Attending School Matters: Policies to Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism is among the most pervasive challenges facing public education in the United States as 1 in 10 students misses a month or more of school annually. Further, approximately 7% of fourth and eighth graders miss at least a week of school per month, whereas an estimated 5.5% to 20% of students are absent every day in some urban schools where absentee rates reach as high as 30% (Balfanz and Byrnes 2012). As education leaders and policy makers debate the merits of new intervention strategies under the No Child Left Behind Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to enhance learning, there is a growing concern about the rate at which students miss school. Chronic absenteeism, which occurs as early as the elementary grades, is one of the strongest and most often overlooked indicators of risk factors for students, leading to their becoming disengaged, failing, and dropping out of school. Even though school boards collect attendance data, those data are often not closely monitored. In addition, daily attendance counts that are part of state accountability systems, and that can affect school funding, can hide chronic absenteeism because averages typically do not track individual students

A Fasciclin-Like Arabinogalactan-Protein (FLA) Mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana, fla1, Shows Defects in Shoot Regeneration

Extent: 11p.BACKGROUND: The fasciclin-like arabinogalactan-proteins (FLAs) are an enigmatic class of 21 members within the larger family of arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Located at the cell surface, in the cell wall/plasma membrane, they are implicated in many developmental roles yet their function remains largely undefined. Fasciclin (FAS) domains are putative cell-adhesion domains found in extracellular matrix proteins of organisms from all kingdoms, but the juxtaposition of FAS domains with highly glycosylated AGP domains is unique to plants. Recent studies have started to elucidate the role of FLAs in Arabidopsis development. FLAs containing a single FAS domain are important for the integrity and elasticity of the plant cell wall matrix (FLA11 and FLA12) and FLA3 is involved in microspore development. FLA4/SOS5 with two FAS domains and two AGP domains has a role in maintaining proper cell expansion under salt stressed conditions. The role of other FLAs remains to be uncovered. METHOD/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we describe the characterisation of a T-DNA insertion mutant in the FLA1 gene (At5g55730). Under standard growth conditions fla1-1 mutants have no obvious phenotype. Based on gene expression studies, a putative role for FLA1 in callus induction was investigated and revealed that fla1-1 has a reduced ability to regenerate shoots in an in vitro shoot-induction assay. Analysis of FLA1p:GUS reporter lines show that FLA1 is expressed in several tissues including stomata, trichomes, the vasculature of leaves, the primary root tip and in lateral roots near the junction of the primary root. CONCLUSION: The results of the developmental expression of FLA1 and characterisation of the fla1 mutant support a role for FLA1 in the early events of lateral root development and shoot development in tissue culture, prior to cell-type specification.Kim L. Johnson, Natalie A. J. Kibble, Antony Bacic and Carolyn J. Schult

Racial differences in neurocognitive outcomes post-stroke: The impact of healthcare variables

AbstractObjectives:The present study examined differences in neurocognitive outcomes among non-Hispanic Black and White stroke survivors using the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB), and investigated the roles of healthcare variables in explaining racial differences in neurocognitive outcomes post-stroke.Methods:One-hundred seventy adults (91 Black; 79 White), who participated in a multisite study were included (age:M=56.4;SD=12.6; education:M=13.7;SD=2.5; 50% male; years post-stroke: 1–18; stroke type: 72% ischemic, 28% hemorrhagic). Neurocognitive function was assessed with the NIHTB-CB, using demographically corrected norms. Participants completed measures of socio-demographic characteristics, health literacy, and healthcare use and access. Stroke severity was assessed with the Modified Rankin Scale.Results:An independent samplesttest indicated Blacks showed more neurocognitive impairment (NIHTB-CB Fluid Composite T-score:M=37.63;SD=11.67) than Whites (Fluid T-score:M=42.59,SD=11.54;p=.006). This difference remained significant after adjusting for reading level (NIHTB-CB Oral Reading), and when stratified by stroke severity. Blacks also scored lower on health literacy, reported differences in insurance type, and reported decreased confidence in the doctors treating them. Multivariable models adjusting for reading level and injury severity showed that health literacy and insurance type were statistically significant predictors of the Fluid cognitive composite (p&lt;.001 andp=.02, respectively) and significantly mediated racial differences on neurocognitive impairment.Conclusions:We replicated prior work showing that Blacks are at increased risk for poorer neurocognitive outcomes post-stroke than Whites. Health literacy and insurance type might be important modifiable factors influencing these differences. (JINS, 2017,23, 640–652)</jats:p

Copper-free click chemistry for the in situ crosslinking of photodegradable star polymers

Bifunctional, fluorinated cyclooctynes were used for the in situ click crosslinking of azide-terminated photodegradable star polymers, yielding photodegradable polymeric model networks with well-defined structures and tunable gelation times

First Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables: Evidence for Excess Emission at 3--8 microns

We present the first observations of magnetic cataclysmic variables with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We used the Infrared Array Camera to obtain photometry of the polars EF Eri, GG Leo, V347 Pav, and RX J0154.0-5947 at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 $\mu$m. In all of our targets, we detect excess mid-infrared emission over that expected from the component stars alone. We explore the origin of this IR excess by examining bremsstrahlung, cyclotron emission, circumbinary dust, and L/T brown dwarf secondary stars. Bremsstrahlung and cyclotron emission appear unlikely to be significant contributors to the observed fluxes. At present, the most likely candidate for the excess emission is dust that is probably located in a circumbinary disk with an inner temperature near 800 K. However, a simple dust disk plus any reasonable low mass or brown dwarf-like secondary star is unable to fully explain the observed flux densities in the 3--8 $\mu$m region.Comment: Accepted to ApJ Letter

Core Interprofessional Education (IPE) health competencies: The process of adaptation and implementation for a local environment

IPE: Interprofessional Healthcare Education (IPE) competencies provide the criteria against which to measure the capacity and capability of fully collaborative healthcare teams to learn and work together. Significant work already exists in the determination of IPE competencies across all disciplines. Although there is still a lack of agreement on a single set of shared core competencies, successive competency iterations enhance its development. IPE competencies need to take into account local and cultural contexts as recommended by WHO, (2010). Here we present a collaborative process that builds on existing competency development, assessing additional academic IPE needs. Core competencies: After the development of a set of shared core IPE competencies a two-day workshop was delivered to healthcare students from four professions. The results and feedback from students showed the value of the competencies. We discuss the evolving process through two major stages: (1) development of a model determining four ..

Precision near-infrared radial velocity instrumentation II: Non-Circular Core Fiber Scrambler

We have built and commissioned a prototype agitated non-circular core fiber scrambler for precision spectroscopic radial velocity measurements in the near-infrared H band. We have collected the first on-sky performance and modal noise tests of these novel fibers in the near-infrared at H and K bands using the CSHELL spectrograph at the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF). We discuss the design behind our novel reverse injection of a red laser for co-alignment of star-light with the fiber tip via a corner cube and visible camera. We summarize the practical details involved in the construction of the fiber scrambler, and the mechanical agitation of the fiber at the telescope. We present radial velocity measurements of a bright standard star taken with and without the fiber scrambler to quantify the relative improvement in the obtainable blaze function stability, the line spread function stability, and the resulting radial velocity precision. We assess the feasibility of applying this illumination stabilization technique to the next generation of near-infrared spectrographs such as iSHELL on IRTF and an upgraded NIRSPEC at Keck. Our results may also be applied in the visible for smaller core diameter fibers where fiber modal noise is a significant factor, such as behind an adaptive optics system or on a small < 1 meter class telescope such as is being pursued by the MINERVA and LCOGT collaborations.Comment: Proceedings of the SPIE Optics and Photonics Conference "Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VI" held in San Diego, CA, August 25-29, 201

Clinical and molecular implications of mosaicism in FMR1 full mutations

Expansions of more than 200 CGG repeats (full mutation) in the FMR1 gene give rise to fragile X syndrome (FXS) through a process that generally involves hypermethylation of the FMR1 promoter region and gene silencing, resulting in absence of expression of the encoded protein, FMRP. However, mosaicism with alleles differing in size and extent of methylation often exist within or between tissues of individuals with FXS. In the current work, CGG-repeat lengths and methylation status were assessed for eighteen individuals with FXS, including 13 mosaics, for which peripheral blood cells (PBMCs) and primary fibroblast cells were available. Our results show that for both PBMCs and fibroblasts, FMR1 mRNA and FMRP expression are directly correlated with the percent of methylation of the FMR1 allele. In addition, Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores were inversely correlated with the percent methylation and positively correlated with higher FMRP expression. These latter results point toward a positive impact on cognition for full mutation, methylation mosaics with lower methylation compared to individuals with fully methylated, full mutation alleles. However, we did not observe a significant reduction in the number of seizures, nor in the severity of hyperactivity or autism spectrum disorder, among individuals with mosaic genotypes in the presentation of FXS.These observations suggest that low, but non-zero expression of FMRP may be sufficient to positively impact cognitive function in individuals with FXS, with methylation mosaicism (lowered methylation fraction) contributing to a more positive clinical outcome

Urinary Tract Stones and Osteoporosis: Findings From the Women's Health Initiative

Kidney and bladder stones (urinary tract stones) and osteoporosis are prevalent, serious conditions for postmenopausal women. Men with kidney stones are at increased risk of osteoporosis; however, the relationship of urinary tract stones to osteoporosis in postmenopausal women has not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine whether urinary tract stones are an independent risk factor for changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and incident fractures in women in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). Data were obtained from 150,689 women in the Observational Study and Clinical Trials of the WHI with information on urinary tract stones status: 9856 of these women reported urinary tract stones at baseline and/or incident urinary tract stones during follow‐up. Cox regression models were used to determine the association of urinary tract stones with incident fractures and linear mixed models were used to investigate the relationship of urinary tract stones with changes in BMD that occurred during WHI. Follow‐up was over an average of 8 years. Models were adjusted for demographic and clinical factors, medication use, and dietary histories. In unadjusted models there was a significant association of urinary tract stones with incident total fractures (HR 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.17). However, in covariate adjusted analyses, urinary tract stones were not significantly related to changes in BMD at any skeletal site or to incident fractures. In conclusion, urinary tract stones in postmenopausal women are not an independent risk factor for osteoporosis. © 2015 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115895/1/jbmr2553.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115895/2/jbmr2553_am.pd