What effect does intervention (RTI) have on student failure rates in Math?

The purpose of this action research project was to determine what effects response to intervention (RTI) had on student failures in a math. The researcher examined a Supported Study Hall, which is a tier II intervention strategy used to target key skills to help perform better. The Supported Study Hall was teacher led and only for students in the study who failed the pretest. In total, twenty-four Algebra I students were involved in the study. The research was conducted to analyze the effectiveness the Supported Study Hall had on student growth throughout the six-week intervention period. The findings revealed that the Supported Study Hall did in fact play a huge role in student growth from the start of the unit to the end of the unit. The data collected supports the need for this practice in schools today. The outcomes from the study provide key insight and highlight the direct benefits that RTI has on student growth in math

Understanding How Incoming First Year College Students Develop Academic Performance Expectations: A Qualitative Case Study

The purpose of this research study was to explore how incoming first year students develop their academic performance expectations, differences between students in the development of academic performance expectations, and lastly the role of the university has in communicating expectations to students. The researcher utilized case study research to examine various perspectives related to the development of academic performance expectation. Research methodology included, participant interviews, document analysis and observation. Research findings are highlighted by ten first year college students’ experiences; half of the participants were previously higher performing and the other half were previously lower performing. Performance was based on high school GPA and ACT or SAT scores. Data analysis revealed students are considering four main factors when developing their academic performance expectations: differences between high school and college, prior academic experiences, course impressions, and required actions. There were two significant differences between the two groups in the development of academic performance expectations. First students with higher high school GPAs and ACT/SAT scores communicated they felt more prepared for college academics compared to students in the lower group. Additionally, students with higher high school GPAs and ACT/SAT scores were less likely to over predict their final course grades. Lastly, findings from the document analysis and research findings indicated the university communicated limited information about academic rigor expectations. Instead information communicated by the university about academic focused on process related tasks. The findings from this research study present several implications for secondary and post-secondary education. Potential recommendations include increase communication between secondary and post-secondary regarding academic readiness, and implementation of intentional programs to help incoming first year students better align their academic expectations. Interventions to improve the alignment of expectations are necessary to increase student’s academic succes

Evaluation of Private Landowner Intention to Create Early Successional Habitat in Virginia\u27s Appalachian Region

As human land uses continue to expand rapidly across the landscape, the management practices of private landowners are an essential part of effective conservation of biodiversity. Conservation of early successional habitats (ESH) and the species that depend on them is a priority in the eastern United States, and efforts to create more ESH on private lands has primarily focused on forest landowners and the harvesting of timber. Private lands with significant pasture cover in a forested landscape present an additional opportunity to create and maintain ESH, yet our understanding of landowner values and attitudes about management strategies in pastures (i.e., modifying mowing or grazing practices, use of herbicides to control invasive species) is lacking. This study implemented a survey of private landowners in five western Virginia counties who own at least 25 acres that are at or above 2000 ft elevation. This region was selected due to its high priority for declining bird species and its mix of heavily forested ridges and extensive pastureland in its valleys. Our primary objective was to understand what influences private landowner intentions to carry out seven different ESH management strategies (i.e. modified mowing, modified grazing, timber harvests within forest, timber harvests at filed-forest border, prescribed fire, use of machinery, and use of herbicides to control invasive species) for the benefit of wildlife in the next five years. General linear models (GLM) were developed to determine whether landowner values, barriers to management, perceived norms, past experience, organizational membership, and demographics predicted the intention to carry out each management strategy in the next five years. Models explained 22-49% of the variation in landowner intention and predictors of intention differed across the seven management strategies. What landowners’ value about their property significantly predicted behavioral intention but was not consistent across the different management strategies. For example, those most likely to modify mowing and grazing tend to value ecological aspects of their land (i.e., pollinator habitat and water quality) whereas those most likely to harvest timber value hunting and revenue from production on their land. Landowner’s past experience with land management was a strong predictor of likelihood to modify mowing and grazing and to harvest timber. Lastly, members of non-hunting conservation organizations are nearly 7 times more likely to modify grazing practices than non-members, and members of hunting conservation organizations were 2.6 times more likely to use prescribed fire for the benefit of wildlife. These results suggest that expanding outreach efforts to include additional management options for creating ESH (i.e., modification of mowing and grazing practices) and the inclusion of images and verbiage about the benefits to pollinator species, non-game species, and water quality would likely recruit landowners who may not have been recruited with current methods

Research and Development of Electric Micro-Bus Vehicle Chassis

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)In this project, a chassis concept has been developed for a small electric vehicle ’minibus’. The vehicle is intended to be used as a transport between agricultural locations in Ethiopia to cities where the products can be sold. The objective is to develop a chassis that can house several different modular structures for the purposes of transporting refrigerated goods, a mobile power grid, or people. Literature studies have been conducted on current electric vehicle markets, battery markets, chassis materials, and optimal cross-sections. The battery housings have also been analyzed from an environmental perspective to account for conditions in Ethiopia. Based on this, it was found that a four-wheeled ’minibus’ design including space for approximately fourteen custom batteries is optimal. It is essential to keep in mind that this project has been carried out both on a conceptual level within the framework of a degree project as well as a production project for use in Ethiopian rural areas. This master thesis project aims to provide a solid benchmark for further development and research within the subject

PTEN Depletion Decreases Disease Severity and Modestly Prolongs Survival in a Mouse Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the second most common genetic cause of death in childhood. However, no effective treatment is available to halt disease progression. SMA is caused by mutations in the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. We previously reported that PTEN depletion leads to an increase in survival of SMN-deficient motor neurons. Here, we aimed to establish the impact of PTEN modulation in an SMA mouse model in vivo. Initial experiments using intramuscular delivery of adeno-associated vector serotype 6 (AAV6) expressing shRNA against PTEN in an established mouse model of severe SMA (SMNΔ7) demonstrated the ability to ameliorate the severity of neuromuscular junction pathology. Subsequently, we developed self-complementary AAV9 expressing siPTEN (scAAV9-siPTEN) to allow evaluation of the effect of systemic suppression of PTEN on the disease course of SMA in vivo. Treatment with a single injection of scAAV9-siPTEN at postnatal day 1 resulted in a modest threefold extension of the lifespan of SMNΔ7 mice, increasing mean survival to 30 days, compared to 10 days in untreated mice. Our data revealed that systemic PTEN depletion is an important disease modifier in SMNΔ7 mice, and therapies aimed at lowering PTEN expression may therefore offer a potential therapeutic strategy for SMA

Self-oligomerization regulates stability of survival motor neuron protein isoforms by sequestering an SCF^Slmb degron

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is caused by homozygous mutations in human SMN1. Expression of a duplicate gene (SMN2) primarily results in skipping of exon 7 and production of an unstable protein isoform, SMNΔ7. Although SMN2 exon skipping is the principal contributor to SMA severity, mechanisms governing stability of survival motor neuron (SMN) isoforms are poorly understood. We used a Drosophila model system and label-free proteomics to identify the SCFSlmb ubiquitin E3 ligase complex as a novel SMN binding partner. SCFSlmb interacts with a phosphor degron embedded within the human and fruitfly SMN YG-box oligomerization domains. Substitution of a conserved serine (S270A) interferes with SCFSlmb binding and stabilizes SMNΔ7. SMA-causing missense mutations that block multimerization of full-length SMN are also stabilized in the degron mutant background. Overexpression of SMNΔ7S270A, but not wild-type (WT) SMNΔ7, provides a protective effect in SMA model mice and human motor neuron cell culture systems. Our findings support a model wherein the degron is exposed when SMN is monomeric and sequestered when SMN forms higher-order multimers

An Augmented Interface to Display Industrial Robot Faults

Technology advancement is changing the way industrial factories have to face an increasingly complex and competitive market. The fourth industrial revolution (known as industry 4.0) is also changing how human workers have to carry out tasks and actions. In fact, it is no longer impossible to think of a scenario in which human operators and industrial robots work side-by-side, sharing the same environment and tools. To realize a safe work environment, workers should trust robots as well as they trust human operators. Such goal is indeed complex to achieve, especially when workers are under stress conditions, such as when a fault occurs and the human operators are no longer able to understand what is happening in the industrial manipulator. Indeed, Augmented Reality (AR) can help workers to visualize in real-time robots’ faults. This paper proposes an augmented system that assists human workers to recognize and visualize errors, improving their awareness of the system. The system has been tested using both an AR see-through device and a smartphone