Aligning Paradigms, Standards, and Assessment: A Higher-Education Application for Instruction in Science and Mathematics

Disciplines of science and mathematics are essential for 21st century life and progress of our nation. To strengthen the effectiveness of education in the state of Georgia and to address emerging and enduring issues in 21st century life, the state adopted Georgia Performance Standards. To meet the standards of science and mathematics in Georgia classrooms, programs of teacher preparation and educational leadership in higher education institutions across the state must support and develop pre-service and in-service teachers and leaders able to effectively incorporate standards and assessment consistent with this paradigm shift. Student leadership teams at Columbus State University were instructed in the use of a matrix alignment process as a learner-centered paradigm and effective assessment strategy to promote student achievement in P-12 education

MEGA Vision: Integrating Reef Photogrammetry Data into Immersive Mixed Reality Experiences

Coral reefs and submerged cultural heritage sites are integral to supporting marine biodiversity, preserving human history, providing ecosystem services, and understanding drivers of ecosystem health and function. Despite the importance of these submerged underwater habitats, accessibility to these environments remains limited to specialized professionals. The MEGA Vision mixed reality application integrates photogrammetry-derived data products with augmented reality (AR) technologies to transcend this barrier, offering an immersive and educational platform for the broader public. Using high-resolution imagery from SCUBA expeditions, the app presents users with realistic and spatially accurate 3D reconstructions of coral reefs and submerged archaeological artifacts within an interactive interface developed through Unity and Vuforia. The applications’ instructional design includes multimedia elements for enhancing user comprehension of marine and historical sciences. This mixed reality tool exemplifies the convergence of scientific data visualization and public engagement, offering a unique educational tool that demystifies the complexities of marine ecosystems and maritime history, thereby fostering a deeper appreciation and stewardship of underwater environments. By enabling accessible, interactive, and immersive experiences, the application has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with and contribute to marine sciences, aligning technology with conservation and research efforts to cultivate a more informed and environmentally conscious public

The nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein-3 inflammasome is not activated in airway smooth muscle upon toll-like receptor-2 ligation

Inflammasomes have emerged as playing key roles in inflammation and innate immunity. A growing body of evidence has suggested that the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasomeisimportant inchronic airwaydiseases suchas asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Inflammasome activation results, in part, in pro-IL-1β processing and the secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β. Because asthma exacerbations are associated with elevated concentrations of secreted IL-1β, we addressed whether the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated under in vitro conditions that mimic infectious exacerbations in asthma. Primary cultures of airway smoothmuscle (ASM) cells were treated with infectious stimuli (mimicked using the Toll-like receptor-2 agonist Pam3CSK4, a synthetic bacterial lipopeptide).Whereas Pam3CSK4 robustlyup-regulatedASMcytokineexpressionin response toTNF-αand significantly enhanced IL-1β mRNA expression, we were unable to detect IL-1β in the cell supernatants. Thus, IL-1β was not secreted and therefore was unable to act in an autocrine manner to promote the amplification of ASMinflammatory responses.Moreover, Toll-like receptor-2 ligation did not enhanceNLRP3 or caspase-1 expression in ASM cells, and NLRP3 and caspase-1 protein were not present in the ASM layer of tracheal sections from human donors. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that the enhanced synthetic function of ASM cells, induced by infectious exacerbations of airway inflammation, is NLRP3 inflammasome-independent and IL-1β-independent. Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by invading pathogens may prove cell type-specific in exacerbations of airway inflammation in asthma. Copyright © 2013 by the American Thoracic Society

3D HABITAT COMPLEXITY OF CORAL REEFS IN THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS IS DRIVEN BY CORAL ASSEMBLAGE STRUCTURE

Corals act as ecosystem engineers by secreting structurally complex calcium carbonate skeletons on the benthic substrate that provide habitat for a diverse array of associated reef organisms. Communities of living corals create large and dynamic benthic structures that directly affect ecological parameters such as habitat provisioning and light availability, thus influencing overall ecosystem function. Despite the important role 3D structural complexity plays in ecosystem biodiversity and productivity, the field of coral ecology has lacked accessibility to practical technology capable of quantifying 3D characteristics of underwater habitats. Advancements in the field of computer vision has led to Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry, which provides a simple and cost-effective method for creating high-resolution and spatially accurate 3D reconstructions of natural environments. Integrating SfM approaches into coral reef research and monitoring has provided useful insight into the relationship between 3D habitat complexity and ecological processes. In this study, we examined the relationships among 2D estimates of live coral cover and several metrics of 3D habitat structural complexity among eleven long-term monitoring sites at French Frigate Shoals. Our findings show that coral assemblage structure acts as a significant driver of 3D structural complexity of coral reef habitats at this atoll. This study highlights the importance of diverse and abundant coral assemblages in supporting structurally complex coral reef habitats and provides a framework for future investigations into the ecological role of various coral morphotypes

