Prenatal Screening for Aneuploidy: Should cfDNA Replace Traditional Methods?

In 2011, advances in research in medical genetics led to the advent of prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) or also known simply as non-invasive prenatal screening or testing (NIPS). This screen consists of analyzation of placental DNA circulating in maternal blood. NIPS has had a major impact on prenatal screening for aneuploidy. Mixed opinions and data exist as to whom this test is most appropriate for. The sensitivity and specificity of this screen in detecting common fetal aneuploidies has been well documented as superior to other screens in high-risk populations, but less so in low-risk obstetric populations. This paper will compare and contrast NIPS to more traditional screening methods such as first trimester maternal serum biochemical assay of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), and second trimester markers which include hCG, unconjugated estriol, inhibin A, and maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein.https://commons.und.edu/pas-grad-posters/1058/thumbnail.jp

The Diet and Subsistence Methods of the Maya: Their Health and Cultural Consequences from the Pre-Classic Era to Today

The Maya, a once great civilization, seemingly vanished without an obvious reason, before the Spanish landed in the region. Some say that their downfall was a result of famine and inadequate nutrition. Surprisingly, most of the archaeological evidence surrounding the Classic Maya diet and subsistence methods indicates that they both adequately sustained the population to the point where there has been practically no change over hundreds of years. Change did not occur to the Maya diet or the classic subsistence methods until the late twentieth century when the tourism industry exploded in the area of the former Maya empire. The introduction of tourism caused a dramatic shift away from an agricultural economy towards a cash economy. This shift altered the diet and nutrition of the Maya, creating wealth disparities that had never before been faced by the Maya people. Research has now indicated that the modern Maya, due to the effects of tourism and coca-colonization, are in a worse situation regarding diet, subsistence methods, and resulting health complications than the Classic Maya were

Excavations and Interpretation of Two Ancient Maya Salt-Work Mounds, Paynes Creek National Park, Toledo District, Belize

In 2012, excavations were conducted at Witz Nabb’ and Killer Bee the last remaining above sea level features Paynes Creek National Park, Belize. Salt is a basic biological necessity that was in limited supply at inland Maya cities. The ancient Maya of coastal Belize produced by fire enhanced evaporation of salt enriched brine. Survey and excavation at inundated salt works in a shallow lagoon in Paynes Creek National Park provide extensive evidence of this technique in the form of briquetage, the remains of pots used in the fire evaporation. Lacking is any evidence that the salinity of seawater was enriched by leaching brine through salty soil or by solar evaporation – virtually universal in ethnographic and historic case studies. Discussions of the excavation, stratigraphy, and artifacts helped to determine the function of the mounds and demonstrate how production scales changed over time. Ethnographic examples indicate that salt making is often a periodic activity. The excavation at Witz Naab’ supports evidence that salt production was not a continuous activity. Detailed soil analysis developed a baseline of data to compare to ongoing research at the surrounding inundated sites. Furthermore, the use and function of these mounds will aid in our understanding of resources exploitation and trade interaction between the coastal Maya and the inland Maya centers of the Late Classic (A.D. 600-900). This research will expand the understanding of techniques of salt production associated with the ancient Maya and the interaction between the coastal and interior settlements

Charlotte Bronte\u27s Other Belgian Novel: Sex, the Foreign Body, and the Legacy of Brussels in Jane Eyre

The author has chosen not to provide an abstract

Language contact in West Africa

Non peer reviewe

Things You Cannot Do in Norway: Multilingual Transnational Action and Interaction in Digital Communication

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.Migrants from Senegal constitute a small minority in Norway, which complicates their possibilities of carrying out certain linguistic and cultural practices face-to-face. However, with increased access to digital means, socio-cultural practices, including multilingual discourse, may be participated in transnationally. In this paper, we analyse two stretches of multimodal conversation between a Senegalese living in Norway and two interlocutors in Senegal, more specifically one WhatsApp conversation with a nephew, and one Messenger interaction with a close friend. Based on interview and interactional data, we investigate how they use their various communicative resources to negotiate transnational relationships, and to seek emotional, spiritual, and practical support. The analysis shows how language choice is used to create virtual togetherness (Baldassar 2008; Nedelcu and Wyss 2016) in different ways. The interlocutors engage in practices ranging from phatic communication, banter and gifting, to help with practical issues and doing business as they manage different mobile chronotopes (Lyons and Tagg 2019). Our research extends the use of the mobile chronotope to include voice messages and considers more intimate relationships. It shines light on the immense resourcefulness of highly multilingual individuals in achieving their communicative aims and points this out as a fruitful area for future investigation.publishedVersio

