A Tribute From Robin Morgan: Kate Millett Memorial Service

A Tribute From Robin Morgan includes the text of her tribute and a video. The tribute is read by Kathleen Turner

Emerging roles of chicken and viral microRNAs in avian disease

<p> Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MicroRNAs are short RNAs (~22 nt) expressed by plants, animals and viruses that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally, and their importance is highlighted by distinct patterns of expression in many physiological processes, including development, hematopoeisis, stress resistance, and disease. Our group has characterized the microRNAs encoded by the avian herpesviruses; namely, oncogenic Marek’s disease (MD) virus (MDV1), non-oncogenic MDV (MDV2) herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT), and infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MicroRNAs encoded by the avian herpesviruses were identified using next generation sequencing technologies (454, Illumina).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The microRNAs of each the avian herpesviruses have unique sequences, but the genomic locations are similar, in that the microRNAs tend to be clustered in the rapidly evolving repeat regions of the viral genomes. For a given viral species the microRNA sequence is highly conserved in different strains with the exception of a virulence-associated polymorphism in the putative promoter of the MDV1 microRNAs upstream of the <it>meq</it> oncogene. These microRNAs are relatively highly expressed in tumors produced by very virulent MDV1 isolates compared to tumors produced by less virulent strains. MDV1 and HVT encode homologs of the host microRNA, miR-221, which targets a gene important in cell cycle regulation. MDV1 encodes a microRNA (mdv1-miR-M4) that shares a seed sequence with miR-155, a microRNA important in immune function. Mdv-miR-M4 is highly expressed in MDV induced tumors, while miR-155 is present at very low levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>MicroRNAs are highly conserved among different field strains of MDV1, and they are expressed in lytic and latent infections and in MDV1-derived tumors. This suggests that these small molecules are very important to the virus, and roles in immune evasion, anti-apoptosis, or proliferation are likely.</p

Literacy Coaching for Instructional Change in Guided Reading: Navigating Form and Function

The purpose of this research was to examine how one teacher’s guided reading instruction evolved while engaged in a job-embedded professional development experience across the school year. The teacher taught and debriefed multiple guided reading lessons per visit with a literacy coach. The authors employed qualitative methods to analyze the transcripts from interviews and pre- and postconferences, written reflections, and field notes from the lessons. Findings demonstrate that the teacher shifted from being hyper-focused on the form of guided reading to the actual function of guided reading. Initially, she concentrated on text level, time and planning, and management, which the authors identified as attention to form; over time she gave more attention to the decision-making aspects and instructional opportunities that the authors identified as the function of guided reading. The findings further show how the social nature of the job-embedded professional development supported the teacher’s change in instructional practices

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN COACH EDUCATION PEDAGOGY

ABSTRACT: We know that coach education programmes continue to be criticized for their largely didactic methods of delivery and rather superficial engagement with the complex reality of practice and we understand that innovative approaches in coach education pedagogy means moving somewhat away from the competencies based approach and it has been increasingly argued that the aim of coach education should be to develop in practitioners a ‘quality of mind’ so that they are better equipped to deal with the problematic and dynamic nature of their work. The skills of coach educators in facilitating the learning of student coaches are crucial to the effectiveness of the pedagogies. Coach educators, therefore, must be committed to the approaches outlined in this article and invest the time and work necessary to learning new skills if they are to be successfully implemented. We found that teaching in this way resulted in a raised degree of responsibility on behalf of the tutors, not so much in relation to their content delivery, but for the subsequent student interaction and learning (JONES et al., 2011). In this sense tutors took greater care to listen and react to group interactions, recognising that their (non) interventions at (in) appropriate times could genuinely affect and frame ensuing students’ discussions and perceptions. A further area of research, therefore, could be to explore the issues surrounding the training and support of coach educators in implementing such pedagogical innovative approaches to coach education. RESUMO: Sabemos que os trabalhos de orientação de técnicos/professores são muito criticados por seus métodos pouco se aproximarem de práticas inovadoras. No entanto, práticas pedagógicas inovadoras devem se aproximar da realidade prática e avançar aos métodos tradicionais, considerando que uma pedagogia inovadora deve mover alguém do lugar onde se encontra para conhecer novas possibilidades. As habilidades dos técnicos/professores devem ser trabalhadas no sentido dos mesmos se constituírem facilitadores do processo de aprendizagem dos estudantes para se pensar numa pedagogia inovadora. Entendemos que uma concepção pedagógica construída nessa direção possibilita o desenvolvimento tanto de técnicos/professores, assim como os estudantes e pesquisas educacionais devem caminhar nessa direção, tendo em vista a necessidade de transformação qualitativa dessa áreade atuação.http://dx.doi.org/10.14572/nuances.v24i1.217

The origin of green icebergs in Antarctica

A comparison of samples from a translucent green iceberg with a core from the Ronne Ice Shelf revealed an excellent agreement in isotopic composition, crystal structure, and incorporated sediment particles. Marine shelf ice which constitutes the basal portion of some ice shelves is considered to be the source of green icebergs. It most likely results from "ice pump" processes which produce large amounts of ice platelets in the water column beneath ice shelves. These subsequently accumulate and become compacted into bubble-free, desalinated ice. Iceberg and drift-buoy trajectories indicate that green icebergs observed in the Weddell Sea originate from the Amery Ice Shelf rather than from the Ronne Ice Shelf, although the latter ice shelf is also a potential source