Dottie’s Story: Teaching Complex Instruction

Analyzing the structures that frame classroom interactions and learning, and designing, implementing, and analyzing a Complex Instruction (CI) rotation were two requirements for completion of the senior seminar I taught to elementary education majors from 2002-2009. Dottie’s Story relates how the seminar was organized and how one student, Dottie, implemented and reflected upon her learning and the learning of her students. Upon reading this paper, the reader will have a good understanding of how undergraduates were taught CI. We see the various steps of Dottie’s progress through her reflective journal and note the academic and social effects of her work on several students in the kindergarten classroom in which she was a student teacher. Small sample T-tests showed significant academic gains for students in this classroom and qualitative analyses point out the value of status interventions for four students in this classroom. This paper is one chapter in an unpublished book manuscript written during my final sabbatical leave at the University of Vermont

Reflections on the Practicality of Good Theory

Jennifer Kennison noticed something different about the way her high school chemistry students were working together during Complex Instruction rotation. Her attention to the change in her students’ learning caused me to think about how Elizabeth Cohen’s often referenced Kurt Lewin’s comment “There is nothing so practical as a good theory.” As a result, I decided to ask two students who were teaching CI rotations if they would be interested in working together on a conference presentation that looked at their work through the eyes of Lewin’s dictum. They would take on responsibility for documenting and writing about their CI units and I, their advisor, would take on Lewin. Both Jennifer, an experienced teacher and MEd. candidate, and Bethany Brodeur, a senior elementary education major, agreed to this task. The resulting papers formed the core of our presentation at the 2004 conference of the New England Educational Research Organization. Together, they form a short volume that integrates learning about CI with the practical implications of implementation of CI at the elementary and secondary levels. This paper reports my observations of their work confirming Lewin’s dictum and Cohen’s wisdom. C

Uncovering the molecular mechanisms of lignocellulose digestion in shipworms

Abstract Lignocellulose forms the structural framework of woody plant biomass and represents the most abundant carbon source in the biosphere. Turnover of woody biomass is a critical component of the global carbon cycle, and the enzymes involved are of increasing industrial importance as industry moves away from fossil fuels to renewable carbon resources. Shipworms are marine bivalve molluscs that digest wood and play a key role in global carbon cycling by processing plant biomass in the oceans. Previous studies suggest that wood digestion in shipworms is dominated by enzymes produced by endosymbiotic bacteria found in the animal’s gills, while little is known about the identity and function of endogenous enzymes produced by shipworms. Using a combination of meta-transcriptomic, proteomic, imaging and biochemical analyses, we reveal a complex digestive system dominated by uncharacterized enzymes that are secreted by a specialized digestive gland and that accumulate in the cecum, where wood digestion occurs. Using a combination of transcriptomics, proteomics, and microscopy, we show that the digestive proteome of the shipworm Lyrodus pedicellatus is mostly composed of enzymes produced by the animal itself, with a small but significant contribution from symbiotic bacteria. The digestive proteome is dominated by a novel 300 kDa multi-domain glycoside hydrolase that functions in the hydrolysis of β-1,4-glucans, the most abundant polymers in wood. These studies allow an unprecedented level of insight into an unusual and ecologically important process for wood recycling in the marine environment, and open up new biotechnological opportunities in the mobilization of sugars from lignocellulosic biomass

Polymorphisms near TBX5 and GDF7 are associated with increased risk for Barrett's esophagus.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Barrett's esophagus (BE) increases the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). We found the risk to be BE has been associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 6p21 (within the HLA region) and on 16q23, where the closest protein-coding gene is FOXF1. Subsequently, the Barrett's and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON) identified risk loci for BE and esophageal adenocarcinoma near CRTC1 and BARX1, and within 100 kb of FOXP1. We aimed to identify further SNPs that increased BE risk and to validate previously reported associations. METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify variants associated with BE and further analyzed promising variants identified by BEACON by genotyping 10,158 patients with BE and 21,062 controls. RESULTS: We identified 2 SNPs not previously associated with BE: rs3072 (2p24.1; odds ratio [OR] = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.09-1.18; P = 1.8 × 10(-11)) and rs2701108 (12q24.21; OR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.86-0.93; P = 7.5 × 10(-9)). The closest protein-coding genes were respectively GDF7 (rs3072), which encodes a ligand in the bone morphogenetic protein pathway, and TBX5 (rs2701108), which encodes a transcription factor that regulates esophageal and cardiac development. Our data also supported in BE cases 3 risk SNPs identified by BEACON (rs2687201, rs11789015, and rs10423674). Meta-analysis of all data identified another SNP associated with BE and esophageal adenocarcinoma: rs3784262, within ALDH1A2 (OR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.87-0.93; P = 3.72 × 10(-9)). CONCLUSIONS: We identified 2 loci associated with risk of BE and provided data to support a further locus. The genes we found to be associated with risk for BE encode transcription factors involved in thoracic, diaphragmatic, and esophageal development or proteins involved in the inflammatory response

The Lancet Psychiatry Commission : a blueprint for protecting physical health in people with mental illness

No abstract available

The French connection in early Oregon

Many French-speaking people came to the Pacific Northwest. Although most came from Quebec, some traveled from as far away as France, Belgium and Switzerland. When they arrived in Oregon Territory, a juxtaposition of three cultures merged to form a unique French-speaking community governed by a dominant Western Anglo-American character and a living Indian culture for daily subsistence. Most importantly, the French brought their own traditions from Quebec and France. Also, French individuality became altered upon their arrival and through their necessity to adapt to the strange, unknown wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. Some changes came through the need for convenience, such as learning to maneuver a canoe across a quiet lake or down a swift moving stream. Such skills enabled them to cover large distances quickly. Other adaptations developed through a need for survival, such as learning the ways of unknown Indian cultures and living amongst them, or the methods to hunt and eat different types of game for their dinner