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Low substrate regulated microaerophilic behavior (LSRMB), as measured by changes in microaerophilic band formation in semi-solid medium, was observed in several aerobic bacteria isolated from subsurface soils, Antarctic dry valley soils, an eutrophic pond, a mesophilic pond, an oligotrophic lake and activated sludge. Similar behavior was also exhibited by five Pseudomonas and two Bacillus type strains from culture collection. Isolates identified with LSRMB formed a typical band of growth below the surface of low substrate (10 mg/l of peptone, tryptone, yeast extract and glucose) semi-solid medium. Surface growth was obtained when the substrate concentration was increased (1000 mg/l of each of the above mentioned substrates). LSRMB was observed in phylogenetically disparate groups, with all the Pseudomonas and two Bacillus species testing positive for the trait. One of the Gram-negative isolates, strain VT10, was identified by phylogenetic analysis based on its 16S rDNA sequence. High 16S rDNA sequence similarity (99%) was observed with the recently discovered Pseudomonas jessenii (CIP 105274T) type strain. Strain VT10 was used as a model to examine this LSRMB, and show the relationship between oxygen stress and low-substrate growth media. The concentration of 17:0 cyclopropane fatty acid, a common stress indicator, increased 5-fold, and four additional proteins were produced when P. jessenii strain VT10 was grown at low-substrate levels and when the dissolved oxygen concentration was increased from 26 microM to 241 microM. The stress responses by P. jessenii could be due its LSRMB. This study shows that low-substrate regulated microaerophilic behavior helps some microorganisms to track the oxygen minima in their habitat and thus effectively move to an environment, which allows them to thrive. In addition to the above mentioned taxis in response to oxygen concentration, organisms may use chemotaxis to a chemical compound. Quantification of chemotaxis can be extremely difficult. To quantify chemotaxis in an easier fashion, a simplified capillary chemotaxis assay, utilizing a hypodermic needle, syringe and disposable pipette tip was developed. The method was applied to two strains of subsurface microaerophilic bacteria. Strain VT10 was chemotactically attracted toward dextrose, glycerol, and phenol, which could be used as sole carbon sources, and toward maltose, which could not be used. The deep subsurface isolate MR100 (phylogenetically related to P. mendocina) showed no tactic response to these compounds although it could use dextrose, maltose, and glycerol as carbon sources. The chemotaxis results obtained by the new method were verified by using the swarm plate assay technique. The simplified technique may be useful for routine chemotactic testing. / Ph. D.

Yes / The Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC) regulates fifteen different professions; some of these are large groups like Physiotherapists and some are much smaller such as Speech and Language Therapists (SLT). Most of the people registered by the HCPC work within their own areas of clinical expertise and defined professional scope of practice. However, an increasing number of registrants are undertaking new or additional roles beyond the traditional scope of practice for the defined profession. These roles are often shared with other medical or health professionals and persons undertaking these roles are often, but not consistently, referred to as Advanced Practitioners. Advanced Practitioners are employed within the NHS across all four countries of the UK and are also employed by private healthcare providers. The roles they undertake vary from the highly specialised (e.g. an advanced podiatrist might specialise in biomechanics) to more general roles with greater professional autonomy and decision-making (e.g. a paramedic working in a GP Practice assessing patients with undifferentiated acute problems). As a result, there is currently no consistency in role title, scope of advanced practice, necessary underpinning education or professional accreditation across the HCPC registered professions. This study was undertaken to explore these issues and seek opinion on the need for additional regulatory measures for persons working at an advanced practice level. NB: For the purposes of this study, advanced practice was considered to encompass all roles, regardless of role title, where the level of practice undertaken was considered to be advanced. Method Three approaches to data collection were undertaken to ensure the differing opinions across all HCPC registered professions, different stakeholders and the four nations of the UK were collected. Data were collected through: 1. A UK wide survey of HCPC registered healthcare professionals; 2. A UK wide survey of organisations delivering AHP & scientific advanced practice education; 3. A series of focus groups and interviews across a range of stakeholder groups. Findings The concept of advanced level practice was not consistently understood or interpreted across the different stakeholder groups. Those participants identifying as working at an advanced practice level undertook a range of activities both within and out with the traditional scope of practice of the registered profession adding a further layer of complexity. Educational support and availability for advanced level practice varied across professional groups and inequity of accessibility and appropriateness of content were raised as concerns. There is no consensus across participant groups on the need for regulation of advanced level practice. Perceived advantages to additional regulation were the consistent and equal educational and employer governance expectations, particularly where multiple professional groups are undertaking the same role, all be it with a differing professional educational foundation and lens. However, while some voices across the participant groups felt regulation was essential to assure practice standards and reduce risk of role title misuse, there was equally a lack of appetite for regulation that inhibited agility to respond to, and reflect, the rapidly changing healthcare environment and evolving scope of advanced level practice. Importantly, no evidence was presented from any participant group that advanced level practice within HCPC regulated professions presents a risk to the public. Conclusion The study data presented in this report reflect the complexity of the concept of advanced practice within the HCPC regulated professions. Much of this is a consequence of the differing speeds of professional role development across healthcare organisations and professional groups, often related to service capacity gaps and locally developed education to support local initiatives. Despite this, there is no clear evidence, based on the findings of this research, that additional regulation of advanced level practice is needed, or desired, to protect the public. However, as the HCPC is one of the few organisations with a UK wide remit, it may have a central role in achieving unification across the 4 nations in relation to the future role expectations, educational standards, and governance of advanced level practice.

<p dir="ltr">The overarching goal of this dissertation is to explore effective learning strategies for improving online learners’ academic performance in the context of educational technology. Specifically, this dissertation consists of an introduction (Chapter 1), a meta-analysis (Chapter 2), two empirical studies (Chapters 3 & 4), and a summary (Chapter 5). The meta-analysis was conducted to address the relationship between online self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies and academic performance in higher education. The results of the meta-analysis revealed a significant summary effect of online SRL strategies on academic performance (<i>k</i> = 28, <i>r</i> = .21). Seven out of the 28 studies focus on the major of education. These results suggested the critical role of online SRL in higher education and directed my online SRL research to education. In the first empirical study, I explored the impact of online SRL strategies on preservice teachers’ (PSTs) learning experiences in educational technology using structural equation modeling. The results of the second study revealed that PSTs’ online SRL strategies significantly mediate the relationship between PSTs’ technology integration self-efficacy and their actual technology competencies. Given the significant role of online SRL in PSTs’ technology use, in the second empirical study, I investigated individual differences (i.e., gender, technology self-efficacy, prior online learning experiences, and teacher education programs) in PSTs’ use of online SRL strategies with multilevel modeling technique. Results highlighted significant variations in online SRL among preservice teachers based on individual characteristics.</p>

O uso assertivo e eficiente das estratégias de aprendizagem depende, muitas vezes, da compreensão e consideração de aspectos psicológicos e motivacionais. O adequado emprego de estratégias de aprendizagem se reflete no desempenho acadêmico, no domínio de construtos e modelos e no amadurecimento crítico e científico. A presente tese defende que há uma relação entre as estratégias de aprendizagem autorregulada e as estratégias de aprendizagem autodeterminada predominantes em alunos de mestrado e doutorado em Contabilidade. O estudo se justifica, porquanto, porque além de inaugurar uma linha de pesquisa ainda inédita no contexto da Contabilidade Humana, seus resultados destacam um original entendimento da relação da aprendizagem com a regulação e a motivação pessoal. Tem como objetivo principal apresentar diagnóstico, dimensões e correlações das estratégias de aprendizagem autorregulada e aprendizagem autodeterminada de alunos de programas de pós-graduação stricto sensu em Contabilidade no Brasil. Participaram do survey 516 respondentes, sendo 383 mestrandos e 133 doutorandos. Foram aplicados dois instrumentos psicométricos: Self-Regulated Learning Strategies (SRLS) e Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). O modelo operacional de pesquisa delineou a formulação de oito hipóteses, sendo que a primeira delas sustenta a defesa da tese, enquanto as demais defendem a influência das variáveis idade, gênero, tipo de curso, estágio no curso, tipo de instituição de graduação, nota do curso atribuída pela Capes e graus de instrução dos pais nos níveis de Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) e Self-Determination Theory (SDT). A partir da análise multivariada dos dados, os resultados corroboraram a tese e a influência do gênero no nível de SRL. A metaconclusão desta tese ratifica os estudos referenciados, confirmando que a aprendizagem pode ser dominada e controlada pelo indivíduo, ao se adotar estratégias individuais de regulação e motivação. Uma importante contribuição desta pesquisa consiste em oferecer conclusões empíricas que podem ajudar docentes, discentes, pesquisadores, instituições de ensino e programas de pós-graduação a compreender mais sistematicamente os aspectos da aprendizagem autorregulada e da aprendizagem autodeterminada que caracterizam o aluno de Contabilidade. Limitações importantes deste estudo podem ser vistas como oportunidades para pesquisas futuras: a amostra envolve um público específico, a pesquisa survey pode apresentar vieses de método comum e a baixa participação de alunos de mestrado profissional. Estudos futuros poderão adotar outras estratégias metodológicas e/ou envolver amostras mais diversificadas ou em maior lastro temporal / Assertive and efficient use of learning strategies often depends of the understanding and consideration of psychological and motivational aspects. Appropriate use of learning strategies is reflected in the academic performance, in the appropriation of constructs and models and in the critical and scientific maturity. This dissertation argues that there is a relationship between predominating self-regulated learning strategies and self-determined learning strategies in accounting master\'s and doctorate students. The study can be justified in view of, apart from inaugurating a research line within the context of Human Accounting, their results highlight a unique understanding of the relationship of learning with regulation and personal motivation. Its main goal is to present a diagnosis, the dimensions and the correlations of self-regulated learning and self-determined learning strategies of graduate Accounting students in Brazil. Five hundred and sixteen respondents participated in the survey, comprising 383 master\'s and 133 doctoral students. Two psychometric instruments were applied: the Self-Regulated Learning Strategies (SRLS) and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The operating model research outlined the formulation of eight hypotheses, being that the first of them supports the thesis, while the others investigate the influence in the levels of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of age, gender, type of course, stage in the course, type of undergraduate institution (public or private), grade attributed by Capes to the course and parental formal education degrees. From the multivariate data analysis,the results support the thesis and that gender has influence in the SRL level. The metaconclusion of this thesis confirms the referenced studies, estating that learning can be dominated and controlled by individuals through the adoption of individual strategies of regulation and motivation. An important contribution of this study is to offer empirical conclusions that might help teachers, students themselves, researchers, educational institutions and graduate programs to understand more systematically the aspects of self-regulated learning and self-determined learning that characterize the Accounting graduate students. The major limitations of the present study can be seen as opportunities for future researches: the sample involves a particular audience, research can provide common methods bias and the low participation of professional master\'s degree students in the sample. Future studies can take further methodological strategies and/or involve more diversified samples or consider longitudinal approaches

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Intensive Forschung hat in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten zu einer sehr detaillierten Charakterisierung des Geschmackssystems der Säugetiere geführt. Dennoch sind mit den bislang eingesetzten Methoden wichtige Fragestellungen unbeantwortet geblieben. Eine dieser Fragen gilt der Unterscheidung von Bitterstoffen. Die Zahl der Substanzen, die für den Menschen bitter schmecken und in Tieren angeborenes Aversionsverhalten auslösen, geht in die Tausende. Diese Substanzen sind sowohl von der chemischen Struktur als auch von ihrer Wirkung auf den Organismus sehr verschieden. Während viele Bitterstoffe potente Gifte darstellen, sind andere in den Mengen, die mit der Nahrung aufgenommen werden, harmlos oder haben sogar positive Effekte auf den Körper. Zwischen diesen Gruppen unterscheiden zu können, wäre für ein Tier von Vorteil. Ein solcher Mechanismus ist jedoch bei Säugetieren nicht bekannt. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Untersuchung der Verarbeitung von Geschmacksinformation in der ersten Station der Geschmacksbahn im Mausgehirn, dem Nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), mit besonderem Augenmerk auf der Frage nach der Diskriminierung verschiedener Bitterstoffe. Zu diesem Zweck wurde eine neue Untersuchungsmethode für das Geschmackssystem etabliert, die die Nachteile bereits verfügbarer Methoden umgeht und ihre Vorteile kombiniert. Die Arc-catFISH-Methode (cellular compartment analysis of temporal activity by fluorescent in situ hybridization), die die Charakterisierung der Antwort großer Neuronengruppen auf zwei Stimuli erlaubt, wurde zur Untersuchung geschmacksverarbeitender Zellen im NTS angewandt. Im Zuge dieses Projekts wurde erstmals eine stimulusinduzierte Arc-Expression im NTS gezeigt. Die ersten Ergebnisse offenbarten, dass die Arc-Expression im NTS spezifisch nach Stimulation mit Bitterstoffen auftritt und sich die Arc exprimierenden Neurone vornehmlich im gustatorischen Teil des NTS befinden. Dies weist darauf hin, dass Arc-Expression ein Marker für bitterverarbeitende gustatorische Neurone im NTS ist. Nach zweimaliger Stimulation mit Bittersubstanzen konnten überlappende, aber verschiedene Populationen von Neuronen beobachtet werden, die unterschiedlich auf die drei verwendeten Bittersubstanzen Cycloheximid, Chininhydrochlorid und Cucurbitacin I reagierten. Diese Neurone sind vermutlich an der Steuerung von Abwehrreflexen beteiligt und könnten so die Grundlage für divergentes Verhalten gegenüber verschiedenen Bitterstoffen bilden. / Intense research in the past decades has led to a detailed understanding of the mammalian taste system. Some important issues, however, have remained unanswered with the established methods that have been applied so far. One of these questions is whether different bitter substances can be distinguished. There are thousands of compounds which taste bitter to humans and elicit innate aversive behavior in animals. Moreover, these bitter substances are very heterogeneous regarding their structure as well as their effect on the organism. While many bitter tastants are potent poisons, others are harmless or even have beneficial effects in the amounts that are typically ingested. The ability to discriminate between those groups of bitter tastants could be an evolutionary advantage. Such a mechanism, however, is not known for mammals. The aim of this thesis was to study the processing of taste information in the first station of gustatory processing in the mouse brain, the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). Of particular interest was the question concerning discrimination of bitter tastants. To this end a new method was established for the taste system combining the advantages of methods used before while circumventing their disadvantages. The Arc catFISH method (cellular compartment analysis of temporal activity by fluorescent in situ hybridization), which allows the characterization of responses of large neuron populations to two stimuli, was used to analyze taste-processing cells in the NTS. In the course of this project a stimulus-induced Arc expression in the NTS was shown for the first time. The results demonstrated that Arc expression in the NTS appears specifically after stimulation with bitter tastants and that the Arc expressing neurons are located primarily in the gustatory part of the NTS. This indicates that Arc expression is a marker for bitter-processing gustatory neurons in the NTS. Upon stimulating twice with bitter compounds, distinct, yet overlapping neuron populations were identified, that reacted differently to the three bitter substances cycloheximide, quinine hydrochloride, and cucurbitacin I. Presumably these neurons are involved in the regulation of aversive reflexes and could form a basis for divergent behavior towards different bitter substances.