Teacher Perceptions of a Culture of Thinking

Building classroom and school cultures of thinking is one of the fundamental and critical purposes of education. This study is an exploratory effort to obtain a clearer picture of teachers’ perceptions about eight components of a culture of thinking within their own classroom. The instrument used is a quantitative survey developed by Ritchhart (2015) that examines eight forces of cultures of thinking (expectations, language, modeling, time, opportunities, routines, physical environment and interactions). The survey results provide useful information about potential target areas for those seeking to deepen cultures of thinking in educational settings

Teacher Perceptions of a Culture of Thinking

Building classroom and school cultures of thinking is one of the fundamental and critical purposes of education. This study is an exploratory effort to obtain a clearer picture of teachers’ perceptions about eight components of a culture of thinking within their own classroom. The instrument used is a quantitative survey developed by Ritchhart (2015) that examines eight forces of cultures of thinking (expectations, language, modeling, time, opportunities, routines, physical environment and interactions). The survey results provide useful information about potential target areas for those seeking to deepen cultures of thinking in educational setting

Adjunct & Faculty Survey: Perceptions of Quality & Rigor

Seeking comprehensive feedback about adjunct faculty experiences at Fort Hays State University, the authors created an anonymous survey tool to inquire about full-time and adjunct faculty perceptions of a broad range of factors affecting adjuncts and the classes they teach. Results include valuable information about adjunct satisfaction, compensation, recruitment, orientation, and support, as well as perceptions of course and program quality. Findings suggest significant differences in perceptions of academic rigor and expectations of student clock-hours. Results were shared with the Adjunct Faculty Advisory Committee and will be used to make various recommendations to the Provost and Academic Council. Additional research is needed, to clarify factors which affect adjunct and full-time faculty perceptions

Adjunct & Faculty Survey: Perceptions of Quality & Rigor

Seeking comprehensive feedback about adjunct faculty experiences at Fort Hays State University, the authors created an anonymous survey tool to inquire about full-time and adjunct faculty perceptions of a broad range of factors affecting adjuncts and the classes they teach. Results include valuable information about adjunct satisfaction, compensation, recruitment, orientation, and support, as well as perceptions of course and program quality. Findings suggest significant differences in perceptions of academic rigor and expectations of student clock-hours. Results were shared with the Adjunct Faculty Advisory Committee and will be used to make various recommendations to the Provost and Academic Council. Additional research is needed, to clarify factors which affect adjunct and full-time faculty perceptions

Unusual Metabolism and Hypervariation in the Genome of a Gracilibacterium (BD1-5) from an Oil-Degrading Community.

The candidate phyla radiation (CPR) comprises a large monophyletic group of bacterial lineages known almost exclusively based on genomes obtained using cultivation-independent methods. Within the CPR, Gracilibacteria (BD1-5) are particularly poorly understood due to undersampling and the inherent fragmented nature of available genomes. Here, we report the first closed, curated genome of a gracilibacterium from an enrichment experiment inoculated from the Gulf of Mexico and designed to investigate hydrocarbon degradation. The gracilibacterium rose in abundance after the community switched to dominance by Colwellia Notably, we predict that this gracilibacterium completely lacks glycolysis, the pentose phosphate and Entner-Doudoroff pathways. It appears to acquire pyruvate, acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), and oxaloacetate via degradation of externally derived citrate, malate, and amino acids and may use compound interconversion and oxidoreductases to generate and recycle reductive power. The initial genome assembly was fragmented in an unusual gene that is hypervariable within a repeat region. Such extreme local variation is rare but characteristic of genes that confer traits under pressure to diversify within a population. Notably, the four major repeated 9-mer nucleotide sequences all generate a proline-threonine-aspartic acid (PTD) repeat. The genome of an abundant Colwellia psychrerythraea population has a large extracellular protein that also contains the repeated PTD motif. Although we do not know the host for the BD1-5 cell, the high relative abundance of the C. psychrerythraea population and the shared surface protein repeat may indicate an association between these bacteria.IMPORTANCE CPR bacteria are generally predicted to be symbionts due to their extensive biosynthetic deficits. Although monophyletic, they are not monolithic in terms of their lifestyles. The organism described here appears to have evolved an unusual metabolic platform not reliant on glucose or pentose sugars. Its biology appears to be centered around bacterial host-derived compounds and/or cell detritus. Amino acids likely provide building blocks for nucleic acids, peptidoglycan, and protein synthesis. We resolved an unusual repeat region that would be invisible without genome curation. The nucleotide sequence is apparently under strong diversifying selection, but the amino acid sequence is under stabilizing selection. The amino acid repeat also occurs in a surface protein of a coexisting bacterium, suggesting colocation and possibly interdependence

In Silico Detection of Sequence Variations Modifying Transcriptional Regulation

Identification of functional genetic variation associated with increased susceptibility to complex diseases can elucidate genes and underlying biochemical mechanisms linked to disease onset and progression. For genes linked to genetic diseases, most identified causal mutations alter an encoded protein sequence. Technological advances for measuring RNA abundance suggest that a significant number of undiscovered causal mutations may alter the regulation of gene transcription. However, it remains a challenge to separate causal genetic variations from linked neutral variations. Here we present an in silico driven approach to identify possible genetic variation in regulatory sequences. The approach combines phylogenetic footprinting and transcription factor binding site prediction to identify variation in candidate cis-regulatory elements. The bioinformatics approach has been tested on a set of SNPs that are reported to have a regulatory function, as well as background SNPs. In the absence of additional information about an analyzed gene, the poor specificity of binding site prediction is prohibitive to its application. However, when additional data is available that can give guidance on which transcription factor is involved in the regulation of the gene, the in silico binding site prediction improves the selection of candidate regulatory polymorphisms for further analyses. The bioinformatics software generated for the analysis has been implemented as a Web-based application system entitled RAVEN (regulatory analysis of variation in enhancers). The RAVEN system is available at http://www.cisreg.ca for all researchers interested in the detection and characterization of regulatory sequence variation

Efficacy and safety of a single dose of ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole for treatment of lymphatic filariasis in Côte d\u27Ivoire: An open-label randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Improved drug regimens are needed to accelerate elimination of lymphatic filariasis in Africa. This study determined whether a single co-administered dose of ivermectin plus diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole [IDA] is noninferior to standard 3 annual doses of ivermectin plus albendazole (IA) used in many LF-endemic areas of Africa. METHODS: Treatment-naive adults with Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaremia in Côte d\u27Ivoire were randomized to receive a single dose of IDA (n = 43) or 3 annual doses of IA (n = 52) in an open-label, single-blinded trial. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants who were microfilaria (Mf) negative at 36 months. Secondary endpoints were Mf clearance at 6, 12, and 24 months; inactivation of adult worm nests; and safety. RESULTS: At 36 months posttreatment with IDA, 18/33 (55%; 95% CI, 38-72%) cleared Mf versus 33/42 (79%; 67-91%) with IA (P = .045). At 6 and 12 months IDA was superior to IA in clearing Mf (89% [77-99%] and 71% [56-85%]), respectively, versus 34% (20-48%) and 26% (14-42%) (P \u3c .001). IDA was equivalent to IA at 24 months (61% [45-77%] vs 54% [38-72%]; P = .53). IDA was superior to IA for inactivating adult worms at all time points. Both treatments were well tolerated, and there were no serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of IDA was superior to 2 doses of IA in reducing the overall Mf burden by 24 months. Reinfection may have contributed to the lack of sustained clearance of Mf with IDA. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT02974049

The matching problem within comparative welfare state research: How to bridge abstract theory and specific hypotheses

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Barriers to primary care responsiveness to poverty as a risk factor for health

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Poverty is widely recognized as a major determinant of poor health, and this link has been extensively studied and verified. Despite the strong evidentiary link, little work has been done to determine what primary care health providers can do to address their patients' income as a risk to their health. This qualitative study explores the barriers to primary care responsiveness to poverty as a health issue in a well-resourced jurisdiction with near-universal health care insurance coverage.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One to one interviews were conducted with twelve experts on poverty and health in primary care in Ontario, Canada. Participants included family physicians, specialist physicians, nurse practitioners, community workers, advocates, policy experts and researchers. The interviews were analysed for anticipated and emergent themes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study reveals provider- and patient-centred structural, attitudinal, and knowledge-based barriers to addressing poverty as a risk to health. While many of its findings reinforce previous work in this area, this study's findings point to a number of areas front line primary care providers could target to address their patients' poverty. These include a lack of provider understanding of the lived reality of poverty, leading to a failure to collect adequate data about patients' social circumstances, and to the development of inappropriate care plans. Participants also pointed to prejudicial attitudes among providers, a failure of primary care disciplines to incorporate approaches to poverty as a standard of care, and a lack of knowledge of concrete steps providers can take to address patients' poverty.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While this study reinforces, in a well-resourced jurisdiction such as Ontario, the previously reported existence of significant barriers to addressing income as a health issue within primary care, the findings point to the possibility of front line primary care providers taking direct steps to address the health risks posed by poverty. The consistent direction and replicability of these findings point to a refocusing of the research agenda toward an examination of interventions to decrease the health impacts of poverty.</p