The Island Earth Field Studio: A High School Summer Program on Polynesian Voyaging in Hawaii

The Island Earth Field Studio is a ten-day program for high school students to learn about Polynesian voyaging in Hawaii as a framework to understand non-Western knowledge systems. The program design is grounded in research on the historical significance of voyaging and informed by current literature on adolescent development and place-based pedagogy. To further refine the program, a needs assessment was conducted using a combination of surveys and interviews with parents and educators in the continental United States (mainland) as well as interviews with local partners in Hawaii. The assessment revealed that cultural learning and community building were viewed by potential mainland participants as the most beneficial elements of the program, and the focus on Polynesian voyaging made it stand out as a unique experience. Correspondingly, Hawaiian ground partners viewed the program as a worthy opportunity to share their mission of cultural and environmental sustainability. Based on recommendations from the needs assessment, the program will recruit a diverse cohort of students with strong interest in indigenous culture and sustainability. The travel program will begin on the island of Oahu, where students will get to know the natural environment, history, and cultural context of Hawaii. Then on Maui, a specific hands-on focus on voyaging integrated with exposure to a wider variety of Hawaiian community initiatives will lend both depth and breadth to students’ insights. As students gain knowledge and skills throughout the program, they will work together to develop ideas about how to use what they’ve learned to build stronger and more sustainable communities. This program design is intended to align with the mission of local partners while also allowing space for students to process their own growth as individuals and as a community of peers

The treatment of gambling disorder: A comprehensive (socio-psychological-neurobiological) explanation and therapy model?

Summary In this theoretical work, we present the clinical picture of pathological gambling, an etiological explanatory model and resulting therapeutic implications. Social, psychological and physiological factors are included. The "addiction model" also distinguishes between factors relevant to the onset and continuation of disturbed gambling behavior. Multifactorial causes must be postulated in the "entry phase" of the behavior. During the actual "addiction phase", the self-perpetuating disturbed gambling behavior is characterized by a strong mental dependence and a nearly autonomously triggered addiction behavior (loss of control) associated with structural changes in the deeper brain areas of the „reward system“. There is an "irresistible urge" to continue gambling, upheld not least by a dominance of gambling behavior in the reward system and the accompanying dysfunction of this area of the brain. At the beginning of therapy, the focus lies on the addictive behavior itself. The symptoms that developed last are the ones that are first incorporated into the therapy consideration, whereby the therapeutic goals are to be set in a certain order: (a) Motivation, withdrawal symptoms after the patient stopped gambling, (b) insight into the disease (do not deny further) and its acceptance, (c) consolidation of the abstinence through a treatment of the causes of disease development. Dependence means not having sufficient alternatives. The reconstruction of the reward system and the development of a wide range of varied alternatives are an important prerequisite for avoiding relapse and achieving a balanced and satisfied way of life. Eliminating the dominance of gambling in the reward system and strongly anchoring the desired potently rewardable alternatives in behavior is associated with significant psychological and physiological resistance. The adrenaline rush of gambling is not easily compensated and cannot be replaced with lukewarm water or realistic thinking. Problems of implementing desired behavioral changes have not yet been sufficiently taken into account and there is a lack of necessary research. Are there any obligatory treatment factors

Unexpected Test Results in a Patient with Multiple Myeloma

A 53-year-old male patient with an established diagnosis of IgG λ multiple myeloma was seen by a hematologist–oncologist in consultation from an outside hospital. He had previously received 1 cycle of chemotherapy treatment, but he was found to be intermittently noncompliant with his therapy. The patient reported occasional nosebleeds and fatigue. Except for a slightly cachectic appearance, the physical examination was unremarkable. Chemistry and hematology laboratory results are shown in Table 1. Serum protein electrophoresis revealed monoclonal paraproteinemia in high abundance marked by an intense band in the γ region. Immunofixation electrophoresis was not ordered at that time, but it was previously performed at another institution and was positive for IgG monoclonal protein. The attending pathologist noted the discrepancy between the presence of a monoclonal band by serum protein electrophoresis and the patient\u27s quantitative immunoglobulin measurements. Several additional suspicious test results were also noted

Sind Eichen Klimawandel gerecht?

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Eignung von Eichen als Stadtbäume im Kontext des Klimawandels. Dies soll anhand eines Praxisbeispiels einer Eichenpflanzung auf dem Campus Liebefeld in Bern bestätigt oder validiert werden. Zusätzlich sollen unter Berücksichtigung genotypischer Merkmale Ökotypen klassifiziert werden, welche sich besonders für den Gebrauch im städtischen Umfeld eignen. Mittels Literaturrecherche wurde der aktuelle Forschungsstand von klimawandeltauglichen Stadtbäumen aufgearbeitet und kritische Faktoren identifiziert, welche sich positiv oder negativ auf eine Baumpflanzung auswirken können. Dabei wurde erkannt, dass sich die in Bern gepflanzten Eichen, Quercus robur, Quercus rubra, Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto und Quercus palustris, alle als zukünftige Stadt- und Strassenbäume eignen, obwohl dies für Quercus palustris nur unter Einschränkungen gilt. Speziell Quercus cerris wird in allen Studien als eine der an den besten geeigneten Baumarten für den Einsatz im urbanen Kontext beschrieben. Die Plastizität von Eichen wird in der Literatur bestätigt. Die grosse Anpassungsfähigkeit von Populationen an lokale Klimabedingungen lassen auf einen variablen Genpool schliessen, welcher sich in Kontext des Klimawandels als vielversprechend erweisen könnte. Wie diese Variabilität in die Stadtbaumproduktion übernommen werden kann, bedarf weiterer Untersuchungen. 117 Eichen wurden mittels einer Vitalitätsbeurteilung auf ihren allgemeinen Zustand, ihren Umgang mit dem vorhergehenden Hitzesommer und ihre Regenerationsfähigkeit geprüft. Dabei bestätigte sich die Resultate aus der Literaturrecherche, dass alle Eichen sich gut von Dürreperioden erholen können. Auch in Bern zeigte sich das grosse Potential von Quercus cerris, welche überall die höchsten Vitalitätswerte erzielte. Hingegen konnten keine statistisch relevanten Aussagen über den Erfolg gewisser Ökotypen gemacht werden

