Becoming Bologna Capable: Strategic Cooperation and Capacity Building in International Offices in Kazakhstani HEIs

This paper examines the roles and perspectives of International Office staff in universities in Kazakhstan, as they engage in internationalization of higher education within the framework of the Bologna Process. Drawing on data from document analysis, a national survey and in-depth interviews, the paper discusses the practices, strengths and challenges of International Offices, linking empirical data to theories on internationalization, institutional change, networks and capacity building. Main findings are that the International Offices play a role in the leadership of strategic cooperation at international, national and intra-institutional levels, and that they would have the potential to play a more major role given access to the capacity building and professional development opportunities they identify. The paper highlights tensions that need to be resolved in the division of responsibilities between Bologna Offices and International Offices at institutional level, and in the channels of communication between HEIs and the national Bologna Center

The dust, planetesimals and planets of HD 38529

HD 38529 is a post-main sequence G8III/IV star (3.5 Gyr old) with a planetary system consisting of at least two planets having Msin(i) of 0.8 MJup and 12.2 MJup, semimajor axes of 0.13 AU and 3.74 AU, and eccentricities of 0.25 and 0.35, respectively. Spitzer observations show that HD 38529 has an excess emission above the stellar photosphere, with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) at 70 micron of 4.7, a small excess at 33 micron (S/N=2.6) and no excess <30 micron. We discuss the distribution of the potential dust-producing planetesimals from the study of the dynamical perturbations of the two known planets, considering in particular the effect of secular resonances. We identify three dynamically stable niches at 0.4-0.8 AU, 20-50 AU and beyond 60 AU. We model the spectral energy distribution of HD 38529 to find out which of these niches show signs of harboring dust-producing plantesimals. The secular analysis, together with the SED modeling resuls, suggest that the planetesimals responsible for most of the dust emission are likely located within 20-50 AU, a configuration that resembles that of the Jovian planets + Kuiper Belt in our Solar System. Finally, we place upper limits (8E-6 lunar masses of 10 micron particles) to the amount of dust that could be located in the dynamically stable region that exists between the two planets (0.25--0.75 AU).Comment: 23 pages, including 1 table and 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

The effects of intake of bread with treated corn bran inclusion on postprandial glycaemic response

In the current study, corn bran was treated with hydrothermal processing and then incorporated into bread. The consumption of bread with inclusion of treated corn bran (TCB) and control bread (CB) on postprandial glycaemic response was investigated in a randomised crossover intervention trial with eleven healthy participants and one hyperglycaemicparticipant, capillary blood samples were measured at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105 and 120 minutes after consuming the bread. The results showed the baseline-adjusted peak value of postprandial blood glucose with consumption of CB, containing 75 g carbohydrate was 4.27 mmol/L at 60 min after meal, but with consumption of treated corn bran bread (TCBB), containing 75 g carbohydrate was 3.88 mmol/L at 45 min after meal. In addition, the postprandial blood glucose concentration with consumption of CB is consistently higher than that with the consumption of TCBB since the peak time to 120 min. However, there was no significant differences, in turn, the incremental area under the curves (IAUC) with baseline-adjusted for CB consumption is consistently higher than that of TCBB consumption, but not any significant difference either (p>0.05). However, it is interesting to notice that more considerable difference in rise of blood sugar at peak time and thereafter for hyperglycaemicparticipant between the consumptions of TCBB and CB. In conclusion, the consumption of bread with inclusion of TCB is able to reduce the postprandial glycaemic response to a lower level compared with the consumption of CB and the more obvious difference was observed with the hyperglycaemicparticipant and healthy group Key words: Corn bran, hydrothermal treatment, postprandial glycaemic response. Intervention trial

