Emergence of active nematic behaviour in monolayers of isotropic cells

There is now growing evidence of the emergence and biological functionality of liquid crystal features, including nematic order and topological defects, in cellular tissues. However, how such features that intrinsically rely on particle elongation, emerge in monolayers of cells with isotropic shapes is an outstanding question. In this article we present a minimal model of cellular monolayers based on cell deformation and force transmission at the cell-cell interface that explains the formation of topological defects and captures the flow-field and stress patterns around them. By including mechanical properties at the individual cell level, we further show that the instability that drives the formation of topological defects and leads to active turbulence, emerges from a feedback between shape deformation and active driving. The model allows us to suggest new explanations for experimental observations in tissue mechanics, and to propose designs for future experiments

The impact of video as a self-reflective tool for improvement of teacher feedback practices

Teacher reflection on instructional practices can improve performance and positively influence student achievement. This qualitative quasi-ethnographic study investigated the impact of self-tracking video technology as a reflective tool for improvement of teacher feedback in a specialist primary classroom. Video provided observational data which was analysed using a checklist and researcher and reviewer annotations. The study concluded that the teacher used non-specific feedback strategies more than specific-feedback to respond to behavioural, engagement and learning issues. Thus, context was identified as an important determinant of effectiveness in feedback. The video technology features enhanced the teacher’s reflection and strengthened the collaborative reflective processes

In the shadows and folds

In the shadows and folds is the result of a mental scavenger hunt that I began this past year, to uncover myself and find what is hidden in my crevices. It was spurred by my fear of memory loss which had grown to such a size that it sat visible in the back of my mind unaddressed for some time. The reason for this fear is not large but it feels monumental. I have been existing in various states of sadness and disconnect, which have acted like a thick blanket over my mind. This blanket is simultaneously protective and damaging, obscuring parts of the past both distant and recent. Without these points of reference I have felt a distancing from myself. I’ve been left wondering what I feel like. In the hopes of rediscovering my personhood I began to search for pieces within memories. Not fully trusting myself to accurately recall moments, I focused on what was nostalgic and rooted in emotion. Each piece is a collection of moments and feelings revolving around a specific memory or frame of thought. Like a puzzle, they fit together physically and ideologically, contributing pieces to the larger framework which is the memory of a personality. Found fabrics, stenciled text and playful imagery aim to capture these fleeting memories and feelings. Putting this project together has brought up questions. How do we cope with things that we do not fully understand? What does it feel like to grieve the memory of something you cannot remember (to grieve memory itself)? Where do we find ourselves after being immersed in both the present and past psyche? Have we learned anything valuable or are we even more lost? Finding clear-cut answers to these questions is difficult and not the goal of this project. While painful, the opportunity to commemorate these moments has allowed me to process, grieve and laugh at the reality of my current state. The hope that it would resonate on some level with others has allowed me to open myself

The impact of video as a self-reflective tool for improvement of teacher feedback practices

Teacher reflection on instructional practices can improve performance and positively influence student achievement. This qualitative quasi-ethnographic study investigated the impact of self-tracking video technology as a reflective tool for improvement of teacher feedback in a specialist primary classroom. Video provided observational data which was analysed using a checklist and researcher and reviewer annotations. The study concluded that the teacher used non-specific feedback strategies more than specific-feedback to respond to behavioural, engagement and learning issues. Thus, context was identified as an important determinant of effectiveness in feedback. The video technology features enhanced the teacher’s reflection and strengthened the collaborative reflective processes

Active Inter-cellular Forces in Collective Cell Motility

The collective behaviour of confluent cell sheets is strongly influenced both by polar forces, arising through cytoskeletal propulsion and by active inter-cellular forces, which are mediated by interactions across cell-cell junctions. We use a phase-field model to explore the interplay between these two contributions and compare the dynamics of a cell sheet when the polarity of the cells aligns to (i) their main axis of elongation, (ii) their velocity, and (iii) when the polarity direction executes a persistent random walk.In all three cases, we observe a sharp transition from a jammed state (where cell rearrangements are strongly suppressed) to a liquid state (where the cells can move freely relative to each other) when either the polar or the inter-cellular forces are increased. In addition, for case (ii) only, we observe an additional dynamical state, flocking (solid or liquid), where the majority of the cells move in the same direction. The flocking state is seen for strong polar forces, but is destroyed as the strength of the inter-cellular activity is increased.Comment: 15 pages,22 figure

Spiritual Well-being, Faith, Hope, Anxiety and Loneliness in Oncology Patients: A Descriptive Correlational Study

