The Effects of Triiodothyronine on the DNA and RNA Content on the Skin and Muscle of the Tail in Rana Clamitans Tadpoles

Since previous investigations have shown that thyroxine-treated tadpoles show an increase in the mitotic activity and the DNA and RNA content in the brain, it was decided to determine the effects of triiodothyronine, if any, on other tissues of the developing tadpole. It seemed feasible to investigate the effects of triiodothyronine, on peripheral tissue, the skin and muscles of the tail, of the tadpole with respect to the nucleic acid content. Rna clamitans tadpoles were used to study the effects of triiodothyronine on the DNA and RNA content of the skin and muscles. The tadpoles used in this study were in stages XII to XV. They were staged from descriptions given by Taylor and Kollros (1946), for Rana pipiens larvae. Fifty tadpoles were used in this investigation. Twenty-five were designated as controls and twenty-five designated as experimentals. The tadpoles were approximately 75 mm in length, and were kept in finger bowls at room temperature in tap water before use. The animals were fed mustard greens during the entire experiment and the water was changed daily

Tipping the Scale to Bring a Balanced Approach: Evidence Disclosure in Chinese International Arbitration

Due to the ever-increasing trade between China and the rest of the world, commercial disputes have risen dramatically. Many foreign companies choose to resolve these disputes through arbitration to circumvent the Chinese courts and to retain more autonomy and control. Arbitration itself can also be a problem because rules and laws differ, depending on the jurisdiction and the institution involved. Under China’s civil law tradition, arbitrators are restricted in their ability to force parties to disclose evidence that may be detrimental to their case. Additionally, arbitrators have no authority to obtain evidence from uncooperative third parties. This Article seeks to provide some guidance for parties engaged in arbitration proceedings in China

Effects of Cross-Age Tutors With EBD for Kindergarteners At Risk of Mathematics Difficulties

Challenges with numerical proficiency at an early age can lead to substantial gaps in learning and are associated with detrimental long-term outcomes. In addition, students with emotional–behavioral disorders (EBD) can have some of the most challenging behavioral and academic needs to address. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects and collateral outcomes of utilizing cross-age tutors (i.e., older students) with/at risk of EBD to deliver a number line board game intervention to kindergarten students at risk of mathematics disabilities. A multiple baseline design across participants was utilized to evaluate the following research questions: (a) What are the effects of a number line game delivered by a cross-age tutor with EBD on the mathematics performance of kindergarten students with mathematics difficulties? (b) Can students with EBD implement tutoring procedures with fidelity? (c) What are the effects of the cross-age tutoring training and implementation on the tutors’ classroom behaviors and risk-status for EBD? Tutoring sessions took place for 25–30 min, 3 times per week, over 10 weeks. Results suggest cross-age tutoring to be an effective and feasible model for improving mathematics performance of at-risk kindergarteners and, to a lesser extent, the behavioral performance of students with EBD

Students With Emotional–Behavioral Disorders as Cross-Age Tutors: A Synthesis of the Literature

The purpose of this quantitative synthesis was to evaluate the effectiveness and related outcomes of the cross-age tutoring model when students with or at risk for emotional–behavioral disorders (EBD) serve as tutors. Research questions were posed to identify the shared and unique components (e.g., dosage, tutor training) of the cross-age tutoring model; the extent to which students with EBD can effectively serve as cross-age tutors (i.e., fidelity of implementation and tutees’ improvement); the extent to which the model was effective in promoting desired academic and/or social–emotional–behavioral outcomes for tutees and tutors with EBD; the generalization, maintenance, and social validity of the effects; and the overall methodological quality and rigor of the included studies. Findings showed common training and instructional components across interventions and that tutors with EBD can implement cross-age tutoring procedures with fidelity. The cross-age model was shown to be effective in promoting academic and social–behavioral skills for the tutees as well as the tutors. Evidence for effectiveness in improving self-concept and attitude of the tutor with EBD was inconsistent. Implications and future research considerations are discussed

Development and Testing of an Instrument to Measure Informatics Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes Among Entry-Level Nursing Students

Informatics competencies in nursing education have long been and continue to be a concern. This article reports on the development and psychometric testing of the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes towards Nursing Informatics (KSANI) Scale to measure these constructs among entry-level nursing students. A measurement instrument was developed based on the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Institute informatics competencies for pre-licensure students (Cronenwett et al., 2007). Survey data were collected from a convenience sample of 300 undergraduate nursing students attending the 2014 Florida Student Nurses Association’s annual convention. The data were subjected to Cronbach’s test to estimate the level of reliability as internal consistency. At 0.90, the alpha for the overall scale exceeded the 0.70 benchmark for acceptability. The scale items were clustered into the intended three factors – knowledge, skills and attitudes – as well as into the added factor of opportunities. The instrument was found to be sound and appropriate for the target population. Nursing informatics combine the disciplines of nursing science, information science, and computer science (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). Ever since the time of Florence Nightingale, one of the critical roles of the registered nurse (RN) has been to collect and interpret data to provide safe and effective patient care. Since the early 1980s, informatics competencies in nursing education have been discussed in nursing literature (Staggers, Gassert, & Curran, 2001). In 1992, the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2015) recognized the importance of technology to nursing practice, identifying nursing informatics as a specialty practice. The 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report calling for a safer health care system identified the use information technology (IT) as a key factor toward meeting this goal. In 2010, the IOM published The Future of Nursing, which recommended making technology an essential component of nursing education. Both the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2008) and the National League for Nursing (NLN, 2008) emphasized that knowledge and skills in information management and patient care technology are critical components in nursing education and accreditation. Skiba, Connors, and Jeffries (2008) identified a lack of informatics competencies in nursing education prior to 2008. Since that time, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have partnered to support the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Initiative (AACN, 2016). One of the components of the QSEN Initiative was the development of competencies in various areas including informatics. This research contributes to the development of a reliable and valid instrument based on the QSEN competencies to test the informatics knowledge, skills, and attitudes of current RN students in Florida

Development and Testing of an Instrument to Measure Informatics Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes Among Entry-Level Nursing Students

Informatics competencies in nursing education have long been and continue to be a concern. This article reports on the development and psychometric testing of the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes towards Nursing Informatics (KSANI) Scale to measure these constructs among entry-level nursing students. A measurement instrument was developed based on the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Institute informatics competencies for pre-licensure students (Cronenwett et al., 2007). Survey data were collected from a convenience sample of 300 undergraduate nursing students attending the 2014 Florida Student Nurses Association’s annual convention. The data were subjected to Cronbach’s test to estimate the level of reliability as internal consistency. At 0.90, the alpha for the overall scale exceeded the 0.70 benchmark for acceptability. The scale items were clustered into the intended three factors – knowledge, skills and attitudes – as well as into the added factor of opportunities. The instrument was found to be sound and appropriate for the target population. Nursing informatics combine the disciplines of nursing science, information science, and computer science (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). Ever since the time of Florence Nightingale, one of the critical roles of the registered nurse (RN) has been to collect and interpret data to provide safe and effective patient care. Since the early 1980s, informatics competencies in nursing education have been discussed in nursing literature (Staggers, Gassert, & Curran, 2001). In 1992, the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2015) recognized the importance of technology to nursing practice, identifying nursing informatics as a specialty practice. The 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report calling for a safer health care system identified the use information technology (IT) as a key factor toward meeting this goal. In 2010, the IOM published The Future of Nursing, which recommended making technology an essential component of nursing education. Both the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2008) and the National League for Nursing (NLN, 2008) emphasized that knowledge and skills in information management and patient care technology are critical components in nursing education and accreditation. Skiba, Connors, and Jeffries (2008) identified a lack of informatics competencies in nursing education prior to 2008. Since that time, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have partnered to support the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Initiative (AACN, 2016). One of the components of the QSEN Initiative was the development of competencies in various areas including informatics. This research contributes to the development of a reliable and valid instrument based on the QSEN competencies to test the informatics knowledge, skills, and attitudes of current RN students in Florida

Internal consistency reliability is a poor predictor of responsiveness

BACKGROUND: Whether responsiveness represents a measurement property of health-related quality of life (HRQL) instruments that is distinct from reliability and validity is an issue of debate. We addressed the claims of a recent study, which suggested that investigators could rely on internal consistency to reflect instrument responsiveness. METHODS: 516 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or knee injury participating in four longitudinal studies completed generic and disease-specific HRQL questionnaires before and after an intervention that impacted on HRQL. We used Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression to assess the relationship between internal consistency reliability (expressed as Cronbach's alpha), instrument type (generic and disease-specific) and responsiveness (expressed as the standardised response mean, SRM). RESULTS: Mean Cronbach's alpha was 0.83 (SD 0.08) and mean SRM was 0.59 (SD 0.33). The correlation between Cronbach's alpha and SRMs was 0.10 (95% CI -0.12 to 0.32) across all studies. Cronbach's alpha alone did not explain variability in SRMs (p = 0.59, r(2 )= 0.01) whereas the type of instrument was a strong predictor of the SRM (p = 0.012, r(2 )= 0.37). In multivariable models applied to individual studies Cronbach's alpha consistently failed to predict SRMs (regression coefficients between -0.45 and 1.58, p-values between 0.15 and 0.98) whereas the type of instrument did predict SRMs (regression coefficients between -0.25 to -0.59, p-values between <0.01 and 0.05). CONCLUSION: Investigators must look to data other than internal consistency reliability to select a responsive instrument for use as an outcome in clinical trials

Strategies To Improve Control Of Blood A1C In Diabetics

A1c monitoring is an important aspect of controlling the health of a diabetic patient. An adult internal medicine clinic noted that the percentage of their diabetic patients who had an A1c higher than 9 or no reading within the past year exceeded the national average. As a result, operational excellence methods were implemented with the overall goal to reduce their percentage to 18% or less. A root cause analysis identified several deficiencies to includelack of essential equipment, variations in staff education and the absence of daily reminders. Post KPI implementations, an overall decrease in the percentage of patients with poorly controlled diabetes was attained. Next steps include ongoing monthly reviews of patients with A1c \u3e9 or have not been seen in 12 month

Children with Disabilities Tend to Stay in a Highly-resourced Early Head Start/Head Start Program Longer than Children without Disabilities

Using data from 21 Educare schools, the researchers measured the rate at which children from birth to kindergarten-age enter the school and rate at which they exit the school. Educare schools are highly resourced Early Head Start/Head Start programs targeting children at risk, especially children from low-income backgrounds. About 10% of the children have a disability. Results showed that children with a disability tended to stay in the program longer, especially when enrolled in Early Head Start.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ccids_posters/1037/thumbnail.jp