DEVELOPING LEARNING IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND LIFE SKILLS THROUGH CASE-BASED WORKSHOPS

BACKGROUND Teaching through case-based workshops is a student-centered strategy designed to heighten higher-order thinking, through a discussion of complex, real-world scenarios to enable students to link concepts learnt in class to future practice. We report findings of teaching Biochemistry to second year Nutrition students from a mix of 8 teacher-led case-based workshops (TCW) and 4 student-led case-based workshops (SCW) over the 12-week semester. AIMS To compare perceived learning of Biochemistry and life skills through TCW and SCW. DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION We surveyed students to determine the benefits of TCW in comparison to SCW. DESIGN AND METHODS We administered an anonymous survey consisting of 22 items using a Likert scale and 6 open-ended questions. All responses were coded for emergent themes. The Likert scale was converted to a numerical level of agreement. RESULTS Students agreed that learning in biochemistry (51%) and life skills (53%) were developed more in TCW compared to SCW. Data from open-ended questions confirmed that TCW developed learning in biochemistry through its structure and support mechanism, while life skills were developed through opportunities for collaboration, communication and improving interpersonal skills. CONCLUSIONS TCWs promote learning and life skills, a basis for nurturing the next generation of Biochemists ready for an uncertain future

The effects of spending time outdoors in daylight on the psychosocial wellbeing of older people and family carers: a comprehensive systematic review protocol

Review question/objective The overall objective of this research is to undertake a systematic review of the effects of spending time outdoors in daylight on the psychosocial wellbeing of older adults and family carers. The specific questions to be addressed are: Which aspects of psychosocial wellbeing are affected by spending time outdoors in daylight in older adults and family carers? To what extent is spending time outdoors in the daylight effective in improving aspects of psychosocial wellbeing in older adults and family carers

The effect of spending time outdoors in daylight on the psychosocial well-being of older people and their family carers

Abstract of presentation from the Dementia Collaborative Research Centres\u27 (DCRC) 2014 National Dementia Research Forum, Sydney, 19 September 2014

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF CONTEXT-BASED UNDERGRADUATE BIOCHEMISTRY FOR HEALTH SCIENCES (CUBHS) RESOURCES FOR FUTURE HEALTH WORKERS

BACKGROUND The Context-based Undergraduate Biochemistry for Health Science (CUBHS) learning resource is designed to link biochemistry concepts to students’ future clinical practice in nursing, pharmacy and psychology in preparation for ever-changing professional contexts. Our research aimed to develop and evaluate CUBHS resources. DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT In designing contexts for the resources, relevant clinical scenarios were identified and tasks that linked context with Biochemistry concepts were collaboratively designed through a series of 15 interviews with health professionals/educators. Then, resources for nursing, pharmacy and psychology were developed. PILOT TEST AND EVALUATION CUBHS resources were piloted in workshops involving 43 (nursing, pharmacy, psychology) students. Our pilot test determined the effects of CUBHS on perception of relevance (PR), attitude towards biochemistry (AB) and achievement. Surveys, biochemistry quizzes and focus groups were conducted. Our survey revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the pre-to-post scores in perceived relevance to future professional life (PR) and anxiety (AB). Pre-to-post quiz scores showed a significant difference (p < 0.001). Focus group data confirmed the relevance of CUBHS to interactions with patients and health professionals, fun/engaging learning and strengthening of understanding of concepts. IMPLEMENTATION Our results serve as basis for implementation and development of more resources, which are adapted to COVID-19 clinical contexts

The Epstein-Barr Virus Episome Maneuvers between Nuclear Chromatin Compartments during Reactivation.

The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space to facilitate functional partitioning of transcription. We learned that the latent episome of the human Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) preferentially associates with gene-poor chromosomes and avoids gene-rich chromosomes. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus behaves similarly, but human papillomavirus does not. Contacts on the EBV side localize to OriP, the latent origin of replication. This genetic element and the EBNA1 protein that binds there are sufficient to reconstitute chromosome association preferences of the entire episome. Contacts on the human side localize to gene-poor and AT-rich regions of chromatin distant from transcription start sites. Upon reactivation from latency, however, the episome moves away from repressive heterochromatin and toward active euchromatin. Our work adds three-dimensional relocalization to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Involvement of myriad interchromosomal associations also suggests a role for this type of long-range association in gene regulation.IMPORTANCE The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space, and this structure functionally affects transcriptional activity. We set out to investigate whether a double-stranded DNA virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), uses mechanisms similar to those of the human genome to regulate transcription. We found that the EBV genome associates with repressive compartments of the nucleus during latency and with active compartments during reactivation. This study advances our knowledge of the EBV life cycle, adding three-dimensional relocalization as a novel component to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Furthermore, the data add to our understanding of nuclear compartments, showing that disperse interchromosomal interactions may be important for regulating transcription

