Not Quite What It Seems: Rethinking the Way We View Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices – A Case Study of a Malaysian ESL Teacher

Research has shown that there is high congruity between pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices among expert teachers and how this demarcates them from their novice counterparts. However, this is not necessarily true for all experts and novices in the profession because their individual differences affect the degree of congruity and this has caused revisions in the ways which the expert-novice divide is understood. This paper examines belief-practice congruity and expert-novice differences through a case study of a novice Malaysian ESL teacher. The teacher’s beliefs about teaching and learning were obtained via a two-part questionnaire, while the classroom practices were analysed based on permitted recordings of her lessons. The findings reveal a convergence between the teacher’s classroom practices and her personal beliefs about teaching and learning, as well as the teacher’s role in the ESL classroom. The findings also reveal the teacher’s classroom practices, especially her use of error correction techniques, mirrored those of expert teachers. It was also found that the teacher’s own perceptions of student learning, her teaching experience and the realities of her classroom have shaped her beliefs and influenced her practices. The findings may not only provide useful insights into belief- practice congruity as experienced by novice ESL teachers, but also imply the need for increased awareness of expert and novice teachers’ individual differences which have direct consequences on instruction and learning

Teachers' Beliefs and Classroom Practices in Malaysian ESL Secondary Classroom

Numerous studies have examined the complex relationship between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices particularly the ways in which these practices do not always converge with teachers’ beliefs and the plethora of factors that govern such relationship (see Borg, 2003; Breen et al., 2001; Farrell & Lim, 2005; Gatbonton, 2008 ). The research presented in this paper seeks to examine this complexity by investigating the extent of convergence and divergence in a Malaysian ESL teacher’s pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices , and the contributing factors to the phenomenon . A case study of a novice female secondary school teacher teaching English to low -intermediate level learners in two lessons was conducted. The teacher’s beliefs about language learning and teaching were obtained via a questionnaire using Likert-scale, while the classroom practices were analysed from video recordings of the two lessons. The questionnaire analysis showed that the teacher’s beliefs not only exemplified those of novice teachers, but closely mirrored those who have extensive experience in the profession. The analysis of video recordings revealed that the teacher’s classroom practices converged with her beliefs about language teaching and learning, indicating the need to rethink current research on pedagogical beliefs and practices among experienced an d novice ESL teachers. Time constraint, teaching experience, perceptions of student learning and other possible factors that govern the relationship are also discussed

Early life stress influences acute and sensitised responses of adult mice to cocaine by interacting with GABAA α2 receptor expression

Early life stress (ELS) is known to exert long term effects on brain function, with resulting deleterious consequences for several aspects of mental health, including the development of addiction to drugs of abuse. One potential mechanism in humans is suggested by findings that ELS interacts with polymorphisms of the GABRA2 gene, encoding alpha2 subunits of GABAA receptors, to increase risk for both posttraumatic stress disorder, and vulnerability to cocaine addiction. We used a mouse model, in which the amount of material for nest building was reduced during early postnatal life, to study interactions between ELS and expression of alpha2-containing GABAA receptors in influencing cocaine-related behaviour. Breeding of parents heterozygous for deletion of alpha2 resulted in litters containing homozygous knockout (alpha2-/-), heterozygous knockout (alpha2+/-), and wildtype (alpha2+/+) offspring. Following the ELS procedure, the mice were allowed to develop to adulthood before being tested for the acute effect of cocaine on locomotor stimulation, behavioural sensitisation to repeated cocaine, and to cocaine-conditioned activity. Exposure to ELS resulted in increased acute locomotor stimulant effects of cocaine across all genotypes, with the most marked effects in alpha2-/- mice (which also showed increased activity following vehicle). Repeated cocaine administration to non-stressed mice resulted in sensitisation in alpha2+/+ and alpha2+/- mice, but, in keeping with previous findings, not in alpha2-/- mice. Prior exposure to ELS reduced sensitisation in alpha2+/+ mice, albeit not significantly, and abolished sensitisation in alpha2+/- mice. Conditioned activity was elevated following ELS in all animals, independently of genotype. Thus, while the enhanced acute effects of cocaine following ELS being most marked in alpha2-/- mice suggests a function of alpha2-containing GABAA receptors in protecting against stress, the interaction between ELS and genotype in influencing sensitisation may be more in keeping with ELS reducing expression of alpha2-containing GABAA receptors. The ability of ELS to increase cocaine-conditioned locomotor activity appears to be independent of alpha2-containing GABAA receptors

