Insight for Teacher Preparation Program Administrators: Enhancing Pre-service Educators\u27 lntercultural Sensitivity and Deep Proficiency in Culturally Responsive Teaching through Short-Term Study Abroad

Teacher preparation program administrators face the issue of expanding curricula to prepare teacher candidates for the diverse population of students they will encounter {Trent, Kea, Oh, 2008). Globalization demands that teacher candidates grasp how to function in a more integrated and interdependent society (McGrew, 2005). According to Smith-Davis (2004) students from non-English speaking countries compose the fastest growing United States K-12 student population, and those identified as limited English proficient were over 10 million in 2004. The United States Census reported in the New Census Bureau Report the number of individuals five and older who speak languages other than English at home more than doubled in the past three decades (2010). If teacher preparation program leaders fail to prepare future educators with the dispositions, knowledge, and skills necessary to meet the needs of the nation\u27s school population, the national security and economic development may be hindered, and the position of the United States in the world community may be challenged (Zanh, 2011)

Biological network models for inferring mechanism of action, characterizing cellular phenotypes, and predicting drug response

A primary challenge in the analysis of high-throughput biological data is the abundance of correlated variables. A small change to a gene's expression or a protein's binding availability can cause significant downstream effects. The existence of such chain reactions presents challenges in numerous areas of analysis. By leveraging knowledge of the network interactions that underlie this type of data, we can often enable better understanding of biological phenomena. This dissertation will examine network-based statistical approaches to the problems of mechanism-of-action inference, characterization of gene expression changes, and prediction of drug response. First, we develop a method for multi-target perturbation detection in multi-omics biological data. We estimate a joint Gaussian graphical model across multiple data types using penalized regression, and filter for network effects. Next, we apply a set of likelihood ratio tests to identify the most likely site of the original perturbation. We also present a conditional testing procedure to allow for detection of secondary perturbations. Second, we address the problem of characterization of cellular phenotypes via Bayesian regression in the Gene Ontology (GO). In our model, we use the structure of the GO to assign changes in gene expression to functional groups, and to model the covariance between these groups. In addition to describing changes in expression, we use these functional activity estimates to predict the expression of unobserved genes. We further determine when such predictions are likely to be inaccurate by identifying GO terms with poor agreement to gene-level estimates. In a case study, we identify GO terms relevant to changes in the growth rate of S. cerevisiae. Lastly, we consider the prediction of drug sensitivity in cancer cell lines based on pathway-level activity estimates from ASSIGN, a Bayesian factor analysis model. We use penalized regression to predict response to various cancer treatments based on cancer subtype, pathway activity, and 2-way interactions thereof. We also present network representations of these interaction models and examine common patterns in their structure across treatments

Insight for Teacher Preparation Program Administrators: Enhancing Pre-service Educators’ Intercultural Sensitivity and Deep Proficiency in Culturally Responsive Teaching through Short-term Study Abroad

Teacher preparation program administrators face the issue of expanding curricula to prepare teacher candidates for the diverse population of students they will encounter (Trent, Kea, Oh, 2008). Globalization demands that teacher candidates grasp how to function in a more integrated and interdependent society (McGrew, 2005). According to Smith-Davis (2004) students from non-English speaking countries compose the fastest growing United States K-12 student population, and those identified as limited English proficient were over 10 million in 2004. The United States Census reported in the \u27\u27New Census Bureau Report the number of individuals five and older who speak languages other than English at home more than doubled in the past three decades (2010). If teacher preparation program leaders fail to prepare future educators with the dispositions, knowledge, and skills necessary to meet the needs of the nation\u27s school population, the national security and economic development may be hindered, and the position of the United States in the world community may be challenged (Zanh, 2011). Teacher preparation program leaders are faced with how to strengthen teacher candidates\u27 level of intercultural sensitivity and to prepare them to implement culturally responsive pedagogy through course content and other activities (Lin, Lake, & Rice, 2008, p. 188). Integrating multicultural education throughout all courses instead of adding a stand-alone course dedicated to cultural awareness and instruction is one manner to enhance candidates\u27 level of intercultural sensitivity, and this means is supported by many researchers (Cochran-Smith, Davis, & Fries, 2004). Another way to heighten intercultural sensitivity and gain skill in delivering culturally-responsive teaching strategies is through cross-cultural experiences (Foster, 1995; Gay, 2000; McAllister & Irving, 2002; Nieto, 2006). One such cross-cultural experience that deans, department heads, and faculty may explore is short-term study abroad. Short-term study abroad is more affordable and attractive to university students who cannot or will not commit to a semester or yearlong study abroad experience (Donnelly-Smith, 2009). As defined by Donnelly-Smith (2009), short-term study abroad experiences are those where students participate for fewer than eight weeks. These experiences have the potential of positively impacting teacher candidates\u27 intercultural sensitivity (Lawton et al., 2006). DonnellySmith stated that little formal research was displayed in the literature that described study abroad outcomes (2009). The purpose of this paper is to reveal how a short-term study abroad experience affected teacher candidates from a Texas regional university, and thus enhanced their intercultural sensitivity and deepened their knowledge and skill in culturally-responsive teaching strategies. This study was unique from other studies presented in the literature because the focus was how another country implements early childhood education and prepares future teachers. Teacher candidates were afforded an opportunity to compare Italy\u27s early childhood education system to the system they were more familiar with in the United States

