Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are key partners in the education of undergraduates. Given the potentially large impact GTAs can have on undergraduate student learning, it is important to provide ...them with appropriate preparation for teaching. But GTAs are students themselves, and not all of them desire to pursue an academic career. Fully integrating GTA preparation into the professional development of graduate students lowers the barrier to engagement so that all graduate students may benefit from the opportunity to explore teaching and its applications to many potential career paths. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a GTA preparation course for first-year Ph.D. students at the Georgia Tech School of Physics. Through a yearly cycle of implementation and revision, guided by the 3P framework we developed (pedagogy, physics, professional development), the course has evolved into a robust and comprehensive professional development program that is well received by physics graduate students.
Glioblastoma multiforme, the most common form of malignant brain tumor,is resistant to all forms of therapy and causes death within 9-12 months of diagnosis. Glioblastomas are known to contain ...numerous genetic and physiological alterations affecting cell survival and proliferation; one of the most common alterations being platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) autocrine signaling characterized by coexpression of PDGF and its receptor. The PDGF family consists of four members, PDGF-A, -B, -C, and -D, that signal through the alpha and beta PDGF receptor (PDGFR) tyrosine kinases. Numerous studies have demonstrated expression of PDGF-A, PDGF-B, and the PDGFRs in gliomablastomas, but such studies have not been conducted for the newly identified PDGF-C and -D. Therefore, we examined the expression of all PDGF ligands and receptors in 11 glioma cell lines and 5 primary glioblastoma tumor tissues by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Expression of PDGF/PDGFR pairs that are known to functionally interact were identified in all of the samples. Interestingly, PDGF-C expression was ubiquitous in brain tumor cells and tissues but was very low or absent in normal adult and fetal brain. PDGF-D was expressed in 10 of 11 brain tumor cell lines and 3 of 5 primary brain tumor samples. As a strategy for blocking PDGFR signaling, CT52923, a potent selective small molecule piperazinyl quinazoline kinase inhibitor of the PDGFR, was identified. In model systems using NIH/3T3 cells, CT52923 blocked PDGF autocrine-mediated phosphorylation of PDGFR, Akt, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), while having no effect on v-fms or V12-ras-mediated Akt or extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (Erk) phosphorylation. More importantly, p.o. administration of CT52923 to nude mice caused a significant 61% reduction (P < 0.006) in tumor growth of NIH/3T3 cells transformed by PDGF, whereas tumor formation by cells expressing v-fms was unaffected. We next characterized PDGF autocrine signaling in five glioblastoma cell lines. In all of the cases, PDGF autocrine signaling was evident because treatment with 1-10 microM CT52923 inhibited PDGFR autophosphorylation when present at a detectable level and blocked downstream Akt and/or Erk phosphorylation. The functional significance of PDGF autocrine signaling in these cells was demonstrated by the fact that the CT52923 inhibited soft agar colony formation, and, when given p.o. to nude mice, it effectively reduced tumor formation by 44% (P < 0.0019) after s.c. injection of C6 glioblastoma cells. This study of glioblastoma cells and primary tissues is the first to implicate PDGF-C and -D in brain tumor formation and confirms the existence of autocrine signaling by PDGF-A and -B. More importantly, treatment with the PDGFR antagonist CT52923 inhibited survival and/or mitogenic pathways in all of the glioblastoma cell lines tested and prevented glioma formation in a nude mouse xenograft model. Together these findings demonstrate the potential therapeutic utility of this class of compounds for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Inquiry-based teaching approaches are increasingly being adopted in biology laboratories. Yet teaching assistants (TAs), often novice teachers, teach the majority of laboratory courses in US research ...universities. This study analyzed the perspectives of TAs and their students and used classroom observations to uncover challenges faced by TAs during their first year of inquiry-based teaching. Our study revealed three insights about barriers to effective inquiry teaching practices: 1) TAs lack sufficient facilitation skills; 2) TAs struggle to share control over learning with students as they reconcile long-standing teaching beliefs with newly learned approaches, consequently undermining their fledgling ability to use inquiry approaches; and 3) student evaluations reinforce teacher-centered behaviors as TAs receive positive feedback conflicting with inquiry approaches. We make recommendations, including changing instructional feedback to focus on learner-centered teaching practices. We urge TA mentors to engage TAs in discussions to uncover teaching beliefs underlying teaching choices and support TAs through targeted feedback and practice.
This research provides information related to the use of data analytic tools for preventing and detecting COVID-19 pandemic frauds. The IRS-CI (Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation) ...Agency continues to conduct investigations involving billions with these frauds. With the data analytic tools, people can be stopped from fraudulently taking advantage the government during critical life or death times.
Up to 30% of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients harbor an activating internal tandem duplication (ITD) within the juxtamembrane domain of the FLT3 receptor, suggesting that it may be a target ...for kinase inhibitor therapy. For this purpose we have developed CT53518, a potent antagonist that inhibits FLT3, platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), and c-Kit (IC
50 ∼200 nM), while other tyrosine or serine/threonine kinases were not significantly inhibited. In Ba/F3 cells expressing different FLT3-ITD mutants, CT53518 inhibited IL-3-independent cell growth and FLT3-ITD autophosphorylation with an IC
50 of 10–100 nM. In human FLT3-ITD-positive AML cell lines, CT53518 induced apoptosis and inhibited FLT3-ITD phosphorylation, cellular proliferation, and signaling through the MAP kinase and PI3 kinase pathways. Therapeutic efficacy of CT53518 was demonstrated both in a nude mouse model and in a murine bone marrow transplant model of FLT3-ITD-induced disease.
Odessa, Texas experienced a tragic mass shooting on August 31, 2019 and the shooter was an oilfield services employee who had just been fired. The purpose of this research is to simply share some of ...the experiences to let others learn from the lessons associated with this tragedy. It is important to think about the possibilities and to try to prevent these work-related tragedies from also expanding to the general public.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination in all educational institutions which receive federal grants. More than 50 years after passage of the law, the gender and salary ...composition of athletes and coaches has remained relatively uninvestigated. In this paper, we analyze the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) with a goal to promoting Title IX compliance in the Men's top ten basketball program and the women's top ten basketball program. Our analysis reveals statistically significant differences in both salary and revenue compositions of the two programs.
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