The construction and evaluation of five patterned series of lessons for teaching five specific writing skills

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Agronomic management of soybean with foliar manganese and apical meristem alterations

About half of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield is attributed to genetic improvements of 12.5 kg ha-1 per year (Specht and Williams, 1984) with the remaining half of soybean yield being dependent upon environment, agronomic management, and the interaction of genetics and management (Rowntree et al., 2013). Many farmers have overlooked the importance of incorporating management practices into their soybean production system, which indicates they may be missing half of the potential yield of soybeans. Therefore, our objective was to quantify the impact of different agronomic management practices on soybean productivity. One study was conducted in 2014 and 2015 to determine the value of the foliar application of two different foliar manganese products to relieve "yellow flashing" in glyphosate resistant soybeans sprayed with the herbicide glyphosate. Foliar manganese applied 24 hours prior to glyphosate applications led to the greatest increase in plant manganese concentration. Although applications of either manganese formula increased plant manganese concentration, they did not result in a consistent impact on total biomass, plant chlorophyll, or final yield; however, chlorophyll measurements as well as visual observation did not indicate "yellow flashing" in either year. A second experiment in 2015 evaluated alternative practices to break apical dominance in soybean in order to facilitate plant branching or create multiple new main stems to potentially increase yield. Practices to eliminate the plant apical meristem included applying the herbicide Cobra (2-ethoxy-1-methyl-2-oxoethyl-5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)-phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoate) to cause a chemical burn, as well as decapitation back to the unifoliate or first trifoliate nodes. Plant population (80,000 vs 160,000 plants acre-1) was also a factor in this study as soybean plants tend to naturally branch more at lower populations. All apical meristem removal treatments resulted in a significant yield decrease, with greater penalties occurring at the lower plant population (80,000 plants per acre). Collectively, these findings emphasize the importance of providing the soybean plant a stress-free growing season to maximize yield

Illicit sex and risk-taking behaviours: a qualitative study of the public sexual practices of MSM in Newcastle upon Tyne

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of the current legal framework in England and Wales governing public sexual practices upon the risk-taking behaviours of men who have sex with men (MSM) in public sex environments in Newcastle upon Tyne. Adopting a feminist methodological approach and drawing upon queer theory and edgework, this thesis critically examines the narratives of sixteen self-identified MSM as they discuss the ways in which they construct, negotiate and manage the socio-legal and physical risks associated with their public sexual activities. In doing so, this thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by furthering queer understandings of the socio-legal landscape with emphasis placed upon identity, risk, and environment. Geographically bound within the post-industrial city of Newcastle upon Tyne, this thesis qualitatively explores how the conceptions of risk held by the participants of this study as they contemplate and engage in public sexual practices can be fluid and can change in response to a variety of social relations. Drawing upon Lyng’s (1990) concept of edgework which emphasises the lived experiences of risk, this thesis takes a view of risk-taking as not always a pre-cursor to a negative event or experience, but rather as a means for exploring the liminal margins of everyday urban life. The positioning of MSM within these liminal urban spaces poses significant challenges to law enforcement agencies and local and national service providers alike. As a demographic they are often considered hard to reach by traditional methods of service provision and as such are categorised as ‘high-risk’. It is anticipated that the data contained within this thesis could be utilised by local and national service providers as well as law enforcement agents to provide information and inform strategy regarding the service provision and harm reduction needs of MSM in their communities

Illicit Sex and the Female Researcher: Reflections from the Field

This article presents some initial methodological reflections from an ongoing programme of empirical research examining the risk taking behaviours of men who have sex with men in public sex environments in an urban area of North East England. Drawing upon an early career female researcher’s experience of undertaking sixteen in-depth interviews with male participants, this paper seeks to critically explore the challenges that female researchers face when conducting interviews with men on topics related to sexuality and sexual risk behaviours

The Least Known Celebration of America\u27s Founding Principles—Law Day

Every year since May 1, 1958, the United States has recognized Law Day. Codified in 1961, it is “a special day of celebration” for Americans to reaffirm “their loyalty to the United States” and rededicate themselves “to the ideals of equality and justice under law in their relations with each other and with other countries.” Its purpose is to “cultivat[e] . . . respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life.” It tasks the President with issuing an annual proclamation calling for “public officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on Law Day” and for “the people of the United States” to observe the day with “appropriate ceremonies,” through “public entities and private organizations and in schools and other suitable places.” This Essay discusses the history of Law Day and how its changing themes and proclamations showcase U.S. society’s evolving views about the rule of law and the United States’s system of government over the last sixty-five years. Additionally, although the American Bar Association (ABA) website provides access to many of the Law Day proclamations, there has not been one central, publicly available, comprehensive repository of all of the Law Day proclamations since 1958. This Essay includes an appendix with all of the presidential proclamations since Law Day’s inception

