Conceptualizing a Personalized Identity-Focused Approach to Teacher Professional Development: Postulating the Realization of Reform

Identity structure analysis (ISA) reveals core and conflicted identity constructs, long-term aspirant goals for behaviours, behaviours one wishes to avoid, potential for behaviour change when moving from one life domain to another, and people that are the subject of identity conflicts. In this work, ISA is applied to a teacher’s identity to form a framework to guide professional development. A rationale for use of the ISA framework is developed that connects it to calls for reform in professional development. Keywords: teacher identity; identity structure analysis; professional development; mentoring; teacher education L’analyse de structure identitaire (ASI) révèle des constructions identitaires fondamentales et divergentes; des objectifs à long-terme relatifs au comportement; des comportements que l’individu désire éviter; le potentiel pour un changement comportemental lors du mouvement d’une sphère de la vie à une autre; et des gens qui vivent des conflits identitaires. Cet article porte sur l’application de l’ASI à l’identité d’un enseignant de sorte à fournir un cadre pour guider le développement professionnel. Nous développons un motif pour l’utilisation du cadre d’ASI qui le lie aux demandes pour des réformes dans le domaine du développement professionnel. Mots clés: identité d’enseignant; analyse de structure identitaire; développement professionnel; mentorat; formation des enseignant

The association between physical activity and the risk of symptomatic Barrett’s oesophagus: a UK prospective cohort study

Background: Physical activity affects the functioning of the gastrointestinal system through both local and systemic effects and may play an important role in the aetiology of gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal adenocarcinoma. We investigated, for the first time in a large prospective cohort study, associations between recreational and occupational levels of physical activity and the incidence of Barrett’s oesophagus. Participants and methods: The European Prospective Investigation of Cancer-Norfolk recruited 30 445 men and women between 1993 and 1997. Occupational and recreational levels of physical activity were measured using a baseline questionnaire. The cohort was followed up until 2015 to identify symptomatic cases of Barrett’s oesophagus. Cox proportional hazard regression estimated hazard ratios (HR) for physical activity and the development of disease. Results: Two hundred and three participants developed Barrett’s oesophagus (mean age: 70.6 years) the majority of whom were men (70.9%). There was an inverse association between standing occupations and disease risk [HR: 0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31–0.82, P=0.006] when compared with sedentary jobs. Heavy manual occupations were positively associated with disease risk (HR: 1.66, 95% CI: 0.91–3.00), but conventional statistical significance was not reached (P=0.09). No associations were found between recreational activity and the risk of Barrett’s oesophagus (HR: 1.34, 95% CI: 0.72–2.50, P=0.35, highest vs. lowest levels of activity). Conclusion: Our study suggests that occupational levels of physical activity may be associated with the risk Barrett’s oesophagus. However, further work is required to confirm and describe specific occupations that may be protective

The association between preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise test variables and short-term morbidity following oesophagectomy: A hospital-based cohort study

Background: Postoperative complications after esophagectomy are thought to be associated with reduced fitness. This observational study explored the associations between aerobic fitness, as determined objectively by preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPEX), and 30-day morbidity after esophagectomy. Methods: We retrospectively identified 254 consecutive patients who underwent esophagectomy at a single academic teaching hospital between September 2011 and March 2017. Postoperative complication data were measured using the Esophageal Complications Consensus Group definitions and graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification system of severity (blinded to cardiopulmonary exercise testing values). Associations between preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing variables and postoperative outcomes were estimated using logistic regression. Results: A total of 206 patients (77% male) were included in the analyses, with a mean age of 67 years (SD 9). The mean values for the maximal oxygen consumed at the peak of exercise (VO 2peak) and the anaerobic threshold were 21.1 mL/kg/min (SD 4.5) and 12.4 mL/kg/min (SD 2.8), respectively. The vast majority of patients (98.5%) had malignant disease—predominantly adenocarcinoma (84.5%), for which most received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (79%) and underwent minimally invasive Ivor Lewis esophagectomy (53%). Complications at postoperative day 30 occurred in 111 patients (54%), the majority of which were cardiopulmonary (72%). No associations were found between preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing variables and morbidity for either VO 2peak (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.94–1.07) or anaerobic threshold (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.89–1.09). Conclusion: Preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing variables were not associated with 30-day complications after esophagectomy. The findings do not support the use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing as an isolated preoperative screening tool to predict short-term morbidity after esophagectomy. This modestly sized observational work highlights the need for larger studies examining associations between preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise testing and outcomes after esophagectomy to look for consistency in our findings

Robot Task Commander with Extensible Programming Environment

A system for developing distributed robot application-level software includes a robot having an associated control module which controls motion of the robot in response to a commanded task, and a robot task commander (RTC) in networked communication with the control module over a network transport layer (NTL). The RTC includes a script engine(s) and a GUI, with a processor and a centralized library of library blocks constructed from an interpretive computer programming code and having input and output connections. The GUI provides access to a Visual Programming Language (VPL) environment and a text editor. In executing a method, the VPL is opened, a task for the robot is built from the code library blocks, and data is assigned to input and output connections identifying input and output data for each block. A task sequence(s) is sent to the control module(s) over the NTL to command execution of the task

Enamel-based mark performance for marking Chinese mystery snail \u3ci\u3eBellamya chinensis\u3c/i\u3e

The exoskeleton of gastropods provides a convenient surface for carrying marks, and in the interest of improving future marking methods our laboratory assessed the performance of an enamel paint. The endurance of the paint was also compared to other marking methods assessed in the past. We marked the shells of 30 adult Chinese mystery snails Bellamya chinensis and held them in an aquarium for 181 days. We observed no complete degradation of any enamel-paint mark during the 181 days. The enamel-paint mark was superior to a nail-polish mark, which lasted a median of 100 days. Enamel-paint marks also have a lower rate of loss (0.00 month-1 181 days) than plastic bee tags (0.01 month-1, 57 days), gouache paint (0.07 month-1, 18.5 days), or car body paint from studies found in scientific literature. Legibility of enamelpaint marks had a median lifetime of 102 days. The use of enamel paint on the shells of gastropods is a viable option for studies lasting up to 6 months. Furthermore, visits to a capture-mark-recapture site 1 year after application of enamel-paint marks on B. chinensis shells produced several individuals on which the enamel paint was still visible, although further testing is required to clarify durability over longer periods

Assessing the effectiveness of business support services in England: evidence from a theory based evaluation

In England, publicly supported advisory services for small firms are organised primarily through the Business Link (BL) network. Based on the programme theory underlying this business support services we develop four propositions and test these empirically using data from a new survey of over 3,000 English small firms. Our empirical results provide a broad validation of the programme theory underlying BL assistance for small firms in England during 2003, and more limited support for its effectiveness. More specifically, we find strong support for the value of BL operators maintaining a high profile as a way of boosting take-up. We also find some support for the approach to market segmentation adopted by BL allowing more intensive assistance to be targeted on younger firms and those with limited liability status. In terms of the outcomes of BL support, and allowing for issues of sample selection, we find no significant effects on growth from ‘other’ assistance but do find positive and significant employment growth effects from intensive assistance. This provides partial support for the programme theory assertion that BL support will lead to improvements in business growth performance and stronger support for the proposition that there would be differential outcomes from intensive and other assistance. The positive employment growth outcomes identified here from intensive assistance, even allowing for sample selection, suggest something of an improvement in the effectiveness of the BL network since the late 1990s

Visuospatial executive function in Turner syndrome: functional MRI and neurocognitive findings

