DISPOSITIONS FOR TEACHING IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS: AN INVESTIGATION OF PROGRAM PREPARATION AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS

Recent research has revealed that out of 3.4 million public school teachers, an estimated 230,000 leave the profession on a yearly basis. During that same time period, an additional estimated 227,000 teachers move from urban schools to suburban or private schools. As a result, schools in under-resourced areas have less experienced teachers who have not yet achieved a track record of teaching effectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate and document the specific ways in which the P&TC Program at the Riverton University prepares preservice teachers to plan and execute effective pedagogical practices in concert with their development of relevant dispositions to serve high-need schools

A Time Series Analysis of Air Pollution and Preterm Birth in Pennsylvania, 1997–2001

Preterm delivery can lead to serious infant health outcomes, including death and lifelong disability. Small increases in preterm delivery risk in relation to spatial gradients of air pollution have been reported, but previous studies may have controlled inadequately for individual factors. Using a time-series analysis, which eliminates potential confounding by individual risk factors that do not change over short periods of time, we investigated the effect of ambient outdoor particulate matter with diameter ≤10 μm (PM(10)) and sulfur dioxide on risk for preterm delivery. Daily counts of preterm births were obtained from birth records in four Pennsylvania counties from 1997 through 2001. We observed increased risk for preterm delivery with exposure to average PM(10) and SO(2) in the 6 weeks before birth [respectively, relative risk (RR) = 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98–1.18 per 50 μg/m(3) increase; RR = 1.15; 95% CI, 1.00–1. 32 per 15 ppb increase], adjusting for long-term preterm delivery trends, co-pollutants, and offsetting by the number of gestations at risk. We also examined lags up to 7 days before the birth and found an acute effect of exposure to PM(10) 2 days and 5 days before birth (respectively, RR = 1.10; 95% CI, 1.00–1.21; RR = 1.07; 95% CI, 0.98–1.18) and SO(2) 3 days before birth (RR = 1.07; 95% CI, 0.99–1.15), adjusting for covariates, including temperature, dew point temperature, and day of the week. The results from this time-series analysis, which provides evidence of an increase in preterm birth risk with exposure to PM(10) and SO(2), are consistent with prior investigations of spatial contrasts

Report of the panel on earth rotation and reference frames, section 7

Objectives and requirements for Earth rotation and reference frame studies in the 1990s are discussed. The objectives are to observe and understand interactions of air and water with the rotational dynamics of the Earth, the effects of the Earth's crust and mantle on the dynamics and excitation of Earth rotation variations over time scales of hours to centuries, and the effects of the Earth's core on the rotational dynamics and the excitation of Earth rotation variations over time scales of a year or longer. Another objective is to establish, refine and maintain terrestrial and celestrial reference frames. Requirements include improvements in observations and analysis, improvements in celestial and terrestrial reference frames and reference frame connections, and improved observations of crustal motion and mass redistribution on the Earth

Comparison of time-dependent effects of (+)-methamphetamine or forced swim on monoamines, corticosterone, glucose, creatine, and creatinine in rats

BACKGROUND: Methamphetamine (MA) use is a worldwide problem. Abusers can have cognitive deficits, monoamine reductions, and altered magnetic resonance spectroscopy findings. Animal models have been used to investigate some of these effects, however many of these experiments have not examined the impact of MA on the stress response. For example, numerous studies have demonstrated (+)-MA-induced neurotoxicity and monoamine reductions, however the effects of MA on other markers that may play a role in neurotoxicity or cell energetics such as glucose, corticosterone, and/or creatine have received less attention. In this experiment, the effects of a neurotoxic regimen of (+)-MA (4 doses at 2 h intervals) on brain monoamines, neostriatal GFAP, plasma corticosterone, creatinine, and glucose, and brain and muscle creatine were evaluated 1, 7, 24, and 72 h after the first dose. In order to compare MA's effects with stress, animals were subjected to a forced swim test in a temporal pattern similar to MA administration [i.e., (30 min/session) 4 times at 2 h intervals]. RESULTS: MA increased corticosterone from 1–72 h with a peak 1 h after the first treatment, whereas glucose was only increased 1 h post-treatment. Neostriatal and hippocampal monoamines were decreased at 7, 24, and 72 h, with a concurrent increase in GFAP at 72 h. There was no effect of MA on regional brain creatine, however plasma creatinine was increased during the first 24 h and decreased by 72 h. As with MA treatment, forced swim increased corticosterone more than MA initially. Unlike MA, forced swim reduced creatine in the cerebellum with no change in other brain regions while plasma creatinine was decreased at 1 and 7 h. Glucose in plasma was decreased at 7 h. CONCLUSION: Both MA and forced swim increase demand on energy substrates but in different ways, and MA has persistent effects on corticosterone that are not attributable to stress alone

Single-layer graphene on silicon nitride micromembrane resonators

Due to their exceptional mechanical and optical properties, dielectric silicon nitride (SiN) micromembrane resonators have become the centerpiece of many optomechanical experiments. Efficient capacitive coupling of the membrane to an electrical system would facilitate exciting hybrid optoelectromechanical devices. However, capacitive coupling of such dielectric membranes is rather weak. Here we add a single layer of graphene on SiN micromembranes and compare electromechanical coupling and mechanical properties to bare dielectric membranes and to membranes metallized with an aluminium layer. The electrostatic coupling of graphene coated membranes is found to be equal to a perfectly conductive membrane. Our results show that a single layer of graphene substantially enhances the electromechanical capacitive coupling without significantly adding mass, decreasing the superior mechanical quality factor or affecting the optical properties of SiN micromembrane resonators

Replication of Breast Cancer Susceptibility Loci in Whites and African Americans Using a Bayesian Approach

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and candidate gene analyses have led to the discovery of several dozen genetic polymorphisms associated with breast cancer susceptibility, many of which are considered well-established risk factors for the disease. Despite attempts to replicate these same variant-disease associations in African Americans, the evaluable populations are often too small to produce precise or consistent results. We estimated the associations between 83 previously identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and breast cancer among Carolina Breast Cancer Study (1993–2001) participants using maximum likelihood, Bayesian, and hierarchical methods. The selected SNPs were previous GWAS hits (n = 22), near-hits (n = 19), otherwise well-established risk loci (n = 5), or located in the same genes as selected variants (n = 37). We successfully replicated 18 GWAS-identified SNPs in whites (n = 2,352) and 10 in African Americans (n = 1,447). SNPs in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene (FGFR2) and the TOC high mobility group box family member 3 gene (TOX3) were strongly associated with breast cancer in both races. SNPs in the mitochondrial ribosomal protein S30 gene (MRPS30), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 gene (MAP3K1), zinc finger, MIZ-type containing 1 gene (ZMIZ1), and H19, imprinted maternally expressed transcript gene (H19) were associated with breast cancer in whites, and SNPs in the estrogen receptor 1 gene (ESR1) and H19 gene were associated with breast cancer in African Americans. We provide precise and well-informed race-stratified odds ratios for key breast cancer–related SNPs. Our results demonstrate the utility of Bayesian methods in genetic epidemiology and provide support for their application in small, etiologically driven investigations

Breast Cancer Subtypes and Previously Established Genetic Risk Factors: A Bayesian Approach

Gene expression analyses indicate that breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with at least 5 immunohistologic subtypes. Despite growing evidence that these subtypes are etiologically and prognostically distinct, few studies have investigated whether they have divergent genetic risk factors. To help fill in this gap in our understanding, we examined associations between breast cancer subtypes and previously established susceptibility loci among white and African-American women in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study

Human prefrontal cortex gene regulatory dynamics from gestation to adulthood at single-cell resolution.

Human brain development is underpinned by cellular and molecular reconfigurations continuing into the third decade of life. To reveal cell dynamics orchestrating neural maturation, we profiled human prefrontal cortex gene expression and chromatin accessibility at single-cell resolution from gestation to adulthood. Integrative analyses define the dynamic trajectories of each cell type, revealing major gene expression reconfiguration at the prenatal-to-postnatal transition in all cell types followed by continuous reconfiguration into adulthood and identifying regulatory networks guiding cellular developmental programs, states, and functions. We uncover links between expression dynamics and developmental milestones, characterize the diverse timing of when cells acquire adult-like states, and identify molecular convergence from distinct developmental origins. We further reveal cellular dynamics and their regulators implicated in neurological disorders. Finally, using this reference, we benchmark cell identities and maturation states in organoid models. Together, this captures the dynamic regulatory landscape of human cortical development.This work was supported by the following grants: R.L.—National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant 1130168, NHMRC Investigator Grant 1178460, Silvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholarship, and Australian Research Council (ARC) LE170100225; S.F.—NHMRC Ideas Grant 1184421; I.V.—ARC Future Fellowship FT170100359, UNSW Scientia Fellowship, and NHMRC Project Grant RG170137; S.B.—NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowship 1111206; C.P.—Raine Foundation Priming Grant RPG66-21; J.M.P.—Silvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship, ARC Future Fellowship FT180100674. This work was supported by a Cancer Research Trust grant ‘‘Enabling advanced single cell cancer genomics in WA’’ and Cancer Council WA enabling grant. Genomic data were generated at the ACRF Centre for Advanced Cancer Genomics and Genomics WA. Human brain tissue was received from the UMB Brain and Tissue Bank at the University of Maryland, part of the NIH NeuroBioBank. The glioblastoma sample was procured and provided by the AGOG biobank, funded by CINSW grant SRP-08-10. L.M. was a fellow of The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Medical Research Trust. We thank Ankur Sharma and Greg Neely for valuable feedback. The graphical abstract and elements of Figure 1A were created with BioRender.S