DNA methylases for site-selective inhibition of type IIS restriction enzyme activity

DNA methylases of the restriction-modifications (R-M) systems are promising enzymes for the development of novel molecular and synthetic biology tools. Their use in vitro enables the deployment of independent and controlled catalytic reactions. This work aimed to produce recombinant DNA methylases belonging to the R-M systems, capable of in vitro inhibition of the type IIS restriction enzymes BsaI, BpiI, or LguI. Non-switchable methylases are those whose recognition sequences fully overlap the recognition sequences of their associated endonuclease. In switch methylases, the methylase and endonuclease recognition sequences only partially overlap, allowing sequence engineering to alter methylation without altering restriction. In this work, ten methylases from type I and II R-M systems were selected for cloning and expression in E. coli strains tolerant to methylation. Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentrations and post-induction temperatures were tested to optimize the soluble methylases expression, which was achieved with 0.5 mM IPTG at 20 °C. The C-terminal His6-Tag versions showed better expression than the N-terminal tagged versions. DNA methylation was analyzed using purified methylases and custom test plasmids which, after the methylation reactions, were digested using the corresponding associated type IIS endonuclease. The non-switchable methylases M2.Eco31I, M2.BsaI, M2.HpyAII, and M1.MboII along with the switch methylases M.Osp807II and M2.NmeMC58II showed the best activity for site-selective inhibition of type IIS restriction enzyme activity. This work demonstrates that our recombinant methylases were able to block the activity of type IIS endonucleases in vitro, allowing them to be developed as valuable tools in synthetic biology and DNA assembly techniques

Testimonios de las atravesadas: A borderland existence of women of color faculty

The temporalities of COVID-19 and resultant economic crisis, along with increased visibility of white supremacy and anti-Blackness, have exacerbated the longstanding chal-lenges Women of Color (WOC) faculty experience, particu-larly around negotiating labor and navigating the academy. Through Anzaldúa\u27s borderlands framework, and an inter-woven methodology of testimonios and pláticas, this paper\u27s findings illuminate how the fixed, shifting, and messy bound-aries of academic work have, especially for WOC faculty working through COVID-19, violated the limits of the personal and professional, intruded into the homes as sacred spaces, and continued and expanded demands to provide labor. Institutions have placated these fraught borders with professional development and networks of mentorship—all while pivoting away from addressing the material and struc-tural conditions that disintegrate the borders, particularly for WOC faculty. By exploring the layered complexities of traversing the academy–a space not made for our existence as WOC within them–we offer a nuanced understanding of academic borderlands. As a part of this, we highlight our resistance to carve out spaces of solidarity and collectivity in the face of Eurocentric, individualistic institutions to imagin

Gobierno abierto en la gestión administrativa de una municipalidad distrital de Huaraz – 2023

La investigación titulada “Gobierno abierto en la gestión administrativa de una municipalidad distrital de Huaraz – 2023”, tuvo como finalidad determinar de qué manera la gestión administrativa influye en el gobierno abierto de la entidad mencionada. Se manejó un estudio básico mediante un paradigma cuantitativo y de nivel explicativo, asimismo el diseño aplicado fue la no experimental – transeccional. Con respecto a la muestra y población fueron los mismos 53 trabajadores de la entidad, además se manejó un muestreo no probabilístico. Los instrumentos que se utilizaron fueron los cuestionarios, para medir las variables dadas, en la cual se tuvo como resultados que, por medio de la regresión logística ordinal, las dimensiones del gobierno abierto influyen significativamente en la gestión administrativa, también mediante la prueba Pseudo R2 de Cox y Snell, la gestión administrativa es explicada por las dimensiones del gobierno abierto en un 38,9%, 49,1%, 28,7%, 42,1% y 39,8%. Concluyendo que la variable independiente si influye en la variable dependiente con una significancia del 0,000 y que la VD explica a la VI con un 58,4%