229 research outputs found
Talking everyday science to very young children: a study involving parents and practitioners within an early childhood centre
The acquisition of everyday scientific concepts by 3-6 year old children attending early childhood institutions has been widely studied. In contrast, research on science learning processes among younger children is less extensive. This paper reports on findings from an exploratory empirical study undertaken in a âstay and playâ service used by parents with children aged 0-3 and located within an East London early childhood centre. The research team collaborated with practitioners to deliver a programme of activities aimed at encouraging parentsâ confidence in their own ability to support emergent scientific thinking among their young children. The programme generated childrenâs engagement and interest. Parents and practitioners reported increased confidence in their ability to promote young childrenâs natural curiosity at home and in early childhood provision. The authors see no reason for positing qualitative differences between the way children acquire scientific and other concepts in their earliest years
Morphology and Oxygen Sensor Response of Luminescent Ir-Labeled Poly(dimethylsiloxane)/Polystyrene Polymer Blend Films
Polymer films consisting of a linear poly(dimethylsiloxane) end-functionalized with a luminescent Ir(III) complex (IrâPDMS), blended with polystyrene (PS), function as optical oxygen sensors. The sensor response arises by quenching of the luminescence from the Ir(III) chromophore by oxygen that permeates into the polymer film. The morphology and luminescence oxygen sensor properties of blend films consisting of IrâPDMS and PS have been characterized by fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The investigations demonstrate that microscale phase segregation occurs in the films. In blends that contain a relatively small amount of IrâPDMS in PS (ca. 10 wt %), the IrâPDMS exists as circular domains, with diameters ranging from 2 to 5 ÎŒm, surrounded by the majority PS phase. For larger weight fractions of IrâPDMS in the blends, the film morphology becomes bicontinuous. A novel epifluorescence microscopy method is applied that allows the construction of SternâVolmer quenching images that quantify the oxygen sensor response of the blend films with micrometer spatial resolution. These images provide a map of the oxygen permeability of the polymer blend films with a spatial resolution of ca. 1 ÎŒm. The results of this investigation show that the micrometer-sized IrâPMDS domains display a 2â3-fold higher oxygen sensor response compared to the surrounding PS matrix. This result is consistent with the fact that PDMS is considerably more gas permeable compared to PS. The relationship of the microscale morphology of the blends to their performance as macroscale optical oxygen sensors is discussed
Parents talking everyday science with young children
This report is the evaluation of an early years project which was developed by members of the Cass Early Childhood Studies Research Group with funding from the 2015 UEL Civic Engagement Fund. The project aimed to encourage parentsâ confidence in their own ability to support emergent scientific thinking among their young children. The project was modelled on an early years initiative undertaken a few years ago in rural Bangladesh. The original Bangladeshi project was pioneered by Dr Sue Dale Tunnicliffe, Reader in Science Education at University College Londonâs Institute of Education, and chair of CASTME, the Commonwealth Association of Science, Technology and Mathematics Educator
The photodecomposition product ÎŒ-oxalato-1Îș^2O,OâČ:2Îș^2Oâł,OâŽ-bis{bis[2-(2-pyridyl)phenyl-Îș^2C,N]iridium(III)}âacetone (1/1.974)
An attempt to grow crystals of [Ir(ppy)_2(vacac)], (I), from an acetone-d_6 solution formed instead crystals of [{Ir(ppy)_2}_2(ÎŒ-oxalato)] acetone solvate, (II), [Ir_2(C_(11)H_8N)_4(C_2O_4)]·1.974C_3H_6O, where ppy is the phenylÂpyridine anion and vacac is vinÂylacetylÂacetonate. Each Ir^(III) ion in (II) is in a pseudo-octaÂhedral coordination environment, where the pyridine N atoms are trans to each other and the phenÂyl C atoms are trans to the O atoms of the oxalate bridging ligand. There are two crystallographically independent dimer molecules, each lying on an inversion centre. It is suggested that the oxalate ligand is formed in a series of steps initiated by the aldol condensation of acetone with vacac