Mathematics Career Carnival: Integration of Content, Pedagogy, & Authentic Learning

This project is the result of the integration of online methods and field experience to give students a unique opportunity in field experience that we can control and assess rather than “assume” that mentors and placements around the state are modeling the way we believe mathematics should be taught and assessed

Environmental chemicals change extracellular lipidome of mature human white adipocytes

Funding This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement GOLIATH grant No. 825489 and Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS) grant No. 2019-00375.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Inhibitory activity of Lactobacillus plantarum LMG P-26358 against Listeria innocua when used as an adjunct starter in the manufacture of cheese

Lactobacillus plantarum LMG P-26358 isolated from a soft French artisanal cheese produces a potent class IIa bacteriocin with 100% homology to plantaricin 423 and bacteriocidal activity against Listeria innocua and Listeria monocytogenes. The bacteriocin was found to be highly stable at temperatures as high as 100°C and pH ranges from 1-10. While this relatively narrow spectrum bacteriocin also exhibited antimicrobial activity against species of enterococci, it did not inhibit dairy starters including lactococci and lactobacilli when tested by well diffusion assay (WDA). In order to test the suitability of Lb. plantarum LMG P-26358 as an anti-listerial adjunct with nisin-producing lactococci, laboratory-scale cheeses were manufactured. Results indicated that combining Lb. plantarum LMG P-26358 (at 108 colony forming units (cfu)/ml) with a nisin producer is an effective strategy to eliminate the biological indicator strain, L. innocua. Moreover, industrial-scale cheeses also demonstrated that Lb. plantarum LMG P-26358 was much more effective than the nisin producer alone for protection against the indicator. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry confirmed the presence of plantaricin 423 and nisin in the appropriate cheeses over an 18 week ripening period. A spray-dried fermentate of Lb. plantarum LMG P-26358 also demonstrated potent anti-listerial activity in vitro using L. innocua. Overall, the results suggest that Lb. plantarum LMG P-26358 is a suitable adjunct for use with nisin-producing cultures to improve the safety and quality of dairy products

Disentangling protostellar evolutionary stages in clustered environments using Spitzer-IRS spectra and comprehensive SED modeling

When studying the evolutionary stages of protostars that form in clusters, the role of any intracluster medium cannot be neglected. High foreground extinction can lead to situations where young stellar objects (YSOs) appear to be in earlier evolutionary stages than they actually are, particularly when using simple criteria like spectral indices. To address this issue, we have assembled detailed SED characterizations of a sample of 56 Spitzer-identified candidate YSOs in the clusters NGC 2264 and IC 348. For these, we use spectra obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope and ancillary multi-wavelength photometry. The primary aim is twofold: 1) to discuss the role of spectral features, particularly those due to ices and silicates, in determining a YSO's evolutionary stage, and 2) to perform comprehensive modeling of spectral energy distributions (SEDs) enhanced by the IRS data. The SEDs consist of ancillary optical-to-submillimeter multi-wavelength data as well as an accurate description of the 9.7 micron silicate feature and of the mid-infrared continuum derived from line-free parts of the IRS spectra. We find that using this approach, we can distinguish genuine protostars in the cluster from T Tauri stars masquerading as protostars due to external foreground extinction. Our results underline the importance of photometric data in the far-infrared/submillimeter wavelength range, at sufficiently high angular resolution to more accurately classify cluster members. Such observations are becoming possible now with the advent of the Herschel Space Observatory.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Physical activity and dietary behaviour in a population-based sample of British 10-year old children: the SPEEDY study (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: environmental Determinants in Young people).

BACKGROUND: The SPEEDY study was set up to quantify levels of physical activity (PA) and dietary habits and the association with potential correlates in 9-10 year old British school children. We present here the analyses of the PA, dietary and anthropometry data. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 2064 children (926 boys, 1138 girls) in Norfolk, England, we collected anthropometry data at school using standardised procedures. Body mass index (BMI) was used to define obesity status. PA was assessed with the Actigraph accelerometer over 7 days. A cut-off of > or = 2000 activity counts was used to define minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Dietary habits were assessed using the Health Behaviour in School Children food questionnaire. Weight status was defined using published international cut-offs (Cole, 2000). Differences between groups were assessed using independent t-tests for continuous data and chi-squared tests for categorical data. RESULTS: Valid PA data (>500 minutes per day on > or = 3 days) was available for 1888 children. Mean (+/- SD) activity counts per minute among boys and girls were 716.5 +/- 220.2 and 635.6 +/- 210.6, respectively (p < 0.001). Boys spent an average of 84.1 +/- 25.9 minutes in MVPA per day compared to 66.1 +/- 20.8 among girls (p < 0.001), with an average of 69.1% of children accumulating 60 minutes each day. The proportion of children classified as overweight and obese was 15.0% and 4.1% for boys and 19.3% and 6.6% for girls, respectively (p = 0.001). Daily consumption of at least one portion of fruit and of vegetables was 56.8% and 49.9% respectively, with higher daily consumption in girls than boys and in children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that almost 70% of children meet national PA guidelines, indicating that a prevention of decline, rather than increasing physical activity levels, might be an appropriate intervention target. Promotion of daily fruit and vegetable intake in this age group is also warranted, possibly focussing on children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are