Notes from Rome 2018-19

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this recordThis gazette presents to the reader outside Rome news of recent archaeological activity (in the second half of 2018 and the first half of 2019) gleaned from public lectures, conferences, exhibitions, and newspaper reports.Questa gazetta ha lo scopo di presentare ad un lettore fuori Roma notizie della recente attività archeologica (per la seconda metà del 2018 e la prima metà del 2019), tratte da conferenze, convegni, mostre e relazioni su giornali

Fruitless, Doublesex And The Genetics Of Social Behavior In Drosophila Melanogaster

Two genes coding for transcription factors, fruitless and doublesex, have been suggested to play important roles in the regulation of sexually dimorphic patterns of social behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. The generalization that fruitless specified the development of the nervous system and doublesex specified non-neural tissues culminated with claims that fruitless was both necessary and sufficient to establish sex-specific patterns of behavior. Several recent articles refute this notion, however, demonstrating that at a minimum, both fruitless and doublesex are involved in establishing sexually dimorphic features of neural circuitry and behavior in fruit flies

Uticaj -hidroksi--metilbutirata (hmb) dodavanog u hranu na imunitet i otpornost na bakterijske infekcije kod smuđa (sander lucioperca)

U ovoj studiji je ispitivan uticaj metabolita leucina β-hidroksi-β-metilbutirata (HMB) na imunitet i zaštitu od enterične bolesti crvenih usta (ERM) i furunkuloze kod smuđa (Sander lucioperca). Ribe su bile hranjene 18 sati dnevno komercijalnom hranom za pastrmke. Hrana je formulisana tako da obezbedi ili 0 (kontrolna grupa) ili 50 mg HBM/kg telesne težine na dan (grupa hranjena sa HBM) tokom 4 nedelje. Posle hranjenja sa HBM 20 zdravih smuđeva prosečne težine 35 g je anestezirano i uzeta je krv iz kaudalne vene u heparizovane špriceve. Takođe je aseptično izdvojen pronefros svake ribe i dobijena suspenzija pojedinačnih ćelija za izolovanje ćelija koristeći ili Gradisol (Polfa) ili Percoll (Pharmacia) gradijent. Test na izazivanje bolesti upotrebom Yersinia ruckeri ili Aeromonas salmonicida je obavljen 4 nedelje posle hranjenja. Ukratko, svakoj od 20 riba svake grupe data je jedna intraperitonealna injekcija 48 sati kulture Y.ruckeri ili A. salmonicida (0,2 ml). Zabeležen je mortalitet, a prisustvo patogena potvrđeno izolacijom iz bubrega. Rezultati ovog ogleda pokazuju da HBM u dozi od 50 mg/kg telesne težine statistički značajno stimuliše nespecifične ćelijske i humoralne odbrambene mehanizme i zaštitu od Yersinia ruckeri i Aeromonas salmonicida

Active Learning Outside The Classroom: Implementation And Outcomes Of Peer-Led Team-Learning Workshops In Introductory Biology

Study group meetings (SGMs) are voluntary-attendance peer-led team-learning workshops that supplement introductory biology lectures at a selective liberal arts college. While supporting all students’ engagement with lecture material, specific aims are to improve the success of underrepresented minority (URM) students and those with weaker backgrounds in biology. Peer leaders with experience in biology courses and training in science pedagogy facilitate work on faculty-generated challenge problems. During the eight semesters assessed in this study, URM students and those with less preparation attended SGMs with equal or greater frequency than their counterparts. Most agreed that SGMs enhanced their comprehension of biology and ability to articulate solutions. The historical grade gap between URM and non-URM students narrowed slightly in Biology 2, but not in other biology and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. Nonetheless, URM students taking introductory biology after program implementation have graduated with biology majors or minors at the same rates as non-URM students, and have enrolled in postcollege degree programs at equal or greater rates. These results suggest that improved performance as measured by science grade point average may not be necessary to improve the persistence of students from underrepresented groups as life sciences majors

Principles And Practices Fostering Inclusive Excellence: Lessons From The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Capstone Institutions

Best-practices pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aims for inclusive excellence that fosters student persistence. This paper describes principles of inclusivity across 11 primarily undergraduate institutions designated as Capstone Awardees in Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) 2012 competition. The Capstones represent a range of institutional missions, student profiles, and geographical locations. Each successfully directed activities toward persistence of STEM students, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, through a set of common elements: mentoring programs to build community; research experiences to strengthen scientific skill/identity; attention to quantitative skills; and outreach/bridge programs to broaden the student pool. This paper grounds these program elements in learning theory, emphasizing their essential principles with examples of how they were implemented within institutional contexts. We also describe common assessment approaches that in many cases informed programming and created traction for stakeholder buy-in. The lessons learned from our shared experiences in pursuit of inclusive excellence, including the resources housed on our companion website, can inform others’ efforts to increase access to and persistence in STEM in higher education

Pharmacological And Genetic Reversal Of Age-Dependent Cognitive Deficits Attributable To Decreased Presenilin Function

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is the leading cause of cognitive loss and neurodegeneration in the developed world. Although its genetic and environmental causes are not generally known, familial forms of the disease (FAD) are attributable to mutations in a single copy of the Presenilin (PS) and amyloid precursor protein genes. The dominant inheritance pattern of FAD indicates that it may be attributable to gain or change of function mutations. Studies of FAD-linked forms of presenilin (psn) in model organisms, however, indicate that they are loss of function, leading to the possibility that a reduction in PS activity might contribute to FAD and that proper psn levels are important for maintaining normal cognition throughout life. To explore this issue further, we have tested the effect of reducing psn activity during aging in Drosophila melanogaster males. We have found that flies in which the dosage of psn function is reduced by 50% display age-onset impairments in learning and memory. Treatment with metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) antagonists or lithium during the aging process prevented the onset of these deficits, and treatment of aged flies reversed the age-dependent deficits. Genetic reduction of Drosophila metabotropic glutamate receptor (DmGluRA), the inositol trisphosphate receptor (InsP(3)R), or inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase also prevented these age-onset cognitive deficits. These findings suggest that reduced psn activity may contribute to the age-onset cognitive loss observed with FAD. They also indicate that enhanced mGluR signaling and calcium release regulated by InsP(3)R as underlying causes of the age-dependent cognitive phenotypes observed when psn activity is reduced

Anti-Birnavirus Activity of Methisoprinol – in vitro Study with Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus (IPNV)

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of methisoprinol, synthetic anti-viral product, on the IPNV replication in vitro by measuring viral RNA synthesis. The monolayers of RTG-2 cells in tissue culture plates (Multiwell, 24 wells, Becton Dickinson, USA) wa