Morphology and Oxygen Sensor Response of Luminescent Ir-Labeled Poly(dimethylsiloxane)/Polystyrene Polymer Blend Films
FXR1 splicing is important for muscle development and biomolecular condensates in muscle cells
© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Smith, J. A., Curry, E. G., Blue, R. E., Roden, C., Dundon, S. E. R., RodrĂguez-Vargas, A., Jordan, D. C., Chen, X., Lyons, S. M., Crutchley, J., Anderson, P., Horb, M. E., Gladfelter, A. S., & Giudice, J. FXR1 splicing is important for muscle development and biomolecular condensates in muscle cells. Journal of Cell Biology, 219(4), (2020): e201911129, doi: 10.1083/jcb.201911129.Fragile-X mental retardation autosomal homologue-1 (FXR1) is a muscle-enriched RNA-binding protein. FXR1 depletion is perinatally lethal in mice, Xenopus, and zebrafish; however, the mechanisms driving these phenotypes remain unclear. The FXR1 gene undergoes alternative splicing, producing multiple protein isoforms and mis-splicing has been implicated in disease. Furthermore, mutations that cause frameshifts in muscle-specific isoforms result in congenital multi-minicore myopathy. We observed that FXR1 alternative splicing is pronounced in the serine- and arginine-rich intrinsically disordered domain; these domains are known to promote biomolecular condensation. Here, we show that tissue-specific splicing of fxr1 is required for Xenopus development and alters the disordered domain of FXR1. FXR1 isoforms vary in the formation of RNA-dependent biomolecular condensates in cells and in vitro. This work shows that regulation of tissue-specific splicing can influence FXR1 condensates in muscle development and how mis-splicing promotes disease.We thank the A.S. Gladfelter and J. Giudice laboratories, Nancy Kedersha, and Silvia Ramos for critical discussions; Eunice Y. Lee for technical help; Dr. Stephanie Gupton (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC) for donation of WT C57BL/6J mouse embryos; and Marcin Wlizla and National Xenopus Resource (RRID:SCR_013731) for their help in maintaining adult frogs and other important technical support.
This work has been funded by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Junior Faculty Development Award (to J. Giudice); a Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Pilot & Feasibility Research grant (P30DK056350 to J. Giudice); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill startup funds (to J. Giudice); the March of Dimes Foundation (5-FY18-36, Basil OâConnor Starter Scholar Award to J. Giudice); and NCTraCs Pilot Grant (550KR181805) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, through Grant Award Number UL1TR002489 (to J. Giudice), National Institutes of Health National Institute of General Medical Sciences grants (R01-GM130866 to J. Giudice, R01-GM081506 to A.S. Gladfelter, R35-GM126901 to P. Anderson, K99-GM124458 to S.M. Lyons, R25-GM089569 and 2R25-GM055336-20 to E.G. Curry); Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholars program (A.S. Gladfelter), and National Institute of Health grants R01-HD084409 and P40-OD010997 (to M.E. Horb). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.2020-09-1
Seismogenic faults, landslides, and associated tsunamis off southern Italy - Cruise No. M86/2, December 27, 2011 - January 17, 2012, Cartagena (Spain) - Brindisi (Italy)
Summary
The continental margins of southern Italy are located along converging plate boundaries, which
are affected by intense seismicity and volcanic activity. Most of the coastal areas experienced
severe earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis in historical and/or modern times. The most
prominent example is the Messina earthquake of Dec. 28, 1908 (Ms=7.3; 80,000 casualties),
which was characterized by the worst tsunami Italy experienced in the historical time (~2000
casualties). It is, however, still unclear, whether this tsunami was triggered by a sudden vertical
movement along a major fault during the earthquake or as a result of a giant marine slide
initiated by the earthquake. The recurrence rates of major landslides and therefore the risk
associated with landslides is also unknown. Based on detailed bathymetric data sets collected by
Italian colleagues in the frame of the MaGIC Project (Marine Geohazards along the Italian
Coast), we collected seismic data (2D and 3D) and gravity cores in three working areas (The
