Impact of In-Service Professional Development Programs for Early Childhood Teachers on Quality Ratings and Child Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

High pedagogical quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is related to developmental outcomes in young children. This review summarizes findings from (quasi)-experimental studies that evaluated in-service training effects for ECEC professionals on external quality ratings and child development. The aggregation of findings at teacher level (including 36 studies with 2,891 teachers) revealed a medium in-service training effect on process quality (effect size [ES] = 0.68, SE = 0.07, p < .001). Furthermore, a subset of nine studies (including 486 teachers and 4,504 children) that provided data on both quality ratings and child development were analyzed, and they showed a small effect at child level (ES = 0.14; SE = 0.02, p < .001) and a medium effect at the corresponding classroom level (ES = 0.45, SE = 0.11, p < .001). Variance in effect sizes at child level was significantly related to in-service effects on quality ratings (53% explained variance). The results show that quality improvement is a key mechanism to accelerate the development of young children

DIMETHOXYFLAVONE ISOLATED FROM THE STEM BARK OF STEREOSPERMUM KUNTHIANUM POSSESSES ANTIDIARRHOEAL ACTIVITY IN RODENTS

This study was undertaken to evaluate the antidiarrhoeal activity of 3, 7, 4/-trihydroxy-3/-(8//-acetoxy-7//-methyloctyl)-5, 6-dimethoxyflavone, a flavonoid isolated from the stem bark of Stereospermum kunthianum. The antidiarrhoeal activity was evaluated using rodent models with diarrhoea. The normal intestinal transit, castor oil-induced intestinal transit and castor oil-induced diarrhoea tests in mice as well as castor oil-induced intestinal fluid accumulation in rats were employed in the study. The animals were pretreated with distilled water (10 ml/kg for mice, 5 ml/kg for rats), dimethoxyflavone (25 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg), morphine (10 mg/kg), or indomethacin (10 mg/kg) before induction of diarrhoea with castor oil (0.2ml for mice and 2ml for rats). Dimethoxyflavone dose dependently and significantly reduced (

Functional identification of Arabidopsis ATSIP2 (At3g57520) as an alkaline α-galactosidase with a substrate specificity for raffinose and an apparent sink-specific expression patter

Arabidopsis ATSIP2 has recently been suggested to be a raffinose synthase gene. However, it has high amino acid identity to functionally characterized alkaline α-galactosidases from Cucumis melo and Zea mays. Using the Sf9 insect cell expression system, we demonstrate that recombinant ATSIP2 is a genuine alkaline α-galactosidase with a distinct substrate specificity for raffinose, and not a raffinose synthase. A β-glucuronidase reporter construct using the ATSIP2 promoter shows that ATSIP2 is strongly expressed in sink tissues of Arabidopsis, i.e. sink leaves and non-xylem parts of the root stele, suggesting a physiological function in raffinose phloem unloading

Annexin A6 modulates TBC1D15/Rab7/StARD3 axis to control endosomal cholesterol export in NPC1 cells

Cholesterol accumulation in late endosomes is a prevailing phenotype of Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) mutant cells. Likewise, annexin A6 (AnxA6) overexpression induces a phenotype reminiscent of NPC1 mutant cells. Here, we demonstrate that this cellular cholesterol imbalance is due to AnxA6 promoting Rab7 inactivation via TBC1D15, a Rab7-GAP. In NPC1 mutant cells, AnxA6 depletion and eventual Rab7 activation was associated with peripheral distribution and increased mobility of late endosomes. This was accompanied by an enhanced lipid accumulation in lipid droplets in an acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT)-dependent manner. Moreover, in AnxA6-deficient NPC1 mutant cells, Rab7-mediated rescue of late endosome-cholesterol export required the StAR-related lipid transfer domain-3 (StARD3) protein. Electron microscopy revealed a significant increase of membrane contact sites (MCS) between late endosomes and ER in NPC1 mutant cells lacking AnxA6, suggesting late endosome-cholesterol transfer to the ER via Rab7 and StARD3-dependent MCS formation. This study identifies AnxA6 as a novel gatekeeper that controls cellular distribution of late endosome-cholesterol via regulation of a Rab7-GAP and MCS formation

Antimicrobial activity and cellulose acetate membrane characterization with tangerine peel extract (Citrus reticulata) for bio packing

Biopacking material was obtained by incorporating tangerine peel extract (Citrus reticulata) in cellulose acetate (CA) film. The acetate film with tangerine extract was shown to have a homogeneous material characteristic by FTIR and DSC analysis, being reinforced in MEV and MFA, and showed absence of pores in the film with extract. These characteristics justify the reduced water absorption and release of the CA membrane extract. Low water absorption is important for the film to act as a barrier with external environment and the release of the extract was sufficient to prevent the growth of the strains investigated on the sample surface. The introduction of the extract also reduced the tensile strength and deformation of the film. This study showed the good potential of biomass for active bio packing that can gradually replace non-renewable packaging and take advantage of agricultural waste

How Interdependent are Eastern European Economies and the Euro Area?

This article investigates the interrelations between the Euro area and five Central and Eastern European economies. Using an open economy framework, we derive theoretical restrictions to be imposed on the cointegration space of a structural vector error correction model. We employ generalized impulse response analysis to assess the effects of shocks in output, interest rates, the exchange rate, and relative prices on both areas. The results show strong international spillovers in output with the magnitude being similarly strong in both areas. Furthermore, we find multiplier effects in Central and Eastern Europe and some evidence for the European Central Bank´s desire toward price stability