Iowa Teacher Perceptions of K-6 Articulation in Large School Districts Employing K-6 or K-12 Curriculum Directors

This study was concerned with finding out what perceptions K-6 classroom teachers would express about K-6 articulation within their districts. The study was also concerned with finding out what difference, if any, existed between the perceptions of teachers from districts with fulltime K-6 curriculum directors and the perceptions of teachers in districts with full-time K-12 curriculum directors. It was expected that teachers in both groups of school districts would express the need for more K-6 articulation awareness and activities within their districts, but that teachers in districts employing a K-6 curriculum director would indicate that their districts were doing more than would K-6 classroom teachers in districts employing a K-12 curriculum director. The population for the study consisted of five large Iowa school districts that employed full-time K-6 curriculum directors, and five Iowa school districts of similar size that employed full-time K-12 curriculum directors. Questionnaires were sent to twenty percent of the K-6 classroom teachers, selected at random, from each district. The study results supported the expectation that most teachers would express a need for greater district involvement in improving K-6 articulation. It was found that 135 out of the 160 teachers thought that their districts should give K-6 articulation higher priority than was currently being given. There was some indication that there was a wider disparity between actual and desired district priority expressed by teachers from school districts with K-12 curriculum directors than by teachers from districts with K-6 curriculum directors. Over thirty percent of both groups of teachers indicated that their districts were involved in no activity of importance or in no activity at all that was designed to promote K-6 articulation. 11 Briefings or memos from the curriculum director was checked as being used in districts by slightly over forty percent of both groups of teachers. Teachers in both types of districts often experienced frustration at not having time to work on improving articulation. and also believed that teachers in grades or levels above them were unrealistic about what could be expected of students entering their classes. When teachers were given an opportunity to express what they would like to see accomplished first to improve K-6 articulation, there was a difference between the suggestions made by teachers in districts with K-6 curriculum directors and the suggestions made by teachers in districts with K-12 curriculum directors. Teachers in the first group mentioned most often the need for coordinating units, materials, and curriculum kindergarten through twelfth grade. Teachers in the latter group expressed a need for more definite standards for skills or knowledge at each grade level along with a better pupil progress reporting system

Use of Occupational Performance Coaching for stroke survivors (OPC-Stroke) in late rehabilitation: A descriptive case study

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of disability in adults. Following stroke, 60% of people report needing help with everyday activities, and 80% report having very few meaningful activities. These restrictions often continue for years. This study explored the efficacy of Occupational Performance Coaching for stroke survivors (OPC-Stroke) on the participation level of adults in the later stage of stroke rehabilitation. Method: A descriptive case study design was used. One participant in the later stages of rehabilitation was recruited. Outcome measures for participation, goal performance and satisfaction, and emotional well-being were administered pre and postintervention to observe for direction of change. A semi-structured interview was carried out postintervention to explore the participant’s experiences of the intervention. Results: The participant who took part in the study reported improvement with his goal performance and satisfaction. However, the level of participation did not improve and emotional well-being decreased. Qualitative data revealed an appreciation of the intervention and a recommendation of the intervention for others. Conclusion: OPC-Stroke was valued by the participant and shows promise for improving goal performance and satisfaction. Further research is necessary to determine the potential efficacy of OPC-Stroke in later stages of rehabilitation

Effects of obesity, energy restriction and neutering on the faecal microbiota of cats

Surveys report that 25–57 % of cats are overweight or obese. The most evinced cause is neutering. Weight loss often fails; thus, new strategies are needed. Obesity has been associated with altered gut bacterial populations and increases in microbial dietary energy extraction, body weight and adiposity. This study aimed to determine whether alterations in intestinal bacteria were associated with obesity, energy restriction and neutering by characterising faecal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing in eight lean intact, eight lean neutered and eight obese neutered cats before and after 6 weeks of energy restriction. Lean neutered cats had a bacterial profile similar to obese rodents and humans, with a greater abundance (P<0·05) of Firmicutes and lower abundance (P <0·05) of Bacteroidetes compared with the other groups. The greater abundance of Firmicutes in lean neutered cats was due to a bloom in Peptostreptococcaceae. Obese cats had an 18 % reduction in fat mass after energy restriction (P<0·05). Energy reduction was concurrent with significant shifts in two low-abundance bacterial genera and trends in four additional genera. The greatest change was a reduction in the Firmicutes genus, Sarcina, from 4·54 to 0·65 % abundance after energy restriction. The short duration of energy restriction may explain why few bacterial changes were observed in the obese cats. Additional work is needed to understand how neutering, obesity and weight loss are related to changes in feline microbiota and how these microbial shifts affect host physiology

How Did Social Medicine Evolve, and Where Is It Heading?

