Redesigning Study Spaces: Noise-Level Zoning

Students increasingly want to use their library for social learning as well as quiet study. How can both be accommodated? Dilys Young and Helen Finlay found that changes had to be made to a learning centre designed in 2000

Implementing RFID at Leeds Met

What benefits does the introduction of radio frequency identification bring to students, staff and university, and what should you be looking for in a supplier? Helen Loughran and Dilys Young take us through the Leeds Met experience

Libraries and Learning Innovation and the use of Twitter

Libraries and Learning Innovation (LLI) at Leeds Metropolitan University launched its Twitter account (@leedsmetlibrary) just over two years ago; as both Twitter and the technology used to access it are rapidly changing we decided that a review of how we use the site would be timely. This article describes our experiences to date, some of the things we have learnt along the way and plans for the future

Cis and Trans Effects of Human Genomic Variants on Gene Expression

This work was funded by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation (http://www.jeantet.ch/), the European Research Council (Grant ID: 260927 http://erc.europa.eu/), the Swiss National Foundation (Grant ID: 130342 http://www.snf.ch), NCCR Frontiers In Genetics (http://www.frontiers-in-genetics.org), the UK Medical Research Council (http://www.mrc.ac.uk) and the Wellcome Trust (Grant ID: 092731).

E2F and p53 Induce Apoptosis Independently during Drosophila Development but Intersect in the Context of DNA Damage

In mammalian cells, RB/E2F and p53 are intimately connected, and crosstalk between these pathways is critical for the induction of cell cycle arrest or cell death in response to cellular stresses. Here we have investigated the genetic interactions between RBF/E2F and p53 pathways during Drosophila development. Unexpectedly, we find that the pro-apoptotic activities of E2F and p53 are independent of one another when examined in the context of Drosophila development: apoptosis induced by the deregulation of dE2F1, or by the overexpression of dE2F1, is unaffected by the elimination of dp53; conversely, dp53-induced phenotypes are unaffected by the elimination of dE2F activity. However, dE2F and dp53 converge in the context of a DNA damage response. Both dE2F1/dDP and dp53 are required for DNA damage-induced cell death, and the analysis of rbf1 mutant eye discs indicates that dE2F1/dDP and dp53 cooperatively promote cell death in irradiated discs. In this context, the further deregulation in the expression of pro-apoptotic genes generates an additional sensitivity to apoptosis that requires both dE2F/dDP and dp53 activity. This sensitivity differs from DNA damage-induced apoptosis in wild-type discs (and from dE2F/dDP-induced apoptosis in un-irradiated rbf1 mutant eye discs) by being dependent on both hid and reaper. These results show that pro-apoptotic activities of dE2F1 and dp53 are surprisingly separable: dp53 is required for dE2F-dependent apoptosis in the response to DNA damage, but it is not required for dE2F-dependent apoptosis caused simply by the inactivation of rbf1

A collaborative approach to adopting/adapting guidelines - the Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for the early years (birth to 5 years): an integration of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep

BACKGROUND: In 2017, the Australian Government funded the update of the National Physical Activity Recommendations for Children 0-5 years, with the intention that they be an integration of movement behaviours across the 24-h period. The benefit for Australia was that it could leverage research in Canada in the development of their 24-h guidelines for the early years. Concurrently, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) working group published a model to produce guidelines based on adoption, adaption and/or de novo development using the GRADE evidence-to-decision framework. Referred to as the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT approach, it allows guideline developers to follow a structured and transparent process in a more efficient manner, potentially avoiding the need to unnecessarily repeat costly tasks such as conducting systematic reviews. The purpose of this paper is to outline the process and outcomes for adapting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years to develop the Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years guided by the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT framework. METHODS: The development process was guided by the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT approach. A Leadership Group and Consensus Panel were formed and existing credible guidelines identified. The draft Canadian 24-h integrated movement guidelines for the early years best met the criteria established by the Panel. These were evaluated based on the evidence in the GRADE tables, summaries of findings tables and draft recommendations from the Canadian Draft Guidelines. Updates to each of the Canadian systematic reviews were conducted and the Consensus Panel reviewed the evidence for each behaviour separately and made a decision to adopt or adapt the Canadian recommendations for each behaviour or create de novo recommendations. An online survey was then conducted (n = 302) along with five focus groups (n = 30) and five key informant interviews (n = 5) to obtain feedback from stakeholders on the draft guidelines. RESULTS: Based on the evidence from the Canadian systematic reviews and the updated systematic reviews in Australia, the Consensus Panel agreed to adopt the Canadian recommendations and, apart from some minor changes to the wording of good practice statements, keep the wording of the guidelines, preamble and title of the Canadian Guidelines. The Australian Guidelines provide evidence-informed recommendations for a healthy day (24-h), integrating physical activity, sedentary behaviour (including limits to screen time), and sleep for infants (<1 year), toddlers (1-2 years) and preschoolers (3-5 years). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is only the second time the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT approach has been used. Following this approach, the judgments of the Australian Consensus Panel did not differ sufficiently to change the directions and strength of the recommendations and as such, the Canadian recommendations were adopted with very minor alterations. This allowed the Guidelines to be developed much faster and at lower cost. As such, we would recommend the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT approach, especially if a credible set of guidelines, with all supporting materials and developed using a transparent process, is available. Other countries may consider using this approach when developing and/or revising national movement guidelines

Fishy freshers! …or marketing gives you scales?? How attending Antony Brewerton’s marketing roadshow prompted a fish theme for the Leeds Met Library in 2006

The Leeds Met Library’s publicity group was given the opportunity to do something different for induction this year when the university held a two week freshers’ festival. Stalls in the Leeds Met Life event taking place across the two main campuses were asked to be fun and interactive rather than just hand out leaflets