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Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation-Time of Flight (MALDI-ToF) Mass Spectrometry with Bruker MALDI Biotyper software was evaluated as a method for identifying veterinary bacteria. For 620 isolates (~100 bacterial species), identification by MALDI-ToF and non-16S rDNA methods (mainly phenotypic/biochemical) agreed to species-level (95.3%) and to species/genus-level (100%), but in the absence of 16S rDNA as a gold standard. For a further panel of 107 anaerobes and 234 aerobes (~100 bacteria species) using 16S rDNA results as the gold standard, MALDI-ToF/biochemical tests showed 97.8/96.6% species-level and 99.6/93.5% genus-level agreement for aerobes and 95.3/93.6% species-level and 100/95.3% genus-level agreement for anaerobes compared to the gold standard. Where results were obtained from direct spots, direct spots overlaid with formic acid and extracts, 89.4% of 180 aerobes and 90.1% of 152 anaerobes were identified by MALDI-ToF. MALDI-ToF was shown to be a rapid and reliable method to identify veterinary bacteria.

This study investigated whether students who engage in inquiry dialogue with others improve their performance on various tasks measuring argumentation development. The study used an educational environment called Philosophy for Children (P4C) to examine specific theoretical assumptions regarding the role dialogic interaction plays in the development of individual argumentation. Using quasi-experimental research design, we randomly assigned 12 fifth-grade classrooms to two treatment conditions: P4C and Regular Instruction (REG). To document treatment fidelity, we analyzed 36 systematically selected discussion transcripts focusing on various features of classroom discourse. To evaluate transfer performance, we administered 3 post-intervention measures, including an interview, a persuasive essay, and a recall of argumentative text. Our results confirm that there were important differences in discourse patterns that indicate that P4C students engaged in more dialogic interactions, compared to REG students. However, although P4C students had different classroom experience, they performed similarly to the Regular Instruction students on post-intervention measures. We discuss the lack of positive transfer and suggest directions for further research.