Keeping Teachers Educated

It is important to any parent that their child gets a good education. There are several people involved in the positive educational experience of your children. Your help at home is imperative, along with encouragement and discipline. At the end of the day, it is the parent's responsibility to ensure that their children are completing their work and attending school every day. But each of your children's teachers will play a large part in your child's attitude about education and their ability to learn. Because teaching theories and educational resources are updated regularly, it is important that each and every teacher take advantage of professional development courses in order to update their teaching practices.

What Is Professional Development?

Professional development for educators comes in many different forms. Seminars, workshops, college courses and special conferences are designed to provide continuing education to teachers. This helps to keep teaching practices updated and current and takes into account more modern research on the most effective teaching methodologies. Most teachers are required to complete a certain amount of professional development courses every few years in order to have a valid license. This stipulation is set up to ensure that teachers stay updated on the most effective and successful ways to teach their students.

Examples Of Professional Development Topics

One popular topic for development courses is classroom management. Having a disciplined and well-managed classroom is an essential part of providing a stable educational environment for students. New classroom management theories and ideas are discovered every year. By attending these conferences and workshops, teachers have the opportunity to learn new ways to manage their classrooms and to make the learning experience positive for their students.

New educational resources are also often discussed in professional development courses. With the exploding of the Internet as a daily tool, it is imperative that children understand how to use computers wisely. New reading material and mathematics programs are developed each year, and teachers must understand them clearly in order to be able to implement them correctly. It is important that teachers stay up to date on new resources that can not only help students to learn better, but can also make the classroom experience more fun and less stressful for teacher and student.

Critical To Education

It is not enough to obtain a teaching license and settle into a career. In order to encourage successful education for all students, teachers must stay updated on new ideas and ways to make learning more successful for all children. Professional development courses offer a way for teachers to learn new tools for teaching and earn the points they need to keep their teaching license current at the same time. Check with your state's licensing board to find a list of courses available to you and your individual requirements for relicensure.

Professional development for educators is imperative to successful learning in every classroom. Staying up to date on educational resources helps ensure that students are always recieving the best instruction possible.

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/keeping-teachers-educated-306015

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Exercise affects reproductive ability in horses

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2012) ? In the latest issue of the Journal of Animal Science, researchers at Clemson University and the University of Florida examine the impact of exercise on mare reproductive health and embryo transfer.

In the study, researchers divided light-horse mares into three research groups: no exercise (control), partial-exercise and full-exercise. Their goal was to measure reproductive blood flow and embryo number and quality. Partial-exercise mares were moderately exercised for 30 minutes daily during the periovulatory period and rested after ovulation for seven days. Full-exercise mares were exercised for 30 minutes daily throughout the reproductive cycle.

Results from the study showed that exercise induced greater cortisol concentrations in horses. Cortisol has been shown to have effects on reproduction.

Embryo recovery rates were reduced in exercised horses compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in embryo recovery rates for partial-exercise and full exercised groups, but the partial-exercised group had the lowest embryo quality score.

"This led us to conclude that exercise was just as detrimental, if not more so, to the time period just prior to and during fertilization," said Christopher Mortensen of the University of Florida and one of the authors of the study.

The impact of exercise on early pregnancy is still an area that needs further research. Researchers are looking to study embryo quality because advancing technology has allowed embryo transfer to become a vital part of the horse industry.

"What we hypothesize is the reduced hormone concentrations may be having an effect on the mare's oocytes, meaning they are not as 'competent' and have a reduced ability to be fertilized, or if fertilized, compromised embryo development," said Mortensen.

These findings could have implications for human pregnancy.

"While many studies in women have shown intense exercise can be detrimental to female pregnancy, there are virtually no studies examining maternal exercise and effects on the early developing embryo. Furthermore, there are few studies examining stress and the female reproductive blood flow response," said Mortensen

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Society of Animal Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. R. L. Smith, K. L. Vernon, D. E. Kelley, J. R. Gibbons, C. J. Mortensen. Impact of moderate exercise on ovarian blood flow and early embryonic outcomes in mares. Journal of Animal Science, 2012; 90 (11): 3770 DOI: 10.2527/jas.2011-4713

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/OxmjQ941yak/121205151835.htm

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Fitness for toad sperm: The secret is to mate frequently

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Fertility tests frequently reveal that males have problems with the quality of their sperm. The problems often relate to sperm senescence, which is a reduction in quality with age. Sperm senescence can arise either before or after the DNA in the sperm cells is produced by a process known as meiosis. So-called "pre-meiotic" senescence results from accumulated damage in the germline cells with increasing age and results in older males having sperm of lower quality. Post-meiotic senescence occurs after the sperm cells have been produced, either during storage of sperm by the male or after ejaculation and before they fertilize the eggs.

There is previous evidence that various kinds of sperm senescence occur in insects, in some domestic animals (birds and mammals) and even in humans but the studies have generally been carried out under fairly artificial conditions and so it is not clear how they relate to wild animals ? or to the general human population. These objections have been overcome in the latest work of Attila Hettyey and colleagues at the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni), together with Bal?zs V?gi in Budapest, Hungary, where Hettyey himself is now working.

The researchers investigated the common toad, an interesting model system as it is known to produce all its sperm before the start of the breeding season. They found that male toads that re-entered hibernation at the start of the breeding season, i.e. that lowered their metabolic rates after producing sperm, stored sperm of significantly higher motility than males kept under pseudo-natural conditions without females throughout the entire breeding season. The result means that slowing the normal rate of general physiological processes reduced the normal rate of sperm ageing within the toad's testicles. This constitutes the first evidence for post-meiotic intra-testicular sperm senescence in a wild vertebrate. A further surprising result was that in males kept under pseudo-natural conditions, sperm motility was related to the number of matings a male achieved, with the presence of females or the occurrence of matings having a positive effect on the quality of stored sperm. This suggests that post-meiotic intra-testicular sperm senescence does not occur at a fixed rate but may be modulated by external factors, such as temperature and number of matings.

In summary, the scientists at the Vetmeduni have shown that sperm senescence occurs while sperm are stored in the testicles of animals living under essentially "natural" conditions. They also suggest that the rate of sperm senescence can be slowed if males mate more frequently. For animals that produce sperm continuously, such as man, the implications seem to be that more frequent ejaculations serve both to remove older and thus less viable sperm as well as to reduce the damage to sperm cells during storage. The senior author on the PlosONE paper, Richard Wagner, is keen to speculate on the importance of the results. "We do not yet know how general post-meiotic sperm senescence is in wild animals, or man. But if it turns out to be widespread, it will be fascinating to see how it affects reproductive behaviour." As Hettyey says, "Females may try to avoid males with damaged sperm while males may choose particular environments that slow sperm senescence and may attempt to shorten periods of sexual rest by also accepting matings with low-quality females or by discharging aged sperm."

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The paper "Post-meiotic intra-testicular sperm senescence in a wild vertebrate" by Attila Hettyey, Bal?zs V?gi, Dustin J Penn, Herbert Hoi and Richard H. Wagner has just been published in the online journal "PlosONE" (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050820).

The scientific article in full text online (Open Access): http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0050820

University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna: http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at

Thanks to University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125704/Fitness_for_toad_sperm__The_secret_is_to_mate_frequently

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The Reality Of The Global Messaging App Market: It?s Really Freaking Fragmented

It would be easy to assume that Facebook or Apple's iMessage are in a natural position to reach global dominance in smartphone messaging. But the reality is that the landscape looks very different and is very fragmented -- at least for now. There are plenty of apps, WhatsApp included, that have tens of millions of users or dominant marketshare in their home countries of Korea, Japan or China.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/5-REyRYAfSk/

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China factories see growth, Europe slump eases

LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese manufacturing returned to growth in November for the first time in over a year and the deep downturn in euro zone factories eased slightly, according to business surveys on Monday.

Monday's purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) suggested China, whose economy has misfired this year, is regaining its vigor going into 2013.

If sustained, it could prove vital for the world economy next year since a meaningful recovery in Europe still looks a long way off.

While the decline among the euro zone's embattled factories eased to an eight-month low in November, the latest PMIs showed the economy is on course for its worst quarter since the depths of early 2009.

Data due from the United States later on Monday is expected to show manufacturing growth slowed slightly in November.

"They could be worse. We're not in a situation where all the manufacturing PMIs are heading downwards," said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec in London.

He added the Chinese PMIs were encouraging, although their significance, globally speaking, was unclear.

"They're not a pointer necessarily the rest of the global economy is recovering -- we suspect there is an element of domestically driven growth coming through in the numbers there."

Monday's final reading of HSBC's China manufacturing PMI rose to 50.5 in November from 49.5 in October, the first time since October 2011 the headline number has topped the 50-point growth threshold.

The big emerging economies that have contributed most to global growth in recent years have been sputtering of late, with India expected to post its weakest full-year GDP expansion in a decade and Brazil logging an unexpectedly weak third quarter.

That has left investors once again hoping China will take up the slack, after seven straight quarters of slowing growth.

"There is growing confidence that China's economy bottomed in July-September, with signs of firmer external demand," said Hirokazu Yuihama, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

The euro hit a six-week high and shares rose after the release of Monday's PMIs.

BOTTOMING OUT?

Markit's Eurozone manufacturing PMI rose to 46.2 in November from October's 45.4, though it stayed below the 50 mark dividing growth from contraction for the 16th straight month.

There was little sign of an imminent turnaround, however, with the data merely showing factory activity, new orders and output declining at a slower rate.

"With official data lagging the PMI, the rate of GDP decline is likely to have gathered pace markedly on the surprisingly modest 0.1 percent decline seen in the third quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief economist from survey compiler Markit.

But the PMI appeared to bottom out in July and slowly reviving export demand in markets like the U.S. and China should further help arrest the fall in production and job cuts in euro zone factories, he added.

British manufacturing activity shrank less than expected in November, but the sector remained fragile as orders edged down, a survey found on Monday.

In the United States, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) index of national factory activity, one of two PMI surveys due on Monday, is expected to decline slightly to 51.3 for November, still above the 50-line, from 51.7 in October.

The most pressing threat to the U.S. economy remains a series of automatic budget cuts and tax hikes due at the end of the year that could plunge the country back into recession, unless opposing politicians can come to a deal to avert it.

As of the weekend, neither side has been willing to yield.

Aside from China, the outlook for other major Asian economies looks uncertain.

Monetary easing by the big developed world central banks has been blamed for pushing up the currencies of countries such as Korea and Taiwan, hampering their export-led recoveries.

South Korea's HSBC/Markit PMI edged up in November, but was still below the key 50-mark for the sixth month in succession.

Taiwan's PMI reading has also been below 50 for six successive months, with the headline number deteriorating to 47.4 in November from 47.8 in October on weakening demand at home and abroad.

India's factory activity has been expanding for over three-and-a-half years, although it remains well below the expansion rate seen in the years before the global financial crisis.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/even-without-u-cliff-world-economy-teeters-105649727--business.html

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Tools and Apps to Achieve Personal Finance Resolutions | Credit ...

Get the best money tips at Credit Visionary

During the holiday season, many people begin thinking about the upcoming New Year.? Psychologically, a new year presents the perfect opportunity to make a new start: improve your financial situation, set and reach personal goals in health and fitness, or just re-invent yourself.

If your New Year?s resolutions involve improving your finances, here are six tools and apps that will help you in measuring your progress and reaching your goals:

Budgeting and Getting Out of Debt Resolutions

Take control of your financial future with personal finance New Year resolutions.? The following tools and apps will help you better manage your money whether you just need to keep better track of how you spend money, or you need to pay off existing debts:

Pageonce ? compatible with iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, Pageonce allows you to view all of your bills and account balances, see due dates, recent transactions and make payments all from one place.? The app will send you alert messages when bills are du or if there are any suspicious transactions.? You can add unlimited accounts, and you can access your Pageonce account from your iPhone, iPod or iPad ? or from a computer with internet access.

Debt Payoff Pro ? if you resolve to pay off your debt this year, the Debt Payoff Pro app for iPhone, iPad and iPod will help you stay on track.? The app includes three calculators to help you see how long it will take to pay off a debt, a mortgage calculator and a loan calculator.? You can track an unlimited number of accounts and debt.? You can choose to pay off your debt with lowest balance first, highest balance first, highest interest first, or customize the order you pay off your accounts.? The app will also keep you on track by sending you an alert when a payment is due and provide you with charts and reports to view the total debt owed and how much interest you?ve paid.

Mint ? an all-in-one solution, Mint.com allows you to see all of your financial accounts in one place, keep track of payment due dates and debt repayment goals, create and manage a budget with a variety of spending categories, and monitor your investments.? Your Mint account can be accessed from a computer or your phone. (Click here for our review of Mint.)

Betterment ? an online tool that automates the process of investing. You can use your Betterment account to transfer money between your checking account and investments electronically and without minimum balance requirements or transaction fees.? Betterment charges an annual management fee of .15% to .35% depending on the balance you maintain, and which saves you money compared to other investing options.? This tool allows inexperienced investors to invest and earn a return based on the research from financial experts. (Click here for our review of Betterment.)

Time Management and Procrastination Resolutions

Improving efficiency is a surefire way to increase your income over time.? Many people relying on their computers to perform their work or business activities each day and it?s easy to become distracted by social media websites or other online activities that can limit your productivity if they are used too frequently.? If you resolve to stop procrastinating or wasting time this year, the following tools and apps may help you stay on track:

RescueTime ? this desktop app will keep track of how you spend your time on the computer and provide an activity report to see where you are losing time.? There is a free 14 day trial for the professional version ($72 annually), which will even allow you to block distracting websites and alert you when you are spending too much time on a particular activity; or a free version that will simply track how you are using your time so you can analyze it.? If wasting time has been hurting your income and productivity, this app may help you increase your earnings through increased efficiency.

WorkRave ? for workaholics spending hours at their computer every day and who need to be reminded to take a break once in a while to improve their efficiency when they are hard at work ? WorkRave is the ideal online tool.? You can schedule micro-breaks (a quick stretch and bathroom break) and rest breaks (longer breaks to give your mind a break).? Don?t underestimate the power of taking frequent short breaks in your overall daily productivity.? More productivity means more money!

For more reviews of personal-finance and investment tools, visit our Reviews section.

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Source: http://www.creditvisionary.com/tools-and-apps-to-achieve-personal-finance-resolutions?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tools-and-apps-to-achieve-personal-finance-resolutions

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Mars redux: NASA to launch another mega-rover

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? If you thought NASA's latest Mars landing was a nail-biter, get ready for a sequel.

The space agency on Tuesday announced plans to launch another mega-rover to the red planet in 2020 that will be modeled after the wildly popular Curiosity.

To keep costs down, engineers will borrow Curiosity's blueprints, recycle spare parts where possible and use proven technology including the novel landing gear that delivered the car-size rover inside an ancient crater in August.

The announcement comes as NASA reboots its Mars exploration program during tough fiscal times.

"The action right now is on the surface, and that's where we want to be," said NASA sciences chief John Grunsfeld.

Like Curiosity, the mission will be led by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But many other details still need to be worked out, including where the rover will land and the types of tools it will carry to the surface.

While the science goals remain fuzzy, Grunsfeld said the rover at the very least should kickstart a campaign to return Martian soil and rocks to Earth ? a goal trumpeted by many scientists as key to searching for evidence of past life. Curiosity doesn't have that capability.

In the coming months, a team of experts will debate whether the new rover should have the ability to drill into rocks and store pieces for a future pickup ? either by another spacecraft or humans.

NASA is under orders by the White House to send astronauts to circle Mars in the 2030s followed by a landing.

Despite Curiosity's daring touchdown, its road to the launch pad was bumpy. At $2.5 billion, the project ran over schedule and over budget.

Jim Green, head of NASA's planetary science division, said the engineering hurdles have been fixed and he expected the new rover to cost less than Curiosity. One independent estimate put the mission at $1.5 billion, though NASA is working on its own figure.

"It's hard not to feel a little Mars-envy," Mike Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology who focuses on the outer solar system, said in an email.

Brown added that he understood NASA's decision given the pressure to fly humans to Earth's neighbor.

A Curiosity redux makes sense, said American University space policy expert Howard McCurdy.

"Let's hope that it can take advantage of economies of scale, in which case it would cost less than the Curiosity mission," he said. "That sort of approach would extend our exploration capability while freeing funds for other expeditions."

Mars is bracing for a flurry of activity over the next several years. Next year, NASA plans to launch an orbiter to study the atmosphere.

After NASA pulled out of a partnership with the Europeans in 2016 and 2018, it announced plans to fly a relatively low-cost robotic lander in 2016 to probe the interior. The space agency has since said it will contribute to the European missions, but in a minor role.

Rep. Adam Schiff, who has been critical of NASA budget cuts in the past, praised the latest news to land a Curiosity-like rover. Still, the California Democrat said he preferred an earlier launch date.

Grunsfeld said a 2020 launch is already an "aggressive schedule."

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Follow Alicia Chang at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mars-redux-nasa-launch-curiosity-rover-014911634.html

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