Educating English as a New Language Students Using a Multimedia Based Approach: How Educators Can Assist ENL Students in the Mainstream Classroom

This project will delve into the realm of English as a New Language (ENL) in the mainstream classroom. The main research will be conducted in a secondary school setting, specifically a freshman level English class. This research will be based on observation and interaction with both students and educators. The main topic being explored will be the theory that ENL learners can be educated successfully right alongside their peers through the use of multimedia platforms such as images to accompany lessons, and iPad apps. The research will investigate how students are currently learning in mainstream classrooms and how this can be changed to benefit them in an ideal, different, more media friendly environment. Too often ENL learners are expected to perform using the same tools as their peers, when there is a great need for a different way for them to learn. This research project will culminate in a presentation of an action research based approach to the subject, presented at the Undergraduate Research Conference at Butler University

Maladaptive rumination moderates the effects of written emotional disclosure on ambulatory blood pressure levels in females.

Written emotional disclosure (WED) has beneficial effects on health outcomes. However, its effectiveness is influenced by a number of variables. This exploratory study tested whether trait rumination, which comprises brooding, a maladaptive component, and reflection, an adaptive component, moderated the effects of WED on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in female participants. Fifty-two participants were randomized to write about their most stressful/traumatic life experience(s) or non-emotive topics, for 20 minutes, on 3 consecutive days. Two weeks and 14 weeks later, ABP was recorded over a single day. Using hierarchical linear modelling, an effect of condition was found at 2 weeks but not at 14 weeks indicating that higher levels of ABP were observed following WED. There was also a significant condition by brooding interaction at two weeks such that higher ABP was observed in low brooders in the WED condition compared with low brooders in the control condition. However, within the WED condition, the lowest ABP was exhibited by participants high in brooding. The findings indicated that WED led to short-lived increases in ABP which disappeared in the medium term. Researchers ought to build upon this exploratory study and investigate further the potential moderating role of brooding within WED. Individual differences in brooding may account for (some of) the mixed and inconsistent findings in past WED research

Maternal Gestational Weight Gain: Perceptions of Overweight and Obese Pregnant Women

poster abstractBackground: Adverse maternal and infant outcomes can arise from excessive maternal gestational weight gain. Overweight and obese women are most at risk for excessive gestational weight gain. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has established gestational weight gain ranges for pregnant women based on their pre-pregnancy BMI. Pregnant women’s perceptions of IOM recommendations, however, have not been well documented in the literature. Objective: This study was to explore (1) if pregnant women had received weight gain advice from care providers; (2) preferred weight gain amount by pregnant women and why; and (3) how possible to achieve IOM recommended weight gain. Design: Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were used. Participants: 13 overweight and obese pregnant women (77% African American, 23% were first pregnancy) participated in this study. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted and audio-taped. Quantitative content analysis involved calculating frequencies and percentages. Qualitative content analysis included coding transcribed interviews and identifying common themes from codes. Results: 69% of study participants did not receive weight gain advice from care providers; 54% of the women whose preferred weigh gain was not in accordance with IOM recommendations. Study participants reported two reasons why they chose their preferred weight gain amount: it would be hard to lose extra weight and the weight gain is for the health of the baby. Study participants voiced different levels of confidence in achieving IOM recommended weight gain, from possible to needing support, difficult to stay within the recommended range, out of personal control, and creating additional stress. Conclusions: Findings indicate that missed opportunities from care providers to educate pregnant women about proper weight gain. Although many pregnant women do not want to put on extra pounds, they need education about proper weight gain based on individual BMI status as well as support to help them achieve IOM recommendations

Tracking of toddler fruit and vegetable preferences to intake and adiposity later in childhood

