Exploring New Paths to Academic Literacy for English Language Learners

This article discusses a revised paradigm for understanding the role of technology in learning in today’s 21st century’s digital world. We propose that the digital literacy that is an integral part of learners’ daily lives requires a concentrated examination. We argue that appropriate selection and incorporation of current technologies in instruction can improve today’s schoolhouse and raise the academic achievement of English language learners. This commentary addresses the ways teachers prepare to use technology effectively in literacy education for collaborative learning, for multi-modal authoring, and for the virtual classroom. Specific applications are considered and recommended for classrooms with English learners

Acyl-Homoserine Lactone Based Modulators for RhlI, a Quorum Sensing Signal Synthase in \u3cem\u3ePseudomonas aeruginosa\u3c/em\u3e

Gram-negative bacteria use N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) autoinducer based signal system, known as quorum sensing (QS), to modulate the gene expression for such traits as biofilm formation, toxin production, and antibiotic resistance. Therefore, there is great potential in pursuing quorum sensing inhibition (QSI) as a means of achieving antivirulence. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen commonly found in healthcare-related infections, use two LuxI/R type systems to regulate AHL-based quorum sensing: LasI/R and RhlI/R. LasI (initiator protein/signal synthase) and LasR (receptor) use 3-oxododecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone signal molecule while RhlI and RhlR use butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone autoinducer. Thus far, most of the studies have focused on inhibiting the Las system, in particular by using AHL signal analogs to interfere with signal-receptor binding. Recently, RhlI/R system has gained attention as potentially having greater effect in P. aeruginosa virulence. In this study, we have tested the effect of AHL analogs on RhlI, as product inhibitors with the goal of targeting both RhlI and RhlR for increased potency. Screening of compounds have revealed three variations to have the greatest effect on RhlI inhibition: longer/bulkier acyl- chain, D-stereocenter in the headgroup, and a less polar thiolactone head-group. Surprisingly, the addition of a carbonyl at the C3 position was found to activate the enzyme. Moreover, we measured kinetic constants of RhlI with various acyl-substrates and performed inhibition assays with inert acyl-substrate analogs to determine how RhlI activity changes to variations in the acyl-chain length. We found that the catalytic efficiency of acyl-substrate and inhibition potency of the corresponding inert acyl-substrate analogs surges with increase in the length of the acyl-chain. These patterns suggest that long acyl-chains most likely bind to an alternate binding site with marked increase in both kon and koff rate constants. Our findings with AHL derivatives provide a basis for rational design of quorum sensing inhibitors to better combat P. aeruginosa bacterial infections

Novel Statistical Methodologies in Analysis of Position Emission Tomography Data: Applications in Segmentation, Normalization, and Trajectory Modeling

Position emission tomography (PET) is a powerful functional imaging modality with wide uses in fields such as oncology, cardiology, and neurology. Motivated by imaging datasets from a psoriasis clinical trial and a cohort of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) patients, several interesting methodological challenges were identified in various steps of quantitative analysis of PET data. In Chapter 1, we consider a classification scenario of bivariate thresholding of a predictor using an upper and lower cutpoints, as motivated by an image segmentation problem of the skin. We introduce a generalization of ROC analysis and the concept of the parameter path in ROC space of a classifier. Using this framework, we define the optimal ROC (OROC) to identify and assess performance of optimal classifiers, and describe a novel nonparametric estimation of OROC which simultaneous estimates the parameter path of the optimal classifier. In simulations, we compare its performance to alternative methods of OROC estimation. In Chapter 2, we develop a novel method to normalize PET images as an essential preprocessing step for quantitative analysis. We propose a method based on application of functional data analysis to image intensity distribution functions, assuming that that individual image density functions are variations from a template density. By modeling the warping functions using a modified function-on-scalar regression, the variations in density functions due to nuisance parameters are estimated and subsequently removed for normalization. Application to our motivating data indicate persistence of residual variations in standardized image densities. In Chapter 3, we propose a nonlinear mixed effects framework to model amyloid-beta (Aβ), an important biomarker in AD. We incorporate the hypothesized functional form of Aβ trajectory by assuming a common trajectory model for all subjects with variations in the location parameter, and a mixture distribution for the random effects of the location parameter address our empirical findings that some subjects may not accumulate Aβ. Using a Bayesian hierarchical model, group differences are specified into the trajectory parameters. We show in simulation studies that the model closely estimates the true parameters under various scenarios, and accurately estimates group differences in the age of onset

Theology as Christian Self - Description and Academic Inquiry: Thinking with Hans Frei on Mission Studies

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruitspapers/1053/thumbnail.jp

KOREAN-NESS: Creating and Embracing New Identities Through Language and Culture

Technological advances in communications and transportation have unlocked new pathways for mobilizing transnational flows of people, information, and culture. The cyber-networked landscape in which we now live has enabled a pluralistic existence, no longer restricted to singular definitions of citizenship, identity, and cultural membership. In the era of the internet and globalization, the world is often said to be “shrinking.” However, instead of a smaller or simpler world, our project illustrates far more layered and complex relationships and positionalities. This multi-sited research project focuses on the ways in which Korean immigrants and Korean Americans use language to establish cultural networks, preserve dual/plural identities, and develop shared practices or appropriate behavior. Based on existing research focusing on linguistic practice (Bucholtz, 1999), we examined how individuals at specific sites in the San Francisco Bay Area embrace or reject Korean cultural and identity maintenance. In addition, we focused on code-switching and language crossing as methods of informal learning and constructing belonging (Rampton, 1998). We employed ethnographic observations and interviews totaling over 100 hours at Korean-owned businesses and churches. This exploration of language use and interactions in the local Korean American community provides a lens into the contemporary transnational condition. One in which expressions of dual identities and a pluralistic sense of ‘being’ challenges notions of a contracted world. Ultimately, these interactions and processes reshapes understandings of new Korean immigration experiences, transnational identities, and the linguistic practices that produce them

Porphyromonas gingivalis Gingipains Trigger a Proinflammatory Response in Human Monocyte-derived Macrophages Through the p38α Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Signal Transduction Pathway

Porphyromonas gingivalis, the major etiologic agent of chronic periodontitis, produces a broad spectrum of virulence factors, including Arg- and Lys-gingipain cysteine proteinases. In this study, we investigated the capacity of P. gingivalis gingipains to trigger a proinflammatory response in human monocyte-derived macrophages. Both Arg- and Lys-gingipain preparations induced the secretion of TNF-α and IL-8 by macrophages. Stimulation of macrophages with Arg-gingipain A/B preparation at the highest concentration was associated with lower amounts of cytokines detected, a phenomenon likely related to proteolytic degradation. The inflammatory response induced by gingipains was not dependent of their catalytic activity since heat-inactivated preparations were still effective. Stimulating macrophages with gingipain preparations was associated with increased levels of phosphorylated p38α MAPK suggesting its involvement in cell activation. In conclusion, our study brought clear evidence that P. gingivalis Arg- and Lys-gingipains may contribute to the host inflammatory response, a critical factor in periodontitis-associated tissue destruction