The long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is common to many countries in Southeast Asia and increasingly shares its habitat with humans. However, co-existence between M. fascicularis and humans presents a number of challenges, particularly in tourist sites. The main aim of my research was to examine the dynamics of human-macaque interactions and investigate human perceptions towards them at Angkor Archaeological Park, north-western Cambodia. My aims and objectives were achieved through a mixed methods approach comprising observations of human-macaque interactions and semi-structured interviews with visitors and residents. Studies such as this are crucial to inform understanding of the dynamics involved in human-macaque interactions and make recommendations to safeguard both humans and macaques. At present, very limited management strategies have been put into place at the study site and there are health and safety concerns. Results suggest that the presence of human foods increased the likelihood of huma…
As language is fundamental to everyday interactions, the process of learning language is central to child development. This paper investigates the effect of feedback and interaction on language development in a nursery setting. Recasts, where the correct form of an incorrect utterance is modelled by the interlocutor, are a common and well-studied form of feedback in second language acquisition. However, there is little research on how recasts are used in child language acquisition and what effect, if any, they have on language development. This paper investigates two children, one male and one female, aged between two and four in naturally occurring one-to-one interactions with a practitioner in a UK nursery setting. Interactions were recorded at two different times, which were also two months apart to include a longitudinal element. Recordings were transcribed and analysed to assess their developmental stage and language competence. In addition, the practitioners’ language was analysed to investigate forms …
The nuclear space is a dynamic environment in which DNA molecules interact across time, space and scale. Within the nucleus different yet adjacent chromosomes are co- regulated through shared chromatin modifications or the influence of global enhancer or repressor units. The interactions between adjacent chromosomes can be analysed though Hi-C, a technique that takes a whole genome view on samples obtained by chromosome confirmation capture. This technique has been used in many different plant species and this article provides a consensus protocol that is merged from those used in two expert labs.
Background: Physical activity (PA) has both immediate and long-term benefits on physical and mental health BUT promoting active behaviour by listing the benefits alone doesn’t lead to an increased involvement. Programmes trying to increase PA tend to focus on external factors (providing facilities) and on behavioural changes. Flow: complete immersion in an activity without reflective self-consciousness but with a deep sense of control (Pfeifer & Engeser, 2021, p. 2). Flow traits: challenge-skill balance, merging of action and awareness, clear goals, unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task, sense of control, loss of self-consciousness, time transformation and an autotelic (intrinsically) rewarding experience. Flow has been shown to enhance performance and commitment in elite athletes. Not much can be found on consequences of flow in recreational physical activity. Aim: To identify intrapersonal / interpersonal motivations for PA by reviewing the impact and consequences of social interaction and experi…
The plastic pollution crisis is expanding across cultures, ecosystems and far beyond the realm of the oceans and marine life, where most attention has been focussed so far. Most of the plastic circulating in our oceans comes from land and rivers, and it raises questions about the understudied impact of plastic on terrestrial environments, wildlife and communities relying on them. Marginalised communities and indigenous people are highly exposed to the consequences of plastic and other environmental pollutants. Plastic accumulating in forests and rivers is posing threats to indigenous peoples and their cultures, as well as primates living in the same kind of habitats, and the complex relationships between humans and these animals. We conducted a thorough literature review, including both scientific articles and grey literature, about the direct and indirect impacts of plastic on primates and indigenous people through their relationship and their interactions with the outside world. Our results suggest that pl…
"The changing age structure of the population is an issue which crosses the UK boundaries. The growing dependency ratio poses challenges to governments, which - in order to act and plan for the future - require a better understanding of the motives behind retirement decisions. The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons why people take up early retirement and what the best predictors are. Interest in this topic was fuelled by policy concerns to reduce public expenditure on pensions and social welfare. Wave 7 of The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing was used. The analysis was broken down into two sections. Section one used binomial logistic model to inspect which demographic characteristics and regions predict early retirement. Section two used a discriminant analysis model, to see what the best predictors of group membership are, for the push-pull model of retirement. The binomial logistic model found gender, age education completed, socio-economic group and region to be significant predictors. Di…
Membrane Yeast Two Hybrid (MYTH) is a variation of standard yeast two hybrid that uses the split-ubiquitin system to allow the interrogation of interactions involving membrane bound proteins. This protocol has been used to study targeted interactions between pre- identified bait and prey proteins. In addition MYTH can use a known bait protein to screen a selection of unknown prey-proteins that have been generated from a cDNA library. This consensus methodology is for use of MYTH for both targeted screening as well as the identification of novel interactors.
This system of lighting has been produced for the “architecture of flavours” expo to be hosted on the 19th of April, 2016. My brief entailed producing lighting for 12 dinner tables that the invitees could interact with. The design is meant to stem from the menu that showcases food inspired from the “flavours” of three buildings as conceived by members of the graduating class of 2016 (shown below). The organisers of this event also want their guests to take an experience away from the evening, and have tasked me with making this idea come to fruition literally.
Recent work putatively linked a rare genetic variant of the chaperone Resistant to Inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (RIC3) (NM_024557.4:c.262G>A, NP_078833.3:p.G88R) to a unique ability to speak backwards, a language skill that is associated with exceptional working memory capacity. RIC3 is important for the folding, maturation, and functional expression of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). We compared and contrasted the effects of RIC3G88R on assembly, cell surface expression, and function of human α7 receptors using fluorescent protein tagged α7 nAChR and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy imaging in combination with functional assays and 125I-α-bungarotoxin binding. As expected, the wild-type RIC3 protein was found to increase both cell surface and functional expression of α7 receptors. In contrast, the variant form of RIC3 decreased both. FRET analysis showed that RICG88R increased the interactions between RIC3 and α7 protein in the endoplasmic reticulum. These results provi…
Analysis of individual cell types can add significant understanding to our knowledge the processes that drive the formation of complex tissues. However one major challenge in this area involves the difficulty in separating cells with different identifies that may be buried deep within tissues. Recently cell-type specific expression of fluorescent reporter proteins has facilitated the isolation of different cell types; initially by isolation of protoplasts and now through the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting. This latter technique allows the more rapid separation of the nuclei from specific cell files to ensure that a more realistic in-planta situation is revealed upon subsequent downstream analysis. This article provides a consensus methodology for the isolation of labelled nuclei and for the processing of these samples for analysis of gene expression, methylation state and of chromatin interactions.