The Academic english literacy acquisition experiences of deaf college students

The purpose of this dissertation was to describe deaf college students’ perceptions of their experiences learning academic English literacy. The study examined the narrated academic English literacy acquisition experiences and practices of 11 deaf and hard-ofhearing students at a hearing university with a large deaf student population. Through paradigmatic analysis of narrative data, the study located common themes that revealed their perceptions of academic English literacy acquisition. The study was conducted with deaf students attending a college for deaf and hardof- hearing students, which is one of eight colleges at a major northeastern university. Methods employed in the study were phenomenological interviewing and recursive analysis. The primary data sources were participant interviews and a focus group. Analysis was conducted through recursive interaction with the data, in which repeated reviews served to first elicit themes and meanings and then confirm interpretation of same. First, the study identified pre-college literacy experiences and beliefs about literacy learning, activities that took place in college English courses, and obstacles perceived to limit participants’ progress through the academic English system. Second, the study examined assistive and collaborative learning experiences discussed by participants as well as the roles of their deaf peers in these experiences. Third, the study examined participants’ perceptions of instructors, expectations, and teaching methods. The study resulted in the following findings: 1) participants struggled to find the right balance between working with assistance and working independently; 2) participants’ experiences resulted in a preference for highly competent communicators for instructors, and these tended to be deaf instructors; 3) participants observed a difference in the kind of assistance they received within their own college and the larger university; 4) they expressed a preference for learning environments that they perceived to be more visually accessible to them, such as group discussions with peers who also signed; and 5) they encountered conflicts that restricted their learning, which ranged from communication to unclear or rigid expectations to internal contradictions between challenge and remediation. The dissertation concluded by showing how understanding deaf college students’ perceptions of academic English literacy acquisition may inform and improve teaching practices with this population, especially with regard to promoting proficiency with the dominant literacies of school and work

The Role of Teachers in the Academic English Literacy Acquisition Experiences of Deaf College Students

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe deaf college students’ perceptions of their experiences learning academic English literacy vis à vis their teachers. The study examined the narrated academic English literacy acquisition experiences and practices of 11 deaf and hard-of-hearing students at a hearing university with a large deaf student population. Through paradigmatic analysis of narrative data, the study located common themes, which revealed students’ perceptions of academic English literacy acquisition, particularly with regard to their teachers. Methods employed in the study were phenomenological interviewing and recursive analysis. The primary data sources were participant interviews and a focus group. Analysis was conducted through recursive interaction with the data, in which repeated reviews served to first elicit themes and meanings and then confirm interpretation of same. The study resulted in the following findings: Participants’ experiences resulted in a preference for instructors who are highly competent communicators, and these tended to be deaf instructors. Participants encountered communication challenges, including the inability of instructors to sign clearly or to understand what their students were saying to them, that restricted their learning. They also perceived instructors to hold expectations that were either too low, unclear, or rigid, which created internal contradictions between challenge and remediation. The study concluded by showing how understanding deaf college students’ perceptions of academic English literacy acquisition may inform and improve teaching practices with this population

The effects of neighborhood density and street connectivity on walking behavior: the Twin Cities walking study

A growing body of health and policy research suggests residential neighborhood density and street connectivity affect walking and total physical activity, both of which are important risk factors for obesity and related chronic diseases. The authors report results from their methodologically novel Twin Cities Walking Study; a multilevel study which examined the relationship between built environments, walking behavior and total physical activity. In order to maximize neighborhood-level variation while maintaining the exchangeability of resident-subjects, investigators sampled 716 adult persons nested in 36 randomly selected neighborhoods across four strata defined on density and street-connectivity – a matched sampling design. Outcome measures include two types of self-reported walking (from surveys and diaries) and so-called objective 7-day accelerometry measures. While crude differences are evident across all outcomes, adjusted effects show increased odds of travel walking in higher-density areas and increased odds of leisure walking in low-connectivity areas, but neither density nor street connectivity are meaningfully related to overall mean miles walked per day or increased total physical activity. Contrary to prior research, the authors conclude that the effects of density and block size on total walking and physical activity are modest to non-existent, if not contrapositive to hypotheses. Divergent findings are attributed to this study's sampling design, which tends to mitigate residual confounding by socioeconomic status

No effect of exercise on insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, insulin and glucose in young women participating in a 16-week randomized controlled trial

Introduction: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) have been associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Methods: We report our findings on the effects of 16 weeks of aerobic exercise on IGF axis proteins, insulin, glucose and insulin resistance of 319 young sedentary women. Demographics, health surveys, body composition, dietary intake and blood samples were collected at baseline and 16 weeks. IGF-1 and IGF binding proteins 1, 2, and 3 were measured by ELISA’s. Results: Exercise adherence was 88% and the dropout rates for the exercise and control groups were 21.7% and 14.5%, respectively. There was a small significant change from baseline in IGFBP-3 concentrations. IGFBP-3 levels decreased in controls and increased in exercisers. The between group difference was significant. No other changes were noted. Conclusion: Sixteen weeks of exercise had minimum or no effect on IGF proteins of young women. Impact: Our study supports findings from previous studies conducted in older populations and raises the question of what type of intervention is needed to change circulating levels of IGF proteins in humans

The Emergence and Effectiveness of Global Health Networks: Findings and Future Research

Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is that the networks of individuals and organizations that address these issues differ in their effectiveness. This article presents key findings from a research project on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks addressing tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Although networks are only one of many factors influencing priority, they do matter, particularly for shaping the way the problem and solutions are understood, and convincing governments, international organizations and other global actors to address the issue. Their national-level effects vary by issue and are more difficult to ascertain. Networks are most likely to produce effects when (1) their members construct a compelling framing of the issue, one that includes a shared understanding of the problem, a consensus on solutions and convincing reasons to act and (2) they build a political coalition that includes individuals and organizations beyond their traditional base in the health sector, a task that demands engagement in the politics of the issue, not just its technical aspects. Maintaining a focused frame and sustaining a broad coalition are often in tension: effective networks find ways to balance the two challenges. The emergence and effectiveness of a network are shaped both by its members’ decisions and by contextual factors, including historical influences (e.g. prior failed attempts to address the problem), features of the policy environment (e.g. global development goals) and characteristics of the issue the network addresses (e.g. its mortality burden). Their proliferation raises the issue of their legitimacy. Reasons to consider them legitimate include their members’ expertise and the attention they bring to neglected issues. Reasons to question their legitimacy include their largely elite composition and the fragmentation they bring to global health governance

Psychosocial Correlates of Physical Activity and Sedentary Leisure Habits in Young Adolescents: The Teens Eating for Energy and Nutrition at School Study

BACKGROUND: Low levels of physical activity (PA) and highly sedentary leisure habits (SLH) in youth may establish behavioral patterns that will predispose youth to increased chronic disease risk in adulthood. The purpose of this paper was to examine associations of demographic and psychosocial factors with self-reported PA and SLH in young adolescents. METHODS: A general linear mixed model predicted self-reported PA and SLH in the spring from demographic and psychosocial variables measured the previous fall in 3798 seventh grade students. RESULTS: PA and SLH differed by race, with Caucasian students reporting among the highest PA and lowest SLH. Perceptions of higher academic rank or expectations predicted higher PA and lower SLH. Depressive symptomatology predicted higher SLH scores but not PA. Higher self-reported value of health, appearance, and achievement predicted higher PA and lower SLH in girls. Girls who reported that their mothers had an authoritative parenting style also reported higher PA and lower SLH. CONCLUSIONS: Determinants of PA and SLH appear to differ from each other, particularly in boys. Development of effective programs to increase PA and/or decrease SLH in young adolescents should be based on a clear understanding of the determinants of these behaviors

Structural basis for inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor by cetuximab

SummaryRecent structural studies of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family extracellular regions have identified an unexpected mechanism for ligand-induced receptor dimerization that has important implications for activation and inhibition of these receptors. Here we describe the 2.8 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of the antigen binding (Fab) fragment from cetuximab (Erbitux), an inhibitory anti-EGFR antibody, in complex with the soluble extracellular region of EGFR (sEGFR). The sEGFR is in the characteristic “autoinhibited” or “tethered” inactive configuration. Cetuximab interacts exclusively with domain III of sEGFR, partially occluding the ligand binding region on this domain and sterically preventing the receptor from adopting the extended conformation required for dimerization. We suggest that both these effects contribute to potent inhibition of EGFR activation

Structural Evaluation of EGFR Inhibition Mechanisms for Nanobodies/VHH Domains

SummaryThe epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is implicated in human cancers and is the target of several classes of therapeutic agents, including antibody-based drugs. Here, we describe X-ray crystal structures of the extracellular region of EGFR in complex with three inhibitory nanobodies, the variable domains of heavy chain only antibodies (VHH). VHH domains, the smallest natural antigen-binding modules, are readily engineered for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. All three VHH domains prevent ligand-induced EGFR activation, but use two distinct mechanisms. 7D12 sterically blocks ligand binding to EGFR in a manner similar to that of cetuximab. EgA1 and 9G8 bind an epitope near the EGFR domain II/III junction, preventing receptor conformational changes required for high-affinity ligand binding and dimerization. This epitope is accessible to the convex VHH paratope but inaccessible to the flatter paratope of monoclonal antibodies. Appreciating the modes of binding and inhibition of these VHH domains will aid in developing them for tumor imaging and/or cancer therapy