Vertically Aligned Professional Learning Communities as a Keystone for Elementary Science Teacher Professional Development, Growth, and Support.

Many school districts do not require science in the elementary school curriculum or place significantly more emphasis on the performance of students on the ELA and Math tests. With science education shifting to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there is a critical need for high quality science instruction in elementary schools. This study examines the experiences of 28 elementary teachers engaged in a science education professional development program that was comprised of 60 kindergarten through twelve grade teachers. I examine the experiences of the 28 elementary teachers as they work in vertically aligned professional learning communities with middle and high school teachers. Findings in this study indicate that the model provides a supportive environment for elementary teachers to grow and develop both personally and professionally in their science teaching practice. Evidence is presented that shows how a learning community of elementary, middle and high school teachers can provide an opportunity for elementary teachers to socially construct knowledge of how to best support student success in science. Additionally, the findings show that elementary teachers are able to socially construct knowledge about effective teaching practices in science that support core science teaching practices. The findings also indicate that the nature of these learning communities also provided many structures that can support increased efficacy amongst elementary science teachers. Finally, the experiences of elementary teachers engaged in his study were overwhelmingly positive, leading to increased trust and respect amongst peers and improved confidence and motivation to teach science at the elementary level

Three Lenses on the Multinational Enterprise: Politics, Corruption and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Scholars who study multinational enterprises (MNEs) recognize the complex relationship between international business and society. However, compared to other international business topics, research on politics, corruption and corporate social responsibility (CSR) -- three 'lenses' on the MNE -- remains somewhat embryonic, with critical unresolved issues regarding frameworks, measurement, methods and theory. This creates rich opportunities for integration and extension of disciplinary perspectives, which we explore in this article. Building on the three lenses framework, we identify common concepts and tools, outline an agenda for additional theoretical and empirical research, and review the papers in a Focused Issue of the Journal of International Business Studies.

Use of the tetrazolium salt MTT to measure cell viability effects of the bacterial antagonist Lysobacter enzymogenes on the filamentous fungus Cryphonectria parasitica

Despite substantial interest investigating bacterial mechanisms of fungal growth inhibition, there are few methods available that quantify fungal cell death during direct interactions with bacteria. Here we describe an in vitro cell suspension assay using the tetrazolium salt MTT as a viability stain to assess direct effects of the bacterial antagonist Lysobacter enzymogenes on hyphal cells of the filamentous fungus Cryphonectria parasitica. The effects of bacterial cell density, fungal age and the physiological state of fungal mycelia on fungal cell viability were evaluated. As expected, increased bacterial cell density correlated with reduced fungal cell viability over time. Bacterial effects on fungal cell viability were influenced by both age and physiological state of the fungal mycelium. Cells obtained from 1-week-old mycelia lost viability faster compared with those from 2-week-old mycelia. Likewise, hyphal cells obtained from the lower layer of the mycelial pellicle lost viability more quickly compared with cells from the upper layer of the mycelial pellicle. Fungal cell viability was compared between interactions with L. enzymogenes wildtype strain C3 and a mutant strain, DCA, which was previously demonstrated to lack in vitro antifungal activity. Addition of antibiotics eliminated contributions to MTT-formazan production by bacterial cells, but not by fungal cells, demonstrating that mutant strain DCA had lost complete capacity to reduce fungal cell viability. These results indicate this cell suspension assay can be used to quantify bacterial effects on fungal cells, thus providing a reliable method to differentiate strains during bacterial/fungal interactions

Understanding the role of performance targets in transport policy

The measurement of performance in the public sector has become increasingly important in recent years and it is now commonplace for transport organisations, and local and national governments, to publish performance goals for service supply and quality. Such commitments, when time referenced, are known as targets. This paper explain how changes in management style, consumer rights legislation, contractual obligations and other factors have combined to make management-by targets increasingly common in the public sector. The advantages and disadvantages of management-by-targets are illustrated through discussion of the processes and experience of setting transport targets in UK national transport policy. We conclude that while some of the targets have had a significant impact on policy makers, managers and their agents, the effects have not always been as intended

Measuring Energetics of Biological Processes

Measurement of the energetics of biological processes is the key component in understanding the thermodynamic responses of homoeothermic animals to their environments. For these animals to achieve body temperature control, they must adapt to thermal-environmental conditions and variations caused by weather (the meteorological condition of a region), climate, vegetation, topography, and shelters (see Figures 2 and 3 of Chapter 1). Adaptation can take different forms as defined by Hafez (1968). Physiological adaptation is the capacity and process of adjustment of the animal to itself, to other living material, and to its external physical environment. Genetic adaptation refers to the selection and heritability of characteristics for a particular environment or climatic region. A long-term adaptive physiological adjustment is referred to as acclimatization. We know this occurs through observations of animal conformation, animal types, respiratory rate, color, behavior, food selection, etc. Since adaptation of the animal to its thermal environment requires regulation of body temperature, measurement of that adaptation through animal energetics provides an indicator of the extent and energetic cost of adaptation

In acute lung injury, inhaled nitric oxide improves ventilation-perfusion matching, pulmonary vascular mechanics, and transpulmonary vascular efficiency

AbstractAcute respiratory distress syndrome continues to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality related to ventilation-perfusion mismatch, pulmonary hypertension, and right ventricular failure. It has been suggested that inhaled nitric oxide, which is a selective pulmonary vasodilator, may be effective in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome; however, the effects of nitric oxide on cardiopulmonary interactions are poorly understood. We therefore developed a model of acute lung injury that mimics the clinical syndrome of acute respiratory distress syndrome. In our model, inhaled nitric oxide significantly reduced pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, and pulmonary vascular impedance. In addition, inhaled nitric oxide improved transpulmonary vascular efficiency and ventilation-perfusion matching, which resulted in increased arterial oxygen tension. Although arterial oxygen tension increased, oxygen delivery did not improve significantly. These data suggest that by improving ventilation-perfusion matching and arterial oxygen tension while lowering pulmonary vascular resistance and impedance, nitric oxide may be beneficial in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, additional measures to enhance cardiac performance may be required. ( J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1995;110: 593-600

Unsupervised Deconvolution of Dynamic Imaging Reveals Intratumor Vascular Heterogeneity and Repopulation Dynamics

With the existence of biologically distinctive malignant cells originated within the same tumor, intratumor functional heterogeneity is present in many cancers and is often manifested by the intermingled vascular compartments with distinct pharmacokinetics. However, intratumor vascular heterogeneity cannot be resolved directly by most in vivo dynamic imaging. We developed multi-tissue compartment modeling (MTCM), a completely unsupervised method of deconvoluting dynamic imaging series from heterogeneous tumors that can improve vascular characterization in many biological contexts. Applying MTCM to dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of breast cancers revealed characteristic intratumor vascular heterogeneity and therapeutic responses that were otherwise undetectable. MTCM is readily applicable to other dynamic imaging modalities for studying intratumor functional and phenotypic heterogeneity, together with a variety of foreseeable applications in the clinic