Towards an institutional PLE

PLEs in their broader sense (the ad-hoc, serendipitous and potentially chaotic set of tools that learners bring to their learning) are increasingly important for learners in the context of formal study. In this paper we outline the approach that we are taking at the University of Southampton in redesigning our teaching and learning infrastructure into an Institutional PLE. We do not see this term as an oxymoron. We define an Institutional PLE as an environment that provides a personalised interface to University data and services and at the same time exposes that data and services to a student’s personal tools. Our goal is to provide a digital platform that can cope with an evolving learning and teaching environment, as well as support the social and community aspects of the institution

Hip and Groin Pain in the Professional Athlete

AbstractHip and groin pain is a common condition in professional athletes and may result from an acute injury or from chronic, repetitive trauma. It is responsible for significant morbidity, which leads to time away from training and competition, and may result in a career-ending injury. The anatomic and biomechanical causes for hip and groin injuries are among the most complex and controversial in the musculoskeletal system. This makes clinical differentiation and subsequent management difficult because of the considerable overlap of symptoms and signs. This review article will evaluate several pathologic conditions of the hip and groin in athletes, divided into acute (secondary to single event) and chronic (secondary to altered biomechanical load or repetitive microtrauma) injuries, with an emphasis on imaging in the diagnosis of these injuries. Appropriate use of imaging along with clinical findings can allow accurate diagnosis and subsequent appropriate management of these patients to ultimately allow return to athletic activity

Enhancing the Thermal Stability of Carbon Nanomaterials with DNA

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have recently been utilized as fillers that reduce the flammability and enhance the strength and thermal conductivity of material composites. Enhancing the thermal stability of SWCNTs is crucial when these materials are applied to high temperature applications. In many instances, SWCNTs are applied to composites with surface coatings that are toxic to living organisms. Alternatively, single-stranded DNA, a naturally occurring biological polymer, has recently been utilized to form singly-dispersed hybrids with SWCNTs as well as suppress their known toxicological effects. These hybrids have shown unrivaled stabilities in both aqueous suspension or as a dried material. Furthermore, DNA has certain documented flame-retardant effects due to the creation of a protective char upon heating in the presence of oxygen. Herein, using various thermogravimetric analytical techniques, we find that single-stranded DNA has a significant flame-retardant effect on the SWCNTs, and effectively enhances their thermal stability. Hybridization with DNA results in the elevation of the thermal decomposition temperature of purified SWCNTs in excess of 200 °C. We translate this finding to other carbon nanomaterials including multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and fullerene (C60), and show similar effects upon complexation with DNA. The rate of thermal decomposition of the SWCNTs was also explored and found to significantly depend upon the sequence of DNA that was used

The Efficacy of \u3cem\u3ein vitro Synergistes jonesii\u3c/em\u3e Inoculum in Preventing DHP Toxicity in Steers Fed Leucaena-Grass Diets

Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) is a valuable forage tree legume for tropical animal production that contains the toxin mimosine. The breakdown products of mimosine in ruminants (3,4-DHP and 2,3-DHP) can adversely affect their health and limit weight gains (Jones and Hegarty 1984). The rumen bacterium Synergistes jonesii, introduced into Australia in 1983 was shown to completely and rapidly degrade these toxins to safe levels (Jones and Megarrity 1986). Since 1996, an in vitro produced inoculum has been made commercially available to Australian graziers (Klieve et al. 2002). Accordingly, the issue of leucaena toxicity in Australia was thought to be resolved. However, extensive testing in 2004 found that up to 50% of Queensland cattle herds consuming leucaena were excreting high levels of urinary DHP suggesting sub-clinical toxicity remained an issue for graziers (Dalzell et al. 2012). Some of these herds had previously been inoculated with in vitro S. jonesii suggesting the inoculum may not be able to either persist within a herd, or remain effective in degrading DHP. The aim of this study was to assess the capability of the in vitro S. jonesii inoculum to efficiently break down DHP in a controlled feeding trial environment

Functional gene analysis suggests different acetogen populations in the Bovine Rumen and Tammar Wallaby Forestomach

Reductive acetogenesis via the acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) pathway is an alternative hydrogen sink to methanogenesis in the rumen. Functional gene-based analysis is the ideal approach for investigating organisms capable of this metabolism (acetogens). However, existing tools targeting the formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase gene (fhs) are compromised by lack of specificity due to the involvement of formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS) in other pathways. Acetyl-CoA synthase (ACS) is unique to the acetyl-CoA pathway and, in the present study, acetyl-CoA synthase genes (acsB) were recovered from a range of acetogens to facilitate the design of acsB-specific PCR primers. fhs and acsB libraries were used to examine acetogen diversity in the bovine rumen and forestomach of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii), a native Australian marsupial demonstrating foregut fermentation analogous to rumen fermentation but resulting in lower methane emissions. Novel, deduced amino acid sequences of acsB and fhs affiliated with the Lachnospiraceae in both ecosystems and the Ruminococcaeae/Blautia group in the rumen. FTHFS sequences that probably originated from nonacetogens were identified by low "homoacetogen similarity" scores based on analysis of FTHFS residues, and comprised a large proportion of FTHFS sequences from the tammar wallaby forestomach. A diversity of FTHFS and ACS sequences in both ecosystems clustered between the Lachnospiraceae and Clostridiaceae acetogens but without close sequences from cultured isolates. These sequences probably originated from novel acetogens. The community structures of the acsB and fhs libraries from the rumen and the tammar wallaby forestomach were different (LIBSHUFF, P < 0.001), and these differences may have significance for overall hydrogenotrophy in both ecosystems