Elementary Teacher Knowledge of and Practices for Teaching Reading to African American Students

State standardized tests results indicated that between 2012 and 2016, fewer African American students at a rural, Title I elementary school met state standards in reading compared with other racial/ethnic groups of students. A gap in practice existed because the school and district had not conducted studies to understand teacher knowledge and practice as they related to teaching reading to African American students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to address the problem and gap in practice by exploring elementary teacher knowledge and understanding of the learning needs in reading among African American students. Tomlinson\u27s theory of differentiated instruction served as the conceptual framework for this study. Interview data were analyzed from 10 experienced elementary teachers using 2-cycle provisional coding and pattern coding, which revealed the themes that constituted the findings of my study: (a) teachers understanding of factors that contribute to underachievement in reading of some African American students, (b) professional development and preparation of teachers for teaching African American students, (c) classroom pedagogy for teaching African American students, (d) challenges that teachers encounter when teaching reading to African American students, and (e) resources and supports that teachers perceive as necessary for teaching reading to African American students. The findings indicated that elementary teachers would benefit from participating in professional development, which would help them better teach reading to African American students. The study and resulting project may affect local positive social change by increasing teacher knowledge about the learning needs in reading among African American students, leading to an eventual increase in reading achievement among African American students at the study school

Food rejection in young children:Validation of the Child Food Rejection Scale in English and cross-cultural examination in the UK and France.

Although there are numerous studies examining food rejection (neophobia and pickiness), very few studies have directly compared these particular behaviors in children from different countries. Testing children from different countries is important for future research, as there are clear differences between European countries in early feeding practices and child fruit and vegetable consumption. In the present study we aimed to (i) validate the Child Food Rejection Scale in English and (ii) compare children’s food neophobia and pickiness in the UK and France. To that aim, the Child Food Rejection Scale was first translated into English and its reliability and validity were assessed. Second, food rejection scores in a UK sample (n=117) and in a French sample (n=256) were directly compared to examine cross-cultural differences. Results showed that the Child Food Rejection Scale can be successfully used outside France. Moreover results revealed that UK children are less neophobic and picky than French children. These cultural differences can be useful to inform targeted interventions to change food related behaviors in these different populations

Should I stay or should I go : the effects of leave context on interpersonal meta-accuracy

Advisors: Alecia M. Santuzzi.Committee members: Lisa Finkelstein; John Skowronski.As employees navigate work and home life demands, they look to organizational policies and procedures to help in this regard. However, past research on reactions to employees taking advantage of such policies as well as expected evaluations from others, is decidedly mixed. In two studies, I examined the social cognitive mechanisms and subsequent boundary conditions that determine whether coworkers have negative reactions to leaving an interpersonal task and whether the target person expects negative reactions for doing so. The results from Study 1 showed that participants anticipate they will be evaluated more positively when the reason for leaving a shared task is due to illness rather than dislike of the task. Further, participants anticipated that they would be evaluated as having less self-discipline when the leave was voluntary rather than involuntary. In Study 2, the observed mean differences from Study 1 were not replicated. Further, metaperceptions (anticipated evaluations from the partner) were unrelated to partners' evaluations of self-discipline, conscientiousness, and trustworthiness, suggesting low meta-accuracy on these traits. However a positive relationship between metaperceptions and evaluations was observed for likeability. This relationship was moderated by choice such that meta-accuracy increased when participants were told they would be leaving involuntarily vs. voluntarily.M.A. (Master of Arts

Integración de la información molecular y epidemiológica en la vigilancia del sarampión. Aplicación en el estudio de los brotes en España, 2017-2020

Incluye PDF de la presentación y vídeo del seminario.Se valora la situación epidemiológica en España con el objetivo de fortalecer el sistema de vigilancia y la actuación en brotes, implementando rápidamente las medidas de control de aquellos brotes que supongan un evento de salud pública de importancia nacional o internacional. A través de la vigilancia molecular, se evalúa la circulación del virus, estableciendo el origen de los casos, cadenas de trnsmisión, etc. La recogida de información genómica adicional sirve para aumentar la resolución molecular.N

Is domestic agricultural production sufficient to meet national food nutrient needs in Brazil?

