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Center for Teaching Excellence Fall 2024 Newsletter
No full textInside this issue: INSTILL -- Improving Learning & Mental Health -- SST@R -- Teaching with AI -- Teaching Showcase -- Faculty Fellows Feature -- Fellows Programs -- Representing Rice -- Graduate Programs -- Upcoming Event
Deriving general principles of agroecosystem multifunctionality with the Diverse Rotations Improve Valuable Ecosystem Services (DRIVES) network
No full textLong-term agricultural field experiments (LTFEs) have been conducted for nearly 150 years. Yet lack of coordination means that synthesis across such experiments remains rare, constituting a missed opportunity for deriving general principles of agroecosystem structure and function. Here, we introduce the Diverse Rotations Improve Valuable Ecosystem Services (DRIVES) project, which uses legacy data from North American LTFEs to address research questions about the multifunctionality of agriculture. The DRIVES Project is a network of researchers who have compiled a database of primary (i.e., observations) and secondary (i.e., transformed observations or modeling results) data from participating sites. It comprises 21 LTFEs that evaluate how crop rotational diversity impacts cropping system performance. The Network consists of United States Department of Agriculture, university, and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center scientists (20 people) who manage and collect primary data from LTFEs and a core team (nine people) who organize the network, curate network data, and synthesize cross-network findings. As of 2024, the DRIVES Project database contains 495 site-years of crop yields, daily weather, soil analysis, and management information. The DRIVES database is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, which allows integration with other public datasets. Initial research has focused on how rotational diversity impacts resilience in the face of adverse weather, nutritional quality, and economic feasibility. Our collaborative approach in handling LTFE data has established a model for data organization that facilitates broader synthesis studies. We openly invite other sites to join the DRIVES network and share their data
Living in the Nuclear Age: A Course for Medical Students Outlining Key Aspects of Medicine and Health Effects
No full textAt Baylor College of Medicine, for nearly two decades, we have provided an elective course entitled “Nuclear Ethics,” in which we discuss the ways living in the nuclear age impacts medicine. The course reviews the health effects of the World War II Japanese bombings (including a discussion of the local medical library repository of a large collection of data related to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission), the health effects of nuclear testing including the Marshall Islands and the Nevada Test site (the most heavily bombed place on earth), the risks attendant with employment in the nuclear industry, the current controversies attendant with nuclear power and the data associated with accidents such as those at Three Mile Islands, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, and a final discussion of nuclear conflicts in the world today. The students who enroll are largely first-year medical students.
The Houston and Baylor College of Medicine communities benefited greatly from the presence on retirement of Dr. William Schull, the geneticist and epidemiologist who led many of the activities of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission. In his retirement he continued to teach students about the effects of the Japanese bombings. Through his nineties he eloquently described his love for the Japanese culture and provided in depth insights, knowledge, and experience about the effects of ionizing radiation. These discussions served as an impressive example for the medical students in the course. Much of his material are in the repository at the McGovern Historical Center of the Texas Medical Center Library.
Students participate by readings, discussion, and detailed assignments. The course is well-received and emphasizes an importance of physician involvement in nuclear issues, including the key role that the Physicians for Social Responsibility played in the test ban treaties and in the dissolution of the USSR in 1989
Laser-induced high-entropy alloys as long-duration bifunctional electrocatalysts for seawater splitting
No full textElectrocatalytic seawater splitting has garnered significant attention as a promising approach for eco-friendly, large-scale green hydrogen production. Development of high-efficiency and cost-effective electrocatalysts remains a frontier in this field. Herein, we report a rapid in situ synthesis of FeNiCoCrRu high-entropy alloy nanoparticles (HEA NPs) by direct CO2 laser induction of metal precursors on carbon paper under ambient conditions. Due to the induced ultrahigh temperature and ultrafast heating/quenching rates, FeNiCoCrRu HEA NPs with sizes ranging from 5 to 40 nm possess uniform phase homogeneity. FeNiCoCrRu HEA NPs exhibit exceptional bifunctional electrocatalytic activities, delivering overpotentials of 0.148 V at 600 mA cm−2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction and 0.353 V at 300 mA cm−2 for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline seawater. When assembled FeNiCoCrRu HEA NPs to an electrolyzer, it shows a negligible voltage increase at 250 mA cm−2 even after over 3000-hour operation. This superior performance can be attributed to the high-entropy design, large electrochemical specific area, and excellent chemical and structural stability. An operando Raman spectroscopy study discloses that the Ni and Ru sites serve as active sites for hydrogen evolution, while the Ni site acts as an active site for oxygen evolution. This work demonstrates a laser-induced eco-friendly nanomaterial synthesis. The systematic studies offer an in-depth understanding of HEA design and its correlation with high-efficiency seawater splitting
Identification of a Novel Role of BMP Signaling in Enteric Neural Crest Colonization of the Zebrafish Enteric Nervous System
