From Comprehensive to Singular: A Latent Class Analysis of College Teaching Practices

While decades of research on college teaching has investigated several forms of classroom practices, much of this research approaches teaching as falling into mutually exclusive paradigms (e.g., active learning vs. lecturing). This paper enters inside the college classroom using external raters to understand patterns of pedagogical practices embedded in heterogeneous groups of courses. The study used quantitative observation and draws on data from a multi-institutional study of 587 courses across nine institutions to understand the patterns of teaching practices within courses. Latent class analyses demonstrated that there were five patterns of seven course practices that cluster around active learning, lecturing, and cognitively responsive practices: Comprehensive, Traditional Lecture, Active Lecture, Integrative Discussion, and Active Only.     

The Achievement Gap Among Newcomer Immigrant Adolescents: Life Stressors Hinder Latina/o Academic Success

This study compares life stressors and school outcomes among newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. Participants attended a predominantly low-income, urban international public high school in the northeast. The Latina/o students were exposed to more life stressors and had lower attendance and achievement than non-Latina/o students. Life stressors mediated the relationship between ethnicity and academic outcomes. Results deepen experts’ understanding of the achievement gap, suggesting that newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America face unique risks and deserve intervention efforts focused on sociocontextual stressors that may prevent these students from achieving their full academic potential.     

Fostering conceptual change and critical reasoning about HIV and AIDS

One of the challenges of science education is for students to develop scientific knowledge that is personally meaningful and applicable to real‐life issues. This article describes a middle‐school science intervention fostering adolescents' critical reasoning in the context of HIV by strengthening their conceptual understanding of HIV biology. The intervention included two components: critical reasoning activities that fostered knowledge integration and application to real‐world problem solving, and science writing activities that promoted argument building. Two seventh‐grade classes participated in the study. One class participated in the critical reasoning and writing activities (CR&W); the other class participated in critical reasoning activities only (CR group). Results demonstrate significant pre‐ and posttest improvements on measures of students' HIV knowledge, HIV understanding, and critical reasoning about realistic scenarios in the context of HIV, with the improvements being greater in the CR&W group. The discussion focuses on the role of conceptual knowledge in health reasoning, the role of science writing in fostering knowledge integration, and the benefits of a “thinking curriculum” approach to integrated health and science education. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 844–863, 2007     

Thyroidal regulation of substrate kinetics properties of cytochrome oxidase in rat liver mitochondria

Effects of thyroidectomy (T_x) and subsequent treatment with 3,5,3’-triiodothyronine (T₃), and combined treatment (T_R) with T₃ + thyroxine (T₄) on substrate kinetics properties of cytochrome oxidase of rat liver mitochondria were examined. T_x resulted in lowering of cytochromes content with decrease in the enzyme activity, and K_m and V_max. T₃ and T_R regimens restored the cytochromes contents and the V_max values to normal. In control, T₃ and T_R groups the enzyme activity resolved in two kinetic components; in T_x group three kinetic components were evident. The K_m values for all components decreased significantly in the experimental groups with concomitant increase in catalytic efficiency, K_cat/K_m. Significant alterations in the contents of total phospholipid and of cholesterol were noted while the changes in the phospholipids composition were only of restricted nature. Regression analysis revealed that total phospholipid, cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine play significant role in fine tuning the enzyme activity.     

An Investigation of Counselor Educators' Attitudes Toward Evidence‐Based Practices

Evidence‐based practices (EBPs) receive little attention in counselor education curricula despite the ethical obligation for counselor educators to teach EBPs to counseling students. This study investigates counselor educators’ attitudes toward EBPs along with perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula.     

Notable and Emerging Variants of SARS-CoV-2 Virus: A Quick Glance

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), is a highly contagious pathogenic coronavirus to emerge and spread in human populations. Although substantial exertions have been laid to avert spread of COVID-19 by therapeutic and preventive countermeasures, but emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants as a result of mutations make the infection more ominous. New viral confers a higher nasopharyngeal viral load, increased viral transmissibility, higher infectiousness, immune escape, increased resistance to monoclonal/polyclonal antibodies from convalescence sera/vaccine, and an enhanced virulence. Thus, it is pertinent to monitor evolving mutations and genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 as it is decisive for understanding the viral variants. In this review we provide an overview of colloquial nomenclature and the genetic characteristics of different SARS-CoV-2 variants in the context of mutational changes of the circulating strains, transmissibility potential, virulence and infectivity.     

Sickle Cell Trait Presenting as Chronic Calcific Pancreatitis with Pseudocyst- A Case Report

Sickle cell disease is known to cause acute pancreatitis either due to gall stones obstructing the pancreatic duct or by vaso-occlusive mechanism. However chronic pancreatitis is a very rare complication in sickle cell anemia. We report a case of sickle cell trait presenting with chronic pancreatitis with pseudo cyst. USG abdomen and CT abdomen confirmed the diagnosis of chronic calcific pancreatitis with pseudocyst. Etiological work up for other causes did not reveal anything except sickle cell trait. This case represents a rare association between chronic calcific pancreatitis and sickle cell trait.     

Ophthalmic Presentation of Disseminated Tuberculosis with Relapse-Immunological Profile

TB as the cause of uveitis varies from 0.5 to 10.5%; low sensitivity of confirmatory laboratory investigations and inconsistency of diagnostic criteria leads to paucity of data. Diagnosis requires a high level of suspicion and is often presumptive based on indirect evidences. Interferon gamma, Interleukin-2 and Neopterin are key biomarkers in immuno-regulation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The relative shift from Interleukin-2 towards Interferon gamma (Interferon gamma/Interleukin-2) is more discriminatory for active tuberculosis. Protein carbonyl and Malondialdehyde, as oxidative stress markers, characterize active tuberculosis. A case of disseminated TB presenting with acute uveitis had a recurrent tubercular lymphadenitis after completing category I treatment under revised national tuberculosis control programme. The present study evaluates the potential utility of above mentioned biomarkers to predict atypical presentation in difficult cases of tuberculosis. Though tuberculous uveitis is amenable to treatment in early course of disease, the delay in diagnosis can have serious consequences for the patient.