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Promoting widening participation and higher education: Lessons from a four year intervention programme
Since the labour government came to power in 1997, a major policy has been to increase the participation rates of those entering higher education, particularly those from lower-socio economic backgrounds. Just over 10 years later, little has changed. The Brunel Urban Scholars programme is a 4 year long intervention programme for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds aged 12-16. It aims, through university style teaching, emersion in a university environment, and regular interaction with undergraduates, to enhance these students’ aspirations and higher education orientation. Findings from the first 2 years suggest that higher education orientation has increased. Aspirations are showing some signs of increasing, but are more gradual. This evidence supports previous findings from pilot programmes that change is slow, and justifies and suggests the need for a longer intervention programmes
Opportunities and challenges of working with gifted and talented students in an urban context: A university-based intervention program
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article appeared in Gifted Child Today, 34(1), 2011. Copyright 2011 @ Sage Publications.No abstract available
Microscopic Theory of Protein Folding Rates.II: Local Reaction Coordinates and Chain Dynamics
The motion involved in barrier crossing for protein folding are investigated
in terms of the chain dynamics of the polymer backbone, completing the
microscopic description of protein folding presented in the previous paper.
Local reaction coordinates are identified as collective growth modes of the
unstable fluctuations about the saddle-points in the free energy surface. The
description of the chain dynamics incorporates internal friction (independent
of the solvent viscosity) arising from the elementary isomerizations of the
backbone dihedral angles. We find that the folding rate depends linearly on the
solvent friction for high viscosity, but saturates at low viscosity because of
internal friction. For -repressor, the calculated folding rate
prefactor, along with the free energy barrier from the variational theory,
gives a folding rate that agrees well with the experimentally determined rate
under highly stabilizing conditions, but the theory predicts too large a
folding rate at the transition midpoint. This discrepancy obtained using a
fairly complete quantitative theory inspires a new set of questions about chain
dynamics, specifically detailed motions in individual contact formation.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
Megachile (Megachile) montivaga (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) nesting in live thistle (Asteraceae: Cirsium)
Although Megachile Latreille (leafcutter bees) are well known for their diverse nesting habits, records of the genus nesting in live plants are rare. Here, we report the widespread Megachile (Megachile) montivaga Cresson nesting in live thistle (Cirsium neomexicanum Gray), the first explicit record of this behavior in the Nearctic
Correction to: Understanding Diversity in the Meaning of Cohabitation Across Europe
1 Correction to: European Journal of Population https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-014-9321-
Sex-based Differences in C. elegans Responsiveness to Aversive Stimuli
Behavioral differences between sexes are evident across many species. The underlying mechanisms surrounding such differences are not fully elucidated, however, due to the complexities of animal behavior. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a well-characterized, genetically amenable species with two sexes, hermaphrodites (XX) and males (XO). This makes it an appropriate model system for investigating sex-based behavioral differences.
Chemosensation in C. elegans is mediated by exposed ciliated sensory neurons, one of which is ASH. ASH is a polymodal nociceptor that elicits reversal when an animal encounters aversive stimuli. We hypothesized that hermaphrodite and male C. elegans worms respond differently to stimuli detected by ASH such as the bitter tastant quinine, the detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and the heavy metal copper (CuCl2).
Wild-type assay-age hermaphrodites and males were picked from a nematode growth media (NGM) plate with E. coli OP50 and kept on an NGM plate without food for 10 minutes prior to assaying. A drop of aversive stimulus was placed in front of a forward-moving animal, and the animal’s response was recorded. A positive response is backwards movement within 4 seconds after contact with the stimulus.
Our results reveal a quantifiable difference in how wild-type hermaphrodite and male C. elegans respond to aversive stimuli. Specifically, wild-type males are less responsive than hermaphrodites to quinine, SDS, and CuCl2. Further investigations will be conducted through experiments with C. elegans strains in which hermaphrodites have masculinized, and males have feminized nervous systems or subsets of neurons. Through these experiments, we aim to explore potential sites of difference that lead to these observable differences in responsiveness to aversive stimuli
Embedding a Native State into a Random Heteropolymer Model: The Dynamic Approach
We study a random heteropolymer model with Langevin dynamics, in the
supersymmetric formulation. Employing a procedure similar to one that has been
used in static calculations, we construct an ensemble in which the affinity of
the system for a native state is controlled by a "selection temperature" T0. In
the limit of high T0, the model reduces to a random heteropolymer, while for
T0-->0 the system is forced into the native state. Within the Gaussian
variational approach that we employed previously for the random heteropolymer,
we explore the phases of the system for large and small T0. For large T0, the
system exhibits a (dynamical) spin glass phase, like that found for the random
heteropolymer, below a temperature Tg. For small T0, we find an ordered phase,
characterized by a nonzero overlap with the native state, below a temperature
Tn \propto 1/T0 > Tg. However, the random-globule phase remains locally stable
below Tn, down to the dynamical glass transition at Tg. Thus, in this model,
folding is rapid for temperatures between Tg and Tn, but below Tg the system
can get trapped in conformations uncorrelated with the native state. At a lower
temperature, the ordered phase can also undergo a dynamical glass transition,
splitting into substates separated by large barriers.Comment: 19 pages, revtex, 6 figure
Persistent gender bias in marine science and conservation calls for action to achieve equity
The increasing consideration of gender balance in conservation science and practice has been reflected in the setting of global commitments. Yet, women remain under-represented in science and conservation decision-making. We compiled and analyzed data on the representation of women in hiring, publishing, funding, and leadership positions in European Union marine sciences and conservation. To explore scientists' perceptions of gender imbalance in marine sciences and conservation more broadly, we conducted a global survey and analyzed 764 questionnaires from 42 countries. Participants were also asked to identify measures that promote gender equity. We found a consistent pattern of women being under-representated across institutions and nations characterized by a relatively balanced representation of men and women in early career stages and a growing gap in later stages, with women occupying only 13% to 24% of senior positions. The same pattern was found in publishing, funding, and leadership of research institutes. Survey results demonstrate that most marine scientists are aware of the general and persistent gender bias, and perceive that it may compromise our ability to effectively solve conservation problems. Measures that increase fairness in evaluations (e.g. for hiring) and that support work-life balance ranked high, whereas gender-oriented measures, such as gender-specific scholarships, received less support. Our findings suggest that mechanisms promoting a fairer share of family responsibilities and transparent processes in hiring and evaluation are the most promising path to a more balanced participation of women in scientific leadership and conservation decision-making. Such measures may benefit not only women but diversity more generally
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