A STUDY ON THE POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION STUDENT TEACHERS’ INCLINATION AND RELEVANT RESOURCES FOR ONLINE LEARNING

From the students’ side their inclination, possession of relevant resources and accessibility to the Internet are very important to learn through online. Furthermore, it would be useful if they can find extra time for online activities and fluency in English language. With the development of the information and communication technology, online learning is growing rapidly around the world. The Open University of Sri Lanka is also gradually moving into offering more online courses. The Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme is one of the oldest and major programmes offered by the Department of Secondary and Tertiary Education (STE) of the Faculty of Education. Now department is working to introduce online components into the PGDE programme too. This study has four objectives namely to find out the inclination of student teachers in distant areas to follow an online course, The possession of relevant resources by wise inclination and possession of the resources to follow an online course and the available facilities and resources at the centers to conduct an online course. The study was carried out through a survey. For this purpose two remote districts were selected as a purposive sample; Namely Ambalantota study centre and Badulla regional center. The samples of the PGDE student teachers were selected by using the random sampling technique. Seventy five (75) student teachers were selected from each center by random sampling technique. The two data collection instruments used - a questionnaire and a semi structured interview schedule. Data were analyzed by using both qualitative and quantitative analyzing methods. The study revealed that, Majority of the student teachers were somewhat willing to spend around 2 hours per-day on online course. The student teachers’ inclination to use the internet related communication tools were less than 41%. Majority of student teachers were willing to do online learning activities. Majority of students accessed the internet only through the mobile phones. Males’ inclination was higher than the females’ inclination to follow an online course. Majority of the male student teachers have more personal resources than the female student teachers. Availability of the printers was comparatively low among both male and female student teachers. Both centers have the Internet facility but the number of computers was not adequate for the PGDE student numbers in both centers. The study intended to guide the students’ considering their diverse learning needs, and the course designed and developed to be compatible with the mobile phones. The students should be given more opportunity to use available resources at the centers of the university in a more efficient and effective manner.  Article visualizations

APPLICATION OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CLASSROOM TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS BY THE IN-SERVICE GRADUATE TEACHERS IN SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan school system heavily depends on the government school system with the free education from primary school to university level (only for undergraduate level). By the end of the year 2016, the total number of government teachers in Sri Lanka was 232,555 and they were divided into several categories as graduate teachers (99,724), trained teachers (127,857), untrained teachers (2,426), trainee teachers (1887) and other teachers (661). The Ministry of Education is trying to promote modern technology in Sri Lankan education system in many ways. The objectives of the study were to check the gender wise in-service graduate teachers’ qualifications with regard to modern technology, find out gender wise graduate teachers’ resources related to modern technology, investigate the practical use of modern technology for classroom teaching- learning process and look into the possible challenges which may rise when in-service graduate teachers implement modern technology into classroom teaching. Data was collected by a questionnaire (whole sample 558 graduate teachers) and a semi structure interview schedule (10% of the total sample 56). Data was analyzed by using both methods qualitative (descriptive) and quantitative (percentages). Majority of the graduate teachers had followed at least one computer training programme. Majority of the teachers expressed their willingness to follow a computer course. Majority of the teachers possessed a mobile phone which could access the Internet. In addition to this many of them had own laptop or desktop. Majority of the graduate teachers used the Internet from home. Many teachers had used radio/ cassette recorders as modern technical devices. Many teachers said that they have electricity (87%) and computers (52%) in their schools. Even though, majority of the teachers said that, they were not given the phone (61%) or the Internet facilities (67%) from school. Following recommendations were made for the study; in-service graduate teachers should be given more opportunities and facilities for computer training, graduate teachers should be encouraged to use available modern technical devices for the classroom and they should be given necessary training to use them appropriately, teachers should be given more opportunities to use the Internet in schools.  Article visualizations

TEACHİNG - LEARNİNG STİMULATORS

This article is devoted to explain a novel concept “Teaching-Learning Stimulators” (TLs). This concept is somewhat similar to the concept Teaching-Learning Aids. In addition, the TLSs compare and contrast with the teaching-learning aids, resources & materials. Also, a classification has been developed for TLSs. According to this classification, TLSs had been divided into two major parts namely “single senses stimulators” and “multi senses stimulators”. Furthermore, the planning, preparation and usage of TLSs for classroom teaching-learning process is explained

Phytochemical, Histochemical, and Antibacterial Screening of Chenopodium anthelminticum L.

