The survival probability of beneficial de novo mutations in budding viruses, with an emphasis on influenza A viral dynamics

A deterministic model is developed of the within-host dynamics of a budding virus, and coupled with a detailed life-history model using a branching process approach to follow the fate of de novo beneficial mutations affecting five life-history traits: clearance, attachment, eclipse, budding, and cell death. Although the model can be generalized for any given budding virus, our work was done with a major emphasis on the early stages of infection with influenza A virus in human populations. The branching process was then interleaved with a stochastic process describing the disease transmission of this virus. These techniques allowed us to predict that mutations affecting clearance and cell death rate, two adaptive changes in influenza A\u27s life-history traits, are most likely to persist for small selective advantage (s\u3c0.08) when rare. These results also show that the overall adaptability of the virus is much higher than classically predicted, and that the period of growth between bottlenecks has a greater impact on increasing survival probability relative to the impact of bottlenecks, which is consistent with previous work

Writing to Learn in a Mutt Course: How Writing Functions in a Social Justice Living Learning Program Seminar

Learning communities, first-year seminars/experiences, writing intensive courses, and diversity/global learning programs are among the high-impact practices (HIP) shown to influence college student learning, retention, and overall experience (Kuh, 2008). Colleges and universities are creating programs and courses that incorporate these and other HIPs. Some of these courses do not fit neatly into particular disciplinary or interdisciplinary categories. The current research refers to such contexts as “mutt courses.”Writing is often used to facilitate learning in mutt courses, yet virtually everything that is known about how writing promotes learning comes from research on writing in traditional disciplinary settings (e.g. history, engineering, psychology, etc.). The current research sought to understand if writing in a mutt course facilitated learning in similar ways as writing in other disciplinary courses.The context was a credit bearing seminar part of a first-year residential living learning community focused on privilege and oppression. This seminar was not housed in any of the academic colleges at the university at which the research took place, but students received academic credit for the course, and it satisfied the university’s core curriculum diversity requirement. The seminar was taught by instructors in student affairs and non-teaching academic divisions of the university. Students engaged in great deal of writing in this seminar (12 weekly response papers, an identity reflection, and an analysis paper). Through an ethnographic study writing in this context, the current research sought to understand how writing facilitated achievement of course goals. Activity Theory (Engeström, 2015) and the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) were used as theoretical frameworks to understand what learning occurred and how.The research found three functions of writing similar to those in traditional disciplinary settings (a demonstrative, learning, and discursive function). The discursive function was nuanced in that students conceptualized writing as a sort of conversation with peers. Additionally, instructors used writing to inform their practice. Furthermore, writing was found to influence students’ desire to work toward inclusion. Implications for using writing in similar contexts is discussed as well as implications for theory and future research

The Effect of an English Language Learner Program on Student Achievement Outcomes in Language, Reading, and Math

The purpose of the study was to determine the reading, math, and language proficiency outcomes of 4th-grade through 7th-grade students with limited English proficiency following nearly two years or more of instruction in the English Language Learner Program (ELL) and concurrent general education studies

Historical short stories as nature of science instruction in secondary science classrooms: Science teachers\u27 implementation and students\u27 reactions

This study explores the use of historical short stories as nature of science (NOS) instruction in thirteen secondary science classes. The stories focus on the development of science ideas and include statements and questions to draw students\u27 and teachers\u27 attention to key NOS ideas and misconceptions. This study used mixed methods to examine how teachers implement the stories, factors influencing teachers\u27 implementation, the impact on students\u27 NOS understanding, students\u27 interest in the stories and factors correlated with their interest. Teachers\u27 implementation decisions were influenced by their NOS understanding, curricula, time constraints, perceptions of student ability and resistance, and student goals. Teachers implementing stories at a high-level of effectiveness were more likely to make instructional decisions to mitigate constraints from the school environment and students. High-level implementers frequently referred to their learning goals for students as a rationale for implementing the stories even when facing constraints. Teachers implementing at a low-level of effectiveness were more likely to express that constraints inhibited effective implementation. Teachers at all levels of implementation expressed concern regarding the length of the stories and time required to fully implement the stories. Additionally, teachers at all levels of implementation expressed a desire for additional resources regarding effective story implementation and reading strategies. Evidence exists that the stories can be used to improve students\u27 NOS understanding. However, under what conditions the stories are effective is still unclear. Students reported finding the stories more interesting than textbook readings and many students enjoyed learning about scientists and the development of science idea. Students\u27 interest in the stories is correlated with their attitudes towards reading, views of effective science learning, attributions of academic success, and interest in a science-related career. If NOS instructional materials are to be used effectively, designers must take into account the needs of classroom teachers by limiting the length of the materials and providing additional teacher support resources. Many teachers will likely require professional development opportunities to build their NOS understanding, develop a compelling rationale for teaching NOS and using the stories, observe modeling of effective implementation, and collaborate with other teachers regarding how to mitigate constraints

Historical Short Stories and the Nature of Science in a High School Biology Class

To overcome students\u27 misconceptions regarding the nature of science, it is essential that teachers utilize instructional activities that accurately and explicitly portray the nature of science within the context of the science content being taught. This study examines the impact of implementing two historical short stories in a high school biology course during units on genetics and biological evolution. The stories describe the lives and work of Mendel and Darwin and how their scientific ideas were developed. Questions embedded in the stories explicitly draw students\u27 attention to key nature of science concepts. Students in the treatment group demonstrated significantly higher understanding of several key nature of science concepts than students in the control group. Additionally, most students reported preferring the short stories to textbook readings

Predictors of perceived work-family balance: Gender difference or gender similarity?

This article uses the 1996 General Social Survey (GSS) and the 1992 National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW) to examine two issues: the relationship of work characteristics, family characteristics, and work-family spillover to perceptions of work-family balance; and models of “gender difference” versus “gender similarity.” The GSS analysis supports the gender similarity model. It demonstrates that work demands such as the number of hours worked per week and work spillover into family life are the most salient predictors of feelings of imbalance for both women and men. The NSCW includes subtler measures of family spillover into work as well as measures of specific job characteristics and child care. The NSCW results support a gender difference model. They indicate that when family demands reduce work quality, there is a decreased likelihood of perceived balance. However, men and women experience balance in gendered ways. Women report more balance when they give priority to family; men report less balance when they have no personal time for themselves due to work and more balance when they make scheduling changes due to family

Aging Trends and Challenges in Nevada

Societal aging is one of the most important social trends of the 21 st century. It affects our political, social, and economic institutions and also the nature of our interpersonal and family relationships (Quadagno 2005). In the coming decades, both as individuals and as a society, we will have to make important decisions regarding the consequences of our aging population. Policy makers, families, businesses, local, state, and federal governments, health care providers will all be faced with the challenges of meeting the needs of the growing older population in the U.S. and in Nevada