Genome Engineering for Xenotransplantation

Xenotransplantation, the transfer of cells, tissues or organs between species, has the potential to overcome the critical need for organs to treat patients. One major barrier in the widespread application of xenotransplantation in the clinic is the overwhelming rejection response that occurs when non-human organs encounter the human immune system. Recent progress in developing new and better genome engineering tools now allows the genetic engineering of genes and pathways in non-human animals to overcome the human rejection response and provide an unlimited supply of rejection-free organs. In this review, the benefits and drawbacks of various genome engineering protocols, and examples of their application in xenotransplantation, are discussed

Xenotransplantation

Xenotransplantation, defined as the transfer of cells, tissues or organs between species, has been a subject of significant interest for decades as a response to the increasing demand for biological materials to treat patients. In this review, the history and recent progress in xenotransplantation research will be discussed, including the immunological challenges that need to be overcome and the molecular biological methods which are required to allow the complex genome engineering to meet the critical need for organs

Metrics for Emitter Selection for Multistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar

A bistatic implementation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to form images of the ground from an aircraft makes use of separate emitters and receivers. When not using cooperative emitters, ground based communications systems can provide illumination. One way to improve performance of these waveforms, which are not designed for SAR, is a multistatic implementation, formed from multiple bistatic systems. This leads to the problem of selecting a subset from a potentially large set of emitters to use for image formation. A framework for this selection between sets of emitters is proposed using multiple objective optimization. This approach requires use of objective functions to score the inputs to the selection process. The four objective functions selected to score sets of emitters are: signal to noise ratio, waveform ambiguity function\u27s integrated sidelobes , effective multistatic resolution area, and contrast ratio. To speed calculations, an approximation is found for the point spread function. Simulation is used to compare approximation with theory, showing its utility for emitter selection. Finally a qualitative example of emitter selection is presented

The Role of Heritage Attractions in Sustainable Tourism Strategies: The Experience in Ireland

Ireland, located on the north-west periphery of Europe, illustrates all the difficulties of a small, marginalised, island economy. It is an ancient landscape rich in heritage and cultural features. Tourism is now a vital part of the Irish economy. Recent research has demonstrated that the distinctive Irishness , whilst difficult to define, is the major appeal for overseas markets. In 1989 the Irish Government challenged Bord Failte (the Irish Tourist Board) to double revenue from overseas tourists and create 25,000 new jobs. Heritage attractions, formed a fundamental feature of Bord Failte\u27s Framework Plan for Tourism. The methodology adopted for heritage attraction development and interpretation is evaluated in this paper, together with an assessment of the outcomes of the strategy. This particular initiative is discussed in the context of sustainable tourism strategies

Correlations Between Interpersonal Trust and Agreeableness with Belief in Conspiracy Theories

We encountered a disagreement in the literature related to this topic between whether agreeableness was a predictor of conspiracy beliefs or not. The purpose of our study was to determine whether interpersonal trust was a better predictor of conspiracy beliefs than agreeableness, the big five personality that trust is a part of. Our results supported this hypothesis, as trust was significantly correlated with conspiracy beliefs while agreeableness was not

Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education: A mapping study of the prevalent models of delivery and their effectiveness

In October 2008, then Schools Minister Ji, Knight announced that Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education would become compulsory (for Key Stages 1-4). Following this, In November 2009, Sheffield Hallam University was contracted by DCSF (now DfE) to conduct a mapping exercise of PSHE education in primary and secondary schools in England. This resulted from a recommendation in the Macdonald Review, whcih identified the need for research to establish and report on the prevalent models of delivery for PSHE education and their effectiveness in improving outcomes for children and young people (Macdonald, 2009:8)

Port Townsend liquids depot: environmental impact assessment of a biofuels facility on the Port Townsend Paper Corporation site

This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been compiled in accordance to the Washington State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA). Its purpose is to analyze and determine the environmental, social, and economic impacts of co-locating a liquid depot facility at the pre-existing Port Townsend Paper Corporation. The Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) has proposed the project, which is siting a liquids depot on land owned by the PTPC. This EIA will analyze all potential significant impacts produced by the proposal and consider all elements as outlined by SEPA

Corporate Governance and the Cost of Debt of Large European Firms

This paper examines the effects of different corporate governance mechanisms on the cost of debt for large European firms and documents a novel interaction effect between shareholder rights and disclosure. Improved disclosure leads to a lower credit spread only if shareholder rights are low. A possible explanation for this finding is the ‘share rights or disclose’ hypothesis. If shareholders have sufficient rights to monitor and influence management decisions, debt providers can rely upon shareholders to mitigate agency costs. Otherwise, bondholders require a premium to compensate for the information risk due to uncertainty about the true value of the firm

An Evaluation of the Further Mathematics Support Programme : Research Report

The four key focus areas for the 2014-16 evaluation were to consider: • capacity and capability building • reach to schools/colleges, teachers and students • effectiveness of the programme (quality and impact) • sustainability beyond the end of the programme The evaluation also sought to assess the viability and value of quantitative modelling of Further Mathematics and FMSP activity, including identifying any relevant issues in drawing together disparate databases, to provide a quantitative baseline for future evaluation and to develop tools for future evaluation, including assessing the value of focus group interviews with students as a data collection method. The evaluation affirms previous findings about the quality and value of FMSP activity and the positive regard of stakeholders for the programme. It supports a continuation of a varied programme offer. The analysis highlights the important role that the FMSP has and can play in supporting Further Mathematics culture particularly in contexts and centres in challenging circumstances. The evaluation confirms the impact that the FMSP has had on widening participation in Further Mathematics, but also indicates that access to Further Mathematics - and so to both the intrinsic benefits of this as well as access to further opportunities - continues to be more available to students who are socially and economically advantaged