners and analyzes the factors that influenced the emergence of these testimonies
Planet of the APCs: A decade of progress and setbacks in open access
No full textIt has been ten years since the JLSC’s publication “Bottlenecks in the Open Access System: Voices from Around the Globe,” which provided a forum for researchers on four continents and of various disciplinary, political, and economic circumstances to share perspectives on open access (OA) funded by article processing charges (APCs). The authors of “Bottlenecks…,” of which we are a subset (we organized the article, sought and collated coauthor input, and led analysis and drafting of discussion and conclusions), supported OA, but raised issues with APC “gold” OA, which excludes many of them from authorship opportunities. Then, and now, we propose that “diamond” (or “platinum”) OA models (no payment for reading or authoring) are more equitable and appropriate. In the intervening years, however, scholarly publishing and OA have been highly dynamic, changing both for better and for worse. For example, the rhetorical arguments for OA have clearly prevailed, yet significant challenges remain, both among those observed in 2014 and newly arisen. A significant shift has occurred to APC-funded OA, which is now a deeply entrenched model. Many research funders have taken increasingly strong (and shifting) roles to promote, shape, and reform OA, and there has been a proliferation of business models and experimentation. Piracy and extra-legal solutions to access remain the elephant in the room. These evolutions take place in a context of corporate capitalism and neoliberalism. We have seen that major changes can be made in relatively short time spans (e.g., Plan S and its uptake by major publishers), and we see a dire need to consider broad impacts, especially for scholars and publishers on the peripheries of conventional scholarly publishing. In this article, we outline major events and shifts in the interconnected academic, funding, and publishing landscapes and their impacts; we identify major hurdles that readers and authors now face; we use the Adaptive Leadership Framework to briefly examine paths that we see as the most promising; and we provide a foundation for the contributions from our peers that follow in this special issue
Rock y Metal con las uñas: Transsubjetividades féminas estridentes desde Latinoamérica
No full textRock y Metal con las uñas: Transsubjetividades féminas estridentes desde Latinoamérica explora mecanismos de negociación transsubjetiva llevados a cabo por subjetividades féminas y cuerpxs otrxs desde el interior de la escena rock/metal subterránea urbana. La investigación aborda esta escena como proceso capaz de generar espacios alternativos a través de los cuales tejer sociedad de formas transnacionales, transgénero, transgeneracionales y, por ende, transsubjetivas. Específicamente, desde los estudios culturales y con un lente principalmente transfeminista, los capítulos examinan la movilidad del rock latinoamericano urbano subterráneo hecho por féminas y cómo éste informa procesos de transgresividad identitaria a través de mecanismos como la participación cívica en búsqueda de la equidad. La estridencia que caracteriza a estos géneros musicales –comúnmente catalogados como extremos- se presta como un escenario fértil para la negociación subjetiva y la (de)(re)construcción identitaria en escala de rock mayor. La investigación contribuye a repensar las expresiones transsónicas-especialmente las extremas y liminales- como herramientas útiles en la interpelación a opresiones epistémicas derivadas de discursos cisheteropatriarcales y donde el control biopolítico sobre lxs cuerpxs se interroga a través del riff agudo y cortante de una guitarra distorsionada, una batería ametrallando heavy metal o una voz gutural. Esto porque, desde el nicho musical y artístico extremo, la experiencia de habitar la ciudad como cuerpx otrx se puede rediseñar, se puede cabecear y se puede poguear para poder transitarse mejor
Course-Based Research Assignment: Aerodynamic Performance Investigation and Optimization of Modern Aircraft (AE 445)
No full textThis assignment was the product of a Research-Intensive Course Grant through KU’s Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships. These grants provide financial support and advising for instructors who want to incorporate larger research and creative projects into their classes.This assignment was created for AE 445: Aircraft Aerodynamics and Performance which is a junior-level class, but this project could be adapted for a sophomore or senior level classes. Students were asked to research the aerodynamics, performance, and maneuvers of their choice of aircraft components or an aircraft as a whole. This project was presented within the context of a larger class assignment to 1) design a research proposal, 2) utilize simulation tools, and 3) discuss the findings. The primary objective of this assignment was to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience in computational aerodynamics research. After conducting the simulations, students generated a written report of their results and presented these results to the class and at the 2024 Online Fall Undergraduate Research Showcase (Fall Undergraduate Research Showcase | Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships) hosted by Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (CURF) at The University of Kansas.University of Kansas, Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowship
Identification of Plasma Metabolomic Biomarkers of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
No full textA grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.Identification of disease and therapeutic biomarkers remains a significant challenge in the early diagnosis and effective treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In this study, plasma metabolomic profiling was conducted to identify disease-related metabolic biomarkers associated with JIA. Plasma samples from treatment-naïve JIA patients and non-JIA reference patients underwent global metabolomic profiling across discovery (60 JIA, 60 non-JIA) and replication (49 JIA, 38 non-JIA) cohorts. Univariate analysis identified significant metabolites (q-value ≤ 0.05), followed by enrichment analysis using ChemRICH and metabolic network mapping with MetaMapp and Cytoscape. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis determined the top discriminating biomarkers based on area under the curve (AUC) values. A total of over 800 metabolites were measured, consisting of 714 known and 155 unknown compounds. In the discovery cohort, 587 metabolites were significantly altered in JIA patients compared with the reference population (q < 0.05). In the replication cohort, 288 metabolites were significantly altered, with 78 overlapping metabolites demonstrating the same directional change in both cohorts. JIA was associated with a notable increase in plasma levels of sphingosine metabolites and fatty acid ethanolamides and decreased plasma levels of sarcosine, iminodiacetate, and the unknown metabolite X-12462. Chemical enrichment analysis identified cycloparaffins in the form of naproxen and its metabolites, unsaturated lysophospholipids, saturated phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins, ethanolamines, and saturated ceramides as the top discriminating biochemical clusters. ROC curve analysis identified 11 metabolites classified as highly discriminatory based on an AUC > 0.90, with the top discriminating metabolite being sphinganine-1-phosphate (AUC = 0.98). This study identifies specific metabolic changes in JIA, particularly within sphingosine metabolism, through both discovery and replication cohorts. Plasma metabolomic profiling shows promise in pinpointing JIA-specific biomarkers, differentiating them from those in healthy controls and Crohn’s disease, which may improve diagnosis and treatment.University of Kansas (KU), via a CTSA grant from NCATS awarded to the University of Kansas for Frontiers: University of Kansas Clinical and Translational Science Institut
Paleoindian Projectile Point Design: Experiments Testing Ballistics and Use-Life
No full textThis dissertation describes experiments which were designed to collect middle-range information related to prehistoric projectile function and lithic projectile point retooling, using Paleoindian technologies (Clovis and Folsom) as a test-case. Experiments were conducted to evaluate projectile point penetration efficiency, use-life, and to evaluate the effects of retooling on external and terminal ballistics. The experiments were specifically designed to allow direct comparisons to be drawn between two technological systems. This project asked five major research questions: 1) How does resharpening effect the ballistics of darts armed with Clovis and Folsom points? 2) If darts tipped with Clovis and Folsom points do respond differently to resharpening, what might this reveal about technological organization and mobility? 3) Are changes in edge angle due to retooling meaningful to dart terminal ballistics (penetration), and if so, how? 4) How do the use-lives of Clovis and Folsom points compare to each other? 5) Do differences in use-life support dominant models of Clovis vs. Folsom land-use strategies and technological organization? Results of these experiments were found to closely agree with dominant models of Clovis vs. Folsom land use and resource exploitation. A techno-functional role for the Folsom fluting process is suggested, based around the engineering principle of supportability. This concept was found to be useful in interpreting technological organization and discard decisions in systems employing stone projectile points
Neo-Štokavian Accent
No full textThe entry treats the Neo-Štokavian accent system (NŠA), a word-prosody innovation characterizing the standard languages and many of the dialects underlying Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian. Diachronically, NŠA refers to a set of accent retractions that have been progressing through the Štokavian dialect territory since the 15th century and continue developing to the present. The innovation consists in moving the inherited Common Slavic place of stress one syllable to the left, resulting in a rising tone in the newly stressed syllable. The retractions take place in a hierarchy, first in word-final and open, short syllables. Synchronically, there are three basic characteristics of the NŠA: firstly, the differences between the four (Neo-)Štokavian accents, primarily the relationship between two short accents, secondly, the Neo-Štokavian accent shift onto the proclitic, and, thirdly, the preservation or elimination of post-accentual length as a specific feature of the classical accent norm. Special attention is given to the types of NŠA in dialects, as well as their prosodic dominant features. Both dialectological and standard systems are considered. Special attention is given to the Bosnian and Montenegrin insight into the topic, owing to the central position of the Neo-Štokavian innovations in the southern belt of Štokavian. In addition to the traditional division of the Štokavian territory into eastern and western Štokavian dialects, the southern Štokavian dialect (not including the Torlak dialect) is examined, in particular the connection between the southern Štokavian dialect and the NŠA phenomenon as a whole.
