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"Harris, Phillip"
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The vulnerability of teaching and learning in a selfie society
This book explores the generative power of vulnerabilities facing individuals who inhabit educational spaces. We argue that vulnerability can be an asset in developing understandings of others, and in interrogating the self. Explorations of vulnerability offer a path to building empathy and creating engaged generosity within a community of dissensus. This kind of self-examination is essential in a selfie society in which democratic participation often devolves into neoliberal silos of discourse and marginalization of others who look, think, and believe differently.
Book
Caspase-8 and RIP kinases regulate bacteria-induced innate immune responses and cell death
A number of pathogens cause host cell death upon infection, and Yersinia pestis , infamous for its role in large pandemics such as the “Black Death” in medieval Europe, induces considerable cytotoxicity. The rapid killing of macrophages induced by Y. pestis, dependent upon type III secretion system effector Yersinia outer protein J (YopJ), is minimally affected by the absence of caspase-1, caspase-11, Fas ligand, and TNF. Caspase-8 is known to mediate apoptotic death in response to infection with several viruses and to regulate programmed necrosis (necroptosis), but its role in bacterially induced cell death is poorly understood. Here we provide genetic evidence for a receptor-interacting protein (RIP) kinase–caspase-8-dependent macrophage apoptotic death pathway after infection with Y. pestis , influenced by Toll-like receptor 4-TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β (TLR4-TRIF). Interestingly, macrophages lacking either RIP1, or caspase-8 and RIP3, also had reduced infection-induced production of IL-1β, IL-18, TNF, and IL-6; impaired activation of the transcription factor NF-κB; and greatly compromised caspase-1 processing. Cleavage of the proform of caspase-1 is associated with triggering inflammasome activity, which leads to the maturation of IL-1β and IL-18, cytokines important to host responses against Y. pestis and many other infectious agents. Our results identify a RIP1–caspase-8/RIP3-dependent caspase-1 activation pathway after Y. pestis challenge. Mice defective in caspase-8 and RIP3 were also highly susceptible to infection and displayed reduced proinflammatory cytokines and myeloid cell death. We propose that caspase-8 and the RIP kinases are key regulators of macrophage cell death, NF-κB and inflammasome activation, and host resistance after Y. pestis infection.
Journal Article
Diet of the endemic Kanawha darter (Etheostoma kanawhae) including comparisons with sympatric fantail darters (Etheostoma flabellare)
Understanding diets of aquatic fauna is crucial to interpretation of their ecological roles and contributions to ecosystem function. The Kanawha darter (Etheostoma kanawhae) is a vibrantly colored, endemic fish found only in the New River (Kanawha Basin, USA) and its tributaries. In this study, the diet of the Kanawha darter was determined by analyzing gut contents from museum specimens. A total of 75 Kanawha darter stomachs were dissected and prey items were identified and enumerated. Additionally, gut contents of 40 fantail darters (Etheostoma flabellare) were also quantified to compare diets of these sympatric species. Numerical and presence-absence methods were used to calculate total prey abundances, percent prey abundances, prey-specific abundance, and frequencies of occurrence. Kanawha darter diets were composed of aquatic dipteran and ephemeropteran larvae. Standard length and meteorological season affected Kanawha darter gut contents with few differences seen among males and females. Dietary comparisons revealed that Kanawha darters incorporate greater proportions of ephemeropteran prey while fantail darters prey upon trichopterans more often. Additionally, Costello-Amundsen plots displayed considerable overlap in dietary composition among these sympatric congeners. Results provide novel insight with regard to Kanawha darter natural history and their ecological role in stream communities. Moreover, interspecific comparisons may indicate that niche partitioning is occurring between the two species. Subsequent investigations should attempt to reveal potential ontogenetic shifts in dietary composition, determine Kanawha darter trophic position, and examine their influence on ecosystem processes. Conservation stakeholders should also consider how the absence of this environmentally sensitive species might impact stream communities.
Journal Article
The myths of standardized tests
Pundits, politicians, and business leaders continually make claims for what standardized tests can do, and those claims go largely unchallenged because they are in line with popular assumptions about what these tests can do, what the scores mean, and the psychology of human motivation. But what most of what these opinion leaders say-and the public believes-about standardized testing just isn't so. However, few members of the general public, not even concerned parents, have the time or the background to keep up with the latest findings of testing experts, psychometricians, and researchers. That's where The Myths of Standardized Tests comes in. In simple, accessible language, Harris, Smith, and Harris spell out the assumptions underlying standardized tests and point out what's true about them and what's just plain mythical. But they not only debunk common assumptions; they propose better ways to judge the success of our schools. They also offer readers suggestions for ways they can help reduce the burden of tests on their children. Appendixes offer readers contact information and suggestions for actions they can take to become part of the solution to the problem of overusing and misusing standardized tests.
eBook
Phylogeny and divergence times of suckers (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae) inferred from Bayesian total-evidence analyses of molecules, morphology, and fossils
Catostomidae (“suckers”) is a diverse (76 species) and broadly distributed family of Holarctic freshwater fishes with a rich fossil record and a considerable number (∼35%) of threatened and imperiled species. We integrate DNA sequences (three mitochondrial genes, three nuclear genes), morphological data, and fossil information to infer sucker phylogenetic relationships and divergence times using Bayesian “total-evidence” methods, and then test hypotheses about the temporal diversification of the group. Our analyses resolved many nodes within subfamilies and clarified Catostominae relationships to be of the form ((Thoburniini, Moxostomatini), (Erimyzonini, Catostomini)). Patterns of subfamily relationships were incongruent, but mainly supported two placements of the Myxocyprininae; distinguishing these using Bayes factors lent strongest support to a model with Myxocyprininae sister to all remaining sucker lineages. We improved our Bayesian total-evidence dating analysis by excluding problematic characters, using a clock-partitioning scheme identified by Bayesian model selection, and employing a fossilized birth-death tree prior accommodating morphological data and fossils. The resulting chronogram showed that suckers evolved since the Late Cretaceous–Eocene, and that the Catostomini and Moxostomatini clades have accumulated species diversity since the early to mid-Miocene. These results agree with the fossil record and confirm previous hypotheses about dates for the origins of Catostomide and catostomine diversification, but reject previous molecular hypotheses about the timing of divergence of ictiobines, and between Asian–North American lineages. Overall, our findings from a synthesis of multiple data types enhance understanding of the phylogenetic relationships, taxonomic classification, and temporal diversification of suckers, while also highlighting practical methods for improving Bayesian divergence dating models by coupling phylogenetic informativeness profiling with relaxed-clock partitioning.
Journal Article
The influence of life-history strategy on genetic differentiation and lineage divergence in darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae)
Recent studies determined that darters with specialized breeding strategies can exhibit deep lineage divergence over fine geographic scales without apparent physical barriers to gene flow. However, the extent to which intrinsic characteristics interact with extrinsic factors to influence population divergence and lineage diversification in darters is not well understood. This study employed comparative phylogeographic and population genetic methods to investigate the influence of life history on gene flow, dispersal ability, and lineage divergence in two sympatric sister darters with differing breeding strategies. Our results revealed highly disparate phylogeographic histories, patterns of genetic structure, and dispersal abilities between the two species suggesting that life history may contribute to lineage diversification in darters, especially by limiting dispersal among large river courses. Both species also showed striking differences in demographic history, indicating that extrinsic factors differentially affected each species during the Pleistocene. Collectively, our results indicate that intrinsic and extrinsic factors have influenced levels of gene flow among populations within both species examined. However, we suggest that life-history strategy may play a more important role in lineage diversification in darters than previously appreciated, a finding that has potentially important implications for understanding diversification of the rich North American freshwater fish fauna.
Journal Article
Range Extension of Blackfin Darter and Tennessee Dace, and First Collection of Western Blacknose Dace from Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River in 80 Years
Novel records of stream fishes continue to shape our understanding of species distributions and are often representative of geological and evolutionary histories. We report the discovery of Chrosomus tennesseensis (Tennessee Dace) and confirm previous collections of Etheostoma nigripinne (Blackfin Darter) in the Mobile River Basin. Additionally, we report the rediscovery of Rhinichthys obtusus (Western Blacknose Dace) from the Locust Fork watershed of the Black Warrior River system. The latter species was last collected from the Locust Fork watershed in 1939 and considered extirpated. The discovery of the Tennessee Dace represents the first collection in the Mobile River Basin. These recent collections from the Locust Fork watershed may indicate that a stream-capture event is responsible for the isolation of these populations from the Tennessee River Basin. Subsequent studies should incorporate population-level genetic analyses coupled with historical geological information to understand how these populations became isolated and how recent stream-capture events could inform our understanding of allopatric speciation in aquatic populations.
Journal Article
Diversity and taxonomy of Vietnamese Pollicaria (Gastropoda, Pupinidae)
Species in the genus Pollicaria ( Gastropoda : Pupinidae ) are conspicuous members of the southeast Asian land snail fauna. Originally erected in 1856, both the genus and its constituent species have been reorganized multiple times with the most recent treatment published in 2013. Collections of Vietnamese Pollicaria during 2014 and 2015 raised questions of the utility of currently used diagnostic shell characters and identification keys in species identification. An examination of the authors’ collections, combined with museum specimens, suggested that at least three species of Pollicaria occur or have historically occurred in Vietnam. It is suggested that Pollicaria rochebruni is a senior synonym of Pollicaria crossei and treat both taxa as conspecific. A second species, Pollicaria mouhoti , was believed to only occur in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. A possible third species, based only on previous karyotypic work, is discussed. Our data further suggest that shell features such as color and size lack consistent utility in species-level identifications in Pollicaria .
Journal Article
Life History of Labidesthes vanhyningi (Atheriniformes: Atherinopsidae; Stout Silverside) in the Black Warrior River Drainage, Alabama
Little is known about the life history of Labidesthes vanhyningi (Stout Silverside) in the Mobile Basin. We made monthly collections of Stout Silverside from Lake Tuscaloosa in Northport, AL, from September 2011 to September 2012. Emergence of young-of-the-year occurred in the months of September, October, January, and May. Reproductive investment, calculated using a gonadosomatic index (GSI), was observed from March to December. We also documented evidence for internal fertilization by Stout Silverside in the Mobile Basin. Dietary analysis showed cladocerans were the numerically dominant prey item. These life-history data provide information to natural resource-management agencies about Stout Silverside in the Mobile Basin, where the species is currently under threat from invading Menidia audens (Mississippi Silverside).
Journal Article
Low genetic diversity and small long-term population sizes in the spring endemic watercress darter, Etheostoma nuchale
Species endemic to coldwater springs in the southeastern United States are some of the rarest and most imperiled in this region, yet little is known about their genetic composition and conservation needs. Here, microsatellite based levels of genetic diversity and estimates of effective population size (
N
e
) were compared between a narrow spring endemic fish,
Etheostoma nuchale
, and its widespread stream-dwelling relative,
E. swaini
. We applied several analytical methods to assess how demographic history is reflected in contemporary levels of genetic diversity for populations of
E. nuchale
. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data revealed a complex history among
E. nuchale
and
E. swaini
, but suggested ancient divergence and historic periods of isolation since colonization of spring habitats by
E. nuchale
. Populations of
E. nuchale
have levels of genetic diversity approximately one-half that of
E. swaini
, a result most likely due to founder effects and recent bottlenecks. Statistically significant
F
st
values (0.05−0.27) and STRUCTURE analyses implied high levels of differentiation among
E. nuchale
populations. Estimates of current
N
e
suggest relatively consistent levels across populations of
E. nuchale
, but one population may suffer from habitat degradation. We suggest that high levels of population structure and low levels of genetic diversity may be typical in other spring endemics inhabiting this region. Therefore, effective management planning for these unique species will require a detailed knowledge of the genetic and demographic history of each population.
Journal Article