A Fourtheenth-Century Hospitaller Account Book from Hispania

The dissolution of the Order of the Temple in 1312 created a massive reorganization of former Templar properties throughout Europe. Most of the properties passed to the Order of the Hospital, which then had to reorganize its properties in Spain and France and surrender its lands in Valencia to the new Oder of Montesa. There is little evidence in the main Archives of the Order of the Hospital in Malta for this massive reorganization. But the recent discovery of an account book entitled Receptarum linguae hispania (Archive 2190) in the Malta archives provides new information about the organization and income of Hospitaller priories of St. Gilles in Languedoc and Catalonia immediately following the death of the Aragonese Master Juan Fernández de Heredia. Archive 2190 contains the accounts for yeafs 1397-1402 organized by senescalía, priories, and houses. A careful analysis of Archive 2190 suggests how the new Master, Philip de Naillac (former prior of Auvergne) dispersed the properties described in the book to remove Heredia's adherents and to collect responsions. Finally, it is a valuable source for the disposition of Templar properties within the priory system of the Hospital.[fr] La dissolution de l'ordre du Temple en 1321 entraîna une réorganisation profonde des anciennes propriétés templières dans toute l'Europe. La plupart d'entre elles devinrent la propriété de l'ordre de l'Hôpital, qui dut alors réorganiser ses possessions en Espagne et en France et céder ses domaines valenciens au nouvel ordre de Montesa. Cette réorganisation importante est peu attestée dans les archives principales de l'ordre de l'Hôpital à Malte. Pourtant, un livre de compte, Receptarum linguae hispania (Arch. 2190), récemment découvert dans les archives maltaises, fournit de nouveaux renseignements sur l'organisation et les revenus des prieurés hospitaliers de Saint Gilles en Languedoc et Catalogne pendant les années suivant la mort du maître aragonais Juan Fernández de Heredia. L'archive 2190 comprend les comptes pour les années 1397-1402, groupés par sénéchaussées, prieurés et maisons. L'analyse minutieuse de l'arch. 2190 nous permet de voir comment le nouveau maître, Philippe de Naillac (ancien prieur de Auvergne), dispersa les propriétés pour exclure les partisans de Hérédia et pour percevoir des responsions. Ce livre est aussi une source précieuse d'informations sur la disposition des propriétés templières transférées dans le système de prieurés hospitalier

Bacterial Community Sequences of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Potomac River.

Here, we report results from PCR and sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes from leaf and root surfaces from nine submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) samples comprising five species. Samples were from four sites along the Potomac River

The retrosplenial cortex and long-term spatial memory: from the cell to the network

In this review we briefly outline how lesion studies, temporary inactivation and neural activity assays have helped update functional models of the retrosplenial cortex, a region critical for episodic and spatial memory. We advocate for the continued importance of appropriately designed behavioural studies in the context of novel experimental methods, such as optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulations. At the same time, we caution against the overreliance on any given level of analysis or experimental technique. Complementary, multimodal strategies are required for understanding how the retrosplenial cortex contributes to the formation and storage of memories both at a structural and systems-level

Ankyrin-G coordinates assembly of the spectrin-based membrane skeleton, voltage-gated sodium channels, and L1 CAMs at Purkinje neuron initial segments

The axon initial segment is an excitable membrane highly enriched in voltage-gated sodium channels that integrates neuronal inputs and initiates action potentials. This study identifies Nav1.6 as the voltage-gated sodium channel isoform at mature Purkinje neuron initial segments and reports an essential role for ankyrin-G in coordinating the physiological assembly of Nav1.6, βIV spectrin, and the L1 cell adhesion molecules (L1 CAMs) neurofascin and NrCAM at initial segments of cerebellar Purkinje neurons. Ankyrin-G and βIV spectrin appear at axon initial segments by postnatal day 2, whereas L1 CAMs and Nav1.6 are not fully assembled at continuous high density along axon initial segments until postnatal day 9. L1 CAMs and Nav1.6 therefore do not initiate protein assembly at initial segments. βIV spectrin, Nav1.6, and L1 CAMs are not clustered in adult Purkinje neuron initial segments of mice lacking cerebellar ankyrin-G. These results support the conclusion that ankyrin-G coordinates the physiological assembly of a protein complex containing transmembrane adhesion molecules, voltage-gated sodium channels, and the spectrin membrane skeleton at axon initial segments

