From internationalization to global citizenship: Dialogues in international higher education

As we consider assessment and, by implication, graduation, the question of what sort of graduate we are sending out into the world arises. A university education is not simply more stuff than A-level: it is, we hope, part of the transformation of a student into the adult they were always capable of being, realizing their potential. But as our opening chapter argued, there has to be a selection process for what is going to be emphasized: just being knowledgeable is a recipe for narrowness, and for our new graduate to be wrong-footed by a world that is far more complex than their university life prepared them for. Universities were ‘global’ long before almost any other ventures, with international collaboration on research going back centuries; our students come from all over the world, and our graduates go just about everywhere. We would be irresponsible not to consider how best to prepare them for that fact, but it is not straightforward – there are competing versions of what it is to be a ‘global citizen’, as this chapter explores

Growth in brine, at low temperature and different organic acids, of yeasts from table olives

The evolution of the main yeast species related to table olives (Pichia anomala, Pichia membranaefaciens, Pichia minuta, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida diddensii, Candida famata, and Debaryomyces hansenii) at low temperature (7ºC) and different physico-chemical brine conditions was studied, using the log of the relative growth as response. In general, the NaCl concentration had a reduced effect, which was slightly greater at pH 3.5, although it was never significant. The effects of pH and type of acid were significant: the presence of acetic acid always diminished the yeast population with time; however the population was maintained, or even slightly increased, in the presence of lactic acid. Such effects were higher at pH 3.5 than at pH 4.0. The behavior of the yeast species was diverse. Sacch. cerevisiae, P. membranaefaciens, C. famata y Deb. hansenii disminished with time in 8% NaCl. The yeast population markedly decreased at pH 3.5, mainly in the case of Sacch. cerevisiae and C. famata. The presence of acetic acid decreased the yeast population in most species and always lead to a progressive diminution of it with time. No differences between species due to lactic acid was observed. These results can be of interest for the development of commercial presentations of table olives to be preserved at low temperature and with a reduced level of sodium.Se ha estudiado la evolución de las principales especies de levaduras relacionadas con las aceitunas de mesa (Pichia anomala, Pichia membranaefaciens, Pichia minuta, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida diddensii, Candida famata , y Debaryomyces hansenii) a baja temperara (7ºC) y en diversas condiciones físico-químicas en las salmueras, utilizando el log del crecimiento relativo como respuesta. En general, la concentración de sal tiene un efecto muy limitado, que se aprecia algo más a pH 4, pero sin llegar a ser significativo. Los efectos del tipo de ácido y pH fueron significativos; la presencia de acético disminuye la población con el tiempo, mientras que con el láctico se mantiene e, incluso, se eleva ligeramente. Estos efectos se acentúan a pH 3,5. El comportamiento de cada levadura frente a las diferentes variables ha sido diverso. La población relativa de las especies Sacch. cerevisiae , P. membranaefaciens , C. famata y Deb. hansenii disminuyó con el tiempo en presencia del 8 % de NaCl. A pH 3,5 disminuye muy sensiblemente la población inicial en todos los casos, siendo tal influencia más destacada en Sacch. cerevisiae y C. famata. La presencia de acético disminuye de forma importante la población inicial inoculada en la mayoría de los casos y provocó siempre un descenso paulatino en las mismas. No se observó diferencias entre las especies debido al ácido láctico. Estos estudios pueden ser de interés para el desarrollo de presentaciones comerciales de aceitunas de mesa refrigeradas y con reducido nivel de sodio.Los autores desean expresar su gratitud a la CICYT (AGL2000-1539-CO2-01) y a la Unión Europea (FAIR-97-9526) por la financiación parcial de esta investigación.Peer reviewe

FfDL : A Flexible Multi-tenant Deep Learning Platform

Deep learning (DL) is becoming increasingly popular in several application domains and has made several new application features involving computer vision, speech recognition and synthesis, self-driving automobiles, drug design, etc. feasible and accurate. As a result, large scale on-premise and cloud-hosted deep learning platforms have become essential infrastructure in many organizations. These systems accept, schedule, manage and execute DL training jobs at scale. This paper describes the design, implementation and our experiences with FfDL, a DL platform used at IBM. We describe how our design balances dependability with scalability, elasticity, flexibility and efficiency. We examine FfDL qualitatively through a retrospective look at the lessons learned from building, operating, and supporting FfDL; and quantitatively through a detailed empirical evaluation of FfDL, including the overheads introduced by the platform for various deep learning models, the load and performance observed in a real case study using FfDL within our organization, the frequency of various faults observed including unanticipated faults, and experiments demonstrating the benefits of various scheduling policies. FfDL has been open-sourced.Comment: MIDDLEWARE 201

Oxytocin receptor antagonists as a novel pharmacological agent for reducing smooth muscle tone in the human prostate

Pharmacotherapies for the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) are targeted at reducing cellular proliferation (static component) or reducing smooth muscle tone (dynamic component), but response is unpredictable and many patients fail to respond. An impediment to identifying novel pharmacotherapies is the incomplete understanding of paracrine signalling. Oxytocin has been highlighted as a potential paracrine mediator of BPH. To better understand oxytocin signalling, we investigated the effects of exogenous oxytocin on both stromal cell proliferation, and inherent spontaneous prostate contractions using primary models derived from human prostate tissue. We show that the Oxytocin Receptor (OXTR) is widely expressed in the human prostate, and co-localises to contractile cells within the prostate stroma. Exogenous oxytocin did not modulate prostatic fibroblast proliferation, but did significantly (p < 0.05) upregulate the frequency of spontaneous contractions in prostate tissue, indicating a role in generating smooth muscle tone. Application of atosiban, an OXTR antagonist, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced spontaneous contractions. Individual tissue responsiveness to both exogenous oxytocin (R2 = 0.697, p < 0.01) and atosiban (R2 = 0.472,p < 0.05) was greater in tissue collected from older men. Overall, our data suggest that oxytocin is a key regulator of inherent spontaneous prostate contractions, and targeting of the OXTR and associated downstream signalling is an attractive prospect in the development of novel BPH pharmacotherapies

