Tahap Kefahaman Kemahiran Mereka Bentuk Eksperimen Dan Mengeksperimen Dalam Kalangan Pelajar Tahun Empat Program Pendidikan Sains

Kefahaman pelajar terhadap kemahiran saintifik telah mendapat perhatian dalam kalangan penyelidik dalam bidang pendidikan Sains. Tahap kefahaman kemahiran proses sains iaitu kemahiran mereka bentuk eksperimen dan mengeksperimen dalam kalangan pelajar Tahun Empat Program Pendidikan Sains di Universiti Teknologi Malaysia telah dijalankan. Seramai 52 orang peserta kajian daripada Program Pendidikan Sains-Perdana dan Program Pendidikan Sains-Program Khas Pensiswazahan Guru terlibat dalam kajian ini. Terdapat dua pembolehubah bebas dalam kajian ini iaitu merentas jantina dan program pengajian. Kajian ini berbentuk tinjauan dan alat kajian yang digunakan ialah Ujian Pencapaian Tahap Kefahaman Kemahiran Mereka Bentuk Eksperimen dan Mengeksperimen dengan nilai kebolehpercayaan iaitu ά=.82. Terdapat 40 item dalam alat kajian ini yang berbentuk objektif. Analisis Statistik Deskriptif dalam bentuk min, sisihan lazim dan markat maksimum dan minimum telah digunakan dalam tatacara menganalisis data kajian ini. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap kefahaman kemahiran mereka bentuk eksperimen dan mengeksperimen secara keseluruhannya adalah baik. Kajian ini juga mendapati terdapat perbezaan tahap kefahaman kemahiran mereka bentuk eksperimen dan mengeksperimen merentas jantina iaitu pelajar lelaki berada pada tahap kefahaman cemerlang dan tahap kefahaman pelajar perempuan adalah baik. Manakala merentas program pengajian pula Program Pendidikan Sains-Program Khas Pensiswazahan Guru berada pada tahap kefahaman cemerlang dan Program Pendidikan Sains-Perdana berada pada tahap kefahaman baik. Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa penerapan kemahiran mereka bentuk eksperimen dan mengeksperimen terhadap pelajar masih kurang mencukupi dan ini seterusnya boleh mempengaruhi pencapaian dan tahap kefahaman pelajar Program Pendidikan Sains

A narrative review of interventions addressing the parental-fetal relationship

Background Expectant parents develop varying degrees of emotional affiliation with the unborn child. Interventions supporting this relationship may be beneficial given its link to maternal health behaviour during pregnancy, as well as the parental–infant bond after birth. Aim To identify and describe the effects of programmes and strategies that have addressed the parental–fetal relationship. Method English-language primary studies, published between 2005–2015, were identified and their methodological quality was assessed. Databases used included CINAHL, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Key search terms included maternal/paternal–fetal attachment, prenatal bond, parental–fetal relationship and intervention. RCTs, non-RCTs, observational and non-comparative studies, before and after studies and case studies were included. Findings Twenty-seven papers were included. Studies evaluated the effects of various strategies, including ultrasound and screening procedures, fetal awareness interventions, social and psychological support techniques, educational programmes and relaxation strategies. Results are inconsistent due to the diversity of interventions and significant variation in methodological quality. Conclusion There is insufficient evidence to support definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of any included intervention. A number of limitations, such as non-probability sampling, lack of blinding, and insufficient follow-up weaken the evidence. The inclusion of fathers in only three studies reflects the overall neglect of men in research regarding the prenatal relationship. Further in-depth study of the nature of the maternal/paternal–fetal relationship may be needed in order to allow for the identification of interventions that are consistently beneficial and worthwhile

Intracellular expression of IRF9 Stat fusion protein overcomes the defective Jak-Stat signaling and inhibits HCV RNA replication

Interferon alpha (IFN-α) binds to a cell surface receptor that activates the Jak-Stat signaling pathway. A critical component of this pathway is the translocation of interferon stimulated gene factor 3 (a complex of three proteins Stat1, Stat2 and IRF9) to the nucleus to activate antiviral genes. A stable sub-genomic replicon cell line resistant to IFN-α was developed in which the nuclear translocation of Stat1 and Stat2 proteins was prevented due to the lack of phosphorylation; whereas the nuclear translocation of IRF9 protein was not affected. In this study, we sought to overcome defective Jak-Stat signaling and to induce an antiviral state in the IFN-α resistant replicon cell line by developing a chimera IRF9 protein fused with the trans activating domain (TAD) of either a Stat1 (IRF9-S1C) or Stat2 (IRF9-S2C) protein. We show here that intracellular expression of fusion proteins using the plasmid constructs of either IRF9-S1C or IRF9-S2C, in the IFN-α resistant cells, resulted in an increase in Interferon Stimulated Response Element (ISRE) luciferase promoter activity and significantly induced HLA-1 surface expression. Moreover, we show that transient transfection of IRF9-S1C or IRF9-S2C plasmid constructs into IFN-α resistant replicon cells containing sub-genomic HCV1b and HCV2a viruses resulted in an inhibition of viral replication and viral protein expression independent of IFN-α treatment. The results of this study indicate that the recombinant fusion proteins of IRF9-S1C, IRF9-S2C alone, or in combination, have potent antiviral properties against the HCV in an IFN-α resistant cell line with a defective Jak-Stat signaling

