Monolithic electro-optic modulator array

A PIN GaAlAs diode structure is provided with parameters for index guiding of light in a single mode. The index of refraction of the central layer I (which in practice may be lightly doped .pi. or .nu.) is greater than the p- and n-layers to create a slab waveguide in the transverse direction. Stripe contacts define separate waveguide channels that are separated electrically and optically by implanting protons or etching grooves between the stripe contacts in the upper layer. Separate reverse biasing voltages may be applied to the stripe contacts for modulation of the light in proportions to the voltage, either with absorption modulation, if the light wavelength is within about 500.ANG. of the bandgap of the .pi.-material, or phase-delay modulation, if the wavelength is separated from the bandgap of the .pi.-material by at least 900.ANG.

Literacy-Based Action Research: Strategies for Improving Student Achievement

Poster presentation at National Youth-at-Risk Conference Relevance Three teachers completing their Reading Specialist M.Ed. degree developed an action research plan centered around literacy instruction throughout the course of the semester. Students analyzed the validity, reliability, and personal bias inherent in their action research study; developed a literature review on a research topic; implemented a plan for conducting action research; and applied evaluation criteria to their own project. Presenters will explain insights that they have gained from the action research process that will influence their pedagogy and instructional practices moving forward. The first portion of the presentation highlights the findings of an action research study conducted with three 7th grade middle school student who were attending a summer school program. This study provides strategies to motivate struggling readers to increase their vocabulary development, facilitating their comprehension skills. The second action research study evaluated if inclusion of technology will allow students to master sufficient reading standards to allow them to be promoted to the next grade. The third section of the presentation centers on early intervention strategies to assist students in developing metacognitive habits that will enhance academic achievement. In addition, the study promotes student self-efficacy and self-esteem. Brief Program Description The presentation will highlight literacy-based action research projects by three Reading Specialist M.Ed. graduate students. The topics of enhancing struggling readers’ vocabulary development using technology; effects of technology during summer school on student promotion; as well as infusion of dialogue and metacognitive strategies to promote self-efficacy and early reading success were explored. Tools for attendees to implement the process of action research in their own classroom will be outlined. Summary The presentation will begin with a discussion of the nature of action research. Participants will identify goals and rationale for action research and discuss the potential impact of action research on their teaching practice. In addition, development of an action research plan (area of focus statement, variables, research questions, intervention/ innovation, timeline, data collection ideas) will be facilitated. The presentation will proceed to three vignettes that showcase action research in practice by three Reading Specialist M.Ed. graduate students. 1. Many students throughout a school year receive disciplinary actions for inappropriate cellphone use during school hours. These students are sometimes discipline for disrupting the learning environment. It is time to turn the “disruptions” into “discoveries.” The interventions used in this study will be shared with any and all stakeholders involved in the education of our students. 2. As teachers and parents, we spend lots of time and money looking for ways for our students to master standards ones they missed the first time around. As the world becomes more and more technology prevalent in schools, home and in our lives, what is its role in promoting academic achievement and student success? 3. Metacognition is a powerful tool that is often overlooked. This study focused on the effect of implementing metacognitive reflection activities and conversation on student self-efficacy and reading achievement. In a short presentation, the interventions used in this study will be shared with educators in hopes of propelling the teaching of metacognitive strategies. Viewers will be asked to participate in a self-evaluation questionnaire and reflective journal opportunity before and following the session. They will also be involved in an ongoing discussion throughout the session just as the participants in the study were. Evidence Action research is based on a process that involves the following process (Mills, 2014)- 1. Write an area-of- focus statement. 2. Define the variables. 3. Develop research questions. 4. Describe the intervention or innovation. 5. Describe the membership of the action research group. 6. Describe negotiations that need to be undertaken. 7. Develop a timeline. 8. Develop a statement of resources. 9. Develop data collection ideas. The proposal is informed by research that showcases the following: (1)Students’ presentations showed evidence of students’ new knowledge and understanding of unfamiliar vocabulary terms at the end of a four-week period. (2) Technology such as Moby Max facilitates students\u27 mastery of new reading standards towards promotion goals. (3)Student-teacher discussion during reflective activities shows evidence of students actively monitoring their understanding during the learning process. It has been proven in multiple formats that metacognition has a positive impact on student learning

Type A behavior pattern : relationship to personality and psychopathology

Controversy exists around whether the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), a questionnaire measuring the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern, correlates with measures of pathology. The present study investigated this question by administering the JAS (form T) and the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) to 2 samples of University students, summer and fall. Experiment 1 served as a pilot study with the administration of Form R of the MMPI (399 items) and the JAS with a group of summer students. Although some significant correlations were obtained, the results of Experiment 1 indicate that traditional measures of psychopathology are generally unrelated to the JAS. A more rigorous examination of the relationship between the MMPI and the JAS was sought in the second experiment using the long form of the MMPI (566 items) and a much larger sample size. Contrary to Experiment 1, the results of Experiment 2 indicate a strong relationship between the Speed and Impatience subscale of the JAS and psychopathology, particularly for females. In addition, the large number of significant correlations and the large number of Type A's evidencing elevated MMPI scales (T-scores >70), suggests that the Type A behavior pattern may be associated with psychopathology

Literacy-Based Action Research: Strategies for Improving Student Achievement

The presentation will highlight literacy-based action research projects by three Reading Specialist M.Ed. graduate students. The topics of enhancing struggling readers’ vocabulary development using technology; effects of technology during summer school on student promotion; as well as infusion of dialogue and metacognitive strategies to promote self-efficacy and early reading success were explored. Tools for attendees to implement the process of action research in their own classroom will be outlined

Characterization of cytoskeletal and junctional proteins expressed by cells cultured from human arachnoid granulation tissue

BACKGROUND: The arachnoid granulations (AGs) are projections of the arachnoid membrane into the dural venous sinuses. They function, along with the extracranial lymphatics, to circulate the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to the systemic venous circulation. Disruption of normal CSF dynamics may result in increased intracranial pressures causing many problems including headaches and visual loss, as in idiopathic intracranial hypertension and hydrocephalus. To study the role of AGs in CSF egress, we have grown cells from human AG tissue in vitro and have characterized their expression of those cytoskeletal and junctional proteins that may function in the regulation of CSF outflow. METHODS: Human AG tissue was obtained at autopsy, and explanted to cell culture dishes coated with fibronectin. Typically, cells migrated from the explanted tissue after 7–10 days in vitro. Second or third passage cells were seeded onto fibronectin-coated coverslips at confluent densities and grown to confluency for 7–10 days. Arachnoidal cells were tested using immunocytochemical methods for the expression of several common cytoskeletal and junctional proteins. Second and third passage cultures were also labeled with the common endothelial markers CD-31 or VE-cadherin (CD144) and their expression was quantified using flow cytometry analysis. RESULTS: Confluent cultures of arachnoidal cells expressed the intermediate filament protein vimentin. Cytokeratin intermediate filaments were expressed variably in a subpopulation of cells. The cultures also expressed the junctional proteins connexin43, desmoplakin 1 and 2, E-cadherin, and zonula occludens-1. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that second and third passage cultures failed to express the endothelial cell markers CD31 or VE-cadherin in significant quantities, thereby showing that these cultures did not consist of endothelial cells from the venous sinus wall. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report of the in vitro culture of arachnoidal cells grown from human AG tissue. We demonstrated that these cells in vitro continue to express some of the cytoskeletal and junctional proteins characterized previously in human AG tissue, such as proteins involved in the formation of gap junctions, desmosomes, epithelial specific adherens junctions, as well as tight junctions. These junctional proteins in particular may be important in allowing these arachnoidal cells to regulate CSF outflow

Did a Severe Flood in the Midwest Cause an Increase in the Incidence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms?

Severe flooding occurred in the midwestern United States in 2001. Since November 2000, coincidentally, data on gastrointestinal symptoms had been collected for a drinking water intervention study in a community along the Mississippi River that was affected by the flood. After the flood had subsided, the authors asked these subjects (n = 1,110) about their contact with floodwater. The objectives of this investigation were to determine whether rates of gastrointestinal illness were elevated during the flood and whether contact with floodwater was associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal illness. An increase in the incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms during the flood was observed (incidence rate ratio = 1.29, 95% confidence interval: 1.06, 1.58), and this effect was pronounced among persons with potential sensitivity to infectious gastrointestinal illness. Tap water consumption was not related to gastrointestinal symptoms before, during, or after the flood. An association between gastrointestinal symptoms and contact with floodwater was also observed, and this effect was pronounced in children. This appears to be the first report of an increase in endemic gastrointestinal symptoms in a longitudinal cohort prospectively observed during a flood. These findings suggest that severe climatic events can result in an increase in the endemic incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms in the United States

Calpain Inhibition Attenuates Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Fibrosis in Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Adipose tissue macrophages have been proposed as a link between obesity and insulin resistance. However, the mechanisms underlying these processes are not completely defined. Calpains are calcium-dependent neutral cysteine proteases that modulate cellular function and have been implicated in various inflammatory diseases. To define whether activated calpains influence diet-induced obesity and adipose tissue macrophage accumulation, mice that were either wild type (WT) or overexpressing calpastatin (CAST Tg), the endogenous inhibitor of calpains were fed with high (60% kcal) fat diet for 16 weeks. CAST overexpression did not influence high fat diet-induced body weight and fat mass gain throughout the study. Calpain inhibition showed a transient improvement in glucose tolerance at 5 weeks of HFD whereas it lost this effect on glucose and insulin tolerance at 16 weeks HFD in obese mice. However, CAST overexpression significantly reduced adipocyte apoptosis, adipose tissue collagen and macrophage accumulation as detected by TUNEL, Picro Sirius and F4/80 immunostaining, respectively. CAST overexpression significantly attenuated obesity-induced inflammatory responses in adipose tissue. Furthermore, calpain inhibition suppressed macrophage migration to adipose tissue in vitro. The present study demonstrates a pivotal role for calpains in mediating HFD-induced adipose tissue remodeling by influencing multiple functions including apoptosis, fibrosis and inflammation

Increasing Adipocyte Lipoprotein Lipase Improves Glucose Metabolism in High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity

Lipid accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle contributes to co-morbidities associated with diabetes and obesity. We made a transgenic mouse in which the adiponectin (Adipoq) promoter drives expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in adipocytes to potentially increase adipose tissue lipid storage. These mice (Adipoq-LPL) have improved glucose and insulin tolerance as well as increased energy expenditure when challenged with a high fat diet (HFD). To identify the mechanism(s) involved, we determined whether the Adipoq-LPL mice diverted dietary lipid to adipose tissue to reduce peripheral lipotoxicity, but we found no evidence for this. Instead, characterization of the adipose tissue of the male mice after HFD challenge revealed that the mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and a number of PPARγ-regulated genes were higher in the epididymal fat pads of Adipoq-LPL mice than control mice. This included adiponectin, whose mRNA levels were increased, leading to increased adiponectin serum levels in the Adipoq-LPL mice. In many respects, the adipose phenotype of these animals resembles thiazolidinedione treatment except for one important difference, the Adipoq-LPL mice did not gain more fat mass on HFD than control mice and did not have increased expression of genes in adipose such as glycerol kinase, which are induced by high affinity PPAR agonists. Rather, there was selective induction of PPARγ-regulated genes such as adiponectin in the adipose of the Adipoq-LPL mice, suggesting that increasing adipose tissue LPL improves glucose metabolism in diet-induced obesity by improving the adipose tissue phenotype. Adipoq-LPL mice also have increased energy expenditure