Impact of family process and status variables on student academic achievement

Numerous studies have underscored the strong contributions families make to their children\u27s academic achievement (e.g., Christenson & Buerkle, 1999; Conoley, 1987; Henderson & Berla, 1994). The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of parental involvement and the relationship between family-process and status variables and their impact on student academic achievement. Results indicated when parents and schools establish collaborations and work in conjunction to encourage learning, student academic achievement is enhanced. Furthermore, non-cognitive behavior such as attitudes about school, maturation, self-concept, and behavior are enhanced when parents/families are more involved. Other benefits of close family and school collaboration include increased student attendance, improved discipline practices, and lower dropout, delinquency, and teen pregnancy rates

Examination of the Cell Wall of Micrasterias Radiosa Var radiosa (Conjugatophyceae) by Transmission and Scanning Electron Microscopy

The cell wall of Micrasterias radiosa var. radiosa Ralfs 1848 (Conjugatophyceae) was examined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Previous electron microscopy of this taxon has not been performed; thus these are new observations. The cell wall was recognized to be of the Cosmarium type with complex pores external to the plasma membrane that penetrate the secondary wall and with ornamentation arising from the secondary wall. Subdivided regions of the pore apparatus, the pore head, pore bulb, connecting pore channel, and pore depression were detected. Pores of type 4 were located in the isthmal region and at the division of several quaternary lobes. Previously undescribed ornamentation of an asymmetrical swelling on each semicell face was observed. The Cosmarium type cell wall and pores of type 4 are consistent with other investigations upon Micrasterias taxa. The presence of the asymmetrical swelling on each semicell face necessitates taxonomic revision of Micrasterias radiosa var. radiosa

Risk Management Education for Kentucky Farm Women

This article describes how an agricultural and farm risk management education program, known as Annie’s Project, was adapted from a midwestern focus to meet the diversity of Kentucky agriculture and shares the results of a longer-term evaluation of the Kentucky program. The Annie’s Project program is geared specifically to the needs of farm women. The program adaption process, which began in late 2006, is detailed from inception through pilot testing to the full launch of the program. Over a four year period, the Kentucky Annie’s Project program reached 425 farm women in 41 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. The evaluation draws on the results of a questionnaire mailed to program participants 18 months to 5 years after programming. Participants reported statistically significant gains in all topical areas representing agricultural risk management education, including production, human resources, marketing, legal, and financial. Key actions which occurred as a result of participating in the program included increasing confidence in management abilities, reviewing personal/farm insurances policies, developing a network of peers and professionals, and using financial statements

Impact of family involvement on student academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to investigate beliefs, barriers, and current levels of parental involvement in the education of their child. There were three research questions: 1. Is there a relationship between differing parenting styles, social economic status, and family configurations and beliefs about parental involvement in the education of their child? 2. What prevents parents of differing parenting styles, social economic status, and family configurations from being involved in their child\u27s education? 3. Is there a relationship between differing parenting styles, social economic status, and family configurations and current involvement in their child\u27s education? Seventy-five parents of sixth grade students filled out and returned the questionnaire used in this study. Percentages were calculated for the different components of the questionnaire to answer the three research questions of this study. The results indicated parents of different parenting styles and social economic status held different beliefs about parental participation in the education of their child. Also, parents with differing parenting styles, social economic status, and family configurations were involved in different aspects of their child\u27s schooling. The data showed that time constraints were the primary barrier limiting parents\u27 involvement in their child\u27s education. Based on the findings of the study, implications for school psychologists are drawn and suggestions for future research are offered

Food resources of stream macroinvertebrates determined by natural-abundance stable C and N isotopes and a 15N tracer addition

Trophic relationships were examined using natural-abundance 13C and 15N analyses and a 15N-tracer addition experiment in Walker Branch, a 1st-order forested stream in eastern Tennessee. In the 15N-tracer addition experiment, we added 15NH4, to stream water over a 6-wk period In early spring, and measured 15N:14N ratios in different taxa and biomass compartments over distance and time. Samples collected from a station upstream from the 15N addition provided data on natural-abundance 13C:12C and 15N:14N ratios. The natural-abundance 15N analysis proved to be of limited value in identifying food resources of macroinvertebrates because 15N values were not greatly different among food resources. In general, the natural-abundance stable isotope approach was most useful for determining whether epilithon or detritus were important food resources for organisms that may use both (e.g., the snail Elimia clavaeformis), and to provide corroborative evidence of food resources of taxa for which the 15N tracer results were not definitive. The 15N tracer results showed that the mayflies Stenonema spp. and Baetis spp. assimilated primarily epilithon, although Baetis appeared to assimilate a portion of the epilithon (e.g., algal cells) with more rapid N turnover than the bulk pool sampled. Although Elimia did not reach isotopic equilibrium during the tracer experiment, application of a N-turnover model to the field data suggested that it assimilated a combination of epilithon and detritus. The amphipod Gammarus minus appeared to depend mostly on fine benthic organic matter (FBOM), and the coleopteran Anchytarsus bicolor on epixylon. The caddisfly Diplectrona modesta appeared to assimilate primarily a fast N-turnover portion of the FBOM pool, and Simuliidae a fast N- turnover component of the suspended particulate organic matter pool rather than the bulk pool sampled. Together, the natural-abundance stable C and N isotope analyses and the experimental 15N tracer approach proved to be very useful tools for identifying food resources in this stream ecosystem

NITROGEN CYCLING IN A FOREST STREAM DETERMINED BY A 15N TRACER ADDITION

Nitrogen uptake and cycling was examined using a six‐week tracer addition of 15N‐labeled ammonium in early spring in Walker Branch, a first‐order deciduous forest stream in eastern Tennessee. Prior to the 15N addition, standing stocks of N were determined for the major biomass compartments. During and after the addition, 15N was measured in water and in dominant biomass compartments upstream and at several locations downstream. Residence time of ammonium in stream water (5–6 min) and ammonium uptake lengths (23–27 m) were short and relatively constant during the addition. Uptake rates of NH4 were more variable, ranging from 22 to 37 μg N·m−2·min−1 and varying directly with changes in streamwater ammonium concentration (2.7–6.7 μg/L). The highest rates of ammonium uptake per unit area were by the liverwort Porella pinnata, decomposing leaves, and fine benthic organic matter (FBOM), although epilithon had the highest N uptake per unit biomass N. Nitrification rates and nitrate uptake lengths and rates were determined by fitting a nitrification/nitrate uptake model to the longitudinal profiles of 15N‐NO3 flux. Nitrification was an important sink for ammonium in stream water, accounting for 19% of the total ammonium uptake rate. Nitrate production via coupled regeneration/nitrification of organic N was about one‐half as large as nitrification of streamwater ammonium. Nitrate uptake lengths were longer and more variable than those for ammonium, ranging from 101 m to infinity. Nitrate uptake rate varied from 0 to 29 μg·m−2·min−1 and was ∼1.6 times greater than assimilatory ammonium uptake rate early in the tracer addition. A sixfold decline in instream gross primary production rate resulting from a sharp decline in light level with leaf emergence had little effect on ammonium uptake rate but reduced nitrate uptake rate by nearly 70%. At the end of the addition, 64–79% of added 15N was accounted for, either in biomass within the 125‐m stream reach (33–48%) or as export of 15N‐NH4 (4%), 15N‐NO3 (23%), and fine particulate organic matter (4%) from the reach. Much of the 15N not accounted for was probably lost downstream as transport of particulate organic N during a storm midway through the experiment or as dissolved organic N produced within the reach. Turnover rates of a large portion of the 15N taken up by biomass compartments were high (0.04–0.08 per day), although a substantial portion of the 15N in Porella (34%), FBOM (21%), and decomposing wood (17%) at the end of the addition was retained 75 d later, indicating relatively long‐term retention of some N taken up from water. In total, our results showed that ammonium retention and nitrification rates were high in Walker Branch, and that the downstream loss of N was primarily as nitrate and was controlled largely by nitrification, assimilatory demand for N, and availability of ammonium to meet that demand. Our results are consistent with recent 15N tracer experiments in N‐deficient forest soils that showed high rates of nitrification and the importance of nitrate uptake in regulating losses of N. Together these studies demonstrate the importance of 15N tracer experiments for improving our understanding of the complex processes controlling N cycling and loss in ecosystems

