The Impact Of Maternal Trauma And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder On Parenting Stress

Purpose: The goals of this study were to determine the prevalence and type of maternal trauma since childbirth, to examine the association between maternal trauma, PTSD, and maternal stress, and to assess the impact of PTSD symptom severity on maternal stress. Methods: Participants consisted of 297 women who were screened for trauma, PTSD, and maternal stress at 28 (±2) weeks gestation, 8(±4) weeks postpartum, and at approximately 3 years after their child\u27s birth. Using results from the 3 year survey, unadjusted and adjusted associations between PTSD status and parental stress were examined using ANOVA F-test and multiple regression, respectively. Results: Over half the women in the sample had experienced a traumatic event since the birth of their child. 22 women were in current PTSD episode. Mothers with current PTSD exhibited greater maternal stress compared with both mothers who experienced trauma since the birth of their child but did not currently have PTSD and mothers who had no trauma history. Conclusions: Approximately 1 in 2 women experienced a traumatic event since the birth of their child. Both trauma and PTSD, in particular, are important risk factors for elevated maternal stress

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of the Rhodobacter capsulatushemA Gene.

The first step in the common tetrapyrrole pathway in Rhodobacter capsulatus is the condensation of glycine with succinyl CoA to form 5-aminolevulinate which is then used in the synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll, heme, vitamin B-12, and siroheme. To isolate mutants unable to form 5-aminolevulinate, as a first step in studying regulation of the tetrapyrrole pathway, R. capsulatus was mated with E. coli carrying plasmid pSUP2021. pSUP2021 carries transposon Tn5 and is incapable of replicating in R. capsulatus making it an ideal vector for transposon mutagenesis. One colony was found which requires 5-aminolevulinate for growth. This mutant strain, designated AJB529, has a growth rate and bacteriochlorophyll production at a level comparable to those of the parental strain when provided with 5-aminolevulinate. A cosmid library of R. capsulatus DNA was mated into AJB529 via the tetracycline resistant vector pLAFRI. Tetracycline resistant colonies which no longer required 5-aminolevulinate for growth were selected. Cosmids were isolated from these colonies and one was designated pCAP17. pCAP17 was transformed into E. coli and mated back to R. capsulatus to confirm 5-aminolevulinate independence. pCAP17 was digested to completion with EcoRI and was found to contain five insert fragments. Through a series of partial digestions S. Biel found that the 0.6 kb and 1.4 kb insert fragments are both required to confer 5-aminolevulinate independence. Through Southern blot analysis the 1.4 kb fragment was found to span the hemA::tn5 insertion. A translational fusion was made between the hemA and lacZ genes. The hemA-lacZ fusion plasmid was mated into R. capsulatus strain PAS100. The size of the fusion protein was determined to be 147,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Cell-free extracts were assayed for $\beta$-galactosidase activity after growth under high and low oxygen tensions. Transcription of the hemA gene, measured as $\beta$-galactosidase activity, was two-fold higher under low oxygen tension

Pre-service Visual Art Teachers’ Perceptions of Assessment in Online Learning

Abstract: This paper reports on a study conducted into how one cohort of Master of Teaching pre-service visual art teachers perceived their learning in a fully online learning environment. Located in an Australian urban university, this qualitative study provided insights into a number of areas associated with higher education online learning, including that of assessment, the focus of this paper. Authentic assessment tasks were designed within the University’s learning and teaching framework of constructive alignment and were sequenced across the three semesters of the visual art program. Analysis of data collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews revealed that participants largely held very positive attitudes about the suite of online assessment tasks, particularly in light of (a) the collaborative learning that took place, (b) the nature, structure and sequence of the tasks, and (c) the ways in which the tasks contributed to their workplace readiness

Improving scenario methodology:theory and practice introduction to the special issue

In this Introduction, we review the logic that underpinned our earlier call for papers and compare and contrast the papers selected with those selected for a similarly-themed special issue of this journal that was published in 2013. We demonstrate changing research emphases and concerns and then go on to review the contents of the eighteen selected papers that comprise the current special issue