Implementation of Cross-Curricular Instruction: An Evaluation of Julia Marshall’s Five Strategies of Integration Used by Contemporary Artists

In the contemporary education climate, art is viewed as extra-curricular, and art teachers are urged to incorporate core academic subjects into their curriculum. In many cases this integration comes with the sacrifice of an authentic arts education. One researcher, Julia Marshall, suggests using strategies such as depiction, extension/projection, reformatting, mimicry, and metaphor from contemporary art to integrate non-art topics into the art classroom. This case study provides insight into the effectiveness of those strategies among a small group of upper level high school art students. Though the sample size was small there are some promising results that suggest that these strategies may have an impact on student performance in both their art and non-art course

Population preference values for health states in relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the United Kingdom

Health state descriptions. (DOCX 41 kb

Quantitative versus qualitative notions of validity: investigating the validity of PSYCHLOPS as a patient outcome measure in trials of insomnia and sleep problems

Introduction PSYCHLOPS (‘Psychological Outcome Profiles’)is a novel patient-reported outcome measure developed by Ashworth and colleagues that allows clients to evaluate their progress by measuring severity scores for self-defined problems at the start of, during and after therapy. PSYCHLOPS was administered in a study, ‘Resources for Effective Sleep Treatment (REST)’, designed to assess the feasibility of training primary care clinicians (GPs and nurses) to deliver ‘problem focused therapy’ for insomnia to improve sleep outcomes in adults with insomnia. We aimed in this sub-study to assess both qualitative and quantitative notions of validity of PSYCHLOPS in sleep studies. Methods PSYCHLOPS was administered by a practice nurse to trial participants in two intervention primary care sites (participants offered ‘problem focused therapy’) and two control sites (participants offered sleep hygiene information) as part of a cluster randomized feasibility study. Other predetermined outcome measures including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and sleep diaries. We investigated qualitative and quantitative markers of validity including content validity (nature of response to items), internal validity (reliability), criterion validity (strength of relationship with a related variable) and construct validity (strength of relationship with an underlying variable). Results A qualitative analysis of test content showed a representative sample of the behavior domain expected in relation to sleep problems including sleep, sleep-related problems and underlying psychosocial and physical problems such as anxiety, worry and arthritis. A positive, statistically significant correlation was found between PSYCHLOPS and ISI (Kendall’s tau = 0.47, p<0.001) but not between PSYCHLOPS and PSQI (Kendall’s tau = 0.13, p=0.24) suggesting partial criterion validity with regards to insomnia impact. We also found a positive correlation between PSYCHLOPS and BDI and (Kendall’s tau = 0.47, p<0.001) indicating construct validity. Conclusion PSYCHLOPS demonstrated some aspects of quantitative validity supporting its wider use in this study setting. However, applying qualitative notions of validity uncovered a number of assumptions and response biases that should be acknowledged in future studies using the tool. Qualitative analysis added an additional dimension to the assessment of validity which should be considered in other validation studies

Stratified Multilevel Logistic Regression Modeling for Risk Factors of Adolescent Obesity in Tennessee

Background: US adolescent obesity rates have quadrupled over the past 3 decades. Research examining complex factors associatedwith obesity is limited.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to utilize a representative sample of students (grades 6 - 8) in Tennessee to determine theco-occurrence of risk behaviors with adolescent obesity prevalence and to analyze variations by strata. Methods: The 2010 youth risk behavior survey dataset was used to examine associations of obesity with variables related to sampledemographics, risk and protective behaviors, and region. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses stratified by demographics andregion were conducted to evaluate variation in obesity risk occurring on three hierarchical levels: class, school and district. Results: The sample consisted of 60715 subjects. The overall obesity rate was 22%. High prevalence of obesity existed in males, non-white race, those ever smoked and was positively correlated with age. Across three state regions, race, gender, and specific behaviors (smoking, weight misperception, disordered eating, +3 hours TV viewing, and no sports team participation) persisted as significantpredictors of adolescent obesity, although variations by region and demographics were observed. Multilevel analyses indicate that\u3c 1%, 0 - 1.97% and4.03 - 13.06% of the variation in obesity was associated with district, school and class differences, respectively, whenstratifying the sample by demographic characteristics or region. Conclusions: Uniform school-based prevention efforts targeting adolescent obesity risk may have limited impact if they fail torespond to geographical and demographic nuances that hierarchal modeling can detect. Study results reveal that stratified hi-erarchical analytic approaches to examine adolescent obesity risk have tremendous potential to elucidate significant prevention insights

