Respiratory Alkalosis

A. A. is a 27-year-old woman with asthma who presents to the emergency room with cough and dyspnea. The cough began approximately 2 weeks ago after the onset of “cold” symptoms. Her symptoms (sore throat, runny nose, and congestion) have resolved, but the cough has persisted. Since last night, she has felt increasing shortness of breath and “tightness” in her chest. She is breathing at a rate of 28 breaths per min and her oxygen saturation is 97 % while breathing room air. Auscultation of the chest reveals diffuse expiratory wheezing. Electrolytes and complete blood cell counts are within normal limits, and the chest X-ray shows no pulmonary opacities. Analysis of the arterial blood gas reveals: pH 7.5, pCO2 25 mmHg, and HCO3− 20 mEq/L

Understanding and supporting student motivation for learning

This chapter highlights the importance of motivation for children’s learning and describes the ways in which motivation may be strengthened. We begin by discussing the construct of motivation and the various theories that have attempted to explain why some students are more highly motivated than others. Drawing on the framework of mastery motivation, we describe developmental aspects of the drive for mastery, highlighting the ways in which this drive increasingly becomes differentiated and affected by interplay of individual child characteristics, such as self-efficacy and self-regulation, and contextual factors, such as cognitively stimulating environments, optimal challenge, and support for autonomy. The contexts in which children live and learn have important implications for motivation. We discuss motivation in children with learning and developmental disabilities, considering the experiences that potentially undermine their engagement with learning. The final part of the chapter focuses on strategies for promoting and sustaining motivation. In particular, we emphasize the importance of providing optimal challenge, experiences of success, and support for autonomy, as well as the benefits of positive strategies for developing self-regulatory skills

Structural Differences Explain Diverse Functions of Plasmodium Actins

Actins are highly conserved proteins and key players in central processes in all eukaryotic cells. The two actins of the malaria parasite are among the most divergent eukaryotic actins and also differ from each other more than isoforms in any other species. Microfilaments have not been directly observed in Plasmodium and are presumed to be short and highly dynamic. We show that actin I cannot complement actin II in male gametogenesis, suggesting critical structural differences. Cryo-EM reveals that Plasmodium actin I has a unique filament structure, whereas actin II filaments resemble canonical F-actin. Both Plasmodium actins hydrolyze ATP more efficiently than α-actin, and unlike any other actin, both parasite actins rapidly form short oligomers induced by ADP. Crystal structures of both isoforms pinpoint several structural changes in the monomers causing the unique polymerization properties. Inserting the canonical D-loop to Plasmodium actin I leads to the formation of long filaments in vitro. In vivo, this chimera restores gametogenesis in parasites lacking actin II, suggesting that stable filaments are required for exflagellation. Together, these data underline the divergence of eukaryotic actins and demonstrate how structural differences in the monomers translate into filaments with different properties, implying that even eukaryotic actins have faced different evolutionary pressures and followed different paths for developing their polymerization properties

How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication

Ethical corporate marketing, CSR communication, Attribution theory, Sustainability ratings,