Relation of locus of control and creativity with learning styles

The current paper aimed to investigate the relation between the locus of control and creativity with learning styles among the third grade high school students in the city of Kamyaran. The universe under study in this research consisted of all third grade high school students of the city of Kamyaran. The statistical population included 300 third grade students who were chosen by the cluster sampling method. Tools for collecting data involved the Abedi's creativity questionnaire (1993), Rotter's internal and external locus of control scale (1996) and the Kolb's learning styles questionnaire (1971). To analyze the data, the independent groups t test, one-way variance analysis (ANOVA), the simple Pearson correlation and the multivariate variance analysis (MANOVA) were sued. Results indicated that there was a difference between students and the internal and external locus of control in terms of various learning styles (P<0/03), and also there was a difference between the students with the various learning styles and the creativity level (P<0/01). Findings also suggested that there was a significant difference between the internal and external locus of control with the creativity and gender, and also there was not a significant difference between learning styles and gender

Identification of clinically antibiotic resistant genes Aac(3)-IIa and Aac(6’)-Ib in wastewater samples by multiplex PCR

Background: Aminoglycoside antibiotics are widely used in medical centers, particularly to treat infections. The resistance developed against these agents is a huge concern in health care. A number of researchers have reported that hospital and municipal wastewaters are among the most important dissemination sources of these agent into the environment. Some, however, do not agree with this opinion. In the present study, the prevalence of aminoglycoside resistance genes was investigated in raw and effluent wastewater from hospital and municipal wastewater treatment plants. Methods: To conduct this descriptive-analytical study, 30 samples were taken according to sampling principles and cold cycle and transferred to the molecular laboratory. DNA was extracted by the freeze-thaw method using a kit (Promega). The genes aac(3)-IIa and aac(6’)-Ib which code aminoglycoside resistance were examined in this study. Results: The results indicated that the studied genes are present in 35% of urban and hospital wastewaters, and their frequency percentage is higher in hospital wastewater (52%) than urban wastewater (48%). The studied genes were identified in 61% of raw hospital wastewater samples; however, they were not detected in the output wastewater from the studied treatment plants. Conclusion: Although, the studied genes were not detected in the final effluent, there is a high potential for their release into the environment. The current study demonstrated that the coding genes of aminoglycoside antibiotic resistance are present in raw urban and hospital wastewaters. In the case of improper exploitation of wastewater treatment plants, the output water can contaminate other environmental sections, such as soil and water resources, and result in the emission of these contaminants

Cryo-EM structure of the SEA complex

The SEA complex (SEAC) is a growth regulator that acts as a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) towards Gtr1, a Rag GTPase that relays nutrient status to the Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) in yeast 1 . Functionally, the SEAC has been divided into two subcomplexes: SEACIT, which has GAP activity and inhibits TORC1, and SEACAT, which regulates SEACIT 2 . This system is conserved in mammals: the GATOR complex, consisting of GATOR1 (SEACIT) and GATOR2 (SEACAT), transmits amino acid 3 and glucose 4 signals to mTORC1. Despite its importance, the structure of SEAC/GATOR, and thus molecular understanding of its function, is lacking. Here, we solve the cryo-EM structure of the native eight-subunit SEAC. The SEAC has a modular structure in which a COPII-like cage corresponding to SEACAT binds two flexible wings, which correspond to SEACIT. The wings are tethered to the core via Sea3, which forms part of both modules. The GAP mechanism of GATOR1 is conserved in SEACIT, and GAP activity is unaffected by SEACAT in vitro. In vivo, the wings are essential for recruitment of the SEAC to the vacuole, primarily via the EGO complex. Our results indicate that rather than being a direct inhibitor of SEACIT, SEACAT acts as a scaffold for the binding of TORC1 regulators.</p

2.7 Å cryo-EM structure of vitrified M. Musculus H-chain apoferritin from a compact 200 keV cryo-microscope

Here we present the structure of mouse H-chain apoferritin at 2.7 Å (FSC = 0.143) solved by single particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) using a 200 kV device, the Thermo Fisher Glacios®. This is a compact, two-lens illumination system with a constant power objective lens, without any energy filters or aberration correctors, often thought of as a "screening cryo-microscope". Coulomb potential maps reveal clear densities for main chain carbonyl oxygens, residue side chains (including alternative conformations) and bound solvent molecules. We used a quasi-crystallographic reciprocal space approach to fit model coordinates to the experimental cryo-EM map. We argue that the advantages offered by (a) the high electronic and mechanical stability of the microscope, (b) the high emission stability and low beam energy spread of the high brightness Field Emission Gun (X-FEG), (c) direct electron detection technology and (d) particle-based Contrast Transfer Function (CTF) refinement have contributed to achieving high resolution. Overall, we show that basic electron optical settings for automated cryo-electron microscopy imaging can be used to determine structures approaching atomic resolution

Solubilization of artificial mitochondrial membranes by amphiphilic copolymers of different charge

Certain amphiphilic copolymers form lipid-bilayer nanodiscs from artificial and natural membranes, thereby rendering incorporated membrane proteins optimal for structural analysis. Recent studies have shown that the amphiphilicity of a copolymer strongly determines its solubilization efficiency. This is especially true for highly negatively charged membranes, which experience pronounced Coulombic repulsion with polyanionic polymers. Here, we present a systematic study on the solubilization of artificial multicomponent lipid vesicles that mimic inner mitochondrial membranes, which harbor essential membrane-protein complexes. In particular, we compared the lipid-solubilization efficiencies of established anionic with less densely charged or zwitterionic and even cationic copolymers in low- and high-salt concentrations. The nanodiscs formed under these conditions were characterized by dynamic light scattering and negative-stain electron microscopy, pointing to a bimodal distribution of nanodisc diameters with a considerable fraction of nanodiscs engaging in side-by-side interactions through their polymer rims. Overall, our results show that some recent, zwitterionic copolymers are best suited to solubilize negatively charged membranes at high ionic strengths even at low polymer/lipid ratios