Messina Straits, off Eastern Sicily, the Gioia Basin). A dense grid of new 2D-seismic data in the
Messina Straits will allow to map fault patterns in great detail. One interesting outcome in this
context is the identification of a set of normal faults striking in an EW-direction, which is almost
perpendicular to the previously postulated faults. This EW-striking faults seem to be active. The
area off eastern Sicily is characterized by numerous landslides and a complex deformation
pattern. A 3D-seismic data set has been collected during the cruise using the so called P-cable in
order to investigate these deformation patterns in detail. The new data will be the basis for a risk
assessment in the working areas
Submarine record of volcanic island construction and collapse in the Lesser Antilles arc: First scientific drilling of submarine volcanic island landslides by IODP Expedition 340
IODP Expedition 340 successfully drilled a series of sites offshore Montserrat, Martinique and Dominica in the Lesser Antilles from March to April 2012. These are among the few drill sites gathered around volcanic islands, and the first scientific drilling of large and likely tsunamigenic volcanic island-arc landslide deposits. These cores provide evidence and tests of previous hypotheses for the composition and origin of those deposits. Sites U1394, U1399, and U1400 that penetrated landslide deposits recovered exclusively seafloor-sediment, comprising mainly turbidites and hemipelagic deposits, and lacked debris avalanche deposits. This supports the concepts that i/ volcanic debris avalanches tend to stop at the slope break, and ii/ widespread and voluminous failures of pre-existing low-gradient seafloor sediment can be triggered by initial emplacement of material from the volcano. Offshore Martinique (U1399 and 1400), the landslide deposits comprised blocks of parallel strata that were tilted or micro-faulted, sometimes separated by intervals of homogenized sediment (intense shearing), while Site U1394 offshore Montserrat penetrated a flat-lying block of intact strata. The most likely mechanism for generating these large-scale seafloor-sediment failures appears to be propagation of a decollement from proximal areas loaded and incised by a volcanic debris avalanche. These results have implications for the magnitude of tsunami generation. Under some conditions, volcanic island landslide deposits comprised of mainly seafloor sediment will tend to form smaller magnitude tsunamis than equivalent volumes of subaerial block-rich mass flows rapidly entering water. Expedition 340 also successfully drilled sites to access the undisturbed record of eruption fallout layers intercalated with marine sediment which provide an outstanding high-resolution dataset to analyze eruption and landslides cycles, improve understanding of magmatic evolution as well as offshore sedimentation processes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells: from laboratory curiosity to industrial biomedical platform
Cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs-CMs) could revolutionise biomedicine. Global burden of heart failure will soon reach USD $90bn, while unexpected cardiotoxicity underlies 28% of drug withdrawals. Advances in hPSC isolation, Cas9/CRISPR genome engineering and hPSC-CM differentiation have improved patient care, progressed drugs to clinic and opened a new era in safety pharmacology. Nevertheless, predictive cardiotoxicity using hPSC-CMs contrasts from failure to almost total success. Since this likely relates to cell immaturity, efforts are underway to use biochemical and biophysical cues to improve many of the ~ 30 structural and functional properties of hPSC-CMs towards those seen in adult CMs. Other developments needed for widespread hPSC-CM utility include subtype specification, cost reduction of large scale differentiation and elimination of the phenotyping bottleneck. This review will consider these factors in the evolution of hPSC-CM technologies, as well as their integration into high content industrial platforms that assess structure, mitochondrial function, electrophysiology, calcium transients and contractility. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cardiomyocyte Biology: Integration of Developmental and Environmental Cues in the Heart edited by Marcus Schaub and Hughes Abriel
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