Effectiveness of Number Sense Instruction and Memorization of Math Facts

Math instruction is taught using a variety of methods and strategies. This literature review compares two strategies of math instruction: the instruction of number sense versus the process of memorizing math facts for students. The literature review identifies various math strategies for both number sense instruction and memorization of math facts. This literature review synthesizes studies published in scholarly journals on the topics of number sense, memorizing math facts, timed tests, math anxiety, and teacher perspectives. Studies from this review reveal that number sense instruction is beneficial for student learning to build the foundation for future mathematical knowledge before the rote memorization of math facts

From research to publication : framing picture stories

Project report has title, "Exotic pet ownership in Missouri." Analysis report has title, "From research to publication : framing picture stories."Professional project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Journalism from the School of Journalism, University of Missouri--Columbia.With the increase in environmental concerns facing our world, professional photojournalists are challenged to produce photographs that tell the story of current environmental issues. Learning how these environmental photojournalists research a story idea before, and during, their time shooting in the field is an incredibly important part of how these stories are framed in publications. Melissa Farlow, Joel Sartore and Matt Eich all shed light on how they conduct research before they begin shooting a story, and the variety in their approach is enlightening. By gaining an understanding of how and what kinds of research these photographers are doing, future photojournalists can build on this knowledge in an effort to present similar stories to the public in the best way possible.Includes bibliographic references

Mechanism-based rational design of cisplatin analogues

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemistry, 2005.Vita.Includes bibliographical references.The success of cisplatin as an anticancer drug is attributed to the ability of the platinum compound to damage DNA and subsequently induce apoptosis. Details of the cellular processing of cisplatin-damaged DNA can provide invaluable insight into the rational design of cisplatin analogues or combination therapies. Chapter I provides a survey of recent developments in the understanding of the mechanism of cisplatin action and summarizes relevant platinum-based anticancer compounds. Chapter 2 describes a series of estrogen-tethered platinum(IV) complexes (BEPn, n=l -5) that were synthesized, evaluated for their ability to upregulate HMGB1 and screened for cytotoxicity against human breast cancer cell lines. All BEPn complexes induced the overexpression of HMGB I in ER(+) MCF-7 cells. BEP3 was nearly twice as cytotoxic in ER(+) MC'F-7 cells than in ER(-) HCC-1937 cells. This result suggests the possibility of using compounds in this class specifically to target ER(+) malignancies, such as breast and ovarian cancers. In addition, the series of BEPn compounds provide an example of a useful strategy in the development of platinum-containing anticancer agents, namely, using mechanistic insights to aid in the rational design of new complexes.(cont.) The strategy of exploiting estrogen-induced HMGBI upregulation to sensitize ER(+) cells to platinum was further pursued in work described in chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 3 reports the synthesis and characterization of a series of platinum(IV)-estrogen conjugates derived from carboplatin. Although these BECPn complexes were moderately cytotoxic in ER(+) MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, no differential cytotoxicity was observed as compared to ER(-) HCC- 1937 cells. However, these compounds represent the first example of a biomolecule-tethered platinum(IV) complex that reduces to yield carboplatin in cells. The platinum estrogen conjugate described in chapter 4 was designed not only to induce upregulation of HMGB I but also to enter ER(+) cells selectively. Unlike the BEP and BECP compounds, BEEP was designed to maintain affinity for the estrogen receptor and by tethering platinum to estradiol through the 17c-position of the steroid ring. Compounds with affinity for the estrogen receptor, which is overexpressed in breast and ovarian cancers, are selectively taken up into ER(+) cells. Unexpectedly, BEEP had very low affinity for the estrogen receptor and was therefore equally cytotoxic in ER(+) and ER(-) human breast cancer cell lines.(cont.) A common feature of many cancers is overexpression of the folate receptor, which is responsible for the uptake of folic acid. Therefore targeting the folic receptor is an attractive method for achieving selective uptake in cancer cells. Chapter 5 describes the synthesis and biological activity of a folic acid-tethered platinum(lV) compound, which demonstrates the validity of this premise. The nuclear protein HMGBI has recently been discovered to function as an extracellular signaling agent. Because of oxygen deprivation, the core of a solid tumor dies by necrosis and passively releases HMGB I into the extracellular environment. This characteristic of solid tumors leads to the hypothesis that extracellular HMGB I is taken up by surrounding viable tumor tissue and mediates cisplatin sensitivity. The final chapter investigates the capability of exogenously administered HMGB to modulate the cytotoxicity of cisplatin and trans-DDP in human cancer cells. The Appendix sections provide detailed experimental protocols for several useful laboratory methods. In Appendix A, a procedure for isolation of nuclei from cisplatin-treated cells is presented.(cont.) The nuclei were subsequently used by our collaborators to examine the post- translational modifications of histones induced by cisplatin exposure. A protocol for isolation of protein extracts from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue is described in Appendix B. In addition, the extracts were probed by western blot analysis to examine the expression levels of HMGB1 in clinical testicular seminoma samples. Appendix C provides a solid-phase synthetic methodology for the preparation of peptide-conjugated platinum(IV) compounds.by Katie R. Barnes.Ph.D

