What do faculties specializing in brain and neural sciences think about, and how do they approach, brain-friendly teaching-learning in Iran?

Objective: to investigate the perspectives and experiences of the faculties specializing in brain and neural sciences regarding brain-friendly teaching-learning in Iran. Methods: 17 faculties from 5 universities were selected by purposive sampling (2018). In-depth semi-structured interviews with directed content analysis were used. Results: 31 sub-subcategories, 10 subcategories, and 4 categories were formed according to the “General teaching model”. “Mentorship” was a newly added category. Conclusions: A neuro-educational approach that consider the roles of the learner’s brain uniqueness, executive function facilitation, and the valence system are important to learning. Such learning can be facilitated through cognitive load considerations, repetition, deep questioning, visualization, feedback, and reflection. The contextualized, problem-oriented, social, multi-sensory, experiential, spaced learning, and brain-friendly evaluation must be considered. Mentorship is important for coaching and emotional facilitation

Connectivity differences between Gulf War Illness (GWI) phenotypes during a test of attention

One quarter of veterans returning from the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War have developed Gulf War Illness (GWI) with chronic pain, fatigue, cognitive and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Exertion leads to characteristic, delayed onset exacerbations that are not relieved by sleep. We have modeled exertional exhaustion by comparing magnetic resonance images from before and after submaximal exercise. One third of the 27 GWI participants had brain stem atrophy and developed postural tachycardia after exercise (START: Stress Test Activated Reversible Tachycardia). The remainder activated basal ganglia and anterior insulae during a cognitive task (STOPP: Stress Test Originated Phantom Perception). Here, the role of attention in cognitive dysfunction was assessed by seed region correlations during a simple 0-back stimulus matching task (“see a letter, push a button”) performed before exercise. Analysis was analogous to resting state, but different from psychophysiological interactions (PPI). The patterns of correlations between nodes in task and default networks were significantly different for START (n = 9), STOPP (n = 18) and control (n = 8) subjects. Edges shared by the 3 groups may represent co-activation caused by the 0-back task. Controls had a task network of right dorsolateral and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, posterior insulae and frontal eye fields (dorsal attention network). START had a large task module centered on the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex with direct links to basal ganglia, anterior insulae, and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex nodes, and through dorsal attention network (intraparietal sulci and frontal eye fields) nodes to a default module. STOPP had 2 task submodules of basal ganglia–anterior insulae, and dorsolateral prefrontal executive control regions. Dorsal attention and posterior insulae nodes were embedded in the default module and were distant from the task networks. These three unique connectivity patterns during an attention task support the concept of Gulf War Disease with recognizable, objective patterns of cognitive dysfunction

Study protocol: Reporting characteristics of intervention trials of animals published in the Journal of Dairy Science in 2017

Objectives The scope of this cross-sectional observational study is to evaluate prevalence of reporting the 19 objective items of the REFLECT statement checklist (Sargeant et al., 2010), with the primary outcome being prevalence of sample size calculation, in clinical trials published in the Journal of Dairy Science from January to December of 2017. We will also determine risk of bias in individual studies using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tools for individually randomized, parallel group trials; cluster randomized, parallel group trials; and individually randomized, cross-over trials (Higgins et al., 2016)

New Media and New Publics: An Example with Polar Bears

Etienne Benson is a historian of science, technology, and environment in the Department of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. In this guest post he describes his interactive web-based map plotting publicly available government data about who has applied for polar bear trophy import permits, and its implications

Modulation of Bax/Bak Dependent Apoptosis by Sirtuin 3 and Mitochondrial Permeability Transition by Sirtuin 4

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that regulate a myriad of cellular functions, including energy production and metabolic regulation. Mitochondria are also a critical regulator of cell death signaling cascades modulating both apoptotic and necrotic cell death. However, what determines which cell death pathway is activated is still unclear. The mitochondrial/intrinsic pathway of apoptosis is dependent on the activation of pro-apoptotic proteins, Bax and Bak, which induce mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP). Once the integrity of outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) is compromised, pro-apoptotic intermembrane space proteins like cytochrome c, Smac/Diablo, Omi/HtrA2 and AIF are released into the cytoplasm, which activates the post-mitochondrial phase of apoptosis. In humans, there are seven sirtuins (Sirtl-7), three of which are localized to the mitochondria (Sirt3-5). Sirt3 and Sirt5 have acetyltransferase activity, whereas Sirt4 has ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. Sirt3 is the major deacetylase in the mitochondrial matrix, and regulates various metabolic pathways by modulating the acetylation status of key metabolic enzymes. Although, metabolic regulation by Sirt3 has been studied extensively, the role of Sirt3 in cancer progression and regulation of the apoptotic pathway remains unclear. To sustain their rapid growth, cancer cells have a high glycolytic rate. This is achieved by overexpression of a key glycolytic enzyme, hexokinase II (HKII), which attaches to the OMM. HK.II binding to the OMM transmembrane voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) protein renders cancer cells resistant to a variety of cell death stimuli (e.g. DNA damage, oxidative stress and TNFa) by inhibiting activation of Bax/Bak. In this thesis, I present evidence that Sirt3 acts a mitochondrial localized tumor suppressor by modulating the binding of HKII on the OMM. Sirt3 dependent dissociation ofHKII from the OMM increases activation of pro apoptotic protein Bax/Bak in response to pro death stimuli, t-Bid and cisplatin. In contrast to apoptosis, opening of a multiprotein mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) by oxidative stress or mitochondrial calcium overload leads to necrotic cell death. The constituents of the MPTP, though controversial, consist of cyclophilin-D in the matrix, adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) in the inner mitochondrial membrane, and VDAC on the OMM. Sirt4-mediated ribosylation of glutamate dehydrogenase-1 (GDH-1) inhibits its activity. In the second part of this thesis, I demonstrate that Sirt4 regulates the induction of the permeability transition by regulating the activity of GDH-1. Down-regulation of Sirt4 inhibits PIP induction by calcium overload and the thiol reactive agent phenylarsine oxide by increasing GDH-1 activity. Similarly, in intact cells, depletion of Sirt4 protected against PIP induction by cytotoxic drugs like INFa and doxorubicin. The evidence presented here demonstrates possible mechanisms by which mitochondria, more specifically, Sirt3 and Sirt4 modulate apoptotic and necrotic cell death, respectively

Collaboration Matters: Honey Bee Health as a Transdisciplinary Model for Understanding Real-World Complexity

We develop a transdisciplinary deliberative model that moves beyond traditional scientific collaborations to include nonscientists in designing complexity-oriented research. We use the case of declining honey bee health as an exemplar of complex real-world problems requiring cross-disciplinary intervention. Honey bees are important pollinators of the fruits and vegetables we eat. In recent years, these insects have been dying at alarming rates. To prompt the reorientation of research toward the complex reality in which bees face multiple challenges, we came together as a group, including beekeepers, farmers, and scientists. Over a two-year period, we deliberated about how to study the problem of honey bee deaths and conducted field experiments with bee colonies. We show trust and authority to be crucial factors shaping such collaborative research, and we offer a model for structuring collaboration that brings scientists and nonscientists together with the key objects and places of their shared concerns across time