Investigation of selected collagen genes in exercise-related musculoskeletal soft tissue phenotypes

Includes bibliographical references.Previous findings have suggested that functional variants within collagen encoding genes are associated with several musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries and other exercise-related phenotypes. Specifically variants within the functional COL5A1 3’- untranslated region (UTR) have previously been associated with (1) chronic Achilles tendinopathy, (2) Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) ruptures in females, (3) endurance running performance and (4) range of motion (ROM). Since this gene encodes for an important structural component of the collagen fibril it has been hypothesised that variants within other collagen fibril encoding genes, such as COL3A1, COL6A1 and COL12A1, will also be associated with these and/or other musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries and exercise-related phenotypes. The COL5A1 rs12722 and COL12A1 rs970547 gene variants have been previously associated with risk of ACL ruptures in females [153;154] and/or chronic Achilles tendinopathy [131;181]. The first aim of this thesis was therefore to investigate the COL3A1 rs1800255 and COL6A1 rs35796750 gene variants as risk factors for these musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries

An Investigation of Current Design, Implementation and Evaluation Methods of Service-Learning Programs in Japan

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Becoming a Change Agent: Residency as Pathway to Accomplished Teaching

A change agent is a person equipped to transform their environment meaningfully. This qualitative survey study examined the extent to which graduates of residency-based teacher education programs act as change agents across different stages of a career. The qualitative survey study used convenience sampling to gather data from 23 alumni of a full-year, graduate, residency-based teacher education program. Participants responded to questions aligned with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to determine how the residency program prepared graduates to be agents of change in their learning communities. Qualitative data was analyzed using a constant comparative method. Results indicated that alumni become agents of change, but this level of professionalism takes more than ten years to develop