BACKGROUND:The digitization of biodiversity data is leading to the widespread application of taxon names that are superfluous, ambiguous or incorrect, resulting in mismatched records and inflated species numbers. The ultimate consequences of misspelled names and bad taxonomy are erroneous scientific conclusions and faulty policy decisions. The lack of tools for correcting this 'names problem' has become a fundamental obstacle to integrating disparate data sources and advancing the progress of biodiversity science.RESULTS:The TNRS, or Taxonomic Name Resolution Service, is an online application for automated and user-supervised standardization of plant scientific names. The TNRS builds upon and extends existing open-source applications for name parsing and fuzzy matching. Names are standardized against multiple reference taxonomies, including the Missouri Botanical Garden's Tropicos database. Capable of processing thousands of names in a single operation, the TNRS parses and corrects misspelled names and authorities, standardizes variant spellings, and converts nomenclatural synonyms to accepted names. Family names can be included to increase match accuracy and resolve many types of homonyms. Partial matching of higher taxa combined with extraction of annotations, accession numbers and morphospecies allows the TNRS to standardize taxonomy across a broad range of active and legacy datasets.CONCLUSIONS:We show how the TNRS can resolve many forms of taxonomic semantic heterogeneity, correct spelling errors and eliminate spurious names. As a result, the TNRS can aid the integration of disparate biological datasets. Although the TNRS was developed to aid in standardizing plant names, its underlying algorithms and design can be extended to all organisms and nomenclatural codes. The TNRS is accessible via a web interface at http://tnrs.iplantcollaborative.org/ and as a RESTful web service and application programming interface. Source code is available at https://github.com/iPlantCollaborativeOpenSource/TNRS/.

This study examined in-service teachers' perceptions about two master's programs: one administered by the College of Education, the other a General Biology Program administered by three biological science departments. Four secondary science teachers from each program participated in semi-standardized interviews. Interviews were administered with the goal of allowing the participant to discuss his or her program in-depth. The eight interviews, lasting one to two hours, were transcribed and analyzed to provide information about the participants' perceptions of each master's program and insight about the teachers in each program. Those in the education program valued the flexibility regarding course selection and scheduling, and courses on educational research. They were seeking pedagogical content knowledge and viewed themselves as professionals in the broader teaching community. Teachers in the General Biology Program valued science content courses, doing science research and interacting with their peers. They reported a gain in professional and personal confidence and felt they had changed their classroom instruction. This study reveals that each master's program contributes differently to the professional development of secondary science teachers and that neither program fully meets the teachers' needs. The study reinforces the importance of the on-going evaluation of master's programs.

Research Article| May 01 1998 Transmission of a Viral Disease (AIDS) Detected by a Modified ELISA Reaction: A Laboratory Simulation William J. Grimes, William J. Grimes Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Linda Chambers, Linda Chambers Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Kenneth M. Kubo, Kenneth M. Kubo Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Martha L. Narro Martha L. Narro Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (1998) 60 (5): 362–367. https://doi.org/10.2307/4450496 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation William J. Grimes, Linda Chambers, Kenneth M. Kubo, Martha L. Narro; Transmission of a Viral Disease (AIDS) Detected by a Modified ELISA Reaction: A Laboratory Simulation. The American Biology Teacher 1 May 1998; 60 (5): 362–367. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/4450496 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright The National Association of Biology Teachers Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.