Is VDAC1 a Novel BCL2 Family Member that Binds BAX?

Apoptosis is a type of regulated cell death important for normal embryonic development and maintenance of adult tissues by removing excess or dysfunctional cells to ensure proper functioning of organs. The Bcl-2 family of proteins determines whether apoptosis remains suppressed or becomes activated through the balance of interactions among pro-survival and pro-death members. A defining feature of the Bcl-2 family is a BH3 domain that drives interactions between the family members. Isoform 1 of the voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC1) has an important role in metabolism, but was recently found to have high homology with known BH3 domains. This study tested the hypothesis that VDAC1 has a BH3 domain at its N-terminus, making it a novel member of the Bcl-2 family. The ability of the pro-death family member Bax to bind a panel of wild type and mutant VDAC1 peptides was tested to determine if VDAC1 contains a functional BH3 domain, and the residues most important for driving this interaction. The mutant peptides were developed to substitute two or more of the seven hydrophobic residues (designated H0-H5) with those having less hydrophobicity, or replacing a conserved aspartate with arginine. Equilibrium binding of fluorescent-tagged peptides to recombinant Bax was assessed by separating free from bound peptide with spin filters. The two most important residues that promoted VDAC1 interaction with Bax were the conserved aspartic acid, and a hydrophobic proline at ‘H0’. The lower affinity of Bax for VDAC1 compared to the known Bim BH3 domain is likely due to the non-conserved position of the hydrophobic H2 leucine creating steric interference with the close proximity H1 tyrosine. The binding analysis supports the hypothesis that VDAC1 possesses a BH3 domain, although the sequence of the domain is less well suited to interaction with Bax compared to the Bim BH3 domain

Smartphone addiction and associated psychological factors

The use of smartphone technology has increased drastically resulting in a risk of addiction to certain web applications, such as social networking sites (SNS) that are easily accessible via smartphones. A major concern regarding the increased use of SNS sites is the risk of an increase in narcissism amongst users of SNS. The present study examined the relationship between smartphone use, narcissistic tendencies, and personality as predictors of smartphone addiction. A self-selected sample of 256 smartphone users (M = 29.2; SD = 9.49) completed an online survey. The results revealed that 13.3% of the sample was classified as addicted to smartphones. Regression analysis revealed that narcissism, openness, neuroticism, and age were linked to smartphone addiction. Therefore, it is suggested that smartphones encourage narcissism, even in non-narcissistic users. Future research requires more in-depth qualitative data, addiction scale comparisons, and comparison of use with, and without, SNS access. Further, it is advised that prospective buyers of smartphones be pre-warned of the potential addictive properties of new technology

Employee demand for skills: evidence and policy review : UK Commission for Employment and Skills Research Report no. 3

This report presents the results of a detailed review of evidence and policy relating to the factors that influence the engagement of the individual in skills development. It incorporates a broad range of formal and informal learning activities, delivered in a range of institutional settings and through different media, including work-based, classroombased, distance learning and community based learning. The review is deliberately broad in its focus, drawing on evidence and policy relating to people in different positions within the labour market - in or out of work, new entrants into employment, younger and older workers, people with and without qualifications and/or with higher and lower skills. However, a key focus for the research was the barriers and factors affecting access to skills development opportunities among lower skilled and lower qualified people. The review was undertaken by WM Enterprise and the Employment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UK Commission)

Inclusive, adaptive design for students with severe learning disabilities

Young adults with severe disabilities and learning difficulties (SLD) have very limited access to appropriate learning resources. Their unique individual needs and requirements prevent them from accessing traditional methods of online learning, and resources tend not to be age appropriate. The majority of SLD learners has difficulty accessing a computer with standard peripherals such as a mouse and relies on assistive technologies (e.g. switches) to do so. Each learner tends to have specific needs that must be addressed in order to provide an accessible and adaptive platform for learning. The aim of this research project was, with the assistance and support of the learners and their tutors, to design and develop an adaptable and inclusive online learning environment specifically catering for the needs of young adults with SLD. Each stage of development was prototyped and assessed in the college environment to ensure the needs of the learners were thoroughly addressed. 1

'I can actually do it without any help or someone watching over me all the time and giving me constant instruction': Autistic adolescent boys' perspectives on engagement in online video gaming

Research into autistic adolescents' engagement in online gaming has so far focused on time spent gaming, or characterizing problematic gaming behaviour and has relied mostly on caregiver report. In the current study, we interviewed 12 autistic adolescent boys, asking about their perspectives on their engagement in online gaming, and their motivations. We analysed the interview data using thematic analysis and identified three key themes in the data, which focused on agency and a sense of belonging, emotion regulation, and acknowledgement of the differing perceptions that the young people and their caregivers had of gaming. Our findings show the need to include the viewpoints of autistic young people in research about their interests and well-being, and provide insights that can help caregivers and professionals to support autistic young people in flourishing

Does VDAC2 have a BH3 Domain For Binding Bax?

