bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From securitization moves to positive outcomes: The case of the spring 2010 Mekong crisis
Authors: Biba Sebastian
Published: August 2016

Full securitization has largely been regarded as something negative that should be avoided. While acknowledging this, the present article adds that securitization moves that fail to succeed (i.e. that end in securitization failure) can, at least in the environmental sector of security, trigger positive outcomes if a given issue becomes (re)politicized rather than depoliticized. This is because securitization moves can be helpful in raising sufficient awareness of an issue to gain the attention of the relevant audience(s). Subsequently, the article argues, different audience strategies determine whether securitization moves are turned into securitization failure as (re)politicization or securitization failure as depoliticization. The article introduces different behavioral strategies that audiences can employ to reject securitization moves: the passive recipient strategy, the blocking strategy, and the active reshaping strategy. Only the latter indicates that an audience not interested in letting securitization moves succeed simultaneously seeks to have the issue in question be, or remain, a part of the political agenda. The article uses the spring 2010 Mekong crisis as a test case to support its theoretical arguments.
Medical missionaries in China: John Glasgow Kerr (1824–1901) and cutting for the stone
Authors: Fu Louis
Published: August 2016

With the introduction of Western medicine into China by Anglo-American medical missionaries in the early 19th century, Reverend Dr Peter Parker at the Canton Ophthalmic Hospital pioneered surgical operations in Chinese patients. The subsequent development of surgery for bladder stones at this institute by Parker’s successor Dr John Kerr and colleagues is described.
India’s Demographic Dividend: A Sceptical Look
Authors: Singh Ajit Kumar
Published: August 2016

This article critically examines the assumptions behind the demographic dividend hypothesis and tries to assess to what extent India is in a position to tap the potential demographic dividend. It argues that the assumptions underlying the demographic dividend hypothesis are weak. The benefits flowing from an increasing proportion of working-age population are not an irrefutable law but depend upon the empirical situation that may differ from country to country. In the conditions prevailing in India, the high optimism about India’s ability to reap the demographic dividend found among the scholars and the official circles seems to be misplaced. The quality of Indian labour force leaves much to be desired in terms of its education, skill base and health status.
Trends in Gender Wage Gap and Discrimination in South Africa: A Comparative Analysis across Races
Authors: Kollamparambil Umakrishnan , Razak Aarifah
Published: August 2016

This study investigates the existence of gender wage gaps across races in South Africa using dummy variables in the augmented Mincerian equation. Having found evidence of gender wage gap, the study then utilizes the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition technique to identify the proportion of the gap in wages that is attributable to pure discrimination between males and females. Lastly, the Juhn–Murphy–Pierce (JMP) method is used to understand the change in wage gap over the period 2001–2007. The results indicate that females continued to earn significantly less than males in the period 2001–2007. The findings of the study indicate that gender discrimination continues to exist, but the gender wage gap has decreased in the period of study mostly because of an improvement in the observed and unobserved characteristics of females in relation to males. However, a race-wise analysis indicates that the narrowing of the wage gap is not uniform across the races. The wage gap has, in fact, gone up for many races with the increase in discrimination coming up as the major reason for it.
A Review of Rangarajan Committee Report on Poverty Estimation
Authors: Raveendran G.
Published: August 2016

This article presents a review of the methodology recommended by the Rangarajan Committee for poverty estimation. In line with the existing practice, the Committee has also recommended the use of absolute poverty measures. It, however, deviated from Tendulkar Committee method by anchoring the poverty lines on nutritional norms of calorie, protein and fat and deriving separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas. However, the use of average all India requirement of calorie, protein and fat for identifying food-deprived individual households resulted in false identification and under estimation of nutritionally deprived. The use of consumer expenditure data collected by using modified mixed reference period without verifying its quality, particularly the extent of telescopic errors due to the use of shorter reference period, design effect due to disproportionately larger representation of affluent households within a reduced sample size and non-sampling errors due to poor quality of field work made the entire exercise futile. Further, there does not exist any monthly per capita consumption expenditure fractile which met all the nutritional norms as claimed by the Committee and as such the selection of such a fractile as poverty line basket is doubtful. Above all, the poverty estimates given by the Committee for the years 2009–2010 and 2011–2012 lack credibility as the reductions in head count ratios over a 2-year period were unbelievably high in respect of states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc. although the estimated reductions were not very much different from those given by the Tendulkar Committee.
Book Review: Devesh Vijay, Dalits and Democracy: Transitions in Two North Indian Communities
Authors: Basu Swaraj
Published: August 2016

Devesh Vijay, Dalits and Democracy: Transitions in Two North Indian Communities. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House, 2016, ₹816, 340 pp.
The Future of Work in India and Beyond
Authors: Polaski Sandra
Published: August 2016

