Determining The Computer Literacy Levels Of Vocational Teachers In Southern Nevada And Developing A Computer In-Service Program For Vocational Teachers

The purposes of this study were to ( 1) conduct a study to determine the computer skills level of the vocational teachers in Southern Nevada; (2) design a computer literacy in-service program targeting the specific instructional needs of the deficient vocational teachers; (3) develop a plan for evaluating the in-service training program; and (4) develop an implementation plan for continued computer literacy in-service training and an undergraduate computer literacy training program fer vocational teachers in university teacher training programs. The literature review addressed the first research question by providing the specific competencies for determining the characteristics of computer literacy and identifying the specific questions for the survey instrument. The competencies necessary for computer literacy are (1) hardware literacy; (2) word processing: and (3} advanced program operation, spreadsheet. database, gradebook program, or computer-assisted design (CAD} or the ability to write a simple computer program. The results of the study indicated that fifty percent of the vocational/technical teachers in Southern Nevada are not computer literate. A few content areas, specifically electronics and drafting, had exceptionally high rates of computer literacy with 100 percent for electronics and seventy-three percent for drafting. Some content areas, welding at fourteen percent and graphic arts at thirty percent had exceptionally low levels of computer literacy. The survey data Indicated no significant statistical differences in computer literacy levels between secondary and postsecondary teachers, and no statistical difference based on industry or formal university training. The demographic factor of age was determined by study data to not be a significant impactor on computer literacy. The data on differences based on gender were inconclusive as less than ten percent of teachers surveyed were women. Sixty-two percent of the computer literate vocational teachers surveyed indicated that they were self-taught, and seventy-one percent indicated that they learned their computer skills after beginning to teach. This provided substantial evidence that industry and formal educational institutions have provided very little computer training for vocational teachers. The conclusions reached by the study were that the need for computer literacy training in Southern Nevada does exist. With an accurate estimate of the potential student enrollment identified by the study, the Clark County Community College can commit resources for a program. It is recommended that the college implement the Teacher Computer Literacy Workshop model beginning the first semester of school year 1990-1991 and the University of Nevada system implement this or a similar computer literacy component in their teacher training programs. The final product of this study was the development of a computer literacy training program specifically designed to address the needs of the Southern Nevada vocational teachers. The Teacher Computer Literacy Workshop program design, goals, competencies. instructional media, unit and program evaluation, and revision procedures were elements addressed in the design process

Immunologic monitoring and immunotherapy in Ewing's sarcoma

Serial immunological monitoring was performed on 31 patients with Ewing's sarcoma who were on a randomized immunotherapy trial with BCG administered by dermal scarification with a Heaf gun. Patients were skin-tested for delayed hypersensitivity reactions (DCHR) to recall antigens and extracts of tumor cells, and with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). In vitro testing consisted of lymphocyte counts, percentages of cells forming rosettes with sheep erythrocytes at 29° C and at 4° C, and leukocyte migration inhibition to tuberculin (PPD) and to 3 M KCl extracts of tumor cells. At the time of diagnosis, nearly all patients had positive DCHR to mumps and streptococcal antigens and were negative to PPD. Neither the skin tests nor the lymphocyte counts at this time gave useful prognostic information. In tests during and after therapy, the patients who responded and remained free of detectable disease had a higher incidence of DCHR to KLH and of rosette values in the normal range than did the patients who developed recurrent disease. The BCG immunotherapy had no apparent effect on immunologic parameters except for conversion of reactions to PPD.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46861/1/262_2004_Article_BF00200108.pd

Rapid, reliable, and reproducible molecular sub-grouping of clinical medulloblastoma samples

The diagnosis of medulloblastoma likely encompasses several distinct entities, with recent evidence for the existence of at least four unique molecular subgroups that exhibit distinct genetic, transcriptional, demographic, and clinical features. Assignment of molecular subgroup through routine profiling of high-quality RNA on expression microarrays is likely impractical in the clinical setting. The planning and execution of medulloblastoma clinical trials that stratify by subgroup, or which are targeted to a specific subgroup requires technologies that can be economically, rapidly, reliably, and reproducibly applied to formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) specimens. In the current study, we have developed an assay that accurately measures the expression level of 22 medulloblastoma subgroup-specific signature genes (CodeSet) using nanoString nCounter Technology. Comparison of the nanoString assay with Affymetrix expression array data on a training series of 101 medulloblastomas of known subgroup demonstrated a high concordance (Pearson correlation r = 0.86). The assay was validated on a second set of 130 non-overlapping medulloblastomas of known subgroup, correctly assigning 98% (127/130) of tumors to the appropriate subgroup. Reproducibility was demonstrated by repeating the assay in three independent laboratories in Canada, the United States, and Switzerland. Finally, the nanoString assay could confidently predict subgroup in 88% of recent FFPE cases, of which 100% had accurate subgroup assignment. We present an assay based on nanoString technology that is capable of rapidly, reliably, and reproducibly assigning clinical FFPE medulloblastoma samples to their molecular subgroup, and which is highly suited for future medulloblastoma clinical trials

Medulloblastoma Exome Sequencing Uncovers Subtype-Specific Somatic Mutations

Medulloblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in children1. Identifying and understanding the genetic events that drive these tumors is critical for the development of more effective diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategies. Recently, our group and others described distinct molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma based on transcriptional and copy number profiles2–5. Here, we utilized whole exome hybrid capture and deep sequencing to identify somatic mutations across the coding regions of 92 primary medulloblastoma/normal pairs. Overall, medulloblastomas exhibit low mutation rates consistent with other pediatric tumors, with a median of 0.35 non-silent mutations per megabase. We identified twelve genes mutated at statistically significant frequencies, including previously known mutated genes in medulloblastoma such as CTNNB1, PTCH1, MLL2, SMARCA4 and TP53. Recurrent somatic mutations were identified in an RNA helicase gene, DDX3X, often concurrent with CTNNB1 mutations, and in the nuclear co-repressor (N-CoR) complex genes GPS2, BCOR, and LDB1, novel findings in medulloblastoma. We show that mutant DDX3X potentiates transactivation of a TCF promoter and enhances cell viability in combination with mutant but not wild type beta-catenin. Together, our study reveals the alteration of Wnt, Hedgehog, histone methyltransferase and now N-CoR pathways across medulloblastomas and within specific subtypes of this disease, and nominates the RNA helicase DDX3X as a component of pathogenic beta-catenin signaling in medulloblastoma

Multiclass classification of microarray data samples with a reduced number of genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Multiclass classification of microarray data samples with a reduced number of genes is a rich and challenging problem in Bioinformatics research. The problem gets harder as the number of classes is increased. In addition, the performance of most classifiers is tightly linked to the effectiveness of mandatory gene selection methods. Critical to gene selection is the availability of estimates about the maximum number of genes that can be handled by any classification algorithm. Lack of such estimates may lead to either computationally demanding explorations of a search space with thousands of dimensions or classification models based on gene sets of unrestricted size. In the former case, unbiased but possibly overfitted classification models may arise. In the latter case, biased classification models unable to support statistically significant findings may be obtained.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A novel bound on the maximum number of genes that can be handled by binary classifiers in binary mediated multiclass classification algorithms of microarray data samples is presented. The bound suggests that high-dimensional binary output domains might favor the existence of accurate and sparse binary mediated multiclass classifiers for microarray data samples.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A comprehensive experimental work shows that the bound is indeed useful to induce accurate and sparse multiclass classifiers for microarray data samples.</p

Tibialis posterior in health and disease: a review of structure and function with specific reference to electromyographic studies

Tibialis posterior has a vital role during gait as the primary dynamic stabiliser of the medial longitudinal arch; however, the muscle and tendon are prone to dysfunction with several conditions. We present an overview of tibialis posterior muscle and tendon anatomy with images from cadaveric work on fresh frozen limbs and a review of current evidence that define normal and abnormal tibialis posterior muscle activation during gait. A video is available that demonstrates ultrasound guided intra-muscular insertion techniques for tibialis posterior electromyography

Henipavirus Neutralising Antibodies in an Isolated Island Population of African Fruit Bats

Isolated islands provide valuable opportunities to study the persistence of viruses in wildlife populations, including population size thresholds such as the critical community size. The straw-coloured fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, has been identified as a reservoir for henipaviruses (serological evidence) and Lagos bat virus (LBV; virus isolation and serological evidence) in continental Africa. Here, we sampled from a remote population of E. helvum annobonensis fruit bats on Annobón island in the Gulf of Guinea to investigate whether antibodies to these viruses also exist in this isolated subspecies. Henipavirus serological analyses (Luminex multiplexed binding and inhibition assays, virus neutralisation tests and western blots) and lyssavirus serological analyses (LBV: modified Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralisation test, LBV and Mokola virus: lentivirus pseudovirus neutralisation assay) were undertaken on 73 and 70 samples respectively. Given the isolation of fruit bats on Annobón and their lack of connectivity with other populations, it was expected that the population size on the island would be too small to allow persistence of viruses that are thought to cause acute and immunising infections. However, the presence of antibodies against henipaviruses was detected using the Luminex binding assay and confirmed using alternative assays. Neutralising antibodies to LBV were detected in one bat using both assays. We demonstrate clear evidence for exposure of multiple individuals to henipaviruses in this remote population of E. helvum annobonensis fruit bats on Annobón island. The situation is less clear for LBV. Seroprevalences to henipaviruses and LBV in Annobón are notably different to those in E. helvum in continental locations studied using the same sampling techniques and assays. Whilst cross-sectional serological studies in wildlife populations cannot provide details on viral dynamics within populations, valuable information on the presence or absence of viruses may be obtained and utilised for informing future studies