The Impact of Open Access on Teaching—How Far Have We Come?

This article seeks to understand how far the United Kingdom higher education (UK HE) sector has progressed towards open access (OA) availability of the scholarly literature it requires to support courses of study. It uses Google Scholar, Unpaywall and Open Access Button to identify OA copies of a random sample of articles copied under the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) HE Licence to support teaching. The quantitative data analysis is combined with interviews of, and a workshop with, HE practitioners to investigate four research questions. Firstly, what is the nature of the content being used to support courses of study? Secondly, do UK HE establishments regularly incorporate searches for open access availability into their acquisition processes to support teaching? Thirdly, what proportion of content used under the CLA Licence is also available on open access and appropriately licenced? Finally, what percentage of content used by UK HEIs under the CLA Licence is written by academics and thus has the potential for being made open access had there been support in place to enable this? Key findings include the fact that no interviewees incorporated OA searches into their acquisitions processes. Overall, 38% of articles required to support teaching were available as OA in some form but only 7% had a findable re-use licence; just 3% had licences that specifically permitted inclusion in an ‘electronic course-pack’. Eighty-nine percent of journal content was written by academics (34% by UK-based academics). Of these, 58% were written since 2000 and thus could arguably have been made available openly had academics been supported to do so

Competencies for bibliometrics

Universities are increasingly offering support services for bibliometrics, often based in the library. This paper describes work done to produce a competency model for those supporting bibliometrics. The results of a questionnaire in which current practitioners rated bibliometric tasks as entry level, core or specialist are reported. Entry level competencies identified were explaining bibliometric concepts, doing basic calculations and some professional skills. Activities identified by participants as core are outlined. Reflecting on items that were considered in scope but specialist there was less stress on evaluating scholars, work at a strategic level, working with data outside proprietary bibliometric tools and consultancy-type services as opposed to training for disintermediated use. A competency model is presented as an appendix

Aging and Degradation in Dilute Polymer Solutions

This paper describes studies of the properties of dilute solutions of polymers which have been found to reduce friction in turbulent flows. The substances tested, in solution in tap water, were guar gum, polyethylene oxide (Union Carbide 'Polyox' WSR 301) and polyacrylamide (Dow 'Separan' AP 30). It had been previously found that solutions of 'Polyox' and 'Separan' exhibit normal-stress difference effects. Correspondingly for'Polyox' solutions, it has been reported that the pressure increment at the mouth of a pitot tube, or open-ended tube facing into the flow, can be reduced below the value [formula] normal for Newtonian liquids, where [Greek rho] is density and V is speed. The present experiments began as a further investigation of this loss of pitot pressure. It was found that the pitot loss reduced with time, and that with 'Polyox' solutions other normal-stress difference effects showed a similar aging, without apparently impairing the ability of the liquid to produce turbulent drag reduction. Continued exposure of the liquid to intense turbulence does, however, lead to a degradation of the drag reduction

Serendipitous SAD solution for DMSO-Soaked SOCS2-ElonginC-ElonginB crystals using covalently incorporated dimethylarsenic: Insights into substrate receptor conformational flexibility in cullin RING ligases

© 2015 Gadd et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Suppressor of cytokine signalling 2 (SOCS2) is the substrate-binding component of a Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase (CRL) complex that targets phosphorylated hormone receptors for degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. As a key regulator of the transcriptional response to growth signals, SOCS2 and its protein complex partners are potential targets for small molecule development. We found that crystals of SOCS2 in complex with its adaptor proteins, Elongin C and Elongin B, underwent a change in crystallographic parameters when treated with dimethyl sulfoxide during soaking experiments. To solve the phase problem for the new crystal form we identified the presence of arsenic atoms in the crystals, a result of covalent modification of cysteines by cacodylate, and successfully extracted anomalous signal from these atoms for experimental phasing. The resulting structure provides a means for solving future structures where the crystals must be treated with DMSO for ligand soaking approaches. Additionally, the conformational changes induced in this structure reveal flexibility within SOCS2 that match those postulated by previous molecular dynamics simulations. This conformational flexibility illustrates how SOCS2 can orient its substrates for successful ubiquitination by other elements of the CRL complex

Science into policy: preparing for pandemic influenza

Authoratative government pandemic preparedness requires an evidence-based approach. The scientific advisory process that has informed the current UK pandemic preparedness plans is described. The final endorsed scientific papers are now publicly available

Influence of metals and metalloids on the composition and fluorescence quenching of the extracellular polymeric substances produced by the polymorphic fungus <i>Aureobasidium pullulans</i>

Aureobasidium pullulansis a ubiquitous and widely distributed fungus in the environment, and exhibits substantial tolerance against toxic metals. However, the interactions between metals and metalloids with the copious extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced byA. pullulansand possible relationships to tolerance are not well understood. In this study, it was found that mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se), as selenite, not only significantly inhibited growth ofA. pullulansbut also affected the composition of produced EPS. Lead (Pb) showed little influence on EPS yield or composition. The interactions of EPS fromA. pullulanswith the tested metals and metalloids depended on the specific element and their concentration. Fluorescence intensity measurements of the EPS showed that the presence of metal(loid)s stimulated the production of extracellular tryptophan-like and aromatic protein-like substances. Examination of fluorescence quenching and calculation of binding constants revealed that the fluorescence quenching process for Hg; arsenic (As), as arsenite; and Pb to EPS were mainly governed by static quenching which resulted in the formation of a stable non-fluorescent complexes between the EPS and metal(loid)s. Se showed no significant interaction with the EPS according to fluorescence quenching. These results provide further understanding of the interactions between metals and metalloids and EPS produced by fungi and their contribution to metal(loid) tolerance

Metabolic and Ventilatory Responses to Interval-Based Active and Passive Treadmill Sprinting

Historically, exercise scientists and practitioners believed that continuous, steady exercise at a single moderate intensity was most beneficial for health, but recent findings suggests that higher intensity interval training may be more beneficial for many health and performance-based outcomes. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the metabolic and ventilatory responses to a brief, intense interval protocol using a treadmill in the active and passive mode. Methods: Twelve physically fit participants (30.5±6.2y; 175.9±9.9 cm; 79.1±18.2 Kg) completed three exercise sessions. In the first session, biometric and demographic data were obtained prior to the performance of a peak VO2 treadmill test using a single speed, variable incline protocol. In sessions 2 and 3, participants performed an intense, 4-minute exercise protocol. The interval protocol consisted of eight repetitions, each 20 seconds in length with 10 seconds rest between with a 15% incline. The interval exercise was performed in an active or passive treadmill mode. During the active mode (ACT), participants controlled the speed of the treadmill belt using an electronic control board mounted on the front of the treadmill. During the passive mode (PAS), participants controlled the speed of the treadmill belt by exerting greater effort against the belt with their legs. In each condition, the participants were encouraged to exert a maximal effort; the ACT and PAS conditions were performed in random order on separate days. Continuous oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER), and Ventilation (VE) were collected during all sessions using a metabolic cart and data were compared using a factorial ANOVA with repeated measures using mode (ACT vs PAS) and interval (8 intervals). Results: VO2 peak in the participants tested was 44.4±4.5 mL.kg-1.min-1. There was a significant mode by interval interaction for VO2 (p=0.003). VO2 was elevated compared to baseline in both conditions, but PAS was greater than ACT at intervals 2 (∆3.55 mL.kg-1.min-1; p=0.003) and 3 (∆3.40 mL.kg-1.min-1; p=0.004). There was a significant interaction for RER (pConclusions: The results indicate that participants completing self-selected sprints in the PAS mode exert greater metabolic effort in earlier, but not late intervals compared to ACT. This could be due to the extreme fatigue resulting from anaerobic work in PAS. Future studies should determine if participants training using ACT or PAS sprinting adapt strategies to improve metabolic efficiency or gain capabilities to exert greater metabolic effort during a single session of treadmill exercise

Altered peripheral blood monocyte phenotype and function in chronic liver disease:Implications for hepatic recruitment and systemic inflammation

Background and Aim

Development of a Protocol to Test Proprioceptive Utilization as a Predictor for Sensorimotor Adaptability

Astronauts returning from space flight show significant inter-subject variations in their abilities to readapt to a gravitational environment because of their innate sensory weighting. The ability to predict the manner and degree to which each individual astronaut will be affected would improve the effectiveness of countermeasure training programs designed to enhance sensorimotor adaptability. We hypothesize participant's ability to utilize individual sensory information (vision, proprioception and vestibular) influences adaptation in sensorimotor performance after space flight. The goal of this study is to develop a reliable protocol to test proprioceptive utilization in a functional postural control task. Subjects "stand" in a supine position while strapped to a backpack frame holding a friction-free device using air-bearings that allow the subject to move freely in the frontal plane, similar to when in upright standing. The frame is attached to a pneumatic cylinder, which can provide different levels of a gravity-like force that the subject must balance against to remain "upright". The supine posture with eyes closed ensures reduced vestibular and visual contribution to postural control suggesting somatosensory and/or non-otolith vestibular inputs will provide relevant information for maintaining balance control in this task. This setup is called the gravity bed. Fourteen healthy subjects carried out three trials each with eyes open alternated with eyes closed, "standing" on their dominant leg in the gravity bed environment while loaded with 60 percent of their body weight. Subjects were instructed to: "use your sense of sway about the ankle and pressure changes under the foot to maintain balance." Maximum length of a trial was 45 seconds. A force plate underneath the foot recorded forces and moments during the trial and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached on the backpack's frame near the center of mass of the subject recorded upper body postural responses. Series of linear and non-linear analyses were carried out on several force plate and IMU data including stabilogram diffusion analysis on the center of pressure (COP) to find a subset of parameters that were sensitive to detect differences in postural performance between eyes open and closed conditions. Results revealed that seven parameters (root mean square (RMS) of medio-lateral (ML) COP, range of ML COP, RMS of roll moment, range of trunk roll, minimum time-to-boundary (TTB), integrated TTB, and critical mean square planar displacement (delta r (sup 2) (sub c)) were significantly different between eyes open and closed conditions. We will present data to show the efficacy of using performance in single leg stance with eyes closed on the gravity bed to assess individuals' ability to utilize proprioceptive information in a functional postural control task to predict re-adaptation for sensorimotor and functional performance