Self-regulated learning of Natural Sciences and Mathematics future teachers: Learning strategies, self-efficacy, and socio-demographic factors.

Teacher education programs should have as one of their purposes the promotion of self-regulatory skills for learning among students who aspire to be teachers so that they can take a leading role in their learning and foster these skills in their future students. Considering the importance of knowing what students in teacher education programs do to study and learn, as well as how efficacious they feel to deal with academic demands, this study is part of a larger research and aims to investigate the learning and study strategies and self-efficacy for learning beliefs of 220 students enrolled in teacher education programs in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics of a Higher Education Institution in the state of Piauí, and examine them in relation to age, gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Brazilian translations of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI - Third Edition) and the Self-efficacy for Learning Form were used for data collection. Scales were administered in the classrooms both through online platforms and in paper and pencil. Nonparametric inferential statistical approaches were used to test hypotheses regarding group differences. Statistically significant differences were found in LASSI in relation to gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Overall, students in Physics dealt better with anxiety; in Mathematics showed more favorable attitudes towards learning; in Chemistry reported managing their time better; in Biological Science showed significantly lower scores on many scales than did other students. Findings from this study could help inform curricular design decisions regarding teacher education programs and inform the design of interventions to strengthen the learning and study strategies and the self-efficacy for learning beliefs of future teachers.

Self-regulated learning of Natural Sciences and Mathematics future teachers: learning strategies, self-efficacy, and socio-demographic factors

Teacher education programs should have as one of their purposes the promotion of self-regulatory skills for learning among students who aspire to be teachers so that they can take a leading role in their learning and foster these skills in their future students. Considering the importance of knowing what students in teacher education programs do to study and learn, as well as how efficacious they feel to deal with academic demands, this study is part of a larger research and aims to investigate the learning and study strategies and self-efficacy for learning beliefs of 220 students enrolled in teacher education programs in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics of a Higher Education Institution in the state of Piauí, and examine them in relation to age, gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Brazilian translations of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI ­ Third Edition) and the Self-efficacy for Learning Form were used for data collection. Scales were administered in the classrooms both through online platforms and in paper and pencil. Nonparametric inferential statistical pproaches were used to test hypotheses regarding group differences. Statistically significant differences were found in LASSI in relation to gender, licentiate area, and course semester. Overall, students in Physics dealt better with anxiety; in Mathematics showed more favorable attitudes towards learning; in Chemistry reported an aging their time better; in Biological Science showed significantly lower scores on many scales than did other students. Findings from this study could help inform curricular design decisions regarding teacher education programs and inform the design of interventions to strengthen the learning and study strategies and the self-efficacy for learning beliefs of future teachers.

HERPUD1 protects against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis through downregulation of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor.

Homocysteine-inducible, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-inducible, ubiquitin-like domain member 1 (HERPUD1), an ER resident protein, is upregulated in response to ER stress and Ca(2+) homeostasis deregulation. HERPUD1 exerts cytoprotective effects in various models, but its role during oxidative insult remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether HERPUD1 contributes to cytoprotection in response to redox stress and participates in mediating stress-dependent signaling pathways. Our data showed that HERPUD1 protein levels increased in HeLa cells treated for 30 min with H2O2 or angiotensin II and in aortic tissue isolated from mice treated with angiotensin II for 3 weeks. Cell death was higher in HERPUD1 knockdown (sh-HERPUD1) HeLa cells treated with H2O2 in comparison with control (sh-Luc) HeLa cells. This effect was abolished by the intracellular Ca(2+) chelating agent BAPTA-AM or the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (ITPR) antagonist xestospongin B, suggesting that the response to H2O2 was dependent on intracellular Ca(2+) stores and the ITPR. Ca(2+) kinetics showed that sh-HERPUD1 HeLa cells exhibited greater and more sustained cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca(2+) increases than sh-Luc HeLa cells. This higher sensitivity of sh-HERPUD1 HeLa cells to H2O2 was prevented with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore inhibitor cyclosporine A. We concluded that the HERPUD1-mediated cytoprotective effect against oxidative stress depends on the ITPR and Ca(2+) transfer from the ER to mitochondria.

An in vivo test to assess mefloquine 25 mg/kg for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Rondônia, Brazil

Drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum is undermining malaria control efforts worldwide. In Brazil, mefloquine (MQ) at a dose of 15 mg/kg body weight is used to treat P. falciparum. At this dose, MQ resistance developed rapidly in Thailand. Use of a higher MQ dose may retard the development of resistance. We treated 50 patients aged one to 67 years who had acute, uncomplicated P falciparum malaria using MQ 25 mg/kg. There were no serious adverse events. Two patients complained of dizziness and insomnia. Assessing evaluable patients, the day 42 cure rate was 40/42 [95.2 percent (95 percent confidence interval 83.8 to 99.4 percent)]. Mefloquine was efficacious and well tolerated in this small cohort from the state of Rôndonia.

An in vivo test to assess mefloquine 25 mg/kg for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Rondônia, Brazil.

Drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum is undermining malaria control efforts worldwide. In Brazil, mefloquine (MQ) at a dose of 15 mg/kg body weight is used to treat P. falciparum. At this dose, MQ resistance developed rapidly in Thailand. Use of a higher MQ dose may retard the development of resistance. We treated 50 patients aged one to 67 years who had acute, uncomplicated P falciparum malaria using MQ 25 mg/kg. There were no serious adverse events. Two patients complained of dizziness and insomnia. Assessing evaluable patients, the day 42 cure rate was 40/42 [95.2% (95% confidence interval 83.8 to 99.4%)]. Mefloquine was efficacious and well tolerated in this small cohort from the state of Rôndonia.

Artesunate combinations for treatment of malaria: meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Addition of artemisinin derivatives to existing drug regimens for malaria could reduce treatment failure and transmission potential. We assessed the evidence for this hypothesis from randomised controlled trials. METHODS: We undertook a meta-analysis of individual patients' data from 16 randomised trials (n=5948) that studied the effects of the addition of artesunate to standard treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. We estimated odds ratios (OR) of parasitological failure at days 14 and 28 (artesunate combination compared with standard treatment) and calculated combined summary ORs across trials using standard methods. FINDINGS: For all trials combined, parasitological failure was lower with 3 days of artesunate at day 14 (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.17-0.25, n=4504) and at day 28 (excluding new infections, 0.23, 0.19-0.28, n=2908; including re-infections, 0.30, 0.26-0.35, n=4332). Parasite clearance was significantly faster (rate ratio 1.98, 95% CI 1.85-2.12, n=3517) with artesunate. In participants with no gametocytes at baseline, artesunate reduced gametocyte count on day 7 (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.09-0.15, n=2734), with larger effects at days 14 and 28. Adding artesunate for 1 day (six trials) was associated with fewer failures by day 14 (0.61, 0.48-0.77, n=1980) and day 28 (adjusted to exclude new infections 0.68, 0.53-0.89, n=1205; unadjusted including reinfections 0.77, 0.63-0.95, n=1958). In these trials, gametocytes were reduced by day 7 (in participants with no gametocytes at baseline 0.11, 0.09-0.15, n=2734). The occurrence of serious adverse events did not differ significantly between artesunate and placebo. INTERPRETATION: The addition of 3 days of artesunate to standard antimalarial treatments substantially reduce treatment failure, recrudescence, and gametocyte carriage.

Glycoside primers of Psittacanthus cucullaris.

Bioassay-directed chromatographic separation of the ethyl acetate extract of the whole plant of Psittacanthus cucullaris afforded a new phenolic xyloside, ellagic acid-4-O-beta-xyloside-3,3', 4'-trimethyl ether (1) together with four known compounds, ellagic acid-4-O-beta-xyloside-3,3'-dimethyl ether (2), gallic acid, beta-sitosterol, and beta-sitosterol beta-D-glucoside. The structure of the new compound was determined by spectroscopic methods. Like other beta-D-xylosides, compounds 1 and 2 stimulated the formation of glycosaminoglycan chains when fed to the cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Primers of glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis from Peruvian rain forest plants.

We have developed a rapid, high throughput screening assay for compounds that alter the assembly of glycosaminoglycan chains in Chinese hamster ovary cells. The assay uses autoradiography to measure the binding of newly synthesized [35S]proteoglycans and [35S]glycosaminoglycans to a positively charged membrane. Screening over 1000 extracts from a random plant collection obtained from the Amazon rain forest yielded five plants that stimulated glycosaminoglycan assembly in both wild-type cells and a mutant cell line defective in xylosyltransferase (the first committed enzyme involved in glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis). Fractionation of an extract of Maieta guianensis by silica gel and reverse-phase chromatography yielded two pure compounds with stimulatory activity. Spectroscopic analysis by NMR and mass spectrometry revealed that the active principles were xylosides of dimethylated ellagic acid. One of the compounds also contained a galloyl group at C-3 of the xylose moiety. These findings suggest that plants and other natural products may be a source of agents that can potentially alter glycosaminoglycan and proteoglycan formation in animal cells.

Bluetongue epidemiology in the Caribbean region: serological and entomological evidence from a pilot study in Barbados.

Variation in the percentage of lambs seroconverting to bluetongue viruses was seen between sites and years in Barbados. Transmission at some sites was nearly absent whereas all lambs at one site became seropositive. The agar gel immunodiffusion test for bluetongue gave consistent results in series of serum samples from 112 of 121 sentinel lambs. Collections of biting midges in association with sheep yielded six species: Culicoides insignis Lutz, C. pusillus Lutz, C. phlebotomus (Williston), C. furens (Poey), C. jamaicensis Edwards and C. trilineatus Fox. The first two species comprised 92% of those caught during a sentinel lamb study and were the predominant species trapped for virus isolation. No viruses were recovered from 5517 C. insignis, 614 C. pusillus, three C. trilineatus and two C. furens placed into pools during two brief intensive trapping operations.

Bluetongue epidemiology in the Caribbean region: serological and entomological evidence from a pilot study in Barbados

Variations in the percentages of lambs seroconverting to bluetongue viruses was seen between sites and years in Barbados. Transmission at some sites was nearly absent whereas all lambs at one site became seropositive. The agar gel immunodiffusion test for bluetongue gave consistent results in series of serum samples from 112 of 121 sentinel lambs. Collections of biting midges in association with sheep yielded six species. Culicoides insignis Lutz, C. pusillus Lutz, C. phlebotomus (Williston), C. furens (Poey), C. jamaicensis Edwards and C. trilineatus Fox. The first two species comprised 92 percent of those caught during a sentinel lamb study and were the predominant species trapped for virus isolation. No viruses were recovered from 5517 C. insignis, 614 C. pusillus, three C. trilineatus and two C. furens placed into pools during two brief intensive trapping operations. (AU)

Bluetongue epidemiology in the Caribbean region: serological and entomological findings from a pilot sentinel system in Trinidad and Tobago.

When monitored by the agar gel immunodiffusion test for antibody to bluetongue viruses, a sentinel flock of twenty-five lambs remained seropositive through the year, whereas in a sentinel herd of twenty calves only two individuals seroconverted and these became negative again within 2 months. A light trap operated with the calf herd yielded high numbers of Culicoides insignis Lutz (over 18,000 per trap night) along with C. filariferus Hoffman, C. pusillus Lutz, C. leopoldi Ortiz, C. foxi Ortiz, C. limai Barretto, C. diabolicus Hoffman and C. guyanensis Floch and Abonnenc. Culicoides were trapped at the sheep station which had housed the lambs 3 years following the sentinel study. No virus was isolated from pools of C. insignis, C. filariferus and C. pusillus. Six other species were collected in insufficient numbers to warrant attempted virus isolations.

Bluetongue epidemiology in the Caribbean region: serological and entomological findings from a pilot sentinel system in Trinidad and Tobago

When monitored by the agar gel immunodiffusion test for antibody to bluetongue viruses, a sentinel flock of twenty-five lambs remained seropositive through the year, whereas in a sentinel herd of twenty calves only two individuals seroconverted and these became negative again within 2 months. A light trap operated with the calf herd yielded high numbers of culicoides insignis Lutz (over 18,000 per trap night) along with C. filariferus Hoffman, C. pusillus Lutz, C. leopoldi Ortiz, C. foxi Ortiz, C. limai Barretto, C. diabolicus Hoffman and C. guyanensis Floch and Abonnenc. Culicoides were trapped at the sheep station which had housed the lambs 3 years following the sentinel study. No virus was isolated from pools of C. insignis, C. filariferus and C. pusillus. Six outer species were collected in insufficient numbers to warrant attempted virus isolations. (AU)

Bluetongue virus and epizootic haemorrhagic disease of deer virus serotypes in northern Colombian cattle.

There is recent evidence of bluetongue (BT) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) virus infection of cattle in the American tropics, including BT group reactive antibody in Colombian cattle. These observations prompted a study to determine serologically the specific BT and EHD virus types present, and time of infection and to collect Culicoides spp. as potential vectors. A prospective study of BT and EHD virus infection was done on two farms in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Sequential sampling of young cattle indicated acquisition of neutralizing antibody to BT virus serotypes 12, 14 and 17, and EHD virus serotypes 1 and 2. Insect captures showed a high association of Culicoides insignis with infected cattle.

A preliminary survey of the epidemiology of bluetongue in Costa Rica and northern Colombia.

Recent evidence of bluetongue (BT) virus infection of livestock in scattered localities in the neotropics prompted a serologic survey of cattle in Colombia and Costa Rica. In Costa Rica 48.1% of 1435 bovine animals had BT virus antibody in the agar gel precipitation test (AGPT). In Colombia 51.8% of 635 cattle were AGPT-positive for BT virus. Antibody prevalence ranged from over 50% in the lowlands to 0% in Costa Rica and 19% in Colombian cattle above 2000 m altitude. Neutralization tests indicated that Costa Rican cattle had been exposed to BT virus types 6, 12, 14 and 17.

Bluetongue virus infection in Costa Rican and Colombian cattle.

Bluetongue virus (BTV) group antibodies are widely distributed in Costa Rica and Northern Colombia; prevalence is highest at lowest altitudes. Clinical evidence of bluetongue (BT) infection in cattle is not seen. Evidence exists of the circulation of BTV serotypes 6 and 14 in Costa Rica and BTV serotype 12, 14 and 17 in Northern Colombia in the period 1981-1983. Culicoides insignis is implicated as a probable vector in Colombia.

Serological survey of ruminants in some Caribbean and South American countries for type-specific antibody to bluetongue and epizootic haemorrhagic disease viruses.

The results of a serological survey of ruminant livestock in some countries of the Caribbean and South America for type-specific antibody to bluetongue virus are reported. Using the microneutralisation test with the international serotypes 1 to 22 of bluetongue virus, antibodies to several types were detected. Analysis of the data indicated that in 1981-82 bluetongue virus types 6, 14 and 17, or viruses closely related to them, were infecting ruminants in this region of the world. Antibody to the related virus of epizootic haemorrhagic disease (serotype 1) was also detected in cattle. The difficulty in interpreting the epidemiological significance of data generated by a serological survey of this kind is discussed.