Electronic and Paper-Based Teaching Portfolios: Student Perceptions and Recommendations

This paper documents a yearlong pilot study, conducted by teacher education faculty, to evaluate methods for creating, sustaining, and assessing teaching portfolios. Selected issues with paper-based and software-based programs are compared. Key design, instructional, and procedural problems that arose during this study are discussed as well. The findings of this study support the need for a flexible electronic portfolio system in which students play a key role in the design, development, and content of their portfolios as well as the need for a clearly articulated academic purpose and requirements for the teaching portfolio with implications for students in all disciplines

Tcf7l2 plays pleiotropic roles in the control of glucose homeostasis, pancreas morphology, vascularization and regeneration

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a disease characterized by impaired insulin secretion. The Wnt signaling transcription factor Tcf7l2 is to date the T2D-associated gene with the largest effect on disease susceptibility. However, the mechanisms by which TCF7L2 variants affect insulin release from β-cells are not yet fully understood. By taking advantage of a tcf7l2 zebrafish mutant line, we first show that these animals are characterized by hyperglycemia and impaired islet development. Moreover, we demonstrate that the zebrafish tcf7l2 gene is highly expressed in the exocrine pancreas, suggesting potential bystander effects on β-cell growth, differentiation and regeneration. Finally, we describe a peculiar vascular phenotype in tcf7l2 mutant larvae, characterized by significant reduction in the average number and diameter of pancreatic islet capillaries. Overall, the zebrafish Tcf7l2 mutant, characterized by hyperglycemia, pancreatic and vascular defects, and reduced regeneration proves to be a suitable model to study the mechanism of action and the pleiotropic effects of Tcf7l2, the most relevant T2D GWAS hit in human populations. © 2017 The Author(s)

Dual-initiation promoters with intertwined canonical and TCT/TOP transcription start sites diversify transcript processing

Variations in transcription start site (TSS) selection reflect diversity of preinitiation complexes and can impact on post-transcriptional RNA fates. Most metazoan polymerase II-transcribed genes carry canonical initiation with pyrimidine/purine (YR) dinucleotide, while translation machinery-associated genes carry polypyrimidine initiator (5'-TOP or TCT). By addressing the developmental regulation of TSS selection in zebrafish we uncovered a class of dual-initiation promoters in thousands of genes, including snoRNA host genes. 5'-TOP/TCT initiation is intertwined with canonical initiation and used divergently in hundreds of dual-initiation promoters during maternal to zygotic transition. Dual-initiation in snoRNA host genes selectively generates host and snoRNA with often different spatio-temporal expression. Dual-initiation promoters are pervasive in human and fruit fly, reflecting evolutionary conservation. We propose that dual-initiation on shared promoters represents a composite promoter architecture, which can function both coordinately and divergently to diversify RNAs

Working Title Films and Universal : The Integration of a British Production Company into a Hollywood Studio

Working Title Films is arguably the most successful and well-known production company in Britain today. For over 30 years, it has produced a diverse range of critically and commercially successful British films including romantic comedies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), family films like Bean (1997) and Nanny McPhee (2005) and dramas including Atonement (2007) and The Theory of Everything (2014). For the majority of its history, however, Working Title has been defined in business terms by its status as a subsidiary of one of two multinational media conglomerates, PolyGram (1992–8) and Universal (1998–present). The transition between the two began when PolyGram, and its film studio, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (PFE), was sold to Seagram, the parent company of Universal. This article examines Working Title’s integration into Universal and the evolving media ecology which shaped the processes of development, green-lighting, production, marketing and distribution at play within and between both companies between 1998 and 2006. In these respects, Working Title’s transition between parent companies is a narrative of both continuity and change. Significantly, three key stages of gatekeeping remained common to both the PFE and Universal eras: development, green-lighting and distribution. The institutional perimeters within which these points of decision-making occurred, however, changed considerably. The article concludes by considering the impact of such structures and processes on the films which Working Title produced, particularly their various representations of Britain and ‘Britishness’

Characterization of a trimeric light-harvesting complex in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum built of FcpA and FcpE proteins

