Cold-Temperature Adaptation of Muscle Creatine Kinase from an Antartic Teleost (\u3cem\u3eChaenocephalus Aceratus\u3c/em\u3e)

The white muscle of Chuenocephulus aceratus, an Antarctic teleost of the Channicthyidae family, has a compromised glycoiytic capacity and this fish cannot depend on glycolysis for rapid ATP generation For C. aceratus, creatine kinase (CK) and phosphocreatine (PCr) reserves comprise the metabolic pathway that may supplement and overcome this deficiency in energy transduction. Two conditions, low glycolytic capacity and evolution in a chronically cold habitat (-1.86°C), give us reason to believe that C. aceratus muscle CK (MMCK) has been subjected to strong selective pressure. Thus, the hypothesis of this thesis is that MMCK fiom C. aceratus white muscle exhibits a high specific activity. In order to test this hypothesis, MMCK from C. aceratus white (glycolytic) muscle was purified. This revealed that C. aceratus expresses two cytosolic isoforms of MMCK. Mammals, birds, and most fish express only one MMCK. Thermal stability studies indicate that C. aceratus MMCKs exhibit thermal denaturation after a 30 minute incubation at temperatures greater-than 10°C. At O°C, the average apparent Vmax was found to be 3-to-5 times higher than that predicted fiom a Q10 analysis. The estimate of activation enthalpy for C. aceratus MMCK was 7 kcal/mol lower than that of rabbit MMCK and the activation free energy estimate of C. aceratus MMCK was 1 kcal/mol lower. This helps explain C. aceratus MMCK\u27s high catalytic activity at low temperature, which was found to be greater-than eurythermal fish MMCK activities at 25°C. Kinetic constant estimates indicate that C. aceratus MMCKs have an affinity for ADP (Km= 0.06 mM) and PCr (Km= 17 mM) that is similar to what has been reported for other MMCKs. All C. aceratus CK cDNAs were cloned and sequenced, which confirmed that C. aceratus expresses two distinct isoforms of MCK. The tissues that express muscle, brain, and mitochondria1 CK mRNAs were determined. This is a characteristic of each CK isoform and C. aceratus MCK mRNAs were obsevered only in skeletal muscle. The evidence presented in this thesis demonstrates that one or both MMCKs have undergone cold-temperature adaptation

Non-traditional students as field outsiders: a case study of the institutional sub-field of an ‘elite’ university and its role in social reproduction

This thesis explores the perceptions and experiences of non-traditional students at a high-tariff, prestigious and so-called ‘elite’ university in the UK. The premise of this research is that universities that sit at the top of UK league tables constitute a distinct segment of the higher education field, characterised by a homogenous demographic intake of middle- class and advantaged students and the relative security it provides its graduates in accessing professional employment. Existing research indicates that there is a significant pool of qualified non-traditional students who opt to study elsewhere (Sutton Trust and HEFCE, 2004; Boliver, 2013), and government and institutional interventions primarily aim to change this through raising the aspirations of these students (Byrom, 2009). In response to these findings, this PhD research contributes to updating the evidence base through three novel approaches. Firstly, it moves beyond deficit approaches to the changes that universities themselves can make to become inclusive environments. To do so, it adopts a qualitative case study of one ‘elite’ HEI - Durham University - to explore the culture of a university holistically and the processes and practices that underpin it. Secondly, it employs an immersive research design - including a longitudinal interviews - with first year students who self-define as coming from a background where going to university was not common. This produces detailed insight into their prior perceptions of the university and their social experiences whilst at it – in relation to the institutional culture - at a level of detail unmatched by other studies. Thirdly, the research conceptualises the university as a “social field” (Bourdieu, 1966). My Bourdieusian analysis of data shows how students who may be seen to have “won” the “game” of the UK Higher Education field by entering an ‘elite’ institution, and who take up objectively similar positions to each other in the HE field once they do so, actually face very different experiences, opportunities and likely outcomes due to their social background, associated habitus and levels of capital. I find that the University draws on its historical position as a “field outsider” to position itself as “distinct” (Bourdieu, 1984) in today’s marketized HE field. Internally, the institutional field of the collegiate university is still structured around the habitus of the elite and “invented traditions” (Hosbawm and Ranger, 1983) are used to claim the legitimacy of this field structure. Initially, participants were attracted to these practices and saw them as markers of the institution’s high quality, which they sought in order to gain the symbolic capital of a Durham degree to become upwardly socially mobile. In reality, however, the internal social structure of the collegiate system requires a fitting habitus and extremely high levels of economic capital for participation, excluding those without. It is on these grounds that I make recommendations for change to make the social and cultural environment of this ‘elite’ university a more inclusive space

The freshers’ week experience in a VLE: can it be achieved?

