Creating Virtual Cooperative Learning Experiences for Aspiring School Leaders and Practitioners with Web 2.0

In December of 2008, the authors were awarded a University of North Carolina at Charlotte funded curriculum and instructional development grant based on two innovative ideas for preparing future school leaders: (1) the creation and use of wikis to expand and deepen student learning beyond the classroom, and (2) the creation of a virtual social network to connect current educational leadership students and graduates, providing the opportunity and the means for networking between students and practitioners, practitioners with each other, and both groups with educational leadership professors around the proposition that solving problems of practice (whether in the graduate classroom or in the K-12 arena) can be significantly enhanced by sharing personal knowledge of research-based strategies and school-proven best practices

The Role of Self-Mutilation Behaviors Among Adolescents Who Are Depressed

Adolescents who are depressed may self-injure themselves. Common methods for non-suicidal self-injury are cutting and burning the skin of one’s own body. Multiple confounding factors of age, gender, race and socio-economic status could lead one to engage in intentional or unintentional self-mutilation acts. The current body of literature on adolescent mental health demonstrates limited understanding of how racial and ethnic identity factors contributes to depression, self-injurious behavior, and suicide. This quantitative study determined if there was a relationship between depression and prevalence of adolescent self-mutilation. The social ecological theory was used to study the intersection of social determinants of depression and why depressed adolescents might perform self-mutilation behavior. Data was analyzed from the Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System for the years 2015 through 2017. Results showed there was no difference in self-mutilation and depression, but there was a difference in racial/ethnicity and self-mutilation among depressed adolescents. It is hoped that the findings of this study will advance the practice of mental health care treatment for adolescents by providing a broader understanding of how racial and ethnic identity, depression, and self-injurious behavior may interact and influence each other. The implications for positive social change are to decrease the prevalence of adolescent depression, acts of self-mutilation, and unintentional suicide by providing adolescents with essential resources to learn new coping skills and build positive relationships

A Web-Based Bulletin Board As Edward Soja\u27s Thirdspace : ESL And LGBTQ Students Claim Home Turf

We argue that all knowledge begins with the body, the physical space it occupies and the territory an individual defines as “home.” The taken-for-granted nature of this reality is disrupted by the experience of moving into a new cultural space, whether this space is defined physically or in discursive terms. Cultural space is an extension of personal identity, both the physical circumstances through which individual consciousness is shaped, and the conceptual connections through which individuals construct a vantage point in the world. The students whose writing we examine were from an ESL class in first-year composition and an upper-division class, “Writing the Body.” Both sets of students were marginal to the mainstream culture of GSU: the international students overtly so, through their nationality and second-language user status, and the local students more subtly so, either through their self-identification as LGBTQ or their support of LGBTQ peers. Members of both classes, therefore, faced the challenge of negotiating their cultural space as university students and representatives of minority subcultures. The two classes were twinned through joint course planning and use of an electronic bulletin board. This cyberspace locus, one of virtual disembodiment, functioned as what Edward Soja has called a Thirdspace, a space created by human practice. One posting, a plea for more “space” for sexual abuse survivors, created a chain of comments and responses. Reading the diverse WebCT entries as a complete text reveals the students\u27 need to be heard, willingness to find common ground, and desire to claim and inhabit a space on the college campus

A COMPARISON OF ADMINISTRATORS’ AND TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS

The need for teachers and administrators to select and use appropriate and effective technologies to support instruction is critical for the academic and social success of students. The purpose of the study was to document and compare administrators’ and teachers’ perceptions related to National Technology Standards (NETS). The research was intended to assist district level leaders in making informed decisions to identify plausible professional development (PD) training needs of school administrators and teachers. The mixed-method study was conducted in a large school district in the southeastern region of the United States. Participants included elementary and middle public school administrators and teachers. Survey and interview data depict both groups view pedagogical practices of high importance. Despite the fact that results of the online survey reveal both groups engaged in PD, results from the semi-structured interview depict an ongoing need for purposeful selection of technology training opportunities. Advances in technology are constant and to provide engaging learning environments for all students professional development grounded in research is essential for both administrators and teachers to influence leadership and classroom practices

Mortality among residents of shelters, rooming houses, and hotels in Canada: 11 year follow-up study

Objective To examine mortality in a representative nationwide sample of homeless and marginally housed people living in shelters, rooming houses, and hotels

Heterologous expression and functional characterization of a GH10 endoxylanase from \u3ci\u3eAspergillus fumigatus\u3c/i\u3e var. \u3ci\u3eniveus\u3c/i\u3e with potential biotechnological application

Xylanases decrease the xylan content in pretreated biomass releasing it from hemicellulose, thus improving the accessibility of cellulose for cellulases. In this work, an endo-β-1,4-xylanase from Aspergillus fumigatus var. niveus (AFUMN-GH10) was successfully expressed. The structural analysis and biochemical characterization showed this AFUMN-GH10 does not contain a carbohydrate-binding module. The enzyme retained its activity in a pH range from 4.5 to 7.0, with an optimal temperature at 60°C. AFUMN-GH10 showed the highest activity in beechwood xylan. The mode of action of AFUMNGH10 was investigated by hydrolysis of APTS-labeled xylohexaose, which resulted in xylotriose and xylobiose as the main products. AFUMN-GH10 released 27% of residual xylan from hydrothermally-pretreated corn stover and 14% of residual xylan from hydrothermally-pretreated sugarcane bagasse. The results showed that environmentally friendly pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis with AFUMN-GH10 in low concentration is a suitable method to remove part of residual and recalcitrant hemicellulose from biomass

Identifying wildlife reservoirs of neglected taeniid tapeworms : non-invasive diagnosis of endemic Taenia serialis infection in a wild primate population

Despite the global distribution and public health consequences of Taenia tapeworms, the life cycles of taeniids infecting wildlife hosts remain largely undescribed. The larval stage of Taenia serialis commonly parasitizes rodents and lagomorphs, but has been reported in a wide range of hosts that includes geladas (Theropithecus gelada), primates endemic to Ethiopia. Geladas exhibit protuberant larval cysts indicative of advanced T. serialis infection that are associated with high mortality. However, non-protuberant larvae can develop in deep tissue or the abdominal cavity, leading to underestimates of prevalence based solely on observable cysts. We adapted a non-invasive monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect circulating Taenia spp. antigen in dried gelada urine. Analysis revealed that this assay was highly accurate in detecting Taenia antigen, with 98.4% specificity, 98.5% sensitivity, and an area under the curve of 0.99. We used this assay to investigate the prevalence of T. serialis infection in a wild gelada population, finding that infection is substantially more widespread than the occurrence of visible T. serialis cysts (16.4% tested positive at least once, while only 6% of the same population exhibited cysts). We examined whether age or sex predicted T. serialis infection as indicated by external cysts and antigen presence. Contrary to the female-bias observed in many Taenia-host systems, we found no significant sex bias in either cyst presence or antigen presence. Age, on the other hand, predicted cyst presence (older individuals were more likely to show cysts) but not antigen presence. We interpret this finding to indicate that T. serialis may infect individuals early in life but only result in visible disease later in life. This is the first application of an antigen ELISA to the study of larval Taenia infection in wildlife, opening the doors to the identification and description of infection dynamics in reservoir populations

Serological diagnosis of North American paragonimiasis by western blot using Paragonimus kellicotti adult worm antigen

We studied the value of an IgG Western blot (WB) with Paragonimus kellicotti (Pk) antigen for diagnosis of North American paragonimiasis. The test was evaluated with sera from patients with Pk and Paragonimus westermani infections, with control sera from patients with other helminth infections, and sera from healthy Americans. All 11 proven Pk infection sera and two samples from suspected cases that were negative by P. westermani WB at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contained antibodies to antigens at 34 kDa and at 21/23 kDa. Seven of 7 P. westermani sera contained antibodies to the 34 kDa antigen, but only 2 recognized the 21/23 kDa doublet. No control samples were reactive with these antigens. Antibody reactivity declined after praziquantel treatment. Thus, the P. kellicotti WB appears to be superior to P. westermani WB for diagnosing Pk infections, and it may be useful for assessing responses to treatment

Genetic diversity of clinical isolates of Bacillus cereus using multilocus sequence typing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Bacillus cereus </it>is most commonly associated with foodborne illness (diarrheal and emetic) but is also an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe and fatal infections. Several multilocus sequence typing (MLST) schemes have recently been developed to genotype <it>B. cereus </it>and analysis has suggested a clonal or weakly clonal population structure for <it>B. cereus </it>and its close relatives <it>B. anthracis </it>and <it>B. thuringiensis</it>. In this study we used MLST to determine if <it>B. cereus </it>isolates associated with illnesses of varying severity (e.g., severe, systemic vs. gastrointestinal (GI) illness) were clonal or formed clonal complexes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A retrospective analysis of 55 clinical <it>B. cereus </it>isolates submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1954 and 2004 was conducted. Clinical isolates from severe infections (n = 27), gastrointestinal (GI) illness (n = 18), and associated isolates from food (n = 10) were selected for analysis using MLST. The 55 isolates were diverse and comprised 38 sequence types (ST) in two distinct clades. Of the 27 isolates associated with serious illness, 13 clustered in clade 1 while 14 were in clade 2. Isolates associated with GI illness were also found throughout clades 1 and 2, while no isolates in this study belonged to clade 3. All the isolates from this study belonging to the clade 1/cereus III lineage were associated with severe disease while isolates belonging to clade1/cereus II contained isolates primarily associated with severe disease and emetic illness. Only three STs were observed more than once for epidemiologically distinct isolates.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>STs of clinical <it>B. cereus </it>isolates were phylogenetically diverse and distributed among two of three previously described clades. Greater numbers of strains will need to be analyzed to confirm if specific lineages or clonal complexes are more likely to contain clinical isolates or be associated with specific illness, similar to <it>B. anthracis </it>and emetic <it>B. cereus </it>isolates.</p

Connections: A Journal of Public Education Advocacy - Fall 2004, Vol. 11, No. 1

ContentsPresident's Message: Wendy D. Puriefoy says we need a narrative that informs and inspires a new national movement to support high-quality public education for every child.Linda Darling-Hammond on our Confused Priorities: The Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Teaching and Teacher Education at Stanford University questions why our nation does not give education a priority.Bob Edgar on the Faith Community's Role in Education: The head of the National Council of Churches explains why the faith community needs to take a leadership role in education reform.Conversations: David Gergen, editor-at-large for US News and World Report and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, leads a wide-ranging discussion on the need for a national education movement.Making It Happen: Patricia Albjerg Graham thinks it's about time our system of public education catches up to our expectations.ViewpointSarita Brown exposes Hispanic myths and the growing influence of this vital segment of the populationDavid Dodson wants all children to tap into the optimism and success that is America, and to have the tools and opportunities to do soRoger Wilkins talks about the power of education and the insidious impact of racism on the lives of black AmericansEnd Notes: Lee Kravitz reminds us that words have power and that strong messages move people to action