ABSTRACTThe phytochemical, histochemical, and antibacterial properties of Chenopodium anthelminticum were determined. The stem and leaf extracts of C. anthelminticum had alkaloids, carbohydrates, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, and anthraquinone, which was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and histochemical analysis. The stem and leaf extracts at 1-mg concentration inhibited Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhi comparable to the standard streptomycin. The highest zone of inhibition by methanol leaf extract was observed against S. typhi (19.56 mm), followed by S. aureus, B. subtilis, and E. coli

The Ewing sarcoma protein (EWS) binds directly to the proximal elements of the macrophage-specific promoter of the CSF-1 receptor (csf1r) gene

Many macrophage-specific promoters lack classical transcriptional start site elements such as TATA boxes and Sp1 sites. One example is the CSF-1 receptor (CSF-1R, CD115,c-fms), which is used as a model of the transcriptional regulation of macrophage genes

World management of geminiviruses

Management of geminiviruses is a worldwide challenge because of the widespread distribution of economically important diseases caused by these viruses. Regardless of the type of agriculture, management is most effective with an integrated pest management (IPM) approach that involves measures before, during, and after the growing season. This includes starting with resistant cultivars and virus- and vector-free transplants and propagative plants. For high value vegetables, protected culture (e.g., greenhouses and screen houses) allows for effective management but is limited owing to high cost. Protection of young plants in open fields is provided by row covers, but other measures are typically required. Measures that are used for crops in open fields include roguing infected plants and insect vector management. Application of insecticide to manage vectors (whiteflies and leafhoppers) is the most widely used measure but can cause undesirable environmental and human health issues. For annual crops, these measures can be more effective when combined with host-free periods of two to three months. Finally, given the great diversity of the viruses, their insect vectors, and the crops affected, IPM approaches need to be based on the biology and ecology of the virus and vector and the crop production system. Here, we present the general measures that can be used in an IPM program for geminivirus diseases, specific case studies, and future challenges

Free cholesterol accumulation in macrophage membranes activates Toll-like receptors and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and induces cathepsin K

The molecular events linking lipid accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques to complications such as aneurysm formation and plaque disruption are poorly understood. BALB/c-Apoe(-/-) mice bearing a null mutation in the Npc1 gene display prominent medial erosion and atherothrombosis, whereas their macrophages accumulate free cholesterol in late endosomes and show increased cathepsin K (Ctsk) expression. We now show increased cathepsin K immunostaining and increased cysteinyl proteinase activity using near infrared fluorescence imaging over proximal aortas of Apoe(-/-), Npc1(-/-) mice. In mechanistic studies, cholesterol loading of macrophage plasma membranes (cyclodextrin-cholesterol) or endosomal system (AcLDL+U18666A or Npc1 null mutation) activated Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, leading to sustained phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and induction of p38 targets, including Ctsk, S100a8, Mmp8, and Mmp14. Studies in macrophages from knockout mice showed major roles for TLR4, following plasma membrane cholesterol loading, and for TLR3, after late endosomal loading. TLR signaling via p38 led to phosphorylation and activation of the transcription factor Microphthalmia transcription factor, acting at E-box elements in the Ctsk promoter. These studies suggest that free cholesterol enrichment of either plasma or endosomal membranes in macrophages leads to activation of signaling via various TLRs, prolonged p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation, and induction of Mmps, Ctsk, and S100a8, potentially contributing to plaque complications