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This paper reports on an evaluation of InfoPoint, a centrally-managed, professionally staffed reference service available at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus Library through a variety of communication modes, including a World Wide Web form, direct e-mail, and chat and collaborative browsing. Over 400 InfoPoint users were sent a questionnaire, to which 69% responded, that examined user perceptions of the effectiveness, quantity, timeliness, convenience, and instructional value of the service. It also queried users about their reason(s) for using the service, as well as preferences for asking questions of the library in the future based on both their experience with the service and other choices available to them. The report presents the methodology and instruments used to conduct the evaluation. Descriptive data resulting from the survey, including frequencies and user commentary, are also provided. (Contains 77 references.) (MES)

This document provides information, based on the final Part B regulations implementing statutory changes made by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997, which will assist speech-language pathologists in their role in developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) as IEP team members and in implementing those portions of the IEP for which they are responsible. Included are issues regarding programmatic and systemic changes that must take place in order for successful partnerships to be established among speech-language pathologists, teachers, parents, audiologists, and other related service providers. Following an introduction, Section 2 provides some background information on IDEA and educationally-relevant IEPs. Section 3 discusses guidelines for developing educationally-relevant IEPs and addresses the following issues: (1) collaboration and teamwork; (2) the role of the speech-language pathologist; (3) essential components of the IEP; and (4) selected aspects of the educational process relevant for speech-language pathologists. Section 4 emphasizes the importance of regular education teacher involvement, staff development, collaboration skills, time, and support for school personnel in integrating IEPs with the general curriculum. Appendices provide a comprehensive guide to the requirements for IEPs based on the federal legislation and regulations and sample IEPs. (Contains 14 references.) (CR)

The role of the Catholic school educator is to "help each student become the 'new creature' that each one is potentially, and at the same time prepare them for the responsibilities of an adult member of society." The potential referred to includes mental, physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. This resource and planning guide for integrating Catholic social teaching into the curriculum is a tool for elementary school teachers to use to achieve this goal by systematically and intentionally forming students who will assist with building "God's kingdom." In this guide, for grades K-8, Catholic faculty share their experiences, ideas, and materials with colleagues around the country. The guide will assist faculty to integrate effectively Catholic social teachings into the curriculum. It suggests tools to evaluate the living-out of these teachings. The guide emphasizes the following seven Catholic social teaching themes: (1) life and dignity of the human person; (2) a call to family, community, and participation; (3) rights and responsibilities of the human person; (4) an option for the poor and vulnerable; (5) dignity of work and the rights of workers; (6) solidarity of the human family; and (7) care for God's creation. Appendixes include selected resources in Catholic social teaching for elementary and secondary education, and a list of members of the Task Force on Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Education. (BT)

This manual, intended for use by tutors working with adults learning to read, offers a consolidated resource of specific instructional techniques and provides additional suggestions not covered in basic tutoring workshops. The manual summarizes a variety of approaches commonly used to instruct adults and provides background for three modes of teaching and the process approach to writing. The manual also provides tutors with a variety of lists for use in aiding students to decode and comprehend. The manual is organized in eight sections: (1) the three columns of learning (coaching, discussion, and didactic instruction); (2) teaching methods; (3) teaching writing; (4) instructional systems; (5) goal setting and lesson planning involving students; (6) student reading assessment; (7) working with learning disabled adult students; and (8) word lists for tutoring. Contains 72 references. (KC)

The purpose of this document is to assist district and state level people in developing new science and/or mathematics curriculum frameworks and/or revising existing frameworks. This analysis tool is intended to stimulate discussion among state and local groups about potential components of a curriculum framework and to assist in the process of consensus-building, an essential requirement of developing ownership in a program. The following sections are included: (1) Laboratory Network Program Curriculum Frameworks Task Force; (2) Analysis Tool; and (3) Regional Educational Laboratory State Contacts in Mathematics and Science. (ZWH)

Data on child poverty from the past 30 years are used to project future trends. A national-level analysis of child poverty over the past 3 decades for all children under 18 years old shows that the number of U.S. children in poverty increased by approximately 1 million from 1980 to 1988; and approximately 2.2 million more U.S. children fell into poverty from 1988 to 1992. Nearly 4 million more children lived in poverty in 1991 than in 1970. Child poverty threatens the well-being of children and the nation, and it reflects economic and policy change. These trends are used as the basis for projections of 2 highly different child poverty scenarios for the next 20 years. State-level analyses of child poverty based on decennial census data for related children in families from 1959 to 1989 reveal that during the 1960s child poverty rates declined by at least 20 percent in virtually every state, with the decline in some being as much as 60 percent; and over the 1970s and the 1980s state-level child poverty rates increased over 25 percent in many states, and as much as 90 percent in others. Projections of state-level child poverty over the next 20 years are produced from these trends. By viewing the future of child poverty first at the national level, then at the state level, those states that are likely to face more difficulty in dealing with the myriad of costly problems related to child poverty are highlighted. However, dramatic reductions in child poverty are possible under certain combinations of policy and economic conditions. Ten figures, 5 tables, 2 appendixes with 2 data tables and technical information, and 16 references are included. (JB)

Recommendations for educational change are not focused just on curriculum. Recently a great deal of attention has been focused on reforming the evaluation and assessment of students' mathematical knowledge. Since standardized tests determine what topics will be taught in schools, it seems sensible to refine assessment prior to instituting major curricular change. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Curriculum and Evaluation Standards provide a clear picture of how to address mathematical assessment and can direct attention to areas that will provide a clearer picture of student understanding. This publication presents a Framework for Mathematical Tasks reflecting five components from the NCTM Standards: the Focus Areas, Problem Solving, Communication, Connections, and Power and Disposition. The framework is represented by a series of interactive cycles and is used to demonstrate how tasks can be constructed and examined. Appendices contain a student scoring rubric and question sets. (MKR)

Brassica napus, a globally important oilseed crop, is an allotetraploid hybrid species with two subgenomes originating from Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea. The presence of two highly similar subgenomes has made the assembly of a complete draft genome challenging and has also resulted in natural homoeologous exchanges between the genomes, resulting in variations in gene copy number, which further complicates assigning sequences to correct chromosomes. Despite these challenges, high-quality draft genomes of this species have been released. Using third generation sequencing and assembly technologies, we generated a new genome assembly for the synthetic B. napus cultivar Da-Ae. Through the use of long reads, linked-reads, and Hi-C proximity data, we assembled a new draft genome that provides a high-quality reference genome of a synthetic B. napus. In addition, we identified potential hotspots of homoeologous exchange between subgenomes within Da-Ae, based on their presence in other independently derived lines. The occurrence of these hotspots may provide insight into the genetic rearrangements required for B. napus to be viable following the hybridization of B. rapa and B. oleracea.

Procurement of more environmentally sustainable materials for civil infrastructure can be supported using environmental product declarations (EPDs). An EPD is a standardized label that is a scientifically sound way to communicate the potential environmental impacts and selected resource use and waste production flows from all or part of the life cycle of a product. To be called a Type III EPD, the life cycle assessment (LCA) for products used in civil infrastructure must be performed in accordance with ISO standards and the relevant product category rule (PCR) for the product type. Most EPDs for civil infrastructure materials in North America are “cradle-to-gate”, i.e., they include the impacts from the extraction of raw materials from the earth and end at the point at which the product is ready to leave the gate of the last manufacturing location. The steps leading to publication of an EPD include: 1) Developing the PCR, 2) Developing the LCA for the EPD, 3) Creating the EPD, and 4) Verification and publishing of the EPD. Industry-average, regional-average, product-specific, and facility-specific EPDs—with differing specificity to a particular product—are used for different purposes. EPDs are a source of data for materials impacts for use in assessment of the complete life cycle. They provide information to identify changes in impacts that can be made early in the materials production. They also can be used to help procure lower impact materials. This white paper discusses benefits of using EPDs and makes recommendations for improving their validity. Several areas needing improvement in current use in procurement are identified and recommendations are presented for improving the use of cradle-to-gate EPDs in transport infrastructure construction materials procurement and to provide input to complete life cycle pavement LCA to support decision-making.View the NCST Project Webpage

BackgroundThe cost-effectiveness of screening mammography beyond age 75 years remains unclear.ObjectiveTo estimate benefits, harms, and cost-effectiveness of extending mammography to age 80, 85, or 90 years according to comorbidity burden.DesignMarkov microsimulation model.Data sourcesSEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) program and Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium.Target populationU.S. women aged 65 to 90 years in groups defined by Charlson comorbidity score (CCS).Time horizonLifetime.PerspectiveNational health payer.InterventionScreening mammography to age 75, 80, 85, or 90 years.Outcome measuresBreast cancer death, survival, and costs.Results of base-case analysisExtending biennial mammography from age 75 to 80 years averted 1.7, 1.4, and 1.0 breast cancer deaths and increased days of life gained by 5.8, 4.2, and 2.7 days per 1000 women for comorbidity scores of 0, 1, and 2, respectively. Annual mammography beyond age 75 years was not cost-effective, but extending biennial mammography to age 80 years was ($54 000, $65 000, and $85 000 per quality-adjusted life-year [QALY] gained for women with CCSs of 0, 1, and ≥2, respectively). Overdiagnosis cases were double the number of deaths averted from breast cancer.Results of sensitivity analysisCosts per QALY gained were sensitive to changes in invasive cancer incidence and shift of breast cancer stage with screening mammography.LimitationNo randomized controlled trials of screening mammography beyond age 75 years are available to provide model parameter inputs.ConclusionAlthough annual mammography is not cost-effective, biennial screening mammography to age 80 years is; however, the absolute number of deaths averted is small, especially for women with comorbidities. Women considering screening beyond age 75 years should weigh the potential harms of overdiagnosis versus the potential benefit of averting death from breast cancer.Primary funding sourceNational Cancer Institute and Nation

The Hedgehog (Hh) cascade is central to development, tissue homeostasis and cancer. A pivotal step in Hh signal transduction is the activation of glioma-associated (GLI) transcription factors by the atypical G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) SMOOTHENED (SMO). How SMO activates GLI remains unclear. Here we show that SMO uses a decoy substrate sequence to physically block the active site of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) catalytic subunit (PKA-C) and extinguish its enzymatic activity. As a result, GLI is released from phosphorylation-induced inhibition. Using a combination of in vitro, cellular and organismal models, we demonstrate that interfering with SMO-PKA pseudosubstrate interactions prevents Hh signal transduction. The mechanism uncovered echoes one used by the Wnt cascade, revealing an unexpected similarity in how these two essential developmental and cancer pathways signal intracellularly. More broadly, our findings define a mode of GPCR-PKA communication that may be harnessed by a range of membrane receptors and kinases.

Drug repositioning and repurposing has proved useful in identifying new treatments for many diseases, which can then rapidly be brought into clinical practice. Currently, there are few effective pharmacological treatments for Lewy body dementia (which includes both dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia) apart from cholinesterase inhibitors. We reviewed several promising compounds that might potentially be disease-modifying agents for Lewy body dementia and then undertook an International Delphi consensus study to prioritise compounds. We identified ambroxol as the top ranked agent for repurposing and identified a further six agents from the classes of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists, and angiotensin receptor blockers that were rated by the majority of our expert panel as justifying a clinical trial. It would now be timely to take forward all these compounds to Phase II or III clinical trials in Lewy body dementia.

In this article I argue for the importance of centering medieval African in both secondary and post- secondary settings and offer some concrete resources and guidelines for doing so, especially for non- specialists. In my teaching context––high school students in the United States between ages 15 and 17––many state standards emphasize African history during and after European colonialism. Overlooking Africa’s medieval past maintains colonial historical narratives that depict Africa as a region without history. Instead, by choosing discrete sources and cultures to teach, maximizing the global aspect of medieval African trade and cultural networks, and adapting these approaches for their specific classroom needs, educators can emphasize a story of African history that appropriately situates African societies as part of the medieval world’s constellation of cultural and power centers.

The SARS-CoV-2 Delta (Pango lineage B.1.617.2) variant of concern spread globally, causing resurgences of COVID-19 worldwide1,2. The emergence of the Delta variant in the UK occurred on the background of a heterogeneous landscape of immunity and relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Here we analyse 52,992 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from England together with 93,649 genomes from the rest of the world to reconstruct the emergence of Delta and quantify its introduction to and regional dissemination across England in the context of changing travel and social restrictions. Using analysis of human movement, contact tracing and virus genomic data, we find that the geographic focus of the expansion of Delta shifted from India to a more global pattern in early May 2021. In England, Delta lineages were introduced more than 1,000 times and spread nationally as non-pharmaceutical interventions were relaxed. We find that hotel quarantine for travellers reduced onward transmission from importations; however, the transmission chains that later dominated the Delta wave in England were seeded before travel restrictions were introduced. Increasing inter-regional travel within England drove the nationwide dissemination of Delta, with some cities receiving more than 2,000 observable lineage introductions from elsewhere. Subsequently, increased levels of local population mixing-and not the number of importations-were associated with the faster relative spread of Delta. The invasion dynamics of Delta depended on spatial heterogeneity in contact patterns, and our findings will inform optimal spatial interventions to reduce the transmission of current and future variants of concern, such as Omicron (Pango lineage B.1.1.529).

The development of multiple chromosome-scale reference genome sequences in many taxonomic groups has yielded a high-resolution view of the patterns and processes of molecular evolution. Nonetheless, leveraging information across multiple genomes remains a significant challenge in nearly all eukaryotic systems. These challenges range from studying the evolution of chromosome structure, to finding candidate genes for quantitative trait loci, to testing hypotheses about speciation and adaptation. Here, we present GENESPACE, which addresses these challenges by integrating conserved gene order and orthology to define the expected physical position of all genes across multiple genomes. We demonstrate this utility by dissecting presence-absence, copy-number, and structural variation at three levels of biological organization: spanning 300 million years of vertebrate sex chromosome evolution, across the diversity of the Poaceae (grass) plant family, and among 26 maize cultivars. The methods to build and visualize syntenic orthology in the GENESPACE R package offer a significant addition to existing gene family and synteny programs, especially in polyploid, outbred, and other complex genomes.

Discusses the motivational and other aspects of struggling readers. Notes classroom practices that are barriers to struggling readers in many middle schools. Presents motivation theory as a basis of the authors' proposed engagement model of classroom practice. Proposes six aspects of teaching and classroom context that represent their model of engagement in literacy for teachers. (SG)

Offers advice to English department chairs: when talking to the dean, learn a new perspective, a new language (the language of college administration), and new skills; when talking to colleagues, be jargon-free and appeal to shared values; and when talking to students, be explicit about what the department has to offer. (RS)

Describes the influence that Extensible Markup Language (XML) will have on the software documentation process and subsequently on the curricula of advanced undergraduate and master's programs in technical communication. Recommends how curricula of advanced undergraduate and master's programs in technical communication ought to change in order to meet the challenges of these evolving processes. (SG)

Provides managers with specific guidance on developing and using logic models. For the last 20 years logic models have been used largely in program evaluations to chart what should have happened and what did or did not occur as intended. Logic models start with inputs and work through processes to the desired end state, whether output or outcome. (SLD)

This report focuses on four important trends. The first is that the U.S. South is resegregating after two and a half decades of increasing integration. The second is that the data show continuously increasing segregation for Latino students, who are rapidly becoming the largest minority group in the United States and who have been more segregated than African American students for several years. The third trend is evidenced in the large and increasing numbers of African American and Latino students enrolled in suburban schools, where segregation is increasing. The fourth trend is a rapid ongoing change in the racial composition of U.S. schools and the emergence of many schools with three or more racial groups. The report shows that all racial groups except Whites experience considerable diversity in their schools, but Whites are remaining in overwhelmingly White schools even in regions with very large non-White enrollments. Data are from a variety of sources. The report also documents national trends in enrollment and segregation for African American, Latino, White, and Asian students by region, state, and community type. (Contains 22 tables and 4 figures.) (SLD)

Describes the history and uses of the coulometer, a device for measuring quantities of electricity. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/WRM)

Suggestions on planning methods for successful parent-teacher conferences are given. Emphasis on clear communication between educators and parents is related to the degree of cooperation possible between the two parties. Practical tips for teachers confronted with angry or dissatisfied parents are included. (LH)

Monitoring the effectiveness of reading education is central to the appraisal of the productivity of schooling, yet most measures currently being used do not take into account the full range of processes which lead to successful reading education. A model of indicators relevant to reading education (outcome, process, and input) can be used to judge more accurately the health of the educational system. Outcome indicators, which describe the results of educational efforts, should include performance on the following sub-aspects of reading: (1) decoding, (2) literal comprehension, (3) locating information, and (4) higher order processes. Process indicators measure a means for achieving desired results, and contain the dual traits of instructional effectiveness--quality and quantity. Quantity of instruction includes the number of courses taken, the quantity of reading instruction, and the quantity of reading for homework. Quality of instruction entails not the time, but the events that occur in time that are instrumental for learning. Characteristics of quality instruction include using students' background knowledge, summarizing, and teaching vocabulary and inferencing. Input indicators describe resources for the educational process such as school plant and equipment, educational and ethnic characteristics of students, and literacy materials at home. Indicators such as these can be used for policy purposes, as well as for research on learning and teaching. (Thirty references are attached.) (MM)