Author: Christie Williams

Halmos Faculty member Robert Smith, Ph.D., Pallavi Velagapudi, and Rachel Ghoubrial

Recently, the journal Microbes and Injection published the article, “A potential tradeoff between feeding rate and aversive learning determines intoxication in a Caenorhabditis elegans host-pathogen system”.

In this manuscript, a research team composed of seven undergraduate students examined the interplay between attraction and avoidance in the worm C. elegans. Using infective bacteria engineered to make an attractive odor, the group examined how the level of attraction determines the ability of the bacteria to infect the worms. They observed that if the bacteria are too attractive, the worms quickly learn to avoid the bacteria, and infection is reduced. Conversely, if the bacteria are not attractive enough, the worms are not attracted to the bacteria, and infection is reduced.   However, if the attractiveness of the bacteria is between these two extremes, the bacteria are able to cause a high degree of infection in the worms, suggesting a ‘Goldilocks’ region of attractiveness. The work might shed light on the evolutionary constraints that bacteria and other infective agents face when trying to infect a potential host.

The research of Halmos faculty member Robert Smith, Ph.D. (senior and corresponding author) focuses on understanding and manipulating bacterial cooperation, antibiotic resistance and host-microbe interactions using multidisciplinary approaches. Halmos faculty member Christopher Blanar, Ph.D. is also an author on this paper.

Citation: Velagapudi Pallavi, Rachel Ghoubrial, Ratnavi Shah, Helana Ghali, Meghan Haas, Krunal S. Patel, Ashleigh Riddell, Christopher A. Blanar, and Robert P. Smith. (2020).”A potential tradeoff between feeding rate and aversive learning determines intoxication in a Caenorhabditis elegans host-pathogen system.” Microbes and Infection.

NSU Writing & Communication Center Faculty Coordinator, Janine Morris (CAHSS), and CAHSS Visiting Assistant Professor, Mario D’Agostino, presented at the 5th annual Power Publishing Day in the Alvin Sherman Library on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020.

Power Publishing featured presentations by and meet and greets with editors and publishers from academic publishing houses such as Taylor & Franics, McGraw Hill, SAGE, and more. Online and in person, participants learned about creating academic videos, open access publishing, textbook publishing, writing and using case studies, where to publish, avoiding predatory publishing, publishing your research, writing a great research paper, and finding the right journal for your paper.

Morris and D’Agostino presented “Hard Work Preys Off: Recognizing & Avoiding Predatory Publishing,” which focused on how to spot the signs of predatory publishing and strategies for securing your scholarship. “Power Publishing Day is an important event for the Alvin Sherman Library and for the greater NSU community at large. I value being a part of this event as well as having the opportunity to educate faculty and students about predatory publishing,” said D’Agostino.

Power Publishing Day is part of the NSU Library “Gear Up” workshops series, which offers faculty and students professional development opportunities to engage with librarians and  gain knowledge in areas of research, publishing, grants, and copyright. Click on the link to view dates for the next “Gear Up Workshops.”

To learn more about the other Power Publishing Day sessions and presenters, visit: https://nsufl.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=51746513

To view past Power Publishing Day recordings, visit:

https://nsufl.libguides.com/c.php?g=348819&p=2353209

The NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) participated in the “Sherman’s Golf in the Library” event January 10-12, a fundraiser hosted by the Alvin Sherman Library Circle of Friends. Golfers of all ages had the chance to “tee-off” for fun on the 18-hole miniature golf course where each hole was decorated by a library or campus organization based on a specific children’s book, such as Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,  E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, or the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling.

The WCC golf hole was based on Alphabet Under Construction, a children’s book by Denise Fleming, which features a mouse building all the letters of the alphabet out of different materials. The WCC hole featured several handmade letters, including a 7-foot tall capital “L” that guests could “construct” by adding paper bricks to it on which they wrote messages to the library. The hole also featured a mechanical mouse on a ladder pulling on a rope to raise and lower the letter “Y.”

WCC staff, led by WCC faculty coordinator and CAHSS Assistant Professor Dr. Eric Mason, designed and constructed the hole. Dr. Mason said “It was great to partner with the Alvin Sherman Library to provide the community with a fun experience based on children’s books. At the WCC we work daily with writers from all corners of NSU, and an event that recognizes the impact that the texts we write can have on the next generation is a perfect way to remind ourselves why we write.”

The 3-day unique mini golf experience provided NSU faculty, staff, students, and community members the opportunity to connect with different organizations and golf on the 1st and 2nd floors. The event’s host, the not-for-profit organization Circle of Friends for the NSU Alvin Sherman Library, is dedicated to serving the library in its efforts of maintaining its role as the premier research and information technology center, structured for cultural and lifelong learning for the NSU and Broward County community. All proceeds raised from the event were used to help fund early childhood literacy programs, furniture, technology and research materials. The WCC looks forward to participating in the event in upcoming years.

For more information on the Circle of Friends, visit: http://sherman.library.nova.edu/sites/friends/about-the-circle-of-friends/

The NSU-wide Undergraduate Student Journal, Mako has recently been revived with five student-authored and faculty-mentored papers published in a new winter 2020 issue. Halmos College faculty members Aarti Raja, Ph.D. and Santanu De, Ph.D. are serving as Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor, respectively. Oceanographic Campus librarian Keri Baker is overseeing the technical aspects of the online publication.

Faculty and all faculty-led undergraduate student researchers of all fields are encouraged to connect with MAKO to promote this publication.