The PASS Effect How Peer Assisted Study Sessions Contribute to a Computing Community

Computing at UCLan introduced Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) across all their courses in 2016, a scheme which has been identified as 'Best Practice' by the British Computer Society. Pairs of higher-year students (PASS Leaders) facilitate a group of lower year students to discuss and resolve problems during informal weekly sessions which are, in addition to the normal teaching events, scheduled sympathetically with the students' timetables. The sessions offer students extra support, tailored to their needs by identifying topics that they would like to explore further. The PASS Leaders facilitate group discussions or exercises designed to enhance the students' understanding of those topics in engaging and fun sessions. The participants benefit by having a greater understanding of the topics, enhancing their friendship with their peers and Leaders, providing a wider informal support network. Moreover, because of discussions with higher year students, attendees have a greater understanding of what their course is about and where topics fit into the wider context of their degree. There is a weekly debrief of PASS Leaders with a member of staff (PASS Supervisor) to discuss issues raised and offer ongoing support to the PASS Leaders. Troublesome topics are reported to the teaching team, so they can be addressed for future classes. The PASS Leaders benefit as much from the scheme as the students they support. Leaders say that participating in PASS has increased their confidence and has improved their organisational and interpersonal skills, amongst other things. Revisiting topics from previous years can also enhance their understanding of the material. From an academic perspective, the scheme is working well, embedding into the culture of student life. It has fostered the creation of a community across all courses and years, which increases inclusivity and brings a greater sense of belonging to our student body

When Being in the Minority Pays Off: Relationships among Sellers and Price Setting in the Champagne Industry

Economic sociologists have studied how social relationships shape market prices by focusing mostly on vertical interactions between buyers and sellers. In this paper, we examine instead the price consequences of horizontal relationships that arise from intergroup processes among sellers. Our setting is the market for Champagne grapes. Using proprietary transaction-level data, we find that female grape growers—a minority in the growers’ community—charge systematically higher prices than do male grape growers. We argue that the underlying mechanism for this unexpected pattern of results involves the relationships developed and maintained by minority members. More specifically, in-depth fieldwork reveals that female growers get together to compensate for their isolation from the majority. This behavior enables them to overcome local constraints on the availability of price-relevant information, constraints that stem from prevailing norms of market behavior: individualism and secrecy. We discuss the implications of these findings for the study of how relationships shape price-setting processes, for the sociological literature on intergroup relations, and for our understanding of inequality in markets

Studi Kesesuaian Wisata Untuk Wisata Rekreasi Pantai Dan Mutu Air Laut Di Pantai Empu Rancak Kabupaten Jepara

Pemanfaatan sumberdaya pesisir dan laut di Kabupaten Jepara dapat berupa pengembangan wisata pantai dalam hal ini di wilayah Pantai Empu Rancak. Salah satu bentuk wisata pantai adalah kegiatan rekreasi pantai. Namun, dalam melakukan upaya pengembangan wisata di Pantai Empu Rancak perlu diadakan identifikasi dan pendekatan permasalahan terlebih dulu. Hal yang paling mendasar dan menjadi tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah dengan melakukan studi mengenai tingkat kesesuaian untuk kegiatan rekreasi pantai dan tingkat pencemaran yang terjadi di Pantai Empu Rancak. Penelitian dilakukan dengan observasi lapangan (pengumpulan data primer dan data sekunder) selama 1 bulan pada bulan September 2013 sampai bulan Oktober 2013 di Pantai Empu Rancak Kabupaten Jepara, yang terbagi dalam enam titik lokasi sampling dari bagian selatan hingga ke bagian utara pantai. Pengumpulan data primer terdiri dari data fisika dan kimia perairan serta parameter kesesuaian wisata rekreasi pantai, seperti tipe pantai, lebar pantai, kemiringan pantai, kecerahan perairan, kecepatan arus, kedalaman perairan, material dasar perairan, penutupan lahan pantai, keberadaan biota berbahaya dan ketersediaan air tawar. Metode yang digunakan untuk analisis hasil penelitian adalah metode deskriptif dengan bantuan analisis Indeks Kesesuaian Wisata (IKW) dan Indeks Mutu Lingkungan Perairan ( IMLP ). Berdasarkan hasil yang didapat dari perhitungan Indeks kesesuaian wisata untuk kegiatan rekreasi pantai adalah sebagian besar diatas 80%. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa wisata rekreasi pantai di Pantai Empu Rancak Kabupaten Jepara tergolong dalam kategori Sangat Sesuai (S1) untuk kegiatan rekreasi pantai. Sedangkan untuk mutu air laut hasil yang didapat kategori sedan