There is intense debate all over the world about future of work. This paper1 discusses the current and future challenges in the world of work, at the global level, looking at the recent economic and labour market developments and income inequality. The challenge in India is also complex and there are four issues—promoting employment-intensive growth, boosting female labour force participation, facilitating transition to formal employment and formal firms and strengthening labour market institutions—which are critical ones in the context of the future challenges in the labour market.
Preservice Music Teachers’ Descriptions of Successful and Unsuccessful Teachers
Authors: Powell Sean R. , Parker Elizabeth Cassidy
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate music education students identify, through a reflective writing exercise, the major characteristics of successful and unsuccessful teachers. We asked two research questions: (1) How did preservice music teachers describe successful and unsuccessful teachers (2) How did perceptions differ based on academic class and/or age? Using a written protocol, we collected data from 134 participants within three institutions and coded the data using figured worlds as a lens. The participants depicted successful teachers with rich description and highlighted interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects. The participants described unsuccessful teachers succinctly; characteristics that emerged included a lack of care and knowledge of students, inflexible teaching methods, and inconsistent standards. Implications for teacher education are proposed.
Field Research in the Operating Room
Authors: Mhlaba Julie M. , Christianson Laura W. , Davidson Stuart J. , Graves S. Nicholas , Still Brady R. , Silas Megan R. , Fong Abigail J. , Nassiri Ashley M. , Pariser Joseph J. , Langerman Alexander J.
Published: August 2016

The study of the operating room (OR) began over a century ago and has continued to advance. However, for nonmedical researchers, unique challenges present themselves that must be carefully addressed. We present an overview of the OR aimed at nonmedical researchers interested in studying the OR environment. Based on our extensive experience, we identify several key challenges and describe ways to circumvent them. With a respectable understanding of the OR environment, we can prepare a researcher to gather useful data. Such investigations have the potential to yield great insights about cost savings, efficiency, methods, processes, and general human interaction, among others.
Cognitive impairment predicts disability progression and cortical thinning in MS: An 8-year study
Authors: Pitteri Marco , Romualdi Chiara , Magliozzi Roberta , Monaco Salvatore , Calabrese Massimiliano
Published: August 2016

Background:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Although cognitive impairment (CI) affects a large proportion of MS patients, only few data are available about its prognostic value associated with advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics.

Objectives:

We aimed at investigating the relationship between the early CI and the disease progression over 8-year follow-up in MS patients.

Methods:

We conducted a retrospective 8-year longitudinal study involving 78 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, who completed neuropsychological examination and structural MRI at the time of diagnosis. Each patient was clinically evaluated every 6 months, and cortical thickness was quantified at baseline and at the end of the follow-up. Patients were classified as having normal cognition and mild or severe CI.

Results:

The results show that CI at the time of diagnosis is a good predictor of conversion to definite MS ( p < 0.001), disability progression ( p < 0.001), as well as of transition to secondary progressive phase ( p < 0.001) and of cortical thinning ( p < 0.001).

Conclusion:

We confirmed and extended the evidence that early CI might be helpful in the identification of MS patients at high risk of disability progression and poor clinical outcome and should be considered as a marker of most aggressive pathology.
A Randomized Trial on the Efficacy of Prophylactic Active Drainage in Prevention of Complications after Pancreaticoduodenectomy
Authors: Jiang H. , Liu N. , Zhang M. , Lu L. , Dou R. , Qu L.
Published: August 2016

Background and Aims:

This randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine whether prophylactic active drainage decreases morbidity associated with pancreati-coduodenectomy.

Material and Methods:

A prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted between April 2010 and May 2015 when 160 consecutive patients following elective pancreaticoduodenectomy were randomized intraoperatively to either prophylactic active drainage group or conventional passive drainage group. The main objectives were the incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula and the associated clinical outcomes.

Results:

There were 82 patients in the active drain group and 78 patients in the passive drain group. The overall pancreatic fistula rate occurred similarly in the two groups (11.0% (9/82) vs 14.1% (11/78), p = 0.360). Grade C pancreatic fistula in active drain group was significantly less than that in passive drain group (0% (0/82) vs 6.4% (5/78), p = 0.026). The mean postoperative hospital stay and parenteral nutrition support time in active drainage group were shorter than those in passive drainage group (12.6 days vs 14.5 days, p = 0.037; 6.9 days vs 8.6 days, p = 0.047, respectively).

