NCAA FBI Probe

The article discusses the FBI probe as well as a list of other scandals that have risen from the investigation such as the debate as to whether to pay student athletes, the NCAA\u27s aim to stress academics over athletics, the NCAA\u27s transfer rules, and the one-and-done rule. The article also emphasizes the lack of emphasis on female athletes in the media and unfair treatment in relationship to Title XI

Innovating Pedagogy 2015: Open University Innovation Report 4

This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This fourth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. We proposed a long list of new educational terms, theories, and practices. We then pared these down to ten that have the potential to provoke major shifts in educational practice, particularly in post-school education. Lastly, we drew on published and unpublished writings to compile the ten sketches of new pedagogies that might transform education. These are summarised below in an approximate order of immediacy and timescale to widespread implementation

Resuscitation and quantification of stressed Escherichia coli K12 NCTC8797 in water samples

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact on numbers of using different media for the enumeration of Escherichia coli subjected to stress, and to evaluate the use of different resuscitation methods on bacterial numbers. E. coli was subjected to heat stress by exposure to 55 °C for 1 h or to light-induced oxidative stress by exposure to artificial light for up to 8 h in the presence of methylene blue. In both cases, the bacterial counts on selective media were below the limits of detection whereas on non-selective media colonies were still produced. After resuscitation in non-selective media, using a multi-well MPN resuscitation method or resuscitation on membrane filters, the bacterial counts on selective media matched those on non-selective media. Heat and light stress can affect the ability of E. coli to grow on selective media essential for the enumeration as indicator bacteria. A resuscitation method is essential for the recovery of these stressed bacteria in order to avoid underestimation of indicator bacteria numbers in water. There was no difference in resuscitation efficiency using the membrane filter and multi-well MPN methods. This study emphasises the need to use a resuscitation method if the numbers of indicator bacteria in water samples are not to be underestimated. False-negative results in the analysis of drinking water or natural bathing waters could have profound health effects

Applications of Transport/Reaction Codes to Problems in Cell Modeling

We demonstrate two specific examples that show how our exiting capabilities in solving large systems of partial differential equations associated with transport/reaction systems can be easily applied to outstanding problems in computational biology. First, we examine a three-dimensional model for calcium wave propagation in a Xenopus Laevis frog egg and verify that a proposed model for the distribution of calcium release sites agrees with experimental results as a function of both space and time. Next, we create a model of the neuron's terminus based on experimental observations and show that the sodium-calcium exchanger is not the route of sodium's modulation of neurotransmitter release. These state-of-the-art simulations were performed on massively parallel platforms and required almost no modification of existing Sandia codes

Effects of harvest season on carcass characteristics of lambs in the Intermountain West

Objective: The objectives of this study were to survey characteristics including hot carcass weight (HCW), 12th rib fat thickness (RFT), body-wall thickness (BWT), longissimus muscle area (LMA), USDA yield grade (USDA YG), percentage closely trimmed retail cuts (RC), and calculated yield grade (Calc YG) of lamb carcasses in the Intermountain West to determine the effects of season of slaughter and interrelationships among carcass characteristics. Materials and Methods: Lamb carcass characteristics were evaluated in 2 commercial Intermountain West processing plants over one year (n = 10,027). Carcasses were evaluated by season: spring (December–April, n = 2,322) and summer (May–August, n = 7,705). Results and Discussion: Carcasses of lambs slaughtered in the spring had 3.4 kg heavier HCW (P = 0.04) than those slaughtered in the summer. Subcutaneous fat (RFT; P = 0.06) and Calc YG (P = 0.09) tended to be greater in the spring than summer. Correlation coefficients and models of fit with a linear covariate of HCW indicated negative relationship between HCW and RC and positive relationship with all other carcass traits (P \u3c 0.001). Overall, graded lamb carcasses exceeded commercial processing plant preferred HCW (38.6 kg) by 5% (mean = 40.5 kg) and industry acceptable RFT (6 mm) by 25% (mean = 8.03 mm). Furthermore, 70% of lamb carcasses exceed 6 mm RFT. Implications and Applications: Season of slaughter contributed to differences in HCW and USDA YG but no other carcass characteristics. Still, carcass data surveyed from the largest lamb-producing region of the United States suggests that the degree of fatness exceeds industry preferences. Although abattoirs mitigate adverse effects of excessive fat through trimming and diverse market outlets, industry-wide efforts that agree on acceptable standards of trimness are needed. Transparent dialog across industry segments should be prioritized in addition to consistent integration of value-based pricing to reduce the proportion of excessively finished lambs

