The Expression and Roles of Nde1 and Ndel1 in the Adult Mammalian Central Nervous System

Open Access funded by Wellcome Trust Under a Creative Commons license Acknowledgments We thank Prof Angelo Sementilli, Department of Pathology, Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, SP, Brazil, for the human sample collection. This study is funded by Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (HR07019 to S. Shen and C.D. McCaig), Medical Research Scotland (384 FRG to B. Lang, United Kingdom), Tenovus Scotland (G12/25 to B. Lang), Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership for PhD Studies (C.D. McCaig and Y.Q. Ding) and Wellcome Trust (WT081633MA-NCE to P.J.A. McCaffery, United Kingdom).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Modelling corneal epithelial wound closure in the presence of physiological electric fields via a moving boundary formalism

A new framework for the modelling of corneal epithelial wound healing is presented, which can include the presence of a physiological electric field. The difficulty inherent in the inclusion of this biological phenomenon motivates our use of a moving boundary formalism. A key conclusion is that the model predicts a linear relation between the wound healing speed and the physiological electric field strengths over a physiologically large range of electric field strength. Another key point is that this linear relationship between electric field strength and wound healing speed is robust to variations in critical parameters that are difficult to estimate. The linearity is also robust to different realizations of the modelling framework presented

Global nomads, cultural chameleons, strange ones or immigrants? An exploration of Third Culture Kid terminology with reference to the United Arab Emirates

© The Author(s) 2019. The term ‘Third Culture Kid’ (TCK) is commonly used to denote children living in a host culture other than their passport culture during their developmental years. However, its meaning in relation to other terminology referring to a similar concept is a source of interest for many stakeholders. This paper opens up opportunities for further exploring and critiquing the definition of TCK, and opening this up to case studies within the context of the United Arab Emirates and more widely. It is critical to clarify the terminology in light of unprecedented levels of international migration throughout the world. This paper reviews the meaning of culture in relation to TCKs, and explores the meaning of the TCK concept as well as a number of other terms used as alternatives to TCK. A contextualization of the literature follows in relation to the researchers’ own lived experiences in the United Arab Emirates. The term TCK can be seen as part of the general stock of theoretical concepts. This paper acknowledges that it cannot catch all nuances of migrant children in the global context

System differentiation in England: the imposition of supply and demand

This chapter describes changing state and sector policy in relation to differentiation and how it has emerged in the English HE context: specifically, the attempts to concentrate the highest qualified applicants and the most prestigious institutions in a 'premium' market segment; the significance of the growing involvement of private providers; and the rise of the ‘student-as-consumer’ and 'value for money' in recent government policy discourse (e.g. the White Papers Students at the Heart of the System (DBIS 2011a) and Success as a Knowledge Economy (DBIS 2016). The chapter situates the development of a market hierarchy (in the form of a vertical differentiation of institutions, Archer 2007) following the demise of the university-polytechnic binary system in 1992 (Further and Higher Education Act, HMSO 1992). This co-existed for several years with the institutional diversity often celebrated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (e.g. HEFCE 1994; 2000) that can be conceptualised as the horizontal differentiation of valued types of higher education provision and provider (e.g. part-time or vocationally orientated). The introduction of market mechanisms, in various stages beginning with the 2004 Higher Education Act (DfES 2004) and the introduction of variable tuition fees, coincided with the publication of institutional league tables from 2005. Taken together, these have reinforced a hierarchical system in which all institutions and courses are henceforth differentiated only by reference to a set of criteria dominated by the entry requirements demanded, and the amount of research carried out by the institution. Given the implications of the most recent legislation – the Higher Education and Research Act (HMSO 2017) this hierarchy is likely to be matched by one signalled by tuition fee levels, as new cheaper 'challenger' institutions come to the market

Have the changes introduced by the 2004 Higher Education Act made higher education admissions in England wider and fairer?

'Widening participation' and 'fair access' have been contested policy areas in English higher education since at least the early 1990s. They were key facets of the 2003 White Paper - The Future of Higher Education - and the subsequent 2004 Higher Education Act, with stated objectives that the reach of higher education should be wider and fairer. In particular, there has been considerable concern about admissions to 'top universities', which have remained socially as well as academically exclusive. The principal policy tools used by the Act were the introduction of variable tuition fees, expanded student grants, discretionary bursaries and the new Office for Fair Access (OFFA). This paper draws on publicly available statistics to assess whether the changes implemented by the 2004 Act have indeed made access to English higher education wider and fairer in relation to young people progressing from state schools and colleges and from lower socio-economic groups. It concludes that, while there is some evidence for modest improvements, these have been concentrated outside the 'top universities', which have seen slippage relative to the rest of the sector. The paper concludes with a discussion of the reasons why financial inducements appear to be a flawed and naive approach to influencing student demand. © 2011 Taylor & Francis

Large scale three-dimensional modelling for wave and tidal energy resource and environmental impact : methodologies for quantifying acceptable thresholds for sustainable exploitation

We describe a modelling project to estimate the potential effects of wave & tidal stream renewables on the marine environment. • Realistic generic devices to be used by those without access to the technical details available to developers are described. • Results show largely local sea bed effects at the level of the currently proposed renewables developments in our study area. • Large scale 3D modelling is critical to quantify the direct, indirect and cumulative effects of renewable energy extraction. • This is critical to comply with planning & environmental impact assessment regulations and achieve Good Environmental Status

