Addressing the Needs of the Saint Clair Attendance Policies

The Saint Clair School is a small rural school that houses kindergarten through twelfth grade in one school building. Currently the school has two attendance policies, one for elementary school and one for the high school. The two polices are very different in how they define attendance and choose to discipline absences. The purpose of this Capstone Project is to make recommendations to the Saint Clair School on how to make changes to their current attendance policies so that there are solid expectations from the students regarding absences. Research Question: What components make an effective attendance policy in a school that houses kindergarten through twelfth grade in one school building

Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction among Professionals Working With Survivors of Sex Trafficking

No abstract provided

Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction among Professionals Working With Survivors of Sex Trafficking

No abstract provided

The emergence of joint attention in a naturalistic parent training program.

Behaviors related to joint attention have been described by behavior analysts and developmental psychologists alike as having a distinctly social function. Children with autism often do not emit these behaviors. Research on the collateral effects of teaching joint attention suggests far reaching consequences. Given the reported benefits of using these behaviors, and the theoretical descriptions of their function, we assessed joint attention as a collateral effect of a naturalistic parent training program. Data suggest that although these behaviors were not directly targeted, they increased in all 3 children. Implications of parent training goals and child intervention targets are discussed in terms of a behavior analysis of joint attention and child development

Expanding Full-Service Community Schools into Rural Minnesota

Communities throughout rural Minnesota would greatly benefit from full-service community schools to support academic achievement and contribute to thriving communities. Lack of health and human services, mental health disparities, and cultural divides are among the greatest concerns for students in rural areas. One in 5 children birth to eighteen has a diagnosable mental health condition and 1 out of every 10 children experience a mental health problem that is severe enough to impair how they function at home, in school, and in their communities. When youth come to school hungry or experiencing in-home trauma, academic success is hard to achieve. Many children who have mental health needs and are referred to services do not attend the first appointment. Up to three-quarters of youth end services prematurely. The full-service community school model is an approach demonstrated to increase enrollment, and improve attendance and academic outcomes. Full-service community schools around the nation are providing supports, uniting communities, reducing barriers, improving educational achieve, and reducing educational gaps. It is vital that local health and human service agencies work together with community schools to improve service delivery for students and their families. Minnesota needs to increase its investment in the full-service community school model by expanding the availability of full-service community schools throughout every region of greater Minnesota

Reciprocal regulation of nuclear factor kappa B and its inhibitor ZAS3 after peripheral nerve injury

BACKGROUND: NF-κB binds to the κB motif to regulate transcription of genes involved in growth, immunity and inflammation, and plays a pivotal role in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines after nerve injuries. The zinc finger protein ZAS3 also binds to the κB or similar motif. In addition to competition for common DNA sites, in vitro experiments have shown that ZAS3 can inhibit NF-κB via the association with TRAF2 to inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-κB. However, the physiological significance of the ZAS3-mediated inhibition of NF-κB has not been demonstrated. The purpose of this study is to characterize ZAS3 proteins in nervous tissues and to use spinal nerve ligation, a neuropathic pain model, to demonstrate a functional relationship between ZAS3 and NF-κB. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical experiments show that ZAS3 is expressed in specific regions of the central and peripheral nervous system. Abundant ZAS3 expression is found in the trigeminal ganglion, hippocampal formation, dorsal root ganglia, and motoneurons. Low levels of ZAS3 expressions are also found in the cerebral cortex and in the grey matter of the spinal cord. In those nervous tissues, ZAS3 is expressed mainly in the cell bodies of neurons and astrocytes. Together with results of Western blot analyses, the data suggest that ZAS3 protein isoforms with differential cellular distribution are produced in a cell-specific manner. Further, neuropathic pain confirmed by persistent mechanical allodynia was manifested in rats seven days after L5 and L6 lumbar spinal nerve ligation. Changes in gene expression, including a decrease in ZAS3 and an increase in the p65 subunit of NF-κB were observed in dorsal root ganglion ipsilateral to the ligation when compared to the contralateral side. CONCLUSION: ZAS3 is expressed in nervous tissues involved in cognitive function and pain modulation. The down-regulation of ZAS3 after peripheral nerve injury may lead to activation of NF-κB, allowing Wallerian regeneration and induction of NF-κB-dependent gene expression, including pro-inflammatory cytokines. We propose that reciprocal changes in the expression of ZAS3 and NF-κB might generate neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury

Gas-phase synthesis of silaformaldehyde (h2sio) and hydroxysilylene (hsioh) in outflows of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch stars

Silicon- and oxygen-containing species such as silicon monoxide (SiO) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) represent basic molecular building blocks connected to the growth of silicate grains in outflows of oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars like R Doradus. Yet the fundamental mechanisms of the formation of silicate grains and the early processes that initiate the coupling of the silicon with the oxygen chemistries in circumstellar envelopes have remained obscure. Here, in a crossed molecular beams experiment combined with ab initio electronic structure calculations, we reveal that at least the d2-silaformaldehyde (D2SiO) and d2-hydroxysilylene (DSiOD) molecules -proxies for the astronomically elusive silaformaldehyde (H2SiO) and hydroxysilylene (HSiOH) molecules-can be synthesized via the reaction of the D1-silylidyne radical (SiD; X2π) with D2-water (D2O) under single-collision conditions. This system represents a benchmark of a previously overlooked class of reactions, in which the silicon- oxygen bond coupling can be initiated by a reaction between the simplest silicon-bearing radical (silylidyne) and one of the most abundant species in the circumstellar envelopes of evolved oxygen-rich AGB stars (water). As supported by novel astrochemical modeling, considering that silicon- and oxygen-containing species like H2SiO and HSiOH might be photolyzed easily, they ultimately connect to simple molecular precursors such as SiO that drive a chain of reactions conceivably forming higher molecular weight silicon oxides and, ultimately, a population of silicates at high temperatures

Diffusion-based Heterogeneity Models in Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Characterization of Brain Tumors: An Introductory Study

A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine.Recently developed diffusion-based magnetic resonance (MR) protocols have proven useful in assessing the heterogeneity of water diffusion in neural tissues, including brain tumors1. Based on theoretical increase in tumor cell heterogeneity compared to healthy brain2, these emerging imaging modalities offer several potentially useful applications, such as in identifying tumor margins, establishing tumor type and grade, and for differentiating tumor recurrence from post-treatment effect. In this study an introductory subset of five patients were scanned using a multi b-value Diffusion-Weighted Image (DWI) sequence, fitted with two previously described higher-order diffusion models. The first utilized a stretched exponential model (α-DWI)3; the second applied a cumulant expansion model (Diffusional Kurtosis Image, DKI)4. These models quantified water diffusion heterogeneity using the fitted parameters α and Kapp, respectively. The intent of this project was to gauge the potential utility of these MR models to apply diffusion heterogeneity information for characterization of brain tumors. Early results confirmed initial 6 hypotheses for high-grade gliomas, that (1) diffusion heterogeneity appeared greater in tumoral regions than in surrounding tissue, (2) high-grade tumors exhibited a relatively more heterogeneous diffusion pattern (lower α and higher K app) compared with low-grade glioma, and (3) the metastatic tumor had unique diffusion behavior compared to the primary tumors. Overall, this introductory study generally supports the potential ability of higher-order diffusion heterogeneity models to characterize brain tumors. More detailed investigation of this application across a larger subset of patients and tumor types may be beneficial.This item is part of the College of Medicine - Phoenix Scholarly Projects 2012 collection. For more information, contact the Phoenix Biomedical Campus Library at [email protected]