No full textThe vertebrate enteric nervous system (ENS) consists of a series of interconnected ganglia within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, formed during development following the migration of enteric neural crest cells (ENCCs) into the primitive gut tube. Much work has been done to unravel the complex nature of extrinsic and intrinsic factors that regulate the processes that direct the migration, proliferation, and differentiation of the ENCCs. However, ENS development is a complex process, and we still have much to learn regarding the signaling factors that regulate ENCC development. Here in zebrafish, through transcriptomic, in situ transcript expression, immunohistochemical analysis, and chemical attenuation, I identified a time-dependent role for bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) in the maintenance of Phox2bb+ enteric progenitor numbers and/or time of differentiation of the progenitor pool. In support of our in silico transcriptomic analysis, I identified the expression of a novel ENS ligand-encoding transcript, bmp5, within the developmental regions of the ENCCs. Through the generation of a novel mutant bmp5wmr2, I identified a functional role for BMP5 in the proper colonization of the GI tract, whereby phox2bb+ enteric progenitor numbers were reduced. Altogether, this work has identified time-dependent roles for BMP signaling and identification of a novel extrinsic factor, BMP5, that is necessary for the proper formation of the vertebrate ENS
Loss of LPAR6 and CAB39L dysregulates the basal-to-luminal urothelial differentiation program, contributing to bladder carcinogenesis
Get PDFoai:repository.rice.edu:1911/117498We describe a strategy that combines histologic and molecular mapping that permits interrogation of the chronology of changes associated with cancer development on a whole-organ scale. Using this approach, we present the sequence of alterations around RB1 in the development of bladder cancer. We show that RB1 is not involved in initial expansion of the preneoplastic clone. Instead, we found a set of contiguous genes that we term “forerunner” genes whose silencing is associated with the development of plaque-like field effects initiating carcinogenesis. Specifically, we identified five candidate forerunner genes (ITM2B, LPAR6, MLNR, CAB39L, and ARL11) mapping near RB1. Two of these genes, LPAR6 and CAB39L, are preferentially downregulated in the luminal and basal subtypes of bladder cancer, respectively. Their loss of function dysregulates urothelial differentiation, sensitizing the urothelium to N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine-induced cancers, which recapitulate the luminal and basal subtypes of human bladder cancer
A Proxy System Modeling Approach to Combining Tree-Ring and Sediment-Based Paleotempestological Records
No full textThe short and biased observational record of tropical cyclones (TCs) limits scientific understanding of how these destructive storms respond to climate forcing. Paleohurricane records use natural archives (tree rings, coarse-grained sediment) to reconstruct TC properties (frequency and intensity of rainfall, wind) over the past few hundreds to thousands of years. However, different sensitivities and sampling biases in the various paleohurricane proxies restrict our ability to compile these records into regional or basin-scale TC estimates. Here we test how well pseudo tree-ring records of paleohurricanes capture TC rainfall and occurrence. Using a large set of statistically downscaled storms forced with the Max Planck Institute (MPI-ESM-P) model as boundary conditions for the past millennium, we generate a 1000-member ensemble of pseudo tree-ring records of latewood width from southern Mississippi using a Poisson process-based random draw. Pseudo records convert synthetic TC rainfall into latewood width using a previously published statistical calibration and seasonal sensitivity. We show that fourth quantile thresholds applied to pseudo latewood data successfully identify years with TC strikes. Comparing pseudo tree-ring records with pseudo sediment records from the Gulf Coast indicates promise in combining proxies sensitive to TC rainfall with proxies sensitive to storm overwash. Sediment records that are sensitive to lower intensity storms (≥Saffir Simpson Category 1) are more compatible with tree-ring records, suggesting a need for more of these low intensity threshold records in the Gulf to facilitate future multi-proxy efforts to reconstruct past TC properties
WASHHOUSE : A shared amenity for dense urban environments.
No full textA shift in urban living density triggers a multitude of behavioral changes. The consequences of heightened density are diverse, encompassing shifts in property ownership, alterations to daily
routines, changes in workplace locations, and reassessments of the significance of communal engagement and spaces. The primary focus of this thesis is to conceptualize routine daily activities integral to our lives, particularly delving into the process of doing laundry—a seemingly mundane yet vital aspect of everyday living experience.
The context for this exploration is set in Nairobi, Kenya, in dense urban areas. The project delves into the interplay between form and function, especially as building functions evolve and social functions persist amidst changes in time, technology, and socio-political environments. By examining structures that have served various functions at different times, the thesis anticipates a shift in design and factors it into its considerations
Longitudinal tracking of neural vascular recovery post microinfarct using multimodal neural platform
No full textEMBARGO NOTE: This item is embargoed until 2025-12-01Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of cases occurring annually. The disease is caused by the obstruction or reduction of blood flow to part of the brain, typically due to the buildup of cholesterol-containing fatty deposits called plaques in an artery or one of its branches. Microinfarcts are a milder form of ischemic stroke with tiny area of tissue damage resulting from blockage of small cerebral blood vessels such as arterioles and capillaries. In this study, we induced mini-scale photo-thrombotic strokes in aged mice to investigate how neural activities respond to such small-scale occlusion. We used ultra-flexible nanoelectrode thread probes, two-photon imaging, and speckle imaging to track neural activities, microvascular structure, and regional cerebral blood flow longitudinally post-stroke. Our findings reveal several important insights about this transient local damage in an aged mouse model. Firstly, we observed that neural activity near the infarct site recovers to baseline levels at the same pace as the capillary bed after mini-scale stroke induction. Secondly, our cell-type-specific analysis of single neurons revealed that the excitability of fast-spiking narrow interneurons is dampened the most among all cell types during this minor ischemic induction and recovery process. Thirdly, we found that neuronal damage is depth-related, with shallower layers being more severely affected than deeper layers. Lastly, our results suggest that spike phase locking at the low gamma band, which is dominant in the shallow cortical layer, is weakly but long-lastingly compromised, indicating an interruption in large-scale neuronal assembly communication. Overall, these findings shed light on the neurovascular impact of a photo-thrombosis microinfarct, including its effects on capillary structure, the response of individual neurons, and the functioning of large-scale neural networks