Skalendokumentation der Gießener Offensive Lehrerbildung zur Reflexionsbereitschaft

Ein zentrales Anliegen der Gießener Offensive Lehrerbildung (GOL) ist die (Weiter-)Entwicklung von Reflexionskompetenz Studierender des Lehramts. Insgesamt wurden angelehnt an das Kompetenzmodell von Blömeke, Gustaffson und Shelverson (2015) unterschiedliche Dimensionen von Reflexionskompetenz entwickelt und empirisch getestet. Im Fokus dieser Skalendokumentation stehen drei Dimensionenen der persönlichen Bereitschaft zu reflektieren: 1) Reflexion im zukünftigen Lehralltag 2) Reflexionsbezogene Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung 3) Reflexive Orientierung (mit den Subskalen innere und externe Orientierung) Das Dokument beinhaltet die operationalisierten Skalen, die im April 2017 in unterschiedlichen Lehrveranstaltungen (hauptsächlich in Vorlesungen) in Lehramtsstudiengängen eingesetzt wurden (n=184)

Silica scale formation and effect of sodium and aluminium ions -29Si NMR study

Silica scale formation on reverse osmosis (RO) membrane surface is a significant problem for operation of high recovery RO desalination plant. In this study we report the effects of sodium ions derived from sodium chloride and aluminium ions derived from aluminium chloride on dissolved silica species obtained from commercial sodium silicate solutions. Five dissolved silica species have been positively identified in sodium silica solutions. 29 Si NMR spectroscopy has proven to be particular well suited to obtain in situ information on the connectivity of silicon atoms in the solution and the impact of sodium and aluminium ions on connectivity between monomeric silica acid groups. Such information extends the understanding of how polysilicate ion mixtures change under different chemical conditions. Implications for RO desalination and silica scale formation on the membrane surface were discussed

Order-Order Morphological Transitions for Dual Stimulus Responsive Diblock Copolymer Vesicles

A series of non-ionic poly(glycerol monomethacrylate)− poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) (PGMA−PHPMA) diblock copolymer vesicles has been prepared by reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) aqueous dispersion polymerization of HPMA at 70 °C at low pH using a carboxylic acid-based chain transfer agent. The degree of polymerization (DP) of the PGMA block was fixed at 43, and the DP of the PHPMA block was systematically varied from 175 to 250 in order to target vesicle phase space. Based on our recent work describing the analogous PGMA−PHPMA diblock copolymer worms [Lovett, J. R.; et al. Angew. Chem. 2015, 54, 1279−1283], such diblock copolymer vesicles were expected to undergo an order−order morphological transition via ionization of the carboxylic acid end-group on switching the solution pH. Indeed, irreversible vesicleto-sphere and vesicle-to-worm transitions were observed for PHPMA DPs of 175 and 200, respectively, as judged by turbidimetry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies. However, such morphological transitions are surprisingly slow, with relatively long time scales (hours) being required at 20 °C. Moreover, no order−order morphological transitions were observed for vesicles comprising longer membrane-forming blocks (e.g., PGMA43− PHPMA225−250) on raising the pH from pH 3.5 to pH 6.0. However, in such cases the application of a dual stimulus comprising the same pH switch immediately followed by cooling from 20 to 5 °C, induces an irreversible vesicle-to-sphere transition. Finally, TEM and DLS studies conducted in the presence of 100 mM KCl demonstrated that the pH-responsive behavior arising from end-group ionization could be suppressed in the presence of added electrolyte. This is because charge screening suppresses the subtle change in the packing parameter required to drive the morphological transition

