The research-teaching nexus: A case study of students' awareness, experiences and perceptions of research

This paper presents a case study of students' awareness, experiences and perceptions of research in a 'new' university in the UK. The findings are based on a questionnaire of almost 200 students and five small group interviews. Many of the students participating in this research perceived clear benefits to their learning from staff research, including being taught by enthusiastic staff, enhanced staff credibility, and the reflected glory of being taught by well-known researchers. However, they also perceived disadvantages, particularly with regard to staff availability, and did not believe that staff research should take priority over their needs as learners. They recognised that their awareness of the nature of research and the development of research skills increased most when they were actively involved in undertaking research projects. Several students also perceived benefits for future employment from their participation in research activities. The questionnaire has been used by several other universities around the world to benchmark their practices. © 2010 Taylor & Francis

Phospholipase C-ε Regulates Epidermal Morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Migration of cells within epithelial sheets is an important feature of embryogenesis and other biological processes. Previous work has demonstrated a role for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-mediated calcium signalling in the rearrangement of epidermal cells (also known as hypodermal cells) during embryonic morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. However the mechanism by which IP3 production is stimulated is unknown. IP3 is produced by the action of phospholipase C (PLC). We therefore surveyed the PLC family of C. elegans using RNAi and mutant strains, and found that depletion of PLC-1/PLC-ε produced substantial embryonic lethality. We used the epithelial cell marker ajm-1::gfp to follow the behaviour of epidermal cells and found that 96% of the arrested embryos have morphogenetic defects. These defects include defective ventral enclosure and aberrant dorsal intercalation. Using time-lapse confocal microscopy we show that the migration of the ventral epidermal cells, especially of the leading cells, is slower and often fails in plc-1(tm753) embryos. As a consequence plc-1 loss of function results in ruptured embryos with a Gex phenotype (gut on exterior) and lumpy larvae. Thus PLC-1 is involved in the regulation of morphogenesis. Genetic studies using gain- and loss-of-function alleles of itr-1, the gene encoding the IP3 receptor in C. elegans, demonstrate that PLC-1 acts through ITR-1. Using RNAi and double mutants to deplete the other PLCs in a plc-1 background, we show that PLC-3/PLC-γ and EGL-8/PLC-β can compensate for reduced PLC-1 activity. Our work places PLC-ε into a pathway controlling epidermal cell migration, thus establishing a novel role for PLC-ε

Teachers’ knowledge and experiences of Information Advice and Guidance: some implications for the current policy context in England

Good information and career guidance about what post-compulsory educational routes are available and where these routes lead is important in ensuring that young people make choices that are most appropriate to their needs and aspirations. Yet the Association of School and College Leaders (2011) express fears that future provision will be inadequate. This paper reports the findings from an on-line survey of 300 secondary school teachers, and follow up telephone interviews with 18 in the South East of England which explored teachers’ experiences of delivering post-compulsory educational and career guidance and their knowledge and confidence in doing so. Results suggest that teachers lack confidence in delivering information, advice and guidance outside their own area of specialism and experience. In particular, teachers knew little in relation to alternative local provision of post-16 education and lacked knowledge of more non-traditional, vocational routes. This paper will therefore raises important policy considerations with respect to supporting teachers’ knowledge, ability and confidence in delivering information in relation to future pathways and career guidance

Practitioners' Perceptions of the Soccer Extra-Time Period: Implications for Future Research

Qualitative research investigating soccer practitioners’ perceptions can allow researchers to create practical research investigations. The extra-time period of soccer is understudied compared to other areas of soccer research. Using an open-ended online survey containing eleven main and nine sub questions, we gathered the perceptions of extra-time from 46 soccer practitioners, all working for different professional soccer clubs. Questions related to current practices, views on extra-time regulations, and ideas for future research. Using inductive content analysis, the following general dimensions were identified: ‘importance of extra-time’, ‘rule changes’, ‘efficacy of extra-time hydro-nutritional provision’, ‘nutritional timing’, ‘future research directions’, ‘preparatory modulations’ and ‘recovery’. The majority of practitioners (63%) either agreed or strongly agreed that extra-time is an important period for determining success in knockout football match-play. When asked if a fourth substitution should be permitted in extra-time, 67% agreed. The use of hydro-nutritional strategies prior to extra-time was predominately considered important or very important. However; only 41% of practitioners felt that it was the most important time point for the use of nutritional products. A similar number of practitioners account (50%) and do not (50%) account for the potential of extra-time when training and preparing players and 89% of practitioners stated that extra-time influences recovery practices following matches. In the five minute break prior to extra-time, the following practices (in order of priority) were advocated to players: hydration, energy provision, massage, and tactical preparations. Additionally, 87% of practitioners advocate a particular nutritional supplementation strategy prior to extra-time. In order of importance, practitioners see the following as future research areas: nutritional interventions, fatigue responses, acute injury risk, recovery modalities, training paradigms, injury epidemiology, and environmental considerations. This study presents novel insight into the practitioner perceptions of extra-time and provides information to readers about current applied practices and potential future research opportunities

