Different Ways of Knowing and Growing: A Case Study of an Arts-Integrated Pedagogy at an Urban Elementary Charter School

An arts equity gap exists in K–12 grade education. African American and Latinx students have fewer opportunities for access to arts education than do White students. In California, charter schools have an opportunity to address the equity gap for students in those demographic groups. The goal of this qualitative case study was to observe how Kahlo Charter Elementary School, an urban charter elementary school in Los Angeles County, implemented an arts integrated curriculum and to identify benefits and challenges for fourth and fifth grade students of color enrolled at the school. Aesthetic learning (Bose, 2008; Denaway, 2013; Greene, 1978, 1995, 2001; Holzer, 2009), arts integration (Silverstein & Layne, 2010), and Different Ways of Knowing (DwoK) (Johannesen, 1997, 2004) formed the conceptual framework for this study. Participants included fourth- and fifth-grade Latinx and African American students, one 12th-grade student, one parent each, grade level teachers, and arts specialist teachers, and administrators. Data sources included semi-structured interviews, a focus group, observation of classes and observations of school events. Inductive analysis was used to identify themes in the data. The approach at the school was primarily a constructivist, arts-integrated curriculum. Teachers created units from primary source materials and discipline specific visual and performing arts courses complimented the arts-integrated curriculum. Students evidenced increased self confidence, ease of self expression, development of imagination, engagement with school, and empathy of others. However, challenges included uneven implementation across classrooms. The study serves as an example for charter school leaders interested in planning an arts integrated curriculum and provides school leaders with a model program to analyze

Development of a parallel CFD solver with application to arterial flows.

In this research, the finite element method (FEM) was used to solve the nonlinear, incompressible, transient, three dimensional Navier-Stokes equations in their non-conservative form. Linear tetrahedron elements were employed with the elegant, equal order interpolation for both pressure and velocity. The characteristic based split scheme was formulated in a fully implicit manner to circumvent the time step restrictions of the classical explicit formulations. The monolithic (single step, fully coupled solution procedure for pressures and velocity) form of the CBS scheme was also derived and its suitability was positively demonstrated. Casting the CBS scheme in a monolithic framework, results in the generation of a pressure stabilization term in the mass conservation equation, thereby circumventing the LBB restriction by the elimination of the zero pressure block. An account of all the steps involved in discretizing the Navier-Stokes equations (both in split and monolithic frameworks) was presented in meticulous detail, which included the derivation of the convective and pressure stabilization terms, linearization of the non-linear terms and the consequent derivation of the highly efficient analytical jacobian matrix, along with the temporal and spatial discretizations of the corresponding terms. The monolithic and the split version of the CBS scheme were integrated into a parallel, scalable and extensible Fortran90 software called IFENs. The development of IFENs started during the course of this research and all of its components have been designed and implemented by the author of this thesis. Multi processor parallelism was achieved using the Intel implementation of the most widely used/preferred, Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard. The parallel support needed for the use of a variety of parallel, linear, iterative solvers belonging to the Krylov subspace family (e.g. GMRES and its variants, CG, BiCG, BiCG- stab, etc.), parallel non linear solvers belonging to the Newton-Krylov family (line search newton, trust region newton, nonlinear GMRES, etc.) and parallel preconditioners (incomplete LU, Additive Shwarz Method - ASM, algebraic multigrid, etc.), was provided by the incorporation of PETSc into IFENs. PETSc is a state of the art, non-trivial toolkit, which represents a collection of several parallel libraries useful in high performance scientific computing. Keeping in mind the specific requirements of IFENs, a custom mesh partitioner was implemented. It operated on meshes that were renumbered using bandwidth reducing algorithms like Revere Cuthill Mckee. The possibility of using established domain decomposition libraries like ParMETIS was explored and demonstrated to be counter productive for the demands of this research. After the preliminary testing and validation of the procedures adopted before and during the execution of IFENs, large, high definition domains representative of human arteries (specifically, carotid bifurcations, found in the neck) were considered and the complete incompressible set of Navier-Stokes equations were solved for pressure and velocity fields. During the tenure of this research more than 1000 recorded parallel test cases were executed to test various components of IFENs, as well as various simulations representative of a wide variety of problems. IFENs can easily handle meshes with tens of millions of elements. The largest mesh used for the purpose of this research contained 14.58 million tetrahedrons and 2.489 million nodes, which on average required just 7 minutes per timestep, while executing the classical split framework of the CBS scheme. Results from the simulation of 9 carotid meshes, representative of 4 carotid geometries were presented and found to be in good agreement with the available ultrasound data. The flow fields were analysed and post processed using different techniques for each case. The haemodynamic wall parameters like time averaged wall shear stress and oscillatory shear index were calculated and mapped onto the corresponding boundary nodes. The region in the carotid bifurcation susceptible to the deposition of plaques and consequent stenosis were pointed out and other anomalies were highlighted

