1,390 research outputs found
Cognitive apprenticeship : teaching the craft of reading, writing, and mathtematics
Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-27)This research was supported by the National Institute of Education under Contract no. US-NIE-C-400-81-0030 and the Office of Naval Research under Contract No. N00014-85-C-002
Student Perspectives on Meaningful Adult Relationships in a Transfer School
High school models that provide alternative ways for students who are overage and under-credited and have dropped out or disengaged from school to re-engage and graduate with a high school diploma have grown in New York City in the past ten years. The school model in this study conceives “Building Healthy Relationships” as one of five essential elements of the model and central to the re-engagement and success of students in school. Students in this model are paired with an advocate counselor who supports them while in school and towards graduation from high school. In this study, I interviewed thirteen former students who graduated from Brooklyn High School, a transfer school based on the Good Shepherd Services transfer school model, to understand the meaning of the relationship between a student and an advocate counselor from the perspective of the student. Using a grounded theory approach informed by a youth development framework (Benson, 2002; Benson & Saito, 2001; Damon, 2004), care in schools (Noddings, 2005), and relational theory (Brown & Gilligan, 1993; Gilligan, 1982; Miller, 1976; Ragins & Fletcher, 2007), I analyzed interviews to develop a theory about what was happening in the relationship (Charmaz, 2006). Findings suggest that there are three elements in the relationship between an advocate counselor and student—being known, feeling cared for, and caring about myself—that are essential to a meaningful relationship. Those three elements and possible relationships between them as they contribute to a meaningful relationship between an advocate counselor and student are discussed. Implications for practice in schools, the field of social work, and further research are presented
LEAD Program Evaluation: Recidivism Report
The LEAD program was established in 2011 as a means of diverting those suspected of low-level drug and prostitution criminal activity to case management and other supportive services instead of jail and prosecution. The primary aim of the LEAD program is to reduce criminal recidivism. Secondary aims include reductions in criminal justice service utilization and associated costs as well as improvements for psychosocial, housing and quality-of-life outcomes. Because LEAD is the first known pre-booking diversion program of its kind in the United States, an evaluation is critically needed to inform key stakeholders, policy makers, and other interested parties of its impact. The evaluation of the LEAD program described in this report represents a response to this need.Background: This report was written by the University of Washington LEAD Evaluation Team at the request of the LEAD Policy Coordinating Group and fulfills the first of three LEAD evaluation aims. Purpose: This report describes findings from a quantitative analysis comparing outcomes for LEAD participants versus "system-as-usual" control participants on shorter- and longer-term changes on recidivism outcomes, including arrests (i.e., being taken into custody by legal authority) and criminal charges (i.e., filing of a criminal case in court). Arrests and criminal charges were chosen as the recidivism outcomes because they likely reflect individual behavior more than convictions, which are more heavily impacted by criminal justice system variables external to the individual. Findings: Analyses indicated statistically significant recidivism improvement for the LEAD group compared to the control group on some shorter- and longer-term outcomes
Associations among Wine Grape Microbiome, Metabolome, and Fermentation Behavior Suggest Microbial Contribution to Regional Wine Characteristics.
UnlabelledRegionally distinct wine characteristics (terroir) are an important aspect of wine production and consumer appreciation. Microbial activity is an integral part of wine production, and grape and wine microbiota present regionally defined patterns associated with vineyard and climatic conditions, but the degree to which these microbial patterns associate with the chemical composition of wine is unclear. Through a longitudinal survey of over 200 commercial wine fermentations, we demonstrate that both grape microbiota and wine metabolite profiles distinguish viticultural area designations and individual vineyards within Napa and Sonoma Counties, California. Associations among wine microbiota and fermentation characteristics suggest new links between microbiota, fermentation performance, and wine properties. The bacterial and fungal consortia of wine fermentations, composed from vineyard and winery sources, correlate with the chemical composition of the finished wines and predict metabolite abundances in finished wines using machine learning models. The use of postharvest microbiota as an early predictor of wine chemical composition is unprecedented and potentially poses a new paradigm for quality control of agricultural products. These findings add further evidence that microbial activity is associated with wine terroirImportanceWine production is a multi-billion-dollar global industry for which microbial control and wine chemical composition are crucial aspects of quality. Terroir is an important feature of consumer appreciation and wine culture, but the many factors that contribute to terroir are nebulous. We show that grape and wine microbiota exhibit regional patterns that correlate with wine chemical composition, suggesting that the grape microbiome may influence terroir In addition to enriching our understanding of how growing region and wine properties interact, this may provide further economic incentive for agricultural and enological practices that maintain regional microbial biodiversity
Cellular Localization of the Herpes Simplex Virus ICP0 Protein Dictates Its Ability to Block IRF3-Mediated Innate Immune Responses
Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) is important for innate antiviral responses; accordingly, many viruses target and inactivate IRF3. The ability of the Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) immediate early protein ICP0 to inhibit IRF3 is controversial and has not been studied solely in the context of a wild type HSV-1 infection. Discrepancies in the literature surround the mechanism by which ICP0 antagonizes the IRF3 pathway, the cellular localization of ICP0 inhibitory activity and the ability of ICP0 to interfere with interferon and interferon-stimulated gene induction. In this study, we set out to investigate the role of ICP0 localization and the requirement of the proteasome during the inhibition of IRF3 activation within the context of an HSV-1 infection. Collectively, the results presented herein demonstrate that incoming wild type HSV-1 activates IRF3 and that de novo produced ICP0 prevents sustained IRF3 activation following its translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. While previous studies implicate the E3 ubiquitin ligase domain of ICP0 in mediating its biological functions, including the inhibition of IRF3, we show that cytoplasmic ICP0 does not require the proteasome for this activity. Instead, proteasome function is required to localize ICP0 to the cytoplasm where it mediates its inhibitory effect independent of E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. The importance of these findings is discussed within the context of an HSV-1 infection
Assessing Dietary Outcomes in Intervention Studies: Pitfalls, Strategies, and Research Needs.
To inform strategies to improve the dietary intakes of populations, robust evaluations of interventions are required. This paper is drawn from a workshop held at the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2017 Annual Meeting, and highlights considerations and research priorities relevant to measuring dietary outcomes within intervention studies. Self-reported dietary data are typically relied upon in such studies, and it is recognized that these data are affected by random and systematic error. Additionally, differential error between intervention and comparison groups or pre- and post-intervention can be elicited by the intervention itself, for example, by creating greater awareness of eating or drinking occasions or the desire to appear compliant. Differential reporting can render the results of trials incorrect or inconclusive by leading to biased estimates and reduced statistical power. The development of strategies to address intervention-related biases requires developing a better understanding of the situations and population groups in which interventions are likely to elicit differential reporting and the extent of the bias. Also needed are efforts to expand the feasibility and applications of biomarkers to address intervention-related biases. In the meantime, researchers are encouraged to consider the potential for differential biases in dietary reporting in a given study, to choose tools carefully and take steps to minimize and/or measure factors such as social desirability biases that might contribute to differential reporting, and to consider the implications of differential reporting for study results
Evaluation of the microbiome of decaying alder nodules by next generation sequencing
This work investigated the microbial content of decaying nodules from alders. The 16S rDNA composition of the microbiome of six senescent alder nodules was investigated by 454 sequencing. All nodules still had some Frankia sequences present, but in each case it was only detected at minor levels, with other organisms predominating. Although organisms from three different phyla (Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria) constituted almost all (98% or more) of all sequences, Bacteroidetes were most abundant in four nodules with Proteobacteria being most abundant in the other two. In addition a few families were represented at a level of 10% or more of the total sequences: Sphingobacteriaceae (all 6 nodules); Chitinophagaceae (5 of 6); non-Frankia Actinomycetales (2 of 6); Caulobacteraceae (2 of 6); Flavobacteriaceae (2 of 6); Oxalobacteraceae (1 of 6); and Xanthomoadaceae (1 of 6). Analysis at the genus level showed a diverse range of organisms, with members of the genus Pedobacter being found at an abundant level within most nodules
Micronutrients and respiratory infections: the biological rationale and current state of clinical evaluation
A range of nutrients has been studied or proposed for use in preventing respiratory tract infections and reducing their severity. This article gives a narrative review of the existing literature, biological rationales and current state of clinical evaluation for micronutrient therapies. The importance of vitamin A, the B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D, eicosapentaenoic acid, vitamin E, selenium, zinc and a range of combination therapies are discussed, looking at their effects on reducing rates of infection, reducing severity of infection and improved recovery from infection. Further discussion regarding the level of evidence required for nutritional interventions is included
Peritoneal and hemodialysis: I. Differences in patient characteristics at initiation
Peritoneal and hemodialysis: I. Differences in patient characteristics at initiation.BackgroundComparisons of mortality outcomes between peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients have shown varying results, which may be caused by the unequally distributed clinical conditions of patients at initiation. To address this issue, we evaluated the clinical characteristics of 105,954 patients at the initiation of PD and HD, using the U.S. national incidence data on treated end-stage renal disease from the Medical Evidence Form, 1995 to 1997.MethodsA general linear model was used to analyze differences of age, albumin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and hematocrit; categorical data analysis to evaluate body mass index (BMI), grouped into four categories: !19, 19–25 (!25), 25–30 (!30), and 30+; and logistic regression to assess the likelihood of initiating PD versus HD. Diabetics (DM) were analyzed separately from non-diabetics (NDM). Explanatory variables in the logistic regression included incidence year, race, gender, age, BMI, albumin, creatinine, BUN, and hematocrit. Race included white and black. Age was categorized into four groups: 20–44, 45–64, 65–74, and 75+.ResultsAt the initiation of dialysis PD patients were approximately 6 years younger (P ! 0.0001) than HD patients. PD patients also had higher (P ! 0.0001) albumin (+0.35 g/dL for DM and +0.23 g/dL for NDM) and hematocrit (+1.64% for DM and +1.71% for NDM) levels, and lower (P ! 0.04) BUN (-8.75 mg/dL for DM and -5.24 mg/dL for NDM) and creatinine (-0.51 mg/dL for DM and -0.23 mg/dL for NDM) levels than HD patients. Whites had a higher (P ! 0.0001) likelihood of starting PD than blacks, and patients with BMI !19 had a lower (P ! 0.0001) chance of beginning on PD.ConclusionPD patients had favorable clinical conditions at the initiation of dialysis, which should be taken into consideration when comparing dialysis outcomes between the two modalities
Finishing the finished human chromosome 22 sequence
A combination of approaches was used to close 8 of the 11 gaps in the original sequence of human chromosome 22, and to generate a total 1.018 Mb of new sequence
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