“I Notice My Feelings:” Exploring Mindfulness with 1st Graders and their Families

This paper explores a study completed with 1st grade students while a five-week mindfulness unit was implemented in their classroom. The paper discusses tactics for teaching mindfulness strategies to students and results observed in the students over the course of the five-week study. It also contains journal entries completed by students and their families both in the classroom and at home

Noxious Weed Monitoring at the Rock Creek Confluence Site

Disturbances such as fire, flooding, and compaction are important in determining and maintaining the diversity and composition of plant assemblages in ecosystems. While they can have a stabilizing effect, they can also open niches that can be exploited by noxious fast growing weeds. Controlling the abundance and spread of noxious weeds is a top priority for land managers, but can be challenging with limited resources. Therefore it is essential to establish a baseline to determine levels of weed encroachment. We have partnered with Five Valleys Land Trust (FVLT) to establish this baseline at their Rock Creek Confluence Property by using point line intercept and dry weight density methods. On site volunteer days will be organized after to do targeted hand pulling and planting. This approach should create a closer connection between the larger community and the Rock Creek Confluence property, while creating a system to evaluate the effectiveness of volunteer efforts

4-(N,N-dipropylamino)benzaldehyde inhibits the oxidation of all-trans retinal to all-trans retinoic acid by ALDH1A1, but not the differentiation of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells exposed to all-trans retinal

BACKGROUND: The signal transduction pathways mediated by retinoic acid play a critical role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation during embryogenesis and hematopoiesis as well as in a variety of tumor cell lines in culture. Following the reports that two members of the superfamily of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymes, ALDH1A1 and ALDH1A2, were capable of catalyzing the oxidation of all-trans retinal to all-trans retinoic acid with submicromolar K(m) values, we initiated an investigation of the ability of 4-(N,N-dipropylamino)benzaldehyde (DPAB) to inhibit the oxidation of retinal by purified mouse and human ALDH1A1. RESULTS: Our results show that DPAB potently inhibits retinal oxidation, with IC(50) values of 0.11 and 0.13 μM for purified mouse and human ALDH1A1, respectively. Since the HL-60 human myeloid leukemic cell line has been used extensively to study the retinoic acid induced differentiation of HL-60 cells to granulocytes, and ALDH1A1 activity had previously been reported in HL-60 cells, we investigated the ability of DPAB to block differentiation of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells exposed to retinal in culture. In HL-60 cells coincubated with 1 μM retinal and 50 μM DPAB for 144 hours, cell differentiation was inhibited only 30%. Furthermore, the NAD-dependent oxidation of propanal or retinal was less than 0.05 nmoles NADH formed/min-10(7) cells in spectrophotometric assays using HL-60 cell extracts. CONCLUSION: Although ALDH1A1 may be the major catalytic activity for retinal oxidation in some retinoid-dependent mouse and Xenopus embryonic tissues and in adult human and mouse hematopoietic stem cells, another catalytic activity appears to synthesize the retinoic acid ligand necessary to stimulate the differentiation of HL-60 cells to end stage granulocytes