Transcriptional regulation of the urokinase receptor (u-PAR) - A central molecule of invasion and metastasis

The phenomenon of tumor-associated proteolysis has been acknowledged as a decisive step in the progression of cancer. This short review focuses on the urokinase receptor (u-PAR), a central molecule involved in tumor-associated invasion and metastasis, and summarizes the transcriptional regulation of u-PAR. The urokinase receptor (u-PAR) is a heavily glycosylated cell surface protein and binds the serine protease urokinase specifically and with high affinity. It consists of three similar cysteine-rich repeats and is anchored to the cell membrane via a GPI-anchor. The u-PAR gene comprises 7 exons and is located on chromosome 19q13. Transcriptional activation of the u-PAR promoter region can be induced by binding of transcription factors (Sp1, AP-1, AP-2, NF-kappaB). One current study gives an example for transcriptional downregulation of u-PAR through a PEA3/ets transcriptional silencing element. Knowledge of the molecular regulation of this molecule in tumor cells could be very important for diagnosis and therapy in the near future

Watching me watching you: Black women in Britain on YouTube

YouTube and video bloggers (vloggers) have been a source of academic interest, yet few studies explore the representation or experiences of Black women on YouTube. The video blogs (vlogs) of Black women yield symbolic digital resources which young Black women may engage with in self-exploratory, self-educating, resistant and collective ways. This article reflects on 21 in-depth interviews with young Black women in Britain, aged 19–33 years. It addresses how their engagement with Black women’s vlogs intersects with identity and ideological work, including participation in Black digital diasporic dynamics. Influenced by research about Black women and media culture, resistant YouTube activity, as well as race and everyday uses of celebrity, this article explores the YouTube usage of young Black women in Britain, while reflecting on what this reveals about their lives in the early 21st century. This article forms part of ‘On the Move’, a special issue marking the twentieth anniversary of the European Journal of Cultural Studies

Import of cytochrome c into mitochondria

The import of cytochrome c into mitochondria can be resolved into a number of discrete steps. Here we report on the covalent attachment of heme to apocytochrome c by the enzyme cytochrome c heme lyase in mitochondria from Neurospora crassa. A new method was developed to measure directly the linkage of heme to apocytochrome c. This method is independent of conformational changes in the protein accompanying heme attachment. Tryptic peptides of [35S]cysteine-labelled apocytochrome c, and of enzymatically formed holocytochrome c, were resolved by reverse-phase HPLC. The cysteine-containing peptide to which heme was attached eluted later than the corresponding peptide from apocytochrome c and could be quantified by counting 35S radioactivity as a measure of holocytochrome c formation. Using this procedure, the covalent attachment of heme to apocytochrome c, which is dependent on the enzyme cytochrome c heme lyase, could be measured. Activity required heme (as hemin) and could be reversibly inhibited by the analogue deuterohemin. Holocytochrome c formation was stimulated 5–10-fold by NADH > NADPH > glutathione and was independent of a potential across the inner mitochondrial membrane. NADH was not required for the binding of apocytochrome c to mitochondria and was not involved in the reduction of the cysteine thiols prior to heme attachment. Holocytochrome c formation was also dependent on a cytosolic factor that was necessary for the heme attaching step of cytochrome c import. The factor was a heat-stable, protease-insensitive, low-molecular-mass component of unknown function. Cytochrome c heme lyase appeared to be a soluble protein located in the mitochondrial intermembrane space and was distinct from the previously identified apocytochrome c binding protein having a similar location. A model is presented in which the covalent attachment of heme by cytochrome c heme lyase also plays an essential role in the import pathway of cytochrome c