Purpose: To test theorized relationships in the newly developed Faith-Hope-Love Model of Spiritual Wellness (FHLMSW). The research questions were: 1) do measures of faith, hope and love correlate with or predict spirituality as defined by FHLMSW in a palliative care population; and 2) do relationships exist between measures of spirituality and physical symptoms and distress among the same palliative care population. Patients and Methods: This was a descriptive correlational study, which included 21 participants with a stage III or IV cancer diagnosis that were receiving palliative care at a community oncology practice, that took place between January 2015 to March 2015. Each participant completed a 46-item survey that measured five concepts: spiritual well-being (SWB), hope, faith, anxiety, and loneliness. Results: Hope and faith were the best predictors of SWB, accounting for 77.3% and 81% of the variance respectively, and showed strong correlations with SWB (R = .882, p = .000, equal values). Anxiety (fear) negatively correlated with SWB (R = -.523, p = .026). The subscales of the loneliness measure negatively correlated with SWB (p \u3e .10) with the strongest in the Romantic subscale (R = .123). Conclusion: This is the first study where spiritual needs were conceptually and operationally defined, measured, and correlated with each other and with a reliable and valid measure of SWB. Relevance to clinical practice: Palliative care patients at the end of life expect nurses to provide spiritual care. Researchers have reported multifaceted benefits associated with support of spiritual needs. If the FHLMSW is found to be valid, this may help nurses provide more effective spiritual care at the end of life

ReImagining Individuals’ Digital Mindset: Toward A Theoretical Synthesis

The idea that individuals can have a digital mindset has gained popularity against the backdrop of radical shifts toward digital transformation and the future of work. Despite the burgeoning scholarly interest across disciplines, efforts to conceptualize digital mindset remain fragmented so far. This paper starts a discourse about unresolved ontological assumptions and theoretical inconsistencies. We address the prevailing knowledge fragmentation by synthesizing three research streams on individuals’ affect, behaviors, and cognitions in the context of digital transformation and revealing their underlying commonalities. We propose that two beliefs jointly form the integrative foundation of individuals’ digital mindset: how individuals think about and perceive (a) digital technologies (as opportunity or threat) and (b) their own abilities (as malleable or fixed) in the context of digital transformation. Our theoretical synthesis lays the groundwork for future research to work toward an inter-nomological network and a more holistic understanding of individuals’ digital mindset

MICROBIAL CATALYSIS OF METHANE FROM CARBON DIOXIDE The Future of Renewable Energy is Inside You

This work was funded by an award from the Lettinga FoundationThe world has energy problems, including insufficient sustainable sources, and problems associated with the waste from energy use, including emissions of greenhouse gases. The ideal solution is a sustainable energy source with no subsequent waste. As it happens, Nature has offered a means to our ideal end: microbes that can turn waste into energy. However, Nature’s solution was not custom made for the scale of humans’ problems; we cannot apply microbe-mediated waste to energy on a large enough scale to eliminate our leftovers. Thus we must apply our scientific skill to elucidate the means with which to direct microbes to create resources in tandem with our waste. The goal of this work was the production of reduced hydrocarbon fuels, specifically methane, from carbon dioxide (CO2) in a microbial fuel cell using the microbes naturally present in wastewater and to evaluate system parameters for continuous flow operation. The reaction of interest was the reduction of CO2 to CH4, performed by microbial catalysts on the cathode. The hypothesis was that if one provides electrons and CO2 then one could control methane production by promoting growth of the microbes. The approach was to build an MFC to investigate what happens with adjustments to the inputs, e.g. amount of electrons, carbon source, amount of carbon or frequency of carbon addition. The microbial catalysis of methane production would be most efficient with microbes capable of extracellular electron transfer. The specific factor to examine then was the use of hydrogen as an electron shuttle by (1) examining the relationship between methane production and the availability of electrons as hydrogen, (2) the consumption of CO2 below the hydrogen evolution point, (3) the behaviour of the microbes to lower the hydrogen evolution point and continue to preferentially produce methane or other fuels leading to methane. It was found that the microbial community naturally present in the inoculum wastewater was capable of autotrophic methanogenesis in the presence of hydrogen, homoacetogenesis in concert with the production of other VFAs and methanogenesis in response to the sufficient presence of VFAs. The change in rate of methanogenesis before and after hydrogen evolution suggests the biofilm was successfully absorbing all hydrogen shuttles or directly transferring electrons. In support of the data, the hydrogen overpotential was significantly reduced from the un-colonized overpotential but still remained above the theoretical hydrogen evolution level. The conclusion, barring further microbe analysis, was that methanogens were not forming a direct biofilm, but instead remained biofilm-associated inside the reactor volume and outside the reactor as a planktonic community in the sampling bottle. Coulombic efficiencies for mixed VFA products by autotrophic processes (including homoacetogenesis) ranged from 2% to 90% given the operating conditions. Coulombic efficiencies for methanogenesis ranged from 0% to 60% during production. Using a sequencing batch reactor method, 98% of the mixed VFA products could be converted to methane. Of particular interest was the result that the rate of methanogenesis could also be minimized using this system in a continuous flow mode by controlling the flux.The Lettinga Foundation, Project Neptune in the EU, The Advanced Water Management Center at the University of Queensland in AustraliaA two-year embargo was granted for this item

Integrated psychological therapy: effectiveness in schizophrenia inpatient settings related to patients' age

Elderly people with schizophrenia often suffer from cognitive impairments, which affect their social functioning. Today, only a few therapy approaches for middle-aged and older patients are available. The Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT) combines neurocognitive and social cognitive interventions with social skills approaches. The aim of this study was to evaluate (1) whether IPT is effective in younger patients (age < 40 years) and middle-aged patients (age ≥ 40 years) and (2) whether control conditions (treatment as usual or unspecific group activities) reveal some change in outcome depending on age