Southern GEMS groups II: HI distribution, mass functions and HI deficient galaxies

We investigate the neutral hydrogen (HI) content of sixteen groups for which we have multi-wavelength data including X-ray observations. Wide-field imaging of the groups was obtained with the 20-cm multibeam system on the 64-m Parkes telescope. We have detected ten previously uncatalogued HI sources, one of which has no visible optical counterpart. We examine the HI properties of the groups, compared to their X-ray characteristics, finding that those groups with a higher X-ray temperature and luminosity contain less HI per galaxy. The HI content of a group depends on its morphological make-up, with those groups dominated by early-type galaxies containing the least total HI. We determined the expected HI for the spiral galaxies in the groups, and found that a number of the galaxies were HI deficient. The HI deficient spirals were found both in groups with and without a hot intra-group medium. The HI deficient galaxies were not necessarily found at the centre of the groups, however, we did find that two thirds of HI deficient galaxies were found within about 1 Mpc from the group centre, indicating that the group environment is affecting the gas-loss from these galaxies. We determined the HI mass function for a composite sample of 15 groups, and found that it is significantly flatter than the field HI mass function. We also find a lack of high HI-mass galaxies in groups. One possible cause of this effect is the tidal stripping of HI gas from spiral galaxies as they are pre-processed in groups.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS, 26 pages, 13 Figures, 2 Appendice

Piano Night at the Movies: A Recital

This is the poster and program from the recital, Piano Night at the Movies, held on October 30, 2020, at the OBU Amphitheater

Faking revisited : exerting strategic control over performance on the implicit relational assessment procedure

Across four studies, we demonstrate that effects obtained from the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure, like those obtained from other indirect procedures, are not impervious to strategic manipulation. In experiment 1, we found that merely informing participants to "fake" their performance without providing a concrete strategy to do so did not eliminate, reverse, or in any way alter the obtained outcomes. However, when those same instructions orientated attention toward the core parameters of the task, participants spontaneously derived a strategy that allowed them to eliminate their effects (experiment 2). When the participants were provided with a viable response strategy, they successfully reversed the direction of their overall Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure effect (experiment 3). By refining the nature of those instructions, we managed to target and alter individual trial-type effects in isolation with some success (experiment 4)

Bidirectional pressure: a mini review of ventilator-lung-kidney interactions

Acute kidney injury and respiratory failure that requires mechanical ventilation are both common complications of critical illnesses. Failure of either of these organ systems also increases the risk of failure to the other. As a result, there is a high incidence of patients with concomitant acute kidney injury and the need for mechanical ventilation, which has a devasting impact on intensive care unit outcomes, including mortality. Despite decades of research into the mechanisms of ventilator-lung-kidney interactions, several gaps in knowledge remain and current treatment strategies are primarily supportive. In this review, we outline our current understanding of the mechanisms of acute kidney injury due to mechanical ventilation including a discussion of; 1) The impact of mechanical ventilation on renal perfusion, 2) activation of neurohormonal pathways by positive pressure ventilation, and 3) the role of inflammatory mediators released during ventilator induced lung injury. We also provide a review of the mechanisms by which acute kidney injury increases the risk of respiratory failure. Next, we outline a summary of the current therapeutic approach to preventing lung and kidney injury in the critically ill, including fluid and vasopressor management, ventilator strategies, and treatment of acute kidney injury. Finally, we conclude with a discussion outlining opportunities for novel investigations that may provide a rationale for new treatment approaches