An Analysis Of Teacher Action Research Focused On Differentiated Instruction For Student Subgroups In One Florida School District In 2009-2010

This study examined the action research reports written by teachers in one Florida school district after they had received professional development on differentiated instruction and the action research process in the 2009-2010 school year. The 69 reports that were completed by the teachers were assessed using the Action Research Rubric that was developed for this study. This rubric evaluated whether the reports contained the elements of action research along with the characteristics that the district emphasized as part of the professional development such as differentiation, student subgroups, and collaboration. The Action Research Rubric contained seven subscales: Purpose of the Study, Plan, Professional Collaboration and Resources, Data and Evidence, Results, Instructional Decisions and Professional Reflection, and Sharing Results. Descriptive statistics were found for the aggregate group of reports as well as subgroups depending upon the school level (elementary, middle, or high school), the types of teachers within the elementary category, or the FCAT subject area of focus for the report. Overall, the action research reports met the district‟s standard as measured by the Action Research Rubric. As an aggregate group, the reports also met the standard on the Purpose of the Study, Professional Collaboration and Resource, and Data and Evidence Subscales. They did not perform as well on the Plan and Sharing Results Subscales

Examining Human Resource Practices in Event Management: A Case Study on Opolo Vineyards

Human resource management is vital to a company’s overall success. Many companies overlook the importance and benefits human resources provide, even though it is a crucial element to a company’s prosperity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the best practices of human resource management at Opolo Vineyards. The researcher examined the organization based on an instrument constructed to assess the best practices of human resources. The study found Opolo Vineyards does not effectively utilize their human resource department. Opolo Vineyards needs to focus on implementing a stronger human resource department that provides employees with the necessary fundamentals to be successful

Embedded Librarianship Einbindung von Wissenschafts - und Informationskompetenz in Schreibkurse / Ein US-amerikanisches Konzept

This article was first published in: BuB: Forum Bibliothek und Information.Beim US-amerikanischen Strategiekonzept "Embedded Librarianship" werden Bibliotheksbestände und pädagogische Angebote zur Informationskompetenz unmittelbar dort eingesetzt, wo sie benötigt werden. Dies schafft Chancen für stabile Partnerschaften zwischen Bibliothekaren und Lehrkräften in Forschung und Lehre sowie bei der Vernetzung mit der Öffentlichkeit. Der vorliegende Artikel, verfasst von einer Bibliothekarin und einer Professorin für Germanistik an der Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, beschreibt exemplarisch eine derartige Kooperation. Die Autorinnen dokumentieren ihre Versuche, praxistaugliche und zukunftsfähige Methoden zu finden, mit denen die verschiedenartigen Konzepte der Informationskompetenz, beschrieben in den Information Literacy Frameworks des ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries), in einen Schreibkurs des ersten Studienjahres integriert werden können. Der Artikel spiegelt die Erfahrungen wider, die die Autorinnen beim Co-Teaching im Kurs "Images that Shock" ("Verstörende Bilder") im Rahmen des Thompson Writing Program der Duke University gesammelt haben

