Families as educators: Additional contributions and reflections

Baha’i families strive proactively to create egalitarian relationships based on the principles of human dignity and open consultation. Moreover, the struggles and changes being wrought within families are seen as being analogous to the macro forces at work in the world. In the traditional Kenyan context, the role of parents as educators and agents of socialization was often taken for granted. Education is related to educational practices in everyday life, with interrelationships between the family and its environment and changes in the family. By understanding the values and how they are transmitted to children, people begin to understand why global citizenship may very well be rooted in the survival of families in a world that is changing and often accompanied by traumatic events. Although the aims and contents of education for peace and for environmental responsibility are continuously taking shape, they will include education for peace, cooperation, nonviolence, international understanding, and environmental responsibility.SCOPUS: ch.binfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Floral heteromorphy in Primula vulgaris: Progress towards isolation and characterization of the S locus

Background The common primrose, Primula vulgaris, along with many other species of the Primulaceae, exhibits floral heteromorphy in which different individuals develop one of two possible forms of flower, known as pin and thrum. Both flower types are hermaphrodite and exhibit reciprocal positions of male and female reproductive structures, which together with a sporophytic incompatibility system, prevent self-pollination and promote out-crossing. The development of the two different forms of flower is controlled by a co-adapted linkage group of genes known as the S locus. ScopeHere progress towards identification and characterization of these genes is described to provide a molecular genetic explanation of the different floral characteristics that define heterostyly in Primula as observed and described by Charles Darwin. Previous work to identify and characterize developmental mutations linked to the P. vulgaris S locus, together with the isolation of S locus-linked genes and polymorphic DNA sequences markers, is summarized. The development of tools are described which will facilitate isolation and characterization of the S locus and its environs, including the creation of two expressed sequence tag libraries from pin and thrum flowers, as well as the construction and screening of two bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries containing thrum genomic DNA. Screening of these libraries with four S locus-linked sequences has enabled us to assemble four BAC contigs representing over 40 individual overlapping BAC clones which represent over 2·2 Mb of S locus-linked genomic sequence. PCR-based approaches for identification of the allelic origin of these BACs are described as well as identification of an additional 14 S locus-linked genes within BAC-end sequences. ConclusionsOn-going work to assemble the four S locus-linked contigs into one contiguous sequence spanning the S locus is outlined in preparation for sequence analysis and characterization of the genes located within this region

Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Family Management Measure

Objective This paper reports development of the Family Management Measure (FaMM) of parental perceptions of family management of chronic conditions. Method By telephone interview, 579 parents of children age 3 to 19 with a chronic condition (349 partnered mothers, 165 partners, 65 single mothers) completed the FaMM and measures of child functional status and behavioral problems and family functioning. Analyses addressed reliability, factor structure, and construct validity. Results Exploratory factor analysis yielded six scales: Child's Daily Life, Condition Management Ability, Condition Management Effort, Family Life Difficulty, Parental Mutuality, and View of Condition Impact. Internal consistency reliability ranged from .72 to .91, and test-retest reliability from .71 to .94. Construct validity was supported by significant correlations in hypothesized directions between FaMM scales and established measures. Conclusion Results support FaMM's; reliability and validity, indicating it performs in a theoretically meaningful way and taps distinct aspects of family response to childhood chronic conditions

Iridovirus and microsporidian linked to honey bee colony decline.

In 2010 Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), again devastated honey bee colonies in the USA, indicating that the problem is neither diminishing nor has it been resolved. Many CCD investigations, using sensitive genome-based methods, have found small RNA bee viruses and the microsporidia, Nosema apis and N. ceranae in healthy and collapsing colonies alike with no single pathogen firmly linked to honey bee losses.We used Mass spectrometry-based proteomics (MSP) to identify and quantify thousands of proteins from healthy and collapsing bee colonies. MSP revealed two unreported RNA viruses in North American honey bees, Varroa destructor-1 virus and Kakugo virus, and identified an invertebrate iridescent virus (IIV) (Iridoviridae) associated with CCD colonies. Prevalence of IIV significantly discriminated among strong, failing, and collapsed colonies. In addition, bees in failing colonies contained not only IIV, but also Nosema. Co-occurrence of these microbes consistently marked CCD in (1) bees from commercial apiaries sampled across the U.S. in 2006-2007, (2) bees sequentially sampled as the disorder progressed in an observation hive colony in 2008, and (3) bees from a recurrence of CCD in Florida in 2009. The pathogen pairing was not observed in samples from colonies with no history of CCD, namely bees from Australia and a large, non-migratory beekeeping business in Montana. Laboratory cage trials with a strain of IIV type 6 and Nosema ceranae confirmed that co-infection with these two pathogens was more lethal to bees than either pathogen alone.These findings implicate co-infection by IIV and Nosema with honey bee colony decline, giving credence to older research pointing to IIV, interacting with Nosema and mites, as probable cause of bee losses in the USA, Europe, and Asia. We next need to characterize the IIV and Nosema that we detected and develop management practices to reduce honey bee losses