Improving Student Achievement Through the Implementation of A Classroom Performance System

This applied dissertation was designed to implement and examine the impact of a classroom performance system (CPS) on student achievement for Grade 9 mathematics students. Seventy-five students in 4 Coordinate Algebra classes were observed during the regular school day for 9 weeks. The treatment group received CPS-based instruction, and the control group received traditional mathematics instruction without the use of a CPS. The teacher was the same for all classes. Data from benchmark assessments as well as quarterly grade reports were compared for both groups. The findings of this study showed mixed results in relation to the impact of CPS-based instruction on mathematics achievement. Using the CPS resulted in significant increases in benchmark scores but not report card scores; further, the increase in score was not statistically significantly different between the treatment and control groups. However, this research is an initial step in studying the use of CPSs with high school students; most of the research has investigated the use of CPSs at the college level

Sex and Asex: A clonal lexicon

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Heredity following peer review. The version of record--Maria E Orive, Stacy A Krueger-Hadfield, Sex and Asex: A clonal lexicon, Journal of Heredity, 2020;, esaa058, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esaa058--is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esaa058Organisms across the tree of life have complex life cycles that include both sexual and asexual reproduction or that are obligately asexual. These organisms include ecologically dominant species that structure many terrestrial and marine ecosystems, as well as many pathogens, pests, and invasive species. We must consider both the evolution and maintenance of these various reproductive modes and how these modes shape the genetic diversity, adaptive evolution, and ability to persist of the species that exhibit them. Thus, having a common framework is a key aspect of understanding the biodiversity that shapes our planet. In the 2019 AGA President’s Symposium, Sex and Asex: The genetics of complex life cycles, researchers investigating a wide range of taxonomic models and using a variety of modes of investigation coalesced around a common theme – understanding not only how such complex life cycles may evolve, but how they are shaped by the evolutionary and ecological forces around them. In this introduction to the Special Issue from the symposium, we give an overview of some of the key ideas and areas of investigation (a common clonal lexicon, we might say) and introduce the breadth of work submitted by symposium participants

Advances and perspectives on the ecology and management of Castanea species

Species of chestnut (Castanea spp.) are naturally widespread throughout temperate forests of the northern hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. Populations have been naturalized outside of species’ native ranges in Europe, North America, South America and Oceania. The wide diffusion on a planetary level over tens of millions of years has resulted in high genetic variability within the genus and spe- cies adaptations to disparate environmental conditions (Dane et al., 2003; Mellano et al., 2012; Krebs et al., 2019). Perhaps more than many other tree species, the history of chestnut has been closely linked to human civilizations who utilized chestnut as an agricultural and forest resource over millennia. Chestnut species have had important cultural significance for Indigenous communities, although much Traditional Ecological Knowledge has been lost (Barnhill-Dilling and Delborne, 2019), and chestnut species have been subjected to challenges of the contemporary Anthropocene, from globalization to climate change. Al- terations to disturbance regimes, particularly related to drought and fire, and the introduction of nonnative pests and pathogens, have reduced genetic diversity and population densities, particularly for species in North America, Europe, and western Asia (Mellano et al., 2012; Dalgleish et al., 2016). Forest management practices, genomic tools, tree breeding, and prediction models have been developed and tested to meet these challenges (Jacobs et al., 2013; Fernandes et al., 2022). Most strategies, however, are underdeveloped and species spe- cific, including for American chestnut (Burnham et al., 1986; Ana- gnostakis, 2012; Fei et al., 2012) and sweet chestnut (Conedera et al., 2016; Manetti et al., 2019; Marcolin et al., 2020; Patrício et al., 2020). A global perspective for chestnut sustainability, conservation, and man- agement has largely been missing in the literature, excluding pro- ceedings from International Chestnut Symposia (e.g., Double and MacDonald, 2014).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A silvicultural synthesis of sweet (Castanea sativa) and American (C. dentata) chestnuts

Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and American chestnut (C. dentata) have been explicitly linked to ancient, historical, and contemporary cultures while enhancing ecological services in forests in which they occur. Threats that currently face these chestnut species are unprecedented and additive, including global climate change, nonnative pest and pathogen species, land use changes, and lack of scientific knowledge and technologies. In this paper, we provide a synthesis of traditional and novel silvicultural systems for chestnut, focusing on these two important species. We frame the discussion within the context of the species’ cultural and ecological significances, scientific knowledge bases, and associated knowledge gaps. Sweet and American chestnuts require divergent strategies to sustain their conservation values due to differing cultural and ecological landscapes and biological stressors. Both species share the need to conduct active forest management to maintain or restore populations in native or naturalized habitats. Even-aged management is the preferred regeneration method for both species. Coppicing that is commonly implemented for sweet chestnut can provide a potential strategy for American chestnut once disease-resistant material becomes widely available. Blight caused by Cryphonectria parasitica may limit long rotation timber production of American chestnut, even for resistant material, making short-rotation systems a more attractive management option. Advanced artificial regeneration and breeding strategies have been developed for American chestnut but are largely underdeveloped for sweet chestnut. High forests of sweet chestnut can play an important role in new single or mixed species plantations, naturalized stands, or in naturally regenerated stands for production of medium-large dimension timber. American chestnut will likely be managed as a minor to moderate component of mixed species forests to achieve ecological restoration goals. A close-to-nature silvicultural approach has not been tested for either species and may be difficult to implement due to the threats from changing climate conditions and nonnative pathogens. Traditional and emerging markets of sweet chestnut, such as biomass or carbon markets, may help inform future opportunities around American chestnut for tribal and rural communities. Climate change and other threats call for synergistic partnerships and knowledge sharing to maintain or restore sweet and American chestnuts as part of the global ecosystem.This research was in part funded by: Chilean Ministry of Agriculture (Development and contributions for the use of forest and fruit species of high value for Chile, INFOR); ANID BASAL FB210015 (CENAMAD); the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service; the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020); and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Comparison of Patient Satisfaction with Emergency Department Opt-In and Opt-Out Rapid HIV Screening

Study objective. To compare patient satisfaction with emergency department (ED) opt-in and opt-out HIV screening. Methods. We conducted a survey in an urban ED that provided rapid HIV screening using opt-in (February 1, 2007–July 31, 2007) and opt-out (August 1, 2007–January 31, 2008) approaches. We surveyed a convenience sample of patients that completed screening in each phase. The primary outcome was patient satisfaction with HIV screening. Results. There were 207 and 188 completed surveys during the opt-in and opt-out phases, respectively. The majority of patients were satisfied with both opt-in screening (95%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 92–98) and opt-out screening (94%, 95% CI = 89–97). Satisfaction ratings were similar between opt-in and opt-out phases even after adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and test result (adjusted odds ratio 1.3, 95% CI = 0.5–3.1). Conclusions. Emergency department patient satisfaction with opt-in and opt-out HIV screening is similarly high

Intra-arterial adenoviral mediated tumor transfection in a novel model of cancer gene therapy

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to develop and characterize a novel in vivo cancer gene therapy model in which intra-arterial adenoviral gene delivery can be characterized. In this model, the rat cremaster muscle serves as the site for tumor growth and provides convenient and isolated access to the tumor parenchyma with discrete control of arterial and venous access for delivery of agents. RESULTS: Utilizing adenovirus encoding the green fluorescent protein we demonstrated broad tumor transfection. We also observed a dose dependant increment in luciferase activity at the tumor site using an adenovirus encoding the luciferase reporter gene. Finally, we tested the intra-arterial adenovirus dwelling time required to achieve optimal tumor transfection and observed a minimum time of 30 minutes. CONCLUSION: We conclude that adenovirus mediated tumor transfection grown in the cremaster muscle of athymic nude rats via an intra-arterial route could be achieved. This model allows definition of the variables that affect intra-arterial tumor transfection. This particular study suggests that allowing a defined intra-tumor dwelling time by controlling the blood flow of the affected organ during vector infusion can optimize intra-arterial adenoviral delivery

Wandering Fests: Relational Orientations in Academic Writing

Based on a number of PhD workshops called Wandering Feasts, in collaboration between Monash University and Design School Kolding, this article explores academic writing as both a mode and a method of inquiry. The article both points to and performs five creative-relational orientations to alternative academic writing: Performativity in challenging dominant ways of knowing and representing knowledge in the academy; emergence as mindfully holding open ideas of purpose and destination in favour of not-knowing; reciprocity in collectively creating charged encounters that spark new ways of knowing; improvisation in building social space where we felt comfortable jamming and givenness as a fundamental playfulness in which an academic community nurtures the courage to give–of ourselves. The article is in itself a manifestation of exploration writing in a playful and loosely defined process