Early-life adversity selectively impairs α2-GABAA receptor expression in the mouse nucleus accumbens and influences the behavioral effects of cocaine

Haplotypes of the Gabra2 gene encoding the α2 subunit of the GABAA receptor (GABAAR) are associated with drug abuse, suggesting that α2-GABAARs may play an important role in the circuitry underlying drug misuse. The genetic association of Gabra2 haplotypes with cocaine addiction appears to be evident primarily in individuals who had experienced childhood trauma. Given this association of childhood trauma, cocaine abuse and the Gabra2 haplotypes, we have explored in a mouse model of early life adversity (ELA) whether such events influence the behavioral effects of cocaine and if, as suggested by the human studies, α2-GABAARs in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are involved in these perturbed behaviors. In adult mice prior ELA caused a selective decrease of accumbal α2-subunit mRNA, resulting in a selective decrease in the number and size of the α2-subunit (but not the α1-subunit) immunoreactive clusters in NAc core medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Functionally, in adult MSNs ELA decreased the amplitude and frequency of GABAAR-mediated miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs), a profile similar to that of α2 "knock-out" (α2-/-) mice. Behaviorally, adult male ELA and α2-/- mice exhibited an enhanced locomotor response to acute cocaine and blunted sensitization upon repeated cocaine administration, when compared to their appropriate controls. Collectively, these findings reveal a neurobiological mechanism which may relate to the clinical observation that early trauma increases the risk for substance abuse disorder (SAD) in individuals harbouring haplotypic variations in the Gabra2 gene.</p

Hyaluronan turnover and hypoxic brown adipocytic differentiation are co-localized with ossification in calcified human aortic valves

The calcification process in aortic stenosis has garnered considerable interest but only limited investigation into selected signaling pathways. This study investigated mechanisms related to hypoxia, hyaluronan homeostasis, brown adipocytic differentiation, and ossification within calcified valves. Surgically explanted calcified aortic valves (nﾠ=ﾠ14) were immunostained for markers relevant to these mechanisms and evaluated in the center (NodCtr) and edge (NodEdge) of the calcified nodule (NodCtr), tissue directly surrounding nodule (NodSurr); center and tissue surrounding small ﾓprenodulesﾔ (PreNod, PreNodSurr); and normal fibrosa layer (CollFibr). Pearson correlations were determined between staining intensities of markers within regions. Ossification markers primarily localized to NodCtr and NodEdge, along with markers related to hyaluronan turnover and hypoxia. Markers of brown adipocytic differentiation were frequently co-localized with markers of hypoxia. In NodCtr and NodSurr, brown fat and ossification markers correlated with hyaluronidase-1, whereas these markers, as well as hypoxia, correlated with hyaluronan synthases in NodEdge. The protein product of tumor necrosis factor-? stimulated gene-6 strongly correlated with ossification markers and hyaluronidase in the regions surrounding the nodules (NodSurr, PreNodSurr). In conclusion, this study suggests roles for hyaluronan homeostasis and the promotion of hypoxia by cells demonstrating brown fat markers in calcific aortic valve disease

Genome-wide Association of Lipid-lowering Response to Statins in Combined Study Populations

Background: Statins effectively lower total and plasma LDL-cholesterol, but the magnitude of decrease varies among individuals. To identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contributing to this variation, we performed a combined analysis of genome-wide association (GWA) results from three trials of statin efficacy. Methods and Principal Findings: Bayesian and standard frequentist association analyses were performed on untreated and statin-mediated changes in LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride on a total of 3932 subjects using data from three studies: Cholesterol and Pharmacogenetics (40 mg/day simvastatin, 6 weeks), Pravastatin/Inflammation CRP Evaluation (40 mg/day pravastatin, 24 weeks), and Treating to New Targets (10 mg/day atorvastatin, 8 weeks). Genotype imputation was used to maximize genomic coverage and to combine information across studies. Phenotypes were normalized within each study to account for systematic differences among studies, and fixed-effects combined analysis of the combined sample were performed to detect consistent effects across studies. Two SNP associations were assessed as having posterior probability greater than 50%, indicating that they were more likely than not to be genuinely associated with statin-mediated lipid response. SNP rs8014194, located within the CLMN gene on chromosome 14, was strongly associated with statin-mediated change in total cholesterol with an 84% probability by Bayesian analysis, and a p-value exceeding conventional levels of genome-wide significance by frequentist analysis (P = 1.8×10$^{−8}$). This SNP was less significantly associated with change in LDL-cholesterol (posterior probability = 0.16, P = 4.0×10$^{−6}$). Bayesian analysis also assigned a 51% probability that rs4420638, located in APOC1 and near APOE, was associated with change in LDL-cholesterol. Conclusions and Significance: Using combined GWA analysis from three clinical trials involving nearly 4,000 individuals treated with simvastatin, pravastatin, or atorvastatin, we have identified SNPs that may be associated with variation in the magnitude of statin-mediated reduction in total and LDL-cholesterol, including one in the CLMN gene for which statistical evidence for association exceeds conventional levels of genome-wide significance.Trial Registration PRINCE and TNT are not registered. CAP is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov NCT0045182

Genome-Wide Association of Lipid-Lowering Response to Statins in Combined Study Populations

Background: Statins effectively lower total and plasma LDL-cholesterol, but the magnitude of decrease varies among individuals. To identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contributing to this variation, we performed a combined analysis of genome-wide association (GWA) results from three trials of statin efficacy.Methods and Principal Findings: Bayesian and standard frequentist association analyses were performed on untreated and statin-mediated changes in LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride on a total of 3932 subjects using data from three studies: Cholesterol and Pharmacogenetics (40 mg/day simvastatin, 6 weeks), Pravastatin/Inflammation CRP Evaluation (40 mg/day pravastatin, 24 weeks), and Treating to New Targets (10 mg/day atorvastatin, 8 weeks). Genotype imputation was used to maximize genomic coverage and to combine information across studies. Phenotypes were normalized within each study to account for systematic differences among studies, and fixed-effects combined analysis of the combined sample were performed to detect consistent effects across studies. Two SNP associations were assessed as having posterior probability greater than 50%, indicating that they were more likely than not to be genuinely associated with statin-mediated lipid response. SNP rs8014194, located within the CLMN gene on chromosome 14, was strongly associated with statin-mediated change in total cholesterol with an 84% probability by Bayesian analysis, and a p-value exceeding conventional levels of genome-wide significance by frequentist analysis (P = 1.8×10−8). This SNP was less significantly associated with change in LDL-cholesterol (posterior probability = 0.16, P = 4.0×10−6). Bayesian analysis also assigned a 51% probability that rs4420638, located in APOC1 and near APOE, was associated with change in LDL-cholesterol.Conclusions and Significance: Using combined GWA analysis from three clinical trials involving nearly 4,000 individuals treated with simvastatin, pravastatin, or atorvastatin, we have identified SNPs that may be associated with variation in the magnitude of statin-mediated reduction in total and LDL-cholesterol, including one in the CLMN gene for which statistical evidence for association exceeds conventional levels of genome-wide significance.Trial Registration: PRINCE and TNT are not registered. CAP is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00451828</p

Mixed Species Plantations: Prospects and Challenges

About 2% of English-language literature on plantations deals with mixed-species plantations, but only a tiny proportion

Polymorphisms of the HNF1A Gene Encoding Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor-1α are Associated with C-Reactive Protein

Data from the Pharmacogenomics and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease (PARC) study and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) provide independent and confirmatory evidence for association between common polymorphisms of the HNF1A gene encoding hepatocyte nuclear factor-1α and plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration. Analyses with the use of imputation-based methods to combine genotype data from both studies and to test untyped SNPs from the HapMap database identified several SNPs within a 5 kb region of HNF1A intron 1 with the strongest evidence of association with CRP phenotype

In-Orbit Performance of the GRACE Follow-on Laser Ranging Interferometer

The Laser Ranging Interferometer (LRI) instrument on the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Follow-On mission has provided the first laser interferometric range measurements between remote spacecraft, separated by approximately 220 km. Autonomous controls that lock the laser frequency to a cavity reference and establish the 5 degrees of freedom two-way laser link between remote spacecraft succeeded on the first attempt. Active beam pointing based on differential wave front sensing compensates spacecraft attitude fluctuations. The LRI has operated continuously without breaks in phase tracking for more than 50 days, and has shown biased range measurements similar to the primary ranging instrument based on microwaves, but with much less noise at a level of 1 nm/Hz at Fourier frequencies above 100 mHz. © 2019 authors. Published by the American Physical Society