Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy

Outlines fifteen key elements that educators can use to develop an effective adolescent literacy intervention program. Focuses on elements of interventions that are most promising for students that struggle with reading and writing after third grade

Adolescent Literacy and the Achievement Gap: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go From Here?

Reviews research and program initiatives focused on improving adolescent academic achievement by targeting literacy. Provides ideas for collaboration and coordination of funding efforts to improve the literacy achievement of under-performing adolescents

Insects reared on seaweed as novel feed ingredients for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) : Investigating the transfer of essential nutrients and undesirable substances along the seaweed-insect-fish food chain

Traditionally, major sources of protein and lipid in aquaculture fish feeds have been fish meal and fish oil. However, fish stocks used for fish meal and fish oil production are fully exploited, therefore prices of these ingredients continue to increase. In recent years, substantial progress has been made by the research community and feed producers to test novel sources of protein and lipid to replace marine feed ingredients in aquaculture. Insects have been identified as feed ingredients of great potential for farmed fish. In particular, being high in energy and protein content, they seem a good source of ingredients in compound feeds for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). However, insects reared on terrestrial feedstuff are not a source of the essential marine omega-3 fatty acids, which Atlantic salmon has a dietary requirement for. The AquaFly project aimed to develop novel insect feed ingredients for Atlantic salmon, contributing essential nutrients to produce robust and healthy fish. To achieve this, tailoring of the nutrient composition of the insect feed ingredients towards fish nutrient requirements was investigated through the use of seaweed as feeding substrate for the insects. Seaweeds are known to contain marine omega-3 fatty acids and essential minerals (like iodine) which are generally absent in terrestrial feedstuff for insects. At the same time, seaweeds can contain undesirable substances, especially heavy metals and arsenic, which could be transferred to the insects, therefore enter the food production chain. The focus of this PhD project, as part of AquaFly, was to evaluate the suitability and safety of the seaweed-insect-fish food production chain, by studying the transfer of both nutrients and undesirable substances along the food chain. Several species of seaweeds from Norwegian waters were screened for their chemical profile. The seaweed species studied contained both nutrients and undesirable substances (heavy metals and arsenic); the concentrations thereof were highly dependent on species and taxonomic group. Based on the data obtained, the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum was chosen for insect rearing. This seaweed species showed the highest lipid content and the lowest concentrations of undesirable substances among the species investigated. In the insect feeding trial, larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) were fed plant-based media enriched with A. nodosum in increasing percentages (from 0 to 100 % seaweed inclusion). The larvae could grow on such media, up to 100 % seaweed. However, the best growth performance, nutrient utilization and retention were seen up to 50 % seaweed inclusion in the media. Transfer of heavy metals and arsenic from seaweed to larvae occurred, with higher concentrations of these undesirable substances in larvae fed higher inclusion of seaweed in the media. Based on the results, large batches of insect larvae fed 50 % seaweed in the media were grown to produce insect meal and insect lipid for the fish trials. Two fish feeding trials were conducted with i) freshwater-phase juvenile fish and ii) seawater-phase post-smolt fish. In the freshwater trial, fish were fed six diets: a control diet with protein and lipid from traditional ingredients (fish meal, fish oil, plant-based protein and vegetable oil) and five experimental diets where insect meal replaced 85 % of the dietary protein and /or all the vegetable oil was replaced by insect lipid. In this trial, the inclusion of insect feed ingredients in the fish diet did not affect the overall growth parameters, nutrient digestibility and whole fish nutrient composition. In the seawater trial, insect meal was used as replacement for fish meal in the feed (33, 66, 100 % replacements). This did not impact growth performances of the fish, nutrient utilization or fillet composition. In both fish trials, low levels of heavy metals were found in feed and fish. In the seawater trial, transfer of arsenic from feed to fish occurred; however, levels of arsenic in the fillet decreased in fish fed increasing insect meal in the diet. Based on the results of this PhD work, it can be concluded that the seaweed-insect-fish food chain holds great benefits for farming Atlantic salmon by producing nutritious feeds and healthy, robust fish. Moreover, it is an overall safe approach, in terms of both feed and food safety.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Neuropsychological Profile in a Large Group of Heart Transplant Candidates

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have reported that patients with end-stage heart disease can have cognitive deficits ranging from mild to severe. Little is known, however, about the relationship between cognitive performance, neurophysiological characteristics and relevant clinical and instrumental indexes for an extensive evaluation of patients with heart failure, such as: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and other haemodynamic measures, maximum oxygen uptake during cardiopulmonary exercise testing, comorbidities, major cardiovascular risk factors and disease duration. Our purpose was to outline the cognitive profiles of end-stage heart disease patients in order to identify the cognitive deficits that could compromise the quality of life and the therapeutic adherence in end-stage heart disease patients, and to identify the variables associated with an increased risk of cognitive deficits in these patients. METHODS: 207 patients with end-stage cardiac disease, candidates for heart transplant, were assessed by complete neuropsychological evaluation and by electroencephalographic recording with EEG spectral analysis. RESULTS: Pathological scores in one or more of the cognitive tests were obtained by 86% of the patients, while 36% performed within the impaired range on five or more tests, indicating poor performance across a broad range of cognitive domains. The executive functions were the cognitive domain most impaired (70%). Poor performances were not related to the aetiology of heart disease, but rather to cerebral dysfunction secondary to haemodynamic impairment and to comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: Severe heart failure induces significant neurophysiological and neuropsychological alterations, which may produce an impairment of cognitive functioning and possibly compromise the quality of life of patients and the therapeutic adherence

The chemical composition of two seaweed flies (Coelopa frigida and Coelopa pilipes) reared in the laboratory

