Preferences for self-service meat among household consumers in metropolitan St. Louis

Also available online.Digitized 2007 AES

The Effect of Prior Experiences and Sequence of Instruction Upon Preservice Teachers\u27 Pedagogical Beliefs and Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching

This study investigated the effects of sequence of instruction in a laboratory-based mathematics content course for elementary teachers on preservice teachers\u27 (PSTs\u27) pedagogical beliefs and Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) through a quasi-experimental design in which the order of laboratory tasks and explanations of content was altered between sections for a given unit and between units within a given section. This study also investigated the prior experiences a group of preservice elementary teachers shared as students of mathematics and examined how these experiences related to their beliefs regarding effective pedagogy through a phenomenology. Additionally, the perspective of an experienced instructor, who was new to facilitating a sequence of instruction in which PSTs explored mathematical before a formal explanation of content was delivered, was examined through a case study. Data were collected through mathematical autobiographies written by PSTs, pre- and post-assessments of MKT, classroom observations, exit surveys completed by PSTs, and interviews with the instructor and six PSTs. Results from these data revealed that most PSTs experienced a traditional school mathematics characterized by review, delivery of content, worked examples, and practice, and many PSTs also framed their interpretations of effective pedagogy within this traditional context. No significant differences were found in mean gains between those sections that explored content through laboratory tasks before an explanation was given and those that confirmed content through laboratories that followed an explanation of the content. Although the instructor did not initially identify differences between sequence groups, as the semester progressed, she found the discourse richer and PSTs more independent in their problem solving in the exploratory section, and these benefits came with no drop off in MKT

Genetic regulation of pituitary gland development in human and mouse

Normal hypothalamopituitary development is closely related to that of the forebrain and is dependent upon a complex genetic cascade of transcription factors and signaling molecules that may be either intrinsic or extrinsic to the developing Rathke’s pouch. These factors dictate organ commitment, cell differentiation, and cell proliferation within the anterior pituitary. Abnormalities in these processes are associated with congenital hypopituitarism, a spectrum of disorders that includes syndromic disorders such as septo-optic dysplasia, combined pituitary hormone deficiencies, and isolated hormone deficiencies, of which the commonest is GH deficiency. The highly variable clinical phenotypes can now in part be explained due to research performed over the last 20 yr, based mainly on naturally occurring and transgenic animal models. Mutations in genes encoding both signaling molecules and transcription factors have been implicated in the etiology of hypopituitarism, with or without other syndromic features, in mice and humans. To date, mutations in known genes account for a small proportion of cases of hypopituitarism in humans. However, these mutations have led to a greater understanding of the genetic interactions that lead to normal pituitary development. This review attempts to describe the complexity of pituitary development in the rodent, with particular emphasis on those factors that, when mutated, are associated with hypopituitarism in humans