The Mirror Up to Nature: Identity Exploration through Drama for English Language Learners

It is widely accepted that language acquisition through content, arts integration, and identity development in concert with foreign or second language development are all important and valid approaches to ESOL education. However, there is a lack of literature addressing these three elements in concert. This project attempts to bridge this gap through the creation of an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) unit that addresses language acquisition, drama integration, and personal and cultural identity development. The unit also promotes intercultural understanding, as students share their personal and cultural identity backgrounds with one another throughout the course of the unit as they write and deliver identity-based speeches. The project is underpinned with Stephen Krashen’s theories of language acquisition (1982) and Bonny Norton’s theories of identity and language development (2013). The unit is designed for use in middle school drama, English, or ESOL classes, and will develop the confidence of educators who may feel daunted by teaching second language students, implementing the arts into their teaching practice, guiding students through identity exploration, or promoting intercultural understanding

New Antimuscarinic Agents for Improved Treatment of Poisoning by Cholinesterase Inhibitors

Poisoning by organophosphate cholinesterase inhibitors results in a rapid rise in acetylcholine (ACh) in the synapse and many pronounced pharmacological effects in numerous tissues in the body. The treatment for organophosphorus poisoning involves administration of a cholinesterase—reactivating oxime to restore the activity of the cholinesterase and an antimuscarinic agent to block the response to the excess ACh. Presently atropine is the standard antimuscarinic agent used clinically as an antidote. This research was directed toward finding an antimuscarinic agent better than atropine as an antidote. Since caramiphen and aprophen have been reported to be effective antidotes we synthesized numerous structural variations of these molecules with the aim of enhancing the antimuscarinic and antidotal properties. Many of these compounds showed enhanced antimuscarinic properties. We synthesized analogs of caramiphen which have different substituents in the para position of the phenyl ring. The purpose of the set was to test the effect of different substituents on the antimuscarinic and antidotal activity and to look for any possible relationship of activity with substituent parameters such as Hammett’s sigma (σ) or Hansch’s pi (π) values. Four substituents were selected which have extreme values for sigma and pi in a positive or negative direction, in all combinations. The substituents chosen for use in this approach were the amino (-σ, -π); 1-‘ tetrazolyl (+σ, -π); l-pyrrolidinyl (-σ, +π); and the trifluoromethyl (+σ, +π). Some N-substituted-1,6-hexanediamines were synthesized to examine the SAR for antimuscarinic and antidotal properties of this series. In a binding assay these compounds showed moderate affinity with a preference for the M2 receptor subtype. It was determined the bis-quaternary structure was not mandatory for muscarinic activity. The optimum compound of this series was N,N’-dimethyl-N,N’-bis[3-(2- phthalimido)propyl]-1,6-hexanediamine. Also, a number of literature and currently manufactured antimuscarinics were obtained. All of the compounds are being screened in a number of in vitro and in vivo assays designed to give information on the SAR for the pharmacological properties which might be important as an antidote. Current information from this research indicates the best antidotes are not the best antimuscarinics in the pharmacological assays. Good central antimuscarinic activity is the primary property of a good antidote, although the antidotal effectiveness of an agent can not be described solely based on its antimuscarinic properties

Hyperglycemia and Hyperlipidemia Act Synergistically to Induce Renal Disease in LDL Receptor-Deficient BALB Mice

Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in Western countries, but only a portion of diabetic patients develop diabetic nephropathy. Dyslipidemia represents an important aspect of the metabolic imbalance in diabetic patients. In this study, we addressed the impact of combined hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia on renal pathology. Kidneys from wildtype (WT) or LDL receptor-deficient BALB/cBy mice (BALB. LDLR -/-) were examined at 22 weeks of age. Diabetes was induced by administration of streptozotocin and mice were randomly assigned to either standard chow or Western diet. Chow fed BALB. LDLR -/- mice did not demonstrate renal abnormalities, whereas BALB. LDLR -/- mice fed a Western diet showed occasional glomerular and tubulointerstitial foam cells. Diabetic WT mice had modestly increased glomerular cellularity and extracellular matrix. Hyperlipidemic and diabetic BALB. LDLR -/- mice exhibited an increase in glomerular cellularity and extracellular matrix, accumulation of glomerular and tubulointerstitial foam cells and mesangial lipid deposits. The tubular epithelium demonstrated pronounced lipid induced tubular degeneration with increased tubular epithelial cell turnover. Hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia seem to act synergistically in inducing renal injury in the BALB. LDLR-/- mouse. This model of diabetic nephropathy is unique in its development of tubular lesions and may represent a good model for hyperlipidemia-exacerbated diabetic nephropathy. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

A Phenomenological Study of High School Biology Teachers’ Perceptions of the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards in an Era of High-Stakes Testing

This qualitative study investigated four career status, four initially licensed, and four lateral entry high school Biology teachers’ perceptions of the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards’ (NCPTS) usefulness in preparing them to be exemplary science teachers. These teachers are among the first group of teachers to use the NCPTS for professional growth and be evaluated with the Teachers Evaluation Process (TEP). Several historical documents including National Science Education Standards, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and How People Learn, along with NSTA’s Search for Excellence in Science Teaching identify the characteristics of exemplary science teaching. These best practices are reflected in the NCPTS. Individual and cross case analysis found four themes of high-stakes testing, time, technology, and Teacher Evaluation Process that have an impact on these teachers. The results indicated there is an inconsistent distribution of technological resources, lack of funding for lab equipment and supplies, lack of time for inquiry, and lack of time to find and use resources. Teachers feel the additional stress for unprepared and unmotivated learners, a rigorous curriculum, and more accountability for student performance. Implications of this research include: Administrators need to spend more time with initially licensed and lateral entry teachers to help them understand how to improve their practice. There is a need for additional professional development for teachers to understand how to use the NCPTS to improve teaching and learning

The Supreme Court's Chief Umpire: Judging the Legal Rhetoric and Judicial Philosophy of John G. Roberts, Jr.

Many Supreme Court followers contended that Judge John Roberts entered his Supreme Court confirmation hearings as a "stealth candidate" who lacked a paper trail the Judiciary Committee could vet to discern the interpretive approach, or judicial philosophy, to which Judge Roberts' subscribed. This dissertation used rhetorical criticism as a methodological approach for examining this claim. A close-reading of Roberts' law journal articles, his writings from his service during the Reagan and Bush (41) administrations, the text of his appellate court confirmation testimony and published opinions, and the text of his Supreme Court confirmation testimony and published opinions reveals that Roberts was not a "stealth candidate" but instead a jurist who resolved constitutional, judicial, political, and statutory issues by incorporating components of originalism and positivism into his prudentialist judicial philosophy. The first two chapters of the dissertation provide the requisite background for the study. Chapter I discusses the challenges of the nomination and confirmation processes for Supreme Court Justices, and the chapter discusses the crucial powers that the Chief Justice possesses. Chapter II introduces readers to legal arguments, argument modalities, and judicial philosophies, and the chapter offers a new definition for the terms "legal rhetoric" and provides a new methodology for studying judicial discourse. The subsequent chapters comprise the core of the study. Chapter III examines Roberts' law review articles and the letters, memoranda, and position papers he wrote while working for the Reagan and Bush administrations, Chapter IV investigates Roberts' appellate court confirmation testimony and his published opinions, and Chapter V investigates Roberts' Supreme Court confirmation testimony and his published opinions. Following a chronological approach reveals that Roberts consistently used certain argument types within corresponding argument modalities to formulate his argumentative strategies, and each chapter demonstrates that Roberts' adhered to a prudentialist interpretive approach to resolve constitutional and statutory questions. Finally, Chapter VI argues that scholars should examine judicial discourse from an interdisciplinary perspective and reevaluate their conceptions about legal rhetoric and rhetorical criticism

Experimental cervine Sarcocystis infections in mule deer

Preliminary studies with a dog (Canis familiaris) and a coyote (Canis latrans) showed that these carnivores can serve as definitive hosts in the life cycle of Sarcocystis fusiformis of cattle (Bos taurus) and a microscopic Sarcocystis of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus). Preliminary studies to determine effects of the cervine Sarcocystis on deer were inconclusive. Further studies confirmed that coyotes were definitive hosts for this cervine Sarcocystis. Sporocysts passed from infected coyotes were used to inoculate eleven mule deer fawns, two sheep (Ovis aries) and a calf. Three fawns, two sheep and a calf were maintained as uninoculated control animals. All control animals as well as the inoculated sheep and calf remained healthy and did not develop Sarcocystis. All inoculated fawns underwent an acute infection and nine of eleven died. A new species name, Sarcocystis hemionilatrantis, was proposed for this parasite

White-matter abnormalities in brain during early abstinence from methamphetamine abuse

Previous studies revealed microstructural abnormalities in prefrontal white matter and corpus callosum of long-term abstinent chronic methamphetamine abusers. In view of the importance of the early abstinence period in treatment retention, we compared 23 methamphetamine-dependent subjects abstinent from methamphetamine for 7–13 days with 18 healthy comparison subjects. As certain metabolic changes in the brain first manifest after early abstinence from methamphetamine, it is also possible that microstructural white-matter abnormalities are not yet present during early abstinence. Using diffusion tensor imaging at 1.5 T, fractional anisotropy (FA) was measured in prefrontal white matter at four inferior–superior levels parallel to the anterior commissure–posterior commissure (AC–PC) plane. We also sampled FA in the corpus callosum at the midline and at eight bilateral, fiber-tract sites in other regions implicated in effects of methamphetamine. The methamphetamine group exhibited lower FA in right prefrontal white matter above the AC–PC plane (11.9% lower; p = 0.007), in midline genu corpus callosum (3.9%; p = 0.019), in left and right midcaudal superior corona radiata (11.0% in both hemispheres, p’s = 0.020 and 0.016, respectively), and in right perforant fibers (7.3%; p = 0.025). FA in left midcaudal superior corona radiata was correlated with depressive and generalized psychiatric symptoms within the methamphetamine group. The findings support the idea that methamphetamine abuse produces microstructural abnormalities in white matter underlying and interconnecting prefrontal cortices and hippocampal formation. These effects are already present during the first weeks of abstinence from methamphetamine and are linked to psychiatric symptoms assessed during this period

Loperamide Inhibits Replication of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne infectious disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). SFTS is mainly prevalent in East Asia. It has a mortality rate of up to 30%, and there is no approved treatment against the disease. In this study, we evaluated the effect of loperamide, an antidiarrheal and antihyperalgesic agent, on the propagation of SFTSV in a cell culture system. Methods: SFTSV-infected human cell lines were exposed to loperamide, and viral titers were evaluated. To clarify the mode of action of loperamide, several chemical compounds having shared targets with loperamide were used. Calcium imaging was also performed to understand whether loperamide treatment affected calcium influx.Results: Loperamide inhibited SFTSV propagation in several cell lines. It inhibited SFTSV in the post-entry step and restricted calcium influx into the cell. Furthermore, nifedipine, a calcium channel inhibitor, also blocked post-entry step of SFTSV infection.Conclusions: Loperamide inhibits SFTSV propagation mainly by restraining calcium influx into the cytoplasm. This indicates that loperamide, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug, has the potential for being used as a treatment option against SFTS