National Geographic : understand civil engineering differently

Our undergraduate civil engineering students have access to a rich and diverse bank of textual and graphical knowledge concerning their chosen profession. However, over a number of decades, commentators have raised concerns that our students have insufficient understanding of the role of civil engineering in society. Indeed, the call for universities to educate ‘global engineers’ emphasises the need for our students to be schooled in the humanities, in parallel with their core computational studies. Unfortunately, engineering students in particular, are not accustomed to regular exploratory reading. This paper considers the use of the National Geographic magazine as a means to ignite our students’ curiosity with the world around them. The results from a pilot study and a content analysis of a number of editions from over a decade shows that this periodical regularly carries themes directly concerning the impact of civil engineering in society, be it political , financial environmental , social or ecological

Determining the role of N-cadherin in the formation of the myeloma niche

Introduction: Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell malignancy that causes extensive osteolytic bone disease. Present treatments target end stage disease but understanding how bone lesions are initiated may offer new approaches to prevent/suppress colonization. It is clear that myeloma cells form specific interactions with the bone microenvironment, where they can remain dormant and protected from current therapy to eventually proliferate and cause disease progression. N-cadherin is an adhesion molecule that has been implicated in the localization of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to ‘niches’ containing osteoblasts on endosteal bone surfaces. In this study, we have tested the hypothesis that myeloma cells utilise N-cadherin to adhere to osteoblasts in vitro and in vivo during the colonization into the bone. Findings: N-cadherin mRNA and protein were expressed by osteoblasts and myeloma cells. We showed focal expression of N-cadherin in myeloma cells, whereas expression was observed contiguously on the membranes of adjacent osteoblasts. N-cadherin expression significantly increased during osteoblastogenesis. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated staining of N-cadherin when myeloma cells were in contact with osteoblasts in vitro and in vivo. Blocking N-cadherin mediated interactions, using specific antibodies against N-cadherin, significantly reduced adherence of myeloma cells to osteoblasts in vitro. Attempts were made to block the adhesion of myeloma cells to bone cells in calvarial bones in vivo. These studies were in conclusion suggested that there may be a role of N-cadherin in these interactions. Conclusion: These studies provide evidence that adherence of myeloma cells to osteoblasts is mediated by N-cadherin in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that myeloma cells may occupy a niche similar to that used by HSCs in bone

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Project full title Developing Multilingual Web-scal