Online Professional Development: Implications on Self-Efficacy Levels and Classroom Instruction for Teachers in a Catholic High School

Online professional development (online PD), the acquisition of new skills and knowledge related to the teaching profession via the Internet, is an emerging field for teachers. This mixedmethods research explored the impact of an online PD program on high school teachers’ selfefficacy levels, classroom instruction, and the role that school culture played on teachers accepting or rejecting the online PD. Within a social cognitive theory lens, this study helped frame teacher attitudes and adult learning in the context of school culture. Phase 1 of this study used quantitative data from two surveys called PRE and POST, which were taken before and after the online PD program, respectively. Qualitative data were collected in Phase 2, using the International Society for Technology in Education Classroom Observation Tool (ICOT), participants’ journal reflections, and interviews. Findings indicated statistically significant changes in self-efficacy levels for eight of the 21 survey items and minimal changes in technology use during instruction. Furthermore, various aspects of school culture independently affected teachers’ inclination to accept or reject the online PD. Findings supported the concept of designing personalized professional development programs tailored to the individual’s specific learning styles, attitudes, and experiences of school culture

Biodegradability of DBP precursors after drinking water ozonation

Ozonation is known to generate biodegradable organic matter, which is typically reduced by biological filtration to avoid bacterial regrowth in distribution systems. Post-chlorination generates halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) but little is known about the biodegradability of their precursors. This study determined the effect of ozonation and biofiltration conditions, specifically ozone exposure and empty bed contact time (EBCT), on the control of DBP formation potentials in drinking water. Ozone exposure was varied through addition of H2O2 during ozonation at 1 mgO3/mgDOC followed by biological filtration using either activated carbon (BAC) or anthracite. Ozonation led to a 10% decrease in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), without further improvement from H2O2 addition. Raising H2O2 concentrations from 0 to 2 mmol/mmolO3 resulted in increased DBP formation potentials during post-chlorination of the ozonated water (target Cl2 residual after 24\ua0h\ua0=\ua01-2\ua0mg/L) as follows: 4 trihalomethanes (THM4, 37%), 8 haloacetic acids (HAA8, 44%), chloral hydrate (CH, 107%), 2 haloketones (HK2, 97%), 4 haloacetonitriles (HAN4, 33%), trichloroacetamide (TCAM, 43%), and adsorbable organic halogen (AOX, 27%), but a decrease in the concentrations of 2 trihalonitromethanes (THNM2, 43%). Coupling ozonation with biofiltration prior to chlorination effectively lowered the formation potentials of all DBPs including CH, HK2, and THNM2, all of which increased after ozonation. The dynamics of DBP formation potentials during BAC filtration at different EBCTs followed first-order reaction kinetics. Minimum steady-state concentrations were attained at an EBCT of about 10-20\ua0min, depending on the DBP species. The rate of reduction in DBP formation potentials varied among individual species before reaching their minimum concentrations. CH, HK2, and THNM2 had the highest rate constants of between 0.5 and 0.6 min(-1) followed by HAN4 (0.4 min(-1)), THM4 (0.3 min(-1)), HAA8 (0.2 min(-1)), and AOX (0.1 min(-1)). At an EBCT of 15\ua0min, the reduction in formation potential for most DBPs was less than 50% but was higher than 70% for CH, HK2, and THNM2. The formation of bromine-containing DBPs increased with increasing EBCT, most likely due to an increase in Br(-)/DOC ratio. Overall, this study demonstrated that the combination of ozonation and biofiltration is an effective approach to mitigate DBP formation during drinking water treatment

DECISION-MAKING BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES MEXICO AND USA IN THE ELECTION PROCESS FOR PATENTING

This article presents the decision-making based on, an analysis to select which is best option patent an invention. The selected countries were Mexico and United States. It is important to know the different processes that each country has to grant a patent, their costs, whether to patent in one country or more, the procedure for international protection. Something important to note is that many people do not have the information necessary to protect their inventions. The process and the time for which a patent assigned are too long or tedious for people. It is important to promote technological development of the country, but you have to identify what the needs are, involve society, private sector, and government

DECISION-MAKING BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES MEXICO AND USA IN THE ELECTION PROCESS FOR PATENTING

This article presents the decision-making based on, an analysis to select which is best option patent an invention. The selected countries were Mexico and United States. It is important to know the different processes that each country has to grant a patent, their costs, whether to patent in one country or more, the procedure for international protection. Something important to note is that many people do not have the information necessary to protect their inventions. The process and the time for which a patent assigned are too long or tedious for people. It is important to promote technological development of the country, but you have to identify what the needs are, involve society, private sector, and government

Drug-Drug Interactions with Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant Women Living with HIV : Are They Different from Non-Pregnant Individuals?

Although the separate effects of drug-drug interactions and pregnancy on antiretroviral drug pharmacokinetics have been widely studied and described, their combined effect is largely unknown. Physiological changes during pregnancy may change the extent or clinical relevance of a drug-drug interaction in a pregnant woman. This review aims to provide a detailed overview of the mechanisms, magnitude, and clinical significance of antiretroviral drug-drug interactions in pregnant women. We performed a literature search and selected studies that compared the magnitude of drug-drug interactions with antiretroviral drugs in pregnant vs non-pregnant women. Forty-eight papers examining drug-drug interactions during pregnancy were selected, of which the majority focused on pharmacokinetic boosting. Other selected studies examined the drug-drug interactions between efavirenz and lumefantrine, efavirenz and tuberculosis drugs, etravirine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, atazanavir and tenofovir disoproxil, and mefloquine and nevirapine in pregnant compared to non-pregnant women. The clinical significance of antiretroviral drug-drug interactions changed during pregnancy from a minimal effect to a contra-indication. In almost all cases, the clinical significance of a drug-drug interaction was more relevant in pregnant women, owing to the combined effects of pregnancy-induced physiological changes and drug-drug interactions leading to a lower absolute drug exposure. Multiple studies show that the clinical relevance of a drug-drug interaction can change during pregnancy. Unfortunately, many potential interactions have not been studied in pregnancy, which may place pregnant women living with human immunodeficiency virus and their newborns at risk

Use of surgical bone cement to increase the projection of the nasomaxillary buttress in a case of orthognathic surgery. Technical note

The soft tissue outcome of the projection at the level of the nasomaxillary buttress is difficult to manage in cases of severe hypoprojection, being orthognathic surgery resolutive at the occlusal level but sometimes insufficient at the level of esthetic outcome. The literature describes the use of alloplastic prostheses and autologous bone grafts, but there are few documented cases of the use of premolded surgical cement for this purpose. The main advantage of the use of bone cement over the alternatives described is its ability to be premolded for customization, low cost, easy availability, speed of preparation and minimal comorbidity. This technical note describes the surgical steps and outcome of the use of surgical bone cement for projection augmentation at this level, including notes on preparation, premolding and fixation. Key words:Orthognathic surgery, maxillary surgery, surgical bone cement, nasomaxillary buttress

Impact of cytomegalovirus infection on B cell differentiation and cytokine production in multiple sclerosis

Altres ajuts: This work was supported by the EU FP7-MINECO Infect-ERA Program, and Red Española de Esclerosis Múltiple (REEM) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the European Regional Development Fund (Grant RD16/0015/0011), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection has been recently associated with a low risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the basis behind this observation remains uncertain. In this study, we aimed to determine in MS patients whether HCMV induces modifications in the peripheral B cell compartment. HCMV serostatus was determined in 73 MS patients (55 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS); 18 progressive MS (PMS)) and 30 healthy controls, assessing their B cell immunophenotype and cytokine production (GM-CSF, IL-6, IL-10, and TNFα) by flow cytometry. HCMV seropositivity in untreated MS patients (n = 45) was associated with reduced switched memory B cells, contrasting with an opposite effect in PMS. Expansions of transitional B cells were observed in HCMV(+) IFNβ-treated RRMS patients but not in HCMV(−) cases (p < 0.01), suggesting that HCMV may influence the distribution of B cell subsets modulating the effects of IFNβ. Considering the B cell functional profile, HCMV(−) PMS displayed an increased secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNFα) as compared to HCMV(+) PMS and RRMS cases (p < 0.001). Our study reveals an influence of HCMV infection on the phenotype and function of B cells, promoting early differentiation stages in RRMS and reducing the proinflammatory cytokine profile in advanced MS forms, which might be related with the putative protective role of this virus in MS

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Regulamentação do terceiro setor no Brasil e a democratização da educação pública

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar o aprofundamento da relação público-privada a partir da construção legislativa das entidades do Terceiro Setor. Este aprofundamento ocorre em um período de crise do capitalismo, onde suas estratégias para a superação da crise Neoliberalismo e Terceira Via, propõem a reforma do Estado, sob a alegação que a os gastos excessivos do Estado com políticas sociais provocaram a crise. Assim, em 1995, no Brasil, tem-se a publicação do Plano Diretor da Reforma do Aparelho do Estado, o qual propunha a descentralização de serviços, até então de exclusividade do Estado, repassando para a sociedade civil, por meio das entidades do Terceiro Setor. Em 1998, foi promulgada a Emenda Constitucional n°19, que promove a reforma na Administração Pública brasileira, com o fomento das parcerias público-privadas. No ano de 2014, é fundamentado o Marco Regulatório do Terceiro Setor, por meio da Lei nº 13.019/14, que cria as Organizações da Sociedade Civil – OSC. É possível constatar, que o marco regulatório busca proporcionar uma maior transparência e controle social, da parceria público-privada na promoção dos direitos sociais, e, em particular, a educação. No entanto, ao não revogar as legislações já existentes, tanto das OS, quanto das OSCIPs, que não possuem previsão de um controle social interno e externo efetivo, na prática, criam implicações para a sua democratização, pois a relação público-privada na educação, continua sendo regulada na grande maioria, pelas leis anteriores, afastando com isso, o poder público do exercício de uma fiscalização e monitoramento e controle social