Self-report Differences Across Adolescent Family Structures: Stepfamilies Versus Intact Families

The present investigation attempted to: (1) increase understanding of stepfamily versus nuclear family normative self-report; (2) predict stepfamily member self-report of family functioning in the first year of remarriage on the basis of contextual, individual, dyadic, and family characteristics and ideals at the time of family formation; and (3) examine the predictive utility of perceived versus actual family member discrepancy scores.;Members of 25 well-functioning, newly formed stepfamilies and 26 demographically similar first marriage families with children between the ages of 12 to 16 were asked to rate family, dyadic, and individual functioning on standardized questionnaires. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, the Family Sense of Coherence Scales, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Parent Adolescent Communication Scale were completed by mother, father, and adolescent during two home visits over an 8 month period, with the first visit of stepfamilies occurring during the first year of family formation.;As predicted, all stepfamily members reported lower (but nonclinical) levels of family cohesion. Stepfamilies also indicated that they were less able to clarify problems as a family and to find meaning in the family unit. Marital relations did not differ in the two family types. Poorer communication between adolescents and their mothers and fathers was reported from both sides of the dyad in the stepfamilies. Eight months later scores changed little, although the biological parent-adolescent relationship no longer differed significantly across groups. Contrary to previous investigations which did not distinguish clinical and nonclinical stepfamilies, stepfamily members did not report dissatisfaction with their lowered levels of cohesion, possibly indicating a realistic expectation of stepfamily normative functioning. Marital, parent-adolescent, and family level variables were found to relate significantly. Concordance between family member report was high in both groups, with predictable intermember differences in mean scores. As predicted, mothers tended to perceive and desire the most family cohesion, adolescents the least. Family cohesion was not supplanted by a measure of personal autonomy and appears to have incremental utility in family study. Substantial prediction of reported family cohesion was achieved by accounting for familial stressors, dyadic relations within the family, and intermember consensus. (Abstract shortened by UMI.

Keeping Public Colleges Affordable: A Study of Persistence in Indiana\u27s Public Colleges and Universities

It is important for states to assess periodically the effects of student aid on persistence in the public systems of higher education. Recently, a workable persistence model has emerged that can be used for this purpose. This paper uses the model to examine the influence of student aid on persistence by full-time resident undergraduates enrolled in Indiana\u27s public system of higher education during the 1997-98 academic year. The analysis reveals that student financial aid was adequate, largely due to a substantial state investment in need-based grants

Sharyne Ryals Interview 2016

In a short interview, Sharyne Ryals discusses her experiences working as the Administrative Program Assistant as a part of the Social Science Division. At Western Oregon, she describes her responsibilities and interactions with students. She also explains how she arrived at Western Oregon University as well as her previous work at a chip manufacturing plant

Assessing Needs and Outcomes of Children and Youth Receiving Intensive Services

This study investigated whether children/youth in Ontario triaged to residential services showed a higher intensity of need than those referred to outpatient services, and whether residential treatment gains were sufficient for transition to community services. Participants included 2053 children/youth assessed at 23 diverse mental health agencies across Ontario using the interRAI™ Child and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH) instrument. Various presenting problems were examined utilizing scales including: Disruptive/Aggressive Behavior, Hyperactive/Distraction, Social Disengagement, Anxiety, and Sleep Difficulties. Analyses were conducted separately for boys and girls. Notable differences were found in the initial assessment, with residential boys scoring higher on all scales than outpatient boys, and residential girls scoring higher on the externalizing scales (Disruptive/Aggressive Behavior, Hyperactive/Distraction) than outpatient girls. Treatment gains at residential discharge included improvements in Anxiety, Social Disengagement, Hyperactive/Distraction and Sleep Difficulties for boys and girls to levels at or below the initial scores of outpatient peers. Disruptive/Aggressive Behavior is still a high need following residential services. The results highlight differences in severity of mental health presentation between children/youth receiving residential and outpatient services, and how multiple agencies in Ontario are providing services that successfully reduce the severity of mental health needs

Noninvasive MRI measures of microstructural and cerebrovascular changes during normal swine brain development

The swine brain is emerging as a potentially valuable translational animal model of neurodevelopment and offers the ability to assess the impact of experimentally induced neurological disorders. The goal for this study was to characterize swine brain development using noninvasive MRI measures of microstructural and cerebrovascular changes. Thirteen pigs at various postnatal ages (2.3-43.5 kg) were imaged on a 1.5-Tesla MRI system. Microstructural changes were assessed using diffusion tensor imaging measures of mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy. Cerebrovascular changes were assessed using arterial spin labeling measures of baseline cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) of the blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) MRI signal to CO2. We found a positive logarithmic relationship for regional tissue volumes and fractional anisotropy with body weight, which is similar to the pattern reported in the developing human brain. Unlike in the maturing human brain, no consistent changes in mean diffusivity or baseline CBF with development were observed. Changes in BOLD CVR exhibited a positive logarithmic relationship with body weight, which may impact the interpretation of functional MRI results at different stages of development. This animal model can be validated by applying the same noninvasive measures in humans. Copyright © 2011 International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc

Phenotypic impact of regulatory noise in cellular stress-response pathways

Recent studies indicate that intrinsic promoter-mediated gene expression noise can confer a selective advantage under acute environmental stress by providing beneficial phenotypic diversity within cell populations. To investigate how extrinsic gene expression noise impacts the fitness of cell populations under stress, we engineered two nearly isogenic budding yeast strains; one carrying a two-step regulatory cascade that allows for precise control of the noise transmitted from a transcriptional regulator to a downstream stress-inducing gene, and one carrying a network with low constant upstream noise. The fitness and gene expression of these strains were compared under acute and prolonged stress exposure. Using a phenomenological modeling approach, we predicted that increased noise should confer a fitness advantage under high stress conditions, but reciprocally reduce the resistance of the population to low stress. The model also predicted that extrinsic noise might serve as a basis for phenotypic plasticity whereby gene expression distributions are modulated in response to prolonged stress. Experimentally, we confirmed the predicted differential fitness advantage of extrinsic noise under acute stress, as well as the predicted modulation of gene expression under prolonged stress. However, contrary to model predictions, strains with low and high extrinsic noise showed very similar adaptive responses to prolonged stress. This suggests that while phenotypic heterogeneity generated by noise in regulatory signals can confer increased robustness to acute stress, it is not a requirement for the observed long-term phenotypic plasticity

Digital disruption meets the academic timetable: start learning anytime

Many universities claim to provide flexible learning opportunities, but most still require students to keep pace with prescribed curriculum delivery and assessment deadlines, and few have disrupted the academiccalendar. In this paper, we report on an innovation called ‘Start anytime’ that was purposefully designed to break from a trimester model and instead give students the flexibility to study in their own space andpace online. Here we report on measures put in place to support students during self-paced online study, and share insights from research investigating students’ expectations and experience of ‘Start anytime’.For many students, the self-management required for self-paced study was a challenge, but for most students those challenges were out weighted by the benefits of flexible learning. Importantly, the majorityof students thought that access to learning support and teaching staff was the same or better in ‘Start anytime’ units than in a timetabled unit, and many students found that self-paced study was easier andmore enjoyable. Thus, we have shown that where it is carefully designed and supported, self-paced online learning and disruption of the academic calendar, can have considerable benefits for experienced adult learners who have difficulty fitting study around their busy lives

Digital disruption meets the academic timetable: start learning anytime

Many universities claim to provide flexible learning opportunities, but most still require students to keep pace with prescribed curriculum delivery and assessment deadlines, and few have disrupted the academiccalendar. In this paper, we report on an innovation called ‘Start anytime’ that was purposefully designed to break from a trimester model and instead give students the flexibility to study in their own space andpace online. Here we report on measures put in place to support students during self-paced online study, and share insights from research investigating students’ expectations and experience of ‘Start anytime’.For many students, the self-management required for self-paced study was a challenge, but for most students those challenges were out weighted by the benefits of flexible learning. Importantly, the majorityof students thought that access to learning support and teaching staff was the same or better in ‘Start anytime’ units than in a timetabled unit, and many students found that self-paced study was easier andmore enjoyable. Thus, we have shown that where it is carefully designed and supported, self-paced online learning and disruption of the academic calendar, can have considerable benefits for experienced adult learners who have difficulty fitting study around their busy lives

Fatty acid nitroalkenes ameliorate glucose intolerance and pulmonary hypertension in high-fat diet-induced obesity

Aims Obesity is a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, with the incidence of these disorders becoming epidemic. Pathogenic responses to obesity have been ascribed to adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction that promotes bioactive mediator secretion from visceral AT and the initiation of pro-inflammatory events that induce oxidative stress and tissue dysfunction. Current understanding supports that suppressing pro-inflammatory and oxidative events promotes improved metabolic and cardiovascular function. In this regard, electrophilic nitro-fatty acids display pleiotropic anti-inflammatory signalling actions. Methods and results It was hypothesized that high-fat diet (HFD)-induced inflammatory and metabolic responses, manifested by loss of glucose tolerance and vascular dysfunction, would be attenuated by systemic administration of nitrooctadecenoic acid (OA-NO2). Male C57BL/6j mice subjected to a HFD for 20 weeks displayed increased adiposity, fasting glucose, and insulin levels, which led to glucose intolerance and pulmonary hypertension, characterized by increased right ventricular (RV) end-systolic pressure (RVESP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). This was associated with increased lung xanthine oxidoreductase (XO) activity, macrophage infiltration, and enhanced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic pressure remained unaltered, indicating that the HFD produces pulmonary vascular remodelling, rather than LV dysfunction and pulmonary venous hypertension. Administration of OA-NO2 for the final 6.5 weeks of HFD improved glucose tolerance and significantly attenuated HFD-induced RVESP, PVR, RV hypertrophy, lung XO activity, oxidative stress, and pro-inflammatory pulmonary cytokine levels. Conclusions These observations support that the pleiotropic signalling actions of electrophilic fatty acids represent a therapeutic strategy for limiting the complex pathogenic responses instigated by obesity.Fil: Kelley, Eric E.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Baust, Jeff. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Bonacci, Gustavo Roberto. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Golin Bisello, Franca. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Devlin, Jason E.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Croix, Claudette M. St.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Watkins, Simon C.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Gor, Sonia. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Cantu Medellin, Nadiezhda. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Weidert, Eric R.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Frisbee,Jefferson C.. University of Virginia; Estados UnidosFil: Gladwin, Mark T.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Champion, Hunter C.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Freeman, Bruce A.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Khoo, Nicholas K.H.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unido