Exploration of Known Disease-Causing VRK1 Mutants

VRK1 is a vaccinia-related serine/threonine kinase that contributes to the regulation of cell proliferation. Point mutations within the VRK1 sequence are associated with a variety of complex neurodegenerative disorders which previous research suggests are due to changes in kinase activity and/or structure and stability. Point mutations seen with VRK1 may affect how a tail on the C-terminus of the protein interacts with the protein\u27s active site, possibly altering the ability of the protein to bind to specific substrates.  This study looked specifically at the point mutation D263G and its effect on protein stability and ability to bind substrates at its active site. The mutation was produced in a His-tagged VRK1 construct plasmid which was then transformed into E. coli bacteria cells, allowing for the purification of the specific mutated VRK1 protein. Experiments were then carried out to determine both the stability of the protein and its substrate binding properties. The stability of the protein was analyzed using circular dichroism and the protein\u27s binding ability was evaluated using differential scanning fluorimetry with ADP and ADP-competitive inhibitors. Results were compared to the wild type VRK1 protein. These experiments are also being extended to other mutations including R321C, which is seen in some patients diagnosed with neuromuscular diseases

Problems in Teaching Philosophy of Education

Those of us who teach philosophy of education can hardly be happy with the present state of our subject. On many counts now the energetic optimism of a decade or two ago just seems misplaced. Of course there have been considerable achievements, but much is wrong and badly wrong. The abundance, diversity and quality of literature that marks a healthy discipline is not yet in evidence, educational leaders and top decision makers take little heed of philosophical counsel, eminent educational philosophers are questioning the place of theoretical disciplines in teacher education, declining members of philosophy of education societies seem to reflect declining career prospects, and political developments in some countries are reflected in educational administrations that set little value on liberal studies, independent though and philosophy

Impactite and pseudotachylite from Roter Kamm Crater, Namibia

Pseudotachylite is known to occur in a variety of geologic settings including thrust belts (e.g., the Alps and the Himalayas) and impact craters such as Roter Kamm, Namibia. Controversy exists, however, as to whether pseudotachylite can be produced by shock brecciation as well as by tectonic frictional melting. Also open to debate is the question of whether pseudotachylites form by frictional fusion or by cataclasis. It was speculated that the pseudotachylite at Roter Kamm was formed by extensional settling and adjustment of basement blocks during 'late modification stage' of impact. The occurrence of pseudotachylite in association with rocks resembling quenched glass bombs and melt breccias in a relatively young crater of known impact origin offers a rare opportunity to compare features of these materials. Petrographic, x-ray diffraction, and electron microprobe analyses of the impactites and pseudotachylites are being employed to determine the modes of deformation and to assess the role of frictional melting and comminution of adjacent target rocks

An Idea to Save Educational Theory

The future looks gloomy for educational theory. The place of theory in the education of teachers and in deliberations on educational policy, is being speedily reduced. The number of persons employed to teach educational theory is declining and many of those who remain are having to teach adulterated or dubiously \u27relevant\u27 theory regarding which they can feel no real enthusiasm or honest commitment. It is possible that some areas of educational theory which have developed impressively over the last two or three decades will almost vanish. Already one can discern the unhappy consequences for practice. Thus a valuable contribution to this year\u27s PESA conference was Robin Barrow\u27s attack on \u27the Genetic Fallacy\u27 in education - on the notion that it is possible, let alone meaningful, for educators to set about developing generic abilities and capacities of mind, such as critical thinking skills or reasoning abilities. Barrow\u27s talk was timely and left little room for doubt as to the highly questionable nature of many contemporary curriculum developments. His critique is urgently needed. Yet it ought not to be. For a quarter of a century ago a central plank in Paul Hirst\u27s \u27Forms of Knowledge\u27 thesis was that it only made sense to talk of abilities and powers of the mind within specific contexts such as those provided by the disciplines of knowledge. Compatible conclusions had long been emerging from psychological work on transfer of training. Of course an educational innovator might study such views and discern grounds for rejecting them. Yet recent \u27thinking skills\u27 talk seems to be in ignorance rather than informed denial of these bodies of theorising. So sweeping reforms of practice are being introduced by people who seem to be unaware of good theoretical inquiries which suggest that their reforms may be mistaken and damaging, and give helpful pointers as to how they might be improved

The "lessons" of the Australian "heroin shortage"

Heroin use causes considerable harm to individual users including dependence, fatal and nonfatal overdose, mental health problems, and blood borne virus transmission. It also adversely affects the community through drug dealing, property crime and reduced public amenity. During the mid to late 1990s in Australia the prevalence of heroin use increased as reflected in steeply rising overdose deaths. In January 2001, there were reports of an unpredicted and unprecedented reduction in heroin supply with an abrupt onset in all Australian jurisdictions. The shortage was most marked in New South Wales, the State with the largest heroin market, which saw increases in price, dramatic decreases in purity at the street level, and reductions in the ease with which injecting drug users reported being able to obtain the drug. The abrupt onset of the shortage and a subsequent dramatic reduction in overdose deaths prompted national debate about the causes of the shortage and later international debate about the policy significance of what has come to be called the "Australian heroin shortage". In this paper we summarise insights from four years' research into the causes, consequences and policy implications of the "heroin shortage"

Properties of simulated sunspot umbral dots

Realistic 3D radiative MHD simulations reveal the magneto-convective processes underlying the formation of the photospheric fine structure of sunspots, including penumbral filaments and umbral dots. Here we provide results from a statistical analysis of simulated umbral dots and compare them with reports from high-resolution observations. A multi-level segmentation and tracking algorithm has been used to isolate the bright structures in synthetic bolometric and continuum brightness images. Areas, brightness, and lifetimes of the resulting set of umbral dots are found to be correlated: larger umbral dots tend to be brighter and live longer. The magnetic field strength and velocity structure of umbral dots on surfaces of constant optical depth in the continuum at 630 nm indicate that the strong field reduction and high velocities in the upper parts of the upflow plumes underlying umbral dots are largely hidden from spectro-polarimetric observations. The properties of the simulated umbral dots are generally consistent with the results of recent high-resolution observations. However, the observed population of small, short-lived umbral dots is not reproduced by the simulations, possibly owing to insufficient spatial resolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Seleção de clone de Eucalyptus urophylla para uso como planta modelo em estudos de função gênica.

Editores técnicos: Marcílio José Thomazini, Elenice Fritzsons, Patrícia Raquel Silva, Guilherme Schnell e Schuhli, Denise Jeton Cardoso, Luziane Franciscon. EVINCI. Resumos