Search

A comparative analysis of Irish history at school in the two parts of Ireland from 1921 to the 1990s is proposed here through an examination of history curricula and textbooks. The main focus is on the 1980s and 1990s, which were pivotal decades, usually described as having brought about a gradual convergence between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in terms of the treatment of Irish history within a wider context and related conceptions of Irish identity. The article argues that the new perspectives in fact reveal a dual trend, with elements of convergence but also enduring or even consolidated aspects of distinctiveness or divergence, in the treatment of both Irish history and European history: the more open, more transnational approaches of Irish history went hand in hand with a consolidation of state and regional identifications, as well as with a different view of the place of European history.

For nearly a century developmental biologists have recognized that cells from embryos can differ in their potential to differentiate into distinct cell types. Recently, it has been recognized that embryonic stem cells derived from both mice and humans exhibit two stable yet epigenetically distinct states of pluripotency: naive and primed. We now show that nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) and the metabolic state regulate pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).  Specifically, in naive hESCs, NNMT and its enzymatic product 1-methylnicotinamide are highly upregulated, and NNMT is required for low S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) levels and the H3K27me3 repressive state. NNMT consumes SAM in naive cells, making it unavailable for histone methylation that represses Wnt and activates the HIF pathway in primed hESCs. These data support the hypothesis that the metabolome regulates the epigenetic landscape of the earliest steps in human development.

The paper presents the development and test of a skull phantom, which can be used for the assessment of the radiographic visibility of neurovascular implants. State of the art methods are based on specimens of the human skull. These are highly individual and not suitable for comparison of different radiographic data sets. The development process of the skull phantom is described from data generation to image processing, design and manufacturing using 3D printing. An experimental setup is recommended to generate reproducible data sets for implant visibility assessment with bone mimicking structures of the phantom. The model is evaluated by qualitative comparison with equivalent data sets of the original human skull model. The results show, that contrast characteristics of the phantom and the human skull model are similar. X-ray attenuation of the human bone is higher than the polymeric phantom material. The introduced phantom allows the determination of X-ray attenuation characteristics of different neurovascular implants for medical approval and testing processes.

A common history curriculum was introduced for the first time in Northern Ireland schools in 1991, which attempted to bridge the longstanding gap between Catholic and state schools in this field. This paper outlines the various aspects of the crucial role played by a number of historians from all the major universities in Ireland, North and South, but especially from Queen's University, Belfast, in making this change possible, through the development of new historiographical perspectives on Irish history, but also through their more direct and deliberate drive to popularise these perspectives within Northern Ireland society from the 1960s to the end of the 1980s. This engagement of many historians above and beyond their work as researchers shows that they tried to reconcile their scientific work as academics with a recognition of their social role, thus providing a good illustration of the ambiguous nature of the social function of historians in contemporary democracies. (Contains 52 footnotes.)

A comparative analysis of Irish history at school in the two parts of Ireland from 1921 to the 1990s is proposed here through an examination of history curricula and textbooks. The main focus is on the 1980s and 1990s, which were pivotal decades, usually described as having brought about a gradual convergence between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in terms of the treatment of Irish history within a wider context and related conceptions of Irish identity. The article argues that the new perspectives in fact reveal a dual trend, with elements of convergence but also enduring or even consolidated aspects of distinctiveness or divergence, in the treatment of both Irish history and European history: the more open, more transnational approaches of Irish history went hand in hand with a consolidation of state and regional identifications, as well as with a different view of the place of European history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to test whether the front pre-spore cells of Dictyostelium discoideum are converted to rear pre-spore cells when transplanted in the rear. Results showed that cells on both sides sorted themselves with those in front shifting posteriorly and those at the rear shifting anteriorly. This behavior results from the innate differences between cells rather than from positional signals.

The two layered heterotrophic bacterial communities can corrupt the three linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) which are approximately 8 congeners out of the complete mixture of 20 congeners. The conclusion drawn is that the community mineralized the important sulfophenylcarboxylates (SPCs), which are obtained from 8 out of the 20 LAS congeners.

Byline: Karin Fischer The extension budgets of many land-grant universities are taking big hits in the current economic downturn, accelerating changes in how public institutions deliver and finance their outreach [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER State legislators must take a leading role in reforming higher education to make college more accessible and to better meet state needs in a competitive global economy, [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER State spending on student financial aid rose by more than 8 percent in the 2004-5 academic year, amid signs that efforts by states to expand financial assistance [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER A high-level exodus may spell trouble at the Education Commission of the States. The nonprofit, bipartisan organization, which advises state leaders on education policy and is widely [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER High-achieving students say that broadening their intellectual capabilities is more important in college than preparing for a career, and that the quality of specific academic programs influences [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System has fired a tenured professor who was convicted of sending photographs of himself naked to a detective [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER Despite a 3.5-percent increase in spending on higher education, state and local support per student hit a 25-year low in the 2004-5 fiscal year. An analysis by [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER The Bush administration has proposed abolishing all federal vocational-education programs, saying they have 'produced little or no evidence of improved outcomes for students despite decades of federal [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER and SARA HEBEL VOCATIONAL-COLLEGE REFORM: A sweeping reform proposal could curb wasteful spending and eliminate top administrative jobs at Louisiana's technical colleges. The plan would reorganize the [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER Chapel Hill, N.C. -- Visitors to the campus of the University of North Carolina here might be forgiven for thinking the Tar Heels had exchanged their trademark [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER The two boards that oversee higher education in Florida have a new bone of contention: which of them has the authority over the granting of four-year degrees [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER Louisiana lawmakers gave final approval last week to a bill that cuts $71.4-million from public colleges and squeezes $5.5-million in surplus funds from a popular merit-based scholarship [...]

Byline: KARIN FISCHER Pennsylvania's prepaid-tuition program has become the first such plan in the nation to receive a credit rating, earning an A3 mark from Moody's Investor Services, the state's [...]