A Comparison of the Efficiency in Finding Genes between Sequences Enriched For Hypo-Methylated Regions and Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequence in Bread Wheat

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) has a roughly 17Gbp hexaploid genome, resulting from a hybridization event between tetraploid emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccoides) and diploid goat grass (Aegilops tauschii). This large plant genome is composed of at least 80% transposable elements (TE’s), making the transcriptionally active regions (genes) difficult to locate. Epigenetic methylation of DNA is a common indicator of low transcriptional activity and is used to silence TE’s within a genome. Using restriction enzymes that cannot cut methylated DNA (HpaII and HpyCH4IV) Illumina sequencing libraries were constructed that are enriched for hypomethylated regions of the wheat cultivar “Chinese Spring”. The resulting sequence data (roughly 4.5 Gb) was assembled into contigs with AbySS using k-values of 36, 50, and 64. Resulting contigs were then annotated for gene content using Blastx and Blast2GO. Our findings were then compared to un-enriched sequences from a whole genome shotgun sequence to determine the gene enrichment potential of our selection strategy. When contigs were assembled with a k-value of 64 for the libraries made with HpyCH4IV and k-values of 64 and 50 for the HpaII libraries, a higher proportion of genes were identified than in the control whole genome shotgun sequence

Critical care nurses' attitudes towards the care of the dying : an educational intervention

Nurses play a key role in providing care at the end of life. Historically, though, nursing education has not been effective in providing education on end-of-life care. While society expects nurses to provide the best care possible for all patients, nurses may not be educationally prepared to fulfill this expectation. Studies have been done in the past to examine nurses' attitudes towards care of the dying, but little research has been done focusing specifically on critical care nurses. This research does a thorough literature review to analyze the critical care environment, nurses' attitudes towards care of the dying, and education on end-of-life care. Critical care nurses' attitudes towards care of the dying were examined in this study using the FATCOD (Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying) scale and a demographics questionnaire. The study evaluated the impact of an educational intervention on the attitudes of critical care nurses, using an intervention group and a comparison group. Relationships between demographic components and attitudes towards care of the dying were also assessed. Results of this study indicate that educating critical care nurses on end-of-life care positively and significantly affects their attitudes towards care of the dying. Most nurses do not feel like they are adequately prepared in nursing school to care for the dying patient. In order to prepare nurses to effectively care for the dying patient, education must be incorporated into both undergraduate studies and staff development in healthcare institutions

Stop the churn: how districts can support principals to increase their retention

Public school districts in the United States are struggling to retain principals. Principals leave schools for a variety of reasons related to the following: quality of life, pressures related to legislation and accountability, organizational structures, preparedness for the role, and leadership capacity. Clark County Schools, a rural school district in western North Carolina, has experienced principal turnover rates typically higher than the state average over the past ten years. In an effort to increase principal retention, the school district implemented a research-informed, principal leadership academy designed to increase principal support through mentoring, a professional learning network, and differentiated professional development. The goal of the principal leadership academy was to increase principals’ sense of self-efficacy, connectedness, job satisfaction, and leadership performance in order to reduce principal turnover and increase stability within schools; ultimately increasing student and teacher performance. Improvement science was utilized throughout implementation to help leaders plan, monitor, and inform the improvement process. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used to measure whether goals were achieved and to provide data for an analysis of impact. While initial results did not meet the goals set for increased self-efficacy, connectedness, job satisfaction, and leadership performance, the school district discusses lessons learned and provides recommendations for other districts considering implementation of a principal leadership academy

Teachers’ Perceptions of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Learning Programs

Teachers’ perceptions of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) were investigated to determine factors that affect teachers’ ability to implement DAP. Pre-k and kindergarten teachers completed The Beliefs and Intentions Questionnaire which measured teachers self reported beliefs and practices. Results indicated that pre-k teachers’ beliefs were more strongly related to their teaching intentions than for kindergarten teachers. Differences in pre-k and kindergarten classrooms were identified as well as pre-service training between pre-k and kindergarten teachers. Data analysis revealed a significant difference in Early Childhood Education (ECE) trained teachers and Elementary Education (EE) trained teachers’ perceptions of DAP. Teachers who completed pre-service course work in ECE and taught in pre-k classrooms were more likely to demonstrate a Constructivist view of development. Teachers were asked to report perceived barriers to the implementation of DAP. State and local mandates and administrative support were identified as barriers to DAP. Implications for policy and practice are included

Pushing Back Against The “Push Down”: Pre-Service Teachers Engaging In Complex Pedagogies As Pathways Of Resistance To The Accountability Movement In Early Care And Education Settings

This action research project and ethnography examined early care and education (ECAE) pre-service teachers as they engaged in complex constructivist pedagogies. This paper presents a constructivist conceptual framework and a literature review that argues that because of the accountability movement, in-service teachers are feeling pressure to abandon child-led, play-based learning experiences for didactic easily measured learning activities. This creates a problem for novice teachers. Do they stay true to what they have learned or do they change their practice to conform to the status quo? Pre-service teacher preparation programs are also feeling this pressure to adjust their teaching practice to conform to current practices. This research presents findings that support the contention that a constructivist class can support pre-service teachers’ understandings and shows the depth of learning of children engaged in constructivist pedagogies. Findings support the belief that pre-service teachers can engage in activism to “push back” and disrupt normalized practices in ECAE contexts. However, this research suggests that constructivism in itself is not enough to change the current narrative. It presents pathways for resistance that pre-service teacher preparation programs should consider in order to support students to be activists as they begin practicing in ECAE contexts

Language Use In Normal And Learning Disabled Children

The language use of 30 normal and 30 learning disabled subjects matched on the basis of chronological age, 7-6 to 9-6, and sex, was compared using the Assessment of Communication in Everyday Situations (ACES). This instrument contains a series of structured role-playing episodes designed to elicit language use strategies from children. ACES is based on a functional taxonomy of language use and contains 36 strategies representative of two functions and seven uses of language regarded important to academic success. The social function consists of the self-maintaining and directing uses of language. While the reporting, logical reasoning, predicting, projecting and imagining comprise the representative (cognitive) function

Livermush

Livermush is a unique regional pork dish found only in a small area of North Carolina. It's made from mixing pork scraps, pork liver, cornmeal, and spices. In this video the author traces the history of the dish, looks at possible socio-economic reasons why the dish is not more popular, and reviews recipes and its representation in literature.This record comprises a video and a script. The video, which, in accordance with UNC Asheville policy, has been captioned and uploaded to YouTube, is hypelinked in "Additional Information" below. The script is available through NCDocks as a pdf file

Murderous Mother: Historical Context and Madame Villefort of "The Count of Monte Cristo"

Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Mote Cristo" is rooted in the historical, political, and social moments of the Victorian era, particularly those pertaining to gender, race, and class, with characters struggling with their identities in a changing society. In this paper, the author examines how Dumas uses the character of Mde. Villefort to comment on the cult of domesticity as she tries to reconcile two conflicting social roles, while under the limitations of gendered social norms

USING AUDIENCE-CENTRIC DESIGN AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK TO MANAGE COMPLEX PRIVACY SETTINGS

Today, technology is enabling people to share information on an unprecedented scale. Although much of this information is intended to be shared with a large group of people or even the public, some disclosure is intended for smaller audiences—a subset of a larger group. People may want to limit information visibility because the information is private or sensitive, or they may feel others would not be interested in the content. When people want to selectively share to different audiences, many technologies fail to provide usable mechanisms to manage these more complex sharing situations. In many cases, people lack understanding about which audiences are able to see what items of information. Additionally, the effort to manage audiences and control access to information adds some extra physical and cognitive burden. This research suggests two methods to help people better understand and control sharing. The first examines audience-centric design: using mechanisms that integrate with the primary task and allow sharing to multiple audiences to improve understanding of how information flows to multiple groups of people. The second method examines using community feedback to enhance privacy/sharing default settings thereby lessening the user’s configuration burden. This knowledge contributes to existing research by understanding the extent of how users share information to multiple audiences and react to community feedback mechanisms designed to ease configuration burden

Back Road Paranoia

The thesis experiments with poetic structure and ideas of temporality as they inform the speakers' perceptions of location; this tension emerges from examining history and the present through the lens of interpersonal exchange, the anxieties of public identity, and social parameters. It distills for the reader a particular projection of the American South in transition, both elegizing the agrarian life and absorbing the South's urbanity