188 research outputs found
Threshold concepts: Impacts on teaching and learning at tertiary level
This project explored teaching and learning of hard-to-learn threshold concepts in first-year English, an electrical engineering course, leadership courses, and in doctoral writing. The project was envisioned to produce disciplinary case studies that lecturers could use to reflect on and refine their curriculum and pedagogy, thereby contributing to discussion about the relationship between theory and methodology in higher education research (Shay, Ashwin, & Case, 2009).
A team of seven academics investigated lecturersā awareness and emergent knowledge of threshold concepts and associated pedagogies and how such pedagogies can afford opportunities for learning. As part of this examination the lecturers also explored the role of threshold concept theory in designing curricula and sought to find the commonalities in threshold concepts and their teaching and learning across the four disciplines.
The research highlights new ways of teaching threshold concepts to help students learn concepts that are fundamental to the disciplines they are studying and expand their educational experiences. Given that much of the international research in this field focuses on the identification of threshold concepts and debates their characteristics (Barradell, 2013; Flanagan, 2014; Knight, Callaghan, Baldock, & Meyer, 2013), our exploration of what happens when lecturers use threshold concept theory to re-envision their curriculum and teaching helps to address a gap within the field. By addressing an important theoretical and practical approach the project makes a considerable contribution to teaching and learning at the tertiary level in general and to each discipline in particular
Mutations in shaking-B prevent electrical synapse formation in the Drosophila giant fiber system
The giant fiber system (GFS) is a simple network of neurons that mediates visually elicited escape behavior in Drosophila. The giant fiber (GF), the major component of the system, is a large, descending interneuron that relays visual stimuli to the motoneurons that innervate the tergotrochanteral jump muscle (TTM) and dorsal longitudinal flight muscles (DLMs). Mutations in the neural transcript from the shaking-B locus abolish the behavioral response by disrupting transmission at some electrical synapses in the GFS. This study focuses on the role of the gene in the development of the synaptic connections. Using an enhancer-trap line that expresses lacZ in the GFs, we show that the neurons develop during the first 30 hr of metamorphosis. Within the next 15 hr, they begin to form electrical synapses, as indicated by the transfer of intracellularly injected Lucifer yellow. The GFs dye-couple to the TTM motoneuron between 30 and 45 hr of metamorphosis, to the peripherally synapsing interneuron that drives the DLM motoneurons at approximately 48 hr, and to giant commissural interneurons in the brain at approximately 55 hr. Immunocytochemistry with shaking-B peptide antisera demonstrates that the expression of shaking-B protein in the region of GFS synapses coincides temporally with the onset of synaptogenesis; expression persists thereafter. The mutation shak-B2, which eliminates protein expression, prevents the establishment of dye coupling shaking-B, therefore, is essential for the assembly and/or maintenance of functional gap junctions at electrical synapses in the GFS
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Cutting through complexity: the Breathing, Thinking, Functioning clinical model is an educational tool that facilitates chronic breathlessness management.
Chronic breathlessness is a distressing symptom that is challenging to manage. The Breathing, Thinking, Functioning clinical model is an educational tool developed to support breathlessness management. Health professionals report that the model increases clinician and patient understanding of this complex symptom, and provides a simple and structured approach to personalised self-management
Recommended from our members
Cutting through complexity: the Breathing, Thinking, Functioning clinical model is an educational tool that facilitates chronic breathlessness management.
