Impact Teacher Perceptions of Distance Education as a Strategy for Formal Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Students cannot be successful if their basic needs are not met. Distance education led to many hurdles, especially for low-income families, including lack of access to the internet and required technology, inadequate home learning environment, and restricted human interaction. These hurdles may negatively impact teacher perceptions of distance education as a strategy for formal education.https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/research_posters2022/1050/thumbnail.jp

Quantification of extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from water sources in Hall County, Georgia, USA

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are a family of enzymes that confer resistance to a number of antibiotics, including those containing a beta lactam ring. ESBLs exhibit antibiotic resistance by destroying the antibiotic’s structure and may be encoded by bacterial plasmids that can easily be transferred between bacteria from the family Enterobacteriaceae. Organisms that produce ESBLs pose both threats and challenges in the administration of appropriate therapeutic agents to treat infections. Water environments such as streams can help the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which can originate from a variety of sources, including food processing, waste water treatment plants, and urban runoff. We are studying the isolation and identification of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae from water samples obtained from a water treatment plant and its receiving stream in north Georgia. In this paper, we carried out enumeration of ESBL-producing bacteria from water samples obtained immediately upstream and downstream from the water treatment plant. ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae were observed from both pre-treated water obtained from the water treatment plant and from upstream (240/ 100 ml) and downstream (240/ 100 ml) water samples, including ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia. Our results indicate that ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae are present in all water sources sampled. This suggests that the waste water treatment plant is not the source of these microorganisms. Further studies are needed to determine the originating source

Mechanisms of ubiquitin transfer by the anaphase-promoting complex

The anaphase-promoting complex (APC) is a ubiquitin-protein ligase required for the completion of mitosis in all eukaryotes. Recent mechanistic studies reveal how this remarkable enzyme combines specificity in substrate binding with flexibility in ubiquitin transfer, thereby allowing the modification of multiple lysines on the substrate as well as specific lysines on ubiquitin itself

Constraining the cooling rates of chondrules

Chondrules are up to mm-sized spherical melt droplets that are the main component in chondritic meteorites, constituting up to 80 vol %. They are products of widespread but poorly understood heating events in the early Solar System. Most chondrules have experienced complete or extensive melting, destroying much of what could be learned from the melting event. It is therefore the cooling event which provides the best record of chondrule formation conditions. Previous attempts to determine chondrule cooling rate have provided rates varying from 0.7 to 2400 Khr-1. Many FeO-rich chondrules contain MgO-rich relict cores within olivine phenocrysts. These are precursor grains which failed to melt. Partial equilibration between relict and overgrowth crystal during sub-solidus cooling creates a diffusion profile for a number of elements, which can be used to determine the cooling rate. In BSE images, the olivine phenocrysts appear relatively bright and the relicts appear as dark patches within these phenocrysts e.g. Fig. 1. Diffusion profiles across the relict/overgrowth interface have been measured using EDS detectors and by calibrating greyscales. The fastest cooling rates produce diffusion profiles at a scale of a few microns across. Measuring these requires a technique with high spatial resolution and sensitivity, such as NanoSIMS. Diffusion profiles for minor and trace elements will be measured across the relict/overgrowth interface using the Cameca NanoSIMS 50L at the Open University. A binary element diffusion model will be used to calculate cooling rates for each diffusion profile. The compatibility of current models for chondrule formation will be assessed and new possible models developed

Cooling rate of chondrules from diffusion profiles in relict olivine grains

The cooling rates of chondrules are one of the important constraints on chondrule formation and can be used to distinguish between competing chondrule formation mechanisms. Proposed mechanisms range from shockwaves in the solar nebula to impacts between planetesimals. Dynamic crystallisation experiments are the most widely cited methods of determining chondrule cooling rates and this indirect method has provided cooling rates from 1 to 3000 Kh-1. In order to assess whether this is a true representation of chondrule cooling rates, it should be validated or better constrained by using a more direct method. Modelling of diffusion profiles observed across the boundary between forsteritic- olivine relict grains and more fayalitic overgrowth provides a more direct approach to determining chondrule cooling rates

Heterotrimeric G protein signaling functions with dynein to promote spindle positioning in C. elegans

