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Innovating Pedagogy 2015: Open University Innovation Report 4
This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This fourth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. We proposed a long list of new educational terms, theories, and practices. We then pared these down to ten that have the potential to provoke major shifts in educational practice, particularly in post-school education. Lastly, we drew on published and unpublished writings to compile the ten sketches of new pedagogies that might transform education. These are summarised below in an approximate order of immediacy and timescale to widespread implementation
The 1995-1996 Decline of R Coronae Borealis - High Resolution Optical Spectroscopy
A set of high-resolution optical spectra of RCrB acquired before, during, and
after its 1995-1996 decline is discussed. All of the components reported from
earlier declines are seen. This novel dataset provides new information on these
components including several aspects not previously seen in declines of RCrB
and other RCBs. In the latter category is the discovery that the decline's
onset is marked by distortions of absorption lines of high-excitation lines,
and quickly followed by emission in these and in low excitation lines. This
'photospheric trigger' implies that dust causing the decline is formed close to
the star. These emission lines fade quickly. After 1995 November 2, low
excitation narrow (FWHM ~12 km s-1) emission lines remain. These appear to be a
permanent feature, slightly blue-shifted from the systemic velocity, and
unaffected by the decline except for a late and slight decrease of flux at
minimum light. The location of the warm, dense gas providing these lines is
uncertain. Absorption lines unaffected by overlying sharp emission are greatly
broadened, weakened, and red-shifted at the faintest magnitudes when scattered
light from the star is a greater contributor than direct light transmitted
through the fresh soot cloud. A few broad lines are seen at and near minimum
light with approxiamately constant flux: prominent among these are the He I
triplet series, Na I D, and [N II] lines. These lines are blue-shifted by about
30 km s(-1) relative to the systemic velocity with no change in velocity over
the several months for whicht he lines were seen. It is suggested that these
lines, especially the He I lines, arise from an accretion disk around an unseen
compact companion, which may be a low-mass white dwarf. If so, R CrB is similar
to the unusual post-AGB star 89 Her.Comment: 31 pages, 26 figure
Prostatic trypsin-like kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) and other prostate-expressed tryptic proteinases as regulators of signalling via proteinase-activated receptors (PARs)
The prostate is a site of high expression of serine proteinases including members of the kallikrein-related peptidase (KLK) family, as well as other secreted and membrane-anchored serine proteinases. It has been known for some time that members of this enzyme family elicit cellular responses by acting directly on cells. More recently, it has been recognised that for serine proteinases with specificity for cleavage after arginine and lysine residues (trypsin-like or tryptic enzymes) these cellular responses are often mediated by cleavage of members of the proteinase-activated receptor (PAR) family - a four member sub-family of G protein-coupled receptors. Here, we review the expression of PARs in prostate, the ability of prostatic trypsin-like KLKs and other prostate-expressed tryptic enzymes to cleave PARs, as well as the prostate cancer-associated consequences of PAR activation. In addition, we explore the dysregulation of trypsin-like serine proteinase activity through the loss of normal inhibitory mechanisms and potential interactions between these dysregulated enzymes leading to aberrant PAR activation, intracellular signalling and cancer-promoting cellular changes
FGFR2-activating mutations disrupt cell polarity to potentiate migration and invasion in endometrial cancer cell models
Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are a family of receptor tyrosine kinases that control a diverse range of biological processes during development and in adult tissues. We recently reported that somatic FGFR2 mutations are associated with shorter survival in endometrial cancer. However, little is known about how these FGFR2 mutations contribute to endometrial cancer metastasis. Here, we report that expression of the activating mutations FGFR2N550K and FGFR2Y376C in an endometrial cancer cell model induce Golgi fragmentation, and loss of polarity and directional migration. In mutant FGFR2-expressing cells, this was associated with an inability to polarise intracellular pools of FGFR2 towards the front of migrating cells. Such polarization defects were exacerbated in three-dimensional culture, where FGFR2 mutant cells were unable to form well-organised acini, instead undergoing exogenous ligand-independent invasion. Our findings uncover collective cell polarity and invasion as common targets of disease-associated FGFR2 mutations that lead to poor outcome in endometrial cancer patients
Hadronic properties of the S_{11}(1535) studied by electroproduction off the deuteron
Properties of excited baryonic states are investigated in the context of
electroproduction of baryon resonances off the deuteron. In particular, the
hadronic radii and the compositeness of baryon resonances are studied for
kinematic situations in which their hadronic reinteraction is the dominant
contribution. Specifically, we study the reaction at for kinematics in which the produced hadronic state reinteracts
predominantly with the spectator nucleon. A comparison of constituent quark
model and effective chiral Lagrangian calculations of the shows
substantial sensitivity to the structure of the produced resonance.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure
Revisiting Event Horizon Finders
Event horizons are the defining physical features of black hole spacetimes,
and are of considerable interest in studying black hole dynamics. Here, we
reconsider three techniques to localise event horizons in numerical spacetimes:
integrating geodesics, integrating a surface, and integrating a level-set of
surfaces over a volume. We implement the first two techniques and find that
straightforward integration of geodesics backward in time to be most robust. We
find that the exponential rate of approach of a null surface towards the event
horizon of a spinning black hole equals the surface gravity of the black hole.
