Promotion, Education, and Marketing of an Expanded VCU Bike Share Program

We propose to help promote, market, and provide education about an expanded bike share program at VCU. The goal of the bike share program is three-fold: 1) improve travel between campuses, 2) encourage alternate transportation to reduce traffic and parking difficulties and 3) be a green initiative on the VCU campus. The expanded bike share program will include additional bikes and bike stations, managed by an outside company. Recently, VCU’s Office of Parking and Transportation has learned that they will be receiving funds for the program, and they are looking for assistance to promote, market, and provide education about the program. We will also explore additional aspects of a bike sharing program such as encouraging the use of helmets/safety issues, using technology to track bikes, and conducting a needs assessment to determine consumer demand and preferences

An improved, optimised and robust keratin azure assay for accurate assessment of keratinase activity

Keratin, in the form of coarse sheep wool, has been identified as an undervalued natural resource, which with the appropriate tools (e.g. a keratinase biocatalyst) can be repurposed for various textile and industrial biotechnology applications. For these purposes, we describe a novel method for identifying keratinase activity through the use of α-keratin azure (KA), an anthraquinone dyed substrate. A colourimetric method monitored the keratinase activity of Proteinase K (PK), which degrades the KA substrate and releases soluble products that are observed at 595 nm. Initially, the azure dye standard, Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR), was used to calibrate the assay and allowed the kinetics of the keratinase-catalysed reaction to be determined. The assay was also used to investigate substrate pre-treatment, as well as different reaction quenching/work up conditions. Milling and washing of the KA substrate provided the best reproducibility and centrifugation was the most effective method for removing unreacted starting material. This assay was then applied to investigate the reduction of the keratin disulfide bond on keratinase-catalysed degradation. This optimised, improved and robust method will enable identification of keratinases ideally suited for application in the valorisation of the α-keratin found in natural wool fibres.</p

Is there a need to review the wording and application of guidance and legislation on Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO's)?

Written evidence from Dr. Vicky Heap, Jamie Grace, Dr. Alex Black, Dr. Jill Dickinson, Benjamin Archer, all Sheffield Hallam University

GAINING GRADS: TARGETING SCHOOL-BASED SOCIAL SUPPORTS & ADAPTATIONS TO THE SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM TO INCREASE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES IN CLEVELAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS

Education Access and Quality focuses on components of language, literacy, early development, and higher education attainment. Cleveland County (CC) has a high school (HS) graduation rate lower than the NC average. There are several factors influencing the number of students successfully graduating within four-years, including income disparities, the ease of transition into HS, and student mental health. Given the strong influence of mental health on student academic achievement, the High School Mental Health Program (HSMHP) proposes a requirement for all CC public HSs to have a ratio of 250 students to 1 counselor. The proposed nutrition program focuses on increasing participation in school breakfast to improve educational attainment by expanding the School Breakfast Program in CC HSs. The goals of the following policy and program aim to provide public CC HSs with the proper social and nutritional supports through targeted programs to increase HS graduation rates.Master of Public Healt

What Undergraduates in Biology Don\u27t Know About Plant Structure and Growth

We were interested to know what undergraduates in biology understand about plant structure and growth, and in particular what misconceptions they hold. To date, there has been no comprehensive analysis of what college undergraduates know about this topic, so we designed a study to address this deficiency. Students at two liberal arts colleges, two mid-sized universities (both public and private) and one research university were interviewed one-on-one. They were asked a series of open-ended questions addressing how plants grow taller, grow in diameter, move water and organics, produce leaves, etc. All students had at least one semester of either introductory college biology or introductory plant biology, and most had two. In our preliminary analysis of responses, we see the following trends. The most frequent misconception is that herbaceous tissues are supported entirely by cell walls; the role of water pressure is not comprehended. For some topics, students lack knowledge so completely that they do not even have misconceptions to hold. The mechanism of phloem transport, bark formation and fertilization are in this category. About a third of the interviewees did not know how plants increase in diameter, how leaves form, or how lateral roots form. We have collected data on the specific coursework completed by each student and will also report on correlations between knowledge levels, misconceptions and academic training. Our results should be of use to instructors of both introductory biology and introductory plant biology, as instructors can be more effective if they plan specific learning activities to address misconceptions or topics where student retention of knowledge is poor

素数集合上の絶対シンプレクティック構造と絶対ワイル代数

The purpose of this paper is to give the absolute mathematics for the prime set. Absolute mathematics was introduced by N.Kurokawa in order to solve the Riemann conjecture. One of the idea for absolute mathematics is the prime differential on the rational integer Z. We analyze all possible arithmetic generalizations of symplectic and contact structures on a prime set. There are two different types of structures according to the Lagrangian subspace and Legendrian subspace. Main result is that the prime set is characterized by the Lagrangian subspace of absolute symplectic space (T*P, w). We also define a notion of the absolute Weyl algebra

Education policy as an act of white supremacy: whiteness, critical race theory and education reform