Conclusion:

Prophylactic active drainage reveals significant reduction in severity of complications associated with pancreatic fistula and might be recommended as an alternative for patients with high risk of developing serious pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy.
Moving beyond punitivism: Punishment, state failure and democracy at the margins
Authors: Koch Insa
Published: August 2016

Recent commentary on the punitive turn has focused on the repressive nature of criminal justice policy. Yet, on a marginalised council estate (social housing project) in England, residents appropriate the state in ways that do not always align with the law. What is more, where the state fails to provide residents with the protection they need, residents mobilise informal violence that is condemned by the state. An ethnographic analysis of personalised uses of criminal justice questions the state-centric assumptions of order that have informed recent narratives of the punitive turn. It also calls for a reassessment of the relationship between democratic politics and criminal justice by drawing attention to popular demands that are not captured by a focus on punishment alone.
SPECTRUM
Authors: Gehr Bernhard , Holder Martin , Kulzer Bernhard , Lange Karin , Liebl Andreas , Sahm Claudia , von Sengbusch Simone , Schlüter Sandra , Siegmund Thorsten , Thurm Ulrike , Ziegler Ralph , Freckmann Guido , Heinemann Lutz ,   for the SPECTRUM Group
Published: August 2016

Background:

Optimal usage of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) requires adequate training of the users. Providing patients with a CGM system without such a training usually doesn’t lead to the intended improvement in metabolic control.

Methods:

In Germany we developed a structured training program (“SPECTRUM”) to ensure a high quality standard for the use of CGM systems.

Results:

This program is suitably for patients of all age groups and is applicable to all CGM systems and all forms of insulin therapy. A curriculum was also developed so that training centers with less experience with CGM could become capable of offering comprehensive CGM training.

Conclusions:

We believe that usage of such a program can be an important step forward in achieving more widespread acceptance and use of CGM systems. Translations in other languages and evaluation with a controlled clinical trial are planned.
Can’t Stand the Pressure: The Association Between Unprotected Standing, Walking, and Wound Healing in People With Diabetes
Authors: Najafi Bijan , Grewal Gurtej S. , Bharara Manish , Menzies Robert , Talal Talal K. , Armstrong David G.
Published: August 2016

Objective:

The objective was to report patterns of physical activity and their relationship to wound healing success in patients with diabetic foot ulcers protected with removable or irremovable offloading devices.

Methods:

Forty-nine people with diabetic foot ulcers were randomized to wear either a removable cast walker (RCW) or an irremovable instant total contact cast (iTCC). Primary outcome measures included change in wound size, physical activities including position (ie, sitting, standing, lying) and locomotion (speed, steps, etc). Outcomes parameters were assessed on weekly basis until wound healing or until 12 weeks.

Results:

A higher proportion of patients healed at 12 weeks in the iTCC group ( P = .038). Significant differences in activity were observed between groups starting at week 4. RCW patients became more active than the iTCC group (75% higher duration of standing, 100% longer duration of walking, and 126% longer unbroken walking bout, P < .05). Overall, there was an inverse association between rate of weekly wound healing and number of steps taken per day ( r < –.33, P < .05) for both groups. RCW patients had a significant inverse correlation between duration of daily standing and weekly rate of healing ( r = –.67, P < .05). Standing duration was the only significant predictor of healing at 12 weeks.

Conclusion:

The results from this study suggest significant differences in activity patterns between removable and irremovable offloading devices. These patterns appear to start diverging at week 4, which may indicate a decline in adherence to offloading. Results suggest that while walking may delay wound healing, unprotected standing might be an even more unrealized and sinister culprit.
Prescribing attitudes, behaviors and opinions regarding metformin for patients with diabetes: a focus group study
Authors: Trinkley Katy E. , Malone Daniel C. , Nelson Jennifer A. , Saseen Joseph J.
Published: August 2016

Background:

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons why metformin prescribing is suboptimal.

Methods:

Two semi-structured focus groups with attitudinal questionnaires and a brief educational presentation were held in two US cities. Participants included providers (physicians, pharmacists, midlevel practitioners) caring for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in an ambulatory setting. Outcome measures included provider attitudes, behaviors and opinions regarding the use of metformin.

Results:

Participants identified three main themes influencing the use of metformin, including the appropriate timing of metformin initiation, known risks associated with metformin, and procedures to manage safety concerns and mitigate adverse effects associated with metformin. Participant prescribing behaviors of metformin were not consistent with the best available evidence in the settings of renal insufficiency, heart failure, hepatic dysfunction, alcohol use, and lactic acidosis. With minimal education, provider prescribing behaviors appeared to change by the end of the focus group to align more closely with the best available evidence.

