The neural mechanisms underlying the perception and production of learned vocalizations in songbirds

Songbirds produce a wide array of vocalizations, including song, and learned and innate calls. Songs and calls can be functionally defined. Songs are typically used to attract potential mates and defend one’s territory, whereas calls are used for everything else, such as advertising the presence of a predator, or location of a food source, and maintaining contact with members of one’s flock. The purpose of this thesis was to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying call production and perception in two songbird species; the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) and the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). My objectives were to (1) understand the involvement of the song-control system in the production of calls (Chapter 2, 3), (2) understand how bird calls are perceived in the brain (Chapter 4), (3) and if the song-control system is involved in the neural basis of perception of bird calls (Chapter 5). Black-capped chickadees were used to examine the motor-driven immediate-early gene (IEG) expression in the song-control nuclei, HVC and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA). Chickadees that produced primarily gargle calls, an aggressive vocalization used in antagonistic encounters had the most IEG expression in HVC and RA, therefore are involved in the production of calls in chickadees. Chickadees were subjected to HVC lesions, and their gargle and chick-a-dee calls were compared pre- to post-lesion. The gargle calls were shorter, much more variable and were missing several notes post-lesion, whereas the chick-a-dee calls were also affected but not to the same degree. Therefore HVC is crucial for the normal production of the gargle and chick-a-dee calls. To explain this neural basis of perception of learned calls, chickadees were exposed to fee-bee, gargle, chick-a-dee and tseet vocalizations and IEG expression was examined in the auditory forebrain. The gargle elicited the most IEG expression. Finally intact male and female zebra finches, as well as HVC lesioned males were exposed to female and male long-calls and IEG expression in the auditory forebrain was measured. The auditory forebrain showed more IEG expression for male long-calls only in HVC lesioned males. Overall these results indicated the integral function of the song-control system in call production and perception, and would suggest that these structures should be collectively called the vocal-control system

IQGAP Family Members in Yeast, Dictyostelium, and Mammalian Cells

IQGAPs are a family of scaffolding proteins with multiple domains, named for the IQ motifs and GTPase activating protein (GAP) related domains. Despite their GAP homology, IQGAP proteins act as effectors for GTP-bound GTPases of the Ras superfamily and do not stimulate GTP hydrolysis. IQGAPs are found in eukaryotic cells from yeast to human, and localize to actin-containing structures such as lamellipodia, membrane ruffles, cell-cell adhesions, phagocytic cups, and the actomyosin ring formed during cytokinesis. Mammalian IQGAPs also act as scaffolds for signaling pathways. IQGAPs perform their myriad functions through association with a large number of proteins including filamentous actin (F-actin), GTPases, calcium-binding proteins, microtubule binding proteins, kinases, and receptors. The focus of this paper is on recent studies describing new binding partners, mechanisms of regulation, and biochemical and physiological functions of IQGAPs in yeast, amoeba, and mammalian cells

Opportunity Brief: Environmental Data as a Public Good

Environmental data, which takes many forms, is essential for effective climate action, environmental management and public health protection, but has not been prioritized as a useful tool. Current incentives, standards, rules, and regulations related to environmental data are not always workable for communities collecting and using data, nor for government actors who could use this data to better inform policy and decision making. An opportunity to make environmental data work better for us lies in recognizing it as a public good.This brief presents the opportunity to firmly establish environmental data as a public good in both the traditional sense of being non-rival and non-excludable, as well as in expanding the conceptualization of public goods to include utility and equity. To fully reach its potential as a public good, government, community, and academic stakeholders must address four major barriers: (i) lack of awareness of, (ii) overabundance of, (iii) the potential to misuse, and (iv) lack of infrastructure for environmental data resources. The data and its infrastructure must also be workable and useful for users with diverse experiences, capacities, and access to resources.The current political moment presents several opportunities for the use of environmental data as a public good in service of environmental justice and climate solutions. Any efforts to leverage these opportunities should also support understanding, accountability, and the need for useful tools and infrastructure beyond this political cycle

Climate Justice & the Knowledge Commons: Opportunities for the digital rights space

This issue brief is part of a larger body of work around the intersection of digital rights with environmental and climate justice, supported by the Ford Foundation, Ariadne and Mozilla Foundation. This research project aims at better equipping digital rights funders to craft grantmaking strategies that maximise impact on these issues.This brief was published alongside several publications, including a research report mapping the landscape at this intersection by The Engine Room, and issue briefs by Association for Progressive Communications (APC), BSR, and the Open Environmental Data Project and Open Climate.All publications can be found at https://engn.it/climatejusticedigitalright

Behavioral outcomes of online interprofessional education for graduate physical therapy and nurse practitioner students

Authors assessed changes in behavioral outcomes and observed student reflections regarding interprofessional collaboration (IPC) for current, practicing nurses enrolled in a nurse practitioner program and doctor of physical therapy students (DPT) post- interprofessional education (IPE) training

Student Preclass Preparation by Both Reading the Textbook and Watching Videos Online Improves Exam Performance in a Partially Flipped Course

The flipped classroom has the potential to improve student performance. Because flipping involves both preclass preparation and problem solving in the classroom, the means by which increased learning occurs and whether the method of delivering content matters is of interest. In a partially flipped cell biology course, students were assigned online videos before the flipped class and textbook reading before lectures. Low-stakes assessments were used to incentivize both types of preclass preparation. We hypothesized that more students would watch the videos than read the textbook and that both types of preparation would positively affect exam performance. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that both reading and video viewing had a significant positive impact on exam score, and this model was predictive of exam scores. In contrast to our expectations, most students prepared by both watching videos and reading the textbook and did not exhibit a pattern of solely watching videos. This analysis supports previous findings that engagement with material outside class is partly responsible for the improved outcomes in a flipped classroom and shows that both reading and watching videos are effective at delivering content outside class

Environmental justice, climate justice, and the space of digital rights

This issue brief is part of a larger body of work around the intersection of digital rights with environmental and climate justice, supported by the Ford Foundation, Ariadne and Mozilla Foundation. This research project aims at better equipping digital rights funders to craft grantmaking strategies that maximise impact on these issues.This brief was published alongside several publications, including a research report mapping the landscape at this intersection by The Engine Room, and issue briefs by Association for Progressive Communications (APC), BSR, and the Open Environmental Data Project and Open Climate.All publications can be found at https://engn.it/climatejusticedigitalright

Quantification of Silver Nanoparticle Interactions with Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Studied using Single-Cell ICP-MS

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been used in many fields due to their anticancer, antimicrobial, and antiviral potential. Single-cell ICP-MS (SC-ICP-MS) is an emerging technology that allows for the rapid characterization and quantification of a metal analyte across a cell population in a single analysis. In this study, a new rapid and sensitive SC-ICP-MS method was developed to quantitatively study the interactions of AgNPs with yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The method can quantify the cell concentration, silver concentration per cell, and profile the nanoparticle distribution in a yeast cell population. AgNP dosing time, concentration, and AgNP size were quantitatively evaluated for their effects on AgNP-yeast cell interactions. The results showed that the initial uptake of AgNPs was rapid and primarily driven by the mass of Ag per cell. The optimal dosing particle concentrations for highest uptake were approximately 1820, 1000, and 300 AgNPs/cell for 10, 20, and 40 nm AgNPs, respectively. Furthermore, this study also validated a washing method for the application to a microorganism for the first time and was used to quantitatively determine the amount of cell surface–adsorbed AgNPs and intracellular AgNPs. These results indicated that the mass (Ag in ag/cell) ratios of intracelluar vs cell surface-adsorbed AgNPs were similar for different AgNP sizes. This high throughput and ultrasensitive SC-ICP-MS method is expected to have many potential applications, such as optimization of methods for green synthesis of AgNPs, nanotoxicity studies, and drug delivery. This is the first quantification study on the interactions of AgNPs and S. cerevisiae using SC-ICP-MS. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Beyond Compliance: Preliminary Findings from an Investigation of Environmental Health Data Systems in the United States

The Beyond Compliance project seeks to understand common approaches and challenges to environmental data management and sharing, as well as to identify areas for exploration and improvement. The first phase of this project focuses on data systems used or maintained by actors assessing environmental health: federal agencies, state departments of health and environment, researchers, and environmental justice organizations. Because data and information involved in these assessments are often hard to find, access, understand, assess, or integrate, it can be a challenge to paint an accurate picture of health risks. Furthermore, how results, guidance, and new data are shared depend on actors' respective goals, though we identified commonalities. This report explains our methods of investigation, identifies key themes and takeaways from our research, illustrates these with case studies, and poses some open questions and next steps

Momentum Towards Incorporating Global Responsibility in Engineering Education and Accreditation in the UK

CONTEXT Engineering is uniquely placed to help address global challenges such as those surrounding the climate crisis, and the sustainable use and management of resources. However, studies have found UK engineering companies that have adopted sustainability strategies do not have enough staff with the skills to achieve them. There is an urgent need to upskill the current workforce and prepare future generations to operate in a responsible and ethical manner in tackling today\u27s challenges. Recent updates to the standard of engineering accreditation in the UK provide notable opportunities to transform university curricula to create globally responsible engineers. PURPOSE This preliminary study explores the integration of global responsibility areas of learning and skill sets in engineering education accreditation. Recent revisions to accreditation are to be implemented at the end of 2021. The purpose of this study is to highlight how global responsibility principles are integrated and framed in engineering accreditation in the UK today. APPROACH This paper explores patterns within the recent updates made to engineering accreditation in the UK. The previous third edition and newly published fourth edition of the Engineering Council Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP) are central to this research. Forward looking strategies from prominent voices in the sector including the Royal Academy of Engineering (2020-2025) and Engineers Without Borders UK (2021-2030), are viewed through the lens of Bloom’s Taxonomy, a hierarchical model for categorizing learning objectives into levels of complexity, to generate preliminary findings. ACTUAL OUTCOMES Addressing sustainability, global responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires more complexity in a students’ learning process than engineering curricula currently provide. Sustainability, ethics, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to engineering education and enable inclusive design solutions and outcomes. The most notable change to AHEP is refining how global responsibility is presented and evolving the way it is taught. Changes incorporated in the new AHEP4 recognise the responsibility and skills needed of engineers to create positive change to society and global challenges. Yet by the time AHEP4 is realised the SDGs will be halfway through the Decade of Action. Achieving crucial SDG benchmarks will require both curricular change embedded in accreditation standards and a notable shift in the culture of engineering that embeds a professional commitment to behave more responsibly, individually and collectively. SUMMARY Incorporating global responsibility into engineering accreditation is necessary to prepare students to address global challenges. Newly updated accreditation standards frame engineering education around principles of globally responsible engineering while encouraging more complexity within the curricula, such as through problem-based learning approaches. This provides a strong starting point for engineering curricula and educators to prepare emerging engineers to act responsibly in the face of the urgent and dynamic global challenges