Extend Your Experience: The Northwest\u27s Natural and Cultural Landscape

The article provides information on the natural and cultural landscape of the Pacific Northwest, the venue for the Association of the College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 14th National Conference in Seattle, Washington on March 12-15, 2009. It discusses various tourist attractions found within the area, as well as its climate. A recount of various historical events that happened in the place, as well as the culture of the living inhabitants is also presented. Computer information resources of several sceneries found within the area of Washington state is presented

La evaluación de contenidos ambientales en la escuela media: del inventario a la complejidad

En la enseñanza de la Geografía de nivel medio, los contenidos ambientales tienen un protagonismo muy próximo a la identidad de la disciplina en la escuela. Enseñar geografía es casi sinónimo del estudio de los recursos naturales, los riesgos de desastre por causas naturales, la clasificación y el ordenamiento de información vinculada con las características físicas y climáticas de diferentes zonas geográficas. A partir de anteriores investigaciones y del cotidiano escolar, puede decirse que el paradigma alternativo que aborda los problemas ambientales desde la dimensión social, desde la complejidad, aún no ha impactado profundamente en la enseñanza. Las prácticas escolares continúan, en muchas instituciones, basándose en la descripción de rasgos físicos desarticulados de una problemática que les dé sentido a su conocimiento y apropiación por parte del estudiantado. Una de las ventanas por donde es posible detectar esta situación es la evaluación, ya que constituye una fuente de información respecto del proceso de enseñanza. Las evaluaciones clásicas del conocimiento geográfico ambiental se basan generalmente en ejercicios de localización y reproducción de información descriptiva o fáctica, dejando en un lugar marginal la comprensión de relaciones entre factores físicos y dinámicas sociales. En este trabajo nos proponemos brindar un panorama acerca de los modos más comunes de evaluar contenidos ambientales en la escuela, y analizar y reflexionar sobre la potencialidad pedagógica de los instrumentos de evaluación de los contenidos ambientales desde una perspectiva crítica que apunte a reforzar la integración de saberes, la contextualización y la complejidad.Evento realizado junto con el VII Congreso Nacional de Geografía de Universidades PúblicasFacultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

La evaluación de contenidos ambientales en la escuela media: del inventario a la complejidad

En la enseñanza de la Geografía de nivel medio, los contenidos ambientales tienen un protagonismo muy próximo a la identidad de la disciplina en la escuela. Enseñar geografía es casi sinónimo del estudio de los recursos naturales, los riesgos de desastre por causas naturales, la clasificación y el ordenamiento de información vinculada con las características físicas y climáticas de diferentes zonas geográficas. A partir de anteriores investigaciones y del cotidiano escolar, puede decirse que el paradigma alternativo que aborda los problemas ambientales desde la dimensión social, desde la complejidad, aún no ha impactado profundamente en la enseñanza. Las prácticas escolares continúan, en muchas instituciones, basándose en la descripción de rasgos físicos desarticulados de una problemática que les dé sentido a su conocimiento y apropiación por parte del estudiantado. Una de las ventanas por donde es posible detectar esta situación es la evaluación, ya que constituye una fuente de información respecto del proceso de enseñanza. Las evaluaciones clásicas del conocimiento geográfico ambiental se basan generalmente en ejercicios de localización y reproducción de información descriptiva o fáctica, dejando en un lugar marginal la comprensión de relaciones entre factores físicos y dinámicas sociales. En este trabajo nos proponemos brindar un panorama acerca de los modos más comunes de evaluar contenidos ambientales en la escuela, y analizar y reflexionar sobre la potencialidad pedagógica de los instrumentos de evaluación de los contenidos ambientales desde una perspectiva crítica que apunte a reforzar la integración de saberes, la contextualización y la complejidad.Evento realizado junto con el VII Congreso Nacional de Geografía de Universidades PúblicasFacultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Model-based extension of high-throughput to high-content data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-quality quantitative data is a major limitation in systems biology. The experimental data used in systems biology can be assigned to one of the following categories: assays yielding average data of a cell population, high-content single cell measurements and high-throughput techniques generating single cell data for large cell populations. For modeling purposes, a combination of data from different categories is highly desirable in order to increase the number of observable species and processes and thereby maximize the identifiability of parameters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this article we present a method that combines the power of high-content single cell measurements with the efficiency of high-throughput techniques. A calibration on the basis of identical cell populations measured by both approaches connects the two techniques. We develop a mathematical model to relate quantities exclusively observable by high-content single cell techniques to those measurable with high-content as well as high-throughput methods. The latter are defined as free variables, while the variables measurable with only one technique are described in dependence of those. It is the combination of data calibration and model into a single method that makes it possible to determine quantities only accessible by single cell assays but using high-throughput techniques. As an example, we apply our approach to the nucleocytoplasmic transport of STAT5B in eukaryotic cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The presented procedure can be generally applied to systems that allow for dividing observables into sets of free quantities, which are easily measurable, and variables dependent on those. Hence, it extends the information content of high-throughput methods by incorporating data from high-content measurements.</p