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Our faculty development (FD) work applies Dee Fink's (2013) integrated course design model. In this article, we describe the situational factors related to supporting faculty who teach a required, academically-focused First Year Seminar course at a large public university. We then describe how we designed a suite of FD opportunities with goals that directly responded to those situational factors. Finally, we offer a process for designing FD initiatives that can work for other programs even when their situational factors and goals are different.

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in understanding molecular and synaptic mechanisms of intellectual disabilities (ID) in fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS) through animal models have led to targeted controlled trials with pharmacological agents designed to normalize these underlying mechanisms and improve clinical outcomes. However, several human clinical trials have failed to demonstrate efficacy of these targeted treatments to improve surrogate behavioral endpoints. Because the ultimate index of disease modification in these disorders is amelioration of ID, the validation of cognitive measures for tracking treatment response is essential. Here, we present preliminary research to validate the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognitive Battery (NIH-TCB) for ID. METHODS: We completed three pilot studies of patients with FXS (total n = 63; mean age 19.3 ± 8.3 years, mean mental age 5.3 ± 1.6 years), DS (n = 47; mean age 16.1 ± 6.2, mean mental age 5.4 ± 2.0), and idiopathic ID (IID; n = 16; mean age 16.1 ± 5.0, mean mental age 6.6 ± 2.3) measuring processing speed, executive function, episodic memory, word/letter reading, receptive vocabulary, and working memory using the web-based NIH-TB-CB, addressing feasibility, test-retest reliability, construct validity, ecological validity, and syndrome differences and profiles. RESULTS: Feasibility was good to excellent (≥80 % of participants with valid scores) for above mental age 4 years for all tests except list sorting (working memory). Test-retest stability was good to excellent, and convergent validity was similar to or better than results obtained from typically developing children in the normal sample for executive function and language measures. Examination of ecological validity revealed moderate to very strong correlations between the NIH-TCB composite and adaptive behavior and full-scale IQ measures. Syndrome/group comparisons demonstrated significant deficits for the FXS and DS groups relative to IID on attention and inhibitory control, a significant reading weakness for FXS, and a receptive vocabulary weakness for DS. CONCLUSIONS: The NIH-TCB has potential for assessing important dimensions of cognition in persons with ID, and several tests may be useful for tracking response to intervention. However, more extensive psychometric studies, evaluation of the NIH-TCBs sensitivity to change, both developmentally and in the context of treatment, and perhaps establishing links to brain function in these populations, are required to determine the true utility of the battery as a set of outcome measures.

BackgroundRecent advances in understanding molecular and synaptic mechanisms of intellectual disabilities (ID) in fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS) through animal models have led to targeted controlled trials with pharmacological agents designed to normalize these underlying mechanisms and improve clinical outcomes. However, several human clinical trials have failed to demonstrate efficacy of these targeted treatments to improve surrogate behavioral endpoints. Because the ultimate index of disease modification in these disorders is amelioration of ID, the validation of cognitive measures for tracking treatment response is essential. Here, we present preliminary research to validate the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognitive Battery (NIH-TCB) for ID.MethodsWe completed three pilot studies of patients with FXS (total n = 63; mean age 19.3 ± 8.3 years, mean mental age 5.3 ± 1.6 years), DS (n = 47; mean age 16.1 ± 6.2, mean mental age 5.4 ± 2.0), and idiopathic ID (IID; n = 16; mean age 16.1 ± 5.0, mean mental age 6.6 ± 2.3) measuring processing speed, executive function, episodic memory, word/letter reading, receptive vocabulary, and working memory using the web-based NIH-TB-CB, addressing feasibility, test-retest reliability, construct validity, ecological validity, and syndrome differences and profiles.ResultsFeasibility was good to excellent (≥80 % of participants with valid scores) for above mental age 4 years for all tests except list sorting (working memory). Test-retest stability was good to excellent, and convergent validity was similar to or better than results obtained from typically developing children in the normal sample for executive function and language measures. Examination of ecological validity revealed moderate to very strong correlations between the NIH-TCB composite and adaptive behavior and full-scale IQ measures. Syndrome/group comparisons demonstrated significant deficits for the FXS and DS groups relative to IID on attention and inhibitory control, a significant reading weakness for FXS, and a receptive vocabulary weakness for DS.ConclusionsThe NIH-TCB has potential for assessing important dimensions of cognition in persons with ID, and several tests may be useful for tracking response to intervention. However, more extensive psychometric studies, evaluation of the NIH-TCB's sensitivity to change, both developmentally and in the context of treatment, and perhaps establishing links to brain function in these populations, are required to determine the true utility of the battery as a set of outcome measures.

A total of 4,952 articles published in 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990 in the areas of developmental, clinical, physiological, and social psychology were reviewed for the purpose of assessing various indicators of sexism in human psychological research. Significant changes in sex of first author, sex of participants, sexist language, and inappropriate generalization indicated that sexism has clearly diminished in the past two decades. Despite these improvements, however, the data revealed continued evidence of discriminatory practices, suggesting that efforts to eliminate sexism must be strengthened if psychology is to be a nonsexist discipline.

Background: Ebola is a Filovirus (FV) that induces a highly communicable and deadly hemorrhagic fever. Currently, there are no approved vaccines to treat FV infections. Protection from FV infection requires cell mediated and humoral immunity. Glycoprotein GP1,2 Fc Zaire, a recombinant FV human Fc fusion protein, has been shown to confer protection against mouse adapted Zaire Ebola virus. The present studies are focused upon identifying immunodominant epitopes using in silico methods and developing tetramers as a diagnostic reagent to detect cell mediated immune responses to GP1,2 Fc. Methods: The GP1,2 Ebola Zaire sequence from the 1976 outbreak was analyzed by both BIMAS and SYFPEITHI algorithms to identify potential immuno-dominant epitopes. Several peptides were synthesized and screened in flow-based MHC stability studies. Three candidate peptides, P8, P9 and P10, were identified and, following immunization in Balb/c mice, all three peptides induced IFN-γ as detected by ELISpot and intracellular staining. Results: Significantly, P8, P9 and P10 generated robust cytotoxic T-cell responses (CTL) as determined by a flow cytometry-based Caspase assay. Antigen specific cells were also detected, using tetramers. Both P9 and P10 have sequence homology with highly conserved regions of several strains of FV. Conclusions: In sum, three immunodominant sequences of the Ebola GP1,2 have been identified using in silico methods that may confer protection against mouse adapted Ebola Zaire. The development of tetramer reagents will provide unique insight into the potency and durability of medical countermeasure vaccines for known bioterrorism threat agents in preclinical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]