Combating Resistance To Epidermal Growth Factor Recpetor Inhibitors In Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients suffer from a highly malignant and aggressive cancer that lacks an effective targeted therapeutic. Although many TNBCs, both in vitro and in vivo, have increased expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), EGFR targeted inhibitors, such as gefitinib (GEF), have yet to demonstrate efficacy. Using mass spectrometry to identify pathways that remain activated in the presence of GEF, we found that components of the mTOR signaling pathway remain phosphorylated. While inhibiting mTOR with temsirolimus (TEM) decreased mTOR signaling, EGFR signaling pathways remained activated and the TNBC cell lines continued to proliferate. However, dual treatment with TEM and GEF synergistically decreased cell viability in TNBC cells. Interestingly, abrogation of both EGFR and mTOR signaling did not alter the phosphorylation of key growth signaling molecules including MAPK and AKT. Instead, our data have identified the translational control pathway, specifically, eIF4B as a potentially key regulatory point in EGFR and mTOR inhibitor synergy. Further, we have also identified the transcription factor, STAT3 as another regulatory point in the EGFR and mTOR inhibitor synergy. Therefore, in this study we hypothesized that mTOR inhibition can sensitize TNBC cells to EGFR TKIs through the inhibition of eIF4B and STAT3 phosphorylation. eIF4B enhances the helicase activity of eIF4A during translation initiation. As expected, knockdown of eIF4B expression decreased cell viability comparable to the decrease observed with the combination treatment. Importantly, we have identified p70S6K and p90RSK as kinases directly responsible for eIF4B phosphorylation, such that both molecules need to be inactivated in order for eIF4B phosphorylation to be abrogated. This inactivation correlated with a loss of cell growth and viability and a decrease in clonogenic cell survival, potentially through alterations in the cell cycle. Furthermore, cap-dependent translation was inhibited to a greater extent in the combination treatment than GEF or TEM alone. Taken together these data suggest that EGFR and mTOR inhibitor combination abrogates cell growth, viability, and survival via disruption of translational control mechanisms through eIF4B. STAT3 is a widely considered oncogenic transcription factor that has been implicated in a variety of cancer types. We found a decrease in phospho-STAT3 with the GEF+TEM combination. Further DNA binding ELISAs found STAT3 activity was also significantly decreased with the combination. Overexpression of a constitutively active STAT3 plasmid found that STAT3 activation negates the GEF+TEM synergetic effect on cell viability. Together, these studies suggest a role for STAT3 in EGFR and mTOR inhibitor synergy. Taken together these data suggest that in the presence of activated MAPK and AKT, EGFR and mTOR inhibitors abrogate growth, viability, and survival via disruption of eIF4B and STAT3 phosphorylation leading to decreased translation and transcription factor DNA binding, respectively, in TNBC cell lines. The effect translation has on cancer cells in regard to the mTOR and EGFR pathways is largely unexplored in TNBC and further implicates eIF4B as a protein of interest in understanding the gefitinib and temsirolimus synergy. TNBC patients currently have limited treatment options and our data suggest that including an mTOR inhibitor along with an EGFR inhibitor in TNBC with increased EGFR expression should be further explored

Assessment of myocardial injury after reperfused infarction by T1ρ cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

BackgroundThe evolution of T1ρ and of other endogenous contrast methods (T2, T1) in the first month after reperfused myocardial infarction (MI) is uncertain. We conducted a study of reperfused MI in pigs to serially monitor T1ρ, T2 and T1 relaxation, scar size and transmurality at 1 and 4 weeks post-MI.MethodsTen Yorkshire swine underwent 90 min of occlusion of the circumflex artery and reperfusion. T1ρ, T2 and native T1 maps and late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) data were collected at 1 week (n = 10) and 4 weeks (n = 5). Semi-automatic FWHM (full width half maximum) thresholding was used to assess scar size and transmurality and compared to histology. Relaxation times and contrast-to-noise ratio were compared in healthy and remote myocardium at 1 and 4 weeks. Linear regression and Bland-Altman was performed to compare infarct size and transmurality.ResultsRelaxation time differences between infarcted and remote myocardial tissue were ∆T1 (infarct-remote) = 421.3 ± 108.8 (1 week) and 480.0 ± 33.2 ms (4 week), ∆T1ρ = 68.1 ± 11.6 and 74.3 ± 14.2, and ∆T2 = 51.0 ± 10.1 and 59.2 ± 11.4 ms. Contrast-to-noise ratio was CNRT1 = 7.0 ± 3.5 (1 week) and 6.9 ± 2.4 (4 week), CNRT1ρ = 12.0 ± 6.2 and 12.3 ± 3.2, and CNRT2 = 8.0 ± 3.6 and 10.3 ± 5.8. Infarct size was not significantly different for T1ρ, T1 and T2 compared to LGE (p = 0.14) and significantly decreased from 1 to 4 weeks (p < 0.01). Individual infarct size changes were ∆T1ρ = -3.8%, ∆T1 = -3.5% and ∆LGE = -2.8% from 1 - 4 weeks, but there was no observed change in infarct size for T2 or histologically.ConclusionsT1ρ was highly correlated with alterations left ventricle (LV) pathology at 1 and 4 weeks post-MI and therefore it may be a useful method endogenous contrast imaging of infarction

The utility of twins in developmental cognitive neuroscience research: How twins strengthen the ABCD research design

