Teachers\u27 Perceptions of an Online Social Network as an Instructional Platform: The Impact of an Edmodo-Based Professional Development Workshop

Today\u27s students are learning and communicating in increasingly digital ways, which is challenging instructors to rethink their practice in order to meet their students\u27 needs. These needs include instant access to information, student-centered learning, and control over their own learning. With the rapid adoption and progression of technology in education, understanding instructors\u27 perceptions of technology that supports digital-age learners becomes important, as instructors\u27 perceptions can influence the effectiveness of technology integration. This study examined one particular technology, the Online Social Network (OSN), using Edmodo in light of how it is perceived as an instructional platform. Additionally, whether the OSN supports a professional learning community was investigated, and the influence of this type of professional development design on the participants\u27 perceptions was analyzed. Generally, the OSN was perceived as an instructional platform particularly for instruction aimed at student-centered and blended learning. It was evident that the OSN is capable of supporting a professional learning community, as participants in this study thoroughly and collectively worked to design student-centered learning modules within the platform while at the same time inquiring on topics pertinent to their professional growth. The findings provide relevant information for instructors looking to implement a platform that supports a student-centered approach to instruction, as well as, an example for administrators seeking a platform that supports a professional learning community. With this information, it is hopeful that the educational practice can improve, as instructors perceptions are better understood and their desire to participate in an online learning community is manifest

Dietary Shifts Related to Water Availability and the Demographic Response to Changing Prey Abundance of Carnivores in the West Desert, Utah

The decrease in number and range of North American large carnivores, has often all owed smaller carnivores ( \u3c 15 kg) to fill the role of the top predator. This has favored some carnivores such as coyotes (Canis latrans), who have expanded their distribution. Other small carnivores such as kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis) have experienced a range shrinkage and their population status throughout the United States is a concern. Historically, western U.S. natural resource management agencies installed artificial water sources to assist desert wildlife, but some researchers believe the access to water allowed more coyotes to live in Utah’s West Desert. In the late-1980s, research proposed that without free drinking water, coyotes would have to triple their food consumption to survive. More recent coyote research has found no evidence to support these claims. We used data collected between 2010 and 2013 on the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) in Utah’s West Desert to examine if the coyotes’ changed their diet when drinking water was removed and to determine how kit foxes respond to changing prey abundance. We examined coyote scats to see if they shifted towards eating more large-bodied prey (i.e., leporids such as jackrabbits and cottontails) in the areas void of drinking water. We found no evidence of a dietary shift towards larger prey to meet energy requirements in the areas where there was no available free water. Our results, in addition to previous DPG research, provide strong evidence that coyotes in the West Desert are desert-adapted carnivores and are not influenced by artificial water sources. The 4-year DPG dataset also allowed us to investigate if kit fox litter sizes and pup survival changed when prey abundance changed. We found no connection between kit fox litter size and rodent or leporid abundance. However, we found a 3-fold increase in kit fox pup survival in 2012 when rodent abundance nearly doubled. Diet analysis of kit fox scats showed four prey categories (rodent, insect, kangaroo rat, leporid) represented 78.5% occurrence of all prey items. We found that kit foxes changed their diet when kangaroo rat abundance changed. As prey resources have changed over the last 60 years, the DPG kit foxes have shown to be flexible in their diet by shifting away from their historical leporid use to now heavily relying on rodents. In addition to more research on kit foxes, we recommend that future studies also focus on their prey populations to help ensure the future of the West Desert kit fox

Communicative Behaviors of Sibling Dyads with a Child with Autism

The puropse of this study was to document the communicative behaviors exhibited by sibling dyads comprised of one typically developing child (TDC) and their sibling diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (SibA). Six families (five families were Caucasian and one family was African American) participated in one 45-minute home observation, one semi-structured interview with the TDCs, and one semi-structured interview with the parents. Sibling dyads varied across birth order, ages, and genders. Observations revealed that the sibling dyads produced a variety of communicative behaviors. Observational data were coded to provide information on the types of communicative behaviors produced and their frequency of occurrence. Data were analyzed to reveal the types of communicative behaviors that both the TDCs and the SibAs produced, as well as the types of communicative behaviors produced only by the TDCs and only by the SibAs. The TDCs provided relevant answers to semi-structured interview questions about their interactions with their SibAs, and the parents provided relevant answers to semi-structured interview questions about their childreń⁰₉s relationships. Four out of the six families provided strong evidence that suggested the possibility of sibling-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder. Two out of the six families provided some evidence that suggested the possibility of sibling-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorde

Constitutional Cohesion and the Right to Public Health

Despite years of significant legal improvements stemming from a renaissance in public health law, Americans still face major challenges and barriers in assuring their communal health. Reversals of legal reforms coupled with maligned policies and chronic underfunding contribute to diminished public health outcomes. Underlying preventable morbidity and mortality nationally are realities of our existing constitutional infrastructure. In essence, there is no general obligation of government to protect or promote the public’s health. Under principles of “constitutional cohesion,” structural facets and rights-based principles interwoven within the Constitution protect individuals and groups from governmental vices (i.e., oppression, overreaching, tyranny, and malfeasance). Structural impediments and rights infringements provide viable options to challenge governmental efforts inapposite to protecting the public’s health. Through corollary applications framed as auxiliary, creative, and ghost righting, courts are also empowered to recognize core duties or rights that the Constitution may not explicitly denote but assuredly contains, to remedy identifiable vices. Notably, ghost righting charts a course for recognizing a constitutional right to public health that Americans are owed, and government must respect, to assure basic public health needs

Effect of clay type on dispersion and barrier properties of hydrophobically modified poly(vinyl alcohol)-bentonite nanocomposites

The oxygen and water vapor permeability at high relative humidity was studied for composite films formed by incorporation of three different bentonites (MMT) into an ethylene-modified, water-soluble poly(vinyl alcohol), EPVOH. The oxygen permeability decreased linearly with an increased addition of hydrophilic MMTs. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy suggested a homogeneous distribution in the thickness direction with disordered and probably exfoliated structures for hydrophilic MMTs. In contrast, organophilic modified clay showed an intercalated structure with the clay preferentially located at the lower film surface, a combination which was however efficient in reducing the water vapor- and oxygen permeabilities at low addition levels. Composite films of EPVOH and Na+-exchanged MMT resulted in high resistance to dissolution in water, which was ascribed to strong interactions between the components resulting from matching polarities. Annealing the films at 120°C resulted in enhanced resistance to water dissolution and a further reduction in oxygen permeabilit

Social media and teacher professional learning communities

peer-reviewed.Background: An extensive and international evidence base positions professional learning communities (PLCs) as an effective continued professional development (CPD) mechanism that can impact on teachers’ practices and, in turn, students’ learning. The landscape of teacher PLCs is continuously developing; notably through teachers’ uses of social media. Yet, there is limited robust evidence identifying the characteristics of social media PLCs that impact on teachers’ learning and practice. Purpose: This exploratory study examined the characteristics of a specific Twitter-based professional learning community – #pechat. The research questions were: (i) what is the nature of a Twitter-based professional learning community? and (ii) what characteristics of a Twitter-based professional learning community develop learning and practice? Methods: Data were generated from 901 tweets between 100 participants; and 18 in-depth semi-structured elicitation interviews with participants and moderators of the Twitter-based professional learning community. Data were analysed through a process of deliberation, and a relativist approach informed quality. Findings: Two themes are reported to explain the nature of the Twitter-based professional learning community and the different types of characteristics of #pechat that developed learning and practice. The first theme engagement shows how different participants of #pechat engaged with discussions and how moderators played a key role in facilitating discussions between participants. The second theme shared practices shows how discussions between participants of #pechat led to the development of new practices that some teachers were able to use to accomplish particular objectives in their physical education lessons. Conclusion: The analysis of the data provided evidence to suggest that #pechat is a PLC and is representative of an established group of practitioners. These characteristics should be considered in the design of future online professional development experiences. Facilitator or moderator training could support the development of social media based PLCs that subsequently and positively impact on teachers’ practices.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Hydrophobically modified poly(vinyl alcohol) and bentonite nanocomposites thereof: Barrier, mechanical, and aesthetic properties

