Analysis of Linguistic Inclusion in TESOL Courses for Teacher Candidates

According to TESOL standard 1, teacher candidates are required to have knowledge about language including: having knowledge in foreign language grammar and how English develops in ELLs (standard 1a), comprehension of language acquisition and how L1 influences learning (standard 1b), and understanding of the language process where an interlanguage develops as ELLs become comfortable using English (standard 1c) (TESOL International Association, 2018). To identify whether teacher candidates in TESOL courses are prepared to meet TESOL standards 1a, 1b, and 1c, a study was conducted to test one hundred teacher candidates’ knowledge of basic linguistic features of English and the five most commonly spoken native world languages of ELLs. By the end of the TESOL course, nineteen out of the twenty-five survey questions about basic linguistic features of the world languages used in this study had less than 50% of the participants choose the correct response. Only three of the questions showed significant change in the number of correct responses by the end of the course

An investigation of the viedma deracemization process on conglomerate crystals of achiral molecules

Viedma deracemization is the attrition-induced asymmetric amplification of a conglomerate crystal mixture of achiral or racemizing compounds. There are 13 reported crystalline systems that undergo Viedma deracemization that can be classified as having: (i) achirality in solution, (ii) a racemizing state in solution or (iii) a reversible racemizing reaction in solution. This phenomenon is based on an autocatalytic attrition-enhanced Ostwald ripening process with a requirement for an achiral, or rapidly racemizing state in solution. The concepts of ‘chiral amnesia’, where a molecule’s chiral memory is lost in solution, and ‘the common ancestor effect’, where the chirality of daughter crystals is the same as the mother crystal, can be used to rationalize the generation of a homochiral solid-state. The involvement of chiral clusters in the overall deracemization mechanism is critical. This research explores the generality of Viedma deracemization for an additional 5 achiral organic molecules: benzil, diphenyl disulfide, benzophenone, butylated hydroxytoluene and tetraphenylethylene. Stochastic chiral crystallization was observed for benzil, however chiral crystallization for butylated hydroxytoluene, diphenyl disulfide, tetraphenylethylene and benzophenone was non-stochastic, likely resulting from a cryptochiral environment. Under standard Veidma deracemization conditions, each system reached homochirality within 2 to 30 hours. A shaking mechanism and liquid assisted grinding conditions were also examined and yielded homochiral benzil crystals as little as 10 minutes. Chiral methylbenzylamine was used to direct the chiral amplification of benzil as an example of implementing ‘the rule of reversal’ under attrition conditions, where (R)-methylbenzylamine yielded M-form benzil and (S)-methylbenzylamine yielded P-form benzil

Characterizing effects of sumoylation on Thymine-DNA Glycosylase base excision repair activity in vivo

Thymine-DNA glycosylase (TDG) is an enzyme that recognizes and repairs G/T and G/U mismatches in the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Its BER function is important in maintaining genome integrity and in regulating DNA gene expression through DNA demethylation of 5-methylcystosine (5mC). It has been proposed that dynamic sumoylation-desumoylation is required for efficient enzymatic turnover of TDG in vitro. TDG sumoylation alleviates product inhibition at the abasic site after enzyme processing and allows dissociation of TDG from DNA. Based on this model, subsequent desumoylation of TDG is required for complete enzymatic turnover. The effect of sumoylation on TDG activity in vivo, however, has not been studied. Here we have devised an in vivo assay to study the role of sumoylation in regulating TDG activity. Ten- eleven translocation (TET) enzyme iteratively oxidizes 5-mC of genomic DNA to a final product of 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). Because TDG is the only enzyme capable of recognizing and repairing 5caC, we co-expressed TDG sumoylation mutant constructs with TET in HEK293T cells and measured 5caC levels of genomic DNA to monitor TDG activity. Our results showed that sumoylation does not affect TDG BER activity in vivo. We also characterized the specific-SUMO isopeptidases involved in TDG desumoylation. Co-expressing SENP1 and 2 constructs with wild-type TDG demonstrated that SENP1 preferentially desumoylates TDG. Additionally, only the catalytic domain of SENP1 is required for efficient TDG desumoylation. Our findings provide important insight into the molecular mechanisms that regulate key biological processes involving TDG activity such as gene regulation, development, and maintenance in genomic integrity

A Novel Way to Fenestrate a Type B Dissection Flap Using Electrocautery

Thoracic endovascular repair (TEVAR) is the current therapy of choice for treating type B aortic dissections. This is accomplished by covering the entry tear that is distal to the left subclavian artery. When the dissection flap extends into the visceral vessels it is common to have a type 1b endoleak into the false lumen from the visceral aortic tears. When the supra-celiac aorta is of normal caliber, then fenestration of the dissection flap proximal to the visceral vessels and sealing this area with a TEVAR stent graft eliminates the type 1 b endoleak. Fenestration also helps when there is distal ischemia from an over-pressured false lumen. Fenestration has been described using needles to cross the septum and balloons to tear open the septum. We describe a novel way of crossing the septum using electrocautery delivered through a wire tip then fenestrating the septum using electrocautery delivered over a 1 mm area of uninsulated wire to cut the septum. The use of electrocautery creates a controlled and deliberate aortic fenestration during endovascular repair of a type B dissection. This case is a 59 year old male who presented with an enlarging thoracic aneurysm secondary to a residual type B artic dissection (Figure 1). We elected to treat this with a TEVAR. A TX2 thoracic endograft (Cook Vascular, IN) was inserted into the thoracic aorta and deployed covering the entry tear (Figure 2). We crossed from the true lumen to the false lumen using a 0.014 Confienza wire (Figure 3). We snared the wire in the false lumen and pulled the wire out through the contralateral groin. Then we scraped the insulation off 1 mm segment ofa 0.014 Astato wire. This was kinked at the area of denuded insulation. We then introduced the wire into the patient and positioned the uncovered wire over the dissection septum. Using the electrocautery, we made a 3 cm cut in the septum (Figure 4). Finally, we deployed a distal TEVAR stent landing the distal segments in the fenestration giving us a distal seal (Figure 5). Post-procedure CTA showed complete exclusion of the aneurysm with no distal endoleaks. This novel technique was adopted to help treat a type B dissection.https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/merf2019caserpt/1122/thumbnail.jp

Variable Temperature Neutron Diffraction Study of the Oxide Ion Conductor Ba3VWO8.5

Acknowledgements We thank the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) for provision of neutron beamtime at the ILL. This research was supported by the Leverhulme trust (RPG-2017-351 and DS-2017-073). DNT, a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholar, is part of the 15 PhD scholarships of the “Leverhulme Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Production of Chemicals and Materials” at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland, United Kingdom). AG is supported by the Commonwealth Scholarship CommissionPeer reviewedPostprin

A Variable Temperature Neutron Diffraction Study of Dual Ion Conducting Sr3V2O8

This research was supported by the Leverhulme Trust (RF-2020-295\4 and DS-2017-073). DNT, a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholar, is part of the 15 PhD scholarships of the “Leverhulme Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Production of Chemicals and Materials” at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland, United Kingdom). We acknowledge the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) for provision of neutron beamtime at the ILL.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Antibody targeting of B7-H4 enhances the immune response in urothelial carcinoma.

Patients with locally advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinoma have a low survival rate (median 15.7 months, 13.1-17.8), with only a 23% response rate to monotherapy treatment with anti-PDL1 checkpoint immunotherapy. To identify new therapeutic targets, we profiled the immune regulatory signatures during murine cancer development using the BBN carcinogen and identified an increase in the expression of the T cell inhibitory protein B7-H4 (VTCN1, B7S1, B7X). B7-H4 expression temporally correlated with decreased lymphocyte infiltration. While the increase in B7-H4 expression within the bladder by CD11

Pharmacy Student Engagement, Performance, and Perception in a Flipped Satellite Classroom

Objective. To determine whether “flipping” a traditional basic pharmaceutics course delivered synchronously to 2 satellite campuses would improve student academic performance, engagement, and perception

The Paleozoic Origin of Enzymatic Lignin Decomposition Reconstructed from 31 Fungal Genomes

Wood is a major pool of organic carbon that is highly resistant to decay, owing largely to the presence of lignin. The only organisms capable of substantial lignin decay are white rot fungi in the Agaricomycetes, which also contains non–lignin-degrading brown rot and ectomycorrhizal species. Comparative analyses of 31 fungal genomes (12 generated for this study) suggest that lignin-degrading peroxidases expanded in the lineage leading to the ancestor of the Agaricomycetes, which is reconstructed as a white rot species, and then contracted in parallel lineages leading to brown rot and mycorrhizal species. Molecular clock analyses suggest that the origin of lignin degradation might have coincided with the sharp decrease in the rate of organic carbon burial around the end of the Carboniferous period

Heterozygous Variants in KMT2E Cause a Spectrum of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Epilepsy.

We delineate a KMT2E-related neurodevelopmental disorder on the basis of 38 individuals in 36 families. This study includes 31 distinct heterozygous variants in KMT2E (28 ascertained from Matchmaker Exchange and three previously reported), and four individuals with chromosome 7q22.2-22.23 microdeletions encompassing KMT2E (one previously reported). Almost all variants occurred de novo, and most were truncating. Most affected individuals with protein-truncating variants presented with mild intellectual disability. One-quarter of individuals met criteria for autism. Additional common features include macrocephaly, hypotonia, functional gastrointestinal abnormalities, and a subtle facial gestalt. Epilepsy was present in about one-fifth of individuals with truncating variants and was responsive to treatment with anti-epileptic medications in almost all. More than 70% of the individuals were male, and expressivity was variable by sex; epilepsy was more common in females and autism more common in males. The four individuals with microdeletions encompassing KMT2E generally presented similarly to those with truncating variants, but the degree of developmental delay was greater. The group of four individuals with missense variants in KMT2E presented with the most severe developmental delays. Epilepsy was present in all individuals with missense variants, often manifesting as treatment-resistant infantile epileptic encephalopathy. Microcephaly was also common in this group. Haploinsufficiency versus gain-of-function or dominant-negative effects specific to these missense variants in KMT2E might explain this divergence in phenotype, but requires independent validation. Disruptive variants in KMT2E are an under-recognized cause of neurodevelopmental abnormalities