Zooming through Covid : fostering safe communities of critical reflection via online writers’ group interaction

Writers’ groups, in virtual or physical forms, can create communities of practice, which have been shown to offer emotional support to writers during vulnerable times. Noticing that the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated emotional vulnerability in our undergraduates who were writing 10,000-word reports, we initiated an online writers’ group using the Zoom electronic platform. A focus group held at the closing of the semester revealed that students valued most the feelings of safety nurtured by the group. An examination of the interaction in the sessions, via video recordings, revealed that it was precisely this safety that stimulated critical reflection among participants, which helped them manage their writing processes

ConTra v3 : a tool to identify transcription factor binding sites across species, update 2017

Transcription factors are important gene regulators with distinctive roles in development, cell signaling and cell cycling, and they have been associated with many diseases. The ConTra v3 web server allows easy visualization and exploration of predicted transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) in any genomic region surrounding coding or non-coding genes. In this updated version, with a completely re-implemented user interface using latest web technologies, users can choose from nine reference organisms ranging from human to yeast. ConTra v3 can analyze promoter regions, 5'-UTRs, 3'-UTRs and introns or any other genomic region of interest. Thousands of position weight matrices are available to choose from for detecting specific binding sites. Besides this visualization option, additional new exploration functionality is added to the tool that will automatically detect TFBSs having at the same time the highest regulatory potential, the highest conservation scores of the genomic regions covered by the predicted TFBSs and strongest co-localizations with genomic regions exhibiting regulatory activity. The ConTra v3 web server is freely available at http://bioit2.irc.ugent.be/contra/v3

Genomic Data Reveal Toxoplasma gondii Differentiation Mutants Are Also Impaired with Respect to Switching into a Novel Extracellular Tachyzoite State

Toxoplasma gondii pathogenesis includes the invasion of host cells by extracellular parasites, replication of intracellular tachyzoites, and differentiation to a latent bradyzoite stage. We present the analysis of seven novel T. gondii insertional mutants that do not undergo normal differentiation to bradyzoites. Microarray quantification of the variation in genome-wide RNA levels for each parasite line and times after induction allowed us to describe states in the normal differentiation process, to analyze mutant lines in the context of these states, and to identify genes that may have roles in initiating the transition from tachyzoite to bradyzoite. Gene expression patterns in wild-type parasites undergoing differentiation suggest a novel extracellular state within the tachyzoite stage. All mutant lines exhibit aberrant regulation of bradyzoite gene expression and notably some of the mutant lines appear to exhibit high proportions of the intracellular tachyzoite state regardless of whether they are intracellular or extracellular. In addition to the genes identified by the insertional mutagenesis screen, mixture model analysis allowed us to identify a small number of genes, in mutants, for which expression patterns could not be accounted for using the three parasite states – genes that may play a mechanistic role in switching from the tachyzoite to bradyzoite stage

EMI and its sociolinguistic entanglement with local languages : disciplinary differences in two engineering programs in Flemish higher education

Against the backdrop of inter-institutional competition and transnational ambitions, the prevalence of English-medium instruction (EMI) programs in higher education and their relative distribution across various national, regional, and institutional contexts is rapidly growing. When studying the increasingly globalized phenomenon of EMI, there is a tendency to adopt macro-pedagogical perspectives, with comparatively little attention being devoted to disciplinary differences which may warrant intra-institutional differentiation through situationally adaptable approaches to EMI policy and implementation strategies. The present study attempts to further enhance and nuance our understanding of the influence of disciplinary knowledge structures and literacies on lecturers’ and students’ linguistic needs in EMI courses. This article reports on linguistic ethnographic fieldwork at a Belgian higher education institution in which graduate students in international bio-science engineering and industrial design engineering programs were observed during the 2021–2022 academic year. Differences in disciplinary knowledge structures and literacies are explored through means of survey, interview, and classroom observation data. Results corroborate earlier findings on the interplay between disciplinary knowledge structures and attitudes towards EMI. Additionally, the data illustrate how the active inclusion of local languages alongside English can be considered disciplinarily relevant in certain programs

Technological capabilities in Central and Eastern Europe: An analysis based on priority patents

This contribution studies the technological capabilities of Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies based on priority filings for the period of 19802009. From a global perspective, the indicators suggest a division of labour in technological activities among world regions whereby Europe, Latin America and the former USSR are specializing in sectors losing technological dynamism (Chemicals and Mechanical Engineering) while North America, the Middle East (especially Israel) and Asia Pacific are increasingly specializing in Electrical Engineering, a sector with significant technological opportunities. Regarding priority filings, CEE reduced its technological activities drastically after 1990. The recovery of CEE economies regarding technological capabilities is unfolding very slowly. The results speak for the ability of CEE countries in contributing to a limited number of fields with growing technological opportunities. The technological profile of the CEE region will more likely than not complicate the technology upgrading process towards activities at the technological frontier