Gene expression profiles derived from fine needle aspiration correlate with response to systemic chemotherapy in breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Drug resistance in breast cancer is a major obstacle to successful chemotherapy. In this study we used cDNA microarray technology to examine gene expression profiles obtained from fine needle aspiration (FNA) of primary breast tumors before and after systemic chemotherapy. Our goal was to determine the feasibility of obtaining representative expression array profiles from limited amounts of tissue and to identify those expression profiles that correlate with treatment response. METHODS: Repeat presurgical FNA samples were taken from six patients who were to undergo primary surgical treatment. Additionally, a group of 10 patients who were to receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy underwent two FNAs before chemotherapy (adriamycin 60 mg/m(2) and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m(2)) followed by another FNA on day 21 after the first cycle. Total RNA was amplified with T7 Eberwine's procedure and labeled cDNA was hybridized onto a 7600-feature glass cDNA microarray. RESULTS: We identified candidate gene expression profiles that might distinguish tumors with complete response to chemotherapy from tumors that do not respond, and found that the number of genes that change after one cycle of chemotherapy was 10 times greater in the responding group than in the non-responding group. CONCLUSION: This study supports the suitability of FNA-derived cDNA microarray expression profiling of breast cancers as a comprehensive genomic approach for studying the mechanisms of drug resistance. Our findings also demonstrate the potential of monitoring post-chemotherapy changes in expression profiles as a measure of pharmacodynamic effect and suggests that these approaches might yield useful results when validated by larger studies

The Global Ambitions of Irish Universities: Internationalizing Practices and Emerging Stratification in the Irish Higher Education Sector

As higher education is increasingly harnessed to national economic goals and as funding shifts from public to private sources, Irish universities are under unprecedented pressure to “internationalize.” Yet the way they mediate national policy is constrained by funding and market forces as well as by their own organizational features and position in the field. Analysis of bilateral non-EU partnerships reveals competing logics of prestige, finances, and alignment with national ambitions in the global economy. Historical hierarchies between Irish third-level institutions are thus reinforced, while internally, status distinctions emerge between the various types of partnerships and student exchange programs. The shape taken by internationalization may reinforce various strands of inter-institutional and intra-institutional inequality, without guaranteeing that Irish universities succeed in their ambitions to achieve “world-class” status

The COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Seasonality, With Increasing Cases of New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes in Children, From the Worldwide SWEET Registry

Objective: To analyze whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the number of cases or impacted seasonality of new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) in large pediatric diabetes centers globally. Research design and methods: We analyzed data on 17,280 cases of T1D diagnosed during 2018-2021 from 92 worldwide centers participating in the SWEET registry using hierarchic linear regression models. Results: The average number of new-onset T1D cases per center adjusted for the total number of patients treated at the center per year and stratified by age-groups increased from 11.2 (95% CI 10.1-12.2) in 2018 to 21.7 (20.6-22.8) in 2021 for the youngest age-group, <6 years; from 13.1 (12.2-14.0) in 2018 to 26.7 (25.7-27.7) in 2021 for children ages 6 to <12 years; and from 12.2 (11.5-12.9) to 24.7 (24.0-25.5) for adolescents ages 12-18 years (all P < 0.001). These increases remained within the expected increase with the 95% CI of the regression line. However, in Europe and North America following the lockdown early in 2020, the typical seasonality of more cases during winter season was delayed, with a peak during the summer and autumn months. While the seasonal pattern in Europe returned to prepandemic times in 2021, this was not the case in North America. Compared with 2018-2019 (HbA1c 7.7%), higher average HbA1c levels (2020, 8.1%; 2021, 8.6%; P < 0.001) were present within the first year of T1D during the pandemic. Conclusions: The slope of the rise in pediatric new-onset T1D in SWEET centers remained unchanged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a change in the seasonality at onset became apparent.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Half-Time Strategies to Enhance Second-Half Performance in Team-Sports Players: A Review and Recommendations

