Interest, Instructional Strategies, and the Creation of Group Space

Research on small-group work and on whole class discussions has shown specific benefits for student learning. At the same time, research on interest stresses the generation of situational interest when particular learning conditions are met. This qualitative study explores whether the type of instructional strategy (small group vs. whole class discussion) influences triggering of situational interest about theoretical and practice-oriented pedagogical topics among preservice science teachers (N = 44). Triggering of interest was identified by participation rate, degree of comfort during interactions, and quality of arguments. Results show that whole class discussions of theoretical topics shifted towards practical teaching issues, while small groups sustained the theoretical nature of a topic. Both interaction patterns imply triggering of situational interest. But the small group interaction patterns indicate the collective construction of a “triple problem-solving space”, in which content, social/relational, and interest were balanced from the start; the whole class discussions needed first to renegotiate the content

Antimicrobial peptides: agents of border protection for companion animals.

Over the past 20 years, there have been significant inroads into understanding the roles of antimicrobial peptides in homeostatic functions and their involvement in disease pathogenesis. In addition to direct antimicrobial activity, these peptides participate in many cellular functions, including chemotaxis, wound healing and even determination of canine coat colour. Various biological and genetic approaches have helped to elucidate the role of antimicrobial peptides with respect to innate immunity and host defense. Associations of antimicrobial peptides with various skin diseases, including psoriasis, rosacea and atopic dermatitis, have been documented in humans. In the longer term, therapeutic modulation of antimicrobial peptide expression may provide effective new treatments for disease. This review highlights current knowledge about antimicrobial peptides of the skin and circulating leukocytes, with particular focus on relevance to physiology and disease in companion animals

Das Archiv des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs für das ehemalige Jugoslawien. Wie weiter bei der Ausgestaltung des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit?

Transitionsphasen zwischen Krieg und Frieden können von Forderungen begleitet werden, die begangenen Verbrechen und Menschenrechtsverletzungen aufzuklären. Dem Zugang zu Archiven kommt in solchen Prozessen eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. Neben staatlichen Archiven sind es auch die Transitionsmechanismen selbst, welche essentielle Unterlagen für die Vergangenheitsarbeit produzieren und sammeln. In meiner Arbeit widme ich mich dem Archiv des Internationalen Strafgerichtshof für das ehemalige Jugoslawien (ICTY). Im Jahr 2017 wird der ICTY voraussichtlich seine Tore schliessen. Der ICTY hinterlässt eine enorme Menge an Unterlagen über begangene Menschenrechtsverletzungen auf dem Gebiet des ehemaligen Jugoslawien, die über das Mandat des ICTY hinaus für die Vergangenheitsarbeit verwendet werden können. Die Arbeit geht der Frage nach, welche archivpolitischen Herausforderungen sich dem UN Sicherheitsrat anlässlich der Komplettierung des ICTY stellen und analysiert die Weichenstellungen und Lösungsoptionen hinsichtlich des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit der Unterlagen aus archivischer Sicht. Im Rahmen der Masterarbeit analysiere ich die verschiedenen Kernaspekte, die in Zusammenhang mit der Ausgestaltung des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit des Archivs diskutiert werden. Ein zentraler Aspekt sind die potentiellen Nutzergruppen des Archivs. Die Nutzer aufgrund des Primärwerts der Unterlagen finden sich in der Nachfolgeinstitution des ICTY sowie in den Rechtsinstanzen des ehemaligen Jugoslawiens. Diese Primärnutzer werden einerseits für die Gewährleistung der Rechts-ansprüche als auch die Verfolgung der Kriegsverbrechen vor nationalen Gerichten noch lange Jahre nach dem Ende des ICTY Zugang zu den Unterlagen brauchen. Der Schutz und die Sicherheit der teils hochsensiblen Unterlagen einerseits, und die effiziente Ausgestaltung des Zugangs für Primärnutzer andererseits, stellen grosse Herausforderungen an die zukünftige Verwaltung der Unterlagen. Die Nutzer aufgrund des Sekundärwerts der Unterlagen sind vielseitig. Die Auswertung der öffentlichen Debatten zeigt, dass dem Archiv gerade von regionalen Akteuren auf dem Gebiet des ehemaligen Jugoslawien eine zentrale Funktion zugesprochen wird, das rechtliche, institutionelle und normative Erbe des Tribunals zu überliefern. Sie verweisen auf die elementare Bedeutung der Unterlagen für die Versöhnungs- und Vergangenheitsarbeit in den Ländern des ehemaligen Jugoslawien. Den regionalen Bedürfnissen muss bei der Ausgestaltung des langfristigen Zugangs und Zugänglichkeit besondere Beachtung geschenkt werden. Neben den Nutzergruppen wird die Frage der geografischen Platzierung des Archivs diskutiert. Mit der Anbindung des Archivs an die Nachfolgeinstitution des ICTY in Den Haag ist eine Übergangslösung gefunden, die eine gute Voraussetzung für die Verwaltung des Archivs und die Gewährleistung des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit bildet. Der Entscheid, wo und wie das Archiv langfristig aufbewahrt und zugänglich gemacht wird, steht aber noch aus. Eine Option, die auf breite Zustimmung stösst, bildet die Schaffung von Informationszentren in welchen öffentliche Unterlagen einfach und effizient zugänglich gemacht würden. Die geografische Verteilung und institutionelle Anbindung der Zentren gilt es im Hinblick auf den langfristigen Zugang zu den Unterlagen sehr sorgfältig abzuwägen

Building Capacity for Academically Productive Talk: The Development of Teacher Leaders in Science Professional Development

Despite decades of research on the type of classroom dialogue that supports collaborative student sensemaking and professional development efforts to support such dialogue, opportunities for students to incrementally deepen their understanding of science ideas through engagement in science practices and to engage in complex reasoning and argumentation through classroom talk is limited in most K-12 science classrooms (Driver, Newton, & Osborne, 2000; Lemke, 1990; Michaels, Shouse, & Schweingruber, 2008; Mortimer & Scott, 2003; C. O’Connor, Michaels, & Chapin, 2015; Reinsvold & Cochran, 2011; Scott, Mortimer, & Aguiar, 2006; Weiss, Pasley, Smith., Banilower, and Heck, 2003; Wilson, Schweingruber, & Nielsen, 2015). In order to address the bigger question of how to prepare PD Leaders to support the knowledge and enactment of new discourse practices, I used the framework of Academically Productive Talk (APT) and examined the discourse practices used by Lead Facilitators as they prepare Teacher Leaders to enact PD focused on APT. I then examined the discourse practices used by those Teacher Leaders as they enacted the PD with their teacher colleagues. Analysis revealed that, similar to the Lead Facilitators, Teacher Leaders at both Bayedge and Lakecastle used APT moves at a high rate and used the conceptual and pedagogical goals of the discussion to guide their use of those moves in discussions that were characterized by high levels of participant to participant interaction and co-construction. Moves where the Teacher Leaders were guiding the discussion by synthesizing ideas and naming the ideas they want the group to attend to were unequally taken up indicating further work is needed in supporting Teacher Leaders with moves that can support idea development while at the same time ensuring that the Teachers are doing the sensemaking. Greater attention around specific moves designed to support idea development by synthesizing the discussion along the way may support Teacher Leaders in more readily taking up those moves. Engaging in the PD themselves as learners and providing opportunities to reflect on those experiences in order to deepen content understanding, understand the goals of each activity, and to develop a culture that supports adult learners appears to be important in this preparation of Teacher Leaders to lead PD on APT

