378 research outputs found
How far should a new leader reinterpret a school's values to achieve improvement?
This dissertation considers the approach of a head teacher to the task of leading a new school, and provides a heuristic study of the question of whether, in order to be true to self, the head should reinterpret the stated values of the school to attune with his own. It examines the problem of reconciling the values of the leader and the school while leading a process of school improvement and serving the school and wider religious community which the school represents. The particular context is one of a faith school (in this case a Quaker school). The research is based on the writer’s own reflective process in reaching decisions on how best to proceed, and the personal challenge of reconciling his own values with those of the school, evidenced through a journal which reflected on significant events and private thought processes. Values are seen to be central to both authentic leadership and the process of galvanising a school community. The work identifies the importance of authenticity in leadership, and concludes by suggesting how the leader of a faith school might approach the challenge of leading a community by placing values at heart, and remaining true to self
The value of facial attractiveness for encouraging fruit and vegetable consumption: analyses from a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND: An effect of increased fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption on facial attractiveness has been proposed and recommended as a strategy to promote FV intakes, but no studies to date demonstrate a causal link between FV consumption and perceived attractiveness. This study investigated perceptions of attractiveness before and after the supervised consumption of 2, 5 or 8 FV portions/day for 4 weeks in 30 low FV consumers. Potential mechanisms for change via skin colour and perceived skin healthiness were also investigated. METHODS: Faces were photographed at the start and end of the 4 week intervention in controlled conditions. Seventy-three independent individuals subsequently rated all 60 photographs in a randomized order, for facial attractiveness, facial skin yellowness, redness, healthiness, clarity, and symmetry. RESULTS: Using clustered multiple regression, FV consumption over the previous 4 weeks had no direct effect on attractiveness, but, for female faces, some evidence was found for an indirect impact, via linear and non-linear changes in skin yellowness. Effect sizes, however, were small. No association between FV consumption and skin healthiness was found, but skin healthiness was associated with facial attractiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Controlled and objectively measured increases in FV consumption for 4 weeks resulted indirectly in increased attractiveness in females via increases in skin yellowness, but effects are small and gradually taper as FV consumption increases. Based on the effect sizes from this study, we are hesitant to recommend the use of facial attractiveness to encourage increased FV consumption. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trial Registration Number NCT01591057 ( www.clinicaltrials.gov ). Registered: 27th April, 2012
Exploring stable-based behaviour and behaviour switching for the detection of bilateral pain in equines
Efficient and sensitive animal pain detection approaches are increasingly studied with the goal of improving
animal welfare and monitoring the efficacy of treatment and rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to
determine the potential of various behaviours as sensitive indicators of subtle inflammation states in equines. The
long-term goal of this research is to understand how to objectively and remotely classify behaviours that are
associated with inflammation using wearable inertial sensor technologies. This study represents a proof-of concept investigation to ascertain what behavioural indices might be important in long-term monitoring of
mild bilateral inflammation and recovery with a view to translating the approach to a technology-enabled remote
monitoring paradigm. Bilateral synovitis of the intercarpal joints was induced in seven equines using lipopoly saccharide (0.25 ng) at time zero. The horses were confined to stables and monitored intermittently over seven
days by stable-fixed video cameras. White blood cell count, carpal circumference and food availability were
recorded across the study. An ethogram was created to manually annotate behaviours from video footage
following lameness induction at seven different timepoints across a 1-week period. Behaviour data were processed extracting the duration, frequency and variability of behaviours. One-way repeated measures ANOVA
revealed a significant time effect for white blood cell count and behaviour switching. There were no significant
changes in carpal circumferences and heart rate measures over the sampling period. Food availability appears to
be an important contextual factor that should be considered in pain-related behavioural studies. We conclude
that behaviour variability may be a promising indicator of subtle bilateral inflammation which should be further
explored in larger controlled trials and different pain presentations. Future work will seek to optimise grouping
of behaviours associated with inflammation that can be detected using wearable technologies for future remote
monitoring protocols
Cassini UVIS Observations of the Io Plasma Torus. IV. Modeling Temporal and Azimuthal Variability
In this fourth paper in a series, we present a model of the remarkable
temporal and azimuthal variability of the Io plasma torus observed during the
Cassini encounter with Jupiter. Over a period of three months, the Cassini
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observed a dramatic variation in the
average torus composition. Superimposed on this long-term variation, is a
10.07-hour periodicity caused by an azimuthal variation in plasma composition
subcorotating relative to System III longitude. Quite surprisingly, the
amplitude of the azimuthal variation appears to be modulated at the beat
frequency between the System III period and the observed 10.07-hour period.
Previously, we have successfully modeled the months-long compositional change
by supposing a factor of three increase in the amount of material supplied to
Io's extended neutral clouds. Here, we extend our torus chemistry model to
include an azimuthal dimension. We postulate the existence of two azimuthal
variations in the number of super-thermal electrons in the torus: a primary
variation that subcorotates with a period of 10.07 hours and a secondary
variation that remains fixed in System III longitude. Using these two hot
electron variations, our model can reproduce the observed temporal and
azimuthal variations observed by Cassini UVIS.Comment: Revised 24 August 2007 Accepted by Icarus, 50 pages, 2 Tables, 8
figure
Kindlin-1 regulates epidermal growth factor receptor signalling
Kindler syndrome (KS) is an autosomal recessive genodermatosis that results from mutations in the FERMT1 gene encoding kindlin-1. Kindlin-1 localises to focal adhesion and is known to contribute to the activation of integrin receptors. Most cases of KS show a reduction or complete absence of kindlin-1 in keratinocytes, resulting in defective integrin activation, cell adhesion and migration. However, roles for kindlin-1 beyond integrin activation remain poorly defined. In the current study we show that skin and keratinocytes from KS patients have significantly reduced expression levels of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), resulting in defective EGF-dependent signalling and cell migration. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that kindlin-1 can associate directly with EGFR in vitro and in keratinocytes in an EGF-dependent, integrin-independent manner and that formation of this complex is required for EGF-dependent migration. We further demonstrate that kindlin-1 acts to protect EGFR from lysosomal-mediated degradation. This reveals a new role for kindlin-1 that has implications for understanding KS disease pathology
Modeling magnetospheric fields in the Jupiter system
The various processes which generate magnetic fields within the Jupiter
system are exemplary for a large class of similar processes occurring at other
planets in the solar system, but also around extrasolar planets. Jupiter's
large internal dynamo magnetic field generates a gigantic magnetosphere, which
is strongly rotational driven and possesses large plasma sources located deeply
within the magnetosphere. The combination of the latter two effects is the
primary reason for Jupiter's main auroral ovals. Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the
only known moon with an intrinsic dynamo magnetic field, which generates a
mini-magnetosphere located within Jupiter's larger magnetosphere including two
auroral ovals. Ganymede's magnetosphere is qualitatively different compared to
the one from Jupiter. It possesses no bow shock but develops Alfv\'en wings
similar to most of the extrasolar planets which orbit their host stars within
0.1 AU. New numerical models of Jupiter's and Ganymede's magnetospheres
presented here provide quantitative insight into the processes that maintain
these magnetospheres. Jupiter's magnetospheric field is approximately
time-periodic at the locations of Jupiter's moons and induces secondary
magnetic fields in electrically conductive layers such as subsurface oceans. In
the case of Ganymede, these secondary magnetic fields influence the oscillation
of the location of its auroral ovals. Based on dedicated Hubble Space Telescope
observations, an analysis of the amplitudes of the auroral oscillations
provides evidence that Ganymede harbors a subsurface ocean. Callisto in
contrast does not possess a mini-magnetosphere, but still shows a perturbed
magnetic field environment. Callisto's ionosphere and atmospheric UV emission
is different compared to the other Galilean satellites as it is primarily been
generated by solar photons compared to magnetospheric electrons.Comment: Chapter for Book: Planetary Magnetis
The structural basis of bacterial manganese import
Metal ions are essential for all forms of life. In prokaryotes, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) permeases serve as the primary import pathway for many micronutrients including the first-row transition metal manganese. However, the structural features of ionic metal transporting ABC permeases have remained undefined. Here, we present the crystal structure of the manganese transporter PsaBC from Streptococcus pneumoniae in an open-inward conformation. The type II transporter has a tightly closed transmembrane channel due to "extracellular gating" residues that prevent water permeation or ion reflux. Below these residues, the channel contains a hitherto unreported metal coordination site, which is essential for manganese translocation. Mutagenesis of the extracellular gate perturbs manganese uptake, while coordination site mutagenesis abolishes import. These structural features are highly conserved in metal-specific ABC transporters and are represented throughout the kingdoms of life. Collectively, our results define the structure of PsaBC and reveal the features required for divalent cation transport.Stephanie L. Neville, Jennie Sjöhamn, Jacinta A. Watts, Hugo MacDermott-Opeskin, Stephen J. Fairweather, Katherine Ganio, Alex Carey Hulyer, Aaron P. McGrath, Andrew J. Hayes, Tess R. Malcolm, Mark R. Davies, Norimichi Nomura, So Iwata, Megan L. O’Mara, Megan J. Maher, Christopher A. McDevit
Measurement of the B0-anti-B0-Oscillation Frequency with Inclusive Dilepton Events
The - oscillation frequency has been measured with a sample of
23 million \B\bar B pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II
asymmetric B Factory at SLAC. In this sample, we select events in which both B
mesons decay semileptonically and use the charge of the leptons to identify the
flavor of each B meson. A simultaneous fit to the decay time difference
distributions for opposite- and same-sign dilepton events gives ps.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review Letter
The consolidated European synthesis of CH4 and N2O emissions for the European Union and United Kingdom: 1990–2017
Reliable quantification of the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, together with trends and uncertainties, is essential to monitoring the progress in mitigating anthropogenic emissions under the Paris Agreement. This study provides a consolidated synthesis of CH4 and N2O emissions with consistently derived state-of-the-art bottom-up (BU) and top-down (TD) data sources for the European Union and UK (EU27 + UK). We integrate recent emission inventory data, ecosystem process-based model results and inverse modeling estimates over the period 1990-2017. BU and TD products are compared with European national greenhouse gas inventories (NGHGIs) reported to the UN climate convention UNFCCC secretariat in 2019. For uncertainties, we used for NGHGIs the standard deviation obtained by varying parameters of inventory calculations, reported by the member states (MSs) following the recommendations of the IPCC Guidelines. For atmospheric inversion models (TD) or other inventory datasets (BU), we defined uncertainties from the spread between different model estimates or model-specific uncertainties when reported. In comparing NGHGIs with other approaches, a key source of bias is the activities included, e.g., anthropogenic versus anthropogenic plus natural fluxes. In inversions, the separation between anthropogenic and natural emissions is sensitive to the geospatial prior distribution of emissions. Over the 2011-2015 period, which is the common denominator of data availability between all sources, the anthropogenic BU approaches are directly comparable, reporting mean emissions of 20.8 Tg CH4 yr-1 (EDGAR v5.0) and 19.0 Tg CH4 yr-1 (GAINS), consistent with the NGHGI estimates of 18.9 ± 1.7 Tg CH4 yr-1. The estimates of TD total inversions give higher emission estimates, as they also include natural emissions. Over the same period regional TD inversions with higher-resolution atmospheric transport models give a mean emission of 28.8 Tg CH4 yr-1. Coarser-resolution global TD inversions are consistent with regional TD inversions, for global inversions with GOSAT satellite data (23.3 Tg CH4 yr-1) and surface network (24.4 Tg CH4 yr-1). The magnitude of natural peatland emissions from the JSBACH-HIMMELI model, natural rivers and lakes emissions, and geological sources together account for the gap between NGHGIs and inversions and account for 5.2 Tg CH4 yr-1. For N2O emissions, over the 2011-2015 period, both BU approaches (EDGAR v5.0 and GAINS) give a mean value of anthropogenic emissions of 0.8 and 0.9 Tg N2O yr-1, respectively, agreeing with the NGHGI data (0.9 ± 0.6 Tg N2O yr-1). Over the same period, the average of the three total TD global and regional inversions was 1.3 ± 0.4 and 1.3 ± 0.1 Tg N2O yr-1, respectively. The TD and BU comparison method defined in this study can be operationalized for future yearly updates for the calculation of CH4 and N2O budgets both at the EU+UK scale and at the national scale. The referenced datasets related to figures are visualized at. (Petrescu et al., 2020b)
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