FGF signalling through RAS/MAPK and PI3K pathways regulates cell movement and gene expression in the chicken primitive streak without affecting E-cadherin expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>FGF signalling regulates numerous aspects of early embryo development. During gastrulation in amniotes, epiblast cells undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the primitive streak to form the mesoderm and endoderm. In mice lacking FGFR1, epiblast cells in the primitive streak fail to downregulate E-cadherin and undergo EMT, and cell migration is inhibited. This study investigated how FGF signalling regulates cell movement and gene expression in the primitive streak of chicken embryos.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We find that pharmacological inhibition of FGFR activity blocks migration of cells through the primitive streak of chicken embryos without apparent alterations in the level or intracellular localization of E-cadherin. E-cadherin protein is localized to the periphery of epiblast, primitive streak and some mesodermal cells. FGFR inhibition leads to downregulation of a large number of regulatory genes in the preingression epiblast adjacent to the primitive streak, the primitive streak and the newly formed mesoderm. This includes members of the FGF, NOTCH, EPH, PDGF, and canonical and non-canonical WNT pathways, negative modulators of these pathways, and a large number of transcriptional regulatory genes. <it>SNAI2 </it>expression in the primitive streak and mesoderm is not altered by FGFR inhibition, but is downregulated only in the preingression epiblast region with no significant effect on E-cadherin. Furthermore, over expression of SNAIL has no discernable effect on E-cadherin protein levels or localization in epiblast, primitive streak or mesodermal cells. FGFR activity modulates distinct downstream pathways including RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT. Pharmacological inhibition of MEK or AKT indicate that these downstream effectors control discrete and overlapping groups of genes during gastrulation. FGFR activity regulates components of several pathways known to be required for cell migration through the streak or in the mesoderm, including RHOA, the non-canonical WNT pathway, PDGF signalling and the cell adhesion protein N-cadherin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In chicken embryos, FGF signalling regulates cell movement through the primitive streak by mechanisms that appear to be independent of changes in E-cadherin expression or protein localization. The positive and negative effects on large groups of genes by pharmacological inhibition of FGF signalling, including major signalling pathways and transcription factor families, indicates that the FGF pathway is a focal point of regulation during gastrulation in chicken.</p

Advanced care planning for hospitalized patients following clinician notification of patient mortality by a machine learning algorithm

IMPORTANCE: Goal-concordant care is an ongoing challenge in hospital settings. Identification of high mortality risk within 30 days may call attention to the need to have serious illness conversations, including the documentation of patient goals of care. OBJECTIVE: To examine goals of care discussions (GOCDs) in a community hospital setting with patients identified as having a high risk of mortality by a machine learning mortality prediction algorithm. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study took place at community hospitals within 1 health care system. Participants included adult patients with a high risk of 30-day mortality who were admitted to 1 of 4 hospitals between January 2 and July 15, 2021. Patient encounters of inpatients in the intervention hospital where physicians were notified of the computed high risk mortality score were compared with patient encounters of inpatients in 3 community hospitals without the intervention (ie, matched control). INTERVENTION: Physicians of patients with a high risk of mortality within 30 days received notification and were encouraged to arrange for GOCDs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the percentage change of documented GOCDs prior to discharge. Propensity-score matching was completed on a preintervention and postintervention period using age, sex, race, COVID-19 status, and machine learning-predicted mortality risk scores. A difference-in-difference analysis validated the results. RESULTS: Overall, 537 patients were included in this study with 201 in the preintervention period (94 in the intervention group; 104 in the control group) and 336 patients in the postintervention period. The intervention and control groups included 168 patients per group and were well-balanced in age (mean [SD], 79.3 [9.60] vs 79.6 [9.21] years; standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.03), sex (female, 85 [51%] vs 85 [51%]; SMD, 0), race (White patients, 145 [86%] vs 144 [86%]; SMD 0.006), and Charlson comorbidities (median [range], 8.00 [2.00-15.0] vs 9.00 [2.00 to 19.0]; SMD, 0.34). Patients in the intervention group from preintervention to postintervention period were associated with being 5 times more likely to have documented GOCDs (OR, 5.11 [95% CI, 1.93 to 13.42]; P = .001) by discharge compared with matched controls, and GOCD occurred significantly earlier in the hospitalization in the intervention patients as compared with matched controls (median, 4 [95% CI, 3 to 6] days vs 16 [95% CI, 15 to not applicable] days; P \u3c .001). Similar findings were observed for Black patient and White patient subgroups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, patients whose physicians had knowledge of high-risk predictions from machine learning mortality algorithms were associated with being 5 times more likely to have documented GOCDs than matched controls. Additional external validation is needed to determine if similar interventions would be helpful at other institutions

CASPA (CArdiac Sarcoidosis in PApworth) improving the diagnosis of cardiac involvement in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis: protocol for a prospective observational cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease, predominantly affecting the lungs but can involve the heart, resulting in cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). Patients require MRI/Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans for diagnosis. Echocardiography, ECG and Holter monitoring may be indicative but not diagnostic alone. Patients can present late with conduction defects, heart failure or sudden death. The CASPA (CArdiac Sarcoidosis in PApworth) study protocol aims to (1) use MRI to identify CS prevalence; (2) use speckle-tracking echocardiography, signal averaged ECG and Holter monitoring to look for diagnostic pathways; and (3) identify serum proteins which may be associated with CS. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Participants with pulmonary sarcoidosis (and no known cardiac disease) from Royal Papworth Hospital will have the following: cardiac MRI with late gadolinium, two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography with speckle tracking, signal averaged ECG and 24-hour Holter monitor. They will provide a serum sample for brain natriuretic peptide levels and proteomics by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. All data will be collected on OpenClinica platform and analysed approximately 6 months after final patient recruitment. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee approved the protocol (REC number: 17/LO/0667). Integrated Research Approval System (IRAS) 222 720. Dissemination of findings will be via conference presentations and submitted to peer-reviewed journals

Overexpression of miRNA-25-3p inhibits Notch1 signaling and TGF-β-induced collagen expression in hepatic stellate cells

During chronic liver injury hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the principal source of extracellular matrix in the fibrotic liver, transdifferentiate into pro-fibrotic myofibroblast-like cells - a process potentially regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). Recently, we found serum miRNA-25-3p (miR-25) levels were upregulated in children with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) without liver disease, compared to children with CF-associated liver disease and healthy individuals. Here we examine the role of miR-25 in HSC biology. MiR-25 was detected in the human HSC cell line LX-2 and in primary murine HSCs, and increased with culture-induced activation. Transient overexpression of miR-25 inhibited TGF-β and its type 1 receptor (TGFBR1) mRNA expression, TGF-β-induced Smad2 phosphorylation and subsequent collagen1α1 induction in LX-2 cells. Pull-down experiments with biotinylated miR-25 revealed Notch signaling (co-)activators ADAM-17 and FKBP14 as miR-25 targets in HSCs. NanoString analysis confirmed miR-25 regulation of Notch- and Wnt-signaling pathways. Expression of Notch signaling pathway components and endogenous Notch1 signaling was downregulated in miR-25 overexpressing LX-2 cells, as were components of Wnt signaling such as Wnt5a. We propose that miR-25 acts as a negative feedback anti-fibrotic control during HSC activation by reducing the reactivity of HSCs to TGF-β-induced collagen expression and modulating the cross-talk between Notch, Wnt and TGF-β signaling

A Systematic Review Investigating the Relation Between Animal-Source Food Consumption and Stunting in Children Aged 6–60 Months in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Animal-source foods (ASFs) are a food group of interest for interventions aimed at reducing stunting and other inadequate growth measures in early childhood. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the relation between ASF consumption and stunting in children aged 6–60 mo in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The secondary aim was to examine the relation between ASF consumption and other indicators of growth and development (length/height, weight, head circumference, and anemia). A search of the peer-reviewed and grey literature published from January 1980 to June 2017 was conducted. Databases searched included CINAHL, Embase, Global Index Medicus, PubMed, and Web of Science. There were 14,783 records and 116 full text articles dual screened; 21 studies were included in the review and were dual evaluated for risk of bias (RoB). The relation between ASF and stunting (length- or height-for-age z-score←2) was examined in randomized-controlled trials [(RCTs), n = 3] and cross-sectional studies (n = 4) only; ASF reduced stunting in 1 RCT and was associated with reduced stunting in 1 cross-sectional study. We did not identify any longitudinal cohorts that examined this relation. The relation between ASF and secondary indicators length/height, weight, head circumference, and anemia were largely nonsignificant across study designs. The intervention/exposure, comparator, outcome measures, methods, and analyses were highly heterogeneous. Although we did not find a consistent relation between ASF consumption and our primary and secondary outcomes, this may have been a function of inconsistencies in study design. Foods in the whole diet, particularly combination dishes, are inherently difficult to assess. To quantitatively assess the relation between ASF and stunting and other indicators of growth and iron status in early childhood, future research should provide consistency in the definition and quantification of the exposure and outcomes allowing for interstudy quantitative comparisons. Adv Nutr 2019;00:1–21