The Relationship Between Developmentally Appropriate Philosophy and Religious Education Methodology in Second Grade Classrooms: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study

This study describes the relationship between developmentally appropriate practice philosophy and religious education methodology in second grade classrooms. The study was conducted in two phases

Testosterone and Human Behavior: The role of individual and contextual variables

The study of testosterone and aggression originated in experimental studies of animals, showing a direct causal link in some species. Human studies showed an overall weak correlation between testosterone and aggression. A theoretical framework (“the challenge hypothesis”) enabled testosterone-behavior interactions in humans to be framed within a theory that emphasized hormonal responses to competition influencing subsequent aggressive behavior. The short-term administrations of testosterone to young women and to young men showed influences on behavioral and neural processes associated with aggression. Other findings are that testosterone influences aggression in high dominance men, and in those with low cortisol levels; and that testosterone can affect both aggressive and prosocial behavior, within the context of an experimental gam

BioSTEAM: The open-source bioprocess simulation and techno-economic analysis modules in Python

Preliminary techno-economic analysis (TEA) of a chemical process provides critical information on the economic feasibility, technological bottlenecks, and venture risks due to process uncertainties. Current TEA methods generally rely on proprietary software to evaluate two to three design configurations with single point sensitivity analysis. Such classical methods neglect the effect of process uncertainties and fail to evaluate the complete landscape of design decisions. The limited scope of current literature obscures comparisons between process evaluations and makes it difficult to predict how possible technological developments can impact the sustainability of a process. The main difficulties in adding rigorous uncertainty analysis is high computational time and low rate of successful convergence. Additionally, relying on proprietary software presents both an economic and intellectual barrier for evaluating emerging and conceptual processes. The Bioprocess Simulation and Techno-Economic Analysis Modules, BioSTEAM, is an open-source steady state process simulation package in python for preliminary TEA that will enable rigorous uncertainty analysis through its fast and flexible platform. BioSTEAM presents an intuitive toolset of objects that handle thermodynamic properties, material flows, unit operations, recycle systems, and process specifications. The applicability of BioSTEAM is demonstrated here in the context of a design for the co-production of biodiesel and ethanol from lipid cane. The evaluation of the lipid cane biorefinery in BioSTEAM closely matches a previous evaluation of the design using SuperPro Designer (a proprietary process simulation software). BioSTEAM is well documented and readily available at the Python Package Index, a repository for published Python packages. Although BioSTEAM has not yet incorporated many of the unit operation models presented in proprietary process simulators, its extendable and transparent architecture offers users the power to build new unit operation models and share their designs without any barriers. BioSTEAM may help foster a new open-source community that can accelerate advancements in the field of process design and simulation

Combined artificial high-silicate medium and LED illumination promote carotenoid accumulation in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Publisher's version (útgefin grein).Background: Diatoms, which can accumulate large amounts of carotenoids, are a major group of microalgae and the dominant primary producer in marine environments. Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a model diatom species, acquires little silicon for its growth although silicon is known to contribute to gene regulation and play an important role in diatom intracellular metabolism. In this study, we explored the effects of artificial high-silicate medium (i.e. 3.0 mM sodium metasilicate) and LED illumination conditions on the growth rate and pigment accumulation in P.Tricornutum, which is the only known species so far that can grow without silicate. It's well known that light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as novel illuminants are emerging to be superior monochromatic light sources for algal cultivation with defined and efficient red and blue lights. Results: Firstly, we cultivated P.Tricornutum in a synthetic medium supplemented with either 0.3 mM or 3.0 mM silicate. The morphology and size of diatom cells were examined: The proportion of the oval and triradiate cells decreased while the fusiform cells increased with more silicate addition in high-silicate medium; the average length of fusiform cells also slightly changed from 14.33 μm in 0.3 mM silicate medium to 12.20 μm in 3.0 mM silicate medium. Then we cultivated P.Tricornutum under various intensities of red light in combination with the two different levels of silicate in the medium. Higher biomass productivity also achieved in 3.0 mM silicate medium than in 0.3 mM silicate medium under red LED light irradiation at 128 μmol/m2/s or higher light intensity. Increasing silicate reversed the down-regulation of fucoxanthin and chlorophyll a under high red-light illumination (i.e. 255 μmol/m2/s). When doubling the light intensity, fucoxanthin content decreased under red light but increased under combined red and blue (50:50) lights while chlorophyll a content reduced under both conditions. Fucoxanthin accumulation and biomass productivity increased with enhanced red and blue (50:50) lights. Conclusion: High-silicate medium and blue light increased biomass and fucoxanthin production in P.Tricornutum under high light conditions and this strategy may be beneficial for large-scale production of fucoxanthin in diatoms.This research was supported by the Icelandic Technology Development Fund (163922-0611), Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund and NYU Abu Dhabi faculty research funds (AD060).Peer Reviewe

Innovative in vitro method to study ventilator induced lung injury.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadMechanical ventilation (MV) is a life-saving therapy for critically ill patients, alleviating the work of breathing and supporting adequate gas exchange. However, MV can cause ventilator induced lung injury (VILI) by baro/volu- and atelectrauma, even lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and substantially augment mortality. There is a need for specific biomarkers and novel research platforms for VILI/ARDS research to study these detrimental disorders and seek ways to avoid or prevent them. Previous in vitro studies on bronchial epithelium, cultured in air-liquid interface (ALI) conditions, have generally utilized static or constant pressure. We have developed a Cyclical Pressure ALI Device (CPAD) that enables cyclical stress on ALI cultured human bronchial cells, with the aim of mimicking the effects of MV. Using CPAD we were able to analyze differentially expressed VILI/ARDS and innate immunity associated genes along with increased expression of associated proteins. CPAD provides an easy and accessible way to analyze functional and phenotypic changes that occur during VILI and may provide a platform for future drug testing.Technology development fund - Icelandic research council University of Iceland Land-spitali, University Hospital, Science fun

Prevalence and Characteristics of Chinese Patients With Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy-A Territory Wide Collaborative Study in Hong Kong

The aim of this collaborative study on Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy is to determine the prevalence and to develop data on such patients as a prelude to the development of registry in Hong Kong. Information on clinical and molecular findings, and patient care, was systematically collected in 2011 and 2012 from all Pediatric Neurology Units in Hong Kong. Ninety patients with dystrophinopathy were identified, and 83% has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The overall prevalence of dystrophinopathy in Hong Kong in 2010 is 1.03 per 10 000 males aged 0 to 24 years. Among the Duchenne group, we observed a higher percentage (40.6%) of point mutations with a lower percentage (45.3%) of exon deletions in our patients when compared with overseas studies. Although we observed similar percentage of Duchenne group received scoliosis surgery, ventilation support, and cardiac treatment when compared with other countries, the percentage (25%) of steroid use is lower.link_to_OA_fulltex

Molecular Correlates of Social Dominance: A Novel Role for Ependymin in Aggression

Theoretical and empirical studies have sought to explain the formation and maintenance of social relationships within groups. The resulting dominance hierarchies have significant fitness and survival consequences dependent upon social status. We hypothesised that each position or rank within a group has a distinctive brain gene expression profile that correlates with behavioural phenotype. Furthermore, transitions in rank position should determine which genes shift in expression concurrent with the new dominance status. We used a custom cDNA microarray to profile brain transcript expression in a model species, the rainbow trout, which forms tractable linear hierarchies. Dominant, subdominant and submissive individuals had distinctive transcript profiles with 110 gene probes identified using conservative statistical analyses. By removing the dominant, we characterised the changes in transcript expression in sub-dominant individuals that became dominant demonstrating that the molecular transition occurred within 48 hours. A strong, novel candidate gene, ependymin, which was highly expressed in both the transcript and protein in subdominants relative to dominants, was tested further. Using antibody injection to inactivate ependymin in pairs of dominant and subdominant zebrafish, the subdominant fish exhibited a substantial increase in aggression in parallel with an enhanced competitive ability. This is the first study to characterise the molecular signatures of dominance status within groups and the first to implicate ependymin in control of aggressive behaviour. It also provides evidence for indirect genetic effect models in which genotype/phenotype of an individual is influenced by conspecific interactions within a group. The variation in the molecular profile of each individual within a group may offer a new explanation of intraspecific variation in gene expression within undefined groups of animals and provides new candidates for empirical study