An oral history of the early years of Christ Church College, Canterbury

Student experiences of Higher Education are playing an increasingly important role in both educational and historical research. In particular, the adoption of an ‘oral history’ methodology in writing commemorative histories of colleges and universities offers unique insights into their life and culture. For the Golden Jubilee Year of Canterbury Christ Church University, a series of narrative interviews has been conducted with the first members of the institution, which began life as a teacher training college fifty years ago. This is a study of the foundation of Christ Church College, Canterbury, in 1962, built around the documented planning of its administrators and the oral testimonies of its first students and staff. Its establishment was a project characterised by innovation. As well as being the first Anglican training college to be founded in sixty-three years, its designers experimented with having a small first year of students taught in a family house, and with a new interdisciplinary training module to replace the traditional model of training. Both of these policies were designed to create an early sense of college community and benefit the professional development of its students. The extent to which these related to student perceptions of their college experience is the focus of this study. As well as the unique insights into the life and work of the early college provided by the oral history source, there are demonstrable connections between the college community, its training curriculum and the wider lives and careers of those who attended it. In particular, a common professional identity of the teacher in training, yet varied perspectives of what this involved, coloured both the design and the experience of the early college. Although several of Christ Church’s early designs and innovations may have been limited and ultimately short lived, their enduring success and legacy is evident in these relationships between the institution and its constituent members

Dominant BIN1-related centronuclear myopathy (CNM) revealed by lower limb myalgia and moderate CK elevation

We report a BIN1-related CNM family with unusual clinical phenotype. The proband, a 56-year-old man suffered of lower limbs myalgia since the age of 52. Clinical examination showed short stature, mild symmetric eyelid ptosis without ophthalmoplegia, scapular winging and Achilles tendon retraction. A muscle weakness was not noted. CK levels were up to 350 UI/L. Deltoid muscle biopsy showed nuclear centralization and clustering, deep sarcolemmal invaginations and type 1 fiber hypotrophy. Whole body MRI revealed fatty infiltration of posterior legs compartments, lumbar paraspinal and serratus muscles. Myotonic dystrophy type1 and 2, Pompe disease and MTM1 and DNM2-related CNM were ruled out. By sequencing BIN1, we identified a heterozygous pathogenic mutation [c.107C > A (p.A36E)], and we demonstrate that the mutation strongly impairs the membrane tubulation property of the protein. One affected sister carried the same mutation. Her clinical examination and muscle MRI revealed a similar phenotype. Our findings expand the clinical and genetic spectrum of the autosomal dominant CNM associated with BIN1 mutations

Cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating oocyte quality and the relevance for farm animal reproductive efficiency

The efficiency of breeding schemes is dependent on the high fecundity of the selected individuals. Reproductive technologies are constantly pushing the physiological limits, but while the male reproductive potential is almost fully exploited, female reproductive physiology is the subject of constant research. Since the number of offspring that a female can bring to term each pregnancy cannot be changed, the ideal approach is to remove the potential offspring at the beginning of development and to transfer them to recipients of lesser genetic value. The earlier the collection takes place, the higher the number of descendants that a female can generate, so that now, the number of available oocytes becomes the limiting factor. This article will describe how detailed studies on oocyte physiology are beginning to unravel the complex sequence that transforms a small primordial follicle into a large ovulatory follicle containing a mature oocyte. Progressively, the limits to oocyte manipulation have been recognised and gradually overcome with adequate hormonal treatments in vivo and with specific media supplementation in vitro. This has led to the development of highly efficient reproductive technologies and the promise of even greater advances in the future. Surprising new findings, such as ovarian stem cells that can replenish the follicle population or long term embryonic stem cell lines that can differentiate into oocytes, are rapidly changing our expectations

About the use of generalized forms of derivatives in the study of electromagnetic problems

The use of non-local operators, defining Riemann–Liouville or Caputo derivatives, is a very useful tool to study problems involving non-conventional diffusion problems. The case of electric circuits, ruled by non-integer derivatives or capacitors with fractional dielectric permittivity, is a fairly natural frame of relevant applications. We use techniques, involving generalized exponential operators, to obtain suitable solutions for this type of problems and eventually discuss specific problems in applications

Reversibility and Durability as Potential Indicators for Circular Building Technologies

According to the Circularity Gap Report 2020, a mere 8.6% of the global economy was circular in 2019. The Global Status Report 2018 declares that building construction and operations accounted for 36% of global final energy use and 39% of energy–related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Paris Agreement demands that the building and construction sector decarbonizes globally by 2050. This requires strategies that minimize the environmental impact of buildings and practices extending the lifecycle of their constituents within a circular resource flow. To ensure that effective measures are applied, a suitable method is needed to assess compliance in materials, processes, and design strategies within circular economy principles. The study’s assumption is that synthetic and reliable indicators for that purpose could be based on reversibility and durability features. The paper provides an overview of building design issues within the circular economy perspective, highlighting the difficulty in finding circular technologies which are suitable to enhance buildings’ service life while closing material loops. The results identify reversibility and durability as potential indicators for assessing circular building technologies. The next research stage aims to further develop the rating of circularity requirements for both building technologies and entire buildings

A proposal for a comprehensive grading of Parkinson's disease severity combining motor and non-motor assessments: meeting an unmet need.

Non-motor symptoms are present in Parkinson's disease (PD) and a key determinant of quality of life. The Non-motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) is a validated scale that allows quantifying frequency and severity (burden) of NMS. We report a proposal for using NMSS scores to determine levels of NMS burden (NMSB) and to complete PD patient classification

Effect of metabolic and antioxidant supplementation on sperm parameters in oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia, with and without varicocele: a double-blind placebo-controlled study

Since sperm require high energy levels to perform their specialised function, it is vital that essential nutrients are available for spermatozoa when they develop, capacitate and acquire motility. However, they are vulnerable to a lack of energy and excess amounts of reactive oxygen species, which can impair sperm function, lead to immotility, acrosomal reaction impairment, DNA fragmentation and cell death. This monocentric, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of 6 months of supplementation with l-carnitine, acetyl-l-carnitine and other micronutrients on sperm quality in 104 subjects with oligo- and/or astheno- and/or teratozoospermia with or without varicocele. In 94 patients who completed the study, sperm concentration was significantly increased in supplemented patients compared to the placebo (p =.0186). Total sperm count also increased significantly (p =.0117) in the supplemented group as compared to the placebo group. Both, progressive and total motility were higher in supplemented patients (p =.0088 and p =.0120, respectively). Although pregnancy rate was not an endpoint of the study, of the 12 pregnancies that occurred during the follow-up, 10 were reported in the supplementation group. In general, all these changes were more evident in varicocele patients. In conclusion, supplementation with metabolic and antioxidant compounds could be efficacious when included in strategies to improve fertility