A Search, Through Educational Use, For a Definition of Reading

The problem is to find a pragmatic solution to the question, What Do I Teach? regarding reading instruction. It is hypothesized that the answer can be found in a definition of reading held in universal agreement by reading methodology and testing. Also, because the results of the diverse methodologies are common; then, there must be some objective thought units (hence, commonly known as skills ) held in common by all methods gaining recognition in the field of reading education. If an horizontal analysis of all the skills contained in.the most educationally accepted methods were made, a group of common elements should appear. It would, then, be safe to assume that these elements form the basic foundations for transferring subjective reading into the objective action of teaching reading. With these common skills identified, then the beginning reading teacher will have a secure foundation or definition on which to begin his/her reading instruction

Molecular cloning and chromosomal localization of a novel Drosophila protein phosphatase

AbstractA 1.0 kilobase cDNA coding for the complete amino acid sequence of a putative protein phosphatase (314 amino acid residues, molecular mass 36 kDa) has been isolated from a Drosophila head cDNA library. The cDNA hybridises to a single site on the right arm of the second chromosome at cytological position 55A1–3. The deduced sequence of the protein, designated protein phosphatase-Y, is homologous to the catalytic subunits of Drosophila and rabbit protein phosphatase- 1α (64 and 59% identity, respectively) and rabbit protein phosphatase-2A (39% identity). These and other comparisons demonstrate that this novel enzyme is not the Drosophila counterpart of mammalian protein phosphatases 1, 2A, 2B, 2C or X

Mitochondrial dysfunction and steroidogenesis in Parkinson disease

Patients with Parkinson disease (PD), one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, have elevated levels of the glucocorticoid cortisol, a stress-related steroid hormone. Increased stress or glucocorticoids in experimental models of PD worsens neurodegeneration, implicating elevated glucocorticoids in disease pathogenesis. However, the mechanism behind dysregulated glucocorticoid levels is unclear. The rate-limiting step of steroidogenesis, cholesterol import into the mitochondria, is mediated by steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STARD1). STARD1 transports cholesterol while transiently localized to the outer mitochondrial membrane. Impairments in mitochondrial protein import, a key aspect of cellular dysfunction linked to PD, increase STARD1-mediated mitochondrial cholesterol import, providing a potential mechanism connecting PD with increased steroidogenesis. To test how steroidogenesis is affected by mitochondrial function in PD, we used PD-related toxins and genetic variants to model the effects of PD. We looked at the import of STARD1 overexpressed in HEK293 cells and steroid production in steroidogenic adrenocortical cell lines. We found that the PD toxin rotenone slowed STARD1 import and increased cholesterol import. Cortisol production increased only under lower levels of rotenone-induced mitochondrial stress. This is intriguing as milder mitochondrial stress may be more relevant to the progressive nature of PD. Additionally, overexpression of PD pathogenic variant alpha synuclein A53T upregulated basal production of pregnenolone and cortisol in steroidogenic cells. To explore further connections between steroidogenesis and PD, we also looked for miRNA biomarkers related to steroidogenesis in PD patients. We found expression of hsa-mir-320a in PD patient serum exosomes was negatively correlated with disease duration. As this miRNA negatively regulates expression of certain enzymes involved in cortisol synthesis, dysregulation of this miRNA could contribute to elevated cortisol levels in PD. Overall, our findings are consistent with cellular dysfunction in PD upregulating cortisol production. We delineated a novel pathway where mitochondrial dysfunction in PD activates cholesterol import by STARD1 to promote steroidogenesis. STARD1 may be a novel therapeutic target in PD. Additionally, as steroid signalling can be acutely protective against cellular stress, we propose this could be a stress response mechanism that couples steroid production to mitochondrial status, but which can be detrimental upon prolonged activation

ICD-10 implementation: Is the workforce ready?