Acknowledgements: We are grateful for the valuable comments and suggestions made by Dr. James Gerber, as well as by the anonymous reviewers, which enhanced significantly the manuscript. Data Availability: All relevant data are uploaded to the PANGAEA database and publicly accessible via the following URL: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.911574. Funding: J. P. received his doctorate scholarship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). J. P., J. G. and J. O. were funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), in the scope of the Belmont Forum FACCE-JPI 2013 (process 2014/50627-2). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Dramatic Plays as a Tool to Educate Young African-American Females about HIV/AIDS

Rates of HIV/AIDS transmission have increased substantially, particularly among young African American women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV/AIDS is the number one killer for African American women aged 25 to 34. Given that many of these young women are contracting the disease in their late teens and early twenties, there is a need to develop interventions that directly address the needs of this group. The current study sought to assess the effectiveness of theater in increasing knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the likelihood of healthier sexual behavior and choices among 219 young African American women 18 to 39 years of age. Paired sample t-tests revealed that there were significant mean differences in knowledge and intended safe sex behavior after viewing the play. Young women who viewed the play reported increased knowledge of HIV and reported a higher likelihood of engaging in safer sex. Given the high rates of HIV/AIDS among young African American women, more innovative educational and prevention techniques are needed

Norovirus GII.3[P12] Outbreak Associated with the Drinking Water Supply in a Rural Area in Galicia, Spain, 2021

On 30 September 2021, the city council of Muxia, Spain (population of 4,564 inhabitants), reported an unusual increase of patients with acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Because geographically widespread villages belonging to the same water supply were affected, a waterborne outbreak was suspected. Overall, 115 probable cases were ascertained during epidemiological investigations carried out by the local health authority (attack rate, 5.7%); the age range was 0 to 92 years, and 54% were female. The main symptoms were vomiting (78.1%) and diarrhea (67.5%). Primary cases peaked on 29 September and subsided on 1 October, compatible with a point-source outbreak followed by possible secondary cases until 7 October. We conducted an unmatched case-control study using phone surveys. The case-control study included 62 cases and 46 controls. Univariate analysis showed that cases had a higher exposure to tap water through direct consumption (odds ratio [OR] = 86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 18 to 409) or vegetable washing (OR = 27; 95% CI, 7 to 98). Norovirus GII was detected in two terminal points of the water supply system, and 14 cases were laboratory confirmed after detection of GII in stool samples. A unique genotype (GII.3[P12]) was identified in stool samples. On 1 October, a tap water ban was put in place and the water was purged and chlorinated. The rapid increase in the number of cases and its decline after implementing control measures suggested a waterborne point-source outbreak among the residents of Muxia sharing the same water distribution system. IMPORTANCE: Noroviruses are likely to be underrecognized in most suspected waterborne outbreaks. Therefore, effective norovirus detection and the early recognition of water as a possible source of infection are important to reduce morbidity as appropriate steps are taken to control the source. In our study, we combined epidemiological, environmental, and microbiological investigations to demonstrate that it was a waterborne outbreak caused by norovirus. Metagenomic sequencing in one norovirus-positive stool sample confirmed norovirus etiology and the absence of other potential pathogens. Detection of fecal indicator bacteria and the fact that the drinking water was not chlorinated suggest a breakdown in chlorination as the cause of the outbreak. This outbreak investigation also demonstrated the importance of timely communication to the public about the risk linked to tap water consumption.This study was partially funded through the project PI20CIII/00005.S

Positive Predictive Value of Mammography: Comparison of Interpretations of Screening and Diagnostic Images by the Same Radiologist and by Different Radiologists

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the positive predictive value (PPV) after a recommendation for biopsy differs when one as opposed to more than one radiologist performs the workup after abnormal findings are discovered at screening mammography

Utility of MF-non coding region for measles molecular surveillance during post-elimination phase, Spain, 2017-2020

Background: In countries entering the post-elimination phase for measles, the study of variants by sequencing of 450 nucleotides of the N gene (N450) does not always allow the tracing of chains of transmission. Indeed, between 2017 and 2020, most measles virus sequences belonged to either the MVs/Dublin.IRL/8.16 (B3-Dublin) or the MVs/Gir Somnath.IND/42.16 (D8-Gir Somnath) variants. We evaluated the additional use of a non-coding region (MF-NCR) as a tool to enhance resolution and infer case origin, chains of transmission and characterize outbreaks. Methods: We obtained 115 high-quality MF-NCR sequences from strains collected from Spanish patients infected with either B3-Dublin or D8-Gir Somnath variants between 2017 and 2020, performed epidemiological, phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses and applied a mathematical model to determine relatedness among identified clades. Results: Applying this model allowed us to identify phylogenetic clades potentially derived from concomitant importations of the virus rather than single chain of transmission, inferred based on only N450 and epidemiology data. In a third outbreak, we found two related clades that corresponded to two chains of transmission. Discussion: Our results show the ability of the proposed method to improve identification of simultaneous importations in the same region which could trigger enhanced contact tracing. Moreover, the identification of further transmission chains indicates that the size of import-related outbreaks was smaller than previously found, supporting the interpretation that endemic measles transmission was absent in Spain between 2017 and 2020. We suggest considering the use of the MF-NCR region in conjunction with the study of N450 variants in future WHO recommendations for measles surveillance.This work was supported by the “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (PI15CIII/00023, PI19ICIII/0041). AG was funded by CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), ISCIII. CJ was funded by the ECDC/EUPHEM fellowship.S