Pop culture influences on tertiary physics enrolments

Popular culture offers a variety of opportunities and avenues for potential tertiary students to become engaged in physics. These include programs such as “The Big Bang Theory”, or “The Wonders of the Universe with Brian Cox”, personalities such as “Dr Karl”, video games such as “Portal” and web comics such as “xkcd”. These pop culture products are generally not aimed at boosting tertiary enrolment but at entertainment, while still conveying some strong physics concepts and processes. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some individuals have enrolled in tertiary science degrees because of pop culture influences, and some historical increases in science enrolments have been linked to popular culture (notably the boom in university forensic science courses in the early 2000s, precipitated by popular crime television programs). But the reach and strength of pop culture’s influence on science enrolments has not been systematically studied, particularly with respect to physics. The aim of this project was to examine the influence of popular culture on secondary students’ ambitions to enrol in tertiary physics. We surveyed secondary school students in NSW about what influences their subject choices. The survey considered pop culture influences such as television programs, video games, web comics, and more. This project will share some preliminary results, and discuss the potential for capitalising on popular culture to encourage further enrolments in tertiary science

Mouse podoplanin supports adhesion and aggregation of platelets under arterial shear: a novel mechanism of haemostasis

The Podoplanin-CLEC-2 axis is critical in mice for prevention of haemorrhage in the cerebral vasculature during mid-gestation. This raises the question as to how platelets are captured by podoplanin on neuroepithelial cells in a high shear environment. In this study, we demonstrate that mouse platelets form stable aggregates on mouse podoplanin at arterial shear through a CLEC-2 and Src kinase-dependent pathway. Adhesion and aggregation are also dependent on the platelet glycoprotein (GP) receptors, integrin αIIbβ3 and GPIb, and the feedback agonists ADP and thromboxane A2 (TxA2). CLEC-2 does not bind to von Willebrand factor (VWF) suggesting that the interaction with podoplanin is sufficient to both tether and activate platelets. Consistent with this, surface plasmon resonance measurements reveal that mouse CLEC-2 binds to mouse podoplanin with nanomolar affinity. The present findings demonstrate a novel pathway of haemostasis in which podoplanin supporting platelet capture and activation at arteriolar rates of shear

Thorough in silico and in vitro cDNA analysis of 21 putative BRCA1 and BRCA2 splice variants and a complex tandem duplication in BRCA2 allowing the identification of activated cryptic splice donor sites in BRCA2 exon 11

For 21 putative BRCA1 and BRCA2 splice site variants, the concordance between mRNA analysis and predictions by in silico programs was evaluated. Aberrant splicing was confirmed for 12 alterations. In silico prediction tools were helpful to determine for which variants cDNA analysis is warranted, however, predictions for variants in the Cartegni consensus region but outside the canonical sites, were less reliable. Learning algorithms like Adaboost and Random Forest outperformed the classical tools. Further validations are warranted prior to implementation of these novel tools in clinical settings. Additionally, we report here for the first time activated cryptic donor sites in the large exon 11 of BRCA2 by evaluating the effect at the cDNA level of a novel tandem duplication (5 breakpoint in intron 4; 3 breakpoint in exon 11) and of a variant disrupting the splice donor site of exon 11 (c.6841+1G>C). Additional sites were predicted, but not activated. These sites warrant further research to increase our knowledge on cis and trans acting factors involved in the conservation of correct transcription of this large exon. This may contribute to adequate design of ASOs (antisense oligonucleotides), an emerging therapy to render cancer cells sensitive to PARP inhibitor and platinum therapies

The scope for pavement porters: addressing the challenges of last-mile parcel delivery in London

The UK parcel sector generated almost £9 billion in revenue in 2015, with growth expected to increase by 15.6% in 2019 and is characterized by many independent players competing in an ‘everyone-delivers-everywhere’ culture leading to much replication of vehicle activity. With road space in urban centers being increasingly reallocated to pavement widening, bus and cycle lanes, there is growing interest in alternative solutions to the last-mile delivery problem. We make three contributions in this paper: firstly, through empirical analysis using carrier operational datasets, we quantify the characteristics of last-mile parcel operations and demonstrate the reliance placed on walking which can make up over 60% of the round time; secondly we introduce the concept of ‘portering’ where vans rendezvous with porters who operate within specific ‘patches’ to service consignees on-foot, potentially saving 86% in driving distance on some rounds; finally, we highlight the wider practical issues and optimization challenges associated with operating driving and portering rounds in inner urban areas

US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference

Where the Lake Meets the Sea: Strong Reproductive Isolation Is Associated with Adaptive Divergence between Lake Resident and Anadromous Three-Spined Sticklebacks

Contact zones between divergent forms of the same species are often characterised by high levels of phenotypic diversity over small geographic distances. What processes are involved in generating such high phenotypic diversity? One possibility is that introgression and recombination between divergent forms in contact zones results in greater phenotypic and genetic polymorphism. Alternatively, strong reproductive isolation between forms may maintain distinct phenotypes, preventing homogenisation by gene flow. Contact zones between divergent freshwater-resident and anadromous stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) forms are numerous and common throughout the species distribution, offering an opportunity to examine these contrasting hypotheses in greater detail. This study reports on an interesting new contact zone located in a tidally influenced lake catchment in western Ireland, characterised by high polymorphism for lateral plate phenotypes. Using neutral and QTL-linked microsatellite markers, we tested whether the high diversity observed in this contact zone arose as a result of introgression or reproductive isolation between divergent forms: we found strong support for the latter hypothesis. Three phenotypic and genetic clusters were identified, consistent with two divergent resident forms and a distinct anadromous completely plated population that migrates in and out of the system. Given the strong neutral differentiation detected between all three morphotypes (mean F-ST = 0.12), we hypothesised that divergent selection between forms maintains reproductive isolation. We found a correlation between neutral genetic and adaptive genetic differentiation that support this. While strong associations between QTL linked markers and phenotypes were also observed in this wild population, our results support the suggestion that such associations may be more complex in some Atlantic populations compared to those in the Pacific. These findings provide an important foundation for future work investigating the dynamics of gene flow and adaptive divergence in this newly discovered stickleback contact zone

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Preliminary Energy Balance and Economics of a Farm-Scale Ethanol Plant

The energy balance and economics of grain to ethanol plants are matters of current national interest, as we strive to deal with our liquid fuel supply problems. This report prepared at the request of the Department of Energy, examines the energy balance and economic questions for a particular farm-scale plant in Campo, Colo. It shows that such plants may have a place in our national liquid fuel supply system

The role of O-linked glycosylation in VWF function

During synthesis Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) undergoes O-linked glycosylation (OLG) but the functional significance of this has not been fully explored. In this study the 10 OLG sites in VWF were mutated to alanine, individually and as clusters on either or both sides of the A1 domain: Clus-1 (N-terminal side), Clus-2 (C-terminal side) and double cluster (DC). All mutants demonstrated normal expression, multimeric structure and collagen and heparin binding functions. Furthermore, mass spectroscopy analysis showed that the OLG structures presented on recombinant VWF were similar in structure to those on plasma derived VWF including the presence of a rare disialosyl motif. The variants T1486 (C-terminal side of the A1 domain), Clus-2 and DC were less susceptible to ADAMTS13 proteolysis under static and pseudo-shear stress conditions and showed increased binding to ADAMTS13 when in solution. Using an optimised plate-based ELISA assay, it was demonstrated that mutation of the OLG sites on the N-terminal side of the VWF-A1 domain enhanced sensitivity to ristocetin-mediated binding to recombinant GPIbα. Increased GPIbα binding was also observed with desialylated VWF and this effect was attributed to sialic acid residues on the OLGs. Similar results were obtained using the conventional ristocetin cofactor assay. To further investigate these findings, an in vitro flow assay was optimised to analyse the interaction of VWF and platelets under shear stress. Mutation of the OLG sites on the N-terminal side of the A1 domain, increased platelet rolling velocity but did not significantly alter the dissociation rate of the VWF-A1:GPIbα bond. However, they did decrease the number of transient tethering events as a function of time when VWF was immobilised directly on to the flow surface. Interestingly, when compared with wtVWF the T1255A and Clus-1 variants mediated increased platelet capture to collagen under high shear stress. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that the OLG clustered at the C-terminal side of the A1 domain alter susceptibility of VWF to ADAMTS13 cleavage. Whilst OLGs clustered at the N-terminal side of A1 modulate its interaction with GPIbα both under static and shear conditions. A unifying hypothesis would be that VWF OLG alter conformational stability around the A1 domain and modulate its interactions with adjacent domains and with other molecules. However different effects may predominate under static and flow conditions. Importantly, VWF-platelet interaction in flow assays depends on the way VWF has been immobilised.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo