An electroactive microwell array for trapping and lysing single-bacterial cells

Interest in single-cell analysis has increased because it allows to understand cell metabolism and characterize disease states, cellular adaptation to environmental changes, cell cycles, etc. Here, the authors propose a device to electrically trap and lyse single-bacterial cells in an array format for high-throughput single-cell analysis. The applied electric field is highly deformed and concentrated toward the inside of the microwell structures patterned on the planar electrode. This configuration effectively generates dielectrophoretic force to attract a single cell per well. The microwell has a comparable size to the target bacterial cell making it possible to trap single cells by physically excluding additional cells. Inducing highly concentrated electric potential on the cell membrane can also effectively lyse the trapped single-bacterial cells. The feasibility of the authors' approach was demonstrated by trapping and lysing Escherichia coli cells at the single-cell level. The present microwell array can be used as a basic tool for individual bacterial cell analysis.     

Patterns of coparenting and young children's social–emotional adjustment in low-income families

This study identified coparenting patterns using data collected across 2007–2010 from low-income couples (N = 2915; 26.90% non-Hispanic White; 9.41% non-Hispanic Black; 34.24% Hispanic, 29.27% other or mixed race) with young children (M = 3.65 years; SD = 1.31 years; 48% girls) and examined relations with children's social–emotional adjustment. Latent profile analysis revealed four coparenting patterns: mutual high-quality (43.4%), moderate-quality, mothers less positive (31.8%), moderate-quality, fathers less positive (15.9%), and low-quality, mothers less positive (8.9%). When parents' perspectives on coparenting were positive and congruent, children fared best. Children also fared well when coparenting quality was moderate, and mothers were less positive than fathers. When coparenting quality was moderate and fathers were less positive than mothers, children showed the poorest adjustment.     

A model for principals' STEM leadership capability

In this paper we develop a model for the capabilities required by principals for effective Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) leadership. The model underpinned a large national cross-sectional research and development project across Australian states in both primary and secondary schools. This model is developed via synthesis of research literature across leadership and STEM education. The model consists of five dimensions of principals' STEM capability: (1) STEM discipline-specific and integrated knowledge and practices; (2) contexts; (3) dispositions; (4) tools; and (5) critical orientation. These dimensions represent distinct, but interrelated, capacities required by principals to establish and maintain positive STEM learning cultures within schools. Elaborations have been provided, in the form of capabilities, for each of these dimensions. The model has the potential for shaping principals' STEM leadership development trajectories and structuring targeted professional learning programmes for principals, teachers and other members of the school community.     

Correction to: Neglected Elements of a High-Quality Early Childhood Workforce: Whole Teacher Well-Being and Working Conditions

Early Childhood Education Journal - The original version of this article unfortunately contains some typo in Table 1.     

Influence of Scaffolding on Information Literacy and Argumentation Skills in Virtual Field Trips and Problem-Based Learning for Scientific Problem Solving

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Success in problem-based learning requires both strong information literacy to search for, evaluate, and use information effectively,...     

Added value as a function of purchases of information services

Abstract

In this paper, an analysis is provided of data to evaluate the extent to which investment in information resources can be demonstrated to have direct value in greater industrial profitability. Specifically, it examines the statistical relationship between “added value” for the manufacturing industries of the country and the investment they make in purchased information services.

A review is presented of the context of evaluation of the value of information, with anecdotal evidence concerning its role. We review the theoretical background for the analysis and describe the data on which the analysis is based. The discussion of data covers the sources, the nature, and the structure of the data sets and provides a detailed listing of the data itself. We also present the results of the analysis, discuss the implications, and conclude with a commentary on potential problems due to the heterogeneous character of the data, including the analysis of a range of alternative models all of which produce the same qualitative results that were obtained in the basic regression.

We apply a Cobb‐Douglas model to value added as a function of labor, capital, purchases of information services, and purchases of other input. We do a regression analysis for that model on 50 manufacturing industries, using data from 1967, and 51 industries, using data from 1972. The theory states that, if industry is operating in an optimal manner, the marginal return from the external purchases (whether for information services or for other input), as expressed by the coefficient in the regression, should be zero. If the coefficient is positive, industry is not using enough of the external resource; if negative, industry is using too much of it.

Our results show that there is a demonstrable relationship between increased added value (and therefore profitability) and investment in information resources. Beyond that, the evidence suggests that manufacturing industry is using far less than the optimal amount of information resources than should be optimal.     

Towards model governance in predictive toxicology

Efficient management of toxicity information as an enterprise asset is increasingly important for the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries. Many organisations focus on better information organisation and reuse, in an attempt to reduce the costs of testing and manufacturing in the product development phase. Toxicity information is extracted not only from toxicity data but also from predictive models. Accurate and appropriately shared models can bring a number of benefits if we are able to make effective use of existing expertise. Although usage of existing models may provide high-impact insights into the relationships between chemical attributes and specific toxicological effects, they can also be a source of risk for incorrect decisions. Thus, there is a need to provide a framework for efficient model management. To address this gap, this paper introduces a concept of model governance, that is based upon data governance principles. We extend the data governance processes by adding procedures that allow the evaluation of model use and governance for enterprise purposes. The core aspect of model governance is model representation. We propose six rules that form the basis of a model representation schema, called Minimum Information About a QSAR Model Representation (MIAQMR). As a proof-of-concept of our model governance framework we develop a web application called Model and Data Farm (MADFARM), in which models are described by the MIAQMR-ML markup language.     

Roles of alternative and self-oriented perspectives in the context of the continued use of social network sites

Individuals with a positive evaluation of a target system are likely to continue using the system, and this sustained use is likely to result in continued use. This target-oriented perspective has served as a major conceptual framework for understanding users’ behaviors in online contexts. The primary objective of this paper is to address two additional perspectives—alternative- and self-oriented perspectives—for a firmer understanding of continued use in the context of social network sites (SNS). A research model is built by employing regret and self-image congruity to represent these two perspectives. The model also examines the condition under which habits are formed and how this automatic mechanism influences the dynamics of the nomological network between intentions and behaviors. The analysis results of two rounds of surveys for capturing the actual link between intentions and behaviors indicate that regret and self-image congruity can play crucial roles in post-adoption phenomena in the context of SNS.