NMR studies of cbEFG-like domains from human fibrillin-1

The calcium binding epidermal growth factor-like (cbEGF) 12-13 domain pair from human fibrillin-1 was the focus of studies for this dissertation. Various nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques were employed to analyse the calcium binding, structural and dynamic properties of this pair, and to assess the effects of a disease-causing mutation. Fibrillin-1 is a mosaic protein composed mainly of 43 cbEGF domains arranged as multiple, tandem repeats, and mutations within fibrillin-1 have been linked to Marfan syndrome (MFS). 66% of MFS-causing mutations identified thus far are localised to cbEGF domains, emphasising that the native properties of these domains are critical to the functional integrity of this protein. The cbEGF 12-13 pair is found within the longest run of cbEGFs in fibrillin-1, and many mutations that cluster in this region are associated with the severe, neonatal form of MFS. It is thought that this region may be important for fibrillin-1 assembly into 10- 12nm connective tissue microfibrils. Calcium binding studies of cbEGF 12-13 demonstrated that cbEGF 13 contains the highest affinity site thus far investigated from human fibrillin-1. Comparison with previous results showed that fibrillin-1 cbEGF calcium binding affinity can be significantly modulated by the type of domain which is linked to its N-terminus, and also highlighted the high affinity of the "neonatal" region. The NMR solution structure of cbEGF 12-13 is a near-linear, rod-like arrangement of two cbEGF domains, with both exhibiting secondary structure characteristic of this domain type. The rod-like arrangement is stabilised by calcium binding by cbEGF 13 and by hydrophobic interdomain packing interactions. This observation supports the hypothesis that all Class I EGF/cbEGF-cbEGF pairs, characterised by a single linker residue, possess this rod-like structure. The structure also exhibits additional packing interactions to those previously observed for cbEGF32- 33 from fibrillin-1, which may explain the higher calcium binding affinity of cbEGF13. A model of cbEGF 11-15, created based on structural data for cbEGF 12-13 and a model of cbEGF32-36, has highlighted a potential protein binding interface, which encompasses all known neonatal MFS mutations, as well as a flexible, unstructured loop region of cbEGF 12. Backbone dynamics data confirmed the extended structure of cbEGF 12-13. These data, combined with previous data for cbEGF32-33, highlighted a potential dynamics signature for Class I cbEGF domain pairs. Comparison of data for these pairs also suggested that, in addition to the role of calcium in stabilising rigidity on the picoto millisecond time-scale, calcium affinity may play a key role in determining the anisotropy of cbEGF pairs. Possible dynamic explanations for the variation in calcium binding affinity of cbEGF domains from human fibrillin-1 were also noted. The Gl 127S mutation located in cbEGF 13 of fibrillin-1 causes a mild variant of MFS. NMR studies of the G1127S cbEGF12-13 mutant pair showed that cbEGF12 may chaperone folding of mutant cbEGF 13, an effect most likely mediated through interdomain packing interactions. These studies have also shown that the effects of this mutation are localised to cbEGF13, suggesting that a "partial" MFS phenotype is the result of altered structural, dynamic and/or calcium binding properties of this domain

H2O2 Enables Convenient Removal of RAFT End-Groups from Block Copolymer Nano-Objects Prepared via Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly in Water

RAFT-synthesized polymers are typically colored and malodorous due to the presence of the sulfur-based RAFT end-group(s). In principle, RAFT end-groups can be removed by treating molecularly dissolved copolymer chains with excess free radical initiators, amines, or oxidants. Herein we report a convenient method for the removal of RAFT end-groups from aqueous dispersions of diblock copolymer nano-objects using H2O2. This oxidant is relatively cheap, has minimal impact on the copolymer morphology, and produces benign side products that can be readily removed via dialysis. We investigate the efficiency of end-group removal for various diblock copolymer nano-objects prepared with either dithiobenzoate- or trithiocarbonate-based RAFT chain transfer agents. The advantage of using UV GPC rather than UV spectroscopy is demonstrated for assessing both the kinetics and extent of end-group removal

Comportamento de genótipos de canola em Maringá em 2003.

bitstream/CNPT-2010/40480/1/p-co115.pd

Improving the value of public RNA-seq expression data by phenotype prediction.

Publicly available genomic data are a valuable resource for studying normal human variation and disease, but these data are often not well labeled or annotated. The lack of phenotype information for public genomic data severely limits their utility for addressing targeted biological questions. We develop an in silico phenotyping approach for predicting critical missing annotation directly from genomic measurements using well-annotated genomic and phenotypic data produced by consortia like TCGA and GTEx as training data. We apply in silico phenotyping to a set of 70 000 RNA-seq samples we recently processed on a common pipeline as part of the recount2 project. We use gene expression data to build and evaluate predictors for both biological phenotypes (sex, tissue, sample source) and experimental conditions (sequencing strategy). We demonstrate how these predictions can be used to study cross-sample properties of public genomic data, select genomic projects with specific characteristics, and perform downstream analyses using predicted phenotypes. The methods to perform phenotype prediction are available in the phenopredict R package and the predictions for recount2 are available from the recount R package. With data and phenotype information available for 70,000 human samples, expression data is available for use on a scale that was not previously feasible

Music Educator Turnover in West Virginia: What Is Keeping Music Teachers in Their Classrooms and Why Are Others Leaving?

