BUILDING TEACHER EFFICACY: CHALLENGES OF CREATING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE AMONG NEW TEACHERS AND VETERAN TEACHERS IN A TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT

Recently, changes in graduation requirements in some states have made it more important than ever for students to be literate in all content areas. State assessments not only measure student academic ability, but they are a necessary component of graduation from high school. After completing required courses, students are expected to take assessments covering the content of those courses. In order to safely meet the graduation requirement, students must score at least 3 points per assessment on a 5-point scale. This has proven difficult for over 50% of students expecting to graduate. Students at Midwestern-American High School (MAHS) have been struggling to achieve the required minimum scores on the state achievement assessments, as have many others in the region. A review of the report card data for MAHS reveals the area of greatest need (i.e. category of lowest performance) is in science. Research suggests a leading cause for these struggles is waning teacher efficacy and lack of ability to build capacity in staff members due to high mobility in teacher populations, especially in urban communities serving high-poverty and minority populations. For these reasons, it is necessary for leaders to have the skill to quickly build effective instructional teams. During the 2017-2018 schools year, I utilized the Community of Practice (CoP) framework to establish entities that align closely with the criteria of CoPs. I used mixed methods research throughout the bounded period (August 2017 – May 2018) to conduct the proposed study. Data sources included: meeting agendas and minutes, participant interviews, survey results and reflections on the action by researcher and participants. I used the information gathered from this study to continue or modify the action and/or propose new strategies for the capacity building of staff

Carrier protein and halogenase selectivity in the biosynthesis of halogenated pyrroles

Natural product biosynthetic pathways often share similar architecture even when they lead to different final products. In polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) enzymatic pathways, the substrate is attached to a carrier protein (CP) while the tailoring enzymes make modifications to yield a final product. The CP may therefore have a role in determining what enzymes act on the substrate, influencing the final product’s chemistry. In this study, pyrrole halogenases from several different bacterial species were characterized in vitro to test their ability to halogenate pyrrolyl CPs from four different natural product biosynthetic pathways. The reactions were analyzed via mass spectrometry to determine the halogenation state of the products formed. This study concludes that only some halogenases can act promiscuously on CPs from other pathways. Additionally, there is some modulation in the number of halogenation events between certain CP and halogenase pairs. The selectivity of these halogenase and CP interactions is likely caused by protein-protein interactions, and the structure of the CP/halogenase complex may provide new insights into such interaction.Undergraduat

The H19 Non-Coding RNA Is Essential for Human Tumor Growth

Background. Mutations and epigenetic aberrant signaling of growth factors pathways contribute to carcinogenesis. Recent studies reveal that non-coding RNAs are controllers of gene expression. H19 is an imprinted gene that demonstrates maternal monoallelic expression without a protein product; although its expression is shut off in most tissues postnatally, it is reactivated during adult tissue regeneration and tumorigenesis. Moreover, H19 is highly expressed in liver metastasis derived from a range of carcinomas. The objective of this study is to explore the role of H19 in carcinogenesis, and to determine its identification as an anti-tumor target. Methodology / Principle Findings. By controlling oxygen pressure during tumor cell growth and H19 expression levels, we investigated the role of H19 expression in vitro and in vivo in hepatocellular (HCC) and bladder carcinoma. Hypoxia upregulates the level of H19 RNA. Ablations of tumorigenicity of HCC and bladder carcinomas in vivo are seen by H19 knockdown which also significantly abrogates anchorage-independent growth after hypoxia recovery, while ectopic H19 expression enhances tumorigenic potential of carcinoma cells in vivo. Knocking-down H19 message in hypoxic stress severely diminishes p57 kip2 induction. We identified a number of potential downstream targets of H19 RNA, including angiogenin and FGF18. Conclusions. H19 RNA harbors pro-tumorigenic properties, thus the H19 gene behaves as an oncogene and may serve as a potential new target for anti-tumor therapy

Altering infrared metamaterial performance through metal resonance damping

Infrared metamaterial design is a rapidly developing field and there are increasing demands for effective optimization and tuning techniques. One approach to tuning is to alter the material properties of the metals making up the resonant metamaterial to purposefully introduce resonance frequency and bandwidth damping. Damping in the infrared portion of the spectrum is unique for metamaterials because the frequency is on the order of the inverse of the relaxation time for most noble metals. Metals with small relaxation times exhibit less resonance frequency damping over a greater portion of the infrared than metals with a longer relaxation time and, subsequently, larger dc conductivity. This leads to the unexpected condition where it is possible to select a metal that simultaneously increases a metamaterial\u27s bandwidth and resonance frequency without altering the geometry of the structure. Starting with the classical microwave equation for thin-film resistors, a practical equivalent-circuit model is developed predicting the sensitivity of infrared metamaterials to complex film impedance. Several full-wave electromagnetic models are developed to validate the resonant-circuit model, and excellent agreement is demonstrated between modeled and measured results

Use of H19 Gene Regulatory Sequences in DNA-Based Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the eighth most common cause of death from cancer in the world, for which palliative treatments are not effective and frequently accompanied by severe side effects. We propose a DNA-based therapy for pancreatic cancer using a nonviral vector, expressing the diphtheria toxin A chain under the control of the H19 gene regulatory sequences. The H19 gene is an oncofetal RNA expressed during embryo development and in several types of cancer. We tested the expression of H19 gene in patients, and found that 65% of human pancreatic tumors analyzed showed moderated to strong expression of the gene. In vitro experiments showed that the vector was effective in reducing Luciferase protein activity on pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. In vivo experiment results revealed tumor growth arrest in different animal models for pancreatic cancer. Differences in tumor size between control and treated groups reached a 75% in the heterotopic model (P = .037) and 50% in the orthotopic model (P = .007). In addition, no visible metastases were found in the treated group of the orthotopic model. These results indicate that the treatment with the vector DTA-H19 might be a viable new therapeutic option for patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of microbial communities from the Loxahatchee nature preserve in the Florida Everglades.

BackgroundCurrently, much is unknown about the taxonomic diversity and the mechanisms of methane metabolism in the Florida Everglades ecosystem. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a section of the Florida Everglades that is almost entirely unstudied in regard to taxonomic profiling. This short report analyzes the metagenome of soil samples from this Refuge to investigate the predominant taxa, as well as the abundance of genes involved in environmentally significant metabolic pathways related to methane production (nitrogen fixation and dissimilatory sulfite reduction).MethodsShotgun metagenomic sequencing using the Illumina platform was performed on 17 soil samples from four different sites within the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and underwent quality control, assembly, and annotation. The soil from each sample was tested for water content and concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen.ResultsThe three most common phyla of bacteria for every site were Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria; however, there was variation in relative phylum composition. The most common phylum of Archaea was Euryarchaeota for all sites. Alpha and beta diversity analyses indicated significant congruity in taxonomic diversity in most samples from Sites 1, 3, and 4 and negligible congruity between Site 2 and the other sites. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed the presence of biogeochemical biomarkers of particular interest (e.g., mrcA, nifH, and dsrB) within the samples. The normalized abundances of mcrA, nifH, and dsrB exhibited a positive correlation with nitrogen concentration and water content, and a negative correlation with organic carbon concentration.ConclusionThis Everglades soil metagenomic study allowed examination of wetlands biological processes and showed expected correlations between measured organic constituents and prokaryotic gene frequency. Additionally, the taxonomic profile generated gives a basis for the diversity of prokaryotic microbial life throughout the Everglades

Robotic-Assisted Surgery for Benign Urological Conditions

Robotic technology for use in surgery has advanced considerably in the past 10 years. This has become particularly apparent in urology where robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy using the da VinciTM surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, CA) has become very popular. The use of robotic assistance for benign urological procedures is less well documented. This article considers the current robotic technology and reviews the situation with regard to robotic surgery for benign urological conditions

Patient Preferences for Discussing and Acting on Health-Related Needs in Primary Care

Background: Addressing social needs, health behaviors, and mental health may help patients more than traditional medical care. However, these root causes of poor health are difficult to address and the role of primary care is unclear. This qualitative study assesses patient?s willingness and motivations to discuss and accept assistance for these needs from their primary care team. Methods: In July and August of 2020, semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted with family medicine patients (n=6) and residents of low resource neighborhoods (n=11) in Richmond, Virginia. Interviews were conducted over Zoom. We conducted a qualitative analysis of patient and resident interview transcripts. A rapid qualitative analysis approach and immersion-crystallization processes were used to identify themes and categories. Results: Interviewees reported varying degrees of comfort discussing topics with their health care team. They were less comfortable discussing needs they considered outside the realm of "traditional primary care" including finances, transportation, and housing, but interviewees expressed willingness to discuss these needs under certain conditions. Important factors were a strong patient-clinician relationship to create a trusted and safe space for discussion, adequate time for discussion during visits, communication of practices' ability to provide resources to help patients, and ensuring appropriate high quality referrals. Conclusions: Primary care provides opportunity for identifying and addressing needs that adversely impact health. Some needs are more sensitive for patients to work with their care team on, though, there was willingness to work on any need when a strong provider relationship and clinic structure for providing support were in place. This study highlights critical care delivery factors which may be used to enhance patient comfort accepting support for their needs and ultimately improve clinical care and chronic disease management