Pyometra in a Great Dane: A Clinical Case Report

A 4-year-old Great Dane was admitted with continuous sanguino-purulent vaginal discharge, distended abdomen, and cachexia. The dog was clinically diagnosed with pyometra and successfully cured by ovario-hysterectomy. This is the first case report of pyometra seen in as Great Dane in Bareilly, India

Immuno-gluorescence study of five zygomycetous fungi with two chitin-binding probes

A polyclonal antiserum was prepared against a purified microsomal chitinase isolated from the fungus Choanephora cucurbitarum. Indirect immunofluorescence was used to localize chitinase at various developmental stages of five zygomycetous fungi and during abiotrophic mycoparasite interaction with a susceptible and resistant host. This was compared to localization of oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine with the lectin wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). Dotimmunoblot and Western blot techniques revealed that the anti-serum reacted strongly with the antigen from which it was derived. Cross reactivity of the antiserum was found with WGA and another chitin binding lectin, Phyto/acca americana agglutinin (PAA). Immuno-fluorescence results showed the direct involvement of chitinase in spore swelling, germination, sporangium development and response during mechanical injury. There appeared to be no involvement of chitinase during apical hyphal growth or new branch initiation in any of the fungi tested despite mild proteolysis and permeabilization of the cell surface prior to labelling. Binding with WGA revealed similar patterns of fluorescence to that of chitinase localization but differed by showing fluorescence and therefore chitin localization at the apex and new branch initiation when tested at different developmental stages. There was no difference between chitinase localization and binding with WGA in a susceptible host and resistant host challenged with the mycoparasite, Piptocephalis virginiana. Differences in binding ability of antichitinase and lectin WGA suggests that the latter is not a suitable indicator for indirect localization of the lytic enzyme, chitinase

Bilateral Polydactyly in a Nondescript Calf

A 7 day old non-descript female calf was presented to the Referral Veterinary Polyclinic, Indian Veterinary Research Institute-Izatnagar with a history of limping and unusual appearance of hindlimbs from birth. Physical examination revealed additional digit on the metatarsal regions of both the hind limbs. Radiographic examination confirmed the presence of supernumerary digits unaccompanied by any other congenital malformation. It was diagnosed as Polydactyly type IV. Surgical intervention was done to remove the extra digit in both the hind limbs. This clinical article reports the successful management of bilateral polydactyly in a non-descript calf

Pluronic F-127 hydrogel for stem cell research: a bibliometric analysis using Scopus database

Stem cell research holds immense promise in regenerative medicine. However, the successful utilization of stem cells relies on their inherent properties and the appropriate support matrix that provides an optimal environment for growth and differentiation. Optimizing their delivery and retention at the target site is crucial to enhance stem cell-based therapies' effectiveness. In recent years, hydrogels have emerged as a popular choice for culturing and delivering stem cells due to their unique properties, including biocompatibility, tunable physical and chemical characteristics, and mimicking the native extracellular matrix. Among the various hydrogels available, Pluronic F-127 (PF-127) has gained significant attention in stem cell research. This paper aims to study the publication trends of research that discuss the utilization of PF-127 hydrogel for stem cell research. The analysis is based on data extracted from the Scopus database using bibliometric methods. The results revealed the publication trends, collaboration patterns among authors and institutions, research areas, influential journals, funding agencies, and thematic connections in this field. By understanding the current state of research and identifying key areas of focus, this analysis provides valuable insights for researchers and practitioners interested in harnessing the potential of PF-127 hydrogel in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering

Surgical Management of Recurrent Rectal Prolapse in a Domestic Kitten (Felis catus) – Case report

A case of recurrent rectal prolapse in a domestic 3 months old kitten was presented to the Referral Veterinary Polyclinic, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, with the complaint of protruded tubular pink mass through the anus along with mild signs of mucosal necrosis since last 5 days. Reduction and retention of the prolapsed mass by conventional purse-string suture technique was attempted earlier on 2 occasions by the attending veterinarian with no good results. Hence, the case was referred for second opinion and treatment. Surgical reduction was done under ketamine-xylazine anesthesia and the animal recovered uneventfully in 7 days

Physical characters and economics of acrylic and epoxy polymers as frame components of external skeletal fixator

Physical characters of acrylic and epoxy polymers used in constructing external skeletal fixator vis-à-vis economics were compared in the present study. The fixator constructs were prepared using acrylic/epoxy polymer, 1.5 mm K-wires and ultra high density polyethylene rods as a bone substitute. Observations on fabrication ease, weight, radiographic properties and economics of polymers were taken. The epoxy polymer being doughy, less heat producing and fumeless was easier to fabricate into constructs. Hardening time for acrylic was dependent on environmental temperature with an average of 11 min; whereas, epoxy putty hardened in about 22 min and the hardening was independent of environmental temperature. Acrylic fixators were radiolucent and significantly lower in weight. Preparation cost of epoxy constructs was significantly lower than acrylic constructs. Present study provides baseline benchmarks to choose polymers in constructing external skeletal fixators according to available resources, technical expertise and economics involved

Evaluation of Xylazine, Acepromazine and Medetomidine with Ketamine for General Anaesthesia in Rabbits

A randomized, prospective, blinded experimental study was conducted in 32 rabbits of either sex to compare  the anaesthetic and physiological effects of ketamine with different pre-anaesthetics. Rabbits were  randomly divided into 4 equal groups. Xylazine 6 mg/kg in animals of group xylazine-ketamine (XK), acepromazine  2 mg/kg in animals of group acepromazine-ketamine (AK), medetomidine 125 μg/kg in group  medetomidine-ketamine 1 (MK1) or medetomidine 250 μg/kg in group medetomidine-ketamine 2 (MK2)  were administered by intramuscular injection (IM). Five minutes later, ketamine 60 mg/kg was administered  intramuscularly to all the groups. The rabbits were observed for the onset of weak time, down time,  the time to loss of righting reflex, pedal reflexes and response to surgical stimuli. Heart rate, respiratory  rate and rectal temperature and arterial oxygen saturation of haemoglobin (SpO2) were recorded up to 60  min. Weak time, down time and time to loss of righting reflex were the shortest in animals of group MK2  as compared to the other groups. Pedal reflexes remained intact in all the animals of XK group, but were  abolished in 50% of the AK group, 75% of the MK1 group and 100% of animals in the MK2 group. Pain  was evinced during surgery by all the animals in group XK, 5 animals in group AK and 4 animals in group  MK1. The best analgesia was achieved in the animals of group MK2, where none of the animals showed  pain on surgical stimulation. Heart rate and SpO2 decreased significantly (P<0.01) in the animals of groups  XK, MK1 and MK2 but respiratory rate and rectal temperature decreased significantly (P<0.01) in all the  groups. However, all the animals recovered from anaesthesia without complications. It was concluded that  medetomidine 250 µg/kg and ketamine 60 mg/kg produced excellent anaesthesia to allow pain free surgery  and may be considered suitable for anaesthesia in New Zealand White rabbits.