8,392 research outputs found
Profit Limitation Controls Prior to the Present War
In March 2014, four organisations, the Global School (Den Globala Skolan), the Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD) at Uppsala University, the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO (Svenska Unescorådet) and WWF-Sweden commissioned Anders Jidesjö, senior lecturer and researcher at Linköping University, to undertake a study of the Swedish experience in the domain of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) over the last 10 years by analysing relevant background documentation and reports as well as information gathered through interviews with key informants. This report presents the result of this study. An earlier version served as background document for the "ESD – Call for Action" event on 3 June 2014 (see also below). The current version has benefited from incorporating factual information and insights presented during that event. The report was commissioned in view of the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, scheduled for 11-12 November in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. This conference will mark the end of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014. The four organisations considered that the official Swedish position at the Nagoya Conference would be strengthened if informed by the experiences and insights of Swedish pre-schools, schools, universities, municipalities and public, private and non-governmental organizations that over the last ten years and longer have engaged in education and learning for sustainable development. The official Swedish position would also be bolstered by having politicians, policy makers and experts reflect on these experiences and formulate recommendations for reinforced policy and accelerated and effective practice and research in the ESD domain. To this effect, the four organizations organized the event "ESD – Call for Action", on 3 June at Blåsenhus, Uppsala University. It brought together 120 representatives of Swedish ESD-related practitioners, researchers and policy makers who together formulated an extensive set of recommendations that are meant to support the Swedish delegation attending the Nagoya Conference. The report and the 3 June recommendations will be made available to the participants of a second event "Making ESD Action Possible", scheduled for 27 August, 2014 at Rosenbad Conference Centre, Stockholm. This event is expected to assemble 140 Swedish ESD-related politicians, policy makers, researchers and practitioners. The combined recommendations formulated by the participants during the two events will be submitted to the official Swedish delegation to the Nagoya Conference. August 2014 Den Globala Skolan (the Global School), Svenska Unescorådet (Swedish National Commission for UNESCO), Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD) at Uppsala University, WWF-Swede
First steps towards smart drying of beef slices seasoned with different pre-treatments
In this study, beef slices seasoned with salt (S) and salt and vinegar (S+V) were dried at 60 °C in a convective drier and the development of moisture ratio (MR) and colour change (ΔE) was compared to blind samples (B). Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) was applied to create prediction models for moisture content and L, a* and b* values. Regression coefficients of >0.9 could be achieved related to each pre-treatment, but also for combined data of all the pre-treatments
Std fimbriae-fucose interaction increases Salmonella-induced intestinal inflammation and prolongs colonization
Author summary The intestinal epithelium is a crucial biological interface, interacting with both commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. It’s lined with heavily glycosylated proteins and glycolipids which can act as both attachment sites and energy sources for intestinal bacteria. Fut2, the enzyme governing epithelial α1,2-fucosylation, has been implicated in the interaction between microbes and intestinal epithelial cells. Salmonella is one of the most important bacterial gastrointestinal pathogens affecting millions of people worldwide. Salmonella possesses fimbrial and non-fimbrial adhesins which can be used to adhere to host cells. Here we show that Salmonella expresses Std fimbriae in the gastrointestinal tract in vivo and exploit Std fimbriae to bind fucosylated structures in the mucus and on the intestinal epithelium. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Std fimbriae-fucose interaction is necessary for bacterial colonization of the intestine and for triggering intestinal inflammation. These data lend new insights into bacterial adhesion-epithelial interactions which are essential for bacterial pathogenesis and key factors in determining tissue tropism and host susceptibility to infectious disease
Stable gene replacement in barley by targeted double-strand break induction
Gene targeting is becoming an important tool for precision genome engineering in plants. During gene replacement, a variant of gene targeting, transformed DNA integrates into the genome by homologous recombination (HR) to replace resident sequences. We have analysed gene targeting in barley (Hordeum vulgare) using a model system based on double-strand break (DSB) induction by the meganuclease I-SceI and a transgenic, artificial target locus. In the plants we obtained, the donor construct was inserted at the target locus by homology-directed DNA integration in at least two transformants obtained in a single experiment and was stably inherited as a single Mendelian trait. Both events were produced by one-sided integration. Our data suggest that gene replacement can be achieved in barley with a frequency suitable for routine application. The use of a codon-optimized nuclease and co-transfer of the nuclease gene together with the donor construct are probably the components important for efficient gene targeting. Such an approach, employing the recently developed synthetic nucleases/nickases that allow DSB induction at almost any sequence of a genome of interest, sets the stage for precision genome engineering as a routine tool even for important crops such as barley
A novel patch micro electrode array for sensing ionic membrane currents
Ionic membrane currents play an important role during regeneration of nerve cells, embryonic development and wound healing processes. Measuring the intracellular ion currents across the cell membrane is important in understanding the cellular functions related to the ion activities. A novel patch micro electrode array (p-MEA) for measuring the ionic membrane currents without poisoning the cells due to emitting metal ions is described in this paper. Results on biocompatibility of the device are presented. We discuss the fabrication and working principle of p-MEA
Jazzing Up Next-Gen Librarians for Freshman Engineering Instruction Delivery
Because of the need for science and engineering librarians, both nationwide and at West Virginia University (WVU), a model of Introduction to STEM Disciplines’ Information Use and Mentoring
occurred at WVU. The engineering librarians introduced new resident librarians and a graduate research assistant to the Freshman Engineering program and involved them in teaching several engineering information literacy sessions. The goal of engaging the new librarians into the educational activities was to motivate their learning, gain feedback on current teaching strategies and fresh ideas for possible future implementation, and facilitate buy-in of the need for and role of STEM-specific librarians. The new team members learned the specific information literacy resources for the engineering field, provided feedback on the teaching methods, offered new ideas for implementation, and engaged with the engineering faculty and current STEM librarians about possible modifications to the types of information offered and the timing of its delivery
- …