In head-on mergers we are able to track quasi-normal ringing of the merged
black hole through seven oscillations, covering a dynamic range of about 10^5.
Both at late times (when the final black hole has settled down) and at early
times (before the merger), the apparent horizon is found to be an excellent
approximation of the event horizon. In the head-on binary black hole merger,
only {\em some} of the future null generators of the horizon are found to start
from past null infinity; the others approach the event horizons of the
individual black holes at times far before merger.Comment: 30 pages, 15 figures, revision
Lyman Alpha Blobs as an Observational Signature of Cold Accretion Streams into Galaxies
Recent hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation reveal streams of cold (T
~ 1e4 K) gas flowing into the centers of dark matter halos as massive as
1e12-1e13.5 M_sun at redshifts z~1-3. In this paper we show that if > 20% of
the gravitational binding energy of the gas is radiated away, then the
simulated cold flows are spatially extended Lyman Alpha (Lya) sources with
luminosities, Lya line widths, and number densities that are comparable to
those of observed Lya blobs. Furthermore, the filamentary structure of the cold
flows can explain the wide range of observed Lya blob morphologies. Since the
most massive halos form in dense environments, the association of Lya blobs
with overdense regions arise naturally. We argue that Lya blobs - even those
which are clearly associated with starburst galaxies or quasars - provide
direct observational support for the cold accretion mode of galaxies. We
discuss various testable predictions of this association.Comment: MNRAS in press. 13 pages, 6 figures. Discussion + references added.
Main conclusions unaffecte
hSSB1 (NABP2/OBFC2B) is regulated by oxidative stress
The maintenance of genome stability is an essential cellular process to prevent the development of diseases including cancer. hSSB1 (NABP2/ OBFC2A) is a critical component of the DNA damage response where it participates in the repair of double-strand DNA breaks and in base excision repair of oxidized guanine residues (8-oxoguanine) by aiding the localization of the human 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (hOGG1) to damaged DNA. Here we demonstrate that following oxidative stress, hSSB1 is stabilized as an oligomer which is required for hSSB1 to function in the removal of 8-oxoguanine. Monomeric hSSB1 shows a decreased affinity for oxidized DNA resulting in a cellular 8-oxoguanine-repair defect and in the absence of ATM signaling initiation. While hSSB1 oligomerization is important for the removal of 8-oxoguanine from the genome, it is not required for the repair of double-strand DNA-breaks by homologous recombination. These findings demonstrate a novel hSSB1 regulatory mechanism for the repair of damaged DNA.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Interviewer: 'Are women and girls ever responsible for the domestic violence they encounter?' Student: 'No, well, unless they did something really, really badââŚ'
Research shows the âgendered natureâ of domestic violence, with Womenâs Aid (a UK-based charity) estimating that 1 in 4 women are affected (2014). This paper reports on a project - funded by Comic Relief, completed by Nottinghamshire Domestic Violence Forum (now known as Equation) and evaluated by Nottingham Trent University. The project adopts a Whole School Approach in seeking to prevent domestic violence. Students at three secondary schools attended between one and five blocks of work, and special events. There is evidence of positive developments - with young people showing understanding of domestic violence as well as the margins between healthy and unhealthy relationships. However, not all students could reply âneverâ to the question of âare women and girls to blame for the domestic violence they experience?â, remarking that if the woman had done something âreally, really badâ then violence might be justified. We argue that young peopleâs uncertainties need to be situated within the gender-unequal socio-contexts of contemporary society, and further call for a WSA to domestic violence prevention to be a compulsory part of the UK national curriculum
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