The paper presents an empirical analysis of education policy in England that is informed by recent developments in US critical theory. In particular, I draw on ‘whiteness studies’ and the application of Critical Race Theory (CRT). These perspectives offer a new and radical way of conceptualising the role of racism in education. Although the US literature has paid little or no regard to issues outside North America, I argue that a similar understanding of racism (as a multifaceted, deeply embedded, often taken-for-granted aspect of power relations) lies at the heart of recent attempts to understand institutional racism in the UK. Having set out the conceptual terrain in the first half of the paper, I then apply this approach to recent changes in the English education system to reveal the central role accorded the defence (and extension) of race inequity. Finally, the paper touches on the question of racism and intentionality: although race inequity may not be a planned and deliberate goal of education policy neither is it accidental. The patterning of racial advantage and inequity is structured in domination and its continuation represents a form of tacit intentionality on the part of white powerholders and policy makers. It is in this sense that education policy is an act of white supremacy. Following others in the CRT tradition, therefore, the paper’s analysis concludes that the most dangerous form of ‘white supremacy’ is not the obvious and extreme fascistic posturing of small neonazi groups, but rather the taken-for-granted routine privileging of white interests that goes unremarked in the political mainstream

Development, validation, and pilot application of a high throughput molecular xenomonitoring assay to detect Schistosoma mansoni and other trematode species within Biomphalaria freshwater snail hosts

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by infection with parasitic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma that can lead to debilitating morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization recommend molecular xenomonitoring of Biomphalaria spp. freshwater snail intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni to identify highly focal intestinal schistosomiasis transmission sites and monitor disease transmission, particularly in low-endemicity areas. A standardised protocol to do this, however, is needed. Here, two previously published primer sets were selected to develop and validate a multiplex molecular xenomonitoring end-point PCR assay capable of detecting S. mansoni infections within individual Biomphalaria spp. missed by cercarial shedding. The assay proved highly sensitive and highly specific in detecting and amplifying S. mansoni DNA and also proved highly sensitive in detecting and amplifying non-S. mansoni trematode DNA. The optimised assay was then used to screen Biomphalaria spp. collected from a S. mansoni-endemic area for infection and successfully detected S. mansoni infections missed by cercarial shedding as well as infections with non-S. mansoni trematodes. The continued development and use of molecular xenomonitoring assays such as this will aid in improving disease control efforts, significantly reducing disease-related morbidities experienced by those in schistosomiasis-endemic areas

Uber den Einfluss der Phrenicusexairese auf die Magenfunktion. II. Mitteilung : Experimentelle Studien an Hunden mit Hilfe des Rontgenverfahren

Was den Einfluss der Phrenicusexairese auf die Magenfunktion, besonders Magenfunktionsveranderung direkt nach Phrenicusexairese mit Hilfe des Magenkurvenverfahrens anbelangt, hat Verfasser schon in der vorigen Mitteilung berichtet. Er hat weiternoch uber ihre Dauerresultate geforscht. Zur Untersuchung hat er das Rontgenverfahren angewandt, womit er die Bewegungs- und Passagezustande des Inhaltes beobachten konnte. Als Versuchstier hat er erwachsene kleine Hunde gebraucht. Die Resultate sind folgendermassen:- 1. Der Magen verandert seine Form durch den Hochstand infolge gelahmten Zwerchfells, d. h. bei der rechtseitigen Phrenicusexairese wird Pylorus nach oben gezogen und bei der linksseitigen nach links unten. 2. Der Magentonus sinkt deutlich bald nach der Operation ab und zeigt den Zustand von Dilatation und Atonie. Und er stellt sich allmahlich wieder her bis zur Norm und zwar bei einseitiger Exairese nach einigen Wochen, bei beiderseitiger nach einigen Monaten. 3. Die Entleerung des Mageninhalts wird gestort und es verzogert sich der Initialzeitpunkt, in dem der Inhalt den Pylorus passiert, und auch die vollige Entleerungszeit. Diese Storungen zeigen eine allmahliche Wiederherstellung und sie kommen mit der Peristaltik zum normalen erst nach einigen Wochen zuruck. 4. Auch zeigt das Duodenum die Herabsetzung des Tonus und Dilatatation und der Dunndarm zeigt schnelle Passage und schmale Rontgenbilder. (Autoreferat.

Climate change and infectious livestock diseases: The case of Rift Valley fever and tick-borne diseases

Climate change influences the occurrence and transmission of a wide range of livestock diseases through multiple pathways. Diseases caused by pathogens that spent part of their life cycle outside the host (e.g. in vectors or the environment) are more sensitive in this regard, compared to those caused by obligate pathogens. In this chapter, we use two well-studied vector-borne diseases—Rift Valley fever (RVF) and tick-borne diseases (TBDs)—as case studies to describe direct pathways through which climate change influences infectious disease-risk in East and southern Africa. The first case study demonstrates that changes in the distribution and frequency of above-normal precipitation increases the frequency of RVF epidemics. The second case study suggests that an increase in temperature would cause shifts in the spatial distribution of TBDs, with cooler and wetter areas expected to experience heightened risk with climate change. These diseases already cause severe losses in agricultural productivity, food security and socio-economic development wherever they occur, and an increase in their incidence or geographical coverage would intensify these losses. We further illustrate some of the control measures that can be used to manage these diseases and recommend that more research should be done to better understand the impacts of climate change on livestock diseases as well as on the effectiveness of the available intervention measures