Foresight and action learning supporting transition: An account of practice

Integrating foresight into corporations has proved to be challenging. This account of practice reports on the introduction of futures and foresight (FF) teaching content into an executive Masters programme. The FF contentwas further linked to and provided a background for action learning sets. The purpose was to identify how introducing distant time horizons would help participants to adapt and change their perspectives in problem solving and professional development. The report describes how FF was incorporated across the programme and used to develop insightful conversations in the action learning sets. Citing two case examples, the authors reflect on how participants responded to these new elements and offer insights into the value of introducing FF as an interdisciplinary element in a programme

Comparative Genome Analysis of Filamentous Fungi Reveals Gene Family Expansions Associated with Fungal Pathogenesis

Fungi and oomycetes are the causal agents of many of the most serious diseases of plants. Here we report a detailed comparative analysis of the genome sequences of thirty-six species of fungi and oomycetes, including seven plant pathogenic species, that aims to explore the common genetic features associated with plant disease-causing species. The predicted translational products of each genome have been clustered into groups of potential orthologues using Markov Chain Clustering and the data integrated into the e-Fungi object-oriented data warehouse (http://www.e-fungi.org.uk/). Analysis of the species distribution of members of these clusters has identified proteins that are specific to filamentous fungal species and a group of proteins found only in plant pathogens. By comparing the gene inventories of filamentous, ascomycetous phytopathogenic and free-living species of fungi, we have identified a set of gene families that appear to have expanded during the evolution of phytopathogens and may therefore serve important roles in plant disease. We have also characterised the predicted set of secreted proteins encoded by each genome and identified a set of protein families which are significantly over-represented in the secretomes of plant pathogenic fungi, including putative effector proteins that might perturb host cell biology during plant infection. The results demonstrate the potential of comparative genome analysis for exploring the evolution of eukaryotic microbial pathogenesis

The Betrothal Knot – Engaging British University Academic Staff

A number of scholars within the HRD field have begun contributing to engagement literature in the last decade (Shuck & Albornoz, 2008; Chalofsky & Krishna, 2009; Fairlie, 2011) and interest is growing in employee development and management training as well as career development and engagement but no studies have examined how continuous professional development (CPD) and competence frameworks impact engagement. This paper constitutes a systematic literature review to address the Research Question: How does CPD foster employee engagement in professional staff Given the changes in the education sector in Britain and the current enthusiasm from the HE Academy (HEA) for academic staff to become Teacher Fellows (via the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), it is a pertinent time to consider CPD and employee engagement of British academics. Competency Frameworks and CPD are part of human resource development and so it is hoped that this research will help HRD practitioners working in Universities to better advise on strategic policy and actions on CPD, UKPSF implementation and engagement. The research therefore proposes to explore British academics’ perception of the UKPSF accreditation process via CPD and its relationship to employee engagement to address the research question. The review culminates in a proposed conceptual model to take forward into a pilot research study. The proposed model demonstrates a high degree of overlap between the antecedents of competency frameworks and CPD for professionals with identified antecedents of engagement, many of which have been empirically tested (Wollard & Shuck, 2011) and also confirms team antecedents. This overlap shows the evidence of the relationship between CPD and employee engagement and is referred to as professional engagement. This conceptual model specifically links CPD to engagement for academic staff as a profession in Britain (King 2004; Barkhuizen & Rothmann, 2014). Key words: CPD, engagement antecedents, competency frameworks, professional staff, academic staff

The lewis-Y carbohydrate antigen is expressed by many human tumors and can serve as a target for genetically redirected T cells despite the presence of soluble antigen in serum

In this study we aimed to determine the suitability of the Lewis-Y carbohydrate antigen as a target for immunotherapy using genetically redirected T cells. Using the 3S193 monoclonal antibody and immunohistochemistry, Lewis-Y was found to be expressed on a range of tumors including 42% squamous cell lung carcinoma, 80% lung adenocarcinoma, 25% ovarian carcinoma, and 25% colorectal adenocarcinoma. Expression levels varied from low to intense on between 1% and 90% of tumor cells. Lewis- was also found in soluble form in sera from both normal donors and cancer patients using a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum levels in patients was often less than 1á mg/mL, similar to normal donors, but approximately 30% of patients had soluble Lewis-Y levels exceeding 1áng/mL and up to 9á mg/mL. Lewis-Y-specific human T cells were generated by genetic modification with a chimeric receptor encoding a single-chain humanized antibody linked to the T-cell signaling molecules, T-cell receptor-zeta, and CD28. T cells responded against the Lewis-Y antigen by cytokine secretion and cytolysis in response to tumor cells. Importantly, the T-cell response was not inhibited by patient serum containing soluble Lewis-Y. This study demonstrates that Lewis-Y is expressed on a large number of tumors and Lewis-Y-specific T cells can retain antitumor function in the presence of patient serum, indicating that this antigen is a suitable target for this form of therapy

Differentially Loaded Radiostereometric Analysis to Monitor Fracture Stiffness: A Feasibility Study

Inability to accurately and objectively assess the mechanical properties of healing fractures in vivo hampers clinical fracture management and research. We describe a method to monitor fracture stiffness during healing in a clinical research setting by detecting changes in fracture displacement using radiostereometric analysis and simultaneously measuring applied axial loads. A method was developed for load application, positioning of the patient, and radiographic setup to establish the technique of differentially loaded radiostereometric analysis (DLRSA). A DLRSA examination consists of radiostereometric analysis radiographs taken without load (preload), under different increments of load, and without load (postload). Six patients with distal femur fractures had DLRSA examinations at 6, 12, 18, and 26 weeks postoperatively. The DLRSA method was feasible in a clinical setting. The method provides objective and quantifiable data for internally fixed fractures and may be used in clinical research as a tool to monitor the in vivo stiffness of healing femoral fractures managed with nonrigid internal fixation