Pediatricians' perspectives on the impact of MRSA in primary care: a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence of skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) has rapidly increased among children in primary care settings since the emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>(CA-MRSA). Recent treatment recommendations emphasize CA-MRSA as the primary cause, performing incision and drainage (I&D) as the primary therapy, and not prescribing antibiotics for uncomplicated cases. It is unknown how this epidemic has impacted primary care pediatricians in terms of their practice patterns and barriers they face to providing recommended therapies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>3 Focus groups among 29 primary care pediatricians in the San Francisco Bay Area were conducted. Transcripts were reviewed and coded into major themes by two investigators using modified grounded theory.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Substantial changes in clinical practice have occurred since the emergence of CA-MRSA. These include increased office visits for SSTIs, patients with multiple recurrences and transmission within households. Additionally, our participants reported increased visits for mild skin problems due to media reports contributing to fears about CA-MRSA. Participants routinely prescribed antibiotics for SSTIs, however, few performed I&D. Few were aware of recent SSTI treatment recommendations. Barriers to prescribing antibiotics with CA-MRSA activity included concerns about side-effects and lack of local epidemiologic data showing that it is the primary etiology. Barriers to performing I&D included lack of training, resources and skepticism about its necessity. Important clinical challenges included increased time demands for follow-up visits and patient education along with the lack of evidence-based strategies for preventing recurrent inections and household transmission.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CA-MRSA has influenced the presentation and treatment of SSTIs especially in terms of case numbers and recurrences. Barriers to providing recommended therapies can be addressed through improved dissemination of treatment guidelines and epidemiologic data. Studies are urgently needed toimprove theevidence-base for treatment and prevention strategies.</p

Immunohistochemical expression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 in invasive breast cancers and ductal carcinoma in situ: implications for clinicopathology and patient outcome

INTRODUCTION: Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) differentially modulates breast epithelial cell growth through insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-dependent and IGF-independent pathways and is a direct (IGF-independent) growth inhibitor as well as a mitogen that potentiates EGF (epidermal growth factor) and interacts with HER-2. Previously, high IGFBP-3 levels in breast cancers have been determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoradiometric assay methods. In vitro, IGFBP-3's mechanisms of action may involve cell membrane binding and nuclear translocation. To evaluate tumour-specific IGFBP-3 expression and its subcellular localisation, this study examined immunohistochemical IGFBP-3 expression in a series of invasive ductal breast cancers (IDCs) with synchronous ductal carcinomas in situ (DCIS) in relation to clinicopathological variables and patient outcome. METHODS: Immunohistochemical expression of IGFBP-3 was evaluated with the sheep polyclonal antiserum (developed in house) with staining performed as described previously. RESULTS: IGFBP-3 was evaluable in 101 patients with a variable pattern of cytoplasmic expression (positivity of 1+/2+ score) in 85% of invasive and 90% of DCIS components. Strong (2+) IGFBP-3 expression was evident in 32 IDCs and 40 cases of DCIS. A minority of invasive tumours (15%) and DCIS (10%) lacked IGFBP-3 expression. Nuclear IGFBP-3 expression was not detectable in either invasive cancers or DCIS, with a consistent similarity in IGFBP-3 immunoreactivity in IDCs and DCIS. Positive IGFBP-3 expression showed a possible trend in association with increased proliferation (P = 0.096), oestrogen receptor (ER) negativity (P = 0.06) and HER-2 overexpression (P = 0.065) in invasive tumours and a strong association with ER negativity (P = 0.037) in DCIS. Although IGFBP-3 expression was not an independent prognosticator, IGFBP-3-positive breast cancers may have shorter disease-free and overall survivals, although these did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Increased breast epithelial IGFBP-3 expression is a feature of tumorigenesis with cytoplasmic immunoreactivity in the absence of significant nuclear localisation in IDCs and DCIS. There are trends between high levels of IGFBP-3 and poor prognostic features, suggesting that IGFBP-3 is a potential mitogen. IGFBP-3 is not an independent prognosticator for overall survival or disease-free survival, to reflect its dual effects on breast cancer growth regulated by complex pathways in vivo that may relate to its interactions with other growth factors

A 10 year case study on the changing determinants of University student satisfaction in the UK

Higher Education (HE), once the prerogative of a tiny elite, is now accessible to larger numbers of people around the world than ever before yet despite the fact that an understanding of student satisfaction has never been more important for today’s universities, the concept remains poorly understood. Here we use published data from the UK’s National Student Survey (NSS), representing data from 2.3 million full-time students collected from 2007 to 2016, as a case study of the benefits and limitations of measuring student satisfaction that might have applicability for other countries, particularly those that, like the UK, have experienced significant growth in student numbers. The analyses showed that the factor structure of the NSS remained generally stable and that the ability of the NSS to discriminate between different subjects at different universities actually improved over the ten-year sample period. The best predictors of overall satisfaction were 'Teaching Quality' and 'Organisation & Management', with 'Assessment & Feedback' having relatively weak predictive ability, despite the sector's tangible efforts to improve on this metric. The tripling of student fees in 2012 for English students (but not the rest of the UK) was used as a ‘natural experiment’ to investigate the sensitivity of student satisfaction ratings to the real economic costs of HE. The tuition fee increase had no identifiable negative effect, with student satisfaction steadily improving throughout the decade. Although the NSS was never designed to measure perceived value-for money, its insensitivity to major changes in the economic costs of HE to the individual suggest that the conventional concept of student satisfaction is incomplete. As such we propose that the concept of student satisfaction: (i) needs to be widened to take into account the broader economic benefits to the individual student by including measures of perceived value-for-money and (ii) should measure students’ level of satisfaction in the years post-graduation, by which time they may have a greater appreciation of the value of their degree in the workplace