Verbal Learning and Memory Abilities in Children with Brain Tumors: The Role of the Third Ventricle Region

The third ventricle region houses several neuroanatomical structures that are primary components of the human memory system, and provides pathways through which these brain regions communicate with critical regions of the frontal and medial temporal lobes. Archival data was obtained for 42 children with cerebellar or third ventricle tumors, and was examined for tumor and treatment related confounds. Children with third ventricle tumors were hypothesized to exhibit; 1) better performance on a measure of auditory attention, 2) greater impairment in learning across trials, 3) greater memory loss over a 20-minute delay, and 4) greater impairment across delayed memory tests than the cerebellar group. Children with third ventricle tumors demonstrated significantly better auditory attention, but greater impairments in verbal learning, and greater verbal memory loss following a 20-minute delay. In contrast, children with third ventricle tumors did not demonstrate significantly greater memory impairments across long delay memory tests

Parenting from Prison: What Can Extension Educators Do?

The number of children affected by parental incarceration has increased drastically in the last decade. Many incarcerated parents want to be good parents, and, while in prison, they can improve on their parenting skills and maintain or strengthen their relationships with their children. Extension parent educators can teach parenting skills and present ideas for staying connected while in prison. Since 1997, 139 mothers and 68 fathers have taken the Parenting From Prison class. Activities used in the class are described as well as considerations for modifying existing parenting curricula to fit the needs of incarcerated parents

Plastic Storage in River Sediments Across an Urbanization Gradient in the Ipswich Watershed in Massachusetts

The importance of plastic pollution research has become apparent as plastic pollution has increased exponentially since its introduction in the 1950s. Plastics mechanically break down into minuscule particles called microplastics, which are plastic particles with a size range of 0.1 micrometers (μm) to 5 millimeters (mm). Most of the research on microplastic pollution has centered around marine ecosystems rather than freshwater ecosystems. More freshwater microplastic research to date is emerging but is still nascent and sparse. Furthermore, the idea that rivers are merely conduits of microplastics to the ocean is even more limited and ignores microplastic loading and retention in rivers. Recent research found that microplastics can be stored in riverine benthic sediments, and consequently, freshwater systems may be considered plastic sinks. Studies also show that high levels of urbanization could be a source of river microplastics. The magnitude of plastic pollution in riverine sediments in relation to the level of urbanization is not yet understood. This project asks the question, “How does plastic stored in stream sediments vary with the intensity of urbanization?” and hypothesizes that plastic storage in stream sediments increases with increasing levels of urbanization because of greater microplastic sources and higher surface runoff to streams. To test this hypothesis, the project measured microplastic storage in the sediments of headwater streams of the Ipswich River watershed in northeastern Massachusetts across a gradient of urban intensity. Urbanization is relatively high in certain reaches of the Ipswich River watershed due to the suburban proximity to Boston, but it also has abundant natural areas. The hypothesis was partially supported, but one forested headwater stream had unexpectedly high microplastic concentration. The study results inform the strength of influence urban inputs have on benthic plastic storage in headwaters

Factors affecting the likelihood of paternal custodial disputes in dissolution of marriage cases

Male batterers -- Paternal custodial challenges -- Support payment arrearage -- Income levels of fathers -- Violent fathers -- Nonviolent fathers -- Initiation of court appearances -- Gender of children

Geology of the Cedar Hill Quadrangle, Dallas and Ellis Counties, Texas

In the Cedar Hill Quadrangle, bedrock consists of the Eagle Ford shale and Austin chalk, both of Upper Cretaceous age. The shale averages about 430 feet in thickness, with only the upper 140 feet exposed. This is predominantly a dark gray, fissile mudstone with limestone concretions and several thin limestone beds in the upper part of the section. A stratum of elastic limestone six inches thick lies 107 feet below the top and serves as a marker bed in areal mapping. The shale is disconformably overlain by the Austin chalk, at the base of which is a bed of conglomerate a foot or less thick. The Austin is characterized by massive beds of chalk separated by thin layers of calcareous shale. Joints are common throughout, and numerous small faults may be due to differential compaction within the underlying shale. Local unconformities within the formation probably represent scour-and-fill structures. Terrace remnants in the quadrangle are largely correlated with the Love Field terrace along the Trinity River to the north. This terrace stands 30 to 40 feet above the present floodplains and consists of gray clay with lenses of gravel and, locally, of foraminiferal sand