Religious Affiliation and Wrongdoing: Evidence from U.S. Nursing Homes

We explore the relationship between organizational religious affiliation and wrongdoing using a unique data set on inspections in 16,101 nursing homes over five years. We find that violations of standards of care are more severe in religiously affiliated homes. We track this difference to a reduction in the likelihood that organizational members file complaints rather than poorer behaving caretakers or differential treatment by enforcement agents. Fewer complaints increase the time that religiously affiliated homes operate without monitoring, which allows violations to escalate before they are detected. Our findings highlight an understudied process in the literature on organizational wrongdoing: Although much attention has been devoted to how inspector bias can lead to incorrect conclusions about the true rates of wrongdoing across organizations, religious affiliation can lead to similarly incorrect conclusions—but through an internal organizational process

Glycoprotein IIb-IIIa Is Expressed on Avian Multilineage Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

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Coenzyme A levels influence protein acetylation, CoAlation and 4'-phosphopantetheinylation:Expanding the impact of a metabolic nexus molecule

Coenzyme A (CoA) is a key molecule in cellular metabolism including the tricarboxylic acid cycle, fatty acid synthesis, amino acid synthesis and lipid metabolism. Moreover, CoA is required for biological processes like protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) including acylation. CoA levels affect the amount of histone acetylation and thereby modulate gene expression. A direct influence of CoA levels on other PTMs, like CoAlation and 4'-phosphopantetheinylation has been relatively less addressed and will be discussed here. Increased CoA levels are associated with increased CoAlation, whereas decreased 4'-phosphopantetheinylation is observed under circumstances of decreased CoA levels. We discuss how these two PTMs can positively or negatively influence target proteins depending on CoA levels. This review highlights the impact of CoA levels on post-translational modifications, their counteractive interplay and the far-reaching consequences thereof

North Sea Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy is Exacerbated by Heat, A Phenotype Primarily Associated with Affected Glia

Progressive myoclonic epilepsies (PMEs) comprise a group of rare disorders of different genetic aetiologies, leading to childhood-onset myoclonus, myoclonic seizures and subsequent neurological decline. One of the genetic causes for PME, a mutation in the gene coding for Golgi SNAP receptor 2 (GOSR2), gives rise to a PME-subtype prevalent in Northern Europe and hence referred to as North Sea Progressive Myoclonic Epilepsy (NS-PME). Treatment for NS-PME, as for all PME subtypes, is symptomatic; the pathophysiology of NS-PME is currently unknown, precluding targeted therapy. Here, we investigated the pathophysiology of NS-PME. By means of chart review in combination with interviews with patients (n = 14), we found heat to be an exacerbating factor for a majority of NS-PME patients (86%). To substantiate these findings, we designed a NS-PME Drosophila melanogaster model. Downregulation of the Drosophila GOSR2-orthologue Membrin leads to heat-induced seizure-like behaviour. Specific downregulation of GOSR2/Membrin in glia but not in neuronal cells resulted in a similar phenotype, which was progressive as the flies aged and was partially responsive to treatment with sodium barbital. Our data suggest a role for GOSR2 in glia in the pathophysiology of NS-PME

CoA-dependent activation of mitochondrial acyl carrier protein links four neurodegenerative diseases

PKAN, CoPAN, MePAN, and PDH-E2 deficiency share key phenotypic features but harbor defects in distinct metabolic processes. Selective damage to the globus pallidus occurs in these genetic neurodegenerative diseases, which arise from defects in CoA biosynthesis (PKAN, CoPAN), protein lipoylation (MePAN), and pyruvate dehydrogenase activity (PDH-E2 deficiency). Overlap of their clinical features suggests a common molecular etiology, the identification of which is required to understand their pathophysiology and design treatment strategies. We provide evidence that CoA-dependent activation of mitochondrial acyl carrier protein (mtACP) is a possible process linking these diseases through its effect on PDH activity. CoA is the source for the 4 '-phosphopantetheine moiety required for the posttranslational 4 '-phosphopantetheinylation needed to activate specific proteins. We show that impaired CoA homeostasis leads to decreased 4 '-phosphopantetheinylation of mtACP. This results in a decrease of the active form of mtACP, and in turn a decrease in lipoylation with reduced activity of lipoylated proteins, including PDH. Defects in the steps of a linked CoA-mtACP-PDH pathway cause similar phenotypic abnormalities. By chemically and genetically re-activating PDH, these phenotypes can be rescued, suggesting possible treatment strategies for these diseases