Rethinking multiculturalism, reassessing multicultural education report 2

Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education Project Report Number 2: Perspectives on Multiculturalism is the second report of Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education (RMRME), an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project between the University of Western Sydney (UWS), the NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC) and the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES) incorporating the former NSW Institute of Teachers (NSWIT) and the Board of Studies. It follows an earlier report, Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education Project Report Number 1: Surveying NSW Public School Teachers and will be followed by a final report Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education Project Report Number 3: Knowledge Translation and Action Research. This second report provides an analysis of 42 focus groups involving a total of 222 parents, teachers and students in the 14 targeted schools. These included primary and secondary schools from a range of contexts: urban and rural, high and low socio-economic status (SES), and high and low levels of cultural diversity (see Table 1, p.9). The views recounted here are not intended to be representative of the schools themselves (which remain anonymous) nor of teachers, parents and students in NSW as a whole. Nevertheless, they provide a useful record of diverse perspectives to be found across NSW schools regarding multiculturalism and multicultural education. The report documents the complex array of cultural backgrounds and forms of identification amongst students, parents and teachers in NSW public schools, which challenges conventional wisdom about the nature of cultural diversity. It finds, however, that there is something of a mismatch between this complexity and teachers’ experience and expertise in multicultural education

Rethinking multiculturalism, reassessing multicultural education report 1

This report provides insights into the current practices of multicultural education and the opinions and understandings of New South Wales (NSW) public school teachers around increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in schools and the broader Australian community. The report is the outcome of the first stage of the Rethinking Multiculturalism/ Reassessing Multicultural Education (RMRME) Project, a three-year Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project between the University of Western Sydney, the NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC) and the NSW Institute of Teachers. Surveying teachers about these and related matters seemed a useful first step in considering the state of multicultural education some forty years after its inception (Inglis, 2009). The project as a whole involved a state-wide survey – the focus of this report – as well as focus groups with teachers, parents and students in 14 schools in urban and regional NSW, and a professional learning program informing the implementation of action research projects in each school. Read also: Rethinking multiculturalism, reassessing multicultural education report 2: http://apo.org.au/node/42670 Rethinking multiculturalism, reassessing multicultural education report 3: http://apo.org.au/node/42671 &nbsp

Coordinating IBL and non-IBL Calculus II

Increasing amounts of research support the efficacy of inquiry and projects based learning. However, teaching via inquiry can be challenging for an individual instructor to adopt in a highly coordinated environment where a course is taught by multiple instructors, and all sections are expected to follow a common syllabus and take a common final exam. In this paper, we describe our efforts to make space for an inquiry approach to teaching calculus within this constrained environment where the new approach is not adopted by all instructors. Our efforts started with the collection, adaption and development of materials to cover the topics already defined for the course. We piloted our materials with a small group of instructors in the first semester and then opened up the materials to other instructors in subsequent semesters. We have now implemented this method over the past four semesters. Through this process we have shown that the integration of inquiry methods and projects within the pedagogy of individual instructors can be effective, but efforts should be taken to ensure the timing of instruction and coverage of materials is comparable to the efforts of colleagues teaching via lecture methods

Artificial intelligence for ultrasound scanning in regional anaesthesia: a scoping review of the evidence from multiple disciplines

Background Artificial intelligence (AI) for ultrasound scanning in regional anaesthesia is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary field. There is a risk that work could be undertaken in parallel by different elements of the community but with a lack of knowledge transfer between disciplines, leading to repetition and diverging methodologies. This scoping review aimed to identify and map the available literature on the accuracy and utility of AI systems for ultrasound scanning in regional anaesthesia. Methods A literature search was conducted using Medline, Embase, CINAHL, IEEE Xplore, and ACM Digital Library. Clinical trial registries, a registry of doctoral theses, regulatory authority databases, and websites of learned societies in the field were searched. Online commercial sources were also reviewed. Results In total, 13,014 sources were identified; 116 were included for full-text review. A marked change in AI techniques was noted in 2016–17, from which point on the predominant technique used was deep learning. Methods of evaluating accuracy are variable, meaning it is impossible to compare the performance of one model with another. Evaluations of utility are more comparable, but predominantly gained from the simulation setting with limited clinical data on efficacy or safety. Study methodology and reporting lack standardisation. Conclusions There is a lack of structure to the evaluation of accuracy and utility of AI for ultrasound scanning in regional anaesthesia, which hinders rigorous appraisal and clinical uptake. A framework for consistent evaluation is needed to inform model evaluation, allow comparison between approaches/models, and facilitate appropriate clinical adoption