The competitive demands of numerous intermittent team sports require that two consecutive periods of play are separated by a half-time break. Typically, half-time allows players to: return to the changing rooms, temporarily relax from the cognitive demands of the first half of match-play, rehydrate, re-fuel, attend to injury or equipment concerns, and to receive tactical instruction and coach feedback in preparation for the second half. These passive practices have been associated with physiological changes which impair physical and cognitive performance in the initial stages of the second half. An increased risk of injury has also been observed following half-time. On the day of competition, modification of half-time practices may therefore provide Sports Scientists and Strength and Conditioning Coaches with an opportunity to optimise second half performance. An overview of strategies that may benefit team sports athletes is presented; specifically, the efficacy of: heat maintenance strategies (including passive and active methods), hormonal priming (through video feedback), post-activation potentiation, and modified hydro-nutritional practices are discussed. A theoretical model of applying these strategies in a manner that compliments current practice is also presented

The acute effects of plyometric and sled towing stimuli with and without caffeine ingestion on vertical jump performance in professional soccer players

Abstract Background Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is the phenomenon by which muscular performance is enhanced in response to a conditioning stimulus. PAP has typically been evidenced via improved counter movement jump (CMJ) performance. This study examined the effects of PAP, with and without prior caffeine ingestion, on CMJ performance. Methods Twelve male professional soccer players (23 ± 5 years) performed two trials of plyometric exercises and sled towing 60 min after placebo or caffeine ingestion (5 mg.kg− 1) in a randomized, counterbalanced and double-blinded design. CMJ performance was assessed at baseline and 1, 3 and 5 min after the conditioning stimulus (T1, T3 and T5, respectively). Results Two way ANOVA main effects indicated a significant difference in jump height after the PAP protocol (F[3, 11] = 14.99, P  0.05) compared to placebo. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that acute plyometric and sled towing stimuli enhances jump performance and that this potentiation is augmented by caffeine ingestion in male soccer players

Selective regulation of IP3-receptor-mediated Ca2+ signaling and apoptosis by the BH4 domain of Bcl-2 versus Bcl-Xl

Antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) targets the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) via its BH4 domain, thereby suppressing IP3R Ca2+-flux properties and protecting against Ca2+-dependent apoptosis. Here, we directly compared IP3R inhibition by BH4-Bcl-2 and BH4-Bcl-Xl. In contrast to BH4-Bcl-2, BH4-Bcl-Xl neither bound the modulatory domain of IP3R nor inhibited IP3-induced Ca2+ release (IICR) in permeabilized and intact cells. We identified a critical residue in BH4-Bcl-2 (Lys17) not conserved in BH4-Bcl-Xl (Asp11). Changing Lys17 into Asp in BH4-Bcl-2 completely abolished its IP3R-binding and -inhibitory properties, whereas changing Asp11 into Lys in BH4-Bcl-Xl induced IP3R binding and inhibition. This difference in IP3R regulation between BH4-Bcl-2 and BH4-Bcl-Xl controls their antiapoptotic action. Although both BH4-Bcl-2 and BH4-Bcl-Xl had antiapoptotic activity, BH4-Bcl-2 was more potent than BH4-Bcl-Xl. The effect of BH4-Bcl-2, but not of BH4-Bcl-Xl, depended on its binding to IP(3)Rs. In agreement with the IP3R-binding properties, the antiapoptotic activity of BH4-Bcl-2 and BH4-Bcl-Xl was modulated by the Lys/Asp substitutions. Changing Lys17 into Asp in full-length Bcl-2 significantly decreased its binding to the IP3R, its ability to inhibit IICR and its protection against apoptotic stimuli. A single amino-acid difference between BH4-Bcl-2 and BH4-Bcl-Xl therefore underlies differential regulation of IP(3)Rs and Ca2+-driven apoptosis by these functional domains. Mutating this residue affects the function of Bcl-2 in Ca2+ signaling and apoptosis