Investigation into composting efforts at WVU: a case study.

Institutional composting systems have been adopted by many land grant universities to help better manage their waste and protect the environment. West Virginia University (WVU) has yet to begin formally managing their animal manure and waste at the university farms. This investigation will look into what has been done at other land grant universities to see which methods could be applied at WVU. This could have environmental, economic, and social benefits and also serve as a living learning classroom. University composting systems have often started small and grown to accommodate campus food waste, which could also be a possibility for West Virginia University

Evaluating The Efficacy of an Adaptation of PALS for Math in a Seventh Grade Classroom

In an attempt to validate and expand the potential application of PALS for math in a wider variety of settings, this research study examined the effects of implementing a modified version of PALS for math with seventh grade students in regular education mathematics classes. Utilizing a pre-post group design with a nested within-subject ABC single case design, the results of this study suggested that an adaptation of PALS for math for seventh grade students resulted in significant improvement in posttest mathematics computation performance within the experimental group when their pretest mathematics computation scores were considered as covariates. When comparing the performance of lower performing and higher-performing students, lower performing students demonstrated higher average weekly ROI in comparison to higher-performing students. The results of this study suggest that implementing an adaptation of PALS for math with seventh grade students systematically provides opportunities for all students to engage in mathematical computation practice and provides students with high levels of error correction and feedback. PALS for math provides educators with a supplementary intervention that helps to support groups of students with diverse levels of mathematics achievement. The limitations and implications for future research are considered

Concentration and purification by magnetic separation of the erythrocytic stages of all human Plasmodium species

International audienceBackground : Parasite concentration methods facilitate molecular, biochemical and immunologicalresearch on the erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium. In this paper, an adaptation of magnetic MACS®columns for the purification of human Plasmodium species is presented. This method was useful forthe concentration/purification of either schizonts or gametocytes.Results and conclusions : The magnetic removal of non-parasitized red blood cells (in vivo andin vitro) using magnetic columns (MACS) was evaluated. This easy-to-use technique enrichedschizonts and gametocytes from Plasmodium falciparum in vitro cultures with a very high degree ofpurity. In addition, all haemozoin-containing stages (schizonts and/or gametocytes) from theperipheral blood of infected patients could be concentrated using this method. This method isparticularly useful for the concentration of non-falciparum species, which do not grow in cultureand are otherwise difficult to obtain in large amounts

The effects of low-intensity cycling on cognitive performance following sleep deprivation

This study examined the effect of 24 h of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance and assessed the effect of acute exercise on cognitive performance following sleep deprivation. Young, active, healthy adults (n = 24, 14 males) were randomized to control (age = 24.7 ± 3.7 years, BMI = 27.2 ± 7.0) or exercise (age = 25.3 ± 3.3 years, BMI = 25.6 ± 5.1) groups. Cognitive testing included a 5-min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), three memory tasks with increasing cognitive load, and performance of the PVT a second time. On morning one, cognitive testing followed a typical night's sleep. Following 24-h of sustained wakefulness, cognitive testing was conducted again prior to and after the acute intervention. Participants in the exercise condition performed low-intensity cycling (~ 40%HRR) for 15-min and those in the control condition sat quietly on the bike for 15-min. t-Tests revealed sleep deprivation negatively affected performance on the PVT, but did not affect memory performance. Following the acute intervention, there were no cognitive performance differences between the exercise and rested conditions. We provide support for previous literature suggesting that during simple tasks, sleep deprivation has negative effects on cognitive performance. Importantly, in contrast to previous literature which has shown multiple bouts of exercise adding to cognitive detriment when combined with sleep deprivation, our results did not reveal any further detriments to cognitive performance from a single-bout of exercise following sleep deprivation

An external focus of attention is effective for balance control when sleep-deprived

The purpose of our study was to examine if the beneficial effects of an external focus are effective for balance control when sleep-deprived. Sleep-deprived participants (27 hours awake) completed three blocks of five separate 30 second trials on a dynamic balance board. All participants were given internal, external, and control instruction. For the internal focus trials, participants focused on their feet; whereas, for the external focus trials, participants focused on the balance board. Participants’ time in balance was significantly greater during the external focus compared to the internal focus and control. These findings suggest that external focus instructions are effective when participants are sleep-deprived

Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the Journeying through Dementia (JtD) intervention compared to usual care

Introduction Services are being encouraged to provide postdiagnostic treatment to those with dementia but the availability of evidence-based interventions following diagnosis has not kept pace with increase in demand. To address this need, the Journeying through Dementia (JtD) intervention was created. A randomised controlled trial (RCT), based on a pilot study, is in progress. Methods and analysis The RCT is a pragmatic, two-arm, parallel group trial designed to test the clinical and cost-effectiveness of JtD compared with usual care. Recruitment will be through NHS services, third sector organisations and Join Dementia Research. The sample size is 486 randomised (243 to usual care and 243 to the intervention usual care). Participants can choose to ask a friend or relative (supporter) to become involved in the study. The primary outcome measure for participants is Dementia-Related Quality of Life (DEMQOL), collected at baseline and at 8 months’ postrandomisation. Secondary outcome measures will be collected from participants and supporters at those visits. Participants will also be followed up at 12 months’ postrandomisation with a reduced set of measures. A process evaluation will be conducted through qualitative and fidelity substudies. Analyses will compare the two arms of the trial on an intention to treat as allocated basis. The primary analyses will compare the mean DEMQOL scores of the participants at 8 months between the two study arms. A cost-effectiveness analysis will consider the incremental cost per Quality Adjusted Life Years of the intervention compared with usual care. Qualitative and fidelity substudies will be analysed through framework analysis and fidelity assessment tools respectively. Ethics and dissemination REC and HRA approval were obtained. A Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee has been constituted. Dissemination will be via publications, conferences and social media. Intervention materials will be made open access. Trial registration number ISRCTN17993825