Fucoxanthin chlorophyll proteins (Fcps), the light-harvesting antennas of heterokont algae, are encoded by a multigene family and are highly similar with respect to their molecular masses as well as to their pigmentation, making it difficult to purify single Fcps. In this study, a hexa-histidine tag was genetically added to the C-terminus of the FcpA protein of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. A transgenic strain expressing the recombinant His-tagged FcpA protein in addition to the endogenous wild type Fcps was created. This strategy allowed, for the first time, the purification of a specific, stable trimeric Fcp complex. In addition, a pool of various trimeric Fcps was also purified from the wild-type cells using sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation and gel filtration. In both the His-tagged and the wild-type Fcps, excitation energy coupling between fucoxanthin and chlorophyll a was intact and the existence of a chlorophyll a/fucoxanthin excitonic dimer was demonstrated using circular dichroism spectroscopy. Mass spectrometric analyses of the trimeric His-tagged complex indicated that it is composed of FcpA and FcpE polypeptides. It is confirmed here that a trimer is the basic organizational unit of Fcps in P. tricornutum. From circular dichroism spectra, it is proposed that the organization of the pigments on the polypeptide backbone of Fcps is a conserved feature in the case of chlorophyll a/c containing algae

Resistance of Dynamin-related Protein 1 Oligomers to Disassembly Impairs Mitophagy, Resulting in Myocardial Inflammation and Heart Failure

We have reported previously that a missense mutation in the mitochondrial fission gene Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) underlies the Python mouse model of monogenic dilated cardiomyopathy. The aim of this study was to investigate the consequences of the C452F mutation on Drp1 protein function and to define the cellular sequelae leading to heart failure in the Python monogenic dilated cardiomyopathy model. We found that the C452F mutation increased Drp1 GTPase activity. The mutation also conferred resistance to oligomer disassembly by guanine nucleotides and high ionic strength solutions. In a mouse embryonic fibroblast model, Drp1 C452F cells exhibited abnormal mitochondrial morphology and defective mitophagy. Mitochondria in C452F mouse embryonic fibroblasts were depolarized and had reduced calcium uptake with impaired ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation. In the Python heart, we found a corresponding progressive decline in oxidative phosphorylation with age and activation of sterile inflammation. As a corollary, enhancing autophagy by exposure to a prolonged low-protein diet improved cardiac function in Python mice. In conclusion, failure of Drp1 disassembly impairs mitophagy, leading to a downstream cascade of mitochondrial depolarization, aberrant calcium handling, impaired ATP synthesis, and activation of sterile myocardial inflammation, resulting in heart failure

The governance of justice and internal security in Scotland: Between the Scottish independence referendum and British decisions on the EU

This article examines how the governance of justice and internal security in Scotland could be affected by the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014. The article argues that it is currently impossible to equate a specific result in the referendum with a given outcome for the governance of justice and internal security in Scotland. This is because of the complexities of the current arrangements in that policy area and the existence of several changes that presently affect them and are outside the control of the government and of the people of Scotland. This article also identifies an important paradox. In the policy domain of justice and internal security, a ‘no’ vote could, in a specific set of circumstances, actually lead to more changes than a victory of the ‘yes’ camp

Cardiovascular risk outcome and program evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial of a community-based, lay peer led program for people with diabetes

BACKGROUND: The 2013 Global Burden of Disease Study demonstrated the increasing burden of diabetes and the challenge it poses to the health systems of all countries. The chronic and complex nature of diabetes requires active self-management by patients in addition to clinical management in order to achieve optimal glycaemic control and appropriate use of available clinical services. This study is an evaluation of a "real world" peer support program aimed at improving the control and management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Australia. METHODS: The trial used a randomised cluster design with a peer support intervention and routine care control arms and 12-month follow up. Participants in both arms received a standardised session of self-management education at baseline. The intervention program comprised monthly community-based group meetings over 12 months led by trained peer supporters and active encouragement to use primary health care and other community resources and supports related to diabetes. Clinical, behavioural and other measures were collected at baseline, 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was the predicted 5 year cardiovascular disease risk using the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Risk Equation at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included clinical measures, quality of life, measures of support, psychosocial functioning and lifestyle measures. RESULTS: Eleven of 12 planned groups were successfully implemented in the intervention arm. Both the usual care and the intervention arms demonstrated a small reduction in 5 year UKPDS risk and the mean values for biochemical and anthropometric outcomes were close to target at 12 months. There were some small positive changes in self-management behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: The positive changes in self-management behaviours among intervention participants were not sufficient to reduce cardiovascular risk, possibly because approximately half of the study participants already had quite well controlled T2DM at baseline. Future research needs to address how to enhance community based programs so that they reach and benefit those most in need of resources and supports to improve metabolic control and associated clinical outcomes

Anti-Allergic Cromones Inhibit Histamine and Eicosanoid Release from Activated Human and Murine Mast Cells by Releasing Annexin A1

PMCID: PMC3601088This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited