846 research outputs found
Facing the Future: the Changing Shape of Academic Skills Support at Bournemouth University
No full textThis paper explores the potential impact of changes to higher education in England on student expectations, engagement, lifestyles and diversity, and outlines implications for the development of digital literacy within academic skills support at Bournemouth University (BU). We will investigate how tackling resource constraints with organisational change can also enable efficient, centralised provision of support materials that utilise networks to overcome the risk of fragmented support for digital literacy. We will also look at how changing delivery modes for support can accommodate changing student lifestyles whilst tackling a weakness of centralised support for digital literacy: that it can become detached from the student’s subject-focused academic practice. Finally we will explore how involving students in developing support can help us to face changes to student expectations and engagement whilst ensuring that materials are authentic and speak to learners in their own voice
PTEN couples Sema3A signalling to growth cone collapse
No full textDistinct changes in glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) signalling can regulate neuronal morphogenesis including the determination and maintenance of axonal identity, and are required for neurotrophin-mediated axon elongation. In addition, we have previously shown a dependency on GSK-3 activation in the semaphorin 3A (Sema3A)-mediated growth-cone-collapse response of sensory neurons. Regulation of GSK-3 activity involves the intermediate signalling lipid phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate, which can be modulated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and the tumour suppressor PTEN. We report here the involvement of PTEN in the Sema3A-mediated growth cone collapse. Sema3A suppresses PI3K signalling concomitant with the activation of GSK-3, which depends on the phosphatase activity of PTEN. PTEN is highly enriched in the axonal compartment and the central domain of sensory growth cones during axonal extension, where it colocalises with microtubules. Following exposure to Sema3A, PTEN accumulates rapidly at the growth cone membrane suggesting a mechanism by which PTEN couples Sema3A signalling to growth cone collapse. These findings demonstrate a dependency on PTEN to regulate GSK-3 signalling in response to Sema3A and highlight the importance of subcellular distributions of PTEN to control growth cone behaviour
Maximizing Research Impact Through Institutional and National Open-Access Self-Archiving Mandates
No full textNo research institution can afford all the journals its researchers may need, so all articles are losing research impact (usage and citations). Articles made “Open Access,” (OA) by self-archiving them on the web are cited twice as much, but only 15% of articles are being spontaneously self-archived. The only institutions approaching 100% self-archiving are those that mandate it. Surveys show that 95% of authors will comply with a self-archiving mandate; the actual expe-rience of institutions with mandates has confirmed this. What institutions and funders need to mandate is that (1) immediately upon acceptance for publication, (2) the author’s final draft must be (3) deposited into the Institutional Repository. Only the depositing needs to be mandated; set-ting access privileges to the full-text as either OA or Restricted Access (RA) can be left up to the author. For articles published in the 93% of journals that have already endorsed self-archiving, access can be set as OA immediately; for the remaining 7%, authors can email the eprint in re-sponse to individual email requests automatically forwarded by the Repository
Hearing Faces and Seeing Voices: The Integration and Interaction of Face and Voice Processing
No full textCognitive understanding of voice recognition has borrowed much from the area of face processing, both in terms of the theoretical framework within which results are interpreted, and the methodology used to assess performance. A considerable body of research now exists to suggest that voice recognition may proceed in parallel with face recognition, and that the two pathways may combine to inform person recognition. However, rather than being independent or equivalent, these parallel pathways appear to interact to reveal interesting interference effects. The present paper reviews a series of studies that focus on a considerable and growing literature. The vulnerability of voice processing will be explored relative to face processing, and the interaction of these two pathways will be examined with reference to broader theoretical frameworks for person recognition
Hematodinium infection seasonality in the Firth of Clyde (Scotland) nephrops norvegicus population: a re-evaluation
No full textHematodinium infections in Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus from the Clyde Sea area (CSA) population, Scotland, UK, have previously been undetected in summer. This study aimed to establish if the CSA is actually devoid of infected N. norvegicus in this season. Two PCR assays, an ELISA and 2 tests that detect only patent infection (pleopod and body colour methods) were applied in a 21 mo study. Patent infection was seasonal, appearing predominantly in spring, while subpatent infection diagnosed by ELISA and PCR was highly prevalent in all seasons. Generalised linear modelling supported this assertion, as sampling in September and February significantly increased the probability of finding infected N. norvegicus (p < 0.01); infections were predominantly subpatent and patent respectively, at these times. Therefore, Hematodinium seasonality in N. norvegicus populations is likely to have been an artefact of insensitive diagnostic tests. Light Hematodinium infections were found using PCR assays when patent infections were at their most prevalent and intense, suggesting that infection develops at different rates in different N. norvegicus individuals and that only a portion of the total number of infected N. norvegicus die within a single year. These new data were added to a long-term data series for the CSA (1990 to 2008), which showed that after an initial 5 yr epidemic period, prevalence stabilised at 20 to 25%. Comparisons with ‘susceptible-infected-recovered/removed’ (SIR) models suggest that this high prevalence is maintained through high birth rates of susceptible host N. norvegicus
The Total Synthesis of Dragmacidins D and F
No full textThe dragmacidins are an emerging class of bis(indole) natural products isolated from deep-water marine organisms. Although there has been a substantial effort to prepare the simple piperazine dragmacidins, little synthetic work has been done in the area of the pyrazinone-containing family members, dragmacidins D, E, and F. These compounds are particularly interesting due to their complex structures and broad range of biological activity.
A highly convergent strategy to access dragmacidin D has been developed. In this approach, sequential halogen-selective Suzuki couplings were used to assemble the carbon scaffold of the natural product. After executing a highly optimized sequence of final events, the first completed total synthesis of dragmacidin D was achieved.
An enantiodivergent strategy for the total chemical synthesis of both (+)- and (-)-dragmacidin F from a single enantiomer of quinic acid has been developed and successfully implemented. Although unique, the synthetic routes to these antipodes share a number of key features, including novel reductive isomerization reactions, Pd(II)-mediated oxidative carbocyclization reactions, halogen-selective Suzuki couplings, and high-yielding late-stage Neber rearrangements.
The formal total syntheses of dragmacidin B, trans-dragmacidin C, and dihydrohamacanthin A are described. In addition, preliminary studies involving a novel approach for the preparation of dragmacidin E are reported.</p
University of Louisiana at Monroe's (ULM) Ichthyology Collection Database
No full textIn spring of 2017, administrators at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM, historically NLU – Northeastern Louisiana University) made the decision to get rid of their natural history collections, including their large fish collection of 74,441 specimen jars that represents the life’s work of Dr. Neil Douglas, author of Fishes of Louisiana (1974), and other ULM biologists. Those specimens were divided and deposited in other regional collections including the University of Texas' Biodiversity Collections. The Microsoft Access files provided here, together, are their collection catalog and provided as they were received. The files document when and where the specimens were collected and who collected them
Design and testing of a thick-film dual-modality sensor for composition measurements in heterogeneous mixtures
No full textThe current paper focuses on design and laboratory evaluation of a dual-modality sensor, developed for the needs of oil and gas extraction industry to measure the composition of heterogeneous mixtures in harsh conditions. The sensor combines ultrasonic and electrical measurement techniques, which are non-destructive, rapid and can potentially provide an on-line industrial measurement. Such a ‘dual-modality’ measurement could potentially be reliable in a wider range of process conditions. A distinct feature of the sensors presented here is their construction, which makes use of the thick-film technology, enabling the construction of multi-layered structures of both conductive and non-conductive layers, some of which may exhibit piezoelectric properties for ultrasonic measurement purposes. These are later fired on a ceramic substrate to provide rugged sensors, capable of working in aggressive industrial environments. Laboratory experiments to investigate the feasibility of the dual-modality sensors were conducted and some comparisons with the theoretical predictions are presented
O gótico e a morte: uma arqueologia nas histórias em quadrinhos morte, de Neil Gaiman
No full textThe present text aims to understand the possibility to study comics as objects of analyses by archaeology, which became this type of narrative as agents in the social-symbolic relations between humans and objects. In this perspective, to illustrate this possibility I brought a case study with the comic Death, written by the English author Neil Gaiman in the 1990’s decade, showing the way that gothic subculture are represented in these comics.El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo comprender la posibilidad de pensar los cómics como objetos de análisis para la Arqueología, volviendo los cómics como agenciadores de las relaciones socio-simbólicas establecidas entre los objetos y humanos. En este sentido, hago, de manera a ilustrar esta posibilidad, un estudio de caso realizado con los cómics Morte, escrito por el quadrinista inglés Neil Gaiman en la década de 1990, demostrando la manera que la subcultura gótica es representada en estos cómics.O presente trabalho busca compreender a possibilidade de pensar as Histórias em Quadrinhos como objetos de análise para a Arqueologia, tornando as HQs agenciadoras das relações sócio-simbólicas estabelecidas entre objetos e humanos. Nesse sentido, traz, de forma a ilustrar essa possibilidade, um estudo de caso realizado com a HQ Morte, escrita pelo quadrinista britânico Neil Gaiman na década de 1990, demonstrando a forma como a subcultura gótica é representada nesta H
Social prescribing with link worker for dementia: a scoping review
No full textPurpose Social prescribing supports people with complex needs to improve social, physical and mental wellbeing. While dementia is mentioned in UK social prescribing policy documents, there is no implementation guidance. People with dementia have complex health and social care needs and support is available from community-based initiatives (third sector). Many people may struggle to access support, and social prescribing could have a role in bridging this gap. Evidence is needed to demonstrate benefits and identify additional training for link workers to address specific needs of people with dementia. Method A systematic search was conducted of four academic databases and grey literature. Inclusion criteria included description of link worker and person-centred care planning. Findings 126 articles were identified and screened leading to selection of 6 articles. Quality appraisal found variable quality of reporting, with study types including survey, qualitative and mixed methods. Our analytic framework was derived from an international consensus study of social prescribing. Each theme was evidenced in our selected studies; referral route, link worker, person-centred care plan and access to resources. Evidence was limited on the role played by link workers. We noted an absence of discussion of how dementia-related impairments may require special training for link workers or additional resources. Originality In this first review of social prescribing for dementia we found only a small number of studies. Our analysis has identified gaps in knowledge about social prescribing and, in particular, whether modifications are required in order to provide optimal support for people with dementia
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