Kjerneelementet undring og utforsking i samfunnsfag, skal vi prate om det?

I denne kvalitative studien har vi forsket på hvordan kjerneelementet undring og utforsking blir brukt og forstått av et utvalg lærere og elever på ungdomstrinnet, med utgangspunkt i dialogbasert læring. Fagfornyelsen fra 2020 inkluderte kjerneelementer i alle fag som byggesteiner i de ulike fagene. I samfunnsfag er undring og utforsking en byggestein som skal prege undervisningen. Ettersom kjerneelementet er nytt, vil vi i denne studien utforske hvordan det blir brukt og forstått i dagens skole med utgangspunkt i dialogbasert læring. Basert på hensikten til studien skal vi besvare problemstillingen; På hvilke måter forstås og brukes undring og utforsking i samfunnsfaget med utgangspunkt i dialogbasert læring? Vi har valgt å konkretisere problemstillingen med tre forskningsspørsmål som blir besvart gjennom intervju av et utvalg lærere og elever på ungdomstrinnet, samt observasjoner fra samfunnsfagundervisning. Studien er en kvalitativ studie med fenomenologisk tilnærming og intervjuene er gjort med en semistrukturert tilnærming, hvor elevene ble intervjuet i grupper og lærerne individuelt. Resultatene fra studien viser at alle lærerinformantene mener at elevene må få muligheten til å undre og utforske i samfunnsfaget. Lærerne og elevene trekker frem diskusjon og spørsmål som metoder for å skape dialog i klasserommet. Dette blir også styrket av egne observasjoner av at åpne spørsmål blir brukt i samfunnsfagundervisningen. Interesse og nysgjerrighet blir først og fremst trukket fram av elevene som en drivkraft til å ville undre og utforske, og lærerne mener at det er et bindeledd fra å undre til å utforske. Gode relasjoner i klasserommet mellom elevene og lærer-elev blir også poengtert som en forutsetning for at en skal kunne benytte dialogbasert læring i klasserommet. Til slutt blir også samfunnsfagets egenart og lærerens fagkompetanse trukket frem som sentrale poenger fra informantene. Studien viser at kjerneelementet undring og utforsking er en byggestein i samfunnsfaget. Likevel er det spørsmål knyttet til hvorvidt det er bevist eller ubevisst valg av lærerne å benytte det i planlegging og gjennomføring av undervisning. Dialogbasert læring blir aktivt brukt av lærere og elever, og det kommer frem gjennom studien at det skaper muligheter til å kunne benytte kjerneelementet undring og utforsking i samfunnsfagundervisningen. Dette igjen viser også hvordan kombinasjon av kjerneelementet og dialogbasert læring kan bidra til dybdelæring, og ikke bare kunnskapsoverføring

Forest edges and other semi-natural habitat edges increase wild bee species richness and habitat connectivity in intensively managed temperate landscapes

Pollinator conservation schemes are typically focused on conserving existing-, restoring degraded- or establishing new wild bee habitats. The effectiveness of such conservation schemes depends on the presence of dispersal corridors that allow habitat colonization by bees. Nonetheless, we lack an understanding of the role of semi-natural habitats edges on the connectivity of pollinator communities across intensively managed landscapes. Here, we use data from wild bee communities comprising 953 occurrences from 79 species of non-parasitic bees, sampled at 68 locations distributed across a Norwegian and a Danish landscape to show that the proportion of semi-natural habitat edges is positively correlated to bee species richness and habitat connectivity. Specifically, we found that wild bee species richness sampled along roadsides increased with the proportion of semi-natural habitat edges within1.5 km of the study sites and with local plant species richness. We combined maps showing the proportion of seminatural habitat edges with least cost path analysis to find the most likely dispersal route between our bee communities. We find that these least cost path lengths provide better models of bee species compositional similarity than geographic distance (|ΔAICc| > 2), suggesting that seminatural habitat edges act as dispersal corridors in intensively managed landscapes. However, we also find that compositional similarity between communities depend on site-specific plant species richness stressing the importance of improving the habitat quality of edge habitats if they are to function as dispersal corridors. We discuss potential management options for improving wild bee habitat conditions along seminatural habitat edges and illustrate how maps of least cost paths can be used to identify dispersal corridors between pollinator habitats of conservation priority. Maps of dispersal corridors can be used to direct wild bee habitat management actions along seminatural habitat edges to facilitate the dispersal of bees between larger grassland habitats. Bees, Connectivity, Conservation planning, Pollinators, Restoration, GrasslandacceptedVersio

The contributions of flower strips to wild bee conservation in agricultural landscapes can be predicted using pollinator habitat suitability models

