The Unfamiliar Grey Matter(s): Talking Brains

I’m interested in collaborations between artists and scientists, and how they generate new knowledge. In this discussion I will consider Visual Art Practice as Research. I’ll be speaking about my art practice, and in particular my exhibition entitled ‘Talking Brains’ at King’s College Cambridge in February 2018. In the article, I offer a brief discussion of the concepts of ‘artful inquiry’, and how this concept as a research model can be generative. I then go on to raise questions of personally situated knowledge production as a research strategy that crosses the disciplinary boundaries of art and science. I will consider how my exhibition - operating as a hosted space for display and conversation much like the 17th and 18th Century Salon - functions as an opportunity to engage in (thereby generating) dialogue between artists (me), scientists (neuroscience and other students at Cambridge), and educators (PGCE Art & Design teachers). Generating trans-disciplinary conversation on the brain, ways of seeing, and ways of being. I’ll conclude with reflections on how collaborative knowledge production generates multi-perspectives and thus unanticipated knowledge

Surface Freezing in Surfactant/Alkane/Water Systems

Surface freezing transitions in mixed monolayers of a homologous series of cationic surfactants, the alkyltrimethyl ammonium bromides (CnTAB where n = 12, 14, 16, 18), as well as a range of non-ionic, zwitterionic and biological surfactants, have been investigated ellipsometrically with a range of n-alkanes (Cm where m = 12 – 20, 28). Two distinct solid phases are observed depending upon the chain length difference between surfactant and n-alkane. Type I solid phases consist of a surface frozen mixed monolayer and are formed when this difference is small. Type II solid phases are bilayer structures with a frozen layer of neat n-alkane above a liquid-like mixed monolayer. Type II freezing was thought to occur via wetting of surface frozen n-alkane, as previously reported type II transitions took place in the presence of surface frozen n-alkanes. Thermodynamically stable type II solid phases have now been found in the presence of n-alkanes that do not show surface freezing at the air/alkane interface, however, and so this picture is incomplete. In the presence of pentadecane, for example, the biological surfactant lyso-OPC forms a stable type II solid phase 6.5 °C above the n-alkane bulk melting point. Such a large surface freezing range is unprecedented for a type II system. Studies using external reflection FTIR (ER-FTIRS) and vibrational sum-frequency spectroscopies (VSFS) have been used to probe these novel behaviours. Results were fully consistent with the proposed structures of both type I and type II surface frozen layers. 2D correlation analysis of ER-FTIR spectra as a function of temperature showed that type II frozen layer formation does not proceed via a simple wetting transition, with the formation of a transient intermediate implied. Evidence for such an intermediate was provided by dynamic ellipsometry measurements on the type II C18TAB/n-eicosane system

Managing the CCAFS Theme by Region matrix for international public goods and development outcomes

This review was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of how the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Theme by Region matrix is being managed to deliver on International Public Goods (IPGs) and development outcomes

Mathematical beliefs and knowledge: a case study of a teacher’s communication using representations

Within education, the subject domain of mathematics is recontextualised, through a combination of teachers’ practice and curriculum development, to become what I term ‘school maths’. Currently, in English schools, there is a drive to reform school maths through introducing an approach that is known as ‘teaching for mastery’, which includes a strong emphasis on teachers using multiple representations. Despite this, it can be seen in the literature that effective use of representations in mathematics education is complex and requires a significant amount of teacher expertise. It is likely that teacher beliefs and knowledge will influence the way in which they use representations, however this is an area in need of further research. This study aims to contribute to better understanding the recontexualisation process by examining the relationship between teacher beliefs and knowledge, and their use of representations to teach fractions. Utilising a case study approach, a single teacher, Gillian, is the focus of this research. The aim being not to make generalised claims to knowledge, but instead contribute to theory development by adopting a critical realist methodology and using an innovative approach to analysis in applying Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Data was collected from four interviews (two of which utilised a stimulated recall approach), two observed and video recorded lessons, and a textbook analysis. Findings show that studying beliefs and knowledge together, as a belief and knowledge system, is an effective way of understanding how teachers influence the recontextualisation process. Specifically, this study showed that believing in the importance of mathematical knowledge acquisition alongside the development of social learning, including learner dispositions, led to an effective use of representations, where dialogue was carefully used to negotiate the meaning of fractions. It was also found that LCT presents a useful way of explaining the organising principles of teacher beliefs, knowledge and practices and is an avenue for further research. Finally, the study found that the specific textbook used can play a key role in the recontextualization process

RNA Secondary Structure Prediction

A presentation in the Undergraduate Research Kaleidoscope: Library East Commons Performance Space, November 18, 2010.Runtime: 06:54 minutes.Our task has been to calculate the probability of any two nucleotides pairing in an RNA molecule. When RNA goes into the cytoplasm of a cell, the RNA folds in on itself to a thermodynamically stable state, since unpaired nucleotides are chemically unstable. We predict this behavior by a couple of dynamic programming algorithms using some statistical methods derived from the physics of ideal gasses. In order to find base pair probabilities we must first find the partition function for all continuous substrings in the strand. The partition function is a measure of the possible combinations of foldings weighted by the stability of these foldings. We will also describe finding the minimum free energy structure, currently implemented in gtfold, and its relation to the partition function via something we have come to call "tropicalization." Both the minimum free energy and the partition function problems are solved in a reasonable (O(n³)) amount of time by dynamic programming algorithms.Christine Heitsch, David A. Bader and Steve Harve

Confirmation of a unique species of Giardia, parasitic in the quenda (Isoodon obesulus)

AbstractThe ‘quenda genotype’ of Giardia was first identified in quenda (syn. southern brown bandicoots, Isoodon obesulus) in Western Australia in 2004. We aimed to formally describe this genotype as a species of Giardia, Giardia peramelis. Seventy five faecal samples positive for G. peramelis were obtained from quenda within the Statistical Division of Perth, Western Australia. These samples were used in morphological and molecular characterisation of G. peramelis. PCR amplification and sequencing was most successful at the 18S rRNA and ITS1-5.8s-ITS2 loci. Phylogenetic analyses placed G. peramelis external to the ‘Giardia duodenalis species complex’ and Giardia microti. This confirmed the uniqueness of G. peramelis, warranting classification as a separate species of Giardia. Study findings suggest quenda are a natural host for G. peramelis

Managing cattle grazing intensity: effects on soil organic matter and soil nitrogen

Extensive cattle grazing is the dominant land use in northern Australia. It has been suggested that grazing intensity and rainfall have profound effects on the dynamics of soil nutrients in northern Australia’s semi-arid rangelands. Previous studies have found positive, neutral and negative effects of grazing pressure on soil nutrients. These inconsistencies could be due to short-term experiments that do not capture the slow dynamics of some soil nutrients and the effects of interannual variability in rainfall. In a long-term cattle grazing trial in northern Australia on Brown Sodosol–Yellow Kandosol complex, we analysed soil organic matter and mineral nitrogen in surface soils (0–10 cm depth) 11, 12 and 16 years after trial establishment on experimental plots representing moderate stocking (stocked at the long-term carrying capacity for the region) and heavy stocking (stocked at twice the long-term carrying capacity). Higher soil organic matter was found under heavy stocking, although grazing treatment had little effect on mineral and total soil nitrogen. Interannual variability had a large effect on soil mineral nitrogen, but not on soil organic matter, suggesting that soil nitrogen levels observed in this soil complex may be affected by other indirect pathways, such as climate. The effect of interannual variability in rainfall and the effects of other soil types need to be explored further