YouTube or You Lose: Grand Challenges Canada Explores Whether Scientists Are Ready for Web-Based Grant Competitions

It is not hard to trace the influence of technology on the way we read the literature or give scientific presentations. Not so long ago, chemists used hard copies of Chemical Abstracts to find papers and sticks of chalk to deliver talks. Only over the past decade have computer presentations become the norm. In contrast, the way that grants are evaluated has remained relatively unchanged: scientists submit written proposals that are then evaluated by committees of scientists in the field. Might this process soon change as well? The not-for-profit organization Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) recently sponsored a competition in which researchers presented audacious ideas to attack problems related to global health (Figure 1). In its search for bold ideas from scientists, the GCC organization tested a bold idea as well: each proposal had to be accompanied by a 2-min-long video for public consumption on the Internet. Web users were encouraged not only to view these video summaries but to participate in the evaluation of the proposals by means of clicking on a “thumbs up” button (similar to the “like” buttons found on YouTube and Facebook). The votes from the public video were used by GCC to evaluate each applicant’s ability to “engage the public and increase awareness in the grand challenges facing global health today”.^1 The competition collected over 180,000 votes and over 100,000 unique online visits from 156 countries in a mere 4 weeks—staggering statistics for scientific videos. While each applicant also submitted a written version of the proposal, which was privately evaluated by “standard” peer-review, the public video feature was one of the first direct implementations of Web 2.0 technology (user-interactive sites and applications) to evaluate scientific proposals. The competition raises an important question: to what extent, if any, should Web 2.0 technology or other direct evaluation by the public be used to determine the outcome of scientific grant proposals

The nucleotide exchange factors of Hsp70 molecular chaperones.

Molecular chaperones of the Hsp70 family form an important hub in the cellular protein folding networks in bacteria and eukaryotes, connecting translation with the downstream machineries of protein folding and degradation. The Hsp70 folding cycle is driven by two types of cochaperones: J-domain proteins stimulate ATP hydrolysis by Hsp70, while nucleotide exchange factors (NEFs) promote replacement of Hsp70-bound ADP with ATP. Bacteria and organelles of bacterial origin have only one known NEF type for Hsp70, GrpE. In contrast, a large diversity of Hsp70 NEFs has been discovered in the eukaryotic cell. These NEFs belong to the Hsp110/Grp170, HspBP1/Sil1, and BAG domain protein families. In this short review we compare the structures and molecular mechanisms of nucleotide exchange factors for Hsp70 and discuss how these cochaperones contribute to protein folding and quality control in the cell

Effects of a β-andrenergic agonist on growth performance, body composition and nutrient retention in finishing pigs fed normal or low amounts of protein

In earlier studies with pigs the P-adrenergic agonist Ro 16·8714 ((3-AG) enhanced the efficiency of nitrogen (N) retention. Therefore effects of Ro 16·8714 were studied on growth rate, body composition, N, fat and energy retention in pigs fed isoenergetically, but given different amounts of protein (112 or 138 g/kg diet) without (groups LP and NP) or with 60 mg Ro 16·8714 per kg diet (groups LPP and NPP) from 60 to 100 kg live weight. Weight gain (898, 927, 855 and 810 g/day in NP, NPp, LP and LPp) decreased, whereas food: gain ratio (2·94, 2·82, 3·04 and 3·24 kg/kg in NP, NPP, LP and LPP) was increased by low protein intake (P 0·05) whereas the efficiency of energy retention was not influenced by Ro 16·8714 and protein intake. In conclusion, an adequate intake of protein is necessary for optimum expression of many, but not all, effects of the P-adrenergic agonist Ro 16·871

Exploring experiences of cancer care in Wales: a thematic analysis of free-text responses to the 2013 Wales Cancer Patient Experience Survey (WCPES)

Objectives To provide the first systematic analysis of a national (Wales) sample of free-text comments from patients with cancer, to determine emerging themes and insights regarding experiences of cancer care in Wales. Design Thematic analysis of free-text data from a population-based survey. Setting and participants Adult patients with a confirmed cancer diagnosis treated within a 3-month period during 2012 in the 7 health boards and 1 trust providing cancer care in Wales. Main outcome measures Free-text categorised by theme, coded as positive or negative, with ratios. Overarching themes are identified incorporating comment categories. Methods 4672 respondents (of n=7352 survey respondents) provided free-text comments. Data were coded using a multistage approach: (1) coding of comments into general categories (eg, nursing, surgery, etc), (2) coding of subcategories within main categories (eg, nursing care, nursing communication, etc), (3) cross-sectional analysis to identify themes cutting across categories, (4) mapping of categories/subcategories to corresponding closed questions in the Wales Cancer Patient Experience Survey (WCPES) data for comparison. Results Most free-text respondents (82%, n 3818) provided positive comments about their cancer care, with 49% (n=2313) giving a negative comment (ratio 0.6:1, negative-to-positive). 3172 respondents (67.9% of free-text respondents) provided a comment mapping to 1 of 4 overarching themes: communication (n=1673, 35.8% free-text respondents, a ratio of 1.0:1); waiting during the treatment and/or post-treatment phase (n=923, 19.8%, ratio 1.5:1); staffing and resource levels (n=671, 14.4% ratio 5.3:1); speed and quality of diagnostic care (n=374, 8.0%, ratio 1.5:1). Within these areas, constituent subthemes are discussed. Conclusions This study presents specific areas of concern for patients with cancer, and reveals a number of themes present across the cancer journey. While the majority of comments were positive, analysis reveals concerns shared by significant numbers of respondents. Timely communication can help to manage these anxieties, even where delays or difficulties in treatment may be encountered

Patterned Paper as a Template for the Delivery of Reactants in the Fabrication of Planar Materials

This account reviews the use of templates, fabricated by patterning paper, for the delivery of aqueous solutions of reactants (predominantly, ions) in the preparation of structured, thin materials (e.g., films of ionotropic hydrogels). In these methods, a patterned sheet of paper transfers an aqueous solution of reagent to a second phase—either solid or liquid—brought into contact with the template; this process can form solid structures with thicknesses that are typically ≤1.5 mm. The shape of the template and the pattern of a hydrophobic barrier on the paper control the shape of the product, in its plane, by restricting the delivery of the reagent in two dimensions. The concentration of the reagents, and the duration that the template remains in contact with the second phase, control growth in the third dimension (i.e., thickness). The method is especially useful in fabricating shaped films of ionotropic hydrogels (e.g., calcium alginate ) by controlling the delivery of solutions of multivalent cations to solutions of anionic polymers. The templates can also be used to direct reactions that generate patterns of solid precipitates within sheets of paper. This review examines applications of the method for: (i) patterning bacteria in two dimensions within a hydrogel film, (ii) manipulating hydrogel films and sheets of paper magnetically, and (iii) generating dynamic 3-D structures (e.g., a cylinder of rising bubbles of O$_2$) from sheets of paper with 2-D patterns of a catalyst (e.g., Pd$^0$) immersed in appropriate reagents (e.g., 1% H$_2$O$_2$ in water).Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Electron propagation in crossed magnetic and electric fields

Laser-atom interaction can be an efficient mechanism for the production of coherent electrons. We analyze the dynamics of monoenergetic electrons in the presence of uniform, perpendicular magnetic and electric fields. The Green function technique is used to derive analytic results for the field--induced quantum mechanical drift motion of i) single electrons and ii) a dilute Fermi gas of electrons. The method yields the drift current and, at the same time it allows us to quantitatively establish the broadening of the (magnetic) Landau levels due to the electric field: Level number k is split into k+1 sublevels that render the $k$th oscillator eigenstate in energy space. Adjacent Landau levels will overlap if the electric field exceeds a critical strength. Our observations are relevant for quantum Hall configurations whenever electric field effects should be taken into account.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, submitte