Analysis of β-globin chromatin micro-environment using a novel 3C variant, 4Cv

Copyright: © 2010 Pink et al.Higher order chromatin folding is critical to a number of developmental processes, including the regulation of gene expression. Recently developed biochemical techniques such as RNA TRAP and chromosome conformation capture (3C) have provided us with the tools to probe chromosomal structures. These techniques have been applied to the β-globin locus, revealing a complex pattern of interactions with regions along the chromosome that the gene resides on. However, biochemical and microscopy data on the nature of β-globin interactions with other chromosomes is contradictory. Therefore we developed a novel 4C variant, Complete-genome 3C by vectorette amplification (4Cv), which allows an unbiased and quantitative method to examine chromosomal structure. We have used 4Cv to study the microenvironment of the β-globin locus in mice and show that a significant proportion of the interactions of β-globin are inter-chromosomal. Furthermore, our data show that in the liver, where the gene is active, β-globin is more likely to interact with other chromosomes, compared to the brain where the gene is silent and is more likely to interact with other regions along the same chromosome. Our data suggest that transcriptional activation of the β-globin locus leads to a change in nuclear position relative to the chromosome territory.Ryan Pink is supported by a grant from Action Medical Research; Daniel Caley is supported by a grant from The Dunhill Medical Trust; David Carter is supported by a grant from the British Society for Haematology

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future

This book describes a seismic-though as yet undetected-shift now under way in much of the advanced world. We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computerlike capabilities of the Information Age to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big-picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place, the Conceptual Age. This book is for anyone who wants to survive and thrive in this emerging world-people uneasy in their careers or dissatisfied with their lives, entrepreneurs and business leaders eager to say ahead of the next wave, parents who want to equip their children for the future, and the legions of emotionally astute and creatively adroit people whose distinctive abilities the Information Age has often overlooked and undervalued. In this book, you will learn the six essential aptitudes-what I call “the six senses”-on which professional success and personal satisfaction increasingly will depend. Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. These are fundamentally human abilities that everyone can master-and helping you do that is my goal

El partenariado en aprendizaje-servicio de la Universidad Católica Australiana y la Universidad DePaul (Chicago)

Aquest article explica el partenariat en aprenentatge servei entre la Universitat Catòlica d'Austràlia i la Universitat DePaul (Chicago) i com aquesta associació ha enriquit l'aprenentatge servei per a ambdues institucions. Mitjançant una metodologia d'estudi de cas, explorem com dues grans institucions catòliques d'educació superior amb missions similars però diferents s'han associat per conèixer els seus enfocaments i contextos. Des del 2018, les dues universitats s'han reunit per discutir els seus programes i explorar oportunitats de col·laboració. Aquestes discussions han donat lloc a noves interpretacions i traduccions de la terminologia pedagògica en contextos australians i nord-americans i a la identificació de com la coherència de la missió pot informar les associacions entre les institucions catòliques d'educació superior. L'associació també ha donat lloc a col·laboracions contínues que han impulsat la missió de l'aprenentatge servei i la seva institucionalització a les dues universitats. L’article conclou reflexionant sobre el valor de les associacions entre les institucions catòliques d'educació superior a través de les fronteres nacionals i el valor d'explorar mútuament la missió, els principis i la pràctica mentre es busca una major institucionalització de l'aprenentatge servei. És a dir, aprenentatge servei en benefici mutu i per a la transformació de la comunitat i la universitat.In this paper, we report on the service-learning partnership between Australian Catholic University and DePaul University (Chicago) and how this partnership has enriched the scholarship of service-learning for both institutions. Using a case study methodology, we explore how two large Catholic Higher Education Institutions (CHEIs) with similar, yet distinct missions have partnered to learn about each other’s approaches and contexts. Since 2018, the SteansCenter for Community-Based Service-learning and Community Service Studies (DePaul) and ACU Engagement, the central agency responsible for supporting the extensive service-learning program at ACU, have met to discuss their programs and explore opportunities for collaboration. These discussions have led to new understandings and translations in the pedagogical terminology across Australian and US contexts and the identification of how mission coherence can inform partnerships between CHEIs. The partnership has also led to ongoing collaborations that have furthered the service-learning mission and institutionalisation of both universities. The paper concludes by reflecting upon the value of partnerships between CHEIs across national boundaries and the value of mutually exploring mission, principles, and practice as the field seeks further institutionalisation of service-learning. That is, service-learning for the mutual benefit and transformation of the community and university.Este artículo explica la relación de partenariado de aprendizaje-servicio entre la Universidad Católica de Australia y la Universidad DePaul (Chicago) y cómo esta asociación ha enriquecido el aprendizaje servicio para ambas instituciones. Mediante una metodología de estudio de caso, exploramos cómo dos grandes instituciones católicas de educación superior con misiones similares pero diferentes se han asociado para conocer sus enfoques y contextos. Desde 2018, ambas universidades se han reunido para discutir sus programas y explorar oportunidades de colaboración. Estas discusiones han dado lugar a nuevas interpretaciones y traducciones de la terminología pedagógica en contextos australianos y estadounidenses y a la identificación de cómo la coherencia de la misión puede informar a las asociaciones entre las instituciones católicas de educación superior. La asociación también ha dado lugar a colaboraciones continuas que han impulsado la misión del aprendizaje-servicio y su institucionalización en ambas universidades. El artículo concluye reflexionando sobre el valor de las asociaciones entre las instituciones católicas de educación superior a través de las fronteras nacionales y el valor de explorar mutuamente la misión, principios y práctica mientras se busca una mayor institucionalización del aprendizaje-servicio. Es decir, aprendizaje-servicio en beneficio mutuo y para la transformación de la comunidad y la universidad

On two theorems for flat, affine group schemes over a discrete valuation ring

We include short and elementary proofs of two theorems characterizing reductive group schemes over a discrete valuation ring, in a slightly more general context.Comment: 10 pages. To appear in C. E. J.

Looking and learning: using participatory video to improve health and safety in the construction industry

Construction health and safety (H&S)is usually managed using a top-down approach of regulating workers' behaviour through the implementation and enforcement of prescriptive rules and procedures. This management approach privileges technical knowledge over knowledge based on workers' tacit and informal ways of knowing about H&S. The aim is to investigate the potential for participatory video to: (1) identify areas in which formal policies and procedures do not reflect as practised by workers; (2) encourage creative thinking and elicit workers' ideas for H&S improvements; and (3) provide an effective mechanism for capturing and sharing tacit H&S knowledge in construction organizations. Interviews were conducted in two case study organizations (CSOs) in the Australian construction industry. The results suggest reflexive participatory video enabled workers and managers to view their work practices from a different perspective. Workers identified new hazards, reflected about the practical difficulties in performing work in accordance with documented procedures and reframed their work practices and developed safer ways of working. Workers described how the participatory video capturing the way they work enabled them to have more meaningful input into H&S decision-making than they had previously experienced. Workers also expressed a strong preference for receiving H&S information in a visual format and commented that video was better suited to communicating H&S 'know how' than written documents. The research is significant in providing initial evidence that participatory video has the potential to improve H&S in construction

Active Microrheology of Networks Composed of Semiflexible Polymers. II. Theory and comparison with simulations

Building on the results of our computer simulation (ArXiv cond-mat/0503573)we develop a theoretical description of the motion of a bead, embedded in a network of semiflexible polymers, and responding to an applied force. The theory reveals the existence of an osmotic restoring force, generated by the piling up of filaments in front of the moving bead and first deduced through computer simulations. The theory predicts that the bead displacement scales like x ~ t^alfa with time, with alfa=0.5 in an intermediate- and alfa=1 in a long-time regime. It also predicts that the compliance varies with concentration like c^(-4/3) in agreement with experiment.Comment: 18 pages and 2 figure

Prophase-Specific Perinuclear Actin Coordinates Centrosome Separation and Positioning to Ensure Accurate Chromosome Segregation

Centrosome separation in late G2/ early prophase requires precise spatial coordination that is determined by a balance of forces promoting and antagonizing separation. The major effector of centrosome separation is the kinesin Eg5. However, the identity and regulation of Eg5-antagonizing forces is less well characterized. By manipulating candidate components, we find that centrosome separation is reversible and that separated centrosomes congress toward a central position underneath the flat nucleus. This positioning mechanism requires microtubule polymerization, as well as actin polymerization. We identify perinuclear actin structures that form in late G2/early prophase and interact with microtubules emanating from the centrosomes. Disrupting these structures by breaking the interactions of the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex with perinuclear actin filaments abrogates this centrosome positioning mechanism and causes an increase in subsequent chromosome segregation errors. Our results demonstrate how geometrical cues from the cell nucleus coordinate the orientation of the emanating spindle poles before nuclear envelope breakdown

Scaling Behaviour and Complexity of the Portevin-Le Chatelier Effect

The plastic deformation of dilute alloys is often accompanied by plastic instabilities due to dynamic strain aging and dislocation interaction. The repeated breakaway of dislocations from and their recapture by solute atoms leads to stress serrations and localized strain in the strain controlled tensile tests, known as the Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect. In this present work, we analyse the stress time series data of the observed PLC effect in the constant strain rate tensile tests on Al-2.5%Mg alloy for a wide range of strain rates at room temperature. The scaling behaviour of the PLC effect was studied using two complementary scaling analysis methods: the finite variance scaling method and the diffusion entropy analysis. From these analyses we could establish that in the entire span of strain rates, PLC effect showed Levy walk property. Moreover, the multiscale entropy analysis is carried out on the stress time series data observed during the PLC effect to quantify the complexity of the distinct spatiotemporal dynamical regimes. It is shown that for the static type C band, the entropy is very low for all the scales compared to the hopping type B and the propagating type A bands. The results are interpreted considering the time and length scales relevant to the effect.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figure