Functional assessment of the RAS/MAPK pathway

Rasopathies are a heterogeneous group of disorders that are due to dominant, gain-of-function mutations in genes in the RAS/MAPK pathway. The RAS/MAPK pathway is involved in regulating cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. There is marked clinical variation in clinical phenotypes among different rasopathies despite activation of the RAS/MAPK pathway, suggesting that there may be additional biochemical variables depending on the gene mutated. In this thesis, the activation of the end effectors of the RAS/MAPK pathway, MAPK and MEK, were analyzed using Western blots and flow cytometry in NF1, RIT1, and PTPN11 mutated fibroblasts and lymphoblasts. Although the mutated cell lines were expected to have higher levels of activation due to upregulation of the RAS/MAPK pathway, they were found to have decreased activation compared to the control cells. A suggested reason for these results is that negative feedback loops may decrease the level of activation in the pathway by having activated P-MAPK and P-MEK inhibit previous proteins in the pathway

The Public Playground Paradox: "Child’s Joy" or Heterotopia of Fear?

Literature depicts children of the Global North withdrawing from public space to“acceptable islands”. Driven by fears both of and for children, the publicplayground – one such island – provides clear-cut distinctions between childhoodand adulthood. Extending this argument, this paper takes the original approach oftheoretically framing the playground as a heterotopia of deviance, examining –for the first time – three Greek public playground sites in relation to adjacentpublic space. Drawing on an ethnographic study in Athens, findings show fear tounderpin surveillance, control and playground boundary porosity. Normativeclassification as “children’s space” discourages adult engagement. However, in anovel and significant finding, a paradoxical phenomenon sees the playground’spresence simultaneously legitimizing playful behaviour in adjacent public spacefor children and adults. Extended playground play creates alternate orderings andnegotiates norms and hierarchies, suggesting significant wider potential toreconceptualise playground-urban design for an intergenerational public realm