Perspectives on Teacher Quality: Bilingual Education and ESL Teacher Certification, Test-Taking Experiences, and Instructional Practices

This descriptive exploratory study looked at the certification process, test-taking experiences, and instructional practices of a group of graduate bilingual education (BE) and English-as-a- Second-Language (ESL) teachers to understand why some had problems passing teacher certification tests after completing their degrees. The study surveyed 63 BE and ESL teachers on their certification and test-taking experiences and their perceived instructional strengths. From this group of 63 participants, 15 volunteer teachers were interviewed and observed in their classrooms. Findings reveal most teachers passed certification tests on the first or second attempt. However, several failed tests due to language, content, and time difficulties, which had frustrating consequences for their teaching careers. Teachers’ perceived and observed instructional strengths reflected to varying degrees effective research-based practices for English Language Learners. Despite test challenges, teachers persisted, were passionate and committed to students. Study findings call for further research on teacher certification tests and their relationship to teacher quality and the instructional practices teachers implement

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/‘proxy’ AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/‘proxy’ AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele