Is There a Relationship Between Mathematics Background and Conception of Proof?

To invest in the future of mathematics education is to invest in our future teachers. Equipping such individuals should be the utmost priority, for they will communicate mathematics to our students. Research shows that the way we work with and explain mathematics is consequential to our proof scheme; that is, the proof schemes we hold are the proof schemes we will inevitably teach. This study explores the possible proof schemes and mindsets held by ten university students studying mathematics education at Lee University--six enrolled in a geometry course and four in an algebra course. Through interviews and critical thinking exercises, we analyzed the future students\u27 proof schemes and views on mathematics. Our analysis found that participants who had encountered proof-based mathematics courses had a tendency to approach problems analytically, which implied the existence of an association between their definitions of proof and methods of problem-solving. This relationship perhaps has implications about teacher preparation and development prior to entering the classroom, thus revealing its significance to student success

The Effects of Management and Vegetation on Soil Carbon Stocks in Temperate Australian Grazing Systems

The natural spatial variability in soil organic carbon (SOC) found under perennial pasture systems can make it difficult to determine differences between contrasting agricultural management practices. Pasture composition in large, extensively grazed paddocks can give an indication of pasture growth, utilisation and fertility that influence SOC and are a result of management over the longer-term. This paper examines SOC stocks on the central and southern tablelands of NSW, Australia (average rainfall from 615 to 915 mm and average annual temperature from 10.6 to 15.6°C) at three scales (regional, between similar sites and within site) to determine the influence of management, pasture composition, herbage mass and root mass. After allowing for variability due to climate, landscape and soil properties there were no differences in management comparisons, e.g. high v low fertiliser input, introduced v native pastures and rotational grazing v set stocking. The total herbage mass measured at the time of sampling had a significant relationship with SOC between and within sites and the presence of some species was associated with lower SOC. Root mass measured at an intensively monitored site showed a significant relationship with SOC. These results reflect the complexity of grazing/pasture systems, with natural variability explaining most of the variability in SOC stock; and pasture productivity leading to higher root production explaining differences in SOC levels rather than grazing management

Ape socioecology

First paragraph: This section presents an overview of the socioecology of the seven species of nonhuman apes: bonobos, chimpanzees, gibbons (including siamangs), eastern and western gorillas, and Bornean and Sumatran orangutans. For more detailed information, see Wich et al. (2009b), Emery Thompson and Wrangham (2013), Reinartz, Ingmanson and Vervaecke (2013), Williamson and Butynski (2013a, 2013b), and Williamson, Maisels and Groves (2013)

Bridging the Gap Between Science, Economics and Policy to Develop and Implement a Pilot Market Based Instrument for Soil Carbon

Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) has potential to offset greenhouse gas emissions, but the scope for on-farm carbon sequestration is poorly understood. A pilot scheme was developed in Central West NSW, Australia to trial the use of a market-based instrument to encourage farmers to increase soil organic carbon levels. The pilot considered the relationship between land use, management practices and soil carbon levels; offered alternative contract designs to attract landholders; and developed monitoring and reporting protocols. The pilot was rolled-out in 2011 and 2012 and had 11 successful tenders with an average price of $A37 per t CO2-e. The results of this conservation tender will assist the design of future programs aimed at encouraging mitigation effort from the agricultural sector

Impacts écologiques des activités d’extraction sur la population de grands singes

First paragraph: Ce chapitre explore les menaces importantes que font peser les activités des industries d'extraction sur les grands singes et leur habitat. Tous les grands singes sont protégés par des lois nationales et internationales dans les zones où ils sont présents. Il est par conséquent interdit de tuer, capturer ou faire le commerce de grands singes vivants ou de leurs organes. Il est crucial de comprendre où et comment les industries d'extraction affectent les grands singes et leurs habitats à chaque phase d'un projet. Au sein des projets d'extraction minière, de pétrole ou de gaz (chapitre 5), ces phases incluent l'exploration et l'évaluation, les études techniques préalables et analyses alternatives, les études techniques finales et la sélection du site, la construction et la mise en service, les phases d'opérations, de fermeture et post-fermeture. Chaque phase de chaque activité d'extraction est susceptible d'affecter les populations de grands singes locales, bien que la portée et la gravité de ce phénomène puisse varier. En règle générale, l'activité humaine n'est pas sans conséquence sur le comportement et la physiologie du monde animal (Griffiths et van Schaik, 1993 ; Kinnaird et O'Brien, 1996 ; Woodford, Butynski et Karesh, 2002 ; Blom et al., 2004a ; Wikelski et Cooke, 2006 ; Rabanal et al., 2010 ; Ruesto et al., 2010 ; Chan et Blumstein, 2011). La réaction de chaque espèce aux perturbations de son milieu varie cependant en fonction de ses dispositions biologiques, ainsi que du type et de l'étendue des perturbations. Ainsi, des espèces aux besoins très spécifiques subissent parfois un impact très négatif, comme le démontrent des recherches sur l'effet de l'exploitation forestière sur les oiseaux insectivores terrestres et glaneurs d'écorce ou chauve-souris, alors que d'autres espèces aux besoins plus génériques sont moins affectées (Putz et al., 2001 ; Peters, Malcolm, et Zimmerman, 2006)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in two pediatric patients with kidney disease on chronic immunosuppression: A case series

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a highly infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus (SARS‐CoV‐2). While children appear to experience less severe disease than adults, those with underlying conditions such as kidney disease may be more susceptible to infection. Limited data are present for children with kidney disease, and there are limited prior reports of pediatric hemodialysis patients with COVID‐19. This report describes the mild clinical disease course of COVID‐19 in two pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease, one on hemodialysis and both on chronic immunosuppression. We review treatment in these patients, as well as our measures to reduce transmission among our hemodialysis patients and staff

SREBP Coordinates Iron and Ergosterol Homeostasis to Mediate Triazole Drug and Hypoxia Responses in the Human Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus

Sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) are a class of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors that regulate diverse cellular responses in eukaryotes. Adding to the recognized importance of SREBPs in human health, SREBPs in the human fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus are required for fungal virulence and susceptibility to triazole antifungal drugs. To date, the exact mechanism(s) behind the role of SREBP in these observed phenotypes is not clear. Here, we report that A. fumigatus SREBP, SrbA, mediates regulation of iron acquisition in response to hypoxia and low iron conditions. To further define SrbA's role in iron acquisition in relation to previously studied fungal regulators of iron metabolism, SreA and HapX, a series of mutants were generated in the ΔsrbA background. These data suggest that SrbA is activated independently of SreA and HapX in response to iron limitation, but that HapX mRNA induction is partially dependent on SrbA. Intriguingly, exogenous addition of high iron or genetic deletion of sreA in the ΔsrbA background was able to partially rescue the hypoxia growth, triazole drug susceptibility, and decrease in ergosterol content phenotypes of ΔsrbA. Thus, we conclude that the fungal SREBP, SrbA, is critical for coordinating genes involved in iron acquisition and ergosterol biosynthesis under hypoxia and low iron conditions found at sites of human fungal infections. These results support a role for SREBP–mediated iron regulation in fungal virulence, and they lay a foundation for further exploration of SREBP's role in iron homeostasis in other eukaryotes

Interpreting the Image of the Human Body in Premodern India

This paper sets out two main arguments. In part one, a description of the adherents of the various intellectual disciplines and religious faiths in premodern India is given, each having developed distinct and different imagined bodies; for example, the body described in Tantric circles had little or nothing in common with the body described in medical circles. In part two, an account is given of the encounter between Ayurvedic anatomy and early colonial European anatomy which led initially to attempts at synthesis; these gave way to an abandonment of the syncretist vision of the body and the acceptance of an epistemological suspension of judgment, in which radically different body conceptualizations are simultaneously held in unacknowledged cognitive dissonance

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations