Through the Eyes of Faculty: Using Personas as a Tool for Learner-Centered Professional Development.

College science instructors need continuous professional development (PD) to meet the call to evidence-based practice. New PD efforts need to focus on the nuanced blend of factors that influence instructors' teaching practices. We used persona methodology to describe the diversity among instructors who were participating in a long-term PD initiative.

Opposing Regulation of the EGF Receptor: A Molecular Switch Controlling Cytomegalovirus Latency and Replication.

Herpesviruses persist indefinitely in their host through complex and poorly defined interactions that mediate latent, chronic or productive states of infection. Human cytomegalovirus (CMV or HCMV), a ubiquitous β-herpesvirus, coordinates the expression of two viral genes, UL135 and UL138, which have opposing roles in regulating viral replication. UL135 promotes reactivation from latency and virus replication, in part, by overcoming replication-suppressive effects of UL138.

Teaching Real Data Interpretation with Models (TRIM): Analysis of Student Dialogue in a Large-Enrollment Cell and Developmental Biology Course.

We present our design for a cell biology course to integrate content with scientific practices, specifically data interpretation and model-based reasoning. A 2-yr research project within this course allowed us to understand how students interpret authentic biological data in this setting. Through analysis of written work, we measured the extent to which students' data interpretations were valid and/or generative.

Interactions between proteins encoded within the human cytomegalovirus UL133-UL138 locus.

We previously described a novel genetic locus within the ULb' region of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) genome that, while dispensable for replication in fibroblasts, suppresses replication in hematopoietic progenitors and augments replication in endothelial cells. This locus, referred to as the UL133-UL138 locus, encodes four proteins, pUL133, pUL135, pUL136, and pUL138. In this work, we have mapped the interactions among these proteins.

Human cytomegalovirus persistence.

Viral persistence is the rule following infection with all herpesviruses. The β-herpesvirus, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), persists through chronic and latent states of infection. Both of these states of infection contribute to HCMV persistence and to the high HCMV seroprevalence worldwide.

Apoptosis, mastocytosis, and diminished adipocytokine gene expression accompany reduced epididymal fat mass in long-standing diet-induced obese mice.

Background: Obesity is characterized by increased cell death and inflammatory reactions in the adipose tissue. Here, we explored pathophysiological alterations taking place in the adipose tissue in long-standing obesity. In the epididymal fat of C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet for 20 weeks, the prevalence and distribution of dead adipocytes (crown-like structures), mast cells (toluidine blue, mMCP6), macrophages (F4/80), and apoptotic cells (cleaved caspase-3) were measured.