Remedial Rhythm Reading: A Semester-Long Project in Sixth Grade Band

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted student outcomes in all disciplines, but especially in the performing arts. As I began clinical teaching, I found my sixth-grade band students, particularly the students not involved in choir (my “small band”), lacked the music literacy and fluency expected for second-year band students. I designed a one semester rhythm-reading unit to address this issue. The overall objective for the unit follows: “Students will be able to read, write, perform, and compose rhythms containing whole notes, half notes, dotted-half notes, dotted-quarter notes, quarter notes, paired eighth notes, single eighth notes, paired sixteenth notes, and corresponding rests in simple meters at various tempi.” The goal of this project is twofold: 1) to improve students’ rhythmic fluency and 2) to identify effective instructional materials and pedagogy for rhythmic fluency

Selling Childhood: How the Middle Class Used Children in the Anti-Tuberculosis Movement (1930s-1940s)

During the anti-tuberculosis movement of the 1930s and 1940s, children were chosen as focal points, with their roles shaped by society’s changing view of childhood, the emergence of the middle class, and the socioeconomic and political climate. Children were used by middle-class reformers as conduits through which to disseminate information and enact controls on the working class. Health education in schools had two main goals: (1) for educated children to become educated adults, and (2) for educated children to transform the behaviors of adults around them. Although researchers have studied middle-class interventions into children’s health, few have analyzed the role children themselves played in the middle class’s goal of asserting themselves as intellectually and morally superior to the working class via the education of the working-class children. Using primary source material, such as curriculum guides and educational materials designed for children’s consumption (e.g., Huber the Tuber), this paper thus examines how and why children’s health education became a hotbed of middle- and working-class conflict, particularly with regards to beliefs in science and Western medicine, during the 1930s and 1940s

What's Cooking in Your Food System? A Guide to Community Food Assessment

Learn about Community Food Assessments, a creative way to highlight food-related resources and needs, promote collaboration and community participation, and create lasting change. This Guide includes case studies of nine Community Food Assessments; tips for planning and organizing an assessment; guidance on research methods and strategies for promoting community participation; and ideas for translating an assessment into action for change

Pushing the boundaries of the social: private agri-food standards and the governance of Fair Trade in European public procurement

The article explores how fair trade and associated private agri-food standards are incorporated into public procurement in Europe. Procurement law is underpinned by principles of equity, non-discrimination and transparency; one consequence is that legal obstacles exist to fair trade being privileged within procurement practice. These obstacles have pragmatic dimensions, concerning whether and how procurement can be used to fulfil wider social policy objectives or to incorporate private standards; they also bring to the fore underlying issues of value. Taking an agency-based approach and incorporating the concept of governability, empirical evidence demonstrates the role played by different actors in negotiating fair trade’s passage into procurement through pre-empting and managing legal risk. This process exposes contestations that arise when contrasting values come together within sustainable procurement. This examination of fair trade in public procurement helps reveal how practices and knowledge on ethical consumption enter into a new governance arena within the global agri-food system

The Transcriptional Effects of Photobiomodulation in an In Vitro Model of Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus and a leading cause of blindness. The pathophysiology of DR is complicated, involving inflammation, oxidative stress, retinal vascular proliferation, and vascular degeneration. Symptomatically, the growth and subsequent rupture of vessels within the frame of view leads to the development of vision loss and eventual blindness. Prior to the development of symptoms, oxidative stress involved in DR leads to the activation of the transcription factor, nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), resulting in the excess production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), proteins involved in vascular development and immune dysregulation, respectively. The most common therapeutic approach for DR utilizes anti-VEGF agents to reduce vascular proliferation. These treatments are expensive, invasive, frequently ineffective, and have numerous adverse effects, such as retinal detachment, infection, and inflammation inside the eye. A non-invasive alternative therapy is clearly needed. Photobiomodulation (PBM) using far-red to near infrared (NIR) light has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in vitro and in vivo and is an ideal candidate for an alternative therapy. Indeed, PBM slows the progression of DR in animal models via attenuation of oxidative stress and by reducing the relative level of ICAM-1. We hypothesize that PBM will reduce the activity of NF-kB and reduce the production of VEGF and ICAM-1 in an in vitro model of DR. To test this hypothesis, we used an in vitro model system of cultured retinal Müller glial cells grown in normal (5 mM) or high (25 mM) glucose conditions for either 3 or 6 days to simulate normoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Cultures were treated with 670 nm light emitting diode (LED) (180 seconds at 25 mW/cm2; 4.5 J/cm2) or no light (sham) for 3 or 5 days. NF-kB activity and ICAM-1 concentrations were significantly increased under high glucose conditions, as measured by a dual luciferase assay or western blot, respectively. Treatment with 670 nm LED significantly reduced NF-kB activity of high glucose culture cells to values comparable to transcriptional activity measured under normoglycemic condition and decreased the level of ICAM-1. VEGF concentrations were not affected by high glucose or PBM. These data are in partial support of our central hypothesis that in an in vitro model of DR, 670 nm light will reduce activation of NF-kB, and reduce the synthesis of ICAM-1 and VEGF. The lack of an observable effect of hyperglycemia or PBM on VEGF concentrations indicates that the stimulation of VEGF secretion requires the activation of additional signaling pathways not induced by high glucose alone

Experiences of shame for people with dementia: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Studies highlight that shame can be problematic for people with early-stage dementia. However, no published research has specifically explored experiences of shame in dementia from the perspective of the individual. This study uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to gain an understanding of how shame is experienced and made sense of by six people with early-stage dementia. Individual, semi-structured interviews took place in participants’ homes. An in-depth analysis of the data revealed four superordinate themes implicated in shame experiences: Avoidance explains the participants’ efforts to distance themselves from shaming experiences; participants reported Negative self-perceptions including a weakening self, loss of value and meaninglessness; Relationship matters involved issues around trust, burden and past relationships and Uncertainty and loss of control highlights participants’ anxiety about losing clarity and control. Ideas are contributed for promoting non-shaming experiences for people with dementia, particularly through communication during assessment and diagnosis, and psychological therapies

Water Quality Trading and Offset Initiatives in the U.S.: A Comprehensive Survey

This document summarizes water quality trading and offset initiatives in the United States, including state-wide policies and recent proposals. The following format was used to present information on each program. We attempted to have each program summary reviewed by at least one contact person for program accuracy. In the cases where this review occurred, we added the statement "Reviewed by.." at the end of the case summary

Primary cilia display a non-uniform response to intracellular calcium release

Cilia are microtubule-based organelles that project from the surface of individual cells. When cilia are formed, they are nucleated from centrioles that are known as basal bodies. Microtubules elongating from the basal body give rise to the axoneme of the cilium, which gives cilia their rod-like structure. The axoneme is surrounded by a specialized plasma membrane that is unique, but continuous with the plasma membrane that surrounds the rest of the cell. The ciliary membrane is enriched with ion channels and membrane-bound proteins that are essential for cilia function. Interestingly, the cilium maintains a distinct environment from the rest of the cell, despite there being no membrane separation from the area within the cilium (i.e., ciliary compartment) and the rest of the cell. Cilia function includes generating hydrodynamic force for motility and participating in signal transduction that is necessary for sensation and animal development. Calcium ions (Ca2+) are necessary for cilia to achieve these functions, yet questions remain as to how Ca2+ levels are maintained within cilia (i.e., ciliary Ca2+ levels). The current “outside-in” model suggests that Ca2+ channels fill cilia with Ca2+ from outside of the cell (i.e., extracellular) and that Ca2+ can diffuse freely between the ciliary compartment and inside of the cell (i.e., intracellular; Delling et al. 2016). However, the base of the cilium can be embedded within the Golgi apparatus (i.e., Golgi), which is a rich source of intracellular Ca2+. Since the Golgi modulates Ca2+ levels at other cellular structures (Follit et al. 2006; Micaroni et al. 2012), this raises the question – does the Golgi impact ciliary Ca2+ levels from inside the cell? We first tested this by disrupting the structural integrity of the Golgi with Brefeldin A (BFA) and found that on average cilia from cells treated with BFA show higher Ca2+ than cells treated with the DMSO control. To further test the current “outside-in” model, histamine and thapsigargin were used to stimulate the release of Ca2+ from the Golgi and endoplasmic reticulum (i.e., ER), which are both rich intracellular Ca2+ stores. Unexpectedly, Ca2+ released from the Golgi and ER did not freely diffuse into cilia, as predicted by the “outside-in” model. Rather, cilia displayed a non-uniform response to intracellular Ca2+ release, suggesting that free diffusion is not the underlying mechanism of Ca2+ transfer from intracellular Ca2+ stores into the ciliary compartment. Experiments involving mechanical stimuli and the Ca2+ channel blocker, lanthanum (III) chloride (LaCl3) show that cilia display a more homogeneous response to extracellular Ca2+. This work suggests that cilia display a differential response to Ca2+ dependent on whether Ca2+ is of intracellular or extracellular origin, consequently, expanding the current “outside-in” model of ciliary Ca2+ homeostasis. To continue testing this model in future studies, a custom cell line of NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells (Arl13b-GCaMP6-mCherry) was developed to permanently express the genetically encoded Ca2+ sensor used to quantity Ca2+ in cilia in this study

Oncology Section EDGE Task Force on Prostate Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Clinical Measures of Strength and Muscular Endurance

Background: Strength deficits are a common morbidity following treatment for prostate cancer. Accurate assessment of strength and muscular endurance following prostate cancer treatments is essential to identify deficits and plan rehabilitation. Purpose: To identify strength and muscular endurance outcome measures that possess strong psychometric properties and are clinically useful for examination of men treated for prostate cancer. Methods: Multiple electronic databases were searched for articles published after 1995. Studies of tools used to assess strength and muscular endurance were included if they reported psychometric properties, were clinically feasible methods, performed on adults, and published in the English language. Each outcome measure was independently reviewed and rated by two reviewers. A single Cancer EDGE Task Force Outcome Measure Rating Form was completed for each category of strength or endurance assessment, and a recommendation was made using the 4-point Cancer EDGE Task Force Rating Scale. Results: Of the original 683 articles found, 30 were included in this review. Hand-grip strength and hand-held dynamometry were rated 3, recommended for clinical use. One repetition maximum was rated 2A, unable to recommend at this time but the measure has been used in research on individuals with prostate cancer. Manual muscle testing was rated 2B, unable to recommend at this time due to lack of psychometric support, and muscular endurance testing was not recommended (1). Conclusions: Utilizing objective dynamometry for hand grip and muscle strength testing provides precise measurement to assess baseline status and monitor change among men treated for prostate cancer