On the mobility, membrane location and functionality of mechanosensitive channels in Escherichia coli

We thank Frans Bianchi and Franz Ho for assistance with molecular cloning, Tim Rasmussen for providing the pTRC-MscK plasmid, Andrew Robinson for providing the pBAD-mEos3.2 plasmid, Matthias Heinemann for assistance with the flow cytometry measurements, Paul Schavemaker for performing Smoldyn simulations and Michiel Punter for programming ImageJ plugins for PALM reconstructions and single-particle tracking. We thank Ian Booth for critical reading of the manuscript, and Christoffer Åberg and Matteo Gabba for valuable discussions. The authors would like to thank David Dryden and Marcel Reuter for performing preliminary experiments from which this work has been built. The work was funded by the EU FP7 ITN-network program NICHE.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO? STUDENT ENGAGEMENT DURING A FACELESS PANDEMIC

COVID-19 brought about a faceless threat that impacted Higher Education, and the whole of Society, in a way that had not been seen in our lifetimes - faceless nanoscopic threat to humanity and to the way we facilitate learning as passionate educators. The impacts on students, especially those of international status, were substantial. Isolation, enforced by the Federal Government, was as new to us all as the coronavirus was to our species. As a social species, we had no prior ‘immunity’ to the experience and the scramble to adapt within the teaching and learning environment that raised many difficulties experienced by all participants. However, nowhere was this more adversely felt than in our Transitioning First Year Student (TFYS) cohort. Students, already having to adapt to the foreign experience of learning in a higher education landscape, were dealt the additional blow of doing so under Australian government enforced isolation. Most, far from home and from their social networks, found themselves living an experience devoid of the social experience that is expected during their first year of university. A time where many form peer groups which last beyond higher education; a time when you have the opportunity to ‘navigate your identity’ amongst peers, was taken from them. Regardless of the impact on grade distributions, the effects of isolation were seen in overt and distressing declines in mental health across the first-year cohort (pers obs.). But what about those that did not feel they could, or did not know how to, reach out and engage? Here we show how collegiality, honesty and a peer-like approach to Coordination helped lessen this. However, despite these efforts, many students remained ‘invisible’ – hiding behind the smokescreens of upheaval and workloads, and most evidently behind the black square of a faceless Zoom. We also explore alternate ways of fostering inclusion through the scaffolding of ‘social engagement’ amongst the students themselves

The autonomous acoustic buoy

Treball desenvolupat dins el marc del programa 'European Project Semester'.The Autonomous Acoustic Buoy (AAB) has been designed and manufactured by Laboratori d’Aplicacions Bioacústiques (LAB) with the assistance of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) over the past two years. This is due to the need to measure and control the correlation between human activity and presence of marine mammals in the marine environment. The buoy is used for recording sound patterns in the underwater environment, specifically referring to the physiological and neurophysiologic processes by which sounds are produced, received and processed [42]. Furthermore the AAB has an important role in monitoring and identifying the communication between marine mammals. This paper presents the further advancements and improvements of the design and functionality of the AAB as well as a concise introduction into the buoy capabilities and a brief overview of the history, purpose and organisation of the LAB. With regards to the improvements made this article gives details of elaborate research undertaken into dolphin whistles analysis and a well structured marketing plan. The mechanical and electrical features concerning the safe operating conditions of the buoy offshore are also presented within this report

Two-staging a comeback: A review of two-stage exams from 1996 to 2022

BACKGROUND Two-stage examinations are an alternative to a traditional examination, where an individual examination is followed by a group examination, often on the same questions. With pandemic remote learning leading to a re-assessment of examination formats, we investigated previous research on two-stage exams to understand how these assessments have been delivered and received by students, and we make suggestions based on this research and our own experience for how to deliver these exams in a large-cohort introductory biology unit. This research was published in the International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Educations (IJISME; Lee et al., 2022). AIMS We aimed to investigate trends in how two-stage exams were set, their discipline context, student performance and the student experience in studies published in the last ~25 years. DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a narrative literature review of research papers involving the use of two-stage examinations in STEM, from 1996 to 2022. We extracted from the 39 included studies data about the discipline, the weighting and timing of the group component, the type of questions asked, how groups were formed and the cohort size. We also extracted data on the student’s response: whether scores were higher in the group component, whether the exam improved understanding or retention, whether students favoured the format and whether stress was alleviated. RESULTS Trends were identified, with most surveyed exams using multiple-choice questions that were the same in the individual and the group component. Student feedback was very positive, and group component marks were almost always higher than individual component marks. However, results varied on improved understanding and reduction in stress, and few studies tested these factors. CONCLUSIONS Two-stage exams are well received by students, and group exams increase performance relative to individual exams. Further research is needed into measurable beneficial effects from the format. We provide our suggestions for implementing these examinations in a large introductory biology unit. REFERENCE Lee, T. R. C., Pye, M., Lilje, O., Nguyen, H. D., Hockey, S., de Bruyn, M. and can den Berg, F. T. (2022) Two-stage examinations in STEM: A narrative literature review. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 30(5), 73-90