Chronic breathlessness is a distressing symptom that is challenging to manage. The Breathing, Thinking, Functioning clinical model is an educational tool developed to support breathlessness management. Health professionals report that the model increases clinician and patient understanding of this complex symptom, and provides a simple and structured approach to personalised self-management
Development and biological evaluation of Iinkjet printed drug coatings on intravascular stent
Inkjetāprinting technology was used to apply biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric coatings of poly(D, L lactide) with the antiproliferative drugs simvastatin (SMV) and paclitaxel (PCX) on coronary metal stents. A piezoelectric dispenser applied coating patterns of very fine droplets (300 xL) and ink jetting was optimized to develop uniform, accurate and reproducible coatings of high yields on the stent strut. The drug loaded polymeric coatings were assed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transition thermal microscopy (TTM) where a phase separation was observed for SMV/PLA layers while PCX showed a uniform distribution within the polymer layers. Cytocompatibility studies of PLA coatings showed excellent cell adhesion with no decrease of cell viability and proliferation. In vivo stent implantation studies showed significant intra stent restenosis (ISR) for PXC/PLA and PLA plain coatings similar to marketed Presillion (bare metal) and Cypher (drug eluting) stents. The investigation of several cytokine levels after seven days of stent deployment showed no inflammatory response and hence no in vivo cytotoxicity related to PLA coatings. Inkjet printing can be employed as a robust coating technology for the development of drug eluting stents compared to the current conventional approaches
Layered Al2O3-SiO2 and Al2O3-Ta2O5 thin-film composites for high dielectric strength, deposited by pulsed direct current and radio frequency magnetron sputtering
Multilayer thin films have the potential to act as high dielectric strength insulation for wire and microelectronics. In this study, films consisting of 2, 4 or 8 layers, composed of Al2O3 with SiO2 or Ta2O5, were prepared via pulsed direct current and radio frequency magnetron sputtering to a thickness of between 152 and 236āÆnm. The dielectric strengths of all films exceeded the 310 VĪ¼mā1 achieved for PDC Al2O3. Maximum dielectric strengths were obtained for four layer composites; Al2O3-SiO2-Al2O3-SiO2 (466 VĪ¼mā1) and Al2O3-Ta2O5-Al2O3-Ta2O5 (513 VĪ¼mā1), each containing two PDC-Al2O3 and two RF-SiO2/Ta2O5 layers. Whilst the average dielectric strength was higher in the Ta2O5 composites, they suffered from higher leakage prior to breakdown with ca. 6.5āÆnA compared to ca. 0.1āÆnA for SiO2 composites. The mechanical properties of the composites were poorer due to increased intrinsic coating stress. Samples exhibited complete interfacial delamination with maximum coating adhesion strengths of 22 and 25āÆMPa. The variance resulted from larger coefficient of thermal expansion for Ta2O5 compared to SiO2. Sputtered composites of Al2O3 and either SiO2 or Ta2O5 had high breakdown strength with reasonable adhesion and could be suitable for insulating copper conductors in the aerospace and automotive industries
Epilepsy, cognitive deficits and neuroanatomy in males with ZDHHC9 mutations.
OBJECTIVE: Systematic investigation of individuals with intellectual disability after genetic diagnosis can illuminate specific phenotypes and mechanisms relevant to common neurodevelopmental disorders. We report the neurological, cognitive and neuroanatomical characteristics of nine males from three families with loss-of-function mutations in ZDHHC9 (OMIM #300799). METHODS: All known cases of X-linked intellectual disability (XLID) due to ZDHHC9 mutation in the United Kingdom were invited to participate in a study of neurocognitive and neuroimaging phenotypes. RESULTS: Seven out of nine males with ZDHHC9 mutations had been diagnosed with epilepsy, exceeding epilepsy risk in XLID comparison subjects (PĀ =Ā 0.01). Seizure histories and EEG features amongst ZDHHC9 mutation cases shared characteristics with rolandic epilepsy (RE). Specific cognitive deficits differentiated males with ZDHHC9 mutations from XLID comparison subjects and converged with reported linguistic and nonlinguistic deficits in idiopathic RE: impaired oromotor control, reduced verbal fluency, and impaired inhibitory control on visual attention tasks. Consistent neuroanatomical abnormalities included thalamic and striatal volume reductions and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum. INTERPRETATION: Mutations in ZDHHC9 are associated with susceptibility to focal seizures and specific cognitive impairments intersecting with the RE spectrum. Neurocognitive deficits are accompanied by consistent abnormalities of subcortical structures and inter-hemispheric connectivity. The biochemical, cellular and network-level mechanisms responsible for the ZDHHC9-associated neurocognitive phenotype may be relevant to cognitive outcomes in RE.This study was
funded by the Wellcome Trust/Academy of Medical
Sciences (Starter Grant for Clinical Lecturers to K. B.).
K. B. is funded by the National Institute of Health
Research (Academic Clinical Lectureship). J. B. and D. A.
are funded by an MRC UK intramural programme (MCA0606-
5PQ41). G. S. is funded by Wellcome Trust project
grant (WT079326AIA) and a James S. McDonnell Foundation
Understanding Human Cognition Scholar Award.
F. L. R. is funded by the National Institute of Health
Research (Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre).This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acn3.196/full
Time dependent decomposition of ammonia borane for the controlled production of 2D hexagonal boron nitride.
Ammonia borane (AB) is among the most promising precursors for the large-scale synthesis of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Its non-toxic and non-flammable properties make AB particularly attractive for industry. AB decomposition under CVD conditions, however, is complex and hence has hindered tailored h-BN production and its exploitation. To overcome this challenge, we report in-depth decomposition studies of AB under industrially safe growth conditions. In situ mass spectrometry revealed a time and temperature-dependent release of a plethora of NxBy-containing species and, as a result, significant changes of the N:B ratio during h-BN synthesis. Such fluctuations strongly influence the formation and morphology of 2D h-BN. By means of in situ gas monitoring and regulating the precursor temperature over time we achieve uniform release of volatile chemical species over many hours for the first time, paving the way towards the controlled, industrially viable production of h-BN
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