Faculty perceptions of multicultural teaching in a large urban university

As college graduates face an increasingly globalized world, it is imperative to consider issues of multicultural instruction in higher education. This study presents qualitative and quantitative findings from a survey of faculty at a large, urban, midwestern university regarding perceptions of multicultural teaching. Faculty were asked how they define multicultural teaching, how they engage in multicultural teaching, what they perceive to be the benefits of multicultural teaching, and what barriers to implementing multicultural teaching they experience. Results indicate faculty members most frequently define multicultural teaching as using diverse teaching pedagogies and materials. In line with their definitions, faculty also report engaging in multicultural teaching through use of inclusive course materials. Faculty identified positive learning outcomes for all students as a primary benefit to engaging in multicultural teaching. The primary barrier reported by faculty is an anticipated resistance from students. Variations in responses based on academic discipline and rank of faculty member are discussed

Pharmacokinetic evaluation of the PNC disassembler metarrestin in wild-type and Pdx1-Cre;LSL-KrasG12D/+;Tp53R172H/+ (KPC) mice, a genetically engineered model of pancreatic cancer

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Purpose Metarrestin is a first-in-class small molecule clinical candidate capable of disrupting the perinucleolar compartment, a subnuclear structure unique to metastatic cancer cells. This study aims to define the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of metarrestin and the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship of metarrestin-regulated markers. Methods PK studies included the administration of single or multiple dose of metarrestin at 3, 10, or 25 mg/kg via intravenous (IV) injection, gavage (PO) or with chow to wild-type C57BL/6 mice and KPC mice bearing autochthonous pancreatic tumors. Metarrestin concentrations were analyzed by UPLC–MS/MS. Pharmacodynamic assays included mRNA expression profiling by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR for KPC mice. Results Metarrestin had a moderate plasma clearance of 48 mL/min/kg and a large volume of distribution of 17 L/kg at 3 mg/kg IV in C57BL/6 mice. The oral bioavailability after single-dose (SD) treatment was > 80%. In KPC mice treated with SD 25 mg/kg PO, plasma AUC0–∞ of 14400 ng h/mL, Cmax of 810 ng/mL and half-life (t1/2) of 8.5 h were observed. At 24 h after SD of 25 mg/kg PO, the intratumor concentration of metarrestin was high with a mean value of 6.2 µg/g tissue (or 13 µM), well above the cell-based IC50 of 0.4 µM. At multiple dose (MD) 25 mg/kg/day PO in KPC mice, mean tissue/plasma AUC0–24h ratio for tumor, spleen and liver was 37, 30 and 31, respectively. There was a good linear relationship of dosage to AUC0–24h and C24h. AUC0–24h MD to AUC0–24h SD ratios ranged from two for liver to five for tumor indicating additional accumulation in tumors. Dose-dependent normalization of FOXA1 and FOXO6 mRNA expression was observed in KPC tumors. Conclusions Metarrestin is an effective therapeutic candidate with a favorable PK profile achieving excellent intratumor tissue levels in a disease with known poor drug delivery.Intramural Research Program (IRP) of the NIHNational Cancer InstituteCenter for Cancer Research (ZIA BC 011267

Cisplatin and Doxorubicin Induce Distinct Mechanisms of Ovarian Follicle Loss; Imatinib Provides Selective Protection Only against Cisplatin

Chemotherapy treatment in premenopausal women has been linked to ovarian follicle loss and premature ovarian failure; the exact mechanism by which this occurs is uncertain. Here, two commonly used chemotherapeutic agents (cisplatin and doxorubicin) were added to a mouse ovary culture system, to compare the sequence of events that leads to germ cell loss. The ability of imatinib mesylate to protect the ovary against cisplatin or doxorubicin-induced ovarian damage was also examined.Newborn mouse ovaries were cultured for a total of six days, exposed to a chemotherapeutic agent on the second day: this allowed for the examination of the earliest stages of follicle development. Cleaved PARP and TUNEL were used to assess apoptosis following drug treatment. Imatinib was added to cultures with cisplatin and doxorubicin to determine any protective effect.Histological analysis of ovaries treated with cisplatin showed oocyte-specific damage; in comparison doxorubicin preferentially caused damage to the granulosa cells. Cleaved PARP expression significantly increased for cisplatin (16 fold, p<0.001) and doxorubicin (3 fold, p<0.01). TUNEL staining gave little evidence of primordial follicle damage with either drug. Imatinib had a significant protective effect against cisplatin-induced follicle damage (p<0.01) but not against doxorubicin treatment.Cisplatin and doxorubicin both induced ovarian damage, but in a markedly different pattern, with imatinib protecting the ovary against damage by cisplatin but not doxorubicin. Any treatment designed to block the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on the ovary may need to be specific to the drug(s) the patient is exposed to

