Hierarchical Learning As A Function Of Concise Informational Feedback With Regard To Ability, Age, And Sex Of Identical Twins.

Originated by current demands for accountability in schools and resultant appeals for a return to the use of scholastic feedback, this study investigated the effects of feedback in light of certain characteristics of learning, and in light of student characteristics such as ability, age, and sex. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of specific informational feedback on hierarchical learning in a controlled laboratory setting, using the experimental controls inherent in identical twins. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children/Revised (WISC-R) was used “unconventionally” as a series of discrete hierarchical learning tasks subject to concise experimental manipulation. Possible differences with regard to different forms of learning, as embodied in the scales of the instrument, were investigated. Possible differences with regard to ability, age, and sex were also determined, on the assumption that the results would shed light on potentially controversial practices tied to accountability, such as objective grading, ability grouping for instructional purposes, the use of merit systems, and others

Hepatitis C virus screening practices and seropositivity among US veterans born during 1945 - 1965.

BACKGROUND: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently augmented risk-based hepatitis C (HCV) screening guidelines with a recommendation to perform one-time screening in all persons born during 1945 - 1965, a birth cohort known to have a higher prevalence of HCV. We sought to estimate the proportion of veterans seen at the Atlanta VA Medical Center (AVAMC) who had ever been screened for HCV infection by birth year. METHODS: We used an administrative database of all veterans seen at the AVAMC between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011, and a laboratory generated list of all HCV antibody tests and HCV RNA viral loads that were performed at the AVAMC to determine receipt of screening and HCV antibody positivity. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using SAS version 9.2 (SAS institute, Cary, North Carolina). RESULTS: HCV antibody testing had ever been performed on 48% (41,556) of the veterans seen in 2011; 10% of those tested had a positive antibody. Confirmatory viral loads were performed in 96% of those with a positive antibody screen. Those born during 1945 - 1965 were more likely to have a HCV antibody performed when compared with those born in other years (54% vs. 41%, odds ratio [OR] 1.70, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.65-1.74). Among veterans ever tested for HCV antibody (n = 41,556), those born during 1945 - 1965 were 6 times more likely to have a positive HCV antibody (15% vs. 3%, OR 5.87, 95% CI 5.32-6.78), and 3 times more likely to have chronic HCV infection (76% vs. 50%, OR 3.25, 95% CI 2.65-4.00). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of the veterans seen in 2011 at the AVAMC had ever been tested for HCV infection. When examined by birth cohort, over half of the veterans born during 1945 - 1965 had been screened for HCV and 15% of those screened had a positive HCV antibody. Our findings confirm the increased prevalence of HCV infection in persons born during 1945 - 1965 as identified in the updated CDC and USPSTF recommendations

Gather: The Art and Science of Effective Convening

This guidebook is for people who want to change the world. It's for social change leaders who understand the power of convening the right group of people, and who believe that collective intelligence trumps individual smarts when it comes to solving shared problems. It's for those who know that there is an art and a science to convening and want to get better at both. Ultimately, this guidebook is a practical toolkit to help a world-changer who is taking on the role of lead convening designer.This guidebook is organized around the most common building blocks of constructing any convening: deciding whether to convene, clarifying a "north star" purpose, and making a bevy of design choices that flow from that purpose. It offers a set of design principles, key questions, and critical issues to be considered and customized for your situation

Understanding regional diversity in the human biliary tree through transcriptomic profiling of primary tissues and in vitro derived organoids

The biliary tree is a series of ductular tissues responsible for the drainage of bile produced by the liver and pancreatic secretions from the pancreas. The biliary tree is affected by a diversity of life- threatening diseases collectively called cholangiopathies. Cholangiopathies show regionalization, with some diseases such as biliary atresia predominantly targeting extrahepatic bile ducts (EHBDs) outside of the liver. Despite this, little is known on whether anatomical location within the biliary tree contributes to differences in functionality of biliary epithelium, especially in the EHBD compartment. Additionally, reports have demonstrated the possibility for in vitro culture of bile duct stem/progenitor cell organoids from both intrahepatic (IHBD) and EHBD sources. The relation of these organoid systems to each other, and to their tissue of origin, is largely unknown. In this dissertation, I address these major questions by combining transcriptional analyses and in vitro culture of human bile duct organoids derived from primary IHBD and EHBD epithelium. First, I show that in vitro organoids can be derived from four regions of the human biliary tree: gallbladder, common bile duct, pancreatic duct, and intrahepatic bile ducts. Characterization of these organoids demonstrated expression of adult stem cell (LGR5/PROM1) and ductal (KRT19/KRT7) markers suggesting these cultures contained cells with a biliary stem/progenitor phenotype. Further, I show that IHBD organoids are distinct from EHBD organoids requiring different conditions for sustained growth. Using RNA-Sequencing, I demonstrate that primary tissues from different regions of the extrahepatic biliary tree display unique expression profiles and identify novel tissue-specific markers. I also show that only a limited number of these tissue specific differences are maintained in the in vitro organoids and that the organoids are very different from their tissue of origin. Finally, I demonstrate that IHBD, but not EHBD organoids, express a low-level of hepatocyte-specific markers under differentiation conditions. Taken together, the work in this dissertation has uncovered regional specific markers for different anatomical regions of the human biliary tree. Further, I demonstrate that major differences exist between IHBD organoids and EHBD organoids in vitro and discover that only IHBD organoids have the capacity to express hepatocyte markers under differentiation conditions. Ultimately, these results may help to identify new targets for therapeutic development for cholangiopathies and regenerative medicine. They have also provided important insight to the understanding of both basic biliary physiology and also the field of biliary stem/progenitor cell organoids.Funding to undertake this Doctoral degree was provided by the Gates Cambridge Trust and the National Institutes of Health Oxford Cambridge Scholars Program

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in HIV-infected patients

Concordant with the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the community setting, colonization and infections with this pathogen have become a prevalent problem among the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive population. A variety of different host- and, possibly, pathogen-related factors may play a role in explaining the increased prevalence and incidence observed. In this article, we review pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment of MRSA in the HIV-infected population

5-Meth­oxy-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxy­phen­yl)-1H-indole

The title compound, C18H19NO4, was prepared as an indole derivative with possible anti­mitotic properties. The planes of the indole and trimethoxy­phenyl rings make a dihedral angle of 45.35 (5)° with one another. In the crystal, mol­ecules related by a twofold screw axis exhibit arene C—H⋯arene-π inter­actions which are 3.035 (1) Å in length

Generation Z – eine qualitative Befragung zur Nutzung von Hochschulbibliotheken und Informationszentren

Die digitale Transformation unserer Gesellschaft führt fortlaufend zu wesentlichen Veränderungen in der Art und Weise, wie wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken und Informationszentren ihre Dienste anbieten. Die Generation Z, die aktuelle Studierenden- und junge Doktorand*innen-Generation, ist eine der wichtigsten Nutzer*innengruppen dieser Einrichtungen. Dennoch ist unser Wissen über ihre Arbeitsweisen, Kommunikationskanäle und Erwartungen noch begrenzt. Für eine nutzer*innenorientierte Weiterentwicklung von Servicekonzepten, Systemen und Informationen, wurden daher in dieser Studie persönliche Gespräche mit Angehörigen der Generation Z (bis einschließlich 25 Jahre) geführt. Das Vorgehen war explorativ und die Teilnehmer*innen wurden in semistrukturierten Leitfaden[1]Interviews befragt, wodurch 58 Online-Interviews entstanden sind, die aufschlussreiche Einblicke in das Nutzungsverhalten liefern. Die Ergebnisse wurden während der Corona-Pandemie 2020 erhoben und enthalten u. a. viele Wünsche und Verbesserungsvorschläge, aber auch Schwierigkeiten, mit denen die jungen Erwachsenen konfrontiert sind.The ongoing digital transformation of our society is continuously leading to significant changes in the way that academic libraries and information centers offer their services. The Generation Z, also known as the current student and young doctoral generation, is one of the most important user groups of these facilities. However, our knowledge about their working methods, communication channels and expectations is still limited. Therefore, this study conducted personal interviews with members of Generation Z (up to 25 years) in order to develop user-oriented service concepts, systems, and information. The approach was exploratory and participants were interviewed in semi-structured guideline interviews, resulting in 58 online interviews that provide insightful insights into usage behavior. The results were collected during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and include many requests and suggestions for improvement, as well as difficulties faced by young adults