A better understanding of how social medicine evolved, says Porter, could help to focus its role in responding to the health needs of a post-industrial, globalizing world

Predictors of Depression in Very Young Children: A Prospective Study

There have been only a few previous population-based studies of symptoms of depression in young children. There are no previous population-based studies which examine the factors which might be casually associated with depression in very young children

Clinical utility of a nested nucleic acid amplification format in comparison to viral culture for the diagnosis of mucosal herpes simplex infection in a genitourinary medicine setting

BACKGROUND: Nested nucleic acid amplification tests are often thought too sensitive or prone to generatingfalse positive results for routine use. The current study investigated the specificity and clinicalutility of a routine multiplex nested assay for mucosal herpetic infections. METHODS: Ninety patients, categorised into those clinically diagnosed to (a) have and (b) not haveherpetic infection, were enrolled. Swabs from oral and ano-genital sites were assayed by thenested assay and culture and the results assessed against clinical evaluation for diagnosingherpetic infections; cell content was also recorded. RESULTS: Twenty-six and 64 patients were thought to (a) have and (b) not have mucosal herpeticinfection. Taking the clinical evaluation as indicating the presence of herpetic infection, thenested polymerase chain reaction and culture had respective sensitivities of 19/26 (73%) and12/26 (46%) (Χ(2) p = 0.02). There was no significant difference in specificities between nPCR62/64 (97%) and culture 63/64 (98%) (Χ(2) p = 1.0). Cell content was important for viraldetection by nPCR (Χ(2) p = 0.07) but not culture. Nesting was found necessary for sensitivity anddid not reduce specificity. Assay under-performance appeared related to sub-optimal cellcontent (20%) but may have reflected clinical over-diagnosis. The results suggest the need forvalidating specimen cell quality. CONCLUSIONS: This study questions the value of routine laboratory confirmation of mucosal herpetic infection. The adoption of a more discriminatory usage of laboratory diagnostic facilities for genital herpetic infection, taking account of cell content, and restricting it to those cases where it actually affects patient management, may be warranted

Reducing depression in older home care clients: design of a prospective study of a nurse-led interprofessional mental health promotion intervention

Abstract Background Very little research has been conducted in the area of depression among older home care clients using personal support services. These older adults are particularly vulnerable to depression because of decreased cognition, comorbid chronic conditions, functional limitations, lack of social support, and reduced access to health services. To date, research has focused on collaborative, nurse-led depression care programs among older adults in primary care settings. Optimal management of depression among older home care clients is not currently known. The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of a 6-month nurse-led, interprofessional mental health promotion intervention aimed at older home care clients with depressive symptoms using personal support services. Methods/Design This one-group pre-test post-test study aims to recruit a total of 250 long-stay (> 60 days) home care clients, 70 years or older, with depressive symptoms who are receiving personal support services through a home care program in Ontario, Canada. The nurse-led intervention is a multi-faceted 6-month program led by a Registered Nurse that involves regular home visits, monthly case conferences, and evidence-based assessment and management of depression using an interprofessional approach. The primary outcome is the change in severity of depressive symptoms from baseline to 6 months using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies in Depression Scale. Secondary outcomes include changes in the prevalence of depressive symptoms and anxiety, health-related quality of life, cognitive function, and the rate and appropriateness of depression treatment from baseline to 12 months. Changes in the costs of use of health services will be assessed from a societal perspective. Descriptive and qualitative data will be collected to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. Discussion Data collection began in May 2010 and is expected to be completed by July 2012. A collaborative nurse-led strategy may provide a feasible, acceptable and effective means for improving the health of older home care clients by improving the prevention, recognition, and management of depression in this vulnerable population. The challenges involved in designing a practical, transferable and sustainable nurse-led intervention in home care are also discussed. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT0140792

An overlooked connection: serotonergic mediation of estrogen-related physiology and pathology

BACKGROUND: In humans, serotonin has typically been investigated as a neurotransmitter. However, serotonin also functions as a hormone across animal phyla, including those lacking an organized central nervous system. This hormonal action allows serotonin to have physiological consequences in systems outside the central nervous system. Fluctuations in estrogen levels over the lifespan and during ovarian cycles cause predictable changes in serotonin systems in female mammals. DISCUSSION: We hypothesize that some of the physiological effects attributed to estrogen may be a consequence of estrogen-related changes in serotonin efficacy and receptor distribution. Here, we integrate data from endocrinology, molecular biology, neuroscience, and epidemiology to propose that serotonin may mediate the effects of estrogen. In the central nervous system, estrogen influences pain transmission, headache, dizziness, nausea, and depression, all of which are known to be a consequence of serotonergic signaling. Outside of the central nervous system, estrogen produces changes in bone density, vascular function, and immune cell self-recognition and activation that are consistent with serotonin's effects. For breast cancer risk, our hypothesis predicts heretofore unexplained observations of the opposing effects of obesity pre- and post-menopause and the increase following treatment with hormone replacement therapy using medroxyprogesterone. SUMMARY: Serotonergic mediation of estrogen has important clinical implications and warrants further evaluation