Special Educators and Mathematics Phobia: An Initial Qualitative Investigation

Special educators are uniquely challenged to be content experts in all curricular areas, including mathematics, since students in their case loads may require academic instruction in any area. However, special educators with math phobia may be limited in their ability to provide effective instruction to their students with mathematical deficits and/or needs, and may experience additional challenges in their professional and personal lives. This qualitative study sought to better understand the nature of math phobia in two special educators through extensive interviews, journaling, and observations in math experiences, with a number of primary themes identified. Several potential resolutions for the issues emerging from math phobia in special educators are identified and discussed

Online Learning and Mentors: Addressing the Shortage of Rural Special Educators Through Technology and Collaboration

This article describes a promising model in comprehensive special education personnel preparation to support the recruitment and retention of special education teachers in rural areas. The approach draws on several bodies of research to include best practices for teacher education, online service delivery, collaboration among key stakeholders, and the development of strong mentoring and induction programs. The implementation plan, based on evidence-based practice in special education and online learning, is presented. A key element of this plan is developing and maintaining strong relationships among rural districts, the state department of education, and higher education

Mechanical identification of layer-specific properties of mouse carotid arteries using 3D-DIC and a hyperelastic anisotropic constitutive model

The role of mechanics is known to be of primary order in many arterial diseases; however, determining mechanical properties of arteries remains a challenge. This paper discusses the identifiability of the passive mechanical properties of a mouse carotid artery, taking into account the orientation of collagen fibres in the medial and adventitial layers. On the basis of 3D digital image correlation measurements of the surface strain during an inflation/extension test, an inverse identification method is set up. It involves a 3D finite element mechanical model of the mechanical test and an optimisation algorithm. A two-layer constitutive model derived from the Holzapfel model is used, with five and then seven parameters. The five-parameter model is successfully identified providing layer-specific fibre angles. The seven-parameter model is over parameterised, yet it is shown that additional data from a simple tension test make the identification of refined layer-specific data reliable.Comment: PB-CMBBE-15.pd

Mentors Increasing Special Education Retention

Lack of effective professional mentoring and minimal ongoing support programs have been suggested as two primary contributors to the chronic shortages of special education teachers. Few programs have been designed to address these specific causes. In this article we describe TATERS, a partnership between a university special educator preparation program, a state Department of Education, and district level administrations designed to (a) develop effective mentoring systems, and (b) strengthen training and recruitment of preservice and new special education teachers, especially in rural areas

Ron knockdown and Ron monoclonal antibody IMC-RON8 sensitize pancreatic cancer to histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi).

Recepteur d\u27origine nantais (Ron) is overexpressed in a panel of pancreatic cancer cells and tissue samples from pancreatic cancer patients. Ron can be activated by its ligand macrophage stimulating protein (MSP), thereby activating oncogenic signaling pathways. Crosstalk between Ron and EGFR, c-Met, or IGF-1R may provide a mechanism underlying drug resistance. Thus, targeting Ron may represent a novel therapeutic strategy. IMC-RON8 is the first Ron monoclonal antibody (mAb) entering clinical trial for targeting Ron overexpression. Our studies show IMC-RON8 downmodulated Ron expression in pancreatic cancer cells and significantly blocked MSP-stimulated Ron activation, downstream Akt and ERK phosphorylation, and survivin mRNA expression. IMC-RON8 hindered MSP-induced cell migration and reduced cell transformation. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are reported to target expression of various genes through modification of nucleosome histones and non-histone proteins. Our work shows HDACi TSA and Panobinostat (PS) decreased Ron mRNA and protein expression in pancreatic cancer cells. PS also reduced downstream signaling of pAkt, survivin, and XIAP, as well as enhanced cell apoptosis. Interestingly, PS reduced colony formation in Ron knockdown cells to a greater extent than Ron scramble control cells in colony formation and soft agarose assays. IMC-RON8 could also sensitize pancreatic cancer cells to PS, as reflected by reduced colony numbers and size in combination treatment with IMC-RON8 and PS compared to single treatment alone. The co-treatment further reduced Ron expression and pAkt, and increased PARP cleavage compared to either treatment alone. This study suggests the potential for a novel combination approach which may ultimately be of value in treatment of pancreatic cancer

Caffeine for reducing bird damage to newly seeded rice

The economic impact of blackbirds can be severe to rice producers in the United States. One approach to managing this damage is the application of bird-deterrent chemical to the crop. Previous pilot trials suggested that caffeine offered potential as a safe, economical bird repellent. In this study, cage feeding trials with female red-winged blackbirds and male brown-headed cowbirds confirmed that a treatment rate of 2500 ppm caffeine on rice seed reduced consumption as much as 76%. Trials with mixed species blackbird flocks in a 0.2-ha flight pen resulted in just 4% loss of caffeine-treated rice compared to 43% loss of untreated rice. Field trials of a 10,000 ppm caffeine treatment in Louisiana revealed 490% of caffeine-treated rice seed remained unconsumed on days 2 and 3 of the study whereas blackbirds consumed 480% of the untreated seed. As a rice seed treatment to deter blackbirds, caffeine appears to be effective, economical and environmentally safe, although additional aquatic toxicity testing is desirable. Improvements in formulation will be needed to make the compound practical for general agricultural spray applications and to extend the adherence of caffeine to rice seeds in field conditions

