Developmental and Sex Differences in Sericophily in the Wolf Spider Pardosa milvina

Male spiders are attracted to silk (sericophily) from unmated adult females. Detection of female silk induces localized searching behavior and male courtship displays but sericophily may occur in other contexts as well. Both males and females show genitalic development two instars prior to maturity and both sexes produce dragline silk as late-instar juveniles and adults. It is unclear if adolescent male and female spiders show sex-specific attraction to each other’s silk or if adult females are responsive to silk from adult or subadult males. We tested whether subadult male and female spiders were attracted to silk from conspecific subadult or adult males and females. We also tested adult male and female responses to silk from adult and subadults of the same or opposite sex. Using a 7x 4 design (28 unique treatments), we tested subadult and adult male and female attraction or repellency to pairs of silk substrates or no silk in the following seven treatment pair combinations: (1) adult male/adult female, (2) adult female/blank, (3) adult male/blank, (4) subadult male/subadult female, (5) subadult female/blank, (6) subadult male/blank, (7) blank/blank. For each spider, we measured time on each substrate within each pair over one hour. We found that adult male spiders were significantly attracted to female silk and avoided male silk while adult females were indifferent to silk from adult males and actively avoided silk from subadult males. Subadult females showed no responses to silk from males or females of any age class but subadult males showed attraction to silk from adult females and avoidance of silk from adult males. Collectively these results show that silk-mediated communication can occur prior to sexual maturity and that silk can serve as a repellent as well as an attractant depending on the sex and age of the spider

Development of a Faculty Learning Community to support Scholarship and Feedback

In an effort to explore the ideas of Scholarship of Learning and Teaching, and to comply with Glasgow’s University’s career development programme, a small group of academics from the College of Medicine, Veterinary and Life Sciences established a Learning Community. The LC has several aims: • To create and design a Learning Community to support scholarship and progression for lecturers on learning & teaching track • To understand how a Learning Community can be used to support staff on career development pathways • To empower participants to engage in the University’s career development programme through peer support and peer mentorship within the Learning Community • provide practical support for scholarship projects (it is hoped that all members will be supported to drive their scholarship ‘from idea to manuscript’) It is hoped that through the sharing of ideas, and collaboration between schools, the LC hope to publish and disseminate scholarship, and provide a series of recommendations regarding scholarship support. Planned scholarship outputs include papers in educational journals, conference abstracts and presentations, and a significant ambition to influence policy within the university regarding scholarship and career development

Me, myself, and nature: living with dementia and connecting with the natural world – more than a breath of fresh air? A literature review

Objective: Depsite the growing awareness of the importance of engagement with the natural world for people living with dementia, little is known about the impact specifically for people living independently in their own home. This review identifies, analyses and synthesises existing research, incorporating first-person narrative accounts of the benefits and potential challenges experienced inforging meaningful connections with the natural world.Methods: Six databases were searched from February 2000 to February 2021. Relevant organisations and authors were contacted, and a hand search of included study reference lists was conducted. The findings of included studies were synthesised using a thematic analysis approach.Findings: Sixteen studies were included: 13 qualitative and three mixed methods. Eight themes and three sub-themes were identified, revealing how contact with the natural world held a significancefor people living with dementia, associated with a sense of pleasure, comfort, stimulation, freedom and meaning. Support and the use of adaptive strategies afforded opportunities for continued engagement with meaningful outdoor activities and the promotion of identity, independence, social interaction, enhanced wellbeing and quality of life for people living independently with dementia.Conclusion: Meaningful connections with the natural world offer far more than a ‘breath of freshair’. When support mechanisms are in place, engaging with the natural world can be a valuable arenafor enablement and continuity, providing a sense of connectedness to self, place and others

Le Genereux

Proposed by Emma Tirlot and Cydney Price (students), Suzanne Hallman (BIG staff) and Dr. Addie Martindale, Department of Fashion Merchandising and Design. ($2,520.25

A cytological study of a triploid x diploid cross of Sorghum vulgare

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1955 P75Master of Scienc

Delivering Public Services at a Time of Political Turmoil: The Impact of Risk and Austerity on the Charitable sector

The private and charitable sectors have become firmly embedded within the criminal justice system, where they are increasingly involved and accountable for delivering public services (Ismail, 2021). The distinctiveness of the charitable sector enables it to provide services and meet needs in ways that the statutory and private sectors cannot (Clinks, 2013; Corcoran & Hucklesby, 2013; Dayson et al., 2022). Consecutive governments have acknowledged the charitable sector’s essential role in criminal justice and recognised its unique ability to meet the complex needs of individuals who have contact with the criminal justice system. However, legislation, government policy and actions have caused greater reliance on the charitable sector. Utilising Foucault’s (1991) governmentality perspective, neoliberal ideologies have disadvantaged charitable sector organisations. Government actions based on privatisation, monetarism, and austerity have hindered the charitable sector’s capacity to deliver public services (Heydar-Cardwell, 2012; Marmot et al., 2020). The Transforming Rehabilitation programme implemented in practice in 2013 questions the government’s support for the charitable sector and its involvement in public service provision (Dacombe & Morrow, 2016). Legislation and government policy have had equally damaging effects on charitable sector service users. Criminality and mental health disorders are associated with highly derogatory labels. Stigma theories outline the grave consequences caused by stigmatisation. Individuals attached to these labels are stigmatised, socially excluded, and disproportionately impacted by multiple laws and policies (Goffman, 1963; Link et al., 1989; Pinel, 1999; Scheff, 1966; Tremlin & Beazley, 2022). Link and Phelan’s (2001, 2004) and Corrigan et al.’s (2004) notion of structural power shows how stigmatising labels justify punitive policy and action. During the 1970s, there was a growing political movement of conservative ideologies where liberal approaches were deemed ‘soft on crime’ and replaced with ideas around control and punitive punishments (Hardisty, 2004; Loader & Sparks, 2016; Spicker, 2022). The government’s political decision to enforce neoliberal policies and inflict austerity has caused extensive harm to the most vulnerable, stigmatised groups in society (Lavalette, 2017; Marazziti, 2021; Tremlin & Beazley, 2022). The social injustices and government failings to minority and vulnerable groups within society are a vital area for analysis and social change. This research aimed to critically explore the distinctiveness of the charitable sector and the impact and effectiveness of legislation, government policy and actions on the charitable sector. More specifically and uniquely, the study explored the distinctiveness, impact, and effectiveness of charitable sector practitioners’ perspectives. This research sought to provide a platform for the voices of charitable sector practitioners. The research’s timing adds to the study’s originality and its contribution to knowledge. The research critically explored practitioners’ perspectives post-implementation of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme. Data was collected in 2016, three years after implementation, to explore perspectives of policy in practice in detail. This study sought to provide a profound understanding of how the charitable sector continues to provide support services through a time of political turmoil and substantial probationary reform from the perspectives of those working in the sector. The researcher conducted 24 qualitative, semi-structured interviews with practitioners from 8 different charitable sector organisations. All practitioners, either in paid or voluntary roles, delivered mental health and well-being support services to offenders or individuals whom the criminal justice system deems at risk of offending. Thematic analysis was then conducted to interpret the data and identify emergent codes and themes. The findings revolved around two core themes: the distinctiveness of the charitable sector and the detrimental impact of the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms on charitable sector organisations. Charitable sector practitioners expressed their invaluable and distinct role in meeting the needs of offenders and individuals whom the criminal justice system deem at risk of offending. Charitable sector distinctiveness lies in providing innovative, individualised, and holistic services that meet its service users’ multiple, complex needs. Yet, legislation and public policy, along with the government’s principal priority to cut public expenditure, have caused numerous complexities for charitable sector organisations. The perspectives shared about Transforming Rehabilitation are based on concerns and anxieties over the future of their services and how they will navigate through the continuing state of flux. Practitioners communicated how they feel exploited and believe the government has prioritised financial savings and perceived political support over meeting offender needs and protecting the charitable sector’s role. The thesis uses a combination of distinctive theories and first-hand accounts of delivering services in the charitable sector to deepen understanding of the complexities of providing public services in the charitable sector. Specifically, and uniquely, perspectives gathered at a time of radical change in the probation service provide a foundation for how the charitable sector has adapted during the early stages of the Transforming Rehabilitation initiative

Retrotransposons in chronic pain: focusing on roles in gene regulation and neuroinflammation

Pain has evolved as a protective mechanism to signal danger, threat, injury and inflammation to an organism; however, this becomes problematic and detrimental to human physiological and psychological wellbeing when it persists without a noxious cause. Transposable elements (TEs) are functional components of genomes that contribute to species specific gene expression patterns; therefore, we explored the role of TEs in the context of pain gene expression. This work focuses on non-LTR retrotransposons as they remain the major active class of autonomous TEs in the human genome. We first present a study using CRISPR that demonstrates the effect of a human specific retrotransposon SINE-VNTR-Alu (SVA) insertion as a contributor to human specific gene regulation at the locus encoding pain genes TRPV1 and TRPV3. We also show that the SVA at TRPV1 and TRPV3 has regulatory properties and further demonstrate its polymorphic nature and highlight potential links to pain phenotypes. Recent work has also identified that expression of the retrotransposon LINE-1 (L1) is a pathogenic contributor to neurodegenerative disease in the central nervous system and an inducer of inflammation in non-pathological ageing. Chronic pain is an age associated disorder and is driven by the onset of neuroinflammation in the peripheral nervous system. To assess whether L1 expression contributes to this mechanism associated with chronic pain, we present another proof of principle experiment in which we demonstrate increased L1 expression in ageing DRG. Furthermore, we explored L1 expression in response to a novel anti-inflammatory drug and found unexpected increases in expression. The data from this study implies a strong case for further investigation and a potential role for L1 in neuroinflammation in the peripheral nervous system. To summarise, the work presented in this thesis describes the first studies to investigate the role of retrotransposons in several contexts that may contribute to the development of chronic pain and modulation of pain phenotype

Cellular-level versus receptor-level response threshold hierarchies in T-Cell activation

Peptide-MHC (pMHC) ligand engagement by T-cell receptors (TCRs) elicits a variety of cellular responses, some of which require substantially more TCR-mediated stimulation than others. This threshold hierarchy could reside at the receptor level, where different response pathways branch off at different stages of the TCR/CD3 triggering cascade, or at the cellular level, where the cumulative TCR signal registered by the T-cell is compared to different threshold values. Alternatively, dual-level thresholds could exist. In this study, we show that the cellular hypothesis provides the most parsimonious explanation consistent with data obtained from an in-depth analysis of distinct functional responses elicited in a clonal T-cell system by a spectrum of biophysically defined altered peptide ligands across a range of concentrations. Further, we derive a mathematical model that describes how ligand density, affinity, and off-rate all affect signaling in distinct ways. However, under the kinetic regime prevailing in the experiments reported here, the TCR/pMHC class I (pMHCI) dissociation rate was found to be the main governing factor. The CD8 coreceptor modulated the TCR/pMHCI interaction and altered peptide ligand potency. Collectively, these findings elucidate the relationship between TCR/pMHCI kinetics and cellular function, thereby providing an integrated mechanistic understanding of T-cell response profiles