<p> The purpose of this qualitative explanatory multi-case study was to examine childcare workers&rsquo; perceptions about the use of developmentally appropriate practices within private toddler and preschool classrooms. The problem was that some child care workers have a master&rsquo;s or bachelor&rsquo;s degree in another field not related to early childhood education, which may result in a lack of knowledge regarding child growth and development and the use of developmentally inappropriate practices in toddler and preschool classrooms. The theoretical framework for this qualitative multi-case study was based on the contributions from the field of developmental psychology and neuroscience. Data collection included semi-structured one-on-one interviews, a focus group, and documentation which included photographs of participants&rsquo; classrooms, sample lesson plans, and children&rsquo;s work samples from 16 child care workers in Northern New Jersey. Transcribed interviews were imported to NVivo 12 Pro. NVivo 12 Pro was used to manage and organize transcribed data and assign codes, which led to emerging themes. Three themes emerged: (a) preparing children so they would not be behind in kindergarten or for the next teacher; (b) curriculum and the age level approach; and (c) qualifications, knowledge, and training. Recommendations may lead to better monitoring of child care center programs to ensure that program activities are appropriate according to age and developmental level of the children. Recommendations may also lead to training models for child care center directors and child care workers. </p><p>

The aim of this project is to investigate genetic mechanisms of early development of vertebrate embryos using model fish species. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and medaka (Orizias latipes) have been used extensively for molecular genetics and developmental biology studies because these fish produce many eggs, which can be manipulated from the 1 cell stage and are ideally suited for analysing gene expression, function, and embryonic phenotypes. These species have already been extensively used to generate many mutants which show clear phenotypes during early embryonic development. The development of other model species for mutant screening and analyses is likely to provide scope to analyse gene function from uncharacterised/under-characterised genes. Therefore we have developed and tested a small number of early developmental mutants from the mangrove killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus). To achieve my aim, embryos from zebrafish, medaka and the mangrove killifish have been used as models to study gene function and understand the molecular mechanisms for early patterning genes. We focused in particular on development of neural ectoderm and non-neural ectoderm (epidermis) and anterior-posterior patterning (head, trunk and tail development). As different model animals have different advantages, we used these model animals for different purposes. Zebrafish and medaka were used with chemical treatment (specific inhibitors of target genes) and morpholino analyses because they give many synchronized eggs every morning allowing highly replicated analyses. On the other hand, the mangrove killifish were used for developing and testing novel mutants and associated loss (or gain) of gene function. Firstly, zebrafish was used to study maternal fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling at pre-maternal zygotic transition (Pre-MZT) and consequent neural induction at the gastrula stage (Chapter 3). This study found the important role of acquiring maternal FGF signaling in stem cells to achieve neural induction during the zygotic gene expression stage. An FGF signaling inhibitor SU5402 was tested using RNA–seq, ATAC-seq, in.situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry methods. Through these techniques, we found that the maternal FGF signaling provides competence to the ectodermal stem cells for neural induction possibly via epigenetic modification of histone trimethylation. To examine the role of a specific FGF molecule (FGF2), gene knockdown was conducted to study fgf2 gene function during early development in zebrafish (Chapter 4). In situ hybridization and immunostaining with tissue-specific markers at the gastrula stage were used to discover a novel role for fgf2 in development of the epidermis. The final stage of my project involved characterization of mutations underlying two mutant phenotypes (short tail/stl and ball tail/stl), that exhibit defects in tail development using the self-fertilizing mangrove killifish (Chapter 5). Using a small scale RNA-seq, the mutated genes responsible for the stl and btl mutations were instantly identified as noto and msgn1 respectively. The mutant phenotype was phenocopied by morpholino injections in medaka. This study revealed crucial roles of the two genes in tail bud development. Defects of these genes affected the motility of progenitor cells in the tail bud by suppressing cell translocation to the axial mesoderm in the noto mutation and to the paraxial mesoderm in the msgn1 mutation. The study demonstrated similarity of gene function and redundancy in the mangrove killifish and medaka that is different from the function of these genes in zebrafish, revealing the importance of research on different model animals to fully characterise the gene function. From these data, it can be considered that mangrove killifish is very powerful model for mutation screening, suggesting that this animal model can be applied in various genetic studies alongside or in addition to other vertebrate models.

Dynamic assessment represents an opportunity for educational psychologists to utilise a play-based approach for assessing the functional behaviour of children who struggle to perform in formal testing situations (Tzuriel, 2000; Hill, 2015). A systematic literature review aims to evaluate available empirical research on the use of dynamic assessment approaches within the early years to provide a clearer view of the evidence for their use and to support educational psychologists' development of such approaches within their professional practice. The review of this evidence indicated mixed results for the usefulness of dynamic assessment in the early years phase and warranted closer inspection of the use of dynamic assessment by educational psychologists. In the empirical project, a purposive convenience sample was used. Two practising educational psychologists were interviewed using semi structured interview schedules and observed delivering dynamic assessment in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis and a content analysis was used to analyse the videoed observations. The findings of this empirical project highlight the type and level of mediation required for dynamic assessment of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage; how educational psychologists evaluate the usefulness of dynamic assessment for assessing and identifying the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage; and the implications of dynamic assessment for intervention for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Implications are discussed for promoting the use of dynamic assessment among educational psychologists as a useful tool for assessment of children in the early years age phase.

In approaching the scientific literature on the UNESCO world heritage site of Palmyra for the first time, any scholar would be immediately struck by the number of studies devoted to the Roman phase of the settlement – roughly 1st-third quarter of the 3rd century. By contrast, contributions on late antique and early Islamic Palmyra have never been numerous, reflecting both the preference granted by current scholarship to the study of Roman remains and the paucity of archaeological and written evidence at our disposal to cast light on this period. Admittedly, works on post-273 Palmyra have grown significantly in number in the last couple of decades. Yet, almost the totality of them has often been confined to the examination of items of circumstantial evidence. We still lack an organic publication that attempts a systematic overview of these works and tries to contextualise the history of the city in a broader geographic and chronological framework. Numerous questions, such as the fate of the city in the 5th century, remain to be answered; other evidence, such as the bulk of early Arabic written sources, still has to be fully explored. This dissertation presents an examination of those evidence that are useful to better understand the historical development of the settlement from the fall of Zenobia and the second Palmyrene revolt (272-273) to the collapse of the Umayyad caliphate (750). The civilian and military character of the city is investigated through the analysis of specific themes for which enough evidence is available to work with. Besides written sources and published archaeological evidence, archival material is used to cast more light on a selected number of specific items of evidence. The final output of this study is to present a comprehensive history of the post-Roman settlement to be taken as a starting point for future discussion on the topic.

This dissertation analyzes cultural attitudes and modes of reception of Christian antiquity and Early Christian art in late sixteenth-century post-Tridentine Rome, and its effects on the antiquarian, historical, and artistic culture of the time. It challenges the established scholarly paradigm that Christian archaeology was an apologetic discipline and the by-product of Catholic ideology, and argues instead that the discovery and investigation of Christian antiquity was instrumental to the critical reappraisal of the methods of classical historical scholarship, leading to a fundamental revolution in both historical and antiquarian method, and artistic taste. With their unrefined formal qualities, rather unappealing to eyes still accustomed to Renaissance style, Early Christian artifacts played a fundamental role in establishing less narrow criteria to approach and assess art beyond the classical canon, paving the way for a new and more favorable evaluation of art objects hitherto ignored when not despised.

The Khārijites are usually regarded as the first faction to separate from the early Islamic community. They are viewed as rebels and heretics, constituting the first sect within early Islam. This thesis seeks to examine the narrative role and function of Khārijism in the historiographical tradition of the formative period of Islam. To that end, it looks at the major Islamic chronicles of the 3rd and 4th centuries AH/9th and 10th centuries CE and investigates their portrayal of Khārijite history. The analysis covers the period from the apparent emergence of the Khārijites at the Battle of Ṣiffīn in 37 AH/657 CE until the death of the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān in 86 AH/705 CE. The thesis’ methodological approach is based on the premise that the historiographical works under study need to be approached as literary artefacts, as texts rather than databanks that can be mined for hard facts in order to reconstruct early Islamic and thus Khārijite history ‘as it really was’. This literary analysis of the source material on Khārijism leads to two major conclusions: first, there is hardly any narrative substance to the Khārijites as presented in the sources. Instead, the reports on Khārijite activities are mostly made up of structural components such as names and dates on the one hand, and topoi and schemata on the other. Consequently, no distinct and tangible identity, literary or otherwise, emerges from the material, pointing out the pitfalls of positivist approaches to Khārijite history and by extension early Islamic history in general. This phenomenon is directly connected to the second conclusion: the historiographical sources approach Khārijism not as an end in itself, but as a narrative tool with which to illustrate, discuss and criticize other actors and subject matters. The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapters One and Two address those characteristics of and topoi in the representation of Khārijism that pervade the source material across the entire period investigated here. It emerges that the historiographers’ major concern in the depiction of Khārijism is the discussion of the perils of the rebels’ militant piety that threatens the unity and stability of the Islamic community. Chapters Three to Five look at the periods of ʿAlī’s caliphate, Muʿāwiya’s rule and the second fitna as well as t he reign of ʿAbd al-Malik, respectively, and identify the specific narrative purposes of Khārijism in the portrayal of each period. Chapter Six offers a number of observations on the early historiographical tradition as derived from the analysis over the preceding five chapters, addressing issues such as whether it makes sense to distinguish between proto-Sunnī and proto-Shīʿī sources. The Conclusion summarizes the main findings of this thesis and provides some suggestions regarding future research on Khārijite history and thought as well as early Islamic history in general.

Um problema importante na heveicultura é o seu longo período de imaturidade. A explotação precoce pode reduzi-lo, porém, o seu efeito a longo prazo não é bem conhecido. O objetivo do presente estudo foi de investigar a factibilidade da explotação precoce da seringueira e avaliar diferentes sistemas de explotação. Foram explotadas árvores com perímetro do tronco entre 36 e 41 cm e sua produção e crescimento comparados com daqueles em plantas sem explotação. Quando todas as plantas do experimento atingiram perímetro de tronco de aproximadamente 45 cm, foram explotadas pelo sistema convencional 1/2S d/3 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y. O delineamento experimental adotado foi inteiramente casualizado, com uma planta por parcela. O experimento 1 foi conduzido em Nhandeara-SP, com 25 repectições por tratamento, durante 17 meses de explotação precoce e três anos de explotação convencional. Os sistemas de explotação precoce foram: tratamento 1, 1/4S d/3 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y, sangria matinal; tratamento 2, 1/2S d/7 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y, sangria matinal; tratamento 3, 1/2S d/7 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y, sangria vespertina; tratamento 4 6PI 70x1 d/2 6d/7 10m/y ET 5% Ga 1/1 10/y, sangria matinal. No experimento 2, conduzido em Rio Claro-SP, com 20 repetições, durante um ano de explotação precoce e um ano de convencional, repetiu-se o tratamento 1. As produções obtidas no experimento 1, na fase de explotação precoce, foram similares entre os tratamentos 1, 2 e 4, com aproximadamente 1,2 kg de borracha por árvore, porém significativamente menor no tratamento 3, com aproximadamente 0,9 kg por árvore. Durante o mesmo período as produções em g por árvore por sangria foram maiores no tratamento 2 (22,6 g) e 3 (18,82 g), do que no tratamento 1 (14,41 g) e 4 (8,97 g), diminuindo com o aumento da frequencia de sangria. A produção acumulada, nos 4,5 anos de explotação precoce e convencional, foi maior no tratamento 1 (7,92 kg) do que no controle (5,95 kg). Os outros tratamentos de explotação precoce tiveram um resultado intermediário. O incremento do perímetro do tronco durante a fase precoce foi significativamente menor nos tratamentos 3 e 4, em comparação com os outros tratamentos e o controle. Entretanto, durante a fase convencional, o incremento de perímetro de tronco de todos os tratamentos foi comparável ao do controle. O índice de colheita teve valores similares em todos os sistemas de explotação precoce, porém o tratamento 1 resultou em um valor para o \"fator de perda de biomassa\" (k) muito menor do que o dos outros tratamentos (entre 0,109 e 0,1794). No experimento 2, a produção obtida durante a explotação precoce foi de aproximadamente 0,85 kg por árvore. Durante o mesmo período, a produção por árvore por corte foi de 13,31 g e comparável com aquela do experimento 1. As produções obtidas durante o primeiro ano de explotação convencional no tratamento 1 (1,52 kg) e no controle (1,15 kg) foram bastante similares àquelas dos mesmos tratamentos no experimento 1, respectivamente, 1,53 kg e 1,08 kg. Durante as fases precoce e convencional, o incremento de perímetro de tronco foi igual no tratamento 1 e no controle. O coeficiente de colheita no tratamento 1 foi similar àquele observado no experimento 1, enquanto que o \"fator de perda de biomassa\" (k) foi maior. As principais conclusões foram: 1. O sistema de explotação precoce do tratamento 1 possibilita uma produção prévia de borracha, a níveis satisfatórios, mantendo um crescimento adequado das plantas. Pela sua capacidade, em ambientes diferentes, de produção precoce sem prejuízo permanente para as plantas, pode ser recomendado para uso em seringais comerciais. 2. Os sistemas de explotação precoce dos tratamentos 2, 3 e 4 possibilitam uma produção prévia de borracha, a níveis satisfatórios, porém reduzem o crescimento das plantas. / One major problem of rubber cultivation is the long immature period. Premature exploitation may reduce it, however, its long term effects are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of premature exploitation of rubber, and evaluate different exploitation systems. Trees of about 36 to 41 cm of girth were tapped with premature exploitation systems, and their yield and growth were compared to untapped control trees. When all experimental trees reached approximately 45 cm of girth, they were converted to conventional tapping 1/2S d/3 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y. The experiments were arranged in a complete randomized design, with one tree per plot. Experiment 1 was carried out in Nhandeara-SP, with 25 replications for each treatment, during 17 months of premature and three years of conventional exploitation. The premature systems included: treatment 1, 1/4S d/3 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y, morning tapping; treatment 2, 1/2S d/7 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y, morning tapping; treatment 3, 1/2S d/7 6d/7 10m/y ET 2.5% La/Pa 1/1 5/y, afternoon tapping; treatment 4 6PI 70x1 d/2 6d/7 10m/y ET 5% Ga 1/1 10/y, morning tapping. In experiment 2, carried out in Rio Claro-SP, with 20 replications, during one year of premature and one year of conventional tapping, treatment 1 was repeated. In experiment 1, yield obtained during premature exploitation, was similar between treatment 1, 2 and 4, with about 1.2 kg of rubber per tree, but significantly lower in treatment 3 with approximately 0.9 kg per tree. During the same period, yield in terms of g per tree per tapping, was higher in treatment 2 (22.6 g) and 3 (18.82 g), than in treatment 1 (14.41 g) and 4 (8.97 g), declining with increased tapping frequency. Cumulative yield obtained over 4,5 years of premature and conventional exploitation was higher in treatment 1 (7.92 kg) than in the control (5.95 kg). The other treatments with premature exploitation had an intermediate result. The girth increment during premature phase was significantly lower in treatment 3 and 4, compared to other treatments and control. However, during the conventional phase, girth increment of all treatments was comparable to the control. Harvest index values were similar in all premature exploitation systems, but treatment 1 resulted in a much lower value (0.019) for the \'factor of biomass loss\' (k) than the other treatments (0.109 to 0.1794). In experiment 2, yield obtained during premature exploitation in treatment 1 was approximately 0.85 kg per tree. During the same period, yield per tree per tapping was 13.31 g thus comparable to that in experiment 1. Yields obtained during the first year of conventional exploitation in treatment 1 (1.52 kg) and in control (1.15 kg) were very similar to the yields in those treatments in experiment 1, respectively 1.53 kg and 1.08 kg. During premature and conventional phases girth increment was equal in treatment 1 and control. Harvest index in treatment 1 was similar to that in experiment 1, whereas the \'factor of biomass loss\' (k) was higher (0.098). The main conclusions were: 1. The premature exploitation system of treatment 1 gives a reasonable yield and maintains appropriate tree growth. Because its capacity, in different environments, to antecipate yield without permanent damage to the trees, this system may be recommended for use in commercial rubber plantations. 2. The premature exploitation systems of treatments 2, 3 and 4 give reasonable yield, but cause growth retardation.

The majority of women with ovarian cancer (OC) have advanced disease at diagnosis and 5-year survival rates of less than 25%. Women with stage I disease have significantly better 5-year survival rates of over 90%. Recent large studies using CA 125 and transvaginal ultrasound have failed to improve mortality in a screened population. There is therefore a pressing need for new diagnostic biomarkers in OC. The primary aim of my project, as a first step in developing a diagnostic circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) biomarker for high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), was to investigate low-cost high-throughput next generation sequencing assays in plasma samples collected from women with newly diagnosed OC. The secondary aim was to apply these methods to other non-invasive samples including cervical liquid based cytology samples that might contribute to earlier diagnosis or screening for women with OC. ctDNA was detected in 30-49% of women with newly diagnosed OC from the UKOPS (n=54) and CTCR-OV04 (n=156) cohorts using targeted sequencing. Using the trimmed median absolute deviation (t-MAD) score, a quantitative measure of genome wide copy number aberration generated from shallow whole genome sequencing (sWGS) data, ctDNA was detected in 39-41% of the women with newly diagnosed disease. To improve sensitivity of ctDNA detection I developed an optimised method for targeted sequencing that has the potential to lower the limit of detection of ctDNA in HGSOC by 100 fold. I have also shown that the size profile of HGSOC ctDNA fragments is different to that of wildtype DNA fragments and shown that selecting for DNA fragments between 90-150 bp can increase rates of ctDNA detection in HGSOC. ctDNA detection increased to 53-67% of women with newly diagnosed OC using the size selected t-MAD score. I have evaluated the utility of cervical sampling for earlier diagnosis of OC by testing and optimising DNA extraction, library preparation and sequencing methods. I have detected tumour DNA in routine cervical cytology samples collected from women subsequently diagnosed with cervical and endometrial cancers. In summary I have developed methods for ctDNA detection in women with newly diagnosed HGSOC that can be applied and refined in larger prospective studies of women undergoing follow-up for treated HGSOC, women with symptoms suggestive of OC and women at high risk of OC.

The late blight pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, is the most destructive pathogen of its solanaceous hosts potato and tomato. It is a threat to global food security and it is therefore important to understand the cellular and molecular dynamics underlying colonisation of its host plants. This greater understanding will inform strategies to improve host plant resistance. In addition to studying the cell biology of the interaction, it is important to understand the temporal changes in gene expression and regulation during host-pathogen interactions at the earliest infection time points. Previously published transcriptomic studies of P. infestans used two days post infection (dpi) as the earliest sampling time point. Expression of a marker gene (Hmp1) for biotrophy and a selection of effector coding genes has been reported as early as 12 hours post inoculation (hpi), suggesting that infection was initiated before then. Transcriptomic studies of P. infestans have focussed mostly on leaf tissue, and there is still a lack of research on the transcriptome of P. infestans grown in alternative plant tissues such as tubers, or in host cell-free apoplastic fluid. This thesis explores transcriptomic studies of the early, biotrophic stages of potato infection by Phytophthora infestans, which is critical for understanding which genes are involved at what stages of infection development. By using the latest sensitive microarray technology to study the P. infestans transcriptome in an infection time course that remained biotrophic for its duration, a list of 1,707 transcripts of P. infestans were discovered to be differentially expressed. This list included 114 transcripts for RxLR effectors, out of which 26 were detected from 12 hours post infection, including: Avr2, Avr3a, Avrblb1 (ipi01), Avrblb2, and the recently characterised RD2. Also of interest was that transcripts encoding a PAMP (CBEL) detected at 12 hours, were suppressed in the pathogen by 24 hours. Transcripts encoding 55 RxLR effectors were co-expressed (with &gt;95 % correlation coefficient) with the biotrophy marker gene Hmp1, suggesting that these effectors are important throughout the biotrophic stages of infection. QRT-PCR and cell biology data supported the expression of the biotrophy marker gene Hmp1 as early as 12 hours after infection and this was further supported by the co-expression of avirulence genes such as Avr2 and Avr3a. A set of 17 transcripts, including six cytoplasmic effectors (RxLR effectors), as well as a transcript encoding an apoplastic effector (glucanase inhibitor), was found to be infection-specific, supporting the hypothesis that these genes might have roles in establishing biotrophy. By examining pathogen behaviour in tuber tissue, clear cell biology evidence of functional haustoria was found. Gene expression analysis of a selection of leaf infection-related genes suggested that effectors are used to promote infection also in host tuber tissue. However, some cytoplasmic RXLR effector proteins such as PITG_05146 and PITG_15128, which were up-regulated during biotrophic infection of leaf tissue, were not detected during tuber infection, indicating potential differences in pathogenic requirements. A microarray experiment was conducted on in vitro stages of zoospores, and mycelium grown in apoplastic fluid of N. benthamiana, nutrient rich pea broth, and sterile water. This revealed 13,819 transcripts that were differentially expressed between any two conditions. This list included transcripts encoding 322 RxLR effectors, of which avirulence effectors such as Avr2, Avr3a, and RD2 were highly up-regulated during hyphal growth in apoplastic fluid compared to other in vitro stages. This provides evidence that the apoplast contains chemical signals that induce expression of infection-related genes in P. infestans. Curiously, the leaf infection-specific genes identified in Chapter 3 were not expressed when P. infestans was grown in apoplastic fluid, revealing that additional stimuli are required for induction of all necessary pathogen genes during infection. Future research, building upon the findings from this project, should be focused on the following areas: 1) Explore whether haustoria are produced only in order to deliver effectors or if there are other purposes as well, such as nutrient uptake; 2) The continued exploration of differences between genes co-expressed with Hmp1 during leaf infection, tuber infection, and in apoplastic fluid to further dissect the transcriptional regulation of these genes; 3) Identify whether Hmp1-co-expressed genes of unknown function may play a role in haustorium formation; 4) Investigate, using molecular transformation and cell biology, whether secreted proteins co-expressed with Hmp1 are secreted from haustoria; 5) Investigate the role(s) of infection-specific genes in establishing disease. 6) Transcriptomic studies of P. infestans biotrophic infection of tuber tissue to determine the differences in pathogenic adaptation in this tissue type, compared to leaf infection.

The APL (Module 1), previously submitted for examination, includes a contribution to the Scottish educational psychologists’ professional development programme, illustrating how particular instructional practices and approaches support the aims and objectives of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, by analysing how they exemplify models of learning compatible with the CfE philosophy. It also includes the evaluation of a comprehensive literacy programme and a number of evaluation studies of early literacy initiatives the author undertook within the local authority. Module 2, the literature review, explores and extends my understanding of early literacy development, and studies various influences and core skills underpinning it. I also discuss some models of reading development, with a particular focus on the development of early reading. I discuss how these relate to instructional and intervention practices, especially in relation to pupils with weak early skills. The main research focus of Modules 3 and 4 is an evaluation of the use and usefulness of developmentally based screening tools for early reading I had developed, the degree to which they help identify children with poor skills, and the degree to which and conditions within which they support the development of these skills. By using a retrospective approach to gathering test data and investigating test use I identified a number of implementation factors which it is important to identify in order to understand how to promote and embed consistent practice across schools within real-world settings. The limitations I discovered in the mixed results from test use alone and my subsequent exploration of whole school factors led me to a deeper understanding about the many influences and factors that come together to develop literacy in children. The conceptual model and assessment/planning tool I developed in Module 5 thus aims to bring these broader elements within an ecological framework that could be useful for assessment and planning for practitioners. Results of the small feedback study in this module suggest this model and assessment/planning framework would be welcomed by educational practitioners working not only with pupils with ASN, but with a broad range of pupils.