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First Module (first + module)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Chemistry	42%

Selected Abstracts

Instructional Tools in Educational Measurement and Statistics (ITEMS) for School Personnel: Evaluation of Three Web-Based Training Modules

EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 2 2008
Rebecca Zwick
In the current No Child Left Behind era, K-12 teachers and principals are expected to have a sophisticated understanding of standardized test results, use them to improve instruction, and communicate them to others. The goal of our project, funded by the National Science Foundation, was to develop and evaluate three Web-based instructional modules in educational measurement and statistics to help school personnel acquire the "assessment literacy" required for these roles. Our first module, "What's the Score?" was administered in 2005 to 113 educators who also completed an assessment literacy quiz. Viewing the module had a small but statistically significant positive effect on quiz scores. Our second module, "What Test Scores Do and Don't Tell Us," administered in 2006 to 104 educators, was even more effective, primarily among teacher education students. In evaluating our third module, "What's the Difference?" we were able to recruit only 33 participants. Although those who saw the module before taking the quiz outperformed those who did not, results were not statistically significant. Now that the research phase is complete, all ITEMS instructional materials are freely available on our Website. [source]

A pilot-scale demonstration of a membrane-based absorption- stripping process for removal and recovery of volatile organic compounds

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 1 2001
S. Majumdar
A new membrane-based continuous absorption-stripping process has been developed to separate gas/vapor mixtures, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), from a nitrogen/air stream. Two different hollow fiber membrane modules are needed in this process to remove the VOCs. In the first module, VOC-laden nitrogen/air stream flows through the bore of the hollow fibers. A suitable absorbent liquid with a high solubility for the VOC and essentially no solubility for nitrogen/air is pumped countercurrently over the outside of the fibers. This liquid is an inert, nontoxic, and essentially nonvolatile, organic solvent. The VOCs are effectively removed from nitrogen/air to a very low level and are concentrated in the absorbent for recovery, while the absorbent is regenerated by heating and subjecting it to vacuum in a separate hollow fiber membrane module called the stripping module. A pilot-scale membrane-based absorption-stripping unit was located next to a paint spray booth at Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA. Tests were performed on slip-streams of real-time air emissions from scheduled intermittent painting operations, so the concentration of VOC in the exhaust air fluctuated with time. The VOC removal efficiency was determined as a function of the feed air flow rate and the absorbent (silicone oil) flow rate. Depending on the gas/liquid flow rates and the inlet VOC concentration, the process successfully removed as much as 95+% of the VOC present. The experimental results have been compared with theoretical predictions. [source]

Characterization of a comparative model of the extracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor

PROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 2 2000
Robert N. Jorissen
Abstract The Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) receptor is a tyrosine kinase that mediates the biological effects of ligands such as EGF and transforming growth factor alpha. An understanding of the molecular basis of its action has been hindered by a lack of structural and mutational data on the receptor. We have constructed comparative models of the four extracellular domains of the EGF receptor that are based on the structure of the first three domains of the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptor. The first and third domains of the EGF receptor, L1 and L2, are right-handed beta helices. The second and fourth domains of the EGF receptor, S1 and S2, consist of the modules held together by disulfide bonds, which, except for the first module of the S1 domain, form rod-like structures. The arrangement of the L1 and S1 domains of the model are similar to that of the first two domains of the IGF-1 receptor, whereas that of the L2 and S2 domains appear to be significantly different. Using the EGF receptor model and limited information from the literature, we have proposed a number of regions that may be involved in the functioning of the receptor. In particular, the faces containing the large beta sheets in the L1 and L2 domains have been suggested to be involved with ligand binding of EGF to its receptor. [source]

Geriatric Emergency Medicine Educational Module: Abdominal Pain in the Older Adult

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2009
Lowell Gerson
The Society for Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Geriatrics Task Force has created an instructional tool to address the complaint of abdominal pain in older adults presenting to the emergency department (ED). This is the first module in a comprehensive, web-based geriatric emergency medicine curriculum that will address common syndromes in older adults presenting to the ED. There is no formal, residency-based curriculum in geriatric emergency medicine and there is a paucity of geriatric Continuing Medical Education (CME) opportunities for practicing emergency physicians. The amount, quality, and convenience of geriatrics training available to emergency physicians is insufficient. This educational gap is particularly concerning given the ever-growing volume of older adult emergency patients. The Task Force chose to focus first on geriatric abdominal pain because a survey of emergency physicians in the mid 1990s found that it is one of the most difficult complaints to evaluate and manage. The module comprises of six clinical cases with a pre- and post-test. Together, these cases encompass the broad differential diagnosis for geriatric abdominal pain and the core medical knowledge pertaining to the subject. The modules will expose the learner, through either content or modeling, to the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies and to the Principles of Geriatric Emergency Medicine including rapid evaluation of functional status, communication skills, and consideration of the effect of polypharmacy and co-morbidity on the presenting complaint. This module will be available to residency programs as an "asynchronous educational session" via the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) website as well as to practicing emergency physicians via the SAEM and American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) websites. [source]

Myxovirescin A Biosynthesis is Directed by Hybrid Polyketide Synthases/Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase, 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl,CoA Synthases, and trans-Acting Acyltransferases

CHEMBIOCHEM, Issue 8 2006
Vesna Simunovic M.S.
Abstract Myxococcus xanthus DK1622 is shown to be a producer of myxovirescin (antibiotic TA) antibiotics. The myxovirescin biosynthetic gene cluster spans at least 21 open reading frames (ORFs) and covers a chromosomal region of approximately 83 kb. In silico analysis of myxovirescin ORFs in conjunction with genetic studies suggests the involvement of four type I polyketide synthases (PKSs; TaI, TaL, TaO, and TaP), one major hybrid PKS/NRPS (Ta-1), and a number of monofunctional enzymes similar to the ones involved in type II fatty-acid biosyntesis (FAB). Whereas deletion of either taI or taL causes a dramatic drop in myxovirescin production, deletion of both genes (,taIL) leads to the complete loss of myxovirescin production. These results suggest that both TaI and TaL PKSs might act in conjunction with a methyltransferase, reductases, and a monooxygenase to produce the 2-hydroxyvaleryl,S,ACP starter that is proposed to act as the biosynthetic primer in the initial condensation reaction with glycine. Polymerization of the remaining 11 acetates required for lactone formation is directed by 12 modules of Ta-1, TaO, and TaP megasynthetases. All modules, except for the first module of TaL, lack cognate acyltransferase (AT) domains. Furthermore, deletion of a discrete tandem AT,encoded by taV,blocks myxovirescin production; this suggests an "in trans" mode of action. To embellish the macrocycle with methyl and ethyl moieties, assembly of the myxovirescin scaffold is proposed to switch twice from PKS to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl,CoA (HMG,CoA)-like biochemistry during biosynthesis. Disruption of the S -adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase, TaQ, shifts production toward two novel myxovirescin analogues, designated myxovirescin Qa and myxovirescin Qc. NMR analysis of purified myxovirescin Qa revealed the loss of the methoxy carbon atom. This novel analogue lacks bioactivity against E. coli. [source]

9 A Communication Tool for Emergency Medicine Residents to Improve Patient Care and Professional Development

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2008
Jacqueline Mahal
For every patient in the ED, a web of communication is created. A resident is at the center of this web , connecting team members in and outside the ED. Careful communication, a required ACGME competency, helps the team provide safe, high-quality care and master their respective specialties. We designed a three module curriculum that supports ACGME core competencies by providing training in professional communication and a framework with which to organize patient data. In the first module, residents are introduced to the concept that there is more to communication than content alone. Other elements include context, audience and forum. Together, these components comprise relevant communication. The second module introduces the Disposition, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, Safety (D-SBARS) Framework, an ED modification of The Joint Commission's communication tool. This framework will enable the resident to focus on communicating the relevant data for a particular audience in an appropriate manner. In the last module, residents participate in a case-based role-play. After presentation of a complicated patient, residents are each assigned a communication task. They communicate with attendings, ED staff and consultants. Each role is played by senior residents. Finally, participants deliver presentations to the on-coming team on "rounds" under time constraints, declining from two minutes to 30 seconds. Residents experience how the D-SBARS tool helps them communicate critical clinical and safety. [source]

Minimum Reporting Requirements for Proteomics: A MIAPE Primer

PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue S2 2006
Chris F. Taylor Dr.Article first published online: 9 OCT 200
Amongst other functions, the Human Proteome Organization's Proteomics Standards Initiative (HUPO PSI) facilitates the generation by the proteomics community of guidelines that specify the appropriate level of detail to provide when describing the various components of a proteomics experiment. These guidelines are codified as the MIAPE (Minimum Information About a Proteomics Experiment) specification, the first modules of which are now finalized. This primer describes the structure and scope of MIAPE, places it in context amongst reporting specifications for other domains, briefly discusses related informatics resources and closes by considering the ramifications for the proteomics community. [source]