Campus based students are welcomed to our University during the first week of their course, but for students studying by online distance learning (ODL) a comparable mechanism does not exist. Academic staff experienced in teaching by ODL considered this to be a gap in students’ educational experience and, furthermore, that opportunities for early engagement of students in their online course could be enhanced. The aim of this paper is to explain the rationale for an online induction, to outline the activities undertaken by students and staff and to consider whether online induction is an effective strategy for online learning

Assessing the Utility of Procedural Modeling for the Urban Planning Discipline: CityEngine and Missing Middle Housing

In recent years, procedural modeling techniques have been introduced to the urban planning discipline. By enabling the quick generation of design alternatives, these methods have the potential to expedite the public participation process. In this study, we explore ArcGIS CityEngine, an Esri procedural modeling software, and its application for depicting new missing middle housing developments in San Luis Obispo, California. Missing middle housing is an abstract planning concept and the public may benefit from 3D visualizations of the typology contextualized within their own neighborhood. To this end, we procedurally model two existing missing middle developments in San Luis Obispo and transfer them to three alternative contexts. Our team consists of two planning students with no programming background, granting us a relevant perspective on the experience for planning professionals. Through this exercise, we determined that procedural modeling can accelerate the design process when applied to a fitting scenario after the initial training period is complete

Countermeasure Development for Lumbopelvic Deconditioning in Space

Physical inactivity and lumbopelvic deconditioning have been linked to increased incidence of non-specific low back pain (LBP) and spinal injury in those who are exposed to microgravity (e.g. astronauts and individuals on long-duration bed rest) and in the general population. Astronauts have an increased risk of experiencing moderate to severe LBP during microgravity exposure and herniated intervertebral discs within 1 year following spaceflight. Atrophy and reduced motor control of the lumbar multifidus (LM) and transversus abdominis (TrA) muscles resulting from periods of deconditioning are linked to non-specific LBP and spinal injury risk in both post-flight astronauts and general populations. However, voluntary recruitment of these two key muscles is difficult and presents a rehabilitation challenge. This chapter reviews the concept of spinal stability as it relates to microgravity, discusses how existing exercise countermeasures used in space do not successfully maintain lumbopelvic muscle size, and introduces the functional readaptive exercise device (FRED) that shows potential to activate the LM and TrA muscles automatically and in a tonic fashion, which has relevance to rehabilitation of both astronaut and terrestrial populations

Introducing a Structured Format for Learner Self-Assessment: The Tutor's Perspective

This paper describes our experience of introducing a structured format for students requesting formative feedback on draft work. Initially the aims were to encourage the development of self-assessment skills in distance-learning students and to develop the dialogue between student and tutor. In 2013 we considered the benefits of this initiative could be applied to campus based students with a similar profile. The experiences of staff involved in this process were collated and the advantages and challenges recorded. Our experience confirms this process results in high quality, specific and consistent feedback which can impact on students’ success in summative assessment. The development of trust in the process results in useful dialogue and increased self-esteem as students gain confidence in their critical-thinking skills. An unexpected benefit shows students utilise the process to express anxieties about, not only their studies, but personal and work challenges, thereby enabling us to provide additional support. The most challenging aspect for tutors is the time required to provide feedback in this format. This process highlights distinct benefits for students and in our view these outweigh the issue of tutor time, but resources need to be addressed before it can be used effectively for larger cohorts

Lessons for effective government IT outsourcing: education and immigration in New Zealand

Information technology (IT) tends to be viewed as ancillary to core government functions. Consequently, IT is often outsourced to the private sector. Unfortunately, there is a long line of failed outsourced projects. This article uses two New Zealand case studies, the particularly public failure of the recent school payroll system and the successful introduction of electronic immigration processing, to examine how the design and governance of outsourced government IT projects could be improved. It concludes that an awareness of historic trends is important for project success, that governments need to be more active in combating market based transaction costs and that contract management becomes a core government competency when projects are outsourced. It also argues that better change management and cognisance of design-reality gaps would positively impact the outcomes of future projects

The immediate effects of exercise using the Functional Re-adaptive Exercise Device on lumbopelvic kinematics in people with and without low back pain

Background - Dysfunction of the lumbar multifidus (LM) and transversus abdominis (TrA) muscles is associated with low back pain (LBP). The Functional Re-adaptive Exercise Device (FRED) has shown potential as a non-specific LBP intervention by automatically recruiting LM and TrA. Loss or lordosis and altered lumbopelvic positioning has also been linked to LBP and is often trained within LM and TrA interventions. The effect that FRED exercise has on lumbopelvic positioning and lumbar lordosis is unknown. Objectives - To assess the effect of FRED exercise on lumbopelvic kinematics and alignment to establish whether FRED exercise promotes a favourable lumbopelvic posture for training LM and TrA. Design - Within and between-group comparison study. Method - One hundred and thirty participants, 74 experiencing LBP, had lumbopelvic kinematic data measured during over-ground walking and FRED exercise. Magnitude-based inferences were used to compare walking with FRED exercise within participants and between the asymptomatic and LBP groups, to establish the effects of FRED exercise on lumbopelvic kinematics, compared to walking, in each group. Results - FRED exercise promotes an immediate change in anterior pelvic tilt by 8.7° compared to walking in the no-LBP and LBP groups. Sagittal-plane spinal extension increased during FRED exercise at all spinal levels by 0.9° in the no-LBP group, and by 1.2° in the LBP group. Conclusions - FRED exercise promotes a lumbopelvic position more conducive to LM and TrA training than walking in both asymptomatic people and those with LBP