Identification of novel catalytic features of endo-β-1,4-glucanase produced by mulberry longicorn beetle Apriona germari

Mulberry longicorn beetle, Apriona germari, has been reported to produce two endo-β-l,4-glucanases or AgEGases (accession Nos. Q6SS52 and Q5XQD1). AgEGase sequence contains catalytic motif (amino acid residues 37～48), which is the characteristic of family Glycohydrolase 45 and is identified as the substrate binding site. The application of bioinformatics approaches includes sequence analysis, structural modeling and inhibitor docking to relate the structure and function of AgEGases.We have dissected the sequence and structure of AgEGase catalytic motif and compared it with crystal structure of Humicola insolens endoglucanases Ⅴ. The results show an involvement of sulfur containing amino acid residues in the active site of the enzyme. Cys residues and position of disulfide bonds are highly conserved between the two structures of endoglucanases of A.germari. Surface calculation of AgEGase structure in the absence of Cys residues reveals greater accessibility of the catalytic site to the substrate involving Asp42, a highly conserved residue. For the inhibition study, tannin-based structure was docked into the catalytic site of AgEGase using ArgusLab 4.0 and it resulted in a stable complex formation. It is suggested that the inhibition could occur through formation of a stable transition state analog-enzyme complex with the tannin-based inhibitor, as observed with other insect cellulases in our laboratory.     

Characteristics,issues, and future directions in Chinese multicultural education: a review of selected research 2000–2018

Asia Pacific Education Review - Multicultural education has aroused extensive international attention and has been promoted by a large body of advocates due to its significance for the achievement...     

How Mexican students perceive their classroom experience from their professors

Tertiary Education and Management - What relationships exist between Mexican students and their professors? This paper compares student expectations with their experiences. This comparison is done...     

作为政策工具的大学排行榜

公共信息机制包括大学排行及类似的一些分类工具,一般是运用从高校或公共部门获取的客观或主观数据并向有关竞争对手的比较单位赋值进行质量测量而构建起来的,这种机制正日益成为衡量和比较第三级教育机构绩效所依赖的方式。探讨其作用和效果,通过对被用于公共绩效责任目的的各类排名方法进行分类,从政治经济学的角度对排名现象进行分析发现,虽然各种排名做法有各自的优点和缺点,但加强第三级教育机构绩效责任,对指导国家教育政策制定和高校发展实践具有重要意义。     

The Effects of Socio-scientific Instruction on Pre-Service Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy for Learning and Teaching Controversial Family Health Issues

This research investigates the effects of socioscientific instruction on pre-service teachers’ sense of efficacy in the teaching and learning of controversial family health issues. For this purpose, a total of 251 students from two teacher training colleges participated in the study and were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught the contents of the controversial family health issues using socioscientific instruction approach and the control group was taught the same content using a more traditional approach. Quantitative data were obtained from both groups after responding to the ‘Teacher sense of Efficacy Scale’ as instrument used for data collection before and after the treatments. Analysis of covariance was used in data analysis of which the pre-treatment scores were used as covariates. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten participants randomly selected from the experimental group before and after the treatment to deepen and elaborate the quantitative data. The quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that the integration of the socioscientific instruction have significantly affected the pre-service teachers’ sense of efficacy in favour of the experimental group that shows a more stronger sense of efficacy. It was concluded that the socioscientific instruction is significantly effective in changing the pre-service teachers’ weaker sense of efficacy to a stronger one in the controversial family health issues.

     

Modeling and control of two manipulators handling a flexible object

Manipulating flexible objects stirs a great deal of interest due to the potential applications in industry. Most previous research work with multiple manipulators, however, focused on developing control strategies for the manipulation of rigid bodies. This paper seeks to develop simple yet practical and efficient control scheme that enables cooperating arms to handle a flexible beam. Specifically the problem studied herein is that of two arms rigidly grasping a flexible beam and capable of generating forces/moments in such a way as to move a flexible beam along a predefined trajectory. The paper develops a sliding mode control law that provides robustness against model imperfection and uncertainty. It also provides an implicit stability proof. Given the bounds of uncertainty in the model of the flexible beam and choosing a switching surface that enforces trajectory tracking, a control algorithm is designed to push the states to remain on the switching surface. Simulation results for two three joint arms moving a flexible beam are presented to validate the theoretical results.     

‘Building Dancing’: Dance within the Context of Architectural Design Pedagogy

Recent theoretical and technological developments redefine the discipline of architecture substantially. Current day approaches in design pedagogy focus on personal and bodily experiences of the subject and the need for investigating new ways and methods to enhance awareness of spatial experiences is inevitable. In order to establish a heuristic understanding of embodiment in space within design pedagogy, collaborative studies of dance and architecture are important supports. This article introduces ‘Building Dancing’, which is an approach to embodied learning. The project is specifically designed and developed for students of architectural design and aims to integrate the existing body of knowledge and hands‐on exercises under a holistic framework. Within this study, the issue of embodiment is regarded not solely as a theoretical concept but a transforming method for achieving a conception of a reality and an understanding of architectural design processes.     

The Effects of Socio-scientific Instruction on Pre-Service Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy for Learning and Teaching Controversial Family Health Issues

This research investigates the effects of socioscientific instruction on pre-service teachers’ sense of efficacy in the teaching and learning of controversial family health issues. For this purpose, a total of 251 students from two teacher training colleges participated in the study and were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught the contents of the controversial family health issues using socioscientific instruction approach and the control group was taught the same content using a more traditional approach. Quantitative data were obtained from both groups after responding to the ‘Teacher sense of Efficacy Scale’ as instrument used for data collection before and after the treatments. Analysis of covariance was used in data analysis of which the pre-treatment scores were used as covariates. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten participants randomly selected from the experimental group before and after the treatment to deepen and elaborate the quantitative data. The quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that the integration of the socioscientific instruction have significantly affected the pre-service teachers’ sense of efficacy in favour of the experimental group that shows a more stronger sense of efficacy. It was concluded that the socioscientific instruction is significantly effective in changing the pre-service teachers’ weaker sense of efficacy to a stronger one in the controversial family health issues.     

Hypoglycaemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant properties of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum linn) on streptozotocin induced diabetes in rats

Effect of oral administration of 200 mg/Kg body weight of the aqueous extract ofOcimum sanctum (Tulsi) mixed with diet for eight weeks to diabetic (streptozotocin induced) rats was studied. There was significant reduction in fasting blood glucose, serum lipid profile, lipid peroxidation products, (LPO) and improvement in glucose tolerance. The aqueous extract also decreased LPO formation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances TBARS) and increased antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione transferase (GT) and one antioxidant reduced glutathione (GSH) in plasma and rat liver, lung, kidney and brain. The decrease in TBARS and increase in GSH, SOD, CAT, GPX, and GT clearly shows the antioxidant property ofOcimum sanctum.