Two-stage Examinations in STEM: A Narrative Literature Review

  Written, invigilated examinations are valued for their reliability, economy and academic integrity. Nevertheless, examinations are problematic. Final, summative examinations can disadvantage students who experience assessment anxiety, and students may not receive useable feedback. An alternative is the two-stage examination, where a traditional examination is followed by a group examination with similar questions. Students gain peer feedback on their examination performance, and can meaningfully apply this feedback. Use of this format in tertiary STEM education in universities has indicated that students prefer the format, although it has been little studied in Australia. Furthermore, its effects on reducing stress and fostering deeper learning are not well understood. The COVID-19 pandemic and switch to online learning has provided us with an opportunity to review our assessment practices and has led to a new willingness to test different examination formats. Here we provide a narrative review of the results of previous studies on two-stage examinations and, based on this and our experience teaching in large-cohort introductory biology courses at an Australian university, we propose a formula for employing them in this context

Translocation of positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoparticles in an in vitro placental model

AbstractTo obtain insight in translocation of nanoparticles across the placental barrier, translocation was studied for one positively and two negatively charged polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) of similar size in an in vitro model. The model consisted of BeWo b30 cells, derived from a human choriocarcinoma grown on a transwell insert forming a cell layer that separates an apical from a basolateral compartment. PS-NPs were characterized with respect to size, surface charge, morphology and protein corona. Translocation of PS-NPs was not related to PS-NP charge. Two PS-NPs were translocated across the BeWo transwell model to a lower extent than amoxicillin, a model compound known to be translocated over the placental barrier to only a limited extent, whereas one PS-NP showed a slightly higher translocation. Studies on the effect of transporter inhibitors on the translocation of the PS-NPs indicated that their translocation was not mediated by known transporters and mainly dependent on passive diffusion. It is concluded that the BeWo b30 model can be used as an efficient method to get an initial qualitative impression about the capacity of NPs to translocate across the placental barrier and set priorities in further in vivo studies on translocation of NPs to the fetus

"They all work...when you stick to them" : a qualitative investigation of dieting, weight loss, and physical exercise, in obese individuals

BackgroundTo explore the extent to which people living with obesity have attempted to lose weight, their attitudes towards dieting, physical exercise and weight loss solutions, why their weight loss attempts have failed, and their opinions about what would be most beneficial to them in their struggle with their weight.MethodQualitative study, using open-ended interviews, of 76 people living with obesity in Victoria, Australia in 2006/7. Individuals with a BMI of 30 or over were recruited using articles in local newspapers, convenience sampling, and at a later stage purposive sampling techniques to diversify the sample. Data analysis was conducted by hand using a constant, comparative method to develop and test analytical categories. Data were interpreted both within team meetings and through providing research participants the chance to comment on the study findings.ResultsWhilst participants repeatedly turned to commercial diets in their weight loss attempts, few had used, or were motivated to participate in physical activity. Friends or family members had introduced most individuals to weight loss techniques. Those who took part in interventions with members of their social network were more likely to report feeling accepted and supported. Participants blamed themselves for being unable to maintain their weight loss or \u27stick\u27 to diets. Whilst diets did not result in sustained weight loss, two thirds of participants felt that dieting was an effective way to lose weight.ConclusionIndividuals with obesity receive numerous instructions about what to do to address their weight, but very few are given appropriate long term guidance or support with which to follow through those instructions. Understanding the positive role of social networks may be particularly important in engaging individuals in physical activity. Public health approaches to obesity must engage and consult with those currently living with obesity, if patterns of social change are to occur

A systematic review of resting-state functional-MRI studies in anorexia nervosa: Evidence for functional connectivity impairment in cognitive control and visuospatial and body-signal integration.

This paper systematically reviews the literature pertaining to the use of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) in anorexia nervosa (AN), classifying studies on the basis of different analysis approaches. We followed PRISMA guidelines. Fifteen papers were included, investigating a total of 294 participants with current or past AN and 285 controls. The studies used seed-based, whole-brain independent component analysis (ICA), network-of-interest ICA based and graph analysis approaches. The studies showed relatively consistent overlap in results, yet little overlap in their analytical approach and/or a-priori assumptions. Functional connectivity alterations were mainly found in the corticolimbic circuitry, involved in cognitive control and visual and homeostatic integration. Some overlapping findings were found in brain areas putatively important in AN, such as the insula. These results suggest altered functional connectivity in networks/areas linked to the main symptom domains of AN, such as impaired cognitive control and body image disturbances. These preliminary evidences suggest that more targeted treatments need to be developed that focus on these two symptom domains. Further studies with multi-approach analyses and longitudinal designs are needed to better understand the complexity of AN

Intergenerational persistence in health in developing countries : the penalty of gender inequality?

This paper is motivated to investigate the often neglected payoff to investments in the health of girls and women in terms of next generation outcomes. This paper investigates the intergenerational persistence of health across time and region as well as across the distribution of maternal health. It uses comparable microdata on as many as 2.24 million children born of about 0.6 million mothers in 38 developing countries in the 31 year period, 1970–2000. Mother's health is indicated by her height, BMI and anemia status. Child health is indicated by mortality risk and anthropometric failure. We find a positive relationship between maternal and child health across indicators and highlight non-linearities in these relationships. The results suggest that both contemporary and childhood health of the mother matter and that the benefits to the next generation are likely to be persistent. Averaging across the sample, persistence shows a considerable decline over time. Disaggregation shows that the decline is only significant in Latin America. Persistence has remained largely constant in Asia and has risen in Africa. The paper provides the first cross-country estimates of the intergenerational persistence in health and the first estimates of trends

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin