The Role of Specific Subjects in Education Production Functions: Evidence from Morning Classes in Chicago Public High Schools

Absences in Chicago Public High Schools are 3-7 days per year higher in first period than at other times of the day. This study exploits this empirical regularity and the essentially random variation between students in the ordering of classes over the day to measure how the returns to classroom learning vary by course subject, and how much attendance in one class spills over into learning in other subjects. We find that having a class in first period reduces grades in that course and has little effect on long-term grades or grades in related subjects. We also find moderately-sized negative effects of having a class in first period on test scores in that subject and in related subjects, particularly for math classes.education production, subject-specific, math, English, morning classes, first period, course schedule, quasi-experimental, attendance, absenteeism, Chicago, high school

You Can\u27t Always Get What You Want: Government\u27s Good Intentions v. The First Amendment\u27s Prescribed Freedoms in Protecting Children From Sexually-Explicit Material on the Internet

Once a small and diverse community of a handful of government computers, the Internet has expanded to an estimated 157 million users worldwide. According to current studies, the fastest growing user populations on the Internet are thirteen to eighteen year-olds and five to twelve year-olds. In addition, the latest research . . . predicts that the number of children online [will increase] by 155% between 1998 and 2002

Full-scale aircraft cabin flammability tests of improved fire-resistant materials, test series 2

Full-scale aircraft flammability tests in which the effectiveness of new fire-resistant materials was evaluated by comparing their burning characteristics with those of other fire-resistant aircraft materials were described. New-fire-resistant materials that are more economical and better suited for aircraft use than the previously tested fire-resistant materials were tested. The fuel ignition source for one test was JP-4; a smokeless fuel was used for the other test. Test objectives, methods, materials, and results are presented and discussed. The results indicate that, similar to the fire-resistant materials tested previously, the new materials decompose rather than ignite and do not support fire propagation. Furthermore, the new materials did not produce a flash fire

Acceptance and commitment therapy for symptom interference in metastatic breast cancer patients: a pilot randomized trial

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide. With medical advances, metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients often live for years with many symptoms that interfere with activities. However, there is a paucity of efficacious interventions to address symptom-related suffering and functional interference. Thus, this study examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of telephone-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for symptom interference with functioning in MBC patients. METHODS: Symptomatic MBC patients (N = 47) were randomly assigned to six telephone sessions of ACT or six telephone sessions of education/support. Patients completed measures of symptom interference and measures assessing the severity of pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. RESULTS: The eligibility screening rate (64%) and high retention (83% at 8 weeks post-baseline) demonstrated feasibility. When examining within-group change, ACT participants showed decreases in symptom interference (i.e., fatigue interference and sleep-related impairment; Cohen's d range = - 0.23 to - 0.31) at 8 and 12 weeks post-baseline, whereas education/support participants showed minimal change in these outcomes (d range = - 0.03 to 0.07). Additionally, at 12 weeks post-baseline, ACT participants showed moderate decreases in fatigue and sleep disturbance (both ds = - 0.43), whereas education/support participants showed small decreases in these outcomes (ds = - 0.24 and - 0.18 for fatigue and sleep disturbance, respectively). Both the ACT and education/support groups showed reductions in depressive symptoms (ds = - 0.27 and - 0.28) at 12 weeks post-baseline. Group differences in all outcomes were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: ACT shows feasibility and promise in improving fatigue and sleep-related outcomes in MBC patients and warrants further investigation

Smoking Cessation Smartphone App Use Over Time: Predicting 12-Month Cessation Outcomes in a 2-Arm Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how individuals engage over time with smartphone app interventions and whether this engagement predicts health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: In the context of a randomized trial comparing 2 smartphone apps for smoking cessation, this study aimed to determine distinct groups of smartphone app log-in trajectories over a 6-month period, their association with smoking cessation outcomes at 12 months, and baseline user characteristics that predict data-driven trajectory group membership. METHODS: Functional clustering of 182 consecutive days of smoothed log-in data from both arms of a large (N=2415) randomized trial of 2 smartphone apps for smoking cessation (iCanQuit and QuitGuide) was used to identify distinct trajectory groups. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of group membership with the primary outcome of 30-day point prevalence of smoking abstinence at 12 months. Finally, the baseline characteristics associated with group membership were examined using logistic and multinomial logistic regression. The analyses were conducted separately for each app. RESULTS: For iCanQuit, participants were clustered into 3 groups: "1-week users" (610/1069, 57.06%), "4-week users" (303/1069, 28.34%), and "26-week users" (156/1069, 14.59%). For smoking cessation rates at the 12-month follow-up, compared with 1-week users, 4-week users had 50% higher odds of cessation (30% vs 23%; odds ratio [OR] 1.50, 95% CI 1.05-2.14; P=.03), whereas 26-week users had 397% higher odds (56% vs 23%; OR 4.97, 95% CI 3.31-7.52; P<.001). For QuitGuide, participants were clustered into 2 groups: "1-week users" (695/1064, 65.32%) and "3-week users" (369/1064, 34.68%). The difference in the odds of being abstinent at 12 months for 3-week users versus 1-week users was minimal (23% vs 21%; OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.84-1.62; P=.37). Different baseline characteristics predicted the trajectory group membership for each app. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of 1-, 3-, and 4-week smartphone app use for smoking cessation may be common in how people engage in digital health interventions. There were significantly higher odds of quitting smoking among 4-week users and especially among 26-week users of the iCanQuit app. To improve study outcomes, strategies for detecting users who disengage early from these interventions (1-week users) and proactively offering them a more intensive intervention could be fruitful

Amino acid oxidation of the D1 and D2 proteins by oxygen radicals during photoinhibition of Photosystem II

The Photosystem II reaction center is vulnerable to photoinhibition. The D1 and D2 proteins, lying at the core of the photosystem, are susceptible to oxidative modification by reactive oxygen species that are formed by the photosystem during illumination. Using spin probes and EPR spectroscopy, we have determined that both O2 -and HO are involved in the photoinhibitory process. Using tandem mass spectroscopy, we have identified a number of oxidatively modified D1 and D2 residues. Our analysis indicates that these oxidative modifications are associated with formation of HO at both the Mn4O5Ca cluster and the nonheme iron. Additionally, O2 -appears to be formed by the reduction of O2 at either PheoD1 or QA. Early oxidation of D1:332H,which is coordinatedwith theMn1 of the Mn4O5Ca cluster, appears to initiate a cascade of oxidative events that lead to the oxidative modification of numerous residues in the C termini of the D1 and D2 proteins on the donor side of the photosystem. Oxidation of D2:244Y, which is a bicarbonate ligand for the nonheme iron, induces the propagation of oxidative reactions in residues of the D-de loop of the D2 protein on the electron acceptor side of the photosystem. Finally, D1: 130E and D2: 246Mare oxidatively modified by O2 -formed by the reduction of O2 either by PheoD1 -or QA -. The identification of specific amino acid residues oxidized by reactive oxygen species provides insights into the mechanism of damage to the D1 and D2 proteins under light stress

Hacia una pedagogía como teoría crítica en la formación de profesores en Ciencias de la Educación

El presente trabajo parte de la siguiente pregunta: ¿Qué lugar ocupa hoy y cuál debería ocupar la Pedagogía en la formación de profesores en Ciencias de la Educación?; y en la búsqueda de una respuesta a esta pregunta surge a posteriori: ¿Se puede pensar la pedagogía como teoría crítica frente a las ciencias de la educación (entendidas como ciencias que producen “Teoría Tradicional”)? Porque si esto fuera así los pedagogos tendríamos la responsabilidad de pensar una teoría de la educación de carácter emancipatorio para poder replantear la cuestión de “¿Hacia dónde va la educación?” Es decir, si la pedagogía es un saber y una reflexión sobre la práctica, debemos poder producir un saber que sea emancipatorio y propositivo que nos permita decir como apuntar al objetivo de la igualdad en la escuela. Es fundamental replantear en la formación de profesionales de la educación ¿Qué es lo que hacemos como educadores?, ¿Qué sentido tiene nuestro trabajo docente? ¿Para qué educar hoy? Habría que repensar el rol de la pedagogía posicionándola como teoría crítica en la formación de profesores en Ciencias de la Educación, teniendo en cuenta este marco actual que se nos presenta.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

One-step isolation and biochemical characterization of a highlyactive plant PSII monomeric core

We describe a one-step detergent solubilization protocol for isolating a highly active form of Photosystem II (PSII) from Pisum sativum L. Detailed characterization of the preparation showed that the complex was a monomer having no light harvesting proteins attached. This core reaction centre complex had, however, a range of low molecular mass intrinsic proteins as well as the chlorophyll binding proteins CP43 and CP47 and the reaction centre proteins D1 and D2. Of particular note was the presence of a stoichiometric level of PsbW, a low molecular weight protein not present in PSII of cyanobacteria. Despite the high oxygen evolution rate, the core complex did not retain the PsbQ extrinsic protein although there was close to a full complement of PsbO and PsbR and partial level of PsbP. However, reconstitution of PsbP and PsbPQ was possible. The presence of PsbP in absence of LHCII and other chlorophyll a/b binding proteins confirms that LHCII proteins are not a strict requirement for the assembly of this extrinsic polypeptide to the PSII core in contrast with the conclusion of Caffarri et al. (2009)