Two mouse models of Alzheimer's disease accumulate amyloid at different rates and have distinct Aβ oligomer profiles unaltered by ablation of cellular prion protein

Oligomers formed from monomers of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) are thought to be central to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Unsurprisingly for a complex disease, current mouse models of AD fail to fully mimic the clinical disease in humans. Moreover, results obtained in a given mouse model are not always reproduced in a different model. Cellular prion protein (PrPC) is now an established receptor for Aβ oligomers. However, studies of the Aβ-PrPC interaction in different mouse models have yielded contradictory results. Here we performed a longitudinal study assessing a range of biochemical and histological features in the commonly used J20 and APP-PS1 mouse models. Our analysis demonstrated that PrPC ablation had no effect on amyloid accumulation or oligomer production. However, we found that APP-PS1 mice had higher levels of oligomers, that these could bind to recombinant PrPC, and were recognised by the OC antibody which distinguishes parallel, in register fibrils. On the other hand, J20 mice had a lower level of Aβ oligomers, which did not interact with PrPC when tested in vitro and were OC-negative. These results suggest the two mouse models produce diverse Aβ assemblies that could interact with different targets, highlighting the necessity to characterise the conformation of the Aβ oligomers concomitantly with the toxic cascade elicited by them. Our results provide an explanation for the apparent contradictory results found in APP-PS1 mice and the J20 mouse line in regards to Aβ toxicity mediated by PrPC

Pravastatin ameliorates placental vascular defects, fetal growth, and cardiac function in a model of glucocorticoid excess

Fetoplacental glucocorticoid overexposure is a significant mechanism underlying fetal growth restriction and the programming of adverse health outcomes in the adult. Placental glucocorticoid inactivation by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) plays a key role. We previously discovered that Hsd11b2(−/−) mice, lacking 11β-HSD2, show marked underdevelopment of the placental vasculature. We now explore the consequences for fetal cardiovascular development and whether this is reversible. We studied Hsd11b2(+/+), Hsd11b2(+/−), and Hsd11b2(−/−) littermates from heterozygous (Hsd11b(+/−)) matings at embryonic day (E)14.5 and E17.5, where all three genotypes were present to control for maternal effects. Using high-resolution ultrasound, we found that umbilical vein blood velocity in Hsd11b2(−/−) fetuses did not undergo the normal gestational increase seen in Hsd11b2(+/+) littermates. Similarly, the resistance index in the umbilical artery did not show the normal gestational decline. Surprisingly, given that 11β-HSD2 absence is predicted to initiate early maturation, the E/A wave ratio was reduced at E17.5 in Hsd11b2(−/−) fetuses, suggesting impaired cardiac function. Pravastatin administration from E6.5, which increases placental vascular endothelial growth factor A and, thus, vascularization, increased placental fetal capillary volume, ameliorated the aberrant umbilical cord velocity, normalized fetal weight, and improved the cardiac function of Hsd11b2(−/−) fetuses. This improved cardiac function occurred despite persisting indications of increased glucocorticoid exposure in the Hsd11b2(−/−) fetal heart. Thus, the pravastatin-induced enhancement of fetal capillaries within the placenta and the resultant hemodynamic changes correspond with restored fetal cardiac function. Statins may represent a useful therapeutic approach to intrauterine growth retardation due to placental vascular hypofunction

Paradoxical activation of the protein kinase-transcription factor ERK5 by ERK5 kinase inhibitors.

The dual protein kinase-transcription factor, ERK5, is an emerging drug target in cancer and inflammation, and small-molecule ERK5 kinase inhibitors have been developed. However, selective ERK5 kinase inhibitors fail to recapitulate ERK5 genetic ablation phenotypes, suggesting kinase-independent functions for ERK5. Here we show that ERK5 kinase inhibitors cause paradoxical activation of ERK5 transcriptional activity mediated through its unique C-terminal transcriptional activation domain (TAD). Using the ERK5 kinase inhibitor, Compound 26 (ERK5-IN-1), as a paradigm, we have developed kinase-active, drug-resistant mutants of ERK5. With these mutants, we show that induction of ERK5 transcriptional activity requires direct binding of the inhibitor to the kinase domain. This in turn promotes conformational changes in the kinase domain that result in nuclear translocation of ERK5 and stimulation of gene transcription. This shows that both the ERK5 kinase and TAD must be considered when assessing the role of ERK5 and the effectiveness of anti-ERK5 therapeutics

Transcending Disciplines to Advance Regional Water Equity

Pittsburgh has positioned itself as a city with a strong commitment to sustainable development, pledging to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals including equitable access to clean water and sanitation. However, the City of Pittsburgh has also been identified as being the worst locale in the country for Black women, and inequities in race, class, and gender persist. Further, the region is challenged by a rapidly changing climate, aged and failing infrastructure, impaired water quality. The juxtaposition of water and social challenges amplifies both sets of concerns. This project unites faculty members from diverse disciplines including sociology, public health, public policy, and geoscience, as a new team to comprehensively evaluate water challenges and inequities in the Pittsburgh region, centering interactions between the social and geophysical dimensions

Transcript Specificity in Yeast Pre-mRNA Splicing Revealed by Mutations in Core Spliceosomal Components

Appropriate expression of most eukaryotic genes requires the removal of introns from their pre–messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs), a process catalyzed by the spliceosome. In higher eukaryotes a large family of auxiliary factors known as SR proteins can improve the splicing efficiency of transcripts containing suboptimal splice sites by interacting with distinct sequences present in those pre-mRNAs. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacks functional equivalents of most of these factors; thus, it has been unclear whether the spliceosome could effectively distinguish among transcripts. To address this question, we have used a microarray-based approach to examine the effects of mutations in 18 highly conserved core components of the spliceosomal machinery. The kinetic profiles reveal clear differences in the splicing defects of particular pre-mRNA substrates. Most notably, the behaviors of ribosomal protein gene transcripts are generally distinct from other intron-containing transcripts in response to several spliceosomal mutations. However, dramatically different behaviors can be seen for some pairs of transcripts encoding ribosomal protein gene paralogs, suggesting that the spliceosome can readily distinguish between otherwise highly similar pre-mRNAs. The ability of the spliceosome to distinguish among its different substrates may therefore offer an important opportunity for yeast to regulate gene expression in a transcript-dependent fashion. Given the high level of conservation of core spliceosomal components across eukaryotes, we expect that these results will significantly impact our understanding of how regulated splicing is controlled in higher eukaryotes as well

Variety and quality of healthy foods differ according to neighbourhood deprivation

This study addresses a gap in the food environment literature by investigating spatial differences in the inter relationship of price, variety and quality of food in southern England. We conducted a survey of all grocery stores (n=195) in the city of Southampton, UK, and ranked neighbourhoods according to national quintiles of deprivation. We found no difference in availability or cheapest price across neighbourhoods. However, the poorest neighbourhoods had less variety of healthy products and poorer quality fruit and vegetables than more affluent neighbourhoods. Dietary inequalities may be exacerbated by differences in the variety and quality of healthy foods sold locally; these factors may influence whether or not consumers purchase healthy foods