Proper orientation and positioning of the mitotic spindle is essential for the correct segregation of fate determinants during asymmetric cell division. Although heterotrimeric G proteins and their regulators are essential for spindle positioning in many cell types, their mechanism of action remains unclear. In this study, we show that dyrb-1, which encodes a dynein light chain, provides a functional link between heterotrimeric G protein signaling and dynein activity during spindle positioning in Caenorhabditis elegans. Embryos depleted of dyrb-1 display phenotypes similar to a weak loss of function of dynein activity, indicating that DYRB-1 is a positive regulator of dynein. We find that the depletion of dyrb-1 enhances the spindle positioning defect of weak loss of function alleles of two regulators of G protein signaling, LIN-5 and GPR-1/2, and that DYRB-1 physically associates with these two proteins. These results indicate that dynein activity functions with regulators of G protein signaling to regulate common downstream effectors during spindle positioning in the early C. elegans embryo

‘A synergy model of health’ - an integration of salutogenesis and the health assets model

This article proposes to advance the connections between salutogenic theory and assets models for health improvement. There is a need to integrate their use in public health and health promotion so that their respective potentials can be fully developed. This requires their synergies to be made more explicit so that a more coherent approach can be taken to their utilization. A mechanism is therefore needed that helps to raise awareness of them and their value as a resource together. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory provides one framework that can support better integration of salutogenesis with the applied nature of assets-based models. This paper proposes a new ‘synergy model for health’ that integrates key concepts associated with salutogenic theory—generalized and specific resistance resources (GRRs/SRRs) and generalized and specific resistance deficits and the sense of coherence (SOC). In doing so, it highlights those GRRs and SRRs which are assets that, either individually or collectively, help to develop a stronger SOC. Higher levels of SOC can then support the transformations of potential resources into available assets (that people can understand, manage and make sense of), capable of producing positive health development. The proposed ‘Synergy model of health’ aims to contribute to a deeper theoretical understanding of health and development through the integration of the key elements of both salutogenesis and assets models. This can facilitate a better contextualization of the ideas into public health policy and practice by making the salutogenic theory more action-oriented and the assets model more theoretical.This paper is supported by the Vice-Rectory for Research and Development, University of Concepción (VRID 217.089.007-1.0IN)

From Atoms to Cells:Multiscale Modeling of LiNi_xMn_yCo_zO₂Cathodes for Li-Ion Batteries

First-generation cathodes for commercial lithium-ion batteries are based on layered transition-metal oxides. Research on ternary compounds, such as LiCoO2, evolved into mixed-metal systems, notably Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2 (NMCs), which allows significant tuning of the physical properties. Despite their widespread application in commercial devices, the fundamental understanding of NMCs is incomplete. Here, we review the latest insights from multiscale modeling, bridging between the redox phenomena that occur at an atomistic level to the transport of ions and electrons across an operating device. We discuss changes in the electronic and vibrational structures through the NMC compositional space and how these link to continuum models of electrochemical charge-discharge cycling. Finally, we outline the remaining challenges for predictive models of high-performance batteries, including capturing the relevant device bottlenecks and chemical degradation processes, such as oxygen evolution. </p

Non-Response to Antibiotic Treatment in Adolescents for Four Common Infections in UK Primary Care 1991-2012: A Retrospective, Longitudinal Study

We studied non-response rates to antibiotics in the under-reported subgroup of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old, using standardised criteria representing antibiotic treatment failure. Routine, primary care data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) were used. Annual, non-response rates by antibiotics and by indication were determined. We identified 824,651 monotherapies in 415,468 adolescents: 368,900 (45%) episodes for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), 89,558 (11%) for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), 286,969 (35%) for skin/soft tissue infections (SSTIs) and 79,224 (10%) for acute otitis media (AOM). The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were amoxicillin (27%), penicillin-V (24%), erythromycin (11%), flucloxacillin (11%) and oxytetracycline (6%). In 1991, the overall non-response rate was 9.3%: 11.9% for LRTIs, 9.5% for URTIs, 7.1% for SSTIs, 9.7% for AOM. In 2012, the overall non-response rate was 9.2%. Highest non-response rates were for AOM in 1991–1999 and for LRTIs in 2000–2012. Physicians generally prescribed antibiotics to adolescents according to recommendations. Evidence of antibiotic non-response was less common among adolescents during this 22-year study period compared with an all-age population, where the overall non-response rate was 12%