Practice nursing in Australia: A review of education and career pathways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nurses in Australia are often not educated in their pre registration years to meet the needs of primary care. Careers in primary care may not be as attractive to nursing graduates as high-tech settings such as intensive or acute care. Yet, it is in primary care that increasingly complex health problems are managed. The Australian government has invested in incentives for general practices to employ practice nurses. However, no policy framework has been developed for practice nursing to support career development and post-registration education and training programs are developed in an ad hoc manner and are not underpinned by core professional competencies. This paper reports on a systematic review undertaken to establish the available evidence on education models and career pathways with a view to enhancing recruitment and retention of practice nurses in primary care in Australia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Search terms describing education models, career pathways and policy associated with primary care (practice) nursing were established. These search terms were used to search electronic databases. The search strategy identified 1394 citations of which 408 addressed one or more of the key search terms on policy, education and career pathways. Grey literature from the UK and New Zealand internet sites were sourced and examined. The UK and New Zealand Internet sites were selected because they have well established and advanced developments in education and career pathways for practice nurses.</p> <p>Two reviewers examined titles, abstracts and studies, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Disagreement between the reviewers was resolved by consensus or by a third reviewer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant advances have been made in New Zealand and the UK towards strengthening frameworks for primary care nursing education and career pathways. However, in Australia there is no policy at national level prepare nurses to work in primary care sector and no framework for education or career pathways for nurses working in that sector.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is a need for national training standards and a process of accreditation for practice nursing in Australia to support the development of a responsive and sustainable nursing workforce in primary care and to provide quality education and career pathways.</p

Stereoselective Bacterial Metabolism of Antibiotics in Environmental Bacteria – A Novel Biochemical Workflow

Although molecular genetic approaches have greatly increased our understanding of the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance genes, there are fewer studies on the dynamics of antibiotic – bacterial (A-B) interactions, especially with respect to stereochemistry. Addressing this knowledge gap requires an interdisciplinary synthesis, and the development of sensitive and selective analytical tools. Here we describe SAM (stereoselective antimicrobial metabolism) workflow, a novel interdisciplinary approach for assessing bacterial resistance mechanisms in the context of A-B interactions that utilise a combination of whole genome sequencing and mass spectrometry. Chloramphenicol was used to provide proof-of-concept to demonstrate the importance of stereoselective metabolism by resistant environmental bacteria. Our data shows that chloramphenicol can be stereoselectively transformed via microbial metabolism with R,R-(-)-CAP being subject to extensive metabolic transformation by an environmental bacterial strain. In contrast S,S-(+)-CAP is not metabolised by this bacterial strain, possibly due to the lack of previous exposure to this isomer in the absence of historical selective pressure to evolve metabolic capacity

You Say Bully, I Say Bullied: School Culture and Definitions of Bullying in Two Elementary Schools

Purpose This chapter examines the definitions of bullying used by students and adults in elementary schools and the effects that these definitions had within the broader school culture. Design/methodology/approach I combine interviews with 53 students and 10 adults and over 430 hours of participant observation with fifth grade students at two rural elementary schools. Findings Definitions of bullying held by those in these schools typically differed from those used by researchers. Even when individuals held definitions that were in line with those used by researchers, however, a focus on identifying bullies rather than on behaviors that fit definitions of bullying contributed to a school culture in which negative interactions were normalized and student reports of these behaviors were discouraged. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to two elementary schools in the rural Midwest and cannot be seen as representative of all schools. Support for my findings from other research combined with similar definitions and school cultures in both schools, however, suggest that these definitions and practices are part of a broader cultural context of bullying in the United States. Practical implications These findings suggest that schools might be better served by focusing less on labels like bully and more on particular behaviors that are to be taken seriously by students, teachers, staff members, and principals. Originality/value Although other researchers have studied definitions of bullying, none have combined these definitions with observational data on the broader school contexts in which those definitions are created and used

Young people doing dance doing gender: relational analysis and thinking intersectionally

Scraton (1992) asserts in her conclusion to ‘Shaping up to Womanhood’ that feminist analysis of PE (and sport and leisure more broadly) needs to engage more directly with masculinity as a means to understanding the ‘dynamics of gender’. Focusing on young people’s involvement in recreational dance, this paper demonstrates how some of those dynamics of gender are played out, reproduced and resisted by both boys and girls who participate at community based dance organisations. Selective data in the form of research frames are incorporated to illustrate how gender is constructed, enacted and embodied by young people engaged in recreational dance. Masculine and feminine hegemonies are highlighted and demonstrate that gender is both relational and intersectional. This contributes to ongoing analysis of masculinities and femininities as practices and processes imbued with complex power relations for young people

Experienced discrimination amongst European old citizens

This study analyses the experienced age discrimination of old European citizens and the factors related to this discrimination. Differences in experienced discrimination between old citizens of different European countries are explored. Data from the 2008 ESS survey are used. Old age is defined as being 62 years or older. The survey data come from 28 European countries and 14,364 old-age citizens. Their average age is 72 years. Factor analysis is used to construct the core variable ‘experienced discrimination’. The influence of the independent variables on experienced discrimination is analysed using linear regression analysis. About one-quarter of old European citizens sometimes or frequently experience discrimination because of their age. Gender, education, income and belonging to a minority are related to experienced age discrimination. Satisfaction with life and subjective health are strongly associated with experienced age discrimination, as is trust in other people and the seriousness of age discrimination in the country. Large, significant differences in experienced discrimination due to old age exist between European countries. A north-west versus south-east European gradient is found in experienced discrimination due to old age. The socio-cultural context is important in explaining experienced age discrimination in old European citizens. Old-age discrimination is experienced less frequently in countries with social security arrangements. Further research is needed to understand the variation in (old) age discrimination between European countries. Measures recommended include increasing public awareness about the value of ageing for communities and changing public attitudes towards the old in a positive way