After many delays, the U.S. finally implemented ICD-10-CM/PCS on October 1, 2015, bringing the U.S. into line with other industrialized nations, most of which have been using ICD-10 for many years. We outline the benefits and challenges to the preparatory activities of the ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation for the U.S. healthcare industry. To ease the transition, CMS allowed healthcare facilities to submit test claims prior to the implementation date, and delivered feedback on the acceptability of those claims. Early results indicated a relatively smooth transition, although some questions regarding the available data remain. Additional data, especially data concerning outcomes, is required

Molecular analysis of core kinetochore composition and assembly in Drosophila melanogaster.

BACKGROUND: Kinetochores are large multiprotein complexes indispensable for proper chromosome segregation. Although Drosophila is a classical model organism for studies of chromosome segregation, little is known about the organization of its kinetochores. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We employed bioinformatics, proteomics and cell biology methods to identify and analyze the interaction network of Drosophila kinetochore proteins. We have shown that three Drosophila proteins highly diverged from human and yeast Ndc80, Nuf2 and Mis12 are indeed their orthologues. Affinity purification of these proteins from cultured Drosophila cells identified a further five interacting proteins with weak similarity to subunits of the SPC105/KNL-1, MIND/MIS12 and NDC80 kinetochore complexes together with known kinetochore associated proteins such as dynein/dynactin, spindle assembly checkpoint components and heterochromatin proteins. All eight kinetochore complex proteins were present at the kinetochore during mitosis and MIND/MIS12 complex proteins were also centromeric during interphase. Their down-regulation led to dramatic defects in chromosome congression/segregation frequently accompanied by mitotic spindle elongation. The systematic depletion of each individual protein allowed us to establish dependency relationships for their recruitment onto the kinetochore. This revealed the sequential recruitment of individual members of first, the MIND/MIS12 and then, NDC80 complex. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The Drosophila MIND/MIS12 and NDC80 complexes and the Spc105 protein, like their counterparts from other eukaryotic species, are essential for chromosome congression and segregation, but are highly diverged in sequence. Hierarchical dependence relationships of individual proteins regulate the assembly of Drosophila kinetochore complexes in a manner similar, but not identical, to other organisms

Stress Biomarkers as Outcomes for HIV+ Prevention: Participation, Feasibility and Findings Among HIV+ Latina and African American Mothers

Mothers living with HIV (MLH) are at high risk for acute and chronic stress, given challenges related to their HIV status, ethnicity, economic and urban living conditions. Biomarkers combined into a composite index show promise in quantifying psychosocial stress in healthy people, but have not yet been examined among MLH. According, we examined potential biomarker correlates of stress [cortisol and catecholamines from home-collected urine and basic health indicators (blood pressure, height and weight, waist-to-hip ratio) measured during an interview] among 100 poor African American and Latina mothers MLH and demographic-matched control mothers without HIV (n = 50). Participants had been enrolled in a randomized controlled trial about 18 months earlier and had either received (MLH-I) or were awaiting (MLH-W) the psychosocial intervention. Participation was high, biomarkers were correctly collected for 93% of cases, and a complete composite biomarker index (CBI) calculated for 133 mothers (mean age = 42). As predicted, MLH had a significantly higher CBI than controls, but there was no CBI difference across ethnicity or intervention group. CBI predicted CD4 counts independently after controlling for age, years since diagnosis, prior CD4 counts, medication adherence, and depression symptoms. The study demonstrates acceptability, feasibility and potential utility of community-based biomarker collections in evaluating individual differences in psychosocial stress

Susceptibility to Scams in Older Black and White Adults

Previous reports on racial differences in scam susceptibility have yielded mixed findings, and few studies have examined reasons for any observed race differences. Older Black and White participants without dementia (N = 592) from the Minority Aging Research Study and the Rush Memory and Aging Project who completed a susceptibility to scam questionnaire and other measures were matched according to age, education, sex, and global cognition using Mahalanobis distance. In adjusted models, older Black adults were less susceptible to scams than older White adults (Beta = −0.2496, SE = 0.0649, p = 0.0001). Contextual factors did not mediate and affective factors did not moderate this association. Analyses of specific items revealed Black adults had greater knowledge of scam targeting of older adults and were less likely to pick up the phone for unidentified callers. Older Black adults are less susceptible to scams than demographically-matched older White adults, although the reasons remain unknown