Standardizing characterization of membrane active peptides with microfluidics

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as important players in the fight against antibiotic resistance. In parallel, the field of microfluidics has matured and its benefits are being exploited in applications of biomimetics and standardized testing. Membrane models are essential tools extensively utilized in studying the activity and modes of action of AMPs. Here, we describe how the utilization of microfluidic platforms in characterizing membrane active peptides can develop a reliable colorful image that classical techniques have rendered black and white.     

Library and Information Services to the Arabic‐Speaking Community: A Survey of Michigan Public Libraries

Public Libraries tout that they serve diverse communities, even having collection development policies, programs, and service that recognize their dissimilar neighborhoods. The authors of this article, having noted the influx of Arab‐speaking populations from Iraq and other Middle East countries to the United States, sought to find out the extent to which this population was receiving library service. The investigators discovered that four Michigan counties comprise a significant Arab‐speaking population; in fact, that population base is surpassed only by that of the Middle East countries and Paris, France. The researchers constructed a survey, based on a successful model used with libraries serving Spanish‐speaking populations and applied it to the Michigan libraries in the counties with a significant Arab‐speaking population. The results reveal that the Arab‐speaking neighborhoods, at least at the time of the survey, were not very well served (except in a few instances) by their public libraries.     

Sexual Justice Is Social Justice: An Activity to Expand Social Work Students Understanding of Sexual Rights and Injustices

Social work education could benefit from an explicit educational framework that combines social justice and sexuality: sexual justice. However, there is a paucity of literature in social work discussing this critical issue. This article helps equip social workers to challenge social injustice through a lens of sexuality and builds a conceptual framework by examining sexual justice through pillars of social work: human dignity, community and solidarity, rights and responsibilities, priority for the poor and vulnerable, and peace. An activity providing micro and macro case discussions is presented to help infuse sexual justice into social work programs.     

Socioeconomic and gender group differences in early literacy skills: a multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis approach

Socioeconomic status and gender are important demographic variables that strongly relate to academic achievement. This study examined the early literacy skills differences between 4 sociodemographic groups, namely, boys ineligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL), girls ineligible for FRL, boys eligible for FRL, and girls eligible for FRL. Data on kindergarteners (N = 462) were analysed using multiple-group confirmatory factory analysis. Early literacy skill differences between boys and girls are more nuanced than previously reported; subsidy status and gender interact. Both boys and girls from high-poverty households performed significantly lower than the girls from low-poverty households in alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and spelling. There were gender gaps, with a female advantage, among children from high-poverty households in alphabet knowledge and spelling and among children from low-poverty households in alphabet knowledge. These results highlight the importance of employing methodologically sound techniques to ascertain group differences in componential early literacy skills.     

Who are the young children for whom best practices in reading are ineffective? An experimental and longitudinal study

The primary purpose of this study was to identify student characteristics that reliably predict responsiveness and nonresponsiveness to generally effective early literacy interventions. Participants were 104 children, including 7 with special needs and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), who were tested in kindergarten and first grade. Responsiveness/nonresponsiveness status was determined after 2 years during which children participated in best practice instruction (a) in kindergarten and first grade, (b) in kindergarten only, (c) in first grade only, or (d) in neither year. This facilitated the study of three groups. Always responsive students met responsiveness criteria in both years. Sometimes responsive students met the criteria in only one year. Nonresponsive students did not meet the criteria in either year. Multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant function analysis indicated that the three groups were reliably different from one another on measures of problem behavior, verbal memory, sentence imitation, syntactic awareness, vocabulary, naming speed, and segmentation. A combination of naming speed, vocabulary, sentence imitation, problem behavior, and amount of intervention correctly predicted 82.1% of nonresponsive students, 30.0% of sometimes responsive students, and 84.1% of always responsive students. Fifty students from kindergarten and first grade were tested again at the end of what should have been their third-grade year. All but 1 of the nonresponsive students who received intervention had been identified as requiring special education and had an IEP with reading goals.     

Research on the influencing factors framework of data demand management of university scientific researchers北大核心CSSCI

The environment and pattern of scientific research are developing towards digital, open and community-oriented , and influenced by the increasingly diversified data resources and the mature of various methods. All these make the researchers' demand becoming more complicated and deepened. The evolution of scientific research puts forward higher requirement for the data demand management of collegial researchers. We constructed an analytical framework of the influencing factors of data demand management for scientific researchers based on the grounded theory. The interaction of key elements involved in the framework was analyzed , aiming to reveal the influence mechanism of key factors on researchers, data demand management. This research is composed of four parts research problem generation data collection data processing and theory construction. Staged collection method was used in data collection mainly through personal indepth interview and focus group meeting and the data we collected was supplemented and verified by the data and comments in various scientific research platforms. Data standardization and reduction was carried out by the qualitative analysis software Nvivo 12.0 , and the original data was coded in three-level: Open coding , spindle coding and selective coding. The USCT framework we constructed contains 8 main categories: Personal ability characteristic , user perception , personalized service, knowledge service, task context , mobile information context , technology application and technology fit , involving 24 categories and 67 initial concepts. All categories and concepts were generalized into 4 layers: Key layer (user dimension), guarantee layer (service dimension), driven layer (context dimension) and foundation layer (technology dimension). In the subsequent analysis of interactive relationship and internal correlative mechanism between main categories and data demand management we found personal ability characteristic of user personalized service and task context to be the most direct impact factor on data demand management while user perception knowledge service mobile information context technology application and technology fit work in an indirect way. The USCT model framework has several positive effects: 1) it contributes to the construction and perfection of the conceptual system and framework of scientific research data demand management 2 it provides a reliable guiding analysis model for the construction of a science data service platform to promote scientific research and innovation. We innovatively constructed an analysis framework for the influencing factors of data demand management of university researchers. This framework organically integrates " user” (scientific researcher, subject librarian), “services", “context” and “technology” into one system. We attempt to guide and develop the researcher's scientific data needs under their knowledge environment through computer information technology and ultimately guarantee the provision of suitable service. Further demonstration and service practices are needed to verify and perfect the theory. Follow-up studies can take “user-context-service-technology” as the main line for empirical research and explore the external features and internal path mechanisms of data demand management in all domains. 6 figs. 3 tabs. 49 refs. © 2019, Editorial Office of Journal of Library Science in China. All rights reserved.     

Predicting behavioral intention to use e-learning system: A case-study in Begum Rokeya University,Rangpur, Bangladesh

Education and Information Technologies - Digital transformation and emerging technologies open a horizon to a new method of teaching and learning and revolutionizes the e-learning industry....     

Gifted students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and parental influence on their motivation: from the self‐determination theory perspective

The aim of this research is to describe and investigate a sample of school gifted students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, and the role of their parents in fostering motivational achievements in Jordan. In the study, 122 gifted students were selected to complete a questionnaire (adapted from Pelletier, Fortier and Vallerand et al.) investigating the mentioned constructs. Results showed that students were highly intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. The results also showed significant correlation between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and perceived competence and parental support scales except for parental control. Other interesting findings were also found regarding the aforementioned constructs. The results further reveal some significant differences in control, achievement goal, amotivation and competence support between genders and education of parents. The possible implications of and recommendations from these findings will be discussed.     

Patterns of Close Relationships and Socioemotional and Academic Adjustment Among School‐Age Children with Learning Disabilities

This study examined patterns of close relationships among school‐age children with learning disabilities (LD) as manifested in their attachment style, their self‐perceived loneliness, their sense of coherence, and teacher ratings of their academic functioning. In line with resilience theory, this study also aimed to further explore predictors of positive adjustment for children with LD. The sample comprised 98 children with LD from regular classes in four Israeli public elementary schools, and 98 non‐LD children from the same classes. Significant group differences emerged in attachment styles and adjustment. Attachment style significantly correlated with socioemotional adjustment but not with academic functioning. In addition, a subgroup of resilient children emerged among the LD children. Discussion focused on the value of attachment patterns for understanding social and emotional adjustment among school‐age children with LD.