Review of Engaging Education: Developing Emotional Literacy, Equity and Co-education. Brian Matthews. (Book Review)

The book is only about a fraction of its title Engaging Education. His section on ‘engaging the emotions’ sums this up: whereas the book is largely about engaging the emotions positively, the definition of ‘Engaging’ is more far reaching: “that pupils should be involved in their learning; be active and absorbed and not just passive recipients of a set curriculum. Additionally, they should feel engaged in the processes of education and have some input into creating their own agendas for learning” (p.2). Exploring the full impact of this statement across the curriculum really needs a different book

Density Measures and Their Relation to Urban Form

The relationship between density and urban form is explored using four dwelling types: Single family detached housing, row housing, low-rise garden apartments and high-rise apartments. Ninety-nine typical site layouts of the four dwelling types were developed systematically. Changing variables included unit size, lot size and block configuration. The relation between these variables and the resulting densities was analyzed using regression and multiple correlation analysis. Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.https://dc.uwm.edu/caupr_mono/1036/thumbnail.jp

Fire Spread in an Artificial Fuel

Paper published as Bulletin 32 in the UM Bulletin Forestry Series.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/umforestrybulletin/1016/thumbnail.jp

Impairment of the CD8+ T cell response in lungs following infection with human respiratory syncytial virus is specific to the anatomical site rather than the virus, antigen, or route of infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A subset of the virus-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) isolated from the lungs of mice infected with human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is impaired in the ability to secrete interferon γ (IFNγ), a measure of functionality. It was suggested that the impairment specifically suppressed the host cellular immune response, a finding that could help explain the ability of RSV to re-infect throughout life.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To determine whether this effect is dependent on the virus, the route of infection, or the type of infection (respiratory, disseminated, or localized dermal), we compared the CTL responses in mice following intranasal (IN) infection with RSV or influenza virus or IN or intradermal (ID) infection with vaccinia virus expressing an RSV CTL antigen. The impairment was observed in the lungs after IN infection with RSV, influenza or vaccinia virus, and after a localized ID infection with vaccinia virus. In contrast, we observed a much higher percentage of IFNγ secreting CD8+ lymphocytes in the spleens of infected mice in every case.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The decreased functionality of CD8+ CTL is specific to the lungs and is not dependent on the specific virus, viral antigen, or route of infection.</p

Genetic Structure of Northern Bobwhite in the Rolling Plains

The recent declines in northern bobwhite quail populations in the Rolling Plains of Texas have raised concerns about habitat connectivity and gene flow. In addition, bobwhites have several life history traits that make them likely to display high levels of spatial genetic structure including low survival, high reproductive rates, and low dispersal rates. To determine if populations within the Rolling Plains have limited gene flow, we investigated the genetic structure of northern bobwhites within the ecoregion. Blood samples were collected at 16 ranches, encompassing 22 million acres, between February 2010 and April 2013. Bobwhites were also samples at a ranch in South Texas to serve as an outgroup. Samples (n = 647) were genotyped at 14 microsatellite loci that averaged 19.00 ± 5.07 alleles per loci. Global Fst indicated significant genetic structure (p = 0.001) between ranches with no isolation by distance signal (p = 0.079). Program STRUCTURE, however, indicated many (n = 30) overlapping subpopulations with no ranch constituting a single subpopulation and individuals from the outgroup ranch were included in 11 subpopulations. It appears that bobwhites within the Rolling Plains have few restrictions to gene flow and dispersal is not limited by the dominant habitat, xeric rangeland. These results suggest that populations in the Rolling Plains are not in danger of becoming isolated nor are bottlenecks present due to the recent decline

Mitochondrial ROS cause motor deficits induced by synaptic inactivity:implications for synapse pruning

Developmental synapse pruning refines burgeoning connectomes. The basic mechanisms of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production suggest they select inactive synapses for pruning: whether they do so is unknown. To begin to unravel whether mitochondrial ROS regulate pruning, we made the local consequences of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) pruning detectable as motor deficits by using disparate exogenous and endogenous models to induce synaptic inactivity en masse in developing Xenopus laevis tadpoles. We resolved whether: (1) synaptic inactivity increases mitochondrial ROS; and (2) antioxidants rescue synaptic inactivity induced motor deficits. Regardless of whether it was achieved with muscle (α-bugarotoxin), nerve (α-latrotoxin) targeted neurotoxins or an endogenous pruning cue (SPARC), synaptic inactivity increased mitochondrial ROS in vivo. The manganese porphyrins MnTE-2-PyP5+ and/or MnTnBuOE-2-PyP5+ blocked mitochondrial ROS to significantly reduce neurotoxin and endogenous pruning cue induced motor deficits. Selectively inducing mitochondrial ROS—using mitochondria-targeted Paraquat (MitoPQ)—recapitulated synaptic inactivity induced motor deficits; which were significantly reduced by blocking mitochondrial ROS with MnTnBuOE-2-PyP5+. We unveil mitochondrial ROS as synaptic activity sentinels that regulate the phenotypical consequences of forced synaptic inactivity at the NMJ. Our novel results are relevant to pruning because synaptic inactivity is one of its defining features