Vasoactive hormone studies in man using urotensin II and vasopressin

BACKGROUND Within this thesis we have examined the effects on vascular tone of two peptide hormones, urotensin II and vasopressin. Human urotensin II is a novel vasoactive peptide hormone with receptors located on human arterial tissue and ventricular myocytes. It is the most potent arterial vasoconstrictor yet discovered and has a sustained effect on blood vessels from a variety of species with potency 28 to 50 fold greater than endothelin-1. Vasopressin has however, been known to have arterial vasoconstrictor properties in man in vivo for many years. However, peptide antagonists for the VI receptor, mediating vasoconstriction, and the V2 receptor, mediating vasodilatation, have often been of poor selectivity and subject to inter-species variation, thus clouding the true arterial pharmacodynamic effects of vasopressin. Two novel peptidic arginine vasopressin antagonists have recently been produced and offer potentially more receptor selectivityOBJECTIVES The aims of this thesis were: first to assess the effects of urotensin II on human resistance vessels and venous tone in vivo; second, to study the effects of systemic intravenous urotensin II on human haemodynamics such as blood pressure, pulse, vascular resistance and arterial stiffness; third, to explore the human in vivo pharmacodynamics of vasopressin in human resistance vessels in the skin microcirculation and forearm as preparation for VI and V2 receptor antagonist studies; forth, to demonstrate that vasopressin induced vasodilatation is mediated by nitric oxide; and finally, fifth, to combine novel VI and V2 receptor antagonists with vasopressin in the human skin and forearm to assess the efficacy of novel vasopressin peptide antagonistsMETHODS Using the established method ofbilateral venous occlusion plethysmography to measure forearm blood flow, combined with intra-arterial infusion of drugs into the brachial artery, we sought to determine the effects of urotensin II on human forearm blood flow. Other methods such as the Aellig venous displacement technique, to assess venous tone, and pulse wave analysis, to quantify arterial stiffness were also used during local and systemic urotensin II intravenous infusions respectively. Doppler flowmetry was used to assess skin microcirculation combined with intra-dermal peptide injection we assessed skin blood flow in response to vasopressin alone and in combination with a novel selective VI antagonist. Venous occlusion plethysmography was again used to determine forearm blood flow responses to vasopressin alone and in combination with VI and V2 antagonists.RESULTS During intra-arterial infusion ofurotensin II we did not observe any significant changes in forearm blood flow, even in the presence of endothelial inhibitors such as aspirin and a 'nitric oxide clamp' nor was change observed in venous tone. Moreover, no alteration in systemic haemodynamics or arterial stiffness was seen during systemic intravenous infusion. We observed a significant fall in skin blood flow with intra¬ dermal injection of vasopressin, however, the VI receptor antagonist did not alter skin vasoconstriction. Intra-arterial infusion of vasopressin caused a reproducible biphasic change in forearm blood flow, low doses causing vasoconstriction and high doses, nitric x oxide mediated vasodilatation. Vasodilatation was subject to tachyphylaxis during prolonged infusion ofhigh dose vasopressin. Neither intra-arterial VI or V2 antagonist, when co-infused with vasopressin, altered this biphasic vasoconstriction and vasodilatationCONCLUSION The majority of our findings for urotensin II were in contrast to our hypothesis. Until a selective urotensin II antagonist is developed the physiological role of urotensin II in human cardiovascular physiology will remain difficult to ascertain. Its role may alternatively lie in longer term regulation of vascular tone or in sodium and metabolic homeostasis. We defined the pharmacodynamics of vasopressin in humans in vivo to a greater depth than previous studies and confirmed, using a 'nitric oxide clamp', the dependence of vasopressin induced vasodilatation on locally derived nitric oxide. Both vasopressin antagonists have yet again been subject to considerable inter-species variation, as demonstrated by the efficacy of the VI receptor antagonist in our rat biopressor assay. To date there are no truly selective peptidic vasopressin receptor antagonists available for human in vivo studies

Mechanical properties of low carbon martensite

Steels of three different compositions were heat treated and tensile tested in order to determine their mechanical properties after heat treatment. All samples had near 0.20 per cent carbon and two manganese levels 0.90 per cent and 1.35 per cent. One group containing the higher manganese level also had small additions of columbium and vanadium. The specimens were too brittle in the as-quenched condition to be loaded to full strength. Maximum strength and ductility were found after short time tempering at low tempering temperatures -- 2 to 15 minutes at 200º to 300ºF. Higher strengths were found at the low tempering temperatures in the higher manganese steels due to the lowering of the Ms by increased manganese. The columbium and vanadium additions resulted in higher strengths due to their grain refinement effect --Abstract, page ii