Evaluation of a New Interactive First-Year Undergraduate Symmetry Coursework Activity

Knowledge of symmetry operations and point groups in first-year undergraduate chemistry is crucial for the understanding of more advanced topics in later years, such as spectroscopy, group theory and crystallography. However, symmetry is an abstract topic and many first-years find it problematic, both in terms of understanding and engagement with the material. In particular, the visualisation of molecules in 3D and applying symmetry operations presents a key challenge for many students. We designed a new method of symmetry assessment for first-year chemistry undergraduates, which encouraged them to look at the symmetry of everyday objects (such as buildings, street furniture or household items) in addition to standard molecules. The participants uploaded photos of interesting objects they found to Moodle (UCL’s virtual learning environment) and, within small groups, they discussed the symmetry elements within them and came to a consensus on the objects’ point groups. With many everyday objects, there was room for debate (expected to encourage deeper learning), which led to a variety of point groups being proposed for the same object. Using pre- and post-coursework questionnaires and diagnostic quizzes, we evaluated this e-learning approach and compared the results with a control group (who did the standard coursework). The effectiveness of this activity and the next steps will be discussed

Rethinking Assessment of First-Year Undergraduate Symmetry with E-Learning Techniques

The knowledge of symmetry operations and point groups in first-year undergraduate chemistry is crucial for the understanding of more advanced topics in later years, such as spectroscopy, group theory and crystallography. However, symmetry is a topic with which many first-years struggle, both in terms of understanding and engagement with the material. In particular, the visualisation of molecules in 3D and applying symmetry operations presents a key challenge for many students. We have designed a new method of symmetry assessment for first-year chemistry undergraduates, which encourages them to look at the symmetry of everyday objects, such as buildings, street furniture or household items. The participants upload photos of interesting objects they find to Moodle (UCL’s virtual learning environment) and, within groups, discuss the symmetry elements within them, leading to assignment of a point group. With many everyday objects, there is room for debate, for example, when considering the symmetry of a street sign, should the whole sign be included in the assessment or just the face. This debate and peer dialogue fosters deeper learning and can then be applied to molecules and molecular orbitals. The effectiveness of this approach will be assessed in the coming academic year and compared to a control group, and a group completing the coursework in its current form of a Moodle quiz

Role of HIF1α and HIF2α in Cre Recombinase–Induced Retinal Pigment Epithelium Pathology and Its Secondary Effect on Choroidal Neovascularization

CreTrp1 mice are widely used for conditional retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) gene function studies. Like other Cre/LoxP models, phenotypes in CreTrp1 mice can be affected by Cre-mediated cellular toxicity, leading to RPE dysfunction, altered morphology and atrophy, activation of innate immunity, and consequent impairment of photoreceptor function. These effects are common among the age-related alterations of RPE that feature in early/intermediate forms of age-related macular degeneration. This article characterizes Cre-mediated pathology in the CreTrp1 line to elucidate the impact of RPE degeneration on both developmental and pathologic choroidal neovascularization. Nonredundant roles of the two major components of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) family of transcription regulators, HIF1α and HIF2α, were identified. Genetic ablation of Hif1a protected against Cre-induced degeneration of RPE and choroid, whereas ablation of Hif2a exacerbated this degeneration. Furthermore, HIF1α deficiency protected CreTrp1 mice against laser-induced choroidal neovascularization, whereas HIF2α deficiency exacerbated the phenotype. Cre-mediated degeneration of the RPE in CreTrp1 mice offers an opportunity to investigate the impact of hypoxia signaling in the context of RPE degeneration. These findings indicate that HIF1α promotes Cre recombinase–mediated RPE degeneration and laser-induced choroidal neovascularization, whereas HIF2α is protective

PENGARUH KEPEMIMPINAN TRANSFORMASIONAL DAN KREATIVITAS TERHADAP KINERJA PEGAWAI DINAS TANAMAN PANGAN DAN HORTIKULTURA PROVINSI JAWA BARAT

ABSTRAK Kinerja Pegawai merupakan aspek penting dalam sebuah organisasi instansi. Kinerja pegawai menjadi faktor utama dalam suatu organisasi instansi, karena untuk mencapai tujuan dan unggul dari pesaing diperlukan kinerja pegawai yang baik. Kinerja pegawai perlu dijadikan bahan evaluasi bagi sebuah instansi pemerintahan untuk mengetahui apakah manajemen yang ada pada suatu instansi telah efektif dan efisien. Untuk meningkatkan kinerja pegawai dibutuhkan kepemimpinan transformasional yang sesuai agar terdorong untuk bekerja secara optimal serta kreativitas kerja yang tinggi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana pengaruh kepemimpinan transformasional dan kreativitas terhadap kinerja pegawai pada instansi pemerintahan yang bergerak dalam bidang pertanian dan perkebunan di provinsi jawa barat. Adapun ukuran populasinya sebanyak 228 orang dengan sampel yang diteliti adalah sebanyak 70 orang pegawai Dinas Tanaman Pangan dan Hortikultura Provinsi Jawa Barat. Teknik Pengambilan sampel dalam penelitian ini menggunakan sampel probability sampling. Sedangkan untuk mengetahui besarnya pengaruh tersebut digunakan alat analisis regresi linier berganda serta kuesioner sebagai alat pengukur data responden. Hasil penelitian secara simultan yaitu menunjukan pengaruh kepemimpinan transformasional dan kreativitas terhadap kinerja pegawai sebesar 49,7% dan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja pegawai. Secara parsial menunjukan bahwa kepemimpinan transformasional memiliki pengaruh sebesar 36,4% dan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja pegawai, dan kreativitas kerja memiliki pengaruh sebesar 13,3% dan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja pegawai. Kata Kunci: Kepemimpinan Transformasional, Kreativitas, Kinerja Pegawa