Corresponding author (Biology): Lilian Ferkany, [email protected]://egrove.olemiss.edu/pharm_annual_posters_2022/1007/thumbnail.jp

To what extent is risk transfer a Governmental tactic to disguise the true cost of the PFI in the Health Sector? A comparison of rates of risk transfer and the breakdowns of those risks in hospital PFI projects using 6% and the 3.5% discount rates.

It has been suggested by some authors that the justification for using private finance to build NHS hospitals-that it offers VFM by removing risk from the NHS Trusts throughout the life of the projectsis just a Governmental tactic to justify the use of private finance because the alternative public finance is unavailable in the large quantities that is needed (Pollock et al. 2002). The Government have the view that enhanced VFM results from public and private sectors concentrating on what it is perceived that they each do best (Gallimore et al. 1997). The risk measurement and allocation process is, however, fraught with subjectivity and this is where academic criticism lies. Both Pollock et al. (2002)and Froud (2003) said that risk transfer was the deciding factor in hospital PFI economic analyses and without it there would be no justification for PFI. Here, I investigate whether the risk transferred to make the PFI options VFM is a legitimate process or not. This is done by investigating differences between the 3.5% and 6% discount rate hospital PFI projects. Both the net risk transfer and the breakdowns of these risks are looked in to. Statistical tests are used to validate research findings. All data were taken from hospital PFI full business cases, which I obtained from the individual hospital trusts under the Freedom of Information Act (30 November 2000). The main findings are that the 3.5% discount rate projects show a significantly lower proportional VFM than the 6% discount rate projects. The ranges of some of the test values are larger than would be expected from a controlled and standardised process. An example is the construction and development risk transferred as a proportion of all risk transferred in that project. This result ranges from 15.4% for the Queen Alexandra Hospital PFI project to 47.2% for the Lymington New Forest Hospital PFI project

“Like A Dance”: Working creatively with healthcare practitioners to explore mobility and osteoporosis

Anthony Schrag - ORCID 0000-0001-8660-7572 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8660-7572Margaret Smith - ORCID 0000-0003-2944-5348 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2944-5348Related eResearch output available at: https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/10487AM replaced with VoR 2020-04-03Collaborations between health sciences and creative arts can generate insights into complex health phenomena. This article describes a creative workshop derived from an action research project that aimed to raise awareness of fracture risk in health practitioners supporting people with Osteoporosis. The creative workshop aimed to provide opportunities for practitioners within the action research community to create new knowledge as well as share their practice insights. The article considers the notion of creative arts as a physical, embodied process that can facilitate learning by enabling tacit knowledge to be made explicit. Rather than applying an instrumental approach to arts within healthcare, the workshop became a mechanism for the convergence of ideas, disciplines and support structures and provided a learning environment where old beliefs could be challenged, practice insights shared and new knowledge constructed. We discuss the workshop development and outputs and suggest the utility of this approach for collaborative learning.https://doi.org/10.1386/jaah_00003_11010pubpub

Prospectus, February 14, 2001

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2001/1005/thumbnail.jp

Employee Demand for Skills Development: a Review of Evidence and Policy

This report presents the results of a detailed review of evidence and policy relating to the factors that influence the engagement of the individual in skills development. It incorporates a broad range of formal and informal learning activities, delivered in a range of institutional settings and through different media, including work-based, classroombased, distance learning and community based learning. The review is deliberately broad in its focus, drawing on evidence and policy relating to people in different positions within the labour market - in or out of work, new entrants into employment, younger and older workers, people with and without qualifications and/or with higher and lower skills. However, a key focus for the research was the barriers and factors affecting access to skills development opportunities among lower skilled and lower qualified people. The review was undertaken by WM Enterprise and the Employment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UK Commission)