547 research outputs found
Richard Dawkins in conversation with Robyn Williams
No full textDawkins and Williams discuss the intricacies, the fascinating patterns and the anomalies produced by the process of evolution on earth.
At the Melbourne Town Hall, presented by the Melbourne Writers Festival, outspoken and influential author and scientist Richard Dawkins speaks to Robyn Williams (ABC RN) about the ideas underpinning his new book, The Greatest Show on Earth. They discuss the intricacies, the fascinating patterns and the anomalies produced by the process of evolution on earth. Dawkins then takes further questions from the audience about the theory of evolution, genetic determinism, the climate change denial movement and the place of religion in the world of science. Melbourne, March 2010.
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Farm to Fork Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment for Norovirus on Frozen Strawberries
No full textFoodborne illness outbreaks have been increasingly linked to the consumption of fresh and frozen berries that were contaminated with pathogenic viruses, such as human norovirus (NoV). Contamination of berries is assumed to take place at harvest by the use of contaminated water for pesticide dilution, irrigation water source or by shedding berry pickers in the field. A quantitative microbial risk assessment simulation model was built to replicate the largest known NoV outbreak which sickened about 11,000 people over a 3-week period. The outbreak occurred in Germany in 2012 when contaminated frozen strawberries were served at nearly 400 schools and daycare centers. The risk model explicitly assumed that all contamination would arise from NoV contamination of surface water used for pesticide dilution. Input data was collected from the published literature, observational studies and assumptions. The model starts with contamination of the berries in the field, and proceeds through transportation to processing facility, washing, sanitizing, freezing, frozen transport to cargo ship, transport view of cargo ship, transport to distribution center, frozen storage at the distribution center, transport to the catering facility, food service preparation and consumption, dose response, and predicted illnesses. A total of 21 scenarios were chosen to evaluate the impact of model parameters on the number of illness associated with NoV contamination of berries. Scenarios evaluated include the initial level of NoV in surface water, the effect of seasonality on the prevalence of NoV in surface water, the strength of the pesticide used, the volume of water used to dilute the pesticide, temperature during transportation to processing facility, washing and sanitizing conditions at processing facility and preparation (heat-treatment) of berries prior to consumption. Scenarios were compared via the Factor Sensitivity technique where the logarithm of the ratio of mean illnesses was used to compare different assumptions. The input that had the greatest effect on increasing in the number of illnesses was a high NoV concentration in the water (8 log Genome Copies/L) when compared to the baseline scenario with resulting mean illnesses of 7,964 illnesses and ~2 illnesses, respectively. This assumption about the concentration of virus in the pesticide makeup water was the only variable capable of producing an outbreak similar to that observed in Germany in 2012. Heat-treatment of the berries, use of a pesticide with strong antiviral effect, and assumption about the virus concentration in the pesticide make-up water had the largest impact on decreasing illnesses.Peer reviewe
"Exploring Our Sexualities" - Noted Author and Activist Robyn Ochs to Present Workshop and Interactive Presentation at U of M Crookston on Wednesday, April 22, 2009
No full textTollefson, Elizabeth. (2009). "Exploring Our Sexualities" - Noted Author and Activist Robyn Ochs to Present Workshop and Interactive Presentation at U of M Crookston on Wednesday, April 22, 2009. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/222053
A case study of the design, implementation, and formative evaluation of a team development program for a women's swimming and diving team in a NCAA division I university setting
No full textThis dissertation reflects a case study of the process of the design, implementation and formative evaluation of a team development program conducted with a swimming and diving team consisting of twenty-three women at a NCAA Division I university during the 2008-2009 academic year. The dissertation was undertaken to contribute to the knowledge base about how team development programs can be designed and implemented in athletic settings. As a foundation for the dissertation, the participant observer role was used in conjunction with Maher's (2000) Program Planning and Evaluation (PP&E) Framework and Maher's (2004) Student-Athlete Pyramid of Development. Relying on these approaches as procedural and technical guidance, a framework of knowledge, skills and abilities was formulated and then put into an evaluable programmatic form to assist the student-athletes on the team with interpersonal communication, within the team context. This dissertation explores how the PP&E Framework can be coupled with some of the levels of the Student-Athlete Pyramid of Development along with knowledge about team development from business, military, and sport to assist an athletic team in learning to communicate constructively. Formative evaluation data is provided from participating team members and the coaching staff about the actual and potential value of this kind of program. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are offered for the possible design and implementation of similar team development programs in athletic, business, and other contexts.Psy.DIncludes bibliographical references (p. 119-126)by Robyn L. OdegaardIncludes abstrac
The ectopic expression of insulin in Type 1 diabetes.