Use of Motor Abundance in Young and Older Adults during Dual-Task Treadmill Walking

Contains fulltext : 110120.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Motor abundance allows individuals to perform any task reliably while being variable in movement's particulars. The study investigated age-related differences in this feature when young adults (YA) and older adults (OA) performed challenging tasks, namely treadmill walking alone and while performing a cognitive task. A goal function for treadmill walking was first defined, i.e., maintain constant speed at each step, which led to a goal equivalent manifold (GEM) containing all combinations of step time and step length that equally satisfied the function. Given the GEM, amounts of goal-equivalent and non-goal-equivalent variability were afterwards determined and used to define an index providing information about the set of effective motor solutions relative to the GEM. The set was limited in OA compared to YA in treadmill walking alone, indicating that OA made less flexible use of motor abundance than YA. However, this differentiation between YA and OA disappeared when concurrently performing the cognitive task. It is proposed that OA might have benefited from cognitive compensation

Evidence for a Grooming Claw in a North American Adapiform Primate: Implications for Anthropoid Origins

Among fossil primates, the Eocene adapiforms have been suggested as the closest relatives of living anthropoids (monkeys, apes, and humans). Central to this argument is the form of the second pedal digit. Extant strepsirrhines and tarsiers possess a grooming claw on this digit, while most anthropoids have a nail. While controversial, the possible presence of a nail in certain European adapiforms has been considered evidence for anthropoid affinities. Skeletons preserved well enough to test this idea have been lacking for North American adapiforms. Here, we document and quantitatively analyze, for the first time, a dentally associated skeleton of Notharctus tenebrosus from the early Eocene of Wyoming that preserves the complete bones of digit II in semi-articulation. Utilizing twelve shape variables, we compare the distal phalanges of Notharctus tenebrosus to those of extant primates that bear nails (n = 21), tegulae (n = 4), and grooming claws (n = 10), and those of non-primates that bear claws (n = 7). Quantitative analyses demonstrate that Notharctus tenebrosus possessed a grooming claw with a surprisingly well-developed apical tuft on its second pedal digit. The presence of a wide apical tuft on the pedal digit II of Notharctus tenebrosus may reflect intermediate morphology between a typical grooming claw and a nail, which is consistent with the recent hypothesis that loss of a grooming claw occurred in a clade containing adapiforms (e.g. Darwinius masillae) and anthropoids. However, a cladistic analysis including newly documented morphologies and thorough representation of characters acknowledged to have states constituting strepsirrhine, haplorhine, and anthropoid synapomorphies groups Notharctus tenebrosus and Darwinius masillae with extant strepsirrhines rather than haplorhines suggesting that the form of pedal digit II reflects substantial homoplasy during the course of early primate evolution

Detailed Analysis of a Contiguous 22-Mb Region of the Maize Genome

Most of our understanding of plant genome structure and evolution has come from the careful annotation of small (e.g., 100 kb) sequenced genomic regions or from automated annotation of complete genome sequences. Here, we sequenced and carefully annotated a contiguous 22 Mb region of maize chromosome 4 using an improved pseudomolecule for annotation. The sequence segment was comprehensively ordered, oriented, and confirmed using the maize optical map. Nearly 84% of the sequence is composed of transposable elements (TEs) that are mostly nested within each other, of which most families are low-copy. We identified 544 gene models using multiple levels of evidence, as well as five miRNA genes. Gene fragments, many captured by TEs, are prevalent within this region. Elimination of gene redundancy from a tetraploid maize ancestor that originated a few million years ago is responsible in this region for most disruptions of synteny with sorghum and rice. Consistent with other sub-genomic analyses in maize, small RNA mapping showed that many small RNAs match TEs and that most TEs match small RNAs. These results, performed on ∼1% of the maize genome, demonstrate the feasibility of refining the B73 RefGen_v1 genome assembly by incorporating optical map, high-resolution genetic map, and comparative genomic data sets. Such improvements, along with those of gene and repeat annotation, will serve to promote future functional genomic and phylogenomic research in maize and other grasses

Chapitre 20. La réception de l’architecture de la reconstruction dans le Hanovre d’aujourd’hui

Hanovre fait partie des villes allemandes marquées durablement par l’architecture moderne d’après-guerre. Même si de nombreux bâtiments ont déjà été démolis et si d’autres sont négligés ou menacés, cette architecture est généralement classée au titre de la protection des monuments historiques depuis les années 1980. Le rapport actuel à ce patrimoine dépend d’une mosaïque de facteurs parmi lesquels on compte l’objet lui-même et son rayonnement, le jeu des acteurs et les conditions juridiques de sa conservation. Dans un contexte marqué par la concomitance entre reconnaissance de l’architecture de l’après-guerre par la génération des « petits-enfants » et reconstruction historicisante de châteaux et d’églises, les enjeux de la mise en patrimoine résident dans une réflexion sur la manière dont on peut prolonger l’héritage, mais aussi dans des conflits déterminés par d’autres intérêts, en particulier économiques et commerciaux. Lorsqu’on se penche sur les aspects juridiques relatifs au classement des monuments historiques et sur le droit de la propriété artistique, on en constate rapidement les faiblesses, en particulier lorsque les pouvoirs publics sont propriétaires ou quand de grands investisseurs sont impliqués. Décisive reste alors l’attitude des citoyens et des citoyennes dans la protection de leur propre patrimoine

Prävalenz und Koprävalenz sekundärer Ursachen der arteriellen Hypertonie bei Patienten mit Blutdruckentgleisung

In der vorliegenden Studie wurden Patientin mit Blutdruckentgleisung auf die drei häufigsten sekundären Ursachen der arteriellen Hypertonie - die Schlafapnoe, den Hyperaldosteronismus, die Nierenarterienstenose - untersucht. Von 161 hypertensiv entgleisten Patienten konnte bei 119 (73,9%) eine sekundäre Hypertonie diagnostiziert werden. Eine relevante Schlafapnoe wurde bei 114 (70,8%) der Patienten gefunden. Dreizehn (8,1%) Patienten hatten eine signifikante Nierenarterienstenose. Ein primärer Hyperaldosteronismus wurde bei 4 (2,5%) Patienten diagnostiziert. Bei 23 (19,3%) Patienten lagen mehrere Ursachen vor. Es zeigt sich, dass die Prävalenz einzelner sekundärer Ursachen hoch ist. In über 95% sind diese sekundären Ursachen nie diagnostiziert worden, obwohl bei diesen Patienten seit vielen Jahren die Diagnose arterielle Hypertonie vorliegt. Koprävalenzen sekundärer Ursachen sind häufig und sollten vor Einleitung einer Therapie berücksichtigt werden

Mentorship for racial minority students by racial minority faculty

This qualitative study examines minority student experiences in navigating higher education at predominantly white institutions (PWI) such as WWU. Through individual face-to-face interviews, 30 undergraduate students from the Humanities or Social Science department have been asked to reflect on their racial identities and educational experiences at WWU. This study\u27s central questions were, How is it like for a racial minority student to navigate undergraduate educational experience at a predominantly White institution (PWI) with the support of a racial minority faculty mentor? and How is it like for a racial minority student to navigate undergraduate educational experience at a PWI without the support of a racial minority faculty mentor? This study is designed to bring awareness of racial justice and equity issues to different parties involved in the college of Humanities and Social Sciences and WWU. Critical Race Theory and Critical Mentoring Pedagogy serve as guides towards analysis. The findings will contribute to the understanding of the need for mentorship among racial minority students, particularly those who navigate the academic White waters without a racial minority faculty mentor as compared to those who are able to seek racial minority faculty mentorship