1. Sowing flower strips along field edges is a widely adopted method for conserving pollinating insects in agricultural landscapes. To maximize the effect of flower strips given limited resources, we need spatially explicit tools that can prioritize their placement, and for identifying plant species to include in seed mixtures. 2. We sampled bees and plant species as well as their interactions in a semicontrolled field experiment with roadside/field edge pairs with/without a sown flower strip at 31 sites in Norway and used a regional spatial model of solitary bee species richness to test if the effect of flower strips on bee species richness was predictable from the modelled solitary bee species richness. 3. We found that sites with flower strips were more bee species rich compared to sites without flower strips and that this effect was greatest in areas that the regional solitary bee species richness model had identified to be particularly important for bees. Spatial models revealed that even within small landscapes there were pronounced differences between field edges in the predicted effect of sowing flower strips. 4. Of the plant species that attracted the most bee species, the majority mainly attracted bumblebees and only few species also attracted solitary bees. Considering both the taxonomic diversity of bees and the species richness of bees attracted by plants we suggest that seed mixes containing Hieracium spp. such as Hieracium umbellatum, Pilosella officinarum, Taraxacum spp., Trifolium repens, Lotus corniculatus, Stellaria graminea and Achillea millefolium would provide resources for diverse bee communities in our region 5. Spatial prediction models of bee diversity can be used to identify locations where flower strips are likely to have the largest effect and can thereby provide managers with an important tool for prioritizing how funding for agri-environmental schemes such as flower strips should be allocated. Such flower strips should contain plant species that are attractive to both solitary and bumblebees, and do not need to be particularly plant species rich as long as the selected plants complement each other. agri-environmental schemes, bees, flower strips, networks, pollinators, restoration, spatialpublishedVersio

Polydnavirus genomes reflect their dual roles as mutualists and pathogens

AbstractSymbionts often exhibit significant reductions in genome complexity while pathogens often exhibit increased complexity through acquisition and diversification of virulence determinants. A few organisms have evolved complex life cycles in which they interact as symbionts with one host and pathogens with another. How the predicted and opposing influences of symbiosis and pathogenesis affect genome evolution in such instances, however, is unclear. The Polydnaviridae is a family of double-stranded (ds) DNA viruses associated with parasitoid wasps that parasitize other insects. Polydnaviruses (PDVs) only replicate in wasps but infect and cause severe disease in parasitized hosts. This disease is essential for survival of the parasitoid's offspring. Thus, a true mutualism exists between PDVs and wasps as viral transmission depends on parasitoid survival and parasitoid survival depends on viral infection of the wasp's host. To investigate how life cycle and ancestry affect PDVs, we compared the genomes of Campoletis sonorensis ichnovirus (CsIV) and Microplitis demolitor bracovirus (MdBV). CsIV and MdBV have no direct common ancestor, yet their encapsidated genomes share several features including segmentation, diversification of virulence genes into families, and the absence of genes required for replication. In contrast, CsIV and MdBV share few genes expressed in parasitized hosts. We conclude that the similar organizational features of PDV genomes reflect their shared life cycle but that PDVs associated with ichneumonid and braconid wasps have likely evolved different strategies to cause disease in the wasp's host and promote parasitoid survival

Climatic conditions and landscape diversity predict plant–beeinteractions and pollen deposition in bee-pollinated plants

Climate change, landscape homogenization, and the decline of beneficial insectsthreaten pollination services to wild plants and crops. Understanding how pollinationpotential (i.e. the capacity of ecosystems to support pollination of plants) is affectedby climate change and landscape homogenization is fundamental for our ability topredict how such anthropogenic stressors affect plant biodiversity. Models of pollina-tor potential are improved when based on pairwise plant–pollinator interactions andpollinator’s plant preferences. However, whether the sum of predicted pairwise interac-tions with a plant within a habitat (a proxy for pollination potential) relates to pollendeposition on flowering plants has not yet been investigated. We sampled plant–beeinteractions in 68 Scandinavian plant communities in landscapes of varying land-coverheterogeneity along a latitudinal temperature gradient of 4–8°C, and estimated pollendeposition as the number of pollen grains on flowers of the bee-pollinated plants Lotuscorniculatus and Vicia cracca. We show that plant–bee interactions, and the pollinationpotential for these bee-pollinated plants increase with landscape diversity, annual meantemperature, and plant abundance, and decrease with distances to sand-dominatedsoils. Furthermore, the pollen deposition in flowers increased with the predicted pol-lination potential, which was driven by landscape diversity and plant abundance. Ourstudy illustrates that the pollination potential, and thus pollen deposition, for wildplants can be mapped based on spatial models of plant–bee interactions that incorpo-rate pollinator-specific plant preferences. Maps of pollination potential can be used toguide conservation and restoration planning. ecological networks, ecosystem service mapping, landscape diversity, plant–pollinator interactions, pollinationpublishedVersio

The contribution of general language ability, reading comprehension and working memory to mathematics achievement among children with English as additional language (EAL): an exploratory study

An increasing number of high-stakes mathematics standardised tests around the world place an emphasis on using mathematical word problems to assess students’ mathematical understanding. Not only do these assessments require children to think mathematically, but making sense of these tests’ mathematical word problems also brings children’s language ability, reading comprehension and working memory into play. The nature of these test items places a great deal of cognitive demand on all mathematics learners, but particularly on children completing the assessments in a second language that is still developing. This paper reports findings from an exploratory study on the contribution of language to mathematics achievement among 35 children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) and 31 children with English as their first language (FLE). The findings confirm the prominent role of general language ability in the development and assessment of mathematical ability. This variable explained more variance than working memory in word-based mathematics scores for all learners. Significant differences were found between the performance of FLE learners and EAL learners on solving mathematical word-based problems, but not on wordless problems. We conclude that EAL learners need to receive more targeted language support, including help with specific language knowledge needed to understand and solve mathematical word problems

Phenoloxidase activity acts as a mosquito innate immune response against infection with semliki forest virus

Several components of the mosquito immune system including the RNA interference (RNAi), JAK/STAT, Toll and IMD pathways have previously been implicated in controlling arbovirus infections. In contrast, the role of the phenoloxidase (PO) cascade in mosquito antiviral immunity is unknown. Here we show that conditioned medium from the Aedes albopictus-derived U4.4 cell line contains a functional PO cascade, which is activated by the bacterium Escherichia coli and the arbovirus Semliki Forest virus (SFV) (Togaviridae; Alphavirus). Production of recombinant SFV expressing the PO cascade inhibitor Egf1.0 blocked PO activity in U4.4 cell- conditioned medium, which resulted in enhanced spread of SFV. Infection of adult female Aedes aegypti by feeding mosquitoes a bloodmeal containing Egf1.0-expressing SFV increased virus replication and mosquito mortality. Collectively, these results suggest the PO cascade of mosquitoes plays an important role in immune defence against arboviruses

Gene content evolution in the arthropods

Arthropods comprise the largest and most diverse phylum on Earth and play vital roles in nearly every ecosystem. Their diversity stems in part from variations on a conserved body plan, resulting from and recorded in adaptive changes in the genome. Dissection of the genomic record of sequence change enables broad questions regarding genome evolution to be addressed, even across hyper-diverse taxa within arthropods. Using 76 whole genome sequences representing 21 orders spanning more than 500 million years of arthropod evolution, we document changes in gene and protein domain content and provide temporal and phylogenetic context for interpreting these innovations. We identify many novel gene families that arose early in the evolution of arthropods and during the diversification of insects into modern orders. We reveal unexpected variation in patterns of DNA methylation across arthropods and examples of gene family and protein domain evolution coincident with the appearance of notable phenotypic and physiological adaptations such as flight, metamorphosis, sociality, and chemoperception. These analyses demonstrate how large-scale comparative genomics can provide broad new insights into the genotype to phenotype map and generate testable hypotheses about the evolution of animal diversity

A comparative study of four intensive care outcome prediction models in cardiac surgery patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Outcome prediction scoring systems are increasingly used in intensive care medicine, but most were not developed for use in cardiac surgery patients. We compared the performance of four intensive care outcome prediction scoring systems (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II [APACHE II], Simplified Acute Physiology Score II [SAPS II], Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA], and Cardiac Surgery Score [CASUS]) in patients after open heart surgery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We prospectively included all consecutive adult patients who underwent open heart surgery and were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) between January 1^st2007 and December 31^st2008. Scores were calculated daily from ICU admission until discharge. The outcome measure was ICU mortality. The performance of the four scores was assessed by calibration and discrimination statistics. Derived variables (Mean- and Max- scores) were also evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the study period, 2801 patients (29.6% female) were included. Mean age was 66.9 ± 10.7 years and the ICU mortality rate was 5.2%. Calibration tests for SOFA and CASUS were reliable throughout (p-value not < 0.05), but there were significant differences between predicted and observed outcome for SAPS II (days 1, 2, 3 and 5) and APACHE II (days 2 and 3). CASUS, and its mean- and maximum-derivatives, discriminated better between survivors and non-survivors than the other scores throughout the study (area under curve ≥ 0.90). In order of best discrimination, CASUS was followed by SOFA, then SAPS II, and finally APACHE II. SAPS II and APACHE II derivatives had discrimination results that were superior to those of the SOFA derivatives.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CASUS and SOFA are reliable ICU mortality risk stratification models for cardiac surgery patients. SAPS II and APACHE II did not perform well in terms of calibration and discrimination statistics.</p