Values in the School Curriculum from Teachers' Perspective: A mixed-methods Study

The transmission of human values plays a key role in the educational landscape around the world (Matthes, 2014; Beck, 1990; Halstead, 1996), and educational frameworks (c.f. OECD , 2019; Council of Europe , 2016) as well as national school curricula (c.f. National Curriculum , Ofsted, 2018 ; Lehrplan 21 , D -EDK, 2016) are based on values that are considered important. However, empirical research into how values are structurally reflected in school curricula and how these values are perceived in the school environment by teachers is very limited. This mixed-methods study is the first of its kind to provide findings based on data from Switzerland, where a new comprehensive curriculum has recently been introduced. Schwartz's theory of basic human values (1992), the most widely researched values framework, serves as its conceptual framework. A Qualitative Content Analysis of the Swiss educational curriculum ( Lehrplan 21 , D -EDK, 2016) revealed a wealth of references to values, with a focus on values belonging to Schwartz' higher order values Openness to Change (Basic values: Self-Direction and Stimulation ), Conservation ( Tradition, Conformity and Security ) and Self-Transcendence ( Benevolence and Universalism ). On the other hand, values belonging to the higher order value of Self-Enhancement ( Power and Achievement ) did not play an important role in the investigated curriculum. In a complementary quantitative study, the value statements from the Swiss educational curriculum were embedded in a questionnaire, which 108 (102 female (94.4%), 6 male (5.6%)) primary school teachers completed with regard to how they perceive the value-oriented curricular contents in their school environment. Multidimensional Scaling revealed that teachers' perception of value-oriented curricular contents in their school environment was structured alongside Schwartz's motivational continuum of values, with values of Openness to Change being opposed to values of Conservation , and values of Self-Transcendence being opposed to values of Self-Enhancement

Two Alleles of NF-κB in the Sea Anemone Nematostella vectensis Are Widely Dispersed in Nature and Encode Proteins with Distinct Activities

BACKGROUND. NF-κB is an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor that controls the expression of genes involved in many key organismal processes, including innate immunity, development, and stress responses. NF-κB proteins contain a highly conserved DNA-binding/dimerization domain called the Rel homology domain. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. We characterized two NF-κB alleles in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis that differ at nineteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Ten of these SNPs result in amino acid substitutions, including six within the Rel homology domain. Both alleles are found in natural populations of Nematostella. The relative abundance of the two NF-κB alleles differs between populations, and departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium within populations indicate that the locus may be under selection. The proteins encoded by the two Nv-NF-κB alleles have different molecular properties, in part due to a Cys/Ser polymorphism at residue 67, which resides within the DNA recognition loop. In nearly all previously characterized NF-κB proteins, the analogous residue is fixed for Cys, and conversion of human RHD proteins from Cys to Ser at this site has been shown to increase DNA-binding ability and increase resistance to inhibition by thiol-reactive compounds. However, the naturally-occurring Nematostella variant with Cys at position 67 binds DNA with a higher affinity than the Ser variant. On the other hand, the Ser variant activates transcription in reporter gene assays more effectively, and it is more resistant to inhibition by a thiol-reactive compound. Reciprocal Cys<->Ser mutations at residue 67 of the native Nv-NF-κB proteins affect DNA binding as in human NF-κB proteins, e.g., a Cys->Ser mutation increases DNA binding of the native Cys variant. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE. These results are the first demonstration of a naturally occurring and functionally significant polymorphism in NF-κB in any species. The functional differences between these alleles and their uneven distribution in the wild suggest that different genotypes could be favored in different environments, perhaps environments that vary in their levels of peroxides or thiol-reactive compounds.National Institutes of Health (CA047763); National Science Foundation (FP-91656101-0); Environmental Protection Agency (F5E11155); Conservation International Marine Management Area Science Program; Boston University (SPRInG grant); Postdoctoral Scholar Program at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; The Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries; the J Seward Johnson Fund; Boston University (5 P42 ES07381

CO2 measurements from polar ice cores: more data from different sites

Air in the bubbles of polar ice has in principal the same composition as the atmospheric air at the time of ice formation. Based on this relationship, an increase in atmospheric CO2 since the beginning of industrialisation has been documented (Neftel et al. 1985, Pearman et al. 1986) in Antarctic ice cores. It has also been shown that the CO2 concentration was much lower during the glacial period than in the preindustrial Holocene (Neftel et al. 1982, Barnola et al. 1987). These two results are well established. In this paper, we will discuss possible small deviations of the CO2 concentration in air bubbles from that of the atmosphere at the time of enclosure. To do this, new results from Crête (Central Greenland) ice cores, covering the period since the beginning of industrialisation are presented, showing a good agreement with the data from Antarctic ice cores. In addition, the record of the atmospheric CO2 concentration during the transition from the last glaciation to the Holocene and the fast variations in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 during parts of the last glaciation, as suggested by Greenland ice core data, will be discussed