Racism and the science classroom : towards a critical biology education.

Theses (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.This study explores how students experience oppression and subordination in and through biology education. The exploration is guided by the following questions: how is racism/discrimination played out in my biology classroom; in what way/s are the classroom practices of both the students and the teacher racist/discriminatory; and what reinforces such racist/discriminatory practices and why. Since the critical perspective allows for oppressions, subordinations and discriminatory practice to be named and challenged this then became the perspective within which the study was located. The methodology, guided by the critical perspective, and used to generate the data in this search is therefore a critical ethnography within which a critical self ethnography is also employed. Through foregrounding the oppression of race and racism, this methodology made it possible to generate data on the various oppressions and subordinations that are perpetuated in and through biology education. The data was generated from biology lessons on cell division, human reproduction, genetics and biological determinism in a Grade 11 class. This class had in it 34 fe/male students from three different race groups viz. Indian, Black and Coloured. Ten students who volunteered to be interviewed also contributed to the data generated in this study. At a first level of analysis, the data generated from the lessons and the interviews were written up and presented as factionalised stories. This was then used to provide, at a second level a descriptive cross-case analysis grounded in the data of the stories. This cross-case analysis generated categories of oppression, subordination and discriminatory practice that included race and colour; gender and patriarchy; bodies and sexuality; class, poverty and sexually transmitted diseases; institutional power and hierarchy; religion; and language. These categories of oppression and subordination, although described separately, are mutually inclusive categories. From this description it became possible to name and theorise, at a third level of analysis, oppressions and subordinations within biology education. The theorisations deliberated on issues of race, class, gender, language and power. The naming and challenging of existing oppressions, subordinations and discriminatory practice required that a traditional contemporary biology education be replaced by a critical biology education. This study, in engaging a critical biology education, shows how biology may be taught differently when the agenda is social transformation in efforts towards social justice. Whilst it is accepted that social justice in all forms may never be attained, this study shows possibilities for how that contained within current Life Sciences policy for human rights and social justice, could be realised

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Simulation Training Improves Trainee Technical Skill and Procedural Attitudes in Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement

INTRODUCTION: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement remains a core competency of gastroenterology fellowship, although this procedure is performed infrequently. Some training programs lack sufficient procedural volume for trainees to develop confidence and competence in this procedure. We aimed to determine the impact of a simulation-based educational intervention on trainee technical skill and procedural attitudes in simulated PEG tube placement. METHODS: Gastroenterology fellows were invited to participate in the study. Baseline procedural attitudes toward PEG tube placement (self-confidence, perceived skill level, perceived level of required supervision) were assessed before simulation training using a Likert scale. Baseline technical skills were assessed by video recording-simulated PEG tube placement on a PEG tube simulator with scoring using a procedural checklist. Fellows next underwent individualized simulation training and repeated simulated PEG tube placement until greater than 90% of checklist items were achieved. Procedural attitudes were reassessed directly after the simulation. Technical skill and procedural attitudes were then reassessed 6 to 12 weeks later (delayed posttraining). RESULTS: Twelve fellows completed the study. Simulation training led to significant improvement in technical skill at delayed reassessment (52.9 ± 14.3% vs. 78.0 ± 8.9% correct, P = 0.0002). Simulation training also led to significant immediate improvements in self-confidence (2.1 ± 0.7 vs. 3.1 ± 0.3, P = 0.001), perceived skill level (2.2 ± 1.0 vs. 4 ± 1.1, P \u3c 0.001), and perceived level of required supervision (2.2 ± 0.9 vs. 3.2 ± 0.6, P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Simulation training led to sustained improvements in gastroenterology fellows\u27 technical skill and procedural attitudes in PEG tube placement. Incorporation of simulation curricula in gastroenterology fellowships for this infrequently performed procedure should be considered

Hazard and Vulnerability Assessment of Himachal Pradesh University Campus

Abstract: Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), a premier institution of teaching and research in the country, is situated at Summer Hill, a suburb of Shimla at a distance of 5 km from the main town. HPU has a multi-hazard /multi-disaster prone campus and it"s mainly because of its geo-climatic complexities and anthropogenic factors being the capital city of Himachal Pradesh massive development is going on in and around Shimla. Seismic hazard wise HPU and the surrounding areas in Summer Hill are quite vulnerable. It falls in the Zone IV of the seismic zonation map of India. Based on the past earthquake evidences, active tectonics or study of fault planes along which movement is still going on and seismic vulnerability studies indicate one conclusion, that is an earthquake of magnitude of 1905 Kangra earthquake is overdue in the region. Apart from earthquake, flood, fire and landslide are also the major disasters in Shimla and in the recent years they have wreaked havoc in the region. Shimla have been found more prone to disasters and are at high risk in terms of lives and property. Building bye-laws have not been followed in the city Man and manmade structure stands no chance against the awesome power and furry of such disaster when they strike. Therefore, a mechanism is needed to safeguard against massive and unwarranted loss of life and property in the event of such calamity. Solution to counter these trends exists and the knowledge and technology necessary to apply them are widely available. Disaster reduction is the sum of all the action which can be undertaken to reduce the vulnerability of a society to natural hazards. The solution includes proper land-use planning, aided by vulnerability mapping, to relocate people in safe areas, the adaptation of proper building codes in support of disaster resilient engineering, based on local multi hazard risk assessment/maps. In this paper, Hazard and Vulnerability assessment of HPU Campus is assessed. This study will serve as an initiative which can be used for managing both natural and human-induced hazards in the campus