Geochemistry and health data to inform public health outcomes in western Kenya

Environmental geochemistry data can reveal spatial differences in dietary intake with implications for health status. For example, soil and subsequently crop chemistry data is influenced by changes in soil type, pH, geology and geographical features (amongst other factors). Specific soil and food composition data can support estimates of dietary mineral supplies (Watts et al. 2019, 2021a). However, additional metrics can supplement the understanding of links between geochemistry and health in Western Kenya. Here we present a summary of data from a survey of soil and crops, but will focus in particular on the private drinking water and urines as an estimate of nutritional status or exposure to potentially harmful elements collected across 20 Counties in Western Kenya. We discuss the potential for interpreting health metrics, including: food dietary estimates, drinking water and biomonitoring data (urine – Watts et al. 2020; 2021b). Comparisons between these metrics will be discussed, along with the limitations in interpreting these data. These datasets were presented to stakeholders from each of the 20 Counties in June 2022 to provide feedback on data outcomes and to co-design the data delivery to assist in dissemination. Stakeholders included the leaders of agriculture and public health offices in each County government office and from academia. This second point of discussion will raise the importance of information flow back and the challenges in doing so e.g. mis-/over-interpretation of data, opportunities to incorporate into decision making and the stimulation of new research. In particular, the value of undertaking a multi-disciplinary research project to encourage stakeholders to plan intervention strategies with a multi-disciplinary consideration

New Solutions to the Firing Squad Synchronization Problems for Neural and Hyperdag P Systems

We propose two uniform solutions to an open question: the Firing Squad Synchronization Problem (FSSP), for hyperdag and symmetric neural P systems, with anonymous cells. Our solutions take e_c+5 and 6e_c+7 steps, respectively, where e_c is the eccentricity of the commander cell of the dag or digraph underlying these P systems. The first and fast solution is based on a novel proposal, which dynamically extends P systems with mobile channels. The second solution is substantially longer, but is solely based on classical rules and static channels. In contrast to the previous solutions, which work for tree-based P systems, our solutions synchronize to any subset of the underlying digraph; and do not require membrane polarizations or conditional rules, but require states, as typically used in hyperdag and neural P systems

Detecting an Elusive Invasive Species: A Diagnostic PCR to Detect Burmese Python in Florida Waters and an Assessment of Persistence of Environmental DNA

Recent studies have demonstrated that detection of environmental DNA (eDNA) from aquatic vertebrates in water bodies is possible. The Burmese python, Python bivittatus, is a semi-aquatic, invasive species in Florida where its elusive nature and cryptic coloration make its detection difficult. Our goal was to develop a diagnostic PCR to detect P. bivittatus from water-borne eDNA, which could assist managers in monitoring this invasive species. First, we used captive P. bivittatus to determine whether reptilian DNA could be isolated and amplified from water samples. We also evaluated the efficacy of two DNA isolation methods and two DNA extraction kits commonly used in eDNA preparation. A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from P. bivittatus was detected in all water samples isolated with the sodium acetate precipitate and the QIAamp DNA Micro Kit. Next, we designed P. bivittatus-specific primers and assessed the degradation rate of eDNA in water. Our primers did not amplify DNA from closely related species, and we found that P. bivittatus DNA was consistently detectable up to 96 h. Finally, we sampled water from six field sites in south Florida. Samples from five sites, where P. bivittatus has been observed, tested positive for eDNA. The final site was negative and had no prior documented evidence of P. bivittatus. This study shows P. bivittatus eDNA can be isolated from water samples; thus, this method is a new and promising technique for the management of invasive reptiles

Iodine status in western Kenya: a community-based cross-sectional survey of urinary and drinking water iodine concentrations

Spot urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) are presented for 248 individuals from western Kenya with paired drinking water collected between 2016 and 2018. The median UIC was 271 µg L−1, ranging from 9 to 3146 µg L−1, unadjusted for hydration status/dilution. From these data, 12% were potentially iodine deficient ( 300 µg L−1). The application of hydration status/urinary dilution correction methods was evaluated for UICs, using creatinine, osmolality and specific gravity. The use of specific gravity correction for spot urine samples to account for hydration status/urinary dilution presents a practical approach for studies with limited budgets, rather than relying on unadjusted UICs, 24 h sampling, use of significantly large sample size in a cross-sectional study and other reported measures to smooth out the urinary dilution effect. Urinary corrections did influence boundary assessment for deficiency–sufficiency–excess for this group of participants, ranging from 31 to 44% having excess iodine intake, albeit for a study of this size. However, comparison of the correction methods did highlight that 22% of the variation in UICs was due to urinary dilution, highlighting the need for such correction, although creatinine performed poorly, yet specific gravity as a low-cost method was comparable to osmolality corrections as the often stated ‘gold standard’ metric for urinary concentration. Paired drinking water samples contained a median iodine concentration of 3.2 µg L−1 (0.2–304.1 µg L−1). A weak correlation was observed between UIC and water-I concentrations (R = 0.11)