The ABCD twin study will elucidate the genetic and environmental contributions to a wide range of mental and physical health outcomes in children, including substance use, brain and behavioral development, and their interrelationship. Comparisons within and between monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs, further powered by multiple assessments, provide information about genetic and environmental contributions to developmental associations, and enable stronger tests of causal hypotheses, than do comparisons involving unrelated children. Thus a sub-study of 800 pairs of same-sex twins was embedded within the overall Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) design. The ABCD Twin Hub comprises four leading centers for twin research in Minnesota, Colorado, Virginia, and Missouri. Each site is enrolling 200 twin pairs, as well as singletons. The twins are recruited from registries of all twin births in each State during 2006–2008. Singletons at each site are recruited following the same school-based procedures as the rest of the ABCD study. This paper describes the background and rationale for the ABCD twin study, the ascertainment of twin pairs and implementation strategy at each site, and the details of the proposed analytic strategies to quantify genetic and environmental influences and test hypotheses critical to the aims of the ABCD study. Keywords: Twins, Heritability, Environment, Substance use, Brain structure, Brain functio

Influences of ingredients and bakers on the bacteria and fungi in sourdough starters and bread

Sourdough starters are naturally occurring microbial communities in which the environment, ingredients, and bakers are potential sources of microorganisms. The relative importance of these pools remains unknown. Here, bakers from two continents used a standardized recipe and ingredients to make starters that were then baked into breads. We characterized the fungi and bacteria associated with the starters, bakers' hands, and ingredients using 16S and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and then measured dough acidity and bread flavor. Starter communities were much less uniform than expected, and this variation manifested in the flavor of the bread. Starter communities were most similar to those found in flour but shared some species with the bakers' skin. While humans likely contribute microorganisms to the starters, the reverse also appears to be true. This bidirectional exchange of microorganisms between starters and bakers highlights the importance of microbial diversity on bodies and in our environments as it relates to foods. IMPORTANCE Sourdough starters are complex communities of yeast and bacteria which confer characteristic flavor and texture to sourdough bread. The microbes present in starters can be sourced from ingredients or the baking environment and are typically consistent over time. Herein, we show that even when the recipe and ingredients for starter and bread are identical, different bakers around the globe produce highly diverse starters which then alter bread acidity and flavor. Much of the starter microbial community comes from bread flour, but the diversity is also associated with differences in the microbial community on the hands of bakers. These results indicate that bakers may be a source for yeast and bacteria in their breads and/or that bakers' jobs are reflected in their skin microbiome

Reducing the Decline in Physical Activity during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Behaviour Change Interventions

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) typically declines throughout pregnancy. Low levels of PA are associated with excessive weight gain and subsequently increase risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension disorders, delivery by caesarean section and stillbirth. Systematic reviews on PA during pregnancy have not explored the efficacy of behaviour change techniques or related theory in altering PA behaviour. This systematic review evaluated the content of PA interventions to reduce the decline of PA in pregnant women with a specific emphasis on the behaviour change techniques employed to elicit this change. Search and Review Methodology: Literature searches were conducted in eight databases. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were employed. Two reviewers independently evaluated each intervention using the behaviour change techniques (BCT) taxonomy to identify the specific behaviour change techniques employed. Two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias using the guidelines from the Cochrane Collaboration. Overall quality was determined using the GRADE approach. Findings: A total of 1140 potentially eligible papers were identified from which 14 studies were selected for inclusion. Interventions included counselling (n = 6), structured exercise (n = 6) and education (n = 2). Common behaviour change techniques employed in these studies were goal setting and planning, feedback, repetition and substitution, shaping knowledge and comparison of behaviours. Regular face-to-face meetings were also commonly employed. PA change over time in intervention groups ranged from increases of 28% to decreases of 25%. In 8 out of 10 studies, which provided adequate data, participants in the intervention group were more physically active post intervention than controls. Conclusions and Implications: Physical activity interventions incorporating behaviour change techniques help reduce the decline in PA throughout pregnancy. Range of behaviour change techniques can be implemented to reduce this decline including goals and planning, shaping knowledge and comparison of outcomes. A lack of high quality interventions hampers conclusions of intervention effectiveness

When is it Safe for Patients to Drive after Right Total Hip Arthroplasty?

Introduction: Driving restrictions after total hip arthroplasty (THA) can be inconvenient and burdensome for patients. When patients may safely be allowed to drive remains controversial. Most studies recommend 6 weeks but recent advances in surgical approach, pain management and rapid recovery may have changed this time frame. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate driving safety after THA through brake reaction time