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Through the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp became a federally legal crop in the United States for the first time in nearly a half century. Farmers from across the country became interested in the potential of the crop and land-grant universities and other institutions of higher education were challenged with the task of closing an expansive knowledge gap through research and outreach. Despite its federally legal status, hemp's association with marijuana and public stigma remain. This study investigated university students' knowledge and attitudes toward hemp before and after an educational campaign that involved hemp plants on campus. Results indicated students initially had low knowledge about hemp. A majority of students did not recognize the crop as being federally legal and were unable to distinguish major differences between hemp and marijuana. Despite low knowledge, students held fairly high attitudes toward hemp. After the educational campaign, students were significantly more knowledgeable and held more favorable attitudes toward hemp.

The growth of urban e-commerce has had enormous impacts on urban transportation and land use. Retailers are competing through free and 1-or 2-day delivery which has incentivized small-scale deliveries (small packages in small trucks) to personal residences. From an urban freight perspective, these trips are less efficient than large-scale deliveries to retail locations. However, there remain questions regarding the overall impact of online shopping on passenger travel and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This project focuses on how delivery preferences affect individual travel behavior in California and the Greater Los Angeles Region. The research puts special emphasis on alternative delivery methods that cluster local deliveries, such as automated parcel lockers (APLs) offered by Amazon. Clustered local deliveries could reduce truck VMT while only marginally increasing passenger VMT. The research team conducted two separate but related surveys to explore the potential of APLs as an alternative for residence deliveries: The first survey examines e-shopping behavior in general; the second addresses the use of APLs. The researchers find that online shopping is ubiquitous. The pandemic increased e-shopping, expanding it to older age cohorts and more diverse products. The use of APLs is rare. Convenience is the dominant factor in the delivery choice. The potential market for APLs could be increased if there were more locations available near home or workplace. Future research directions include modeling the impact of delivery methods on passenger VMT and incorporating product returns into our understanding of APL use.View the NCST Project Webpage

The "International Research Experience for Students (IRES)" at Doane University (DU) located in Crete, Nebraska, exposed undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students to international research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. The international collaboration team included three undergraduate researchers per year from DU, one faculty member and one postdoctoral fellow from DU, two faculty mentors at KIT, and several graduate, post-doctoral, and technical staff at KIT. Prior to departure to Germany, the students received extensive research training, as well as culture and language preparation from the mentors at DU. While in Germany, the students received an in-depth orientation to Karlsruhe, Germany, Europe, the research setting at KIT, and the international collaborators. The eight week summer projects over three years involved nanolithography, nano- to microsized array fabrication, organic synthesis using click chemistry, and surface modifications for sensing and other biomedical research applications. When the students returned from Germany, they continued to conduct research at DU and train other undergraduate students using the expertise acquired from KIT. The DU research students, including the IRES scholars, learned oral and written communication skills. They presented their KIT and DU research results at weekly seminars and at local and national meetings. An external assessment firm evaluated the program, the students, and mentors on a yearly basis before and after the summer research. This enabled all participants to continuously improve the learning objectives and the program execution including three program adjustments implemented in year 2 or 3. The survey data shows that the IRES program provided an enriching experience for the students in research and international culture and established a successful base of collaboration for mentors.

A 5‐year‐old, male, neutered cocker spaniel diagnosed with presumed immune‐mediated haemolytic anaemia 9 weeks previously, and treated with immunosuppressive medications with subsequent resolution of anaemia was presented for hyporexia, lethargy and tachypnoea of 48‐hour duration. Point‐of‐care thoracic ultrasonography revealed pericardial effusion causing cardiac tamponade. Cytological examination of the pericardial fluid showed an exudate with intracellular cocci chains and degenerate neutrophils, consistent with septic pericardial effusion. The culture of the effusion revealed a profuse growth of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Antibiotic and supportive therapy were instituted, immunosuppressant medications were tapered and stopped, the patient's clinical status progressively improved, and a full recovery ensued without need of further surgical and interventional procedures. Dual immunosuppression with prednisolone and ciclosporin was considered to be the most likely cause for the patient's clinical condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequencing of the human genome has ushered in a new era of biology. The technologies developed to facilitate the sequencing of the human genome are now being applied to the sequencing of other genomes. In 2004, a partnership was formed between Washington University School of Medicine Genome Sequencing Center's Outreach Program and Washington University Department of Biology Science Outreach to create a video tour depicting the processes involved in large-scale sequencing. "Sequencing a Genome: Inside the Washington University Genome Sequencing Center" is a tour of the laboratory that follows the steps in the sequencing pipeline, interspersed with animated explanations of the scientific procedures used at the facility. Accompanying interviews with the staff illustrate different entry levels for a career in genome science. This video project serves as an example of how research and academic institutions can provide teachers and students with access and exposure to innovative technologies at the forefront of biomedical research. Initial feedback on the video from undergraduate students, high school teachers, and high school students provides suggestions for use of this video in a classroom setting to supplement present curricula. (Contains 4 figures and 3 tables.)

Abstract: The synthesis of a seven-membered ring locked analogue of 11-cis-retinol, tethered to a cross-linking moiety on C-15 and a lysine-extended biotin on the C-3, was accomplished for its utilization [...]

Author(s): LaDeana W. Hillier [1]; Tina A. Graves [1]; Robert S. Fulton [1]; Lucinda A. Fulton [1]; Kymberlie H. Pepin [1]; Patrick Minx [1]; Caryn Wagner-McPherson [1]; Dan Layman [1]; [...]

Author(s): LaDeana W. Hillier [1]; Robert S. Fulton [1]; Lucinda A. Fulton [1]; Tina A. Graves [1]; Kymberlie H. Pepin [1]; Caryn Wagner-McPherson [1]; Dan Layman [1]; Jason Maas [1]; [...]