Challenging energy engineering undergraduates with diverse perspectives on nuclear power

As part of an introductory energy engineering undergraduate module at University College Cork, student presentations on a zero-carbon energy plan for Ireland have shown a high preference for nuclear energy, despite a complete absence of nuclear energy from the same module curriculum. Nuclear power has never been built or generated in Ireland, is currently illegal, and faces high levels of public opposition. The origins of a high preference for nuclear energy among undergraduate student engineers is therefore unclear. In response to this high preference for, but critically unengaged view of nuclear power, the authors developed a participatory learning activity for first year undergraduate engineering students to engage with a range of maximally different perspectives on nuclear power. Four different perspectives on whether Ireland needs nuclear power were presented to this year’s class: definitely yes; definitely no; maybe yes; maybe no. These perspectives involved a number of different framings of nuclear power and ranged across a spectrum from techno-economic to socio-technical. They emphasised to a greater or lesser degree issues around risk, cost, system impacts, timing, social acceptability, and sustainability. The activity took place in a room divided into four quadrants with each quadrant representing one of the four different perspectives on nuclear power. At the start of activity, students were invited to go to the quadrant that best represented their initial views. Each perspective on nuclear power was then delivered in a short expert presentation by one of the co- authors. Throughout these presentations, students were invited to remain in or move from their quadrant as they were persuaded or not by the arguments advanced. At the start of the activity, an overwhelming majority (96%) of the students indicated a yes preference with the majority of these being maybe yes (79%); at the end of the debate the total yes share had significantly decreased (to 54%), with the largest share of the lost vote moving to the maybe no category which finished at 36% (having started at 0%). Overall, there was a greater distribution of students across all four categories than at the start. Evaluations on the activity format were largely positive. Student reasons for changing their views were mostly socio-technical points specific to Ireland that included the electricity system, overall energy needs, costs and expert availability. Closing reflections introduced the idea of a wicked problem and highlighted the importance of values to questions such as “Should Ireland Go Nuclear”, i.e. avoiding an exclusively narrow scientific framing

Anti-HTLV antibody profiling reveals an antibody signature for HTLV-I-Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HTLV-I is the causal agent of adult T cell leukemia (ATLL) and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Biomarkers are needed to diagnose and/or predict patients who are at risk for HAM/TSP or ATLL. Therefore, we investigated using luciferase immunoprecipitation technology (LIPS) antibody responses to seven HTLV-I proteins in non-infected controls, asymptomatic HTLV-I-carriers, ATLL and HAM/TSP sera samples. Antibody profiles were correlated with viral load and examined in longitudinal samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Anti-GAG antibody titers detected by LIPS differentiated HTLV-infected subjects from uninfected controls with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity, but did not differ between HTLV-I infected subgroups. However, anti-Env antibody titers were over 4-fold higher in HAM/TSP compared to both asymptomatic HTLV-I (<it>P </it>< 0.0001) and ATLL patients (<it>P </it>< 0.0005). Anti-Env antibody titers above 100,000 LU had 75% positive predictive value and 79% negative predictive value for identifying the HAM/TSP sub-type. Anti-Tax antibody titers were also higher (<it>P </it>< 0.0005) in the HAM/TSP compared to the asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers. Proviral load correlated with anti-Env antibodies in asymptomatic carriers (<it>R </it>= 0.76), but not in HAM/TSP.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These studies indicate that anti-HTLV-I antibody responses detected by LIPS are useful for diagnosis and suggest that elevated anti-Env antibodies are a common feature found in HAM/TSP patients.</p

A Four-Antigen Mixture for Rapid Assessment of Onchocerca volvulus Infection

Caused by the filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus, onchocerciasis is a neglected tropical disease associated with blindness and severe dermatitis. Available diagnostic methods are either invasive, require hours or days to perform, and/or need sophisticated equipment to be conducted. Thus, there is an urgent need for simple and rapid technologies for the specific diagnosis of Onchocerca volvulus infection. Here we investigated whether luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) can produce a more rapid and specific test for diagnosis of O. volvulus infection. Using modified versions of previously identified Onchocerca-specific antigens, LIPS tests detected antibodies to all four O. volvulus antigens and easily distinguished the O. volvulus-infected samples from uninfected samples. We also tested these four different antigens in a simpler format as a combined mixture and distinguished 100% of the confirmed cases from the uninfected controls. A rapid 15-minute version of this mixture test (QLIPS) also allowed distinction of 100% of the cases from those uninfected and performed even better in identifying Onchocerca from other cross-reactive parasitic infections. This study suggests that this rapid LIPS test (QLIPS) has the potential to be used in point-of-care detection of onchocerciasis and thereby may provide a new tool for diagnosis and the monitoring of transmission control measures

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Patient population for serologic studies.

*<p>Negative for daytime microfilariae of <i>Loa loa</i> and negative for <i>W. bancrofti</i> circulating filarial antigen.</p

Correlation of antibody titers between the four <i>Ov</i> antigens with the 38 <i>Ov</i>-infected sera.

*<p><i>P</i><0.05 (significant).</p

Heat map representation of patient antibody profiles to the 4 <i>Ov</i> antigens.

<p>The antibody levels for each serum were log₁₀ transformed and then the levels were color-coded as indicated by the log₁₀ scale on the left, in which signal intensities range from red to green indicating high (red) and low (green) titers. The samples were rank ordered from highest to lowest based on the sum of the antibody titers to the 4 antigen panel. The samples on the left are from uninfected, while the samples on the right are <i>Ov</i>-infected sera.</p

A four <i>Ov</i> antigen panel used in the standard 2 hour or QLIPS format shows 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity.

<p>Each symbol represents individual samples from the 38 <i>Ov</i>-infected, 90 <i>Wb</i>, 90 <i>Ll</i>, 27 <i>Ss</i>, 72 control uninfected samples and 12 other control patients. These LIPS tests were either evaluated as a mixture in the standard format (A) or with QLIPS (B). As shown, both tests showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity in distinguishing the uninfected from the <i>Ov</i>-infected sera. The diagnostic performance related to cross-reactivity with other filarial infections was also evaluated. As described in the text, the long solid line represents the cut-off level corresponding to 100% sensitivity, while the long stippled line corresponds to the cut-off for 100% specificity with sera from the <i>Wb</i> cohort.</p

Sensitivity, specificity, and odds ratio for the four-antigen mixture determined by LIPS and QLIPS.

<p>Sensitivity, specificity, and odds ratio for the four-antigen mixture determined by LIPS and QLIPS.</p

LIPS detection of antibodies to 4 different <i>Ov</i> antigens.

<p>Each symbol represents individual samples from the 38 <i>Ov</i>-infected, 90 <i>Wb</i>, 90 <i>Ll</i>, 27 <i>Ss</i>, 72 control uninfected samples and 12 other control patients. Antibody levels in LU are plotted on the Y-axis using a log₁₀ scale and short solid horizontal lines indicate the geometric mean titer (GMT) for each antibody per group. The diagnostic performance related to cross-reactivity with other filarial infections was also evaluated. As described in the text, the long solid line represents the cut-off level corresponding to 100% sensitivity, while the long stippled line corresponds to the cut-off for 100% specificity with sera from the <i>Wb</i> cohort.</p