Conclusions:

Provider attitudes, behaviors and opinions regarding the use of metformin for T2DM reveals the need for further education to improve appropriate use of metformin. Educational interventions should target prescribing behaviors and opinions identified to be inconsistent with the evidence.
Circulation of objects between strangers in public space: An analysis of forms of sociality among disposers and gleaners
Authors: Roux Dominique , Guillard Valérie
Published: August 2016

The aim of this article is to understand how objects circulate between people who deposit them on the sidewalk (disposers), especially on “bulky item” collection (BIC) days and those who retrieve them (gleaners). Analysis of representations of 17 disposers and/or gleaners reveals three forms of sociality: (1) charitable donation (or disposing of items out of a wish to pass them on to other people), (2) balanced reciprocity (in which disposers and gleaners both view BIC as a system for the circulation of objects), and (3) generalized reciprocity (in which the desire to pool possessions is augmented by the wish to combat waste). The findings also reveal that the anonymity of the context leads disposers and gleaners to intersecting interpretations of what the other party is doing (for whom and why), which fuel and sometimes temper these forms of sociality. The findings add to the existing literature on disposition/gleaning by uncovering the forms of sociality at work between strangers in public space and the distinctive and anonymous circulation of objects resulting from them. The findings are also of relevance to public actors regarding the issues arising for waste management.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children with Dental Anxiety
Authors: Shahnavaz S. , Hedman E. , Grindefjord M. , Reuterskiöld L. , Dahllöf G.
Published: August 2016

Dental anxiety affects approximately 9% of children and is associated with poor oral health, pain, and psychosocial problems. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with dental anxiety in specialist pediatric dentistry. The study used a parallel-group superiority randomized controlled trial design. The primary outcome measure was the behavioral avoidance test; assessors were blind to treatment allocation. Participants were 8 boys and 22 girls 7 to 18 y old (mean ± SD, 10 ± 3.1). Children fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for dental anxiety were randomized to CBT (n = 13) or treatment as usual (n = 17), such as various sedation methods. Psychologists provided 10 h of CBT based on a treatment manual. Treatments were conducted in a naturalistic real-world clinical setting. Assessments were conducted before the treatment, 3 mo after the start of treatment, and at 1-y follow-up. The analyses of the primary outcome measure by repeated-measures analysis of variance and independent t test showed that children receiving CBT made superior, statistically significant improvements at follow-up (16.8 ± 2.4) compared with treatment as usual (11.4 ± 3.1, P < 0.01). A large between-group effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.9) was found. Following treatment, 73% of those in the CBT group managed all stages of the dental procedures included in the behavioral avoidance test compared with 13% in the treatment-as-usual group. Furthermore, 91% in the CBT group compared with 25% in the treatment-as-usual group no longer met the diagnostic criteria for dental anxiety at the 1-y follow-up according to the secondary outcome measure. Measures of dental anxiety and self-efficacy showed larger improvements in the CBT group compared with controls. We conclude that CBT is an efficacious treatment for children and adolescents with dental anxiety and should be made accessible in pediatric dentistry (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01798355).

Knowledge transfer statement: The results of this study can be used by decision makers and clinicians when planning to implement evidence-based treatment in pediatric dentistry and give children and adolescents access to methods for treating dental anxiety. The results can also be used by parents of children with dental anxiety when asking dentists to cooperate with psychologists using cognitive behavioral therapy.
C-reactive protein can upregulate VEGF expression to promote ADSC-induced angiogenesis by activating HIF-1α via CD64/PI3k/Akt and MAPK/ERK signaling pathways
Authors: Chen JiaYuan , Gu ZhenJie , Wu MaoXiong , Yang Ying , Zhang JianHua , Ou JingSong , Zuo ZhiYi , Wang JingFeng , Chen YangXin
Published: August 2016

Background

Proliferation of the vasa vasorum has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and the vasa vasorum is closely associated with resident stem cells within the vasculature. C-reactive protein (CRP) is positively correlated with cardiovascular disease risk, and our previous study demonstrated that it induces inflammatory reactions of perivascular adipose tissue by targeting adipocytes.

Methods

Here we investigated whether CRP affected the proliferation and proangiogenic paracrine activity of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), which may contribute to vasa vasorum angiogenesis.

Results

We found that CRP did not affect ADSC apoptosis, cell cycle, or proliferation but did increase their migration by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway. Our results demonstrated that CRP can upregulate vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) expression by activating hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in ADSCs, which significantly increased tube formation on Matrigel and functional vessels in the Matrigel plug angiogenesis assay. The inhibition of CRP-activated phosphorylation of ERK and Akt can suppress CRP-stimulated HIF-1α activation and VEGF-A expression. CRP can also stimulate proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in ADSCs. Furthermore, CRP binds activating CD64 on ADSCs, rather than CD16/32.

Conclusion

Our findings implicate that CRP might play a role in vasa vasorum growth by activating the proangiogenic activity of ADSCs.
Anisotropic parameters of dry and saturated sand under stress
Authors: Bhuiyan Mohammad H. , Holt Rune M.
Published: August 2016

Fluid substitution has wide applicability in seismic, such as in 4D and amplitude variation with offset analysis. Traditionally, the isotropic Gassmann equation has been used for this purpose; however, in many cases, anisotropic fluid substitution may be more relevant. Recent theoretical developments by Collet and Gurevich and by Thomsen based on the anisotropic Gassmann equation have pointed in particular to the fluid sensitivity of Thomsen’s anisotropy parameters. We have verified these theoretical predictions on a simple granular medium in controlled experiments in which anisotropy was induced largely by the applied stress. For this purpose, unconsolidated dry and saturated sands were loaded in uniaxial strain as well as hydrostatically, in dry and in brine-saturated conditions. Stresses were between 1 and 15 MPa. Multidirectional P- and S-wave velocities were measured by ultrasonic pulse propagation. Our experiments indicated that the P-wave anisotropy parameter [Formula: see text] and the moveout parameter [Formula: see text] decrease in magnitude upon fluid saturation. Saturated samples reveal close to elliptical anisotropy, and for the dry and the saturated case, the ellipticity remains constant during uniaxial strain experiments. These experimental observations fit the theoretical predictions within the uncertainty of the experiments. Surprisingly, the S-wave anisotropy parameter [Formula: see text] is also found to be sensitive to fluid saturation and increases upon fluid saturation. It is also seen that fluid substitution applying the isotropic Gassmann equation underestimates the saturated P-wave modulus in most cases, and that use of the anisotropic Gassmann equation does not lead to significant improvements. These observations may be explained, at least qualitatively, by correcting for anisotropic dispersion caused by Biot’s global flow mechanism.
Dexmedetomidine-Induced Neuroapoptosis Is Dependent on Its Cumulative Dose
Authors: Liu Jia-Ren , Yuki Koichi , Baek Chongwha , Han Xiao-Hui , Soriano Sulpicio G.
Published: August 2016

BACKGROUND:

Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has inherent neuroprotective properties that have been attributed to the activation of prosurvival kinases. However, the impact of supraclinical doses of DEX on neuroapoptosis and neuronal viability has not been determined.

METHODS:

Rat pups and primary neuronal cells were treated with DEX or ketamine (KET) alone or in combination. Neuroapoptosis was measured by cleaved-caspase-3 expression and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining in brain sections. Expression of prosurvival kinases was measured by Western blot. We measured the impact of DEX with and without α1-adrenergic receptor blockade on the viability of primary neuronal cell cultures.

RESULTS:

Increasing the cumulative dose of DEX resulted in elevated levels of neuroapoptosis in vivo. Low doses increased, whereas high dose decreased phosphorylation of the prosurvival kinases. KET alone and in combination with DEX produced a greater degree of apoptosis and reductions in expression of these protein kinases than DEX alone. Increasing concentrations of DEX decreased, while coadministration of an α1-adrenergic receptor blocker preserved neuronal viability in vitro.

CONCLUSIONS:

Although DEX is neuroprotective at clinical doses, high cumulative doses and concentrations induce neuroapoptosis, in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Because the current dosing schedules used in humans yield plasma levels that are substantially below concentrations that induce neurotoxicity, low-dose DEX should not be neurotoxic and has the potential to be a neuroprotective adjuvant.
ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling during mammalian development
Authors: Hota Swetansu K. , Bruneau Benoit G.
Published: August 2016

Precise gene expression ensures proper stem and progenitor cell differentiation, lineage commitment and organogenesis during mammalian development. ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complexes utilize the energy from ATP hydrolysis to reorganize chromatin and, hence, regulate gene expression. These complexes contain diverse subunits that together provide a multitude of functions, from early embryogenesis through cell differentiation and development into various adult tissues. Here, we review the functions of chromatin remodelers and their different subunits during mammalian development. We discuss the mechanisms by which chromatin remodelers function and highlight their specificities during mammalian cell differentiation and organogenesis.
The stem cell niche finds its true north
Authors: Kirkeby Agnete , Perlmann Thomas , Pereira Carlos-Filipe
Published: August 2016

The third ‘Stem Cell Niche’ meeting, supported by The Novo Nordisk Foundation, was held this year on May 22-26 and brought together 185 selected participants from 24 different countries to Hillerød, Denmark. Diverse aspects of embryonic and adult stem cell biology were discussed, including their respective niches in ageing, disease and regeneration. Many presentations focused on emerging technologies, including single-cell analysis, in vitro organogenesis and direct reprogramming. Here, we summarize the data presented at this exciting and highly enjoyable meeting, where speakers as well as kitchen chefs were applauded at every session.
Human satellite-III non-coding RNAs modulate heat-shock-induced transcriptional repression
Authors: Goenka Anshika , Sengupta Sonali , Pandey Rajesh , Parihar Rashmi , Mohanta Girish Chandra , Mukerji Mitali , Ganesh Subramaniam
Published: August 2016