Composite films were formed by incorporating three different bentonites into an ethylene modified, water-soluble poly(vinyl alcohol), EPVOH. The interaction of EPVOH with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic bentonites was investigated. EPVOH provided lower water vapor and oxygen transmission rates compared to a conventional PVOH grade when exposed at high relative humidities (70-90% RH). EPVOH films which exhibited oxygen barrier properties comparable to that of a biaxially oriented PET packaging film at 80% RH were produced. High compatibility between EPVOH and hydrophilic bentonites provided an even distribution of clay platelets in the composites. A strong increase in Young's modulus with increased addition of any of the three bentonites was found. At low addition levels the hydrophobic bentonite proved to be effective in terms of maintaining high elongation at break, high transparency and high gloss

Novel Insights Into Negative Pressure Wound Healing From an in Situ Porcine Perspective

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is used clinically to promote tissue formation and wound closure. In this study, a porcine wound model was used to further investigate the mechanisms as to how NPWT modulates wound healing via utilization of a form of NPWT called the vacuum-assisted closure. To observe the effect of NPWT more accurately, non-NPWT control wounds containing GranuFoam™ dressings, without vacuum exposure, were utilized. In situ histological analysis revealed that NPWT enhanced plasma protein adsorption throughout the GranuFoam™, resulting in increased cellular colonization and tissue ingrowth. Gram staining revealed that NPWT decreased bacterial dissemination to adjacent tissue with greater bacterial localization within the GranuFoam™. Genomic analysis demonstrated the significant changes in gene expression across a number of genes between wounds treated with non-NPWT and NPWT when compared against baseline tissue. However, minimal differences were noted between non-NPWT and NPWT wounds, including no significant differences in expression of collagen, angiogenic, or key inflammatory genes. Similarly, significant increases in immune cell populations were observed from day 0 to day 9 for both non-NPWT and NPWT wounds, though no differences were noted between non-NPWT and NPWT wounds. Furthermore, histological analysis demonstrated the presence of a foreign body response (FBR), with giant cell formation and encapsulation of GranuFoam™ particles. The unique in situ histological evaluation and genomic comparison of non-NPWT and NPWT wounds in this pilot study provided a never-before-shown perspective, offering novel insights into the physiological processes of NPWT and the potential role of a FBR in NPWT clinical outcomes

LAB/NTAL Facilitates Fungal/PAMP-induced IL-12 and IFN-γ Production by Repressing β-Catenin Activation in Dendritic Cells.

Fungal pathogens elicit cytokine responses downstream of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-coupled or hemiITAM-containing receptors and TLRs. The Linker for Activation of B cells/Non-T cell Activating Linker (LAB/NTAL) encoded by Lat2, is a known regulator of ITAM-coupled receptors and TLR-associated cytokine responses. Here we demonstrate that LAB is involved in anti-fungal immunity. We show that Lat2−/− mice are more susceptible to C. albicans infection than wild type (WT) mice. Dendritic cells (DCs) express LAB and we show that it is basally phosphorylated by the growth factor M-CSF or following engagement of Dectin-2, but not Dectin-1. Our data revealed a unique mechanism whereby LAB controls basal and fungal/pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP)-induced nuclear β-catenin levels. This in turn is important for controlling fungal/PAMP-induced cytokine production in DCs. C. albicans- and LPS-induced IL-12 and IL-23 production was blunted inLat2−/− DCs. Accordingly, Lat2−/− DCs directed reduced Th1 polarization in vitro and Lat2−/−mice displayed reduced Natural Killer (NK) and T cell-mediated IFN-γ production in vivo/ex vivo. Thus our data define a novel link between LAB and β-catenin nuclear accumulation in DCs that facilitates IFN-γ responses during anti-fungal immunity. In addition, these findings are likely to be relevant to other infectious diseases that require IL-12 family cytokines and an IFN-γ response for pathogen clearance