No full textType 1 Diabetes is characterised by an absolute deficiency in insulin due to the autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic J3 cells. A large body of literature has demonstrated that insulin itself is one of the key autoantigens in this process. In a parallel stream of research the insulin gene has been widely established as a susceptibility gene to Type 1 Diabetes and further more it has been shown that ectopic expression of this gene, particularly in the thymus, is important in establishing tolerance to this autoantigen. The exact molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not been fully elucidated to date. Preliminary data from the Autoimmunity Research Laboratory, JCSMR, Australian National University suggested that a set of2 GG to AA mutations discovered in the human insulin promoter was associated with loss of expression of a linked indicator protein in immunological cells in a sub line of transgenic mice. It was hypothesised that there was a these mutations interfered with promoter activation in immunological cells and loss of ectopic expression. To test this hypothesis separate transgenic mouse lines were generated carrying the original, unmutated human insulin promoter and its mutated counterpart. Analysis of the pattern of activation of the promoters in these transgenic mouse lines demonstrated evidence of ectopic expression in transgenic lines carrying the mutated promoter but not in the transgenic mouse line carrying the unmutated promoter, thus disproving the hypothesis. More detailed characterisation of the pattern of human insulin promoter expression in the transgenic mouse lines showed that a small subset of haematopoietic progenitor cells in the bone marrow was capable of activating the promoter. Subsequent experiments in a series of human bone marrow samples did not demonstrate any evidence of pro insulin expression in the CD34+ subset of haematopoietic progenitor cells
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Woman as Object
No full textThis paper discusses the creation process of thirteen works by the author addressing women's issues using mannequins of actual women as a metaphor. Robyn Beirman Jamison discusses interviewing and photographing the women, creating the works, and the imagery of objectification of women by society
Musical score, "Haste Love," for voice and piano. Words by Minnie Gilmore, music by Alfred G. Robyn. Balmer and Weber Music House Company, c. 1892
No full textPatrick Gilmore's daughter, Minnie L. Gilmore, was an author in her own right. Her published works include "Songs from the Wings," "Pipes from the Prairieland," "A Son of Esau," and "The Woman Who Stood Between." One of her verses, from "Songs from the Wings," is entitled "To my father--Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore": "Though he is dead, I still may do/ Him honor, by a life akin/ To that pure life my childhood knew,/ His fatherheart within./ And for the true musician's place,/ You claimed a throne beside the priest;/ Since both, you said, redeemed the base,/ And blessed both great and least." In this song, her verse was set to music by Alfred George Robyn (1860-1935) a composer of light opera and founder of the Marion English Opera Company in New York. Balmer and Weber Music House Company, [c.] 1892
Combining Scholarship, Teaching, and Learning: A Qualitative Study
No full textAbstract
Date Presented 3/31/2017
This session will reveal results of student participation in the Centralized Service Learning Model (CSLM), a course design framework that facilitates creative and active learning opportunities in the community through service. Results support the effectiveness of the CSLM as a viable teaching model to influence student learning.