MICROLEARNING IN UPC

El trabajo presenta una reflexión sobre el uso de la técnica de la microenseñanza en la formación de docentes. La experiencia de microenseñanza en la UPC se desarrolla como parte del proceso de inducción que el Departamento de Calidad Educativa brinda a los profesores nuevos. Se presentan los resultados del análisis de las Habilidades Docentes en las Microenseñanzas realizadas en el ciclo 2006-02 y se discute sobre las posibilidades de capacitación que brinda esta técnica, ayudando a los docentes nuevos a reforzar sus habilidades pedagógicas y alinearse al Modelo Educativo de la UPC. A su vez, otorga retroalimentación y permite brindar sugerencias para que el profesor pueda seguir formándose como pedagogo.This work reflects upon the use of the 'microlearning' technique in the teacher'slearning proccess. The experience of microlearning in UPC is developed as part of the proccess of induction that 'Quality Education Department' (Departamento de Calidad Educativa) gives to the new teachers. The results of the term 2006-02 of the analysis of the 'teachers skills' in the microlearning are shown and the possibilities that this technique offers are disscussed. This helps the new teachers to reinforce their pedagogical skills and to understand and work under the Educational Model of the UPC. At the same time it gives and accepts feedback so that the teacher can continue to complement their pedagogical learning

An examination of the ways in which power arises, and is managed, between systemic psychotherapists and parents working together in a social care context

This study aims to understand and describe some of the ways in which power arises, and is managed, between clinicians who are systemic psychotherapists and the parents they are working with in a social care context. Examining their interactions in detail, particularly their talk, aims to do this. Interest in the questions arose from my own practice as a systemic psychotherapist working in children's social care, with a focus on complex neglect, where I identified challenges to ef[ective practice that were related to that context. My initial ideas were about power being a particularly salient issue in each of these challenges in one way or another, and I wanted to examine and extend this area of interest using qualitative research methods. Conversation Analysis (CA) is used here to examine the power dynamics at the heart of therapeutic work in this social care context. The primary overall objective of the study is to understand how power dynamics are managed to enable interventions aimed at reducing risk in families to be effective, by answering the following questions: L What is happening in moment-by-moment interactions between parents and systemic psychotherapists talking together, when the talk is taking place because of issues regarding risk to children? How are power dynamics being spoken about, negotiated, or managed in this high-risk context? 2. What is happening in moment-by-moment interactions between parents and systemic psychotherapists when talk that may lead to change, and reduce the risk to children, can be identified and seems to be being mutually created, understood and agreed between them? How are power dynamics being spoken about, negotiated, or managed in this particular high risk context? I examine 3 sessions, with 3 different sets of parents and systemic psychotherapists, in detail. I argue that power can be made useful when it is arising as authority that is jointly created between parents and therapists. I contend that the findings show how systemic approaches and practice can uniquely contribute to safeguarding work in contexts where issues of power prevail. I consider how the systemic practitioners in the study show their ability to deal with the power differentials arising, and develop relationships, that lead to effective and ethical working. I show how combining systemic and CA frameworks allow these abilities to be seen, and identified. These abilities are reflective of the systemic theoretical base, and systemic techniques enable these theories to be put to use. I show how these elements of practice enable complex processes between people to be negotiated. I argue how systemic approaches could contribute to mentalization-based approaches more than they do presently, and specifically when working with 'hard to reach' families. I argue that other therapeutic approaches such as these would benefit from dealing with the concept of power more explicitly, and benefit from understanding and utilising systemic approaches and practices in more depth to do so. I also use this understanding of what is happening in the relational systemic approach to examine the often-used concept of 'disguised compliance'. I make an argument for a more relational use of the term than is sometimes suggested. All of the above areas have implications for practice, and for the training and supervision of systemic psychotherapists, and other practitioners working in a social care context

Navigating the Online Tutorial Frontier: From Design to Deployment & Beyond

As we all have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching is a vital part of creating an open future of learning environments in higher education. Asynchronous online information literacy tutorials can engage and support online and face-to-face library users, and the planning and design process can take many forms. Librarians do not have to be instructional designers, have funding, or be accessibility experts to create engaging, online research tutorials. In this session, a panel of academic and online learning librarians from across the country will discuss creating tutorials with a variety of tools, budgets, and timelines. H5P, LibWizard, Articulate, and homegrown systems will be among the tools discussed. Speakers will present on the planning and implementation process of the tutorials, as well as accessibility considerations. Specific accessibility frameworks will be discussed, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and WCAG 2.0, as well as free tools and checklists librarians can use to test accessibility. Panelists will share a variety of assessment strategies, including using student workers for usability testing, linking to form assessments, web analytics, and user surveys. In an increasingly digital world, it is essential for academic librarians to be able to create effective and engaging asynchronous learning materials to connect patrons with information literacy concepts. Participants will leave this session ready to jump into their online learning future and make quality content without overthinking it