Turner syndrome is a genetic disorder that results from an abnormal or missing X chromosome in females and is typically associated with impairments in visuospatial, but not verbal, information processing. These visuospatial processing impairments may be exacerbated with increased task demands, such as those engaged during working memory (WM). While previous studies have examined spatial WM function in Turner syndrome, none have directly compared the neural correlates of spatial and verbal WM processes across the encoding, maintenance and retrieval phases. We employed both neurocognitive assessments and functional MRI (fMRI) to examine the neural circuitry underlying both verbal and visuospatial WM functions in individuals with Turner syndrome and normal controls. We furthermore examined the vulnerability of task-related fMRI activation to distracters presented during WM maintenance. Fifteen healthy female volunteers and eight individuals with Turner syndrome performed a delayed-response WM task during fMRI scanning. Neurocognitive tests revealed impaired performance across both verbal and spatial domains in Turner syndrome, with greater impairment on tasks with WM demands. Frontoparietal regions in controls showed significantly sustained levels of activation during visuospatial WM. This sustained activation was significantly reduced in the group with Turner syndrome. Domain-specific activation of temporal regions, in contrast, did not differ between the two groups. Sensory distraction during the WM maintenance phase did not differentially alter frontoparietal activation between the two groups. The results reveal impaired frontoparietal circuitry recruitment during visuospatial executive processing in Turner syndrome, suggesting a significant role for the X chromosome in the development of these pathways

Lipid-peptide nanocomplexes for mRNA delivery in vitro and in vivo

Despite recent advances in the field of mRNA therapy, the lack of safe and efficacious delivery vehicles with pharmaceutically developable properties remains a major limitation. Here, we describe the systematic optimisation of lipid-peptide nanocomplexes for the delivery of mRNA in two murine cancer cell types, B16-F10 melanoma and CT26 colon carcinoma as well as NCI-H358 human lung bronchoalveolar cells. Different combinations of lipids and peptides were screened from an original lipid-peptide nanocomplex formulation for improved luciferase mRNA transfection in vitro by a multi-factorial screening approach. This led to the identification of key structural elements within the nanocomplex associated with substantial improvements in mRNA transfection efficiency included alkyl tail length of the cationic lipid, the fusogenic phospholipid, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE), and cholesterol. The peptide component (K16GACYGLPHKFCG) was further improved by the inclusion of a linker, RVRR, that is cleavable by the endosomal enzymes cathepsin B and furin, and a hydrophobic motif (X-S-X) between the mRNA packaging (K16) and receptor targeting domains (CYGLPHKFCG). Nanocomplex transfections of a murine B16-F10 melanoma tumour supported the inclusion of cholesterol for optimal transfection in vivo as well as in vitro. In vitro transfections were also performed with mRNA encoding interleukin-15 as a potential immunotherapy agent and again, the optimised formulation with the key structural elements demonstrated significantly higher expression than the original formulation. Physicochemical characterisation of the nanocomplexes over time indicated that the optimal formulation retained biophysical properties such as size, charge and mRNA complexation efficiency for 14 days upon storage at 4 °C without the need for additional stabilising agents. In summary, we have developed an efficacious lipid-peptide nanocomplex with promising pharmaceutical development properties for the delivery of therapeutic mRNA

Structure of CARDS toxin, a unique ADP-ribosylating and vacuolating Cytotoxin from Mycoplasma Pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) infections cause tracheobronchitis and walking pneumonia, and are linked to asthma and other reactive airway diseases. As part of the infectious process, the bacterium expresses a 591-aa virulence factor with both mono-ADP ribosyltransferase (mART) and vacuolating activities known as Community-Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome Toxin (CARDS TX). CARDS TX binds to human surfactant protein A and annexin A2 on airway epithelial cells and is internalized, leading to a range of pathogenetic events. Here we present the structure of CARDS TX, a triangular molecule in which N-terminal mART and C-terminal tandem beta-trefoil domains associate to form an overall architecture distinct from other well-recognized ADP-ribosylating bacterial toxins. We demonstrate that CARDS TX binds phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin specifically over other membrane lipids, and that cell surface binding and internalization activities are housed within the C-terminal beta-trefoil domain. The results enhance our understanding of Mp pathogenicity and suggest a novel avenue for the development of therapies to treat Mp-associated asthma and other acute and chronic airway diseases