Note: Share of effort: Hodžić 75%, Greenberg 25
Demand driven acquisitions in academic libraries: A scoping review
No full textDemand driven acquisitions (DDA) have become commonplace in academic libraries, but little is known about how they are assessed. This scoping review provides a comprehensive study of print and electronic monographic DDA programs at academic libraries. The review includes an examination of the definition of DDA programs, methodological approaches, and the impact of DDA programs on established library collections. The research team's goals include outlining the current discourse on DDA and identifying gaps in the existing literature, as well as examining the potential for standardization within the profession regarding DDA terminology and definitions. Of 1758 records, 48 publications were identified for inclusion. Analysis of the included publications revealed most studies examined electronic DDA programs that were considered pilots. Overwhelmingly, the literature studied aspects of return on investment, circulation, and use. More subject points of investigation such as evaluation of materials, satisfaction of users or librarians, and quality were less studied. Further research on aspects of print DDA, how the COVID-19 Pandemic affected DDA, and more recently growing acquisition methods such as evidence-based acquisitions are needed
The Corporate Transparency Act Desk Book: Practical Guidance for Beneficial Owners and their Professional Advisors
No full textThe Corporate Transparency Act requires certain corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, statutory trusts and other similar entities (including both privately held and non-profit business entities), designated as reporting companies, to report their direct and indirect natural person beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network within the U.S. Department of Treasury. Certain categories of entity attributes are expressly exempted from the CTA’s reporting requirements, but the vast majority of businesses operating in the U.S. are not so exempted. FinCEN estimated over 37 million reporting companies would be required to report in the first compliance year alone.
The information to be reported under the CTA is referred to as beneficial ownership information, and is reported into FinCEN’s beneficial ownership secure system through filing a beneficial ownership information report via an online portal. The collected information includes personal identifying information about specific individuals directly or indirectly associated with the reporting company. Collected information is maintained by FinCEN and made accessible to authorized users of FinCEN’s beneficial ownership information technology system, which include certain governmental agencies, domestic and foreign law enforcement and, in some instances, financial institutions, each upon strict terms of use. Importantly, the collected information is not available to the general public, is not available to the press through Freedom of Information Act requests, and may only be accessed and used for proper purposes by authorized governmental (including law enforcement) and financial institution recipients. Significant penalties, including steep fines and significant federal prison terms, exist for violators of the permitted access requirements. Fines also exist for direct and indirect violators of the CTA’s reporting obligations, along with federal prison terms for willful violation of the CTA.
The CTA is intended to serve the public interest by combatting the use of “shell” companies in the commission of money laundering, financial fraud and other domestic and international illicit activity and corrupt practices. However, the reach of the CTA is much broader, and includes business insiders and affiliates, service providers, financial institutions, state and tribal government agencies and law enforcement, and others dealing with many U.S. entities and U.S. operated international business entities, including business entities in existence prior to and formed after the CTA’s enactment