Primary Author and Speaker: Lauren Milton
Additional Authors and Speakers: Robyn Otty</jats:p
Objective versus subjective methods to assess discipline-specific knowledge: a case for Extended Matching Questions (EMQs)
Get PDF[EN] Background: Extended matching questions (EMQs) were introduced as an objective assessment tool into third year immunology undergraduate units at Monash University, Australia. Aim: The performance of students examined objectively by multiple choice questions (MCQs) was compared to their performance assessed by EMQs; there was a high correlation coefficient between the two methods. EMQs were then introduced and the correlation of student performance between related units was measured as a function of percentage objective assessment. The correlation of student performance between units increased proportionally with objective assessment. Student performance in tasks assessed objectively and subjectively was then compared. The findings indicate marker bias contributes to the poor correlation between marks awarded objectively and subjectively. Conclusion: EMQs are a valid method to objectively assess students and their increased inclusion in the assessment process increases the consistency of student marks. The subjective assessment of science communication skills introduces marker bias, indicating a need to identify, validate and implement, more objective methods for their assessment.Slattery, R. (2017). Objective versus subjective methods to assess discipline-specific knowledge: a case for Extended Matching Questions (EMQs). En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 924-932. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.5473OCS92493
The role of NF-κB transcription factors in the development and function of regulatory T cells
No full textFoxp3 expressing CD4⁺ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical for the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Despite an increasing understanding of Treg biology, much remains to be learnt about the transcriptional programs that control the development and function of these cells. Recent work has established an important role for the NF-κB pathway, in particular c-Rel, in the development of thymic Tregs (tTregs). However, the greater loss of Treg numbers with deletion of factors upstream of cRel in the NF-κB pathway suggests that there are additional roles for other NF-κB transcription factors in Treg development. To investigate this possibility studies were undertaken using a number of loss-of-function approaches. The development of Tregs was assessed in the absence of RelA using Rela-/- HSC chimeras, which revealed fewer Tregs in the thymi of HSC chimeras when RelA was missing. This reduction in Treg numbers does not appear to be intrinsic to Rela-/- Tregs, and does not result from TNF-dependent killing of Rela-/- Tregs. Whilst the mechanism has yet to be elucidated, the impact that the loss of RelA has on haematopoietic antigen presenting cells in the thymus could account for this defect in Rela-/- Treg development. Surprisingly, when the nuclear activity of canonical NF-κB proteins was examined in resting Tregs, it was found the Tregs constitutively had high levels of NF-κB/RelA activity, similar to stimulated conventional CD4⁺ T cells. As this high level of continual RelA activity was present in nucleus of splenic as well as thymic Tregs, it was hypothesized that RelA also plays a role in the function and/or homeostasis of Tregs. To assess this hypothesis, a second murine model that inactivated RelA specifically in Foxp3⁺ Tregs (Foxp3creRelafl/fl) was employed. Treg specific deletion of RelA resulted in the development of disseminated autoimmune pathology early in the lifespan of Foxp3creRelafl/fl mice. Whilst Foxp3creRelafl/fl Tregs were unable to prevent the onset of autoimmune disease in these mice, no reduction in Treg numbers was discovered, nor was any defect in the in vitro suppressive ability of Foxp3creRelafl/fl Tregs identified. Investigation of RelA-deficient Tregs did however reveal a decrease in a subpopulation of Tregs with an effector phenotype. These effector Tregs are thought to be particularly important for maintaining immune homeostasis in peripheral tissues, the loss of which could explain the pathology in Foxp3creRelafl/fl mice. In agreement with this notion, micorarray analysis of Tregs from Rela+/+ and Rela-/- chimeras revealed a subset of 10 genes differentially expressed in Rela-/- cells that are associated with an ‘effector gene signature’ in Tregs. Finally, mice with a genetic inactivation of c-Rel have reduced numbers of tTregs yet similar numbers of peripherally induced Tregs (pTregs). Coupled with the finding that the expression of GITR and CD5 is altered on Rel-/-thymic Treg precursors and Tregs, this confirmed that c-Rel is critical for the development of thymic Treg. Collectively, the data presented in this thesis indicated that the canonical NF-κB transcription factors c-Rel and RelA have distinct roles in the thymic development and function of Tregs
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