Possibility Thinking in the Community-Engaged Classroom: Uniting Hope and Imagination towards Anti-Racist Action

Drawing on the work of Patrick Saint-Jean, S.J., this article examines the contribution that “possibility thinking” makes to community-engaged learning at three Jesuit universities. The article considers ways in which possibility thinking intersects both Jesuit and secular perspectives on hope and imagination, and their relationship to anti-racist praxis. We then describe three institutional contexts at different stages of enacting community-engaged learning in introductory and upper-level English classes. The article concludes by offering three praxis-oriented directions for community-engaged learning educators to take up in their own institutional contexts: developing faculty capacity and awareness; fostering solidarity not charity; and encouraging reflection not reaction

Possibility Thinking in the Community-Engaged Classroom: Uniting Hope and Imagination towards Anti-Racist Action

Drawing on the work of Patrick Saint-Jean, S.J., this article examines the contribution that “possibility thinking” makes to community-engaged learning at three Jesuit universities. The article considers ways in which possibility thinking intersects both Jesuit and secular perspectives on hope and imagination, and their relationship to anti-racist praxis. We then describe three institutional contexts at different stages of enacting community-engaged learning in introductory and upper-level English classes. The article concludes by offering three praxis-oriented directions for community-engaged learning educators to take up in their own institutional contexts: developing faculty capacity and awareness; fostering solidarity not charity; and encouraging reflection not reaction

Detection of lipopolysaccharide pyrogens by molecularly imprinted polymers

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is commonly implicated in the development and rapid progression of sepsis however no efficient diagnostic assay currently exists. The over-arching aim of this project was therefore to develop a novel biomimetic peptide-polymer hybrid system capable of recognising and binding LPS in a variety of biologically relevant environments. Target selective peptides (both commercially available and synthesised) have been used as high affinity 'functional monomers' in a molecular imprinting approach. To reduce the concept to practice, a bi-functionalised resin was prepared so as to allow the use of two independent surface attachment strategies. Controlled polymer growth was initiated from surface bound iniferter groups whilst the attachment of the peptide was achieved through amme-amine imidoester linkages or via azide-alkyne 'click' chemistry. Polymyxin, a small, conformationally constrained cyclic peptide that possesses high affinity for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to provide proof-of-principle. Polymyxin resins, produced via the immobilisation of alkyne derivitised polymyxin B on the surface of azidomethyl polystyrene via 'click' chemistry, were able to efficiently bind LPS from aqueous solutions with an apparent Ka of 0.2 μM. Although the development of the peptide-polymer hybrid system using these resins appeared somewhat unsuccessful, whether the observed reduction in binding is due to changes in the Bmax or the Kd of the resin remains to be elucidated. The assay performed with the polymerisation samples produced using resin displaying polymyxin immobilised via a dimethyl adipimidate linker, suggest that the hypothesised approach is feasible but that optimisation of a number of variables is needed before definitive results can be obtained

Evaluation of microbial communities associated with the liquid and solid phases of the rumen of cattle offered a diet of perennial ryegrass or white clover

Rumen microbiota plays an important role in animal productivity, methane production and health. Several different locations have been used to obtain rumen samples (i.e., liquid-phase samples, solid-phase samples, buccal swabs) in previous studies. Here we assess differences in the rumen microbiota between solid- and liquid-phases of the rumen under differing dietary conditions (white clover vs. perennial ryegrass); there were 4 sample types: liquid-associated/grass (LG), solid-associated/grass (SG), liquid-associated/clover (LC), and solid-associated/clover (SC). Four Holstein-Friesian cows were strip grazed on pure stands of perennial ryegrass or white clover in a change-over design experiment with 3 periods (each lasting for 3 weeks). Solid- and liquid- phase microbes were obtained following total rumen evacuation on the penultimate day of each period. DNA was extracted and multiplexed libraries sequenced using 16S next generation sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). Demultiplexed sequences underwent quality control and taxonomic profiles were generated for each sample. Statistical analysis for the effects of diet and phase was conducted both overall [using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and diversity indices] and for individual taxa. Separation of both diet and phase was observed NMDS, with significant effects of diet (P < 0.001) and phase (P < 0.001) being observed. Regardless of diet, Prevotella was most abundant in the liquid samples. When assessing differences between phases, the majority of statistically significant taxa (predominantly from Archaea and the order Clostridiales) were found at higher relative abundances in solid-phase samples. Diversity (Shannon Index) was lower in the liquid-phase samples, possibly because of the higher relative abundance of Prevotella. A presence vs. absence approach, followed by Chi-squared testing, was adopted. Differences between phases (LG vs. LC, LC vs. LG, SG vs. SC, and SC vs. SG) and differences between phases for the clover diet (LC vs. SC and SC vs. LC) were significant (P < 0.001); differences between phases for the grass diet were non-significant. Sampling technique has a profound impact on reported microbial communities, which must be taken into consideration, particularly as archaea may be underestimated in the liquid-phase.</p