This study examined whether toddlers' liking for fruit and vegetables (FV) predicts intake of FV later in childhood, how both relate to childhood adiposity and how these were moderated by factors in infancy. Children in the Gateshead Millennium Study were recruited at birth in 1999–2000. Feeding data collected in the first year were linked to data from a parental questionnaire completed for 456 children at age 2.5 years (30 m) and to anthropometry, skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance and 4‐day food diary data collected for 293 of these children at age 7 years. Aged 30 months, 50% of children were reported to like eight different vegetables and three fruits, but at 7 years, children ate a median of only 1.3 (range 0–7) portions of vegetables and 1.0 portion of fruit (0–4). Early appetite, feeding problems and food neophobia showed significant univariate associations with liking for FV aged 30 m, but the number of vegetables toddlers liked was the only independent predictor of vegetable consumption at age 7 years (odds ratio (OR) 1.28 p < 0.001). Liking for fruit aged 30 m also independently predicted fruit intake (OR = 1.31, p = 0.016), but these were also related to deprivation (OR = 2.69, p = 0.001) maternal education (OR = 1.28, p = 0.039) and female gender (OR = 1.8, p = 0.024). Children eating more FV at age 7 years had slightly lower body mass index and skinfolds. An early liking for FV predicted increased later intake, so increasing early exposure to FV could have long term beneficial consequences

Magic City Gospel

Magic City Gospel is a collection of poems that explores themes of race and identity with a special focus on racism in the American South. Many of the poems deal directly with the author’s upbringing in Birmingham, Alabama, the Magic City, and the ways in which the history of that geographical place informs the present. Magic City Gospel confronts race and identity through pop culture, history, and the author’s personal experiences as a black, Alabama-born woman. Magic City Gospel is, in part, influenced by the biting, but softly rendered truth and historical commentary of Lucille Clifton, the laid-back and inventive poetry of Terrance Hayes, the biting and unapologetically feminist poetry of Audre Lorde, and the syncopated, exact, musical poetry of Kevin Young. These and other authors like Tim Siebles, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Major Jackson influence poems as they approach the complicated racial and national identity of the author

Survival of the drunkest: The relationship between intrasexual competition and excessive alcohol consumption by university students.

Recent evidence has highlighted intrasexual competition as a potential influence on anabolic−androgenic steroid use; however, the potential impact on other substance use behaviors has yet to be explored. This study examined the potential role of intrasexual competition on alcohol consumption at a university, an environment where excessive consumption is the socially desirable norm. In total, N = 223 university students were recruited from a single university in Wales, United Kingdom, and a 2-way between-subjects Analysis of variance was run to determine the relationship between alcohol consumption (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and intrasexual competition (Intrasexual Competition Scale). There was a significant positive association between self-reported alcohol use and levels of intrasexual competition. Further analysis identified this relationship was exclusive to those who did not participate in university sport. The findings of the current study provide further evidence for intrasexual competition as a potential influence on substance use behaviors and highlights that sports participation may be protective against this relationship

Bacterial community profiles and Vibrio parahaemolyticus abundance in individual oysters and their association with estuarine ecology

Oysters naturally harbor the human gastric pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus, but the nature of this association is unknown. Because microbial interactions could influence the accumulation of V. parahaemolyticus in oysters, we investigated the composition of the microbiome in water and oysters at two ecologically unique sites in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire using 16s rRNA profiling. We then evaluated correlations between bacteria inhabiting the oyster with V. parahaemolyticus abundance quantified using a most probable number (MPN) analysis. Even though oysters filter-feed, their microbiomes were not a direct snapshot of the bacterial community in overlaying water, suggesting they selectively accumulate some bacterial phyla. The microbiome of individual oysters harvested more centrally in the bay were relatively more similar to each other and had fewer unique phylotypes, but overall more taxonomic and metabolic diversity, than the microbiomes from tributary-harvested oysters that were individually more variable with lower taxonomic and metabolic diversity. Oysters harvested from the same location varied in V. parahaemolyticus abundance, with the highest abundance oysters collected from one location. This study, which to our knowledge is the first of its kind to evaluate associations of V. parahaemolyticus abundance with members of individual oyster microbiomes, implies that sufficient sampling and depth of sequencing may reveal microbiome members that could impact V. parahaemolyticus abundance

Physical and functional fitness changes in older adults in response to a traditional training program and a Wii enhanced training program

The Wii Fit Plus Balance program has been recommended as an alternative training tool for older adults to improve physical and functional fitness. However, the effectiveness of the Wii Fit Plus in combination with traditional training approaches in older adults is unclear. PURPOSE: To compare changes in physical fitness measures in older adults (OA) engaging in two different training programs: 1) traditional exercises performed by the control group (CG) and 2) traditional exercises complemented by Wii balance games performed by the experimental group (EG). METHODS: 35 untrained OA (mean ± SD Age: 68.86 ± 6.13; BMI: 28.89 ± 5.32) with no exercise history were recruited and randomly assigned to either the CG or EG group. CG and EG programs both included cardio, strength, flexibility, and balance training exercises. However, subjects in the EG group performed additional balance exercises using Wii fit plus program. Both CG and EG subjects exercised twice per week for twelve weeks. Fitness assessments were based on standard procedures including the chair stand, gallon jug transfer, 8 foot up-and-go tests, as well as a long ramp walk and medicine ball throw tests. Data were collected at weeks 1, 6, and 12. Data analysis was conducted using the general linear mixed model with alpha level set at p\u3c0.05. RESULTS: A significant time effect was found for all fitness measures in both groups from week 1 to 6 (p\u3c0.001) and week 1 to 12 (p\u3c0.001). In general CG and EG subjects made 5.5% to 31.7% improvement from Week 1 to 6 and 8.1% to 52.5% improvement from Week 1 to 12. No significant group effects were observed between the CG and EG groups (p\u3e0.370). Also, no significant group by time interactions were observed for any of the fitness measures (p\u3e0.290). CONCLUSION: It appears that the use of the Wii Fit Plus Balance in conjunction with a traditional exercise program does not provide added significant fitness benefits for older adults. While additional fitness benefits are not evident, it appears that both a traditional exercise program alone and a traditional exercise program combined with the Wii Fit Plus Balance training may elicit significant fitness improvements

A Racial Impact Analysis of HB 869/SB 274

Virginia is growing. Between 1990 and 2000, Virginia’s population rose by over 14% - the largest population growth experienced by the state in a single decade (Pollard, 2007). And the state continues to grow. It has been estimated that by 2030, Virginia’s total population may exceed 9.8 million people (Pollard, 2007). Along with population growth, land development has increased which in turn affects transportation, housing and job placement across the Commonwealth. In fact, in many parts of the state, development has outpaced population growth. According to Pollard, “If current patterns continue, Virginia will develop more land in the next 40 years than in the previous 400 years (p.8).” In an effort to curb sprawling development and decrease transportation expenditure, the Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 3202 in 2007. One major outcome of this multifaceted legislation was the introduction of mandatory Urban Development Areas (UDAs). The goal of UDAs was for localities to concentrate growth and development in order to reduce the cost of transportation and increase opportunities to build multi-use developments and expand affordable housing. In 2012, the General Assembly passed House Bill 869 and Senate Bill 274 which effectively make UDAs no longer mandatory but optional for all localities in the Commonwealth. In this paper, we analyze the racial impact and explore the political history of HB 869/SB 274 while addressing the larger issue of sprawl across the Commonwealth. Smart Growth policies are known to positively impact the environment but they also positively impact low-income and minority communities by increasing access to housing, transportation and ultimately jobs. The story behind Urban Development Areas in the Commonwealth is one of politics and regulation but issues as critical as housing, transportation and job access should be focused much more on the citizens of the Commonwealth. The friction created by the UDA policy between the localities and the state has the potential to spark a statewide conversation about land use and more importantly - the need for people-centered solutions to a growing problem

The dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor GSK2126458 is effective for treating solid renal tumours in Tsc2+/- mice through suppression of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is an inherited tumour syndrome caused by mutations in TSC1 or TSC2 that lead to aberrant activation of mTOR. Tumour responses in TSC patients to rapamycin, an allosteric inhibitor of mTOR, or its analogs are partial and reversible probably due to feedback activation of Akt. In this study, we examined the efficacy of GSK2126458, an ATP-competitive dual inhibitor of PI3K/mTOR, in comparison to rapamycin for treatment of renal tumours in genetically engineered Tsc2+/- mice. We found that both GSK2126458 and rapamycin caused significant reduction in number and size of solid renal tumours. GSK2126458 also significantly reduced the number and size of all lesions (cystic, papillary and solid) although to a lesser extent compared to rapamycin. GSK2126458 inhibited both PI3K and mTOR while rapamycin exerted stronger inhibitory effect on mTORC1 in renal tumours. Furthermore, GSK2126458 and rapamycin suppressed proliferation of tumour cells. Importantly, GSK2126458 increased apoptosis of solid tumours but rapamycin did not. Further investigations are therefore needed to test whether rapamycin in combination with GSK2126458 could promote apoptosis and thus improve therapy of TSC-associated renal tumours