Chiefs Group: No Moratorium on Common-Core Stakes

A group of state education chiefs has sent a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, urging him to resist a call for a moratorium on high-stakes uses of tests on the common standards

Imperfect Square: Reconsidering the Dialectical Condition between Fabric and Object in Urban Environments

The thesis proposes to provide a new urban design approach to improve blighted areas in urban environments. It offers a strategy to patch together the fragmented physical landscape of the Shrinking City into a cohesive urban fabric

Retelling Chambri Lives: Ontological Bricolage

In this article, we provide an update on a combined biography of Chambri friends and acquaintances living in their Papua New Guinea home villages and beyond, a biography originally published in 1991 but based on 1987 field research. Incor- porating fieldwork extending over the subsequent twenty-eight years, we describe what has happened to some of those we came to know best. In so doing, we address twenty-first century anthropological questions concerning contemporary ontology(ies) and the nature of difference(s) by conveying how these Chambri have continued to seek personal and collective worth, while remaining caught up in an encroaching and shifting regional, national, as well as world system

Defining the critical limit of oxygen extraction in the human small intestine

AbstractAlthough animal models have been used to characterize the relation between oxygen consumption and blood flow, reliable data have not been generated in the human small intestine. We perfused segments of human small intestine by using an ex vivo perfusion circuit that allowed precise manipulation of blood flow and perfusion pressure. Our goal was to define the critical level of intestinal blood flow necessary to maintain the metabolic needs of the tissue. Human small intestine (n = 5) tissue obtained at transplantation harvest was transported on ice to the laboratory. A 40-cm mid-jejunal segment was selected for perfusion, and appropriate inflow and outflow vessels were identified and cannulated. Perfusion with an autologous blood solution was initiated through an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit. After a 30-minute equilibration period, arterial and venous blood gases were measured at varying flow rates while maintaining a constant hematocrit level. Arterial and venous oxygen content, arteriovenous oxygen difference (A-VO2 diff), and oxygen consumption (O 2 ) were then calculated. Our results demonstrated that at blood flows >30 ml/min/100 g, O 2 is independent of blood flow (1.6 ± 0.06 ml/min/100 g), and oxygen extraction is inversely related to flow. Below this blood flow rate of 30 ml/min/100 g, oxygen extraction does not increase further (6.3 ± 0.3 vol%), and O 2 becomes flow dependent. This ex vivo preparation defines for the first time a threshold value of blood flow for small intestine below which oxygen consumption decreases (30 ml/min/100 g). Previous animal studies have correlated such a decrease in oxygen consumption with functional and histologic evidence of tissue injury. This “critical” flow rate in human intestine is similar to that found previously in canine and feline intestine, but lower than that of rodent species. (J Vasc Surg 1996;23:832-8.

Planning an Escape: Considerations for the Development of Applied Escape Rooms

Background. Teams are essential to a wide array of applications and organizations often utilize varying interventions to improve the effectiveness of their teams. Due to their collaborative and modifiable characteristics, escape rooms are being increasingly utilized as an avenue to both deliver team interventions and to function as testbeds in research. Escape rooms are complex, interdependent activities which warrant careful planning to be effectively implemented. Despite the growing literature base concerning escape rooms, there is still limited practical guidance to inform the development of an escape room. Aim. The purpose of this article is to provide seven considerations that are relevant to the development, implementation, and effectiveness of an escape room. Specifically, guidance is provided in determining the objectives, identifying a theme, assigning the roles, establishing participant interdependence, selecting a venue, designing the puzzles, and creating the assessments. Conclusion. The considerations provided in this article can advance the science underlying the use of escape rooms and preclude difficulties associated with their use

Unlocking the Methodology Of Escape Rooms: Considerations For Conducting Applied Escape Rooms in Research

Background. Teams are the foundation of modern organizations. Many organizations are interested in interventions to bolster the effectiveness of their workforce. One viable intervention is an escape room. Escape rooms are engaging, team based activities that require individuals to work together to complete multiple tasks in a limited amount of time. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to provide ten considerations that are relevant to leveraging escape rooms as a means for data collection. Specifically, we offer guidance regarding pilot testing, equipment set-up, participant recruitment, briefing participants, progress monitoring, hints, room maintenance, data maintenance and analysis, and revising the room and study. Conclusion. The considerations provided in this article can assist researchers when attempting to employ an escape room as a mechanism to collect data