Distinct Transcriptome Expression of the Temporal Cortex of the Primate Microcebus murinus during Brain Aging versus Alzheimer's Disease-Like Pathology

Aging is the primary risk factor of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the molecular events occurring during brain aging are extremely complex and still largely unknown. For a better understanding of these age-associated modifications, animal models as close as possible to humans are needed. We thus analyzed the transcriptome of the temporal cortex of the primate Microcebus murinus using human oligonucleotide microarrays (Affymetrix). Gene expression profiles were assessed in the temporal cortex of 6 young adults, 10 healthy old animals and 2 old, “AD-like” animals that presented ß-amyloid plaques and cortical atrophy, which are pathognomonic signs of AD in humans. Gene expression data of the 14,911 genes that were detected in at least 3 samples were analyzed. By SAM (significance analysis of microarrays), we identified 47 genes that discriminated young from healthy old and “AD-like” animals. These findings were confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA). ANOVA of the expression data from the three groups identified 695 genes (including the 47 genes previously identified by SAM and PCA) with significant changes of expression in old and “AD-like” in comparison to young animals. About one third of these genes showed similar changes of expression in healthy aging and in “AD-like” animals, whereas more than two thirds showed opposite changes in these two groups in comparison to young animals. Hierarchical clustering analysis of the 695 markers indicated that each group had distinct expression profiles which characterized each group, especially the “AD-like” group. Functional categorization showed that most of the genes that were up-regulated in healthy old animals and down-regulated in “AD-like” animals belonged to metabolic pathways, particularly protein synthesis. These data suggest the existence of compensatory mechanisms during physiological brain aging that disappear in “AD-like” animals. These results open the way to new exploration of physiological and “AD-like” aging in primates

Cognitive Performances Are Selectively Enhanced during Chronic Caloric Restriction or Resveratrol Supplementation in a Primate

Effects of an 18-month treatment with a moderate, chronic caloric restriction (CR) or an oral supplementation with resveratrol (RSV), a potential CR mimetic, on cognitive and motor performances were studied in non-human primates, grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

Changes in muscle contractile characteristics and jump height following 24 days of unilateral lower limb suspension

We measured changes in maximal voluntary and electrically evoked torque and rate of torque development because of limb unloading. We investigated whether these changes during single joint isometric muscle contractions were related to changes in jump performance involving dynamic muscle contractions and several joints. Six healthy male subjects (21 ± 1 years) underwent 3 weeks of unilateral lower limb suspension (ULLS) of the right limb. Plantar flexor and knee extensor maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque and maximal rate of torque development (MRTD), voluntary activation, and maximal triplet torque (thigh; 3 pulses at 300 Hz) were measured next to squat jump height before and after ULLS. MVC of plantar flexors and knee extensors (MVCke) and triplet torque decreased by 12% (P = 0.012), 21% (P = 0.001) and 11% (P = 0.016), respectively. Voluntary activation did not change (P = 0.192). Absolute MRTD during voluntary contractions decreased for plantar flexors (by 17%, P = 0.027) but not for knee extensors (P = 0.154). Absolute triplet MRTD decreased by 17% (P = 0.048). The reduction in MRTD disappeared following normalization to MVC. Jump height with the previously unloaded leg decreased significantly by 28%. No significant relationships were found between any muscle variable and jump height (r < 0.48), but decreases in torque were (triplet, r = 0.83, P = 0.04) or tended to be (MVCke r = 0.71, P = 0.11) related to decreases in jump height. Thus, reductions in isometric muscle torque following 3 weeks of limb unloading were significantly related to decreases in the more complex jump task, although torque in itself (without intervention) was not related to jump performance

Singing the same tune? International continuities and discontinuities in how police talk about using force

This article focuses on a research project conducted in six jurisdictions: England, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Venezuela, and Brazil. These societies are very different ethnically, socially, politically, economically, historically and have wildly different levels of crime. Their policing arrangements also differ significantly: how they are organised; how their officers are equipped and trained; what routine operating procedures they employ; whether they are armed; and much else besides. Most relevant for this research, they represent policing systems with wildly different levels of police shootings, Police in the two Latin American countries represented here have a justified reputation for the frequency with which they shoot people, whereas at the other extreme the police in England do not routinely carry firearms and rarely shoot anyone. To probe whether these differences are reflected in the way that officers talk about the use of force, police officers in these different jurisdictions were invited to discuss in focus groups a scenario in which police are thwarted in their attempt to arrest two youths (one of whom is a known local criminal) by the youths driving off with the police in pursuit, and concludes with the youths crashing their car and escaping in apparent possession of a gun, It might be expected that focus groups would prove starkly different, and indeed they were, but not in the way that might be expected. There was little difference in affirmation of normative and legal standards regarding the use of force. It was in how officers in different jurisdictions envisaged the circumstances in which the scenario took place that led Latin American officers to anticipate that they would shoot the suspects, whereas officers in the other jurisdictions had little expectation that they would open fire in the conditions as they imagined them to be