Marine Enzymes Production Tools to the Pharmaceutical Industry

1656-1666Marine environment contains organisms that make it a profitable natural reservoir, having a tremendous potential to produce functional bio-catalysis, such as amylase, lipase, protease, curtains etc. The enzymes isolated from marine organisms, especially extremophiles, are distinguished by their habitat-related features through bioprospecting processes. These novel features include barophilicity, cold adaptively, salt tolerance and hyperthermo-stability which can alter industrial processes to facilitate mass transfer, energy savings, cost reduction, etc. . This review gives details about the marine enzymes and their, historical discovery followed by isolation processes, introducing seven special marine enzymes with emphasis on their potential applications in chemical, food and pharmaceutical industry

The Influence of Communication and Leadership to The Performance of Employee at Orthopaedic Hospital Prof.Dr.R. Soeharso of Surakarta

The purpose of this study is analysing influence communication on performance, leadership on performance and communication, and leadership on performance of employee at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Prof.Dr.R. Soeharso of Surakarta. This research is quantitative, by taking samples at Prof.DR.R. Soeharso of Orthopaedic at Jl. A. Yani, Pabelan, Kartasura, Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, 57162. The study population and sample as many as 664 employees were taken by 70 employees. The technique of collecting data using questionnaires. The data analysis technique used is multiple linear regression analysis. The results obtained showed that Communications positive and significant effect on employee performance at Orthopaedic hospital Prof.Dr.R. Soeharso of Surakarta. Leadership positive and significant effect on employee performance at Orthopaedic hospital Prof.Dr.R. Soeharso of Surakarta. Communication and Leadership positive and significant effect on employee performance at Orthopaedic hospital Prof.Dr.R. Soeharso of Surakarta

Assessment and in vivo scoring of murine experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis using optical coherence tomography

Despite advances in clinical imaging and grading our understanding of retinal immune responses and their morphological correlates in experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), has been hindered by the requirement for post-mortem histology. To date, monitoring changes occurring during EAU disease progression and evaluating the effect of therapeutic intervention in real time has not been possible. We wanted to establish whether optical coherence tomography (OCT) could detect intraretinal changes during inflammation and to determine its utility as a tool for accurate scoring of EAU. EAU was induced in C57BL/6J mice and animals evaluated after 15, 26, 36 and 60 days. At each time-point, contemporaneous Spectralis-OCT scanning, topical endoscopic fundal imaging (TEFI), fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and CD45-immunolabelled histology were performed. OCT features were further characterised on retinal flat-mounts using immunohistochemistry and 3D reconstruction. Optic disc swelling and vitreous opacities detected by OCT corresponded to CD45+ cell infiltration on histology. Vasculitis identified by FFA and OCT matched perivascular myeloid and T-cell infiltrates and could be differentiated from unaffected vessels. Evolution of these changes could be followed over time in the same eye. Retinal folds were visible and found to encapsulate mixed populations of activated myeloid cells, T-cells and microglia. Using these features, an OCT-based EAU scoring system was developed, with significant correlation to validated histological (Pearson r(2) = 0.6392, P<0.0001, n = 31 eyes) and TEFI based scoring systems (r(2) = 0.6784, P<0.0001). OCT distinguishes the fundamental features of murine EAU in vivo, permits dynamic assessment of intraretinal changes and can be used to score disease severity. As a result, it allows tissue synchronisation with subsequent cellular and functional assessment and greater efficiency of animal usage. By relating OCT signals with immunohistochemistry in EAU, our findings offer the opportunity to inform the interpretation of OCT changes in human uveitis

Flow cytometric analysis of inflammatory and resident myeloid populations in mouse ocular inflammatory models

Myeloid cells make a pivotal contribution to tissue homeostasis during inflammation. Both tissue-specific resident populations and infiltrating myeloid cells can cause tissue injury through aberrant activation and/or dysregulated activity. Reliable identification and quantification of myeloid cells within diseased tissues is important to understand pathological inflammatory processes. Flow cytometry is a valuable technique for leukocyte analysis, but a standardized flow cytometric method for myeloid cell populations in the eye is lacking. Here, we validate a reproducible flow cytometry gating approach to characterize myeloid cells in several commonly used models of ocular inflammation. We profile and quantify myeloid subsets across these models, and highlight the value of this strategy in identifying phenotypic differences using Ccr2-deficient mice. This method will aid standardization in the field and facilitate future investigations into the roles of myeloid cells during ocular inflammation

LANGKAH STRATEGIS MENUJU BUMDESA MAJU STUDI KASUS BUMDESA AGUNG BAROKAH DESA BANJARAGUNG KABUPATEN JEPARA

Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif yang bertujuan untuk menganalisis langkah yang dilakukan pengelola Bumdes Agung Barokah desa Banjaragung kecamatan Bangsri menuju Bumdes dengan kriteria Maju. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengelola Bumdes sudah melaksanakan langkah strategis yang efektif dalam pengelolaan Bumdes sesuai dengan enam aspek dalam Pergub No 18 Tahun 2018 dengan perolehan bobot 82,08 (berkembang). Sumbangan bobot terbesar dari aspek usaha dan sumbangan bobot terkecil dari aspek dampak bumdes terhadap masyarakat. Untuk menuju bumdes maju masih membutuhkan bobot 3,92 yang bisa diperoleh melalui aspek permodalan dan asset, aspek usaha, aspek administrasi, pelaporan dan pertanggungjawaban, aspek dampak bumdes terhadap masyarakat dan aspek kelembagaan. Hasil ini menunjukkan bahwa pengelola bumdes, pemerintahan desa serta masyarakat dalam satu tahun terakhir sudah bersinergi dengan bai