Paper 1: Analysis of Achievement for Understanding Geometry

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a mathematics professional development course. More specifically, in this study we examine whether geometric experiences have an impact on level of performance in mathematics. The van Hiele (Fuys, D., Geddes, D., & Tischler, R., 1988) model of geometric understanding provided a research framework from which to view geometric understanding. This model suggests five levels of understanding that should be taken into consideration when examining levels of geometric thinking: Visual, Descriptive/Analytic, Abstract/Relational, Formal Deduction/Proof, and Rigor. The sample under study was three cohorts of practicing elementary teachers and mathematics coaches engaged in a 50-hour P-5 Mathematics Endorsement course entitled Understanding Geometry. Data collected through pre- and post-tests provided evidence that participants made significant improvement in geometric content knowledge and levels of understanding, thus verifying the effectiveness of their professional development experience. Also, this study points toward the importance of participants’ entering level of understanding for achieving the course objectives

Ophyiulus in Victoria: results of millipede surveys from south-eastern Australia

The composition and ecology of the millipede fauna of Victoria remain poorly understood. We collected millipedes as part of a series of ecological arthropod surveys across south-eastern Australia, focusing mainly on Victoria. These samples almost exclusively contained millipedes from the introduced order Julida. We pursued species identification of the julids when it became apparent there were species other than the well-recorded Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) (Portuguese millipede) in the samples. The majority of specimens were O. moreleti, but we also detected at least one species of Cylindroiulus Verhoeff, 1894, as well as an Ophyiulus Berlese, 1884, species, specimens of which have been identified as Ophyiulus cf. targionii. These are the first Ophyiulus records for Victoria to our knowledge. We present preliminary data on the abundance through the year of Ophyiulus. This is the first study to examine this species in Victoria and little is currently known about its likely impact on agriculture or on native species. Monitoring and research of the species in the future is therefore warranted

Translocation and metabolism of gibberellins in seedlings of Phaseolus coccineus L

The investigations reported here concern the translocation and metabolic relationships of gibberellins (GAs) in light-grown seedlings of Phaseolus coccineus L., in which GA1, GA4, GA5 and GA20 are known to be endogenous components (Bowen et al., 1973). These four GAs were equally effective in promoting subapical elongation of shoot explants when applied exogenously to the apical bud or stem base. The apical buds or stem bases of intact seedlings were treated with [3h] GA1,GA 4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA12 aldehyde or GA14. The redistribution of radioactivity from apically applied GAs differed considerably from that observed after applications to the stem base. Apically applied GAs were retained by the apical bud and underwent relatively little metabolism in a 24h period, whereas basal application resulted in extensive redistribution of the [3h] GAs and of a high proportion of chromato- graphically distinct radioactive metabolites. No evidence was obtained for the export of [3H] Gas from cotyledons to the remainder of the developing seedling. The identity of the conversion products of applied [3H ] GAs was further investigated by analytical HPLC of extracts previously extensively purified by gel-permeation and charcoal adsorption chromatography and preparative-scale HPLC. Analysis of extracts by analytical HPLC permitted the identification of a number of metabolites by subsequent mass spectrometry. The apparent rates of conversion of [3H] Gas differed considerably, the most rapid disappearance being observed after feeding [3H] GA8, whereas recoveries of [3H] GA5 were high relative to other GAs. Each applied [3H] GA was found to give rise to a characteristic array of products, and there was thus no evidence for the accumulation of a single terminal .metabolite. Mass spectrometric evidence demonstrated conclusively that [3H]GA4 was converted to [3H]GA1, and [3H] GA9 to [3H] GA20, in high yields. [3H] GA1 gave rise to small amounts of a compound with chromatographic properties identical to those of GA8, but there was no significant accumulation of further metabolites of [3h] GA20. There was no observable accumulation of free GA-like metabolites after [3H] GA14 treatment, but complex spectra of meta-bolites were obtained after [3H] GA12 aldehyde feeds. All of the applied GAs and each of their free GA-like metabolites were converted to acidic butanol-soluble conjugates which probably represented glucosyl ethers. In the case of [3H] GA1, [3H] GA5,and [3H] GA20 treatments, these conjugates represented the major meta-bolites recovered. In addition, [3h] GA4, [3H] GA12 aldehyde and [3H] GA14 feeds provided significant quantities of presumptive glucosyl esters of the applied GAs and their acidic ethyl acetatesoluble metabolites. GA metabolism in p. coccineus seedlings was found to differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from that reported for Pisum sativum (Railton et al., 1974; Frydman and MacMillan, 1975), Gibberella fujikuroi (MacMillan, 1974b) and cucurbita maxima endosperm preparations (Graebe and Hedden, 1974). However, some resemblances to the conversions of applied [3H] GAS by developing P. vulgaris seeds (Yamane et al., 1975) were noted. In P. coccineus seedlings, both biosynthetic and catabolic mechanisms appear to be active, with the result that applied GAs are readily metabolised, but the accumulation of products is less marked than in either Gibberella fujikuroi or developing seeds

National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Testing of Site 41SM385 Within TxDOT\u27s Tyler District, Smith County, Texas

PBS&J, an Atkins company, was contracted by the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority to conduct National Register of Historic Places eligibility testing of site 41SM385, a prehistoric campsite on a small rise above the floodplain of Indian Creek in western Smith County, Texas. Testing investigations were conducted during March and September 2009. The site was subjected to a systematic program of shovel testing, mechanical trenching, and hand excavation in an effort to identify cultural features or living surfaces and optimize recovery of diagnostic faunal, floral, and artifactual remains. The recovered cultural artifacts indicate that site 41SM385 represents a probable Woodland and Caddo‐aged occupation on a small rise on the creek floodplain. The Woodland component is based on recovered small Gary and Kent projectile points characteristic of Woodland culture of the region. The Caddo component is based on ceramic sherds of probable Early or Middle Caddo origin identified at the site. Radiocarbon dating of four ceramic sherds supports these assessments with three sherds dating to the Early to Middle Caddo periods and one sherd dating to the Woodland period. The lack of identified cultural features suggests that the Woodland component probably represents a series of ephemeral usages of the location, probably as short‐term campsites. The Caddo‐aged artifacts at the site probably represent a series of ephemeral usage of the location, either as a resource procurement locus ancillary to nearby site 41SM404 or as a short‐term campsite. The testing program failed to locate living surfaces or cultural features containing in situ artifactual or organic remains preserved on the site. The absence of cultural features and the paucity of lithic tools or ceramic remains make more‐meaningful functional interpretation infeasible. For this reason, the site lacks the data resources that would warrant National Register of Historic Places isting or designation as a State Archeological Landmark. No further work is recommended

Cell-penetrating peptides, targeting the regulation of store-operated channels, slow decay of the progesterone-induced [Ca 2+ ] i signal in human sperm

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1093/molehr/gav019Previous work has provided evidence for involvement of store-operated channels (SOCs) in [Ca(2+)]i signalling of human sperm, including a contribution to the transient [Ca(2+)]i elevation that occurs upon activation of CatSper, a sperm-specific cation channel localized to the flagellum, by progesterone. To further investigate the potential involvement of SOCs in the generation of [Ca(2+)]i signals in human sperm, we have used cell-penetrating peptides containing the important basic sequence KIKKK, part of the STIM-Orai activating region/CRAC activating domain (SOAR/CAD) of the regulatory protein stromal interaction molecule 1. SOAR/CAD plays a key role in controlling the opening of SOCs, which occurs upon mobilization of stored Ca(2+). Resting [Ca(2+)]i temporarily decreased upon application of KIKKK peptide (3-4 min), but scrambled KIKKK peptide had a similar effect, indicating that this action was not sequence-specific. However, in cells pretreated with KIKKK, the transient [Ca(2+)]i elevation induced by stimulation with progesterone decayed significantly more slowly than in parallel controls and in cells pretreated with scrambled KIKKK peptide. Examination of single-cell responses showed that this effect was due, at least in part, to an increase in the proportion of cells in which the initial transient was maintained for an extended period, lasting up to 10 min in a subpopulation of cells. We hypothesize that SOCs contribute to the progesterone-induced [Ca(2+)]i transient, and that interference with the regulatory mechanisms of SOC delays their closure, causing a prolongation of the [Ca(2+)]i transient.L.L. was supported by theWellcome Trust (Grant #086470). J.M. was supported by a University of Birmingham Teaching Assistantship. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by . .

Assessing environmental features related to mental health: a reliability study of visual streetscape images.

BACKGROUND: An association between depressive symptoms and features of built environment has been reported in the literature. A remaining research challenge is the development of methods to efficiently capture pertinent environmental features in relevant study settings. Visual streetscape images have been used to replace traditional physical audits and directly observe the built environment of communities. The aim of this work is to examine the inter-method reliability of the two audit methods for assessing community environments with a specific focus on physical features related to mental health. METHODS: Forty-eight postcodes in urban and rural areas of Cambridgeshire, England were randomly selected from an alphabetical list of streets hosted on a UK property website. The assessment was conducted in July and August 2012 by both physical and visual image audits based on the items in Residential Environment Assessment Tool (REAT), an observational instrument targeting the micro-scale environmental features related to mental health in UK postcodes. The assessor used the images of Google Street View and virtually "walked through" the streets to conduct the property and street level assessments. Gwet's AC1 coefficients and Bland-Altman plots were used to compare the concordance of two audits. RESULTS: The results of conducting the REAT by visual image audits generally correspond to direct observations. More variations were found in property level items regarding physical incivilities, with broad limits of agreement which importantly lead to most of the variation in the overall REAT score. Postcodes in urban areas had lower consistency between the two methods than rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Google Street View has the potential to assess environmental features related to mental health with fair reliability and provide a less resource intense method of assessing community environments than physical audits.There is no specific funding contributing to this study. Yu-Tzu Wu received a PhD scholarship from the Cambridge Trust, University of Cambridge. Fiona E. Matthews was supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number U105292687]This is the final version. It first appeared from BioMed Central via http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-109

Time and memory distrust shape the dynamics of recollection and belief-in-occurrence

The current study examined how people’s metamemory judgments of recollection and belief-in-occurrence change over time. Furthermore, we examined to what extent these judgments are affected by memory distrust—the subjective appraisal of one’s memory functioning—as measured by the Memory Distrust Scale (MDS) and the Squire Subjective Memory Scale (SSMQ). Participants (N = 234) studied pictorial stimuli and were tested on some of these stimuli later in the same session, but were tested on other stimuli 1, 2, 4, 8, and 17 days later. Recollection and belief ratings were correlated highly and followed similar declining patterns over time. However, belief decreased relatively more slowly than recollection, such that the discrepancy between recollection and belief increased over time. Memory distrust moderated the association between recollection and belief, with this association being weaker among people who reported greater (versus lower) memory distrust. Memory distrust also interacted with retention period to predict memory judgments. Two measures of memory distrust diverged in their predictive power. In particular, only the MDS predicted the spontaneous reporting of nonbelieved memories. Our results provide support to the theoretical perspective that belief-in-occurrence is a summative judgment informed not only by recollective phenomenology but also by metamemorial beliefs

Monetary impact of Taenia solium cysticercosis in four countries

The societal monetary burden of cysticercosis in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, Honduras, India and the United States of America were estimated. Data on the frequency of infection and on associated morbidity in both human and pig populations and their costs were collected. Decision trees were used to assess the frequency of medical care and loss of value of pigs with their monetary impact