Two species of seaweed flies, Coelopa frigida and Coelopa pilipes, were reared in the laboratory and their larvae were sampled for composition of amino acids, fatty acids and elements. The larvae were grown on two different species of seaweed, Laminaria digitata and Fucus serratus. The aim was to gain knowledge on the influence of feeding media on the growth and composition of the larvae. Fucus serratus was more nutrient-dense than L. digitata, being richer in both protein and lipids, and thus led to ~70 % higher larvae growth. The larvae grown on F. serratus also had higher lipid and protein content than the larvae grown on L. digitata; F. serratus-grown larvae had ~8-9 % protein and ~18 % lipid (total fatty acids) (both values of dry matter), while the larvae grown on L. digitata had only ~7.5 % protein and ~13 % lipids. All seaweed flies had a similar and balanced amino acid composition, suitable for animal and human nutrition. The fatty acid composition was not highly affected by either insect species or feeding media, with all groups containing high concentrations of the monounsaturated fatty acid, palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7). The larvae also contained some fatty acids characteristic of marine environments, like eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3), likely originating from the seaweed. Both species of seaweed fly larvae accumulated As, Cd, and Pb, but not Hg. The elevated levels of As and Cd in the larvae (highest measured concentrations 18.4 and 11.6 mg/kg, respectively, based on 12% moisture content) could potentially limit the use of seaweed fly larvae as a feed ingredient

Potential of insect-based diets for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

In the present study, we aimed to assess the effect of dietary insect meal (IM) and insect oil (IO) on growth performance, body composition and nutrient digestibility of freshwater reared Atlantic salmon. The IM and IO were produced from black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens, L.; BSF) that had been grown on (1) media containing organic waste streams, or on (2) media partially containing seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum). The feeding trial of the current study followed a factorial 2 × 3 way-ANOVA experimental design with six dietary groups of Atlantic salmon fed diets with insect-derived ingredients for 8 weeks. A typical industrial diet, with protein from fish meal and soy protein concentrate (SPC) (50:50) and lipids from fish oil and vegetable oil (33:66), was fed to a positive control group. Five experimental diets were formulated, where 85% of the dietary protein was replaced by IM and/or all the vegetable oil was replaced by IO (IM from insects grown on media 1, IO from insects grown on either media 1 (IO1) or media 2 (IO2)). Replacing the dietary fish meal and SPC with insect protein significantly reduced the apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of protein, lipid and all amino acids investigated, though remained highly digestible. There were, however, only small differences due to protein or lipid source in growth performance, and no effects of insect ingredients on feed intake or feed conversion ratio. Inclusion of IM-based diets significantly increased both hepatosomatic index and visceral somatic index of Atlantic salmon. Proteinase activity in the intestine was not affected by dietary inclusion of BSF larvae meal, while leucine aminopeptidase activity was lower in fish fed with insect ingredients than the control group. Whole-body protein, lipid, amino acids and minerals contents were not affected by protein or lipid source. In general, this study showed that protein meal and oil from BSF larvae hold a great potential as a source of nutrients for Atlantic salmon.publishedVersio

Chemical characterization of 21 species of marine macroalgae common in Norwegian waters: benefits of and limitations to their potential use in food and feed

BACKGROUND: In the past few years, much effort has been invested into developing a new blue economy based on harvesting, cultivating and processing marine macroalgae in Norway. Macroalgae have high potential for a wide range of applications, e.g. as source of pharmaceuticals, production of biofuels or as food and feed. However, data on the chemical composition of macroalgae from Norwegian waters are scant. This study was designed to characterize the chemical composition of 21 algal species. Both macro- and micronutrients were analysed. Concentrations of heavy metals and the metalloid arsenic in the algae were also quantified. RESULTS: The results confirm that marine macroalgae contain nutrients which are relevant for both human and animal nutrition, the concentrations whereof are highly dependent on species. Although heavy metals and arsenic were detected in the algae studied, concentrations were mostly below maximum allowed levels set by food and feed legislation in the EU. CONCLUSION: This study provides chemical data on a wide range of algal species covering the three taxonomic groups (brown, red and green algae) and discusses both benefits of and potential limitations to their use for food and feed purposes.Chemical characterization of 21 species of marine macroalgae common in Norwegian waters: benefits of and limitations to their potential use in food and feedpublishedVersio

Disciplinary Literacies Across Content Areas: Supporting Secondary Reading Through Functional Language Analysis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88105/1/JAAL.53.7.6.pd

Engaging Struggling Adolescent Readers to Improve Reading Skills

This study examined the efficacy of a supplemental, multicomponent adolescent reading intervention for middle school students who scored below proficient on a state literacy assessment. Using a within-school experimental design, the authors randomly assigned 483 students in grades 6–8 to a business-as-usual control condition or to the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI), a supplemental reading program involving instruction to support word-reading skills, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, and peer talk to promote reading engagement and comprehension. The authors assessed behavioral engagement by measuring how much of the STARI curricular activities students completed during an academic school year, and collected intervention teachers' ratings of their students' reading engagement. STARI students outperformed control students on measures of word recognition (Cohen's d = 0.20), efficiency of basic reading comprehension (Cohen's d = 0.21), and morphological awareness (Cohen's d = 0.18). Reading engagement in its behavioral form, as measured by students' participation and involvement in the STARI curriculum, mediated the treatment effects on each of these three posttest outcomes. Intervention teachers' ratings of their students' emotional and cognitive engagement explained unique variance on reading posttests. Findings from this study support the hypothesis that (a) behavioral engagement fosters struggling adolescents' reading growth, and (b) teachers' perceptions of their students' emotional and cognitive engagement further contribute to reading competence