PERCEPTIONS OF MATTERING AMONG GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS: REPLICATION, VALIDATION, AND EXTENSION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF MATTERING SCALE FOR TEACHERS (FEMS-T)

This study aims to replicate, validate, and extend previous research on mattering in general education teachers. Specifically, this study sought to explore the psychometric properties of the Fundamental Elements of Mattering Scale for Teachers (FEMS-T; Wilfong, 2021). Participants completed demographic questions as well as questions related to their feelings of mattering as a teacher (N = 343). The study confirmed the factor structure of a streamlined 24-item FEMS-T, which exhibited better fit than the original 40 items identified by Wilfong (2021). The FEMS-T also demonstrated internal reliability and convergent validity with the Workplace Mattering Scale (WMS; Jung & Heppner, 2017). Examining measurement invariance, the scale demonstrated configural invariance for gender, age, and experience. However, the scale did not demonstrate metric or scalar invariance across groups, highlighting differences in how teachers who differ in gender, age, and experience conceptualize and experience the concept of mattering in schools. Limitations and implications for research and practice for teachers, administration, and school psychologists are discussed

Social-Ecological Change, Resilience, and Adaptive Capacity in the McKenzie River Valley, Oregon

This study explores perceptions of long-term residents regarding links between governance, landscape, and community change in the McKenzie River Valley (MRV) in western Oregon and provides a general assessment of factors affecting resilience and adaptive capacity. Residents interviewed indicated that dramatic changes driven by market competition, timber industry changes, increased regulation, and rural restructuring have occurred in both the landscape and community. The changes that have transpired have redefined the relationship between the community and the landscape, moving away from local dependence on timber harvests to an economy focused on tourism and other ecosystem services. In doing so the community has transitioned from one with a logging community identity to one that has begrudgingly become a retirement and vacation community. We found that the social-ecological system (SES) in the MRV is still in the midst of reorganization in the wake of the 1990s Timber Wars. As a result of low institutional capacity, the system is vulnerable to exogenous drivers of change. Using a modified version of Ostrom’s (2009) framework for SES analysis, this study recommends policymakers and policy entrepreneurs take three key steps to facilitate enhanced resilience and adaptive capacity: 1) support transboundary management strategies that transcend landownership classifications; 2) tighten system feedbacks to include more local influence; and 3) develop local multilayered institutions organized vertically and horizontally. Future research should explore the potential for collaborative forestry and stewardship contracting to enhance social-ecological resilience in this valley

Perceptions of Safety and Support among High School Football Players Utilizing a Helmet Impact Detection System

Background: Concussions are common in high school football athletes and can have short and long-term health impacts. New football helmets furnished with accelerometers to detect rate and location of impact have recently emerged. The use of these helmets offers the ability to rapidly and objectively assess concussions on the sideline. However, minimal research has explored athlete’s perceptions of the use of these helmets. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine high school football players’ perceptions of safety and support following a season of use of a Helmet Impact Detection System. Methods: 118 high school football players from a large parochial school completed an electronic 29-item cross-sectional survey to obtain demographic information and safety perceptions at the end of a football season. Participants wore Riddell InSite Helmets (Riddell, Inc. Elyria, OH) the entire football season prior to the survey. Descriptive statistics were computed utilizing SPSS software. Results: When asked to rate the degree to which players felt the concussion helmets helped keep them safe, 69.1% of students strongly agreed and 23.6% somewhat agreed. When asked if they agreed or disagreed that they felt safer than opposing teams that did not wear the helmets only 47.3% of players strongly agreed. When asked if they played harder or more confidently due to the helmets 57.3% of players strongly agreed. Finally, 17.3% of players somewhat or strongly agreed that they would not play football if it were not for the helmets. Conclusion: These findings suggest the use of instrumented helmets may encourage athletes’ feeling supported by coaches/administrators and their perceptions of safety which could impact their decision to engage in football. However, more research is needed to determine if these feelings of safety translate to a change in rates of concussions compared to players with traditional helmets

Demulsification mechanism of asphaltene-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions by a polymeric ethylene oxide-propylene oxide demulsifier

The demulsification mechanism of asphaltene-stabilized water-in-toluene emulsions by an ethylene-oxide-propylene oxide (EO-PO) based polymeric demulsifier was studied. Demulsification efficiency was determined by bottle tests and correlated to the physicochemical properties of asphaltene interfacial films after demulsifier addition. From bottle tests and droplet coalescence experiments, the demulsifier showed an optimal performance at 2.3 ppm (mass basis) in toluene. At high concentrations, the demulsification performance deteriorated due to the intrinsic stabilizing capacity of the demulsifier, which was attributed to steric repulsion between water droplets. Addition of demulsifier was shown to soften the asphaltene film (i.e., reduce the viscoelastic moduli of asphaltene films) under both shear and compressional interfacial deformations. Study of the macrostructures and the chemical composition of asphaltene film at the toluene-water interface after demulsifier addition demonstrated gradual penetration of the demulsifier into the asphaltene film. Demulsifier penetration in the asphaltene film changed the asphaltene interfacial mobility and morphology, as probed with Brewster angle and atomic force microscopy

Functional connectivity in distributed cortical networks associated with semantic processing in healthy older adults

ObjectiveWhile word knowledge is typically well-preserved in aging, declines in executive control often observed in older adults may impact access and application of this knowledge. Evidence suggests aging is associated with declines in specialization and efficiency of pre-defined cortical networks, potentially corresponding with cognitive changes. Building upon our previous findings that delineate task-relevant semantic network activation, this study investigates connectivity patterns in additional higher-order cortical networks during a semantic association task in cognitively healthy older adults.MethodsA total of 33 older adults (61% women, 94% White, aged 70.03 ± 11.28, 16.36 ± 2.62 years of education) completed task-based functional MRI involving semantic (abstract and concrete) and phonemic (rhyming) decisions. Networks included cingulo-operculate (CON), frontal-parietal control (FPCN), default mode (DMN), dorsal attention (DAN), and a semantic network. Association between block and intra-network connectivity was assessed. If block effects were found, ROI-ROI analysis was conducted. Additionally, inter-network correlations to age were examined, along with inter-network connectivity based on task demand.ResultsAge was not associated with intra-network connectivity. Semantic network connectivity increased during semantic blocks relative to rhyme. DAN and DMN connectivity increased during rhyme relative to semantic blocks, especially for abstract words. Connectivity within other networks did not differ as a function of task demands. Inter-network connectivity strength was stronger for FPCN with DAN during the rhyme blocks, and weaker during the rhyme blocks for FPCN with DMN and DMN with DAN. Older age was associated with greater inter-network connectivity for DMN with both FPCN and CON. The semantic network evidenced less intra-network connectivity during the rhyme task compared with all other networks, and greater intra-network connectivity during abstract semantic decisions compared with DAN and DMN.ConclusionDespite trends of decreased functional specialization in aging, and prior evidence within this cohort of broad task-related activation and connectivity bilaterally, semantic task relevance remained uniquely localized to left hemisphere semantic network hubs. Increased coherence within DAN and DMN during rhyme blocks may reflect novelty of the rhyming task, underscoring flexible network recruitment for demanding tasks in healthy aging. Findings contribute to our understanding of underlying neural mechanisms involved in semantic processing in cognitive aging

Temperature predictability and introduction history affect the expression of genes regulating DNA methylation in a globally distributed songbird

Phenotypic plasticity is a major mechanism whereby organisms adjust their traits within‐generations to changes in environmental conditions. In the context of range expansions, plasticity is thought to be especially important, as plastic changes in traits can lead to rapid adaptation. One epigenetic process in particular, DNA methylation, enables organisms to adjust gene expression contingent on the environment, which suggests it may play a role in range expansions. At present, we know little about how methylation is regulated in wildlife, especially expression of the enzymes responsible for altering methyl marks on the genome. In this study, we compared expression of three epigenetic regulator genes (DNA methyltransferase 1, DNMT1; DNA methyltransferase 3, DNMT3; and one ten‐eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenase, TET2) in three tissues (gut, liver, and spleen) of house sparrows Passer domesticus from nine countries. Some countries are in the native range of the species (Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Vietnam) whereas others are sites the species has colonized in the last 150 years (i.e. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Senegal). In this exploratory study, we asked whether non‐native birds and/or birds from sites with comparatively unpredictable climates would express different levels of these genes. We found that all three genes were expressed more in sparrows from the native range and from areas with more stable temperatures. Expression of all three genes was also strongly correlated among‐locations and within‐individuals, but mean expression was quite different among tissues. Many factors (e.g. urbanization of the capture site, sex of the bird) did not significantly affect gene expression, but others surprisingly did (e.g. latitude). Our results suggest that these enzymes could be important in range expansions or geographic distribution generally, but more detailed investigations will be insightful

Simulated bacterial infection induces different changes in DNA methylation between introduced and native house sparrows Passer domesticus

DNA methylation, which can change within‐individuals over time and regulate gene expression, is important to many aspects of avian biology. It is particularly important in avian responses to various stressors associated with introductions, such as infection and environmental changes. However, it remains unclear whether native and introduced bird populations differ in their epigenetic responses to stressors, and how DNA methylation may contribute to the success of non‐native populations because of the limited availability of epigenetic studies. To address this knowledge gap, we used epiRADseq to investigate changes in DNA methylation within‐individual house sparrows Passer domesticus prior to and eight hours after a simulated bacterial infection. We compare wild‐caught house sparrows from introduced populations with those from native populations, assessing the number of genomic locations that exhibit changes in methylation, the magnitude of those changes, and the variance among individuals. Our results show that individuals from introduced populations experience more widespread changes in DNA methylation, with greater magnitude and higher variance, compared to their counterparts from native populations. These findings suggest that DNA methylation plays a significant role in an individual's response to infection. They also indicate that individuals from introduced populations may exhibit distinct epigenetic responses compared to their native counterparts, consistent with the concept of epigenetic buffering

Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults

Objective: To examine whether educational attainment, as a proxy of cognitive reserve, moderated the association between hippocampal volumes and episodic verbal memory performances in healthy older adults.Methods: Data from 76 community dwelling older adults were included in the present study. Measures of hippocampal volumes (total, left, and right) were obtained using FreeSurfer software. Immediate and delayed verbal recall scores were derived from performances on the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition and the Wechsler Memory Scale- Third Edition. Educational attainment was defined by years of education. Linear regression analyses were performed using immediate and delayed recall as dependent variables and hippocampal volumes, years of education, and their interaction terms as independent variables. All analyses were controlled for age, sex, depression, and health status.Results: Total and left Hippocampal volumes had a positive main effect on delayed recall only. Additionally, the interaction between total, left, and right hippocampal volumes and education was a significant predictor for delayed recall performance but not for immediate recall performance. The positive association between hippocampal volumes and delayed recall was greatest in those with more years of education.Conclusion: Larger hippocampal volumes were associated with better delayed verbal recall and the effect on delayed recall was greatest in those with more years of education. Having higher levels of education, or cognitive reserve, may enable individuals to capitalize on greater structural integrity in the hippocampus to support delayed recall in old age. However, longitudinal research is needed to investigate the directionality of these associations