Although there is much literature related to teacher recruitment and retention, little is applied specifically to music education, and very little focuses on music education within rural school districts like those that are common to West Virginia. Moreover, there is almost no research at all dedicated solely to West Virginia’s unique music teacher retention statistics. Therefore, this study collected data using a survey that was administered to working music teachers in several West Virginia counties. This mixed-method study identified why the music educators chose to stay in their positions. In addition, it also identified reasons that may have made the teachers consider leaving their jobs. These findings were highlighted with the hopes of identifying solutions that can help to alleviate West Virginia’s teacher shortage problem. The survey made use of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The following factors were examined in the study: school culture/climate, teacher efficacy, administrator approval, teacher mentoring, COVID-19, teacher perceptions of being valued or undervalued, compensation, teaching options, and access to adequate teaching materials, time, and space. Data was also collected from county boards of education to more accurately assess the music teacher turnover rates in the state by determining how many music teachers previously left their jobs over the last year. The study concludes with teacher interviews that provided more insight into teachers’ perspectives. Eight teachers were interviewed in total. Those interviewed included elementary, middle school, and high school music teachers. The teachers interviewed represented the main music concentrations taught in West Virginia, including general music, choir, band, and orchestra

A Robust Cross-Linking Strategy for Block Copolymer Worms Prepared via Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly

A poly(glycerol monomethacrylate) (PGMA) chain transfer agent is chain-extended by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) statistical copolymerization of 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA) with glycidyl methacrylate (GlyMA) in concentrated aqueous solution via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). A series of five free-standing worm gels is prepared by fixing the overall degree of polymerization of the core-forming block at 144 while varying its GlyMA content from 0 to 20 mol %. 1H NMR kinetics indicated that GlyMA is consumed much faster than HPMA, producing a GlyMA-rich sequence close to the PGMA stabilizer block. Temperature-dependent oscillatory rheological studies indicate that increasing the GlyMA content leads to progressively less thermoresponsive worm gels, with no degelation on cooling being observed for worms containing 20 mol % GlyMA. The epoxy groups in the GlyMA residues can be ring-opened using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) in order to prepare core cross-linked worms via hydrolysis-condensation with the siloxane groups and/or hydroxyl groups on the HPMA residues. Perhaps surprisingly, 1H NMR analysis indicates that the epoxy-amine reaction and the intermolecular cross-linking occur on similar time scales. Cross-linking leads to stiffer worm gels that do not undergo degelation upon cooling. Dynamic light scattering studies and TEM analyses conducted on linear worms exposed to either methanol (a good solvent for both blocks) or anionic surfactant result in immediate worm dissociation. In contrast, cross-linked worms remain intact under such conditions, provided that the worm cores comprise at least 10 mol % GlyMA

Classic Psychedelic Drugs: Update on Biological Mechanisms

Renewed interest in the effects of psychedelics in the treatment of psychiatric disorders warrants a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of these substances. During the past two decades, state-of-the-art studies of animals and humans have yielded new important insights into the molecular, cellular, and systems-level actions of psychedelic drugs. These efforts have revealed that psychedelics affect primarily serotonergic receptor subtypes located in cortico-thalamic and cortico-cortical feedback circuits of information processing. Psychedelic drugs modulate excitatory-inhibitory balance in these circuits and can participate in neuroplasticity within brain structures critical for the integration of information relevant to sensation, cognition, emotions, and the narrative of self. Neuroimaging studies showed that characteristic dimensions of the psychedelic experience obtained through subjective questionnaires as well as alterations in self-referential processing and emotion regulation obtained through neuropsychological tasks are associated with distinct changes in brain activity and connectivity patterns at multiple-system levels. These recent results suggest that changes in self-experience, emotional processing, and social cognition may contribute to the potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics