Non-random autosome segregation: a stepping stone for the evolution of sex chromosome complexes?

A new study in Caenorhabditis elegans shows that homologous autosomes segregate non-randomly with the sex chromosome in the heterogametic sex. Segregation occurs according to size, small autosomes segregating with, and large autosomes segregating away from the X-chromosome. Such sex-biased transmission of autosomes could facilitate the spread of sexually antagonistic alleles whose effects favor the fitness of one sex at the expense of the other. This may provide a first step toward the evolution of new sex determination systems.

Building World-Class Schools for Iowa: A Legislative Brief, January 14, 2013

The Iowa Department of Education has joined the Office of the Governor to prepare a set of legislative proposals that will bring Iowa closer to its goal of providing a world-class education to all children, no mater where they live. This legislative brief serves as an overview of the legislation, which I encourage you to read and discuss in greater detail. the goals behind these policies are straightforward: Comprehensive and systematically raise and support the teaching profession while expanding efforts to customize instruction to every student's passion and talents. Iowa's children deserve the best education can provide so they leave our schools with the knowledge and skills necessary for successful and rewarding lives. Iowa has many good schools with hard-working, talented educators who deserves our respect and appreciation. While we honor the past work of generations of Iowans who built a strong foundation, it is our responsibility - and our turn - to make a focused, dedicated effort to improve Iowa's schools. We stand at a pivotal moment in Iowa storied education history, in which we have the opportunity and will as community to make the transition from being "good" to being "great".

Building a Social Accounting Matrix within the ESA95 Framework: Obtaining a Dataset for Applied General Equilibrium Modelling

This research provides a description of the process followed in order to assemble a "Social Accounting Matrix" for Spain corresponding to the year 2000 (SAMSP00). As argued in the paper, this process attempts to reconcile ESA95 conventions with requirements of applied general equilibrium modelling. Particularly, problems related to the level of aggregation of net taxation data, and to the valuation system used for expressing the monetary value of input-output transactions have deserved special attention. Since the adoption of ESA95 conventions, input-output transactions have been preferably valued at basic prices, which impose additional difficulties on modellers interested in computing applied general equilibrium models. This paper addresses these difficulties by developing a procedure that allows SAM-builders to change the valuation system of input-output transactions conveniently. In addition, this procedure produces new data related to net taxation information.

Building the future: the Brazilian university library in 2010

Information technology will affect academic activities as well as the nature of the high education sector. This sector besides the need to assimilate these technologies will need to attend the requisites of market globalization and, as consequence, all theses changes will be reflected in the university library. Prospectives impacts will affect the structure (emphasis in user services, outsourcing of several services), in the financing aspect (growing of consortia in order to reduce costs), in services (electronic reference, support to long distance education programs, intelligent agents) and in the clientele (attending the great demand por high education which implies a diversity of people).

Pieces of Iowa’s Past, April 17, 2013

Pieces of Iowa’s Past, published by the Iowa State Capitol Tour Guides weekly during the legislative session, features historical facts about Iowa, the Capitol, and the early workings of state government. All historical publications are reproduced here with the actual spelling, punctuation, and grammar retained THIS WEEK: Iowa State Capitol Structural Sandstone Origination From The Iowa Capitol Commissioners Reports Report of Capitol Architect A.H. Piquenard, submitted December 16, 1875 BACKGROUND: The Ste. Genevieve sandstone is the buff color stone on the exterior of the Capitol. The Carroll County sandstone was the light color or contrast stone on the Capitol exterior. The Carroll County stone did not wear well and was removed from the building during the exterior renovations in the 1980s and 1990s. Both sandstones are from Missouri.

Mana / Paul Gad [acc. mandolines et p]. Stone affro tis thallassass : yalo… yalo… / Paul Gad, chant [acc. choeur et instr.]

[Traditions. Europe. Grèce]

Building hippocampal circuits to learn and remember: insights into the development of human memory

The hippocampal formation is essential for the processing of episodic memories for autobiographical events that happen in unique spatiotemporal contexts. Interestingly, before 2 years of age, children are unable to form or store episodic memories for recall later in life, a phenomenon known as infantile amnesia. From 2 to 7 years of age, there are fewer memories than predicted based on a forgetting function alone, a phenomenon known as childhood amnesia. Here, we discuss the postnatal maturation of the primate hippocampal formation with the goal of characterizing the development of the neurobiological substrates thought to subserve the emergence of episodic memory. Distinct regions, layers and cells of the hippocampal formation exhibit different profiles of structural and molecular development during early postnatal life. The protracted period of neuronal addition and maturation in the dentate gyrus is accompanied by the late maturation of specific layers in different hippocampal regions that are located downstream from the dentate gyrus, particularly CA3. In contrast, distinct layers in several hippocampal regions, particularly CA1, which receive direct projections from the entorhinal cortex, exhibit an early maturation. In addition, hippocampal regions that are more highly interconnected with subcortical structures, including the subiculum, presubiculum, parasubiculum and CA2, mature even earlier. These findings, together with our studies of the development of human spatial memory, support the hypothesis that the differential maturation of distinct hippocampal circuits might underlie the differential emergence of specific "hippocampus-dependent" memory processes, culminating in the emergence of episodic memory concomitant with the maturation of all hippocampal circuits.

Looking Back: Historical Hall, 1899-1904; State Historical, Memorial and Art Building, 1905-1999; Ola Babcock Miller Building, 1999-Present, June 2013

For more than 80 years, visitors to the Iowa State Historical, Memorial, and Art Building were treated to the state’s collection of historic documents, literature, portraits, and historical, geological, and archeological artifacts. Those who visited might have memories of the spectacular sand paintings by Iowan Andrew Clemens, the variety of taxidermy Iowa animals, the pioneer Conestoga wagon in the basement, the biplane hanging from the dome ceiling, the odd display by the medical library of things removed from stomachs, or the Native American display on the third floor. This booklet is a look back at the origins of the museum. It includes some of the Historical Department reports, legislation passed by the general assembly, newspaper and magazine articles, and photographs pertaining to the museum and library. It is not intended to be an exhaustive review and documentation of displays and exhibits. It is a brief overview of the building’s history and some photographs that may bring back memories, for some, of a field trip as a student. This booklet has been created from a variety of source materials: photographs, newspaper articles, and various reports. The following have contributed: State Library of Iowa, Iowa State Historical Society, the Iowa Judicial Branch, Susan Wallace, Helen Dagley, Barb Corson, Jerome Thompson, Pam Rees, Georgiann Fischer, and Jason Mrachina.

Reinforced Earth and Stone Columns for Weak Subsoil Conditions, HR-510, 1980

Reinforced Earth is a French development that has been used in the United States for approximately ten years. Virbro-Replacement, more commonly referred to as stone columns, is an outgrowth of deep densification of cohesionless soils originally developed in Germany. Reinforced Earth has applicability when wall height is greater than about twelve feet and deep seated foundation failure is not a concern. Stone columns are applicable when soft, cohesive subsoil conditions are encountered and bearing capacity and shearing resistance must be increased. The conditions in Sioux City on Wesley Way can be summarized as: (1) restricted right of way, (2) fill height in excess of 25 feet creating unstable conditions, (3) adjacent structures that could not be removed. After analyzing alternatives, it was decided that Reinforced Earth walls constructed on top of stone columns were the most practical approach.

List of books by Iowa authors : collected by the Auxiliary Committee of the Iowa Commission, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, for the exhibit of books by Iowa authors in the Iowa State Building, St. Louis, 1904

This is a list of Iowa authors that grew out of the efforts of the auxiliary committee of the Iowa Commission of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition to bring together a collection of books by Iowa authors for the Iowa State building at the St. Louis Exposition.