Molecular Identification and Functional Characteristics of Peptide Transporter 1 (PEPT1) in the Bonnethead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo)

Many elasmobranchs are considered top predators with worldwide distribution, and in general these fish play an important role in the transfer of energy from the lower to the upper trophic levels within the marine ecosystem. Despite this, little research has been done regarding the rates of prey ingestion, digestion, and the processes of energy and nutrient absorption. Specifically understudied is enzymatic digestion within the intestinal brush border, which functions to break down macromolecules into smaller subunits for luminal absorption across the gastrointestinal epithelium. Given their carnivorous diet, the present study sought to expand knowledge on nutrient intake in elasmobranchs by focusing on the uptake of products of protein metabolism. To accomplish this, sequence encoding Peptide Transporter 1 (PepT1), a protein found within the brush border membrane (BBM) of higher vertebrates that is responsible for the translocation and absorption of small peptides released during digestion by luminal and membrane-bound proteases, was molecularly identified in the bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo) using degenerate primers based on conserved portions of known PEPT1 sequences from other vertebrates. Sequence encoding Peptide Transporter 2 (PepT2) was also isolated from the S. tiburo scroll valve intestine using the same methodology. PepT1 was then localized using immunocytochemistry with rabbit polyclonal anti-rat PEPT1 in the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, scroll valve intestine, rectum, and pancreas. Vesicle studies were used to identify the apparent affinity of the transporter, and to quantify the rate of uptake by its H+-dependent cotransporter properties, using 3H-glycylsarcosine as a model dipeptide. The results of this study provide insight into the rate and properties of food passage within S. tiburo, and can lead to future work on topics such as physiological regulation of protein metabolism and absorption and how it may vary in elasmobranchs that exhibit different feeding strategies

Assessing Specificity of Indazole Derivatives as Inhibitors to CYP2E1

Metabolism of drugs in the human body can yield both desirable and undesirable results. Some of these side-effects are due to drug-drug interactions, drug-diet interactions, or lack of drug specificity. The enzymes that drugs attack are structurally selective and complex; therefore, many drugs are very general in structure and could possibly react with a variety of enzymes. Indazole has been used as a backbone for several drugs as it has the general structure that may react with most P450s. To determine a derivative, or a group of derivatives, of indazole that may be reactive only with cytochrome P450 2El (CYP2El), several indazole derivatives were employed as inhibitors of various P450s in enzyme­substrate reactions for IC50 assays. We hypothesize that the polarity and steric bulk of substituents to indazole will control the affinity and selectivity of this class of molecules toward P450s, especially CYP2El. We developed IC50 assays that indicated the effectiveness of the inhibitors in relation to indazole itself. These findings will provide insight into (1) the effects of substituents to the indazole ring on affinity toward CYP2E 1, and (2) the structural specificity of CYP2El

Aiton Court: Relocating Conservation between Poverty and Modern Idealism

Aiton Court, in Johannesburg, is a case study in how heritage and economics clash in economically constrained cities. This iconic and formally innovative Modern apartment block from 1937 is located in an area where the income levels of tenants are now very low. Although the building is protected by legislation, the viability of its restoration is being further tested by a rent boycott. The article covers the building’s history, and questions how to approach its conservation differently, given the strong demand for housing at a cost level that would be excluded by purely market–led gentrification. We propose that locating conservation strategies in relation to the building’s history and to other subsidies aimed at the public good may provide other routes to preserving Aiton Court

Aiton Court: Relocating Conservation between Poverty and Modern Idealism

Aiton Court, in Johannesburg, is a case study in how heritage and economics clash in economically constrained cities. This iconic and formally innovative Modern apartment block from 1937 is located in an area where the income levels of tenants are now very low. Although the building is protected by legislation, the viability of its restoration is being further tested by a rent boycott. The article covers the building’s history, and questions how to approach its conservation differently, given the strong demand for housing at a cost level that would be excluded by purely market–led gentrification. We propose that locating conservation strategies in relation to the building’s history and to other subsidies aimed at the public good may provide other routes to preserving Aiton Court

Sheperd Community Campgrounds Cabin

Students will design a small cabin building that will fit into the proposed camp near Columbus Ohio currently under consideration by Shepherd Church of the Nazarene in Gahanna Ohio. The design will include architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical design. Substantial completion of design documents is required

Leveraging community-based innovations during COVID-19 to strengthen the Haitian school system

War, natural disasters, and other emergencies regularly disrupt children’s education in developing countries. The digital divide has long since affected low-resource and rural schools’ responses to crises that necessitate distance learning, often excluding children in remote and rural parts of countries from internet-dependent online learning programmes. In no place is this truer than in Haiti where, prior to August 2020, political unrest combined with the COVID-19 pandemic caused learners to miss 60% of their scheduled days in the 2019–2020 school year with only 45% of Haitian households having access to a power source, let alone internet or a smart device, that would enable them to participate in online learning. This study presents findings from exploratory research on the readiness of the Haitian education system to withstand crises and the impact of COVID-19 on the system and its learners. Through analyses of secondary data and semi-structured interviews with a variety of education stakeholders, the research reveals gaps in the system’s readiness; identifies key challenges prompted by school closures in Haiti and shares a handful of innovative responses developed to respond to these challenges. Findings indicate that the COVID-19 health crisis has not created the need for educational reform in Haiti, but rather, by exacerbating pre-existing gaps and frailties within the system, the pandemic has heightened the urgency with which educational reform must be pursued. Salient gaps include a significant digital divide, financial instability and inattention to learning adjacent needs such as nutrition and psychosocial health for parents and children alike. While this initial research has exposed a series of significant gaps and inequalities in the Haitian education system, moving forward, more comprehensive research is needed to determine how such inequalities can be most effectively addressed. Although the Haitian government has a key role to play in addressing these inequalities, findings from this study reveal that governmental responses to COVID-19 school closures and broader digital learning inequalities, were ineffective in their reach and did not reflect the majority of Haitian learners and their families’ realities. Findings also identify numerous innovations and assets on the part of non-governmental actors striving to address these gaps. However, these mechanisms were limited in scope and lacked the coordination among one another and the government that would be required to have scalable or measurable impact. Therefore, more research is needed to determine what the most successful mechanisms for addressing inequalities in the Haitian education system are and how they can be most effectively leveraged and scaled to create a more resilient education system moving forward