The heat shock response is a conserved defense mechanism that protects cells from physiological stress, including thermal stress. Besides the activation of heat-shock-protein genes, the heat shock response is also known to bring about global suppression of transcription; however, the mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. One of the intriguing aspects of the heat shock response in human cells is the transcription of satellite-III (Sat3) long non-coding RNAs and their association with nuclear stress bodies (nSBs) of unknown function. Besides association with the Sat3 transcript, the nSBs are also known to recruit the transcription factors HSF1 and CREBBP, and several RNA-binding proteins, including the splicing factor SRSF1. We demonstrate here that the recruitment of CREBBP and SRSF1 to nSBs is Sat3-dependent, and that loss of Sat3 transcripts relieves the heat-shock-induced transcriptional repression of a few target genes. Conversely, forced expression of Sat3 transcripts results in the formation of nSBs and transcriptional repression even without a heat shock. Our results thus provide a novel insight into the regulatory role for the Sat3 transcripts in heat-shock-dependent transcriptional repression.
Using diverse U.S. beef cattle genomes to identify missense mutations in EPAS1, a gene associated with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Heaton Michael P. , Smith Timothy P.L. , Carnahan Jacky K. , Basnayake Veronica , Qiu Jiansheng , Simpson Barry , Kalbfleisch Theodore S.
Published: August 2016

The availability of whole genome sequence (WGS) data has made it possible to discover protein variantsin silico. However, existing bovine WGS databases do not show data in a form conducive to protein variant analysis, and tend to under represent the breadth of genetic diversity in U.S. beef cattle. Thus, our first aim was to use 96 beef sires, sharing minimal pedigree relationships, to create a searchable and publicly viewable set of mapped genomes relevant for 19 popular breeds of U.S. cattle. Our second aim was to identify protein variants encoded by the bovine endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 gene (EPAS1), a gene associated with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension in Angus cattle. The identity and quality of genomic sequences were verified by comparing WGS genotypes to those derived from other methods. The average read depth, genotype scoring rate, and genotype accuracy exceeded 14, 99%, and 99%, respectively. The 96 genomes were used to discover four amino acid variants encoded byEPAS1(E270Q, P362L, A671G, and L701F) and confirm two variants previously associated with disease (A606T and G610S). The sixEPAS1missense mutations were verified with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry assays, and their frequencies were estimated in a separate collection of 1154 U.S. cattle representing 46 breeds. A rooted phylogenetic tree of eight polypeptide sequences provided a framework for evaluating the likely order of mutations and potential impact ofEPAS1alleles on the adaptive response to chronic hypoxia in U.S. cattle. This public, whole genome resource facilitatesin silicoidentification of protein variants in diverse types of U.S. beef cattle, and provides a means of translating WGS data into a practical biological and evolutionary context for generating and testing hypotheses.
From theory to practice: Converting class content to study abroad
Authors: Arnold Marie alice , Scobey Laura
Published: August 2016

Study Abroad is a non-traditional classroom. It offers students a view to real world application, the praxis of theory taught in class. How does a faculty member take a traditional syllabus and translate it into a successful study abroad course?This session will start with an introduction to recent literature on the benefits of using study abroad as part of the teaching arsenal. Mason Study Abroad will display a variety of pedagogies commonly used in the study abroad setting such as the interplay between work done before departure to onsite work, academic journaling, academic reflection, group discussions, onsite debate, presentations, and the use of onsite resources. Participants will also be introduced to the use of the local environment including how to choose visits, activities, and the balance between tourist and non-tourist elements. Participants will analyze how the pedagogies apply to a variety of disciplines and how each benefit students. The session will place particular emphasis on the creative use of methodologies to enhance intercultural skill development. Included will be how to building a variety of elements to meet the needs of different learning styles.Given Mason’s status as a Research I institution a component on incorporating research will be included. A group activity is planned where participants take a Mason course and re-create it in a study abroad setting.
Talk less, teach more: Tactics for converting from lecture courses to active courses
Authors: Offutt Jeff
Published: August 2016

Evolving from a lecturer, a "sage on the stage," to an active learningguide, is hard. Especially if you've lectured for more than 25 years.Especially if you like to talk. Especially if you give "engaging andexciting" lectures. I have recently used perseverance, resilience, andmore than a small dose of stubbornness to push myself to "talk less, teachmore." I've made progress but I'm still working on it. In the firstpart of this talk, I will explain why I realized this change is necessary. Iwill describe many reasons why this was hard for me and may be hard for you.I will use general principles to explain how I am making this transition.During the second part of this talk, I will share specific tactics from myown classes that help "activate" problem solving courses,skills-oriented courses, design courses, and analysis courses. For example,instead of doing what I traditionally would have done (such as solvingproblems for them, showing them case study examples, talking for an hour), Iemploy tactics to engage students (such as students trying to solve problemsbefore I share solutions, students finding their own examples). One or moreof these tactics could help with almost any type of course. The session willconclude with a brainstorming session where we will discuss how activeexercises could be incorporated into your classes with minimal effort.Participants will develop the ability to create interesting active exercisesfor their own courses.
Video Recording Made Easy: Applications for Gateway Library's One Button Studion
Authors: Byrd Jason , Stafford Todd , Gildersleeve Royce , Ferrance Christal , Kiblinger Kara
Published: August 2016

