Let’s Talk: An Examination of Parental Involvement as a Predictor of STEM Achievement in Math for High School Girls

This research was conducted to examine the influence of parental involvement, in the form of parent conversations, on mathematics achievement for high school girls. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) public-use file provided a sample of 13,694 students, including 6,592 girls for our analyses. A scale for measuring parent conversations was developed and regression analyses were conducted to examine whether this scale variable predicted mathematics achievement. Results indicated that conversational parental involvement was a significant predictor of mathematics achievement for Black and White girls, but not Hispanic and Asian. Implications for research and policy initiatives are discussed

CydDC-mediated reductant export in Escherichia coli controls the transcriptional wiring of energy metabolism and combats nitrosative stress

The glutathione/cysteine exporter CydDC maintains redox balance in Escherichia coli. A cydD mutant strain was used to probe the influence of CydDC upon reduced thiol export, gene expression, metabolic perturbations, intracellular pH homeostasis, and tolerance to nitric oxide (NO). Loss of CydDC was found to decrease extracytoplasmic thiol levels, whereas overexpression diminished the cytoplasmic thiol content. Transcriptomic analysis revealed a dramatic up-regulation of protein chaperones, protein degradation (via phenylpropionate/phenylacetate catabolism), ?-oxidation of fatty acids, and genes involved in nitrate/nitrite reduction. 1H NMR metabolomics revealed elevated methionine and betaine and diminished acetate and NAD+ in cydD cells, which was consistent with the transcriptomics-based metabolic model. The growth rate and ?pH, however, were unaffected, although the cydD strain did exhibit sensitivity to the NO-releasing compound NOC-12. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the loss of CydDC-mediated reductant export promotes protein misfolding, adaptations to energy metabolism, and sensitivity to NO. The addition of both glutathione and cysteine to the medium was found to complement the loss of bd -type cytochrome synthesis in a cydD strain (a key component of the pleiotropic cydDC phenotype), providing the first direct evidence that CydDC substrates are able to restore the correct assembly of this respiratory oxidase. These data provide an insight into the metabolic flexibility of E. coli , highlight the importance of bacterial redox homeostasis during nitrosative stress, and report for the first time the ability of periplasmic low molecular weight thiols to restore haem incorporation into a cytochrome complex

Concurrent remediation for inadequate preparation for the calculus

This investigation was designed to determine whether a remediation program concurrent to enrollment in the Calculus could be used to reveal and remedy student deficiencies involving pre-calculus topics, promoting a greater degree of success in the Calculus. The instructional model for the program that was investigated consisted of pretesting the Calculus student to reveal deficiencies in pre-calculus topics and, on the basis of these results, prescribing learning modules to remedy any inadequacies found. A student would be advised to complete modules covering those topics for which he showed a weakness while fulfilling the regular course requirements. One pre-calculus topic, algebraic fractions, was selected to test this model. A pretest was constructed to test for weaknesses in algebraic fractions, and a self-study learning module was constructed to remedy these weaknesses. Evaluation was accomplished through a posttest covering the selected topic and a comprehensive final examination sampling all the topics in the Calculus. Students were exposed to one of three treatments, according to the section of Mth 111 (Calculus) at Oregon State University in which they were enrolled. Students who received treatment T ₁ received no remediation, regardless of their scores on the pretest. Students who received treatment T ₂ were given a non-specific recommendation to do remedial work if their scores were below a certain criterion level. Students who received treatment T ₃ were given access to the learning module if their scores on the pretest were below the level set for treatment T₂. The null hypotheses that were tested stated that there would be no differences among the treatment groups with respect to pretest-posttest gains and final examination scores. Treatments were assigned to whole sections rather than to individual students. The experimental design employed to test the hypotheses was a nonequivalent control group design. And since each treatment was assigned to two sections, the statistical analysis, which consisted of analysis of variance and Student t tests, had to accommodate subsampling. Findings It was concluded that the concurrent remediation program was able to remedy deficiencies in pre-calculus, and that diagnosing inadequacies and providing remediation materials will significantly improve a student's performance on a posttest. Moreover, revealing to the student his pre-calculus deficiencies and providing him with the materials to remove them promotes better results than revealing the deficiencies and merely advising self-remediation. The null hypotheses relating to the final examination scores all failed to be rejected. Statistical analysis of the data indicated that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the remediation program was of value in promoting greater success in the Calculus as measured by the final examination. However, this may have been due to the restriction of the experiment to remediation in only one precalculus topic. Because the model proposed in this study was based on voluntary rather than mandatory remediation the number of students taking part in the remediation component of the program out of all those determined to need it was considered to be an important determinant of the viability of the instructional model. A confidence interval for the proportion of students who would participate of their own volition in a similar program under similar conditions was computed to be (0.23, 0.59)

Malaria control in humanitarian emergencies: An interagency field handbook, 2nd Edition

This second edition represents a thorough updating and revision of the first edition. The structure remains similar, but includes an additional chapter on humanitarian coordination. All chapters have been revised to reflect changes in best practices, improvements in technologies, availability of new tools, and changes in WHO recommendations. The interagency handbook was developed to set out effective malaria control responses in humanitarian emergencies, particularly during the acute phase when reliance on international humanitarian assistance is greatest. It provides policy-makers, planners, and field coordinators with practical advice on designing and implementing measures to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality in both man-made and natural disasters. Such measures must address the needs of all affected population groups and accommodate changing needs as an acute emergency evolves into either recovery or chronic emergency phase. The handbook is organized as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction introduces complex humanitarian emergencies and malaria control. Chapter 2: Coordination describes essential coordination, advocacy and resource mobilization. Chapter 3: Assessment and operational planning describes how to assess malaria burden in an emergency, identify those most at risk, and use the information collected to design an effective response. Chapter 4: Surveillance discusses establishment of disease surveillance systems to monitor the malaria situation. Chapter 5: Outbreaks describes how to prepare for and respond to a sudden increase in malaria cases. Chapter 6: Case management describes methods of diagnosis, treatment, and patient care in humanitarian emergencies. Chapter 7: Prevention describes approaches and tools for vector control and personal malaria protection during emergencies. Chapter 8: Community participation discusses how to mobilize affected communities to improve malaria control interventions. MALARIA CONTROL IN HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES viii Chapter 9: Operational research and associated routine monitoring discusses conducting research to improve the effectiveness of prevention and treatment in humanitarian emergencies. A glossary is provided at the beginning of the handbook. Suggestions for further reading are included at the end of several chapters. Ideal, or gold standard, approaches to malaria control are not always feasible in humanitarian emergencies. Interventions must be adapted to the realities of each emergency. Using this handbook should help humanitarian workers implement effective and concerted responses to malaria problems. As new information becomes available, updates to this handbook will be published. Comments and suggestions are welcome and should be sent to WHO/Global Malaria Programme ([email protected])

Couple-Based HIV Prevention in the United States: Advantages, Gaps, and Future Directions

This article presents an overview of couple-based HIV prevention research to date, advantages of using and core components of couple-based interventions, gaps in the current understanding of couple-based HIV prevention, status of dissemination research and the transportability of effective couple-based HIV prevention and treatment to real-world settings, and recommendations for future directions in couple-based prevention and treatment. Couple-based studies conducted among several populations—heterosexuals, men who have sex with men, and drug users—reported in the research literature were reviewed. Commonalities and limitations were noted in customary focus areas of the couple-based approaches: sexual and drug risk reduction, HIV testing behaviors, adherence to HIV treatment, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Couple-based intervention strategies have been rigorously tested and are a valuable addition to the arsenal of HIV prevention strategies. Immediate needs and opportunities include couple-based intervention strategies for prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among serodiscordant couples, couples who do not know their HIV status, and couples in whom both partners are HIV negative, but at risk of HIV infection. There is a particular need to develop couple-based intervention strategies for men who have sex with men and for drug-involved couples

ANALISIS KESULITAN SISWA DALAM MEMECAHKAN MASALAH MATEMATIKA PADA MATERI ARITMATIKA SOSIAL DI KELAS VII SMP NEGERI 2 BANDA ACEH TAHUN AJARAN 2013/2014

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