Stakeholders' perceptions of quality in Cambodian higher education

In recent years, many developing nations have followed their developed counterparts in adopting quality assurance systems to improve the quality of their higher education, as they also now need a highly skilled workforce to thrive in the emerging knowledge-based economy. Cambodia, a developing country which has experienced a civil war and uneven social, political and ideological changes since it claimed independence from France in 1953, has for the past ten years had a focus on the improvement of the quality of higher education on which Cambodia’s economy and future development goals mainly depend. Since the 2000s, Cambodia has seen a dramatic increase in the number and size of higher education institutions, reaching towards the stage of massification after almost three decades of political unrest. Some view this increase in the scale of higher education as a great achievement for Cambodia, having significantly widened access for students who wish to pursue their studies in higher education. However, some critics describe some higher education institutions in Cambodia as little more than certificate shops or diploma mills as their outputs are poor and they do not meet the national needs for the development of skills. In response to both the government’s efforts to improve the quality of its higher education and to criticisms over the quality of Cambodian higher education, this study examines the quality of Cambodian higher education from the perspectives of key local and international stakeholders. This study seeks to understand how stakeholders perceive the quality of Cambodian higher education, what strategy the Cambodian government has developed to ensure the quality of its higher education, and how the stakeholders view the effectiveness of the government’s strategy to ensure the quality of higher education. In order to answer the above questions, a qualitative phenomenographic research study was undertaken, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Using a snowball sample, 61 key stakeholders in Cambodian higher education were interviewed. The stakeholder approach chosen in this study is based on the initial observation driving this study that the adoption of new quality assurance institutions in Cambodia would need to take account of the influence of path dependence on development. In early efforts to develop a quality assurance system, Cambodia failed to invite key stakeholders in higher education to participate in the planning process. International stakeholders were influential in funding and designing a system modelled on those that had worked well in many liberal democratic Western societies. However, the success of new institutions requires a partnership between indigenous people and outsiders which was lacking in this case. The investigation into the combination of local and international stakeholders in this study is consistent with the change in development practice from a focus on the technical assistance provided by international agencies in a dialogue of persuasion to instead promoting a dialogue of partnership in which local stakeholders’ views and expectations inform both the objectives and the design of new institutions

Spatial memory engram in the mouse retrosplenial cortex

Memory relies on lasting adaptations of neuronal properties elicited by stimulus-driven plastic changes [1]. The strengthening (and weakening) of synapses results in the establishment of functional ensembles. It is presumed that such ensembles (or engrams) are activated during memory acquisition and re-activated upon memory retrieval. The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) has emerged as a key brain area supporting memory [2], including episodic and topographical memory in humans [3, 4, 5], as well as spatial memory in rodents [6, 7]. Dysgranular RSC is densely connected with dorsal stream visual areas [8] and contains place-like and head-direction cells, making it a prime candidate for integrating navigational information [9]. While previous reports [6, 10] describe the recruitment of RSC ensembles during navigational tasks, such ensembles have never been tracked long enough to provide evidence of stable engrams and have not been related to the retention of long-term memory. Here, we used in vivo 2-photon imaging to analyze patterns of activity of over 6,000 neurons within dysgranular RSC. Eight mice were trained on a spatial memory task. Learning was accompanied by the gradual emergence of a context-specific pattern of neuronal activity over a 3-week period, which was re-instated upon retrieval more than 3 weeks later. The stability of this memory engram was predictive of the degree of forgetting; more stable engrams were associated with better performance. This provides direct evidence for the interdependence of spatial memory consolidation and RSC engram formation. Our results demonstrate the participation of RSC in spatial memory storage at the level of neuronal ensembles

Studying auroral microphysics using multiple optically tracked rocket sub-payloads

Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2018There is insufficient knowledge of scale length parameters associated with ionospheric plasma structures. Using a novel technique combining rocket-based instrument data with ground-based optical and instrumental data measurements, ISINGLASS attempts to determine the spatial scale lengths over which parameter differences in auroral arcs present in the upper ionosphere. Determination of such scale lengths has the propensity to strengthen preexisting models of magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions. While analysis is not complete and the extent of such scale lengths is still unknown, after completion of the experiment phase of the mission, differences in measurements have been found that cannot be accounted for through experimental error. This shows the existence of a critical scale length within the distances measured, and the techniques used present a reliable method with which to launch a future campaign.This project would not be possible without the ISINGLASS NASA grant: NNX14AH07G