Nanoparticle–Biofilm Interactions: The Role of the EPS Matrix

The negative consequences of biofilms are widely reported. A defining feature of biofilms is the extracellular matrix, a complex mixture of biomacromolecules, termed EPS, which contributes to reduced antimicrobial susceptibility. EPS targeting is a promising, but underexploited, approach to biofilm control allowing disruption of the matrix and thereby increasing the susceptibility to antimicrobials. Nanoparticles (NPs) can play a very important role as ’carriers’ of EPS matrix disruptors, and several approaches have recently been proposed. In this review, we discuss the application of nanoparticles as antibiofilm technologies with a special emphasis on the role of the EPS matrix in the physicochemical regulation of the nanoparticle–biofilm interaction. We highlight the use of nanoparticles as a platform for a new generation of antibiofilm approaches.Science Foundation Irelan

Study Protocol for a Stepped-Wedge Randomized Cookstove Intervention in Rural Honduras: Household Air Pollution and Cardiometabolic Health

Growing evidence links household air pollution exposure from biomass-burning cookstoves to cardiometabolic disease risk. Few randomized controlled interventions of cookstoves (biomass or otherwise) have quantitatively characterized changes in exposure and indicators of cardiometabolic health, a growing and understudied burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Ideally, the solution is to transition households to clean cooking, such as with electric or liquefied petroleum gas stoves; however, those unable to afford or to access these options will continue to burn biomass for the foreseeable future. Wood-burning cookstove designs such as the Justa (incorporating an engineered combustion zone and chimney) have the potential to substantially reduce air pollution exposures. Previous cookstove intervention studies have been limited by stove types that did not substantially reduce exposures and/or by low cookstove adoption and sustained use, and few studies have incorporated community-engaged approaches to enhance the intervention

Exposure to Household Air Pollution from Biomass Cookstoves and Levels of Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) among Honduran Women

Household air pollution is estimated to be responsible for nearly three million premature deaths annually. Measuring fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) may improve the limited understanding of the association of household air pollution and airway inflammation. We evaluated the cross-sectional association of FeNO with exposure to household air pollution (24-h average kitchen and personal fine particulate matter and black carbon; stove type) among 139 women in rural Honduras using traditional stoves or cleaner-burning Justastoves. We additionally evaluated interaction by age. Results were generally consistent with a null association; we did not observe a consistent pattern for interaction by age. Evidence from ambient and household air pollution regarding FeNO is inconsistent, and may be attributable to differing study populations, exposures, and FeNO measurement procedures (e.g., the flow rate used to measure FeNO)

Simultaneous removal of malachite green and hexavalent chromium by Cunninghamella elegans biofilm in a semi-continuous system

The present study was conducted to evaluate the potential of the fungus Cunninghamella elegans for simultaneous decolourisation of a triphenylmethane dye malachite green (MG) and hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in the same media. This fungus can degrade MG through its reduction into leucomalachite green and then demethylation followed by oxidative cleavage. Along with MG degradation, C. elegans biofilm could effectively and repeatedly remove Cr(VI) from the liquid cultures even in the presence of high concentrations (40 g L−1) of NaCl and various other metal ions. C. elegans biofilm was also found to adsorb different dyes (reactive black-5, acid orange 7, direct red 81 and brilliant blue G) concurrently with Cr(VI). Based on its potential for simultaneous removal of dyes and Cr(VI) as well as reusability, C. elegans biofilm is envisaged as an efficient bioresource to devise strategies for treatment of wastewaters loaded with multiple pollutants.Environmental Protection AgencyIrish Research Counci