Electro-extractive fermentation for efficient biohydrogen production

Electrodialysis, an electrochemical membrane technique, was found to prolong and enhance the production of biohydrogen and purified organic acids via the anaerobic fermentation of glucose by Escherichia coli. Through the design of a model electrodialysis medium using cationic buffer, pH was precisely controlled electrokinetically, i.e. by the regulated extraction of acidic products with coulombic efficiencies of organic acid recovery in the range 50–70% maintained over continuous 30-day experiments. Contrary to\ud previous reports, E. coli produced H2 after aerobic growth in minimal medium without inducers and with a mixture of organic acids dominated by butyrate. The selective separation of organic acids from fermentation provides a potential nitrogen-free carbon source for further biohydrogen production in a parallel photofermentation. A parallel study incorporated this fermentation system into an integrated biohydrogen refinery (IBR) for the conversion of organic waste to hydrogen and energy

Time to First-Line ART Failure and Time to Second-Line ART Switch in the IeDEA Pediatric Cohort

BACKGROUND: Globally, 49% of the estimated 1.8 million children living with HIV are accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART). There are limited data concerning long-term durability of first-line ART regimens and time to transition to second-line. METHODS: Children initiating their first ART regimen between 2 and 14 years of age and enrolled in one of 208 sites in 30 Asia-Pacific and African countries participating in the Pediatric International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS consortium were included in this analysis. Outcomes of interest were: first-line ART failure (clinical, immunologic, or virologic), change to second-line, and attrition (death or loss to program ). Cumulative incidence was computed for first-line failure and second-line initiation, with attrition as a competing event. RESULTS: In 27,031 children, median age at ART initiation was 6.7 years. Median baseline CD4% for children ≤5 years of age was 13.2% and CD4 count for those >5 years was 258 cells per microliter. Almost all (94.4%) initiated a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor; 5.3% a protease inhibitor, and 0.3% a triple nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimen. At 1 year, 7.7% had failed and 14.4% had experienced attrition; by 5 years, the cumulative incidence was 25.9% and 29.4%, respectively. At 1 year after ART failure, 13.7% had transitioned to second-line and 11.2% had experienced attrition; by 5 years, the cumulative incidence was 31.6% and 25.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: High rates of first-line failure and attrition were identified in children within 5 years after ART initiation. Of children meeting failure criteria, only one-third were transitioned to second-line ART within 5 years

Economic influences on child growth status, from the Children's Healthy Living Program in the US-affiliated Pacific region

Mean obesity level of the 2 - 8-year-old children in the region was 14.4%, 14.1% were overweight, 2.7% were underweight, 1.4% were stunted, and 6.8% were stunted at birth. Acanthosis nigricans prevalence was 5%, an indicator of pre-diabetes. Sixty-one percent of the children were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 20% were of more than one race. Food insecurity was common. It was especially high in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands at over 70%. Twenty-five percent of households in the region earned less than $10,000 per year. World Bank-defined upper middle-income jurisdictions had relatively high levels of both undernutrition and obesity. Jurisdiction income level was the most important factor influencing growth status in multivariate models. Policies and strategies for jurisdiction economic development and improvement of child growth status should protect local food systems and active living during economic transition. The terms of the renegotiated compact of free association with the United States, especially in the upper middle-income countries (Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands) that are experiencing a dual burden of undernutrition and overnutrition, are expected to play a key role in the future health of residents of these jurisdictions

Differential Dopamine D1 and D3 Receptor Modulation and Expression in the Spinal Cord of Two Mouse Models of Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is often and successfully treated with dopamine receptor agonists that target the inhibitory D3 receptor subtype, however there is no clinical evidence of a D3 receptor dysfunction in RLS patients. In contrast, genome-wide association studies in RLS patients have established that a mutation of the MEIS1 gene is associated with an increased risk in developing RLS, but the effect of MEIS1 dysfunction on sensorimotor function remain unknown. Mouse models for a dysfunctional D3 receptor (D3KO) and Meis1 (Meis1KO) were developed independently, and each animal expresses some features associated with RLS in the clinic, but they have not been compared in their responsiveness to treatment options used in the clinic. We here confirm that D3KO and Meis1KO animals show increased locomotor activities, but that only D3KO show an increased sensory excitability to thermal stimuli. Next we compared the effects of dopaminergics and opioids in both animal models, and we assessed D1 and D3 dopamine receptor expression in the spinal cord, the gateway for sensorimotor processing. We found that Meis1KO share most of the tested behavioral properties with their wild type (WT) controls, including the modulation of the thermal pain withdrawal reflex by morphine, L-DOPA and D3 receptor (D3R) agonists and antagonists. However, Meis1KO and D3KO were behaviorally more similar to each other than to WT when tested with D1 receptor (D1R) agonists and antagonists. Subsequent Western blot analyses of D1R and D3R protein expression in the spinal cord revealed a significant increase in D1R but not D3R expression in Meis1KO and D3KO over WT controls. As the D3R is mostly present in the dorsal spinal cord where it has been shown to modulate sensory pathways, while activation of the D1Rs can activate motoneurons in the ventral spinal cord, we speculate that D3KO and Meis1KO represent two complementary animal models for RLS, in which the mechanisms of sensory (D3R-mediated) and motor (D1R-mediated) dysfunctions can be differentially explored

Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of a Physical Activity Counseling Intervention Using Fitbit in People With Knee Osteoarthritis: The TRACK-OA Study Protocol

Background Physical activity (PA) reduces pain and improves functioning in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), but few people with the condition meet recommended PA guidelines. Successful intervention strategies to increase PA include goal setting, action planning, self-monitoring, and follow-up feedback from a healthcare professional. Recently developed consumer wearable activity trackers allow users to set activity goals, self-monitor daily goal-progress, and provide feedback on goal attainment. It is hypothesized that a multi-component physiotherapist-led intervention that includes a short (40-min) education module, guided goal-setting and action planning, the use of a wristband activity tracker, and weekly follow-up phone calls will lead to increased PA outcomes. Methods/design Thirty-six participants will be recruited from the community for a two-group pilot randomized controlled trial with a stepped-wedge design using an intention-to-treat analysis. Computer-generated block randomization will be performed using varying block sizes and a 1:1 allocation ratio. The 4-week intervention will be delivered immediately (immediate-intervention group) or after a 5-week delay (delayed-intervention group). Outcome measures of pain and disability (Knee Injury and OA Outcome Score), disease self-management ability (Partners in Health Scale), and objective bouted moderate-to-vigorous PA and sedentary time (BodyMedia SenseWear Mini Armband) will be collected at baseline (week 0) and two follow-ups (weeks 5 and 10), for a total study duration of 11&nbsp;weeks. Feasibility data relating to process, resource, management, and scientific elements of the trial will be collected. Outcome measure and feasibility data will be summarized, and an estimate of intervention efficacy will be obtained by regression model with planned comparisons. The trial began recruiting in February 2015. To date, 34 subjects have been recruited. Discussion This study will evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a novel intervention to promote PA in people living with knee OA. The results will provide valuable information to inform a larger randomized trial to assess intervention effectiveness

Inside TENT

A prototype zine researched and designed for the Toronto Fringe Festival that showcases the impact of the Theatre Entrepreneurs\u27 Networking and Training program. The zine is a major output from “Mobilizing Social Innovation to Train the Next Generation of Theatre Entrepreneurs,” a multi-year collaboration funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada via the College and Community Social Innovation Fund.https://source.sheridancollege.ca/fhass_creativehumanities/1003/thumbnail.jp

RSC, an Essential, Abundant Chromatin-Remodeling Complex

AbstractA novel 15-subunit complex with the capacity to remodel the structure of chromatin, termed RSC, has been isolated from S. cerevisiae on the basis of homology to the SWI/SNF complex. At least three RSC subunits are related to SWI/SNF polypeptides: Sth1p, Rsc6p, and Rsc8p are significantly similar to Swi2/Snf2p, Swp73p, and Swi3p, respectively, and were identified by mass spectrometric and sequence analysis of peptide fragments. Like SWI/SNF, RSC exhibits a DNA-dependent ATPase activity stimulated by both free and nucleosomal DNA and a capacity to perturb nucleosome structure. RSC is, however, at least 10-fold more abundant than SWI/SNF complex and is essential for mitotic growth. Contrary to a report for SWI/SNF complex, no association of RSC (nor of SWI/SNF complex) with RNA polymerase II holoenzyme was detected