Sign switch of Gaussian bending modulus for microemulsions; a self-consistent field analysis exploring scale invariant curvature energies

Bending rigidities of tensionless balanced liquid-liquid interfaces as occurring in microemulsions are predicted using self-consistent field theory for molecularly inhomogeneous systems. Considering geometries with scale invariant curvature energies gives unambiguous bending rigidities for systems with fixed chemical potentials: The minimal surface Im3m cubic phase is used to find the Gaussian bending rigidity, $\bar{\kappa}$, and a torus with Willmore energy $W=2 \pi^2$ allows for direct evaluation of the mean bending modulus, $\kappa$. Consistent with this, the spherical droplet gives access to $2 \kappa + \bar{\kappa}$. We observe that $\bar{\kappa}$ tends to be negative for strong segregation and positive for weak segregation; a finding which is instrumental for understanding phase transitions from a lamellar to a sponge-like microemulsion. Invariably, $\kappa$ remains positive and increases with increasing strength of segregation.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Any small change?: Teacher education, compassion, understandings and perspectives on global development education

Increased migration of people(s), goods, ideas and ideologies necessitate global understanding, empathies and responses on the part of teachers and their students. This paper investigates the effects on 100 primary pre-service teachers' understandings of and attitudes toward a semester-long course exploring, inter alia, global development. The research was undertaken in Sydney, Australia. Near-identical surveys were administered at the course's beginning and end, for comparison. Additionally, four students volunteered to participate in a focus group for further discussion. Students' understandings, including misunderstandings, are examined in the context of their future professional responsibilities and of the related literature. While attitudes to those in underdeveloped countries appeared generally empathetic, this was premised on relatively limited or inaccurate 'knowledge'. The paper questions the adequacy of compassion as a motivating factor in global development education and action, and related subject shortcomings. Moreover, it examines the contribution of compassion as an enabler or impediment to global equities and justices, and considers other approaches. The paper also explores implications for teacher education and accordingly posits some recommendations

Poor understanding? Challenges to global development education

© 2018 Cosmopolitan Civil Societies. All rights reserved. As members of a global community, we cohabit a metaphorically shrinking physical environment, and are increasingly connected one to another, and to the world, by ties of culture, economics, politics, communication and the like. Education is an essential component in addressing inequalities and injustices concerning global rights and responsibilities. The increasing multicultural nature of societies locally, enhanced access to distal information, and the work of charitable organisations worldwide are some of the factors that have contributed to the interest in, and need for, understanding global development education. The project on which this paper reports sought answers to the question: to what extent and in what ways can a semester-long subject enhance and extend teacher education students’ understandings of and responses to global inequalities and global development aid? In the course of the project, a continuum model emerged, as follows: Indifference or ignorance ➝ pity and charity ➝ partnership and development among equals. In particular, this paper reports on some of the challenges and obstacles that need to be addressed in order to enhance pre-service teachers’ understandings of global development education. The study, conducted in Australia, has implications for global development education in other developed nations

Changing course: The paradox of the career change student-teacher

© 2018 International Professional Development Association (IPDA). The article reports on career change student-teachers’ (CCSTs) views and experiences regarding their teacher education programs in Australia. Data were collected through an online survey distributed to universities for dissemination to enrolled CCSTs in teacher education programs. The responses from over 500 CCSTs were analysed using an interpretive lens of inquiry and analysis. Over 80% of the responses indicated tensions and paradoxes that exist in CCSTs’ lives as they come to terms with being students again. The article explores the impact on their student lives of the characteristics, experiences and expectations they bring to their studies, mediated by their previous careers and current circumstances. The findings discuss their perceptions of their teacher education programs and consider implications for CCSTs’ professional learning needs in the light of the paradoxes that emerge from the data

Career Change Teachers Bringing Work and Life Experience to the Classroom

This book examines the lives and contributions of career change teachers: individuals who have switched careers to become classroom teachers

Emerging methods in therapeutics using multifunctional nanoparticles

Clinical translation of nanoparticle‐based drug delivery systems is hindered by an array of challenges including poor circulation time and limited targeting. Novel approaches including designing multifunctional particles, cell‐mediated delivery systems, and fabrications of protein‐based nanoparticles have gained attention to provide new perspectives to current drug delivery obstacles in the interdisciplinary field of nanomedicine. Collectively, these nanoparticle devices are currently being investigated for applications spanning from drug delivery and cancer therapy to medical imaging and immunotherapy. Here, we review the current state of the field, highlight opportunities, identify challenges, and present the future directions of the next generation of multifunctional nanoparticle drug delivery platforms.This article is categorized under:Biology‐Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus‐Based StructuresNanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in BiologyNovel approaches in designing nanoparticles to overcome challenges faced by traditional nanoparticle‐based drug delivery systems.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155963/1/wnan1625.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155963/2/wnan1625_am.pd

Understanding the experience of social housing pathways

This report is part of an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Inquiry examining how social housing pathways could be reimagined to provide more effective assistance for low-income households in Australia. This research sets out to understand the ways in which individuals and households experience pathways into, within and out of the Australian social housing system

Disrupting Plasmodium UIS3–host LC3 interaction with a small molecule causes parasite elimination from host cells

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.The malaria parasite Plasmodium obligatorily infects and replicates inside hepatocytes surrounded by a parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM), which is decorated by the host-cell derived autophagy protein LC3. We have previously shown that the parasite-derived, PVM-resident protein UIS3 sequesters LC3 to avoid parasite elimination by autophagy from hepatocytes. Here we show that a small molecule capable of disrupting this interaction triggers parasite elimination in a host cell autophagy-dependent manner. Molecular docking analysis of more than 20 million compounds combined with a phenotypic screen identified one molecule, C4 (4-{[4-(4-{5-[3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl]-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-yl}benzyl)piperazino]carbonyl}benzonitrile), capable of impairing infection. Using biophysical assays, we established that this impairment is due to the ability of C4 to disrupt UIS3–LC3 interaction, thus inhibiting the parasite’s ability to evade the host autophagy response. C4 impacts infection in autophagy-sufficient cells without harming the normal autophagy pathway of the host cell. This study, by revealing the disruption of a critical host–parasite interaction without affecting the host’s normal function, uncovers an efficient anti-malarial strategy to prevent this deadly disease.This work was supported by grants from Institut Mérieux (MRG_20052016 to M.M.M). S.S. and A.F.C. were recipients of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia fellowships SFRH/BPD/116451/2016 and SFRH/BPD/112009/2015, respectively. H.R. and V.S. were supported by core funds from NCBS-TIFR. A.L. was supported by Sanofi-Institut Pasteur 2018 Prize to M.M.M.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio