The Impact of Academic Aspirations and Career Uncertainty on Students’ College Outcomes

Between the fall of 2009 and 2019, total postsecondary institution enrollment in the United States decreased by 5%, and for those students who do enroll in college, many who lack clear career objectives drop out, making the U.S. the nation with the highest college dropout rate in the industrialized world. Students’ academic aspirations and career certainty have been shown to impact college outcomes. However, the impact of career uncertainty and academic aspirations on students’ college outcomes has not been studied nationally. Using binomial regression analyses and a nationally representative sample (N = 23,503) of high school students, we investigated the impact of high school students’ career uncertainty and academic aspirations on their college outcomes. Findings indicate that academic aspirations were a significant predictor of students’ college application, enrollment, attendance, and major decision status. Career uncertainty was a significant predictor of students’ college enrollment status. We discuss implications for practice and future research

Determination of optimal centers for scanning of regular figures’ images when recognithizing them

There has been proposed a method for recognition of images of flat regulate figures using resolution of them from the internal spot of scanning. There are considered new forms of images representation. An algorithm on search of optimal scanning center has been proponed. A structure of images recognition device has been worked up.King Saud Universit

The Combinational Effects of Gamma Secretase Inhibition and Radiation on the Cancer Stem Cell Population in Glioblastoma

Gamma secretase (GS) is an intramembraneous protease that cleaves over 91 different membrane substrates. GS is responsible for the final S3 cleavage of the notch receptor, thereby releasing the notch intracellular domain (NICD) into the cytoplasm. Upon translocation into the nucleus NICD activates the transcription of notch effector proteins that maintain cell stemness. Due to GS activity on the notch pathway, it has become an attractive target for cancer stem cells. The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis states that cancers are generated and maintained by a group of cells that share similarities with normal adult stem cells. CSCs have been shown to be resistant to most current anti-cancer treatment approaches, including radiation therapy, thus contributing to tumor repopulation after therapy. A combinational therapy that targets both cancer cells and inhibits cancer stem cell growth is highly desirable. Unfortunately, there is inconsistent data determining the combinational effects of GS inhibitors (GSI) with radiation. In this study, the efficacy of GSI treatment with radiation therapy in reducing the cancer stem cell population in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) was evaluated. Utilizing a panel of GBM cell lines varying in PTEN, p53, and EGFR status, we evaluated the effects of GSI plus radiation treatment on the cancer stem cell population, using sphere-forming capacity assays, cell cycle analysis, and γH2AX and Hoechst/PY staining. Our data demonstrates that PTEN status plays a role in the sensitivity to GSI treatment in combination with radiation treatment. In addition, we observed that treating PTEN-wt cell lines with GSI improved survival among the stem cell population while PTEN-mutant lines showed a reduced survival. We believe this glioma stem cell protection is mediated through FOXO, or the Forkhead class O transcription factors, which is positively regulated by functioning PTEN. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the effectiveness of combinational treatment of GSI and radiation on glioma stem cells depends on the genetic background of the tumor. Specifically, PTENwt neurosphere cell lines are radioprotected under GSI treatment while PTEN-null neurosphere cell lines become more radiosensitivecycle analysis, and γH2AX and Hoechst/PY staining. Our data demonstrates that PTEN status plays a role in the sensitivity to GSI treatment in combination with radiation treatment. In addition, we observed that treating PTEN-wt cell lines with GSI improved survival among the stem cell population while PTEN-mutant lines showed a reduced survival. We believe this glioma stem cell protection is mediated through FOXO, or the Forkhead class O transcription factors, which is positively regulated by functioning PTEN. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the effectiveness of combinational treatment of GSI and radiation on glioma stem cells depends on the genetic background of the tumor. Specifically, PTENwt neurosphere cell lines are radioprotected under GSI treatment while PTEN-null neurosphere cell lines become more radiosensitive

SDN-OpenFlow Topology Discovery: An Overview of Performance Issues

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an innovative architecture that separates the control plane from the data plane to simplify and speed up the management of large networks. This means the control logic has been moved from the network hardware level to the centralized control management level. Therefore, the use of the OpenFlow Discovery Protocol (OFDP) is one of the most common protocols used to discover the network topology in a data plane and then transmit it to the control plane for management. However, OFDP has various shortcomings in its performance such as exchanging too many messages between both levels (control and data), which in turn increases the load on the SDN-Controller. Additionally, since the application layer depends entirely on the network topologies plotted in the control plane, it is very important to obtain accurate network topology information from data plane. Therefore, after providing background on topology discovery protocols to the reader, we will concentrate on performance issues. The present study identifies and discuss the primary concerns involved in the complex query process, infrastructure, influencing factors, and challenges for the topology discovery process. Furthermore, this paper will present several recent studies that have overcome and enhanced these issues. In addition, open discussion and future work concerning these issues are also discussed

Objective Assessment of Porcine Voice Acoustics for Laryngeal Surgical Modeling.

Pigs have become important animal models in voice research. Several objective parameters exist to characterize the pig voice, but it is not clear which of them are sensitive to the impaired voice quality after laryngeal injury or surgery. In order to conduct meaningful voice research in pigs, it is critical to have standard functional voice outcome measures that can distinguish between normal and impaired voices. For this reason, we investigated 17 acoustic parameters before and early after surgery in three Yucatan mini pigs. Four parameters showed consistent changes between pre- and post-surgery recordings, mostly related to decreased spectral energy in higher frequencies after surgery. We recommend two of these, 50% spectral energy quartile (Q50) and Flux, for objective functional voice assessment of pigs undergoing laryngeal surgery. The long-term goal of this process is to enable quantitative voice outcome tracking of laryngeal surgical interventions in porcine models

Objective Assessment of Porcine Voice Acoustics for Laryngeal Surgical Modeling

Pigs have become important animal models in voice research. Several objective parameters exist to characterize the pig voice, but it is not clear which of them are sensitive to the impaired voice quality after laryngeal injury or surgery. In order to conduct meaningful voice research in pigs, it is critical to have standard functional voice outcome measures that can distinguish between normal and impaired voices. For this reason, we investigated 17 acoustic parameters before and early after surgery in three Yucatan mini pigs. Four parameters showed consistent changes between pre- and post-surgery recordings, mostly related to decreased spectral energy in higher frequencies after surgery. We recommend two of these, 50% spectral energy quartile (Q50) and Flux, for objective functional voice assessment of pigs undergoing laryngeal surgery. The long-term goal of this process is to enable quantitative voice outcome tracking of laryngeal surgical interventions in porcine models

A 22-year single institution review of 119 cases of salivary duct carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a rare and aggressive salivary gland malignancy. Herein, we present the largest single-institution review of SDC to date. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of all histologically confirmed cases of SDC seen at our institution from January 1, 2002, to August 1, 2022. Patient demographics, treatment, histological characteristics, tumor staging, and outcomes were extracted from the electronic medical record. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression survival analyses were performed. RESULTS: This study included 119 patients with a mean age of 66.2 years. Most primary tumors arose from the parotid gland (72.3%), and 23.5% were noted to be carcinoma ex-pleomorphic adenoma. 57.1% of patients presented with regional lymph node metastasis, whereas 23.5% presented with distant disease. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated a 62.4% 5-year overall survival (OS) and a 69.0% 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS). Univariate analyses indicated that presence of regional lymph node disease (p<.001), distant metastasis (p<.001), perineural invasion (p = .027), and lymphovascular invasion (p = .018) were predictive of decreased OS and DSS. Trastuzumab administration was not associated with survival in HER-2-positive patients receiving chemotherapy. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that presence of nodal disease (HR 30.337, 95% CI 2.782-330.851, p = .005) and carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (HR 5.54, 95% CI 1.024-29.933, p = .047) were associated with decreased OS. CONCLUSION: Our patients had more favorable survival rates compared to prior studies, which may be due to lower incidence of nodal disease. Factors associated with worse survival included nodal and distant metastases, perineural invasion, lymphovascular invasion, and tumor size. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3

Causes and consequences of long-term groundwater overabstraction in Jordan

In 2017, a comprehensive review of groundwater resources in Jordan was carried out for the first time since 1995. The change in groundwater levels between 1995 and 2017 was found to be dramatic: large declines have been recorded all over the country, reaching more than 100 m in some areas. The most affected areas are those with large-scale groundwater-irrigated agriculture, but areas that are only used for public water supply are also affected. The decrease of groundwater levels and saturated thickness poses a growing threat for drinking water supply and the demand has to be met from increasingly deeper and more remote sources, causing higher costs for drilling and extraction. Groundwater-level contour lines show that groundwater flow direction has completely reversed in some parts of the main aquifer. Consequently, previously established conceptual models, such as the concept of 12 “groundwater basins” often used in Jordan should be revised or replaced. Additionally, hydraulic conditions are changing from confined to unconfined; this is most likely a major driver for geogenic pollution with heavy metals through leakage from the overlying bituminous aquitard. Three exemplary case studies are presented to illustrate and discuss the main causes for the decline of the water tables (agriculture and population growth) and to show how the results of this assessment can be used on a regional scale.Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) (4230

Anticancer effects of thymoquinone in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: Thymoquinone (TQ), the active constituent of Nigella sativa, has been shown to have anticancer effects in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This review aims to outline the properties of TQ, the known drivers in HNSCC formation, and summarize the anticancer effects of TQ in SCC. DATA SOURCES: Three databases (PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar) were queried for the key words thymoquinone squamous cell carcinoma. REVIEW METHODS: Publications that were not original research and publications that did not have full-text available for review were excluded. RESULTS: Sixteen research articles met the inclusion criteria. Our review demonstrates that TQ-induced cytotoxicity is associated with increased expression and activity of the tumor suppressor p53, proapoptotic proteins Bax and caspases, as well as decreased expression and activity of antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Mdm2. Additionally, TQ modulates cell-survival pathways such as the PI3k/Akt pathway. TQ synergizes with therapeutics including cisplatin and radiation. Early TQ administration may prevent carcinogenesis via upregulation of antioxidant enzymes, and TQ administration in the presence of cancer can result in disease mitigation via induction of oxidative stress. CONCLUSION: TQ acts as an upregulator of proapoptotic pathways and downregulator of antiapoptotic pathways, modulates the oxidative stress balance in tumor development, and works synergistically alongside other chemotherapeutics to increase cytotoxicity. TQ has the potential to prevent carcinogenesis in patients who are at high-risk for SCC and adjuvant treatment for SCC patients undergoing conventional treatments. Future studies should aim to identify specific populations in which TQs effects would be the most beneficial. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Not available

Causes and consequences of long-term groundwater overabstraction in Jordan

In 2017, a comprehensive review of groundwater resources in Jordan was carried out for the first time since 1995. The change in groundwater levels between 1995 and 2017 was found to be dramatic: large declines have been recorded all over the country, reaching more than 100 m in some areas. The most affected areas are those with large-scale groundwater-irrigated agriculture, but areas that are only used for public water supply are also affected. The decrease of groundwater levels and saturated thickness poses a growing threat for drinking water supply and the demand has to be met from increasingly deeper and more remote sources, causing higher costs for drilling and extraction. Groundwater-level contour lines show that groundwater flow direction has completely reversed in some parts of the main aquifer. Consequently, previously established conceptual models, such as the concept of 12 “groundwater basins” often used in Jordan should be revised or replaced. Additionally, hydraulic conditions are changing from confined to unconfined; this is most likely a major driver for geogenic pollution with heavy metals through leakage from the overlying bituminous aquitard. Three exemplary case studies are presented to illustrate and discuss the main causes for the decline of the water tables (agriculture and population growth) and to show how the results of this assessment can be used on a regional scale