The Early Promise of TBRI Implementation in Schools

The program known as Trust Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) began as an exploration into the detrimental behaviors of foster and adopted children placed in homes with unsuspecting caregivers who assumed their living environment would result in positive results rather than fear based emotions and behaviors. The researchers at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development (KPICD) at Texas Christian University held summer camps for adopted children and through that work developed an intervention to meet the needs of children who had experienced trauma. KPICD identifies these young people as “children from hard places” (Purvis & Cross, 2005). Copeland et al (2007) reported that an estimated 68% of children in the United States have experienced some sort of trauma. This astounding statistic holds great meaning for teachers and administrators, because these children from hard places routinely manifest aggressive and undesired behaviors due to an altering of their physiology. The literature on TBRI® at this point mostly has chronicled success with families, group homes and summer camps (McKenzie, Purvis, & Cross, 2014; Howard, Parris, Neilson, Lusk, Bush, Purvis & Cross, 2014; Purvis & Cross, 2006). TBRI® has only recently been implemented in school settings. This report provides an overview of the impacts of trauma, trauma related work in schools, and the four articles published to this point related to the use of TBRI® in schools

Determinants of Sovereign Ratings: A Comparison of Case-Based Reasoning and Ordered Probit Approaches

The paper compares two alternative techniques for the modelling of the determinants of sovereign ratings, specifically, ordered probit and case-based reasoning. Despite the differences in approach the two alternative modelling approaches produce similar results in terms of which variables are significant and forecast accuracy. This suggests that either approach can be used, and that there is some robustness in the results. As regards significant variables, both models find that a proxy for technological development, specifically, mobile phone use, is the most important variable. Apart from the technology proxy, a range of conventional macroeconomic variables are found to be significant, in particular GDP and inflation. The models are then used to produce forecasts for 2002 and for a set of unrated countries. The forecast comparison indicates the critical role played by the technology proxy variable in the modelling.Sovereign Ratings, Ordered Response Models, Case-Based Reasoning

Lanthanide separations using rate-controlled solvent extraction

In this study, certain trivalent lanthanide ions (Nd+3, Sm+3, Eu+3, D/3, Tm+3, and Yb+3) along with Sc+3 and Y-3, were complexed with DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) and extracted into a water-immiscible kerosene layer containing DEHP A ( di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid). Data were collected by measuring the cation content of the post-extraction aqueous phase via atomic emission. The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetics and separation efficiencies in the extractions of binary mixtures via non-equilibrium solvent extraction and to compare these results with equilibrium results. In addition, mixture data were compared to results obtained from studies of extractions containing a single type of ion. In the single ion studies, the ions listed above were extracted in addition to Lu+ 3 and Al+ 3 • The extraction speeds were found to decrease with decreasing cation radius, except for Y-3. y+3 extracted faster than expected from eight or nine coordinate size considerations. However, if the generally accepted change in coordination number from nine to eight occurs after Sm+3 in the lanthanide series, and if Y-3 is nine-coordinate in this system, then its size would fall in line with the observed kinetic series. It was also observed that non-equilibrium extraction gives enhanced separation over equilibrium extraction in most binary mixtures. A mixing time of ten minutes seemed to give optimal separation of binary mixtures. For ions that extract at close to the same rate, a counter current non-equilibrium extraction system should require fewer stages than its equilibrium counterpart

Affirmative acts: The need for American black theatre in the classroom

The purpose of this study is to reveal that racial inequality in American Theatre is still in existence: that while our country has gained some level of integration, several societal and artistic echelons evidence a remaining tendency towards discrimination--a separatist sense of culture that unfortunately informs elementary and secondary classrooms all across the United States as well as still exists in the general arts

Genetic Variation in the NBS1, MRE11, RAD50 and BLM Genes and Susceptibility to Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Background: Translocations are hallmarks of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) genomes. Becauselymphoid cell development processes require the creation and repair of double stranded breaks, itis not surprising that disruption of this type of DNA repair can cause cancer. The members of theMRE11-RAD50-NBS1 (MRN) complex and BLM have central roles in maintenance of DNA integrity.Severe mutations in any of these genes cause genetic disorders, some of which are characterizedby increased risk of lymphoma.Methods: We surveyed the genetic variation in these genes in constitutional DNA of NHLpatients by means of gene re-sequencing, then conducted genetic association tests for susceptibilityto NHL in a population-based collection of 797 NHL cases and 793 controls.Results: 114 SNPs were discovered in our sequenced samples, 61% of which were novel and notpreviously reported in dbSNP. Although four variants, two in RAD50 and two in NBS1, showedassociation results suggestive of an effect on NHL, they were not significant after correction formultiple tests.Conclusion: These results suggest an influence of RAD50 and NBS1 on susceptibility to diffuselarge B-cell lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma. Larger association and functional studies couldconfirm such a role

The Prognostic Effect of Ethnicity for Gastric and Esophageal Cancer: The Population-Based Experience in British Columbia, Canada

Background: Gastric and esophageal cancers are among the most lethal human malignancies. Their epidemiologyis geographically diverse. This study compares the survival of gastric and esophageal cancer patients amongseveral ethnic groups including Chinese, South Asians, Iranians and Others in British Columbia (BC), Canada.Methods: Data were obtained from the population-based BC Cancer Registry for patients diagnosed with invasiveesophageal and gastric cancer between 1984 and 2006. The ethnicity of patients was estimated according to theirnames and categorized as Chinese, South Asian, Iranian or Other. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis wasused to estimate the effect of ethnicity adjusted for patient sex and age, disease histology, tumor location, diseasestage and treatment.Results: The survival of gastric cancer patients was significantly different among ethnic groups. Chinese patientsshowed better survival compared to others in univariate and multivariate analysis. The survival of esophagealcancer patients was significantly different among ethnic groups when the data was analyzed by a univariate test(p = 0.029), but not in the Cox multivariate model adjusted for other patient and prognostic factors.Conclusions: Ethnicity may represent underlying genetic factors. Such factors could influence host-tumorinteractions by altering the tumor’s etiology and therefore its chance of spreading. Alternatively, genetic factorsmay determine response to treatments. Finally, ethnicity may represent non-genetic factors that affect survival.Differences in survival by ethnicity support the importance of ethnicity as a prognostic factor, and may provideclues for the future identification of genetic or lifestyle factors that underlie these observations

The tRNAscan-SE, snoscan and snoGPS web servers for the detection of tRNAs and snoRNAs

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are two of the largest classes of non-protein-coding RNAs. Conventional gene finders that detect protein-coding genes do not find tRNA and snoRNA genes because they lack the codon structure and statistical signatures of protein-coding genes. Previously, we developed tRNAscan-SE, snoscan and snoGPS for the detection of tRNAs, methylation-guide snoRNAs and pseudouridylation-guide snoRNAs, respectively. tRNAscan-SE is routinely applied to completed genomes, resulting in the identification of thousands of tRNA genes. Snoscan has successfully detected methylation-guide snoRNAs in a variety of eukaryotes and archaea, and snoGPS has identified novel pseudouridylation-guide snoRNAs in yeast and mammals. Although these programs have been quite successful at RNA gene detection, their use has been limited by the need to install and configure the software packages on UNIX workstations. Here, we describe online implementations of these RNA detection tools that make these programs accessible to a wider range of research biologists. The tRNAscan-SE, snoscan and snoGPS servers are available at , and , respectively

Inherited Common Variants In Mitochondrial DNA And Invasive Serous Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Risk

Background Mitochondria are the site of oxidative phosphorylation, a process which generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). Elevated ROS levels can lead to oxidative stress, a cellular state implicated in carcinogenesis. It is hypothesized that alternations in mitochondrial (MT) DNA, including heritable MT single nucleotide polymorphisms (MT-SNPs), have the potential to change the capacity of MT function, leading to increased oxidative stress and cancer risk. We investigated if common MT-SNPs and/or haplogroups and are associated with invasive serous ovarian cancer (OvCa) risk. Methods A panel of 64 MT-SNPs designed to tag all common variation in the European MT genome (minor allele frequency (MAF) >1%, r^2 >0.8) was genotyped in study participants of European descent using the Sequenom MassARRAY iPlex Gold® system (Sequenom Inc, CA, USA). Invasive serous OvCa cases (n = 405) and frequency age-matched controls (n = 445) were drawn from a population-based case-control study of OvCa in western Canada. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (C.I.) for carriage of the minor versus major allele by case-control status. MitoTool was used to test the relationship between European haplogroup status and case-control status using Fisher’s exact test. Results The most significant disease-SNP association was for rs2857285, a synonymous MT-SNP in ND4 (OR = 4.84, 95% CI: 1.03–22.68, P = 0.045). After adjustment for multiple testing using a Bonferroni correction of the Type 1 error this MT-SNP was not significant. No other MT-SNP had a P-value < 0.05. European haplogroup status was not associated with case status. Most MT-SNPs (73%) genotyped had a MAF <5%. Conclusion Common European MT-SNPs (MAF > 5%) and haplogroups were not associated with invasive serous OvCa risk in this study; however, most European MT-SNPs have a low MAF (<5%), which we were underpowered to adequately assess. Larger studies are needed to clarify the role of low MAF MT-SNPs (MAF < 5%) in invasive serous OvCa risk

Examining Support That Exists for Social and Emotional Program Implementation in Elementary Charter Schools

This qualitative case study examines the perceptions of elementary charter school principals and teachers and the supports that exist for implementation of social and emotional learning programs. The experiences and perspectives of the participants in this research study will be significant to understanding the perceptions of what principals do to support social and emotional program implementation within a school. The research questions in this research study are as follows: 1. According to the perceptions of elementary charter school principals, what do they do to support social and emotional learning program implementation in the school and in the classroom? 2. According to the perceptions of teachers, what do the elementary charter school principals do to support social and emotional learning program implementation in the school and in the classroom? 3. How do the perceptions differ between elementary charter school principals and teachers regarding social and emotional learning program implementation support? 4. What perceptions are the same between elementary charter school principals and teachers regarding social and emotional learning program implementation support? 5. What are the implications for educational leadership? This research study focuses on three elementary charter schools in Chicago, Illinois that achieved 75% or higher in the meets or exceeds standards on the ISAT test in 2009-2010 and had improved 5 or more percentage points from 2008-2009 ISAT data scores. The schools also implement a social and emotional learning program. All participants were asked to complete a questionnaire with 15 questions using a likert scale to provide answers, 3 open-ended questions, and participants were asked to provide supporting documents in order to elicit information regarding perceived supports that exist within their school