Keepers of the vision : students\u27 perceptions of themselves as creators and changers.

This qualitative study undertook an exploration into the connections between creativity and change/transformation. Its purpose was to begin to understand how creativity could be used as a tool for empowerment, liberation, and transformation, and how creative techniques could be incorporated into educational efforts. Participants were students who were enrolled in an undergraduate course designed and taught by the researcher, entitled Creativity and Change. Using their coursework and interviews, this research explored how these student/participants perceived of themselves as creative individuals and as persons capable of making change in their lives and in the world, how they connected the two concepts of creativity and change, and how they utilized creative processes in envisioning change strategies. This study broke ground in two areas of creativity research: (1) looking at the effects and benefits of a creativity class from the perspective of the students who were enrolled in it, and (2) expanding on the research on climate for creativity by connecting creativity to personal and social change efforts, again, from the perspective of students. The results of this study are a beginning to better understanding the multiple aspects of creativity--expression, process, products--and their importance ta self-development, empowerment, and liberation in education. The responses of the students who participated in this study were encouraging in supporting the premise that there are multiple connections between creativity and change. They demonstrated the effects of creativity in increasing self-knowledge and self-esteem, making connections between people, envisioning solutions to social problems, expanding perceptions to incorporate different perspectives and viewpoints, breaking boundaries, and taking the risks that transformation demands. These student/participants demonstrated, through the discovery of their own creative, capable selves, a sense of empowerment arising from the knowledge that I CAN. Being able to think outside of conventional structures and paradigms, challenging dualistic thought, and incorporating holistic teaching and learning strategies are some of the strengths and gifts of creativity. This study has shown that the openness and imagination of creative thought and behavior can become a tool to dismantle the injustices of the world and create new, transformative paradigms

Inducible Germline IgMs Bridge Trypanosome Lytic Factor Assembly and Parasite Recognition

Acknowledgments This work was supported by NSF Bread award IOS-1249166 and Hunter College (J.R.); CUNY Science Scholarship (J.V.); Hunter College HHMI UGRAD Science Education grant 52007535 (E.H.); NIH/NIAID award AI085973 (N.P.); Wellcome Trust award 082786 (J.S.). We thank George Cross and Ana Rodriguez for the parasite lines and VSG preparations used in this study.Peer reviewedPostprin

N-oleoyldopamine, a novel endogenous capsaicin-like lipid that produces hyperalgesia.

N-Arachidonoyldopamine (NADA) was recently identified as an endogenous ligand for the vanilloid type 1 receptor (VR1). Further analysis of the bovine striatal extract from which NADA was isolated indicated the existence of substances corresponding in molecular mass to N-oleoyldopamine (OLDA), N-palmitoyldopamine (PALDA), and N-stearoyldopamine (STEARDA). Quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometric analysis of bovine striatal extracts revealed the existence of OLDA, PALDA, and STEARDA as endogenous compounds in the mammalian brain. PALDA and STEARDA failed to affect calcium influx in VR1-transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells or paw withdrawal latencies from a radiant heat source, and there was no evidence of spontaneous pain behavior. By contrast, OLDA induced calcium influx (EC(50) = 36 nm), reduced the latency of paw withdrawal from a radiant heat source in a dose-dependent manner (EC(50) = 0.72 microg), and produced nocifensive behavior. These effects were blocked by co-administration of the VR1 antagonist iodo-resiniferatoxin (10 nm for HEK cells and 1 microg/50 micro;l for pain behavior). These findings demonstrate the existence of an endogenous compound in the brain that is similar to capsaicin and NADA in its chemical structure and activity on VR1. Unlike NADA, OLDA was only a weak ligand for rat CB1 receptors; but like NADA, it was recognized by the anandamide membrane transporter while being a poor substrate for fatty-acid amide hydrolase. Analysis of the activity of six additional synthetic and potentially endogenous N-acyldopamine indicated the requirement of a long unsaturated fatty acid chain for an optimal functional interaction with VR1 receptors

Identification of a New Class of Molecules, the Arachidonyl Amino Acids, and Characterization of One Member That Inhibits Pain

In mammals, specific lipids and amino acids serve as crucial signaling molecules. In bacteria, conjugates of lipids and amino acids (referred to as lipoamino acids) have been identified and found to possess biological activity. Here, we report that mammals also produce lipoamino acids, specifically the arachidonyl amino acids. We show that the conjugate of arachidonic acid and glycine (N-arachidonylglycine (NAGly)) is present in bovine and rat brain as well as other tissues and that it suppresses tonic inflammatory pain. The biosynthesis of NAGly and its degradation by the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase can be observed in rat brain tissue. In addition to NAGly, bovine brain produces at least two other arachidonyl amino acids: N-arachidonyl gamma-aminobutyric acid (NAGABA) and N-arachidonylalanine. Like NAGly, NAGABA inhibits pain. These findings open the door to the identification of other members of this new class of biomolecules, which may be integral to pain regulation and a variety of functions in mammals

Inventory control for point-of-use locations in hospitals

Most inventory management systems at hospital departments are characterised by lost sales, periodic reviews with short lead times, and limited storage capacity. We develop two types of exact models that deal with all these characteristics. In a capacity model, the service level is maximised subject to a capacity restriction, and in a service model the required capacity is minimised subject to a service level restriction. We also formulate approximation models applicable for any lost-sales inventory system (cost objective, no lead time restrictions etc). For the capacity model, we develop a simple inventory rule to set the reorder levels and order quantities. Numerical results for this inventory rule show an average deviation of 1% from the optimal service levels. We also embed the single-item models in a multi-item system. Furthermore, we compare the performance of fixed order size replenishment policies and (R, s, S) policies

Strategies for fitting nonlinear ecological models in R, AD Model Builder, and BUGS

Summary: 1. Ecologists often use nonlinear fitting techniques to estimate the parameters of complex ecological models, with attendant frustration. This paper compares three open-source model fitting tools and discusses general strategies for defining and fitting models. 2. R is convenient and (relatively) easy to learn, AD Model Builder is fast and robust but comes with a steep learning curve, while BUGS provides the greatest flexibility at the price of speed. 3. Our model-fitting suggestions range from general cultural advice (where possible, use the tools and models that are most common in your subfield) to specific suggestions about how to change the mathematical description of models to make them more amenable to parameter estimation. 4. A companion web site (https://groups.nceas.ucsb.edu/nonlinear-modeling/projects) presents detailed examples of application of the three tools to a variety of typical ecological estimation problems; each example links both to a detailed project report and to full source code and data

Brand Identity and Online Self-Customisation Usefulness Perception

Online self-customisation (OSC) enables customers to tailor their preferences to certain product features via a brand-hosted online platform. Recent literature has given increasing attention to how consumers value OSC. However, extant research is characterised by a scarcity of understanding the effects of brand identity and individual differences on consumer responses to OSC. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of trust and the moderating role of need for uniqueness on the effects of brand identity prestige and brand identity similarity on consumer perceived usefulness of OSC. A field survey, through mall intercept, was conducted to test this conceptual framework. Our findings advance this field by finding that, not only the brand identity and consumer need for uniqueness, but also the interaction between them may affect consumers’ evaluation of OSC

Models for assessing local-scale co-abundance of animal species while accounting for differential detectability and varied responses to the environment

We developed a new modeling framework to assess how the local abundance of one species influences the local abundance of a potential competitor while explicitly accounting for differential responses to environmental conditions. Our models also incorporate imperfect detection as well as abundance estimation error for both species. As a case study, we applied the model to four pairs of mammal species in Borneo, surveyed by extensive and spatially widespread camera trapping. We detected different responses to elevation gradients within civet, macaque, and muntjac deer species pairs. Muntjac and porcupine species varied in their response to terrain ruggedness, and the two muntjac responded different to river proximity. Bornean endemic species of civet and muntjac were more sensitive than their widespread counterparts to habitat disturbance (selective logging). Local abundance within several species pairs was positively correlated, but this is likely due to the species having similar responses to (unmodeled) environmental conditions or resources rather than representing facilitation. After accounting for environment and correcting for false absences in detection, negative correlations in local abundance appear rare in tropical mammals. Direct competition may be weak in these species, possibly because the ‘ghost of competition past’ or habitat filtering have already driven separation of the species in niche space. The analytical framework presented here could increase basic understanding of how ecological interactions shape patterns of abundance across the landscape for a range of taxa, and also provide a powerful tool for forecasting the impacts of global change. © 2017 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservatio

Application of cerium chloride to improve the acid resistance of dentine

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cerium chloride, cerium chloride/fluoride and fluoride application on calcium release during erosion of treated dentine. METHODS: Forty dentine samples were prepared from human premolars and randomly assigned to four groups (1-4). Samples were treated twice a day for 5 days, 30s each, with the following solutions: group 1 placebo, group 2 fluoride (Elmex fluid), group 3 cerium chloride and group 4 combined fluoride and cerium chloride. For the determination of acid resistance, the samples were consecutively eroded six times for 5 min with lactic acid (pH 3.0) and the calcium release in the acid was determined. Furthermore, six additional samples per group were prepared and used for EDS analysis. SEM pictures of these samples of each group were also captured. RESULTS: Samples of group 1 presented the highest calcium release when compared with the samples of groups 2-4. The highest acid resistance was observed for group 2. Calcium release in group 3 was similar to that of group 4 for the first two erosive attacks, after which calcium release in group 4 was lower than that of group 3. Generally, the SEM pictures showed a surface coating for groups 2-4. No deposits were observed in group 1. CONCLUSION: Although fluoride showed the best protective effect, cerium chloride was also able to reduce the acid susceptibility of dentine significantly, which merits further investigation