Learn how easy video recording can be with the new OneButton Studio, located in Gateway Library. Presenters will share how this studio drastically reduces the amount of knowledge necessary to make professional video recordings and discuss applications in courses, including flipping the classroom, adding media literacy components to course objectives, and incorporating video recordings into assignments.
Oral Reviews: Retaining STEM Majors
Authors: Liddle Stephen
Published: August 2016

Oral reviews are 60-minute ungraded, voluntary small group sessions in which a facilitator asks scripted conceptual questions, which are the basis of the content to be covered on an upcoming written test. Students are asked to explain concepts and draw representations. The objective is to get students to negotiate meaning and make important connections. These sessions have been used in math, biology, engineering, and environmental science and have shown course grade improvements of about one letter grade for students participating in three orals over the course of the semester.
Incorporating Universal Design into Distance Education: How to Meet Various Learning Styles Using One Design
Authors: Zirkle Kara , Robbins Stephanie
Published: August 2016

For faculty, making the move to e-learning may present a triple challenge of (a) designing and developing engaging e-learning experiences that are also (b) accessible to students with disabilities, as well as (c) the challenge of teaching students HOW to learn in these new environments due to the various learning styles.  This presentation will review these challenges and give possible solutions using Universal Design.
Learner Analysis in Web-Based Instructional Design
Authors: Kuo Ying-Ying
Published: August 2016

Most learner analysis focuses on students' demographics and previous knowledge and experiences, but how those factors are associated with instructional considerations are still inconclusive. Instructors need effective instructional guidance to design and manage online courses, so that learners who have diverse backgrounds can be supported. This study presents an approach of analyzing learning characteristics with the development and validation of the Learning Traits Questionnaire (LTQ). The five learning characteristics—Group Preference, Instructional Support, Procrastination, Computer Competency, and Learning Confidence—could be critical factors for instructors to consider when they analyze the targeted learners.
Using "Orals" as a Peer-Led Instructional Strategy to Improve Undergraduate Performance
Authors: Schwebach Reid , Thomas Caroline , Davis Claudette
Published: August 2016

Learning Assistants (LAs), Faculty, and GTAs will learn how to hold small group oral review sessions in undergraduate Biology courses using five small group strategies. These sessions were designed to help undergraduates prepare for semester examinations. Within a two-hour time frame, orals blend kinesthetic, audial, and visual learning prompts to help students understand biological topics. These strategies are highly adoptable for other STEM courses. The five techniques that will be explored include: (1) student utilization of the whiteboard, (2) LA utilization of the whiteboard, (3) student-to-LA interactions, (4) small group discussion, and (5) student-to-student interactions. (1) Students will use the whiteboard to draw pictorial representations of biological processes while other students provide feedback. (2) LAs will draw out cellular processes (for example, glycolysis and the Calvin cycle) on the whiteboard while students instruct the LA on what to draw. (3) LAs provide a list of guiding questions to students that act as a basis for student and LA discussion. (4) LAs also provide a packet containing key lecture PowerPoint slides—the figures contained in these slides force students to provide the context to slides. (5) Student-to-student pair interactions force students to discuss, draw, or act out biological processes. Importantly, in a cell biology courses, these strategies are associated with underperforming students improving their grades by a full letter grade (D students make C grades), and higher-performing students report the strategies to be highly beneficial.
Building creative thinking into the STEM undergraduate classroom experience using large databases: The Paleobiology Database example
Authors: Uhen Mark D. , Lukes Laura , George Christian , Lockwood Rowan
Published: August 2016

Undergraduate research experiences have been linked to increased student recruitment and retention in STEM, particularly within traditionally underrepresented populations. However, research experiences can be cost prohibitive due to the infrastructure necessary to conduct experiments or collect field data. Existing, large scientific databases can be leveraged to provide students (including students in online courses) with authentic research experiences without the logistical costs. The Paleobiology Database (paleobiodb.org) is one of many publicly available (and free) scientific databases. This project describes authentic research activities which engage students at several 4 and 2-year institutions in the southeastern United States use the data available in the Paleobiology Database to engage in the creative process of developing their own research questions, hypotheses, and investigations. Once produced an evaluated, these research activities will be made available to instructors across the world on the Paleobiology Database website, which will also encourage educators to create and post their own activities as well.
Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education
Authors: Jorgenson Linn , Singleton Korey , Bennett Jane
Published: August 2016

This presentation is designed to introduce a Universal Design for Learning (UDL)framework to participants and then explore the use of UD within student affairsand higher education. We will start with an overview of the three principles of UDL,which is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individualsequal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a plan for creating instructional goals,methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone—inot a single, one-size-fits-all solution, but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs. We will discuss some of the trends we are seeing here at Mason, including diverse learners and accommodations on how to structure a course.
Teaching strategies to promote imagination and creativity through student choice
Authors: Smucny Darlene A. , Baker Courtney , Tripathy Monisha
Published: August 2016

High-agency learning activities empower students to take more active roles in their own learning, directed by their interests, curiosities, and choices. Educators, particularly K-12, have long asserted that student choice of learning activities encourages a greater degree of personal engagement with instructional content, leading to more confident, interested, imaginative, and creative students (e.g., Kohn, 1993; Ronan, 2015).  However, implementing these strategies at the college level often proves challenging as course instructors merge learner engagement strategies, such as student choice, while still sufficiently addressing course objectives and content. Additionally, creating  supportive classroom environments that promote “open-ended” assignments at times are met with student resistance. This session is designed to provide ideas and tips to instructors wishing to employ student choice to enhance active learning, imagination, and creativity in their courses.  Presenters will share best practices for implementing student choice in learning activities and assignments, primarily using examples from asynchronous and synchronous online courses across various disciplines at George Mason University. We also will encourage participants to reflect on how learning activities and assignments in their own courses might be adapted to include student choice to promote imagination and creativity in university-level learning across course delivery formats.ReferencesKohn, A. (1993). Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide. The Phi Delta Kappan, 75(1), 8–20. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20405017Ronan, A. (2015, March 20). 7 Ways to Hack Your Classroom to Include Student Choice. Retrieved March 16, 2016, from http://www.edudemic.com/7-ways-to-hack-your-classroom/
Increasing Student Engagement by Flipping the Course
Authors: Sprague Debra
Published: August 2016

Flipping the classroom has gained much attention over the past couple of years. It involves using video and online technologies to provide the lecture portion of a lesson. Students view the online lecture for homework, while class time is spent engaged in applying what is learned from the lecture. By doing this, it is believed students become active learners and take more responsibility for their learning.Although a skeptic of the flipped learning model (after all, a lecture is a lecture no matter what format it takes) the presenter decided to give it a try and flip one of her teacher education courses. The result was more student engagement, better quality of student work, and increase in student evaluations.This presentation will focus on strategies for flipping a course through the creation of a hybrid (combination of online and face-to-face) course. The presenter will share with the audience how she provided meaningful online activities and how she engaged the students during the face-to-face classes. Although the course content derives from the education discipline, the strategies presented can fit any content area.
The New Science of Learning: How Research is Changing the Way We Teach
Authors: Zakrajsek Todd
Published: August 2016

The "science" in one’s field is designed to inform and advance the discipline, and where appropriate the society in which one lives. The pace at which new discoveries have changed just about everything over the past 50 years can make one’s head spin. Televisions that were relatively recently very small and in black and white are now as large as buildings and in 3D. Written communication just 30 years ago was conducted through letters and is now largely replaced by e-mails, instant messaging, and snap chats. What about teaching?  What do we now know about how learning works that can inform better teaching practices? Although a proliferation of misinformation pertaining to how students learn and how best to teach still exists, significant advances are being made. This session is designed to provide you with evidence about how students learn, show you methods to get students more involved in the content, and demonstrate relevant applications from pedagogical research that can be used in just about any class.
Mason students’ ideal personal learning environment (PLE): What we know and don’t know about how students learn in the digital age
Authors: Dabbagh Nada , Fake Helen
Published: August 2016

A Personal Learning Environment or PLE is described as a process that helps students organize the influx of information and resources that they are faced with on a daily basis into a personalized digital learning space or experience. A PLE is primarily facilitated by cloud-based Web 2.0 technologies and services designed to help students create, organize, and share content, participate in collective knowledge generation, and manage their own meaning making. Hence, a PLE is student-designed around each student’s goals or learning approach. In a PLE, the student develops an individualized digital identity through the perceptual cues and cognitive affordances that the personalized learning environment provides such as what information to share and when, who to share it with, and how to effectively merge formal and informal learning experiences. To gather data on PLEs, Mason students were asked what do they like to learn about; what hardware (devices) and software do they use to learn; what digital tools they wish they had access to for learning; and what their ideal PLE might look like. In this presentation, we will share student responses to these questions and provide recommendations for supporting the development PLEs in teaching and learning contexts.