A Recipe for Sustainable Drink: Comparative Analysis of Clean Water Practices in North Africa

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes the right to clean water, entitling everyone to “sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses”. This rationale is the inspiration for comparing the effects of clean water strategies. A comparison between Tunisian and Egyptian approaches will evaluate best practices for providing sustainable clean water services to growing urban and rural populations. There is a global effort to monitor a country’s self-help capabilities; and the international attention given to sustainable development motivates state commitments to this issue. Identifying the competence of current water policies will address modifications needed to improve clean water management strategies. To provide a more comprehensive examination of resources and the different sustainable water practices available in the North African region, some information will be included on neighboring states. Natural resources are manipulated as a tool to gain economic advantages, political leverage, and or exploited. Water management is a vital issue in countries with ecosystems akin to Tunisia and Egypt. A lack of certain resources can be a source of tension, therefore reshaping policies to promote sustainable action is imperative. The Millennium Development Goals in conjunction with the objectives of Earth Summit will provide insight into current sustainable approaches as well as recommend useful resources. The review will identify international goals for sustainable development, then Tunisian and Egyptian statistics in how relevant water issues in North Africa can be addressed in a sustainable manner that can improve state relationships. The findings of my research emphasize the impact of clean water on urban and rural populations, and the most successful water management techniques in the region. The conclusion then highlights the recipe for developing sustainable water management in North Africa. This recipe includes the best ways to monitor progress and why decentralized water management is successful in delivering potable water

Comparative phylogenomic analyses of teleost fish Hox gene clusters: lessons from the cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Teleost fish have seven paralogous clusters of Hox genes stemming from two complete genome duplications early in vertebrate evolution, and an additional genome duplication during the evolution of ray-finned fish, followed by the secondary loss of one cluster. Gene duplications on the one hand, and the evolution of regulatory sequences on the other, are thought to be among the most important mechanisms for the evolution of new gene functions. Cichlid fish, the largest family of vertebrates with about 2500 species, are famous examples of speciation and morphological diversity. Since this diversity could be based on regulatory changes, we chose to study the coding as well as putative regulatory regions of their Hox clusters within a comparative genomic framework.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We sequenced and characterized all seven Hox clusters of <it>Astatotilapia burtoni</it>, a haplochromine cichlid fish. Comparative analyses with data from other teleost fish such as zebrafish, two species of pufferfish, stickleback and medaka were performed. We traced losses of genes and microRNAs of Hox clusters, the medaka lineage seems to have lost more microRNAs than the other fish lineages. We found that each teleost genome studied so far has a unique set of Hox genes. The <it>hoxb7a </it>gene was lost independently several times during teleost evolution, the most recent event being within the radiation of East African cichlid fish. The conserved non-coding sequences (CNS) encompass a surprisingly large part of the clusters, especially in the HoxAa, HoxCa, and HoxDa clusters. Across all clusters, we observe a trend towards an increased content of CNS towards the anterior end.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The gene content of Hox clusters in teleost fishes is more variable than expected, with each species studied so far having a different set. Although the highest loss rate of Hox genes occurred immediately after whole genome duplications, our analyses showed that gene loss continued and is still ongoing in all teleost lineages. Along with the gene content, the CNS content also varies across clusters. The excess of CNS at the anterior end of clusters could imply a stronger conservation of anterior expression patters than those towards more posterior areas of the embryo.</p