Impaired antiviral activity of interferon alpha against hepatitis C virus 2a in Huh-7 cells with a defective Jak-Stat pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The sustained virological response to interferon-alpha (IFN-α) in individuals infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 is only 50%, but is about 80% in patients infected with genotype 2-6 viruses. The molecular mechanisms explaining the differences in IFN-α responsiveness between HCV 1 and other genotypes have not been elucidated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Virus and host cellular factors contributing to IFN responsiveness were analyzed using a green fluorescence protein (GFP) based replication system of HCV 2a and Huh-7 cell clones that either possesses or lack a functional Jak-Stat pathway. The GFP gene was inserted into the C-terminal non-structural protein 5A of HCV 2a full-length and sub-genomic clones. Both HCV clones replicated to a high level in Huh-7 cells and could be visualized by either fluorescence microscopy or flow cytometric analysis. Huh-7 cells transfected with the GFP tagged HCV 2a genome produced infectious virus particles and the replication of fluorescence virus particles was demonstrated in naïve Huh-7.5 cells after infection. IFN-α effectively inhibited the replication of full-length as well as sub-genomic HCV 2a clones in Huh-7 cells with a functional Jak-Stat pathway. However, the antiviral effect of IFN-α against HCV 2a virus was not observed in Huh-7 cell clones with a defect in Jak-Stat signaling. HCV infection or replication did not alter IFN-α induced Stat phosphorylation or ISRE promoter-luciferase activity in both the sensitive and resistant Huh-7 cell clones.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The cellular Jak-Stat pathway is critical for a successful IFN-α antiviral response against HCV 2a. HCV infection or replication did not alter signaling by the Jak-Stat pathway. GFP labeled JFH1 2a replicon based stable cell lines with IFN sensitive and IFN resistant phenotypes can be used to develop new strategies to overcome IFN-resistance against hepatitis C.</p

Mechanism of HCV's resistance to IFN-α in cell culture involves expression of functional IFN-α receptor 1

The mechanisms underlying the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) resistance to interferon alpha (IFN-α) are not fully understood. We used IFN-α resistant HCV replicon cell lines and an infectious HCV cell culture system to elucidate the mechanisms of IFN-α resistance in cell culture. The IFN-α resistance mechanism of the replicon cells were addressed by a complementation study that utilized the full-length plasmid clones of IFN-α receptor 1 (IFNAR1), IFN-α receptor 2 (IFNAR2), Jak1, Tyk2, Stat1, Stat2 and the ISRE- luciferase reporter plasmid. We demonstrated that the expression of the full-length IFNAR1 clone alone restored the defective Jak-Stat signaling as well as Stat1, Stat2 and Stat3 phosphorylation, nuclear translocation and antiviral response against HCV in all IFN-α resistant cell lines (R-15, R-17 and R-24) used in this study. Moreover RT-PCR, Southern blotting and DNA sequence analysis revealed that the cells from both R-15 and R-24 series of IFN-α resistant cells have 58 amino acid deletions in the extracellular sub domain 1 (SD1) of IFNAR1. In addition, cells from the R-17 series have 50 amino acids deletion in the sub domain 4 (SD4) of IFNAR1 protein leading to impaired activation of Tyk2 kinase. Using an infectious HCV cell culture model we show here that viral replication in the infected Huh-7 cells is relatively resistant to exogenous IFN-α. HCV infection itself induces defective Jak-Stat signaling and impairs Stat1 and Stat2 phosphorylation by down regulation of the cell surface expression of IFNAR1 through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress mechanisms. The results of this study suggest that expression of cell surface IFNAR1 is critical for the response of HCV to exogenous IFN-α

Understanding barriers to involving community midwives in identifying research participants; experience of the first Steps randomised controlled trial

- Objective: To explore barriers to the involvement of community midwives in identifying women in early pregnancy as potential participants in the XX, a randomised controlled trial of a new intervention to provide health and parenting support to potentially vulnerable women. - Design: Descriptive qualitative investigation using semi-structured audio-recoded interviews. - Setting: Community midwifery offices. - Participants: Volunteer sample of 13 community midwives. - Measurement: Themes derived from content analysis. - Findings: Understanding of their role in the research process was unclear to many midwives. Confusion arose about the difference between potential participant identification and trial recruitment. There were concerns about the eligibility criteria and it was suggested that there was insufficient time during booking appointments, and sometimes insufficient information, to determine potential eligibility. Midwives had concerns about some aspects of the intervention, which incorporated routine midwifery care, and had expectations that women may not like a group programme. This may have led some not to mention the trial. They were, however positive about the programme's potential for beneficial impacts on mothers and infants. - Key conclusions: Dedicated research midwives may be the best option if research studies need to identify potential participants early in pregnancy, so that they can communicate with all their colleagues. - Implications for practice: If community midwives are asked to be involved in time-critical research they are likely to need additional local resources and support

Sports Media Influences on Child Development

In modern times exposure to shared social media platforms has become linked to increased risky behavior in young children. This paper examines the relationship between anxiety, managerial behaviors, pressure, support, understanding, and the active involvement that parents have in their children\u27s sports. Young athletes involved in intense athletic activities often face numerous causes of stress, and all the while they are most often less capable than adults at managing these stresses. This study will also talk about how the media influences young boys to want to become rich and famous for playing a sport. Media often glorifies male athletes through highlight reels, YouTube videos, and TV commercials