Teachers’ Cognitive Processing of Complex School-Based Scenarios: Differences Across Experience Levels

Teachers are confronted with and must process challenging situations every day. Yet the development trajectory of their processing ability is unknown. Our two-part mixed method studies use a think-aloud methodology to understand how teachers cognitive process difficult school-based and non-school-based scenarios. Studies 1 and 2 examine the differences between expert, beginning, and pre-service teachers without and with pre-existing response options, respectively. Results from qualitative (but not quantitative) analyses indicate group differences in strategy, scope, content, and reasoning. Furthermore, we find that teaching is a domain-specific expertise. We discuss how this information can inform teacher education and professional development programs

Qualitative study of loneliness in a senior housing community: the importance of wisdom and other coping strategies.

ObjectiveOlder adults are at a high risk for loneliness, which impacts their health, well-being, and longevity. While related to social isolation, loneliness is a distinct, internally experienced, distressing feeling. The present qualitative study sought to identify characteristics of loneliness in older adults living independently within a senior housing community, which is typically designed to reduce social isolation.MethodSemi-structured qualitative interviews regarding the experience of loneliness, risk factors, and ways to combat it were conducted with 30 older adults, ages 65-92 years. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded using a grounded theory analytic approach based on coding, consensus, co-occurrence, and comparison.ResultsThree main themes with multiple subthemes are described: (A) Risk and Protective factors for loneliness: age-associated losses, lack of social skills or abilities, and protective personality traits; (B) Experience of loneliness: Sadness and lack of meaning as well as Lack of motivation; and (C) Coping strategies to prevent or overcome loneliness: acceptance of aging, compassion, seeking companionship, and environment enables socialization.DiscussionDespite living within a communal setting designed to reduce social isolation, many older adults described feeling lonely in stark negative terms, attributing it to aging-associated losses or lack of social skills and abilities. However, interviewees also reported positive personal qualities and actions to prevent or cope with loneliness, several of which mirrored specific components of wisdom. The results support the reported inverse relationship between loneliness and wisdom and suggest a potential role for wisdom-enhancing interventions to reduce and prevent loneliness in older populations

The Mental Health Agency Research Network (MHARN): Developing a statewide network for knowledge sharing, technical assistance & collaborative research

The Mental Health Agency Research Network (MHARN) is a developing network for sharing knowledge and research collaboration between the UMMS Dept. of Psychiatry and other academics, DMH personnel, community providers, consumers and family members. Its mission is to close the gap between science and service in mental health services in Massachusetts by improving implementation of evidence based practices to benefit consumers. The MHARN provides a structure and mechanism for the Center for Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR) to better engage with DMH staff and community agencies around the state. As experience and research on science-to-service has demonstrated that dissemination of information about research findings is not sufficient to bring about changes in practice and benefits to consumers, the MHARN will incorporate principles and practices of the emerging science of implementation research

The potential solutions to the challenges faced by leaders of small schools in the UK: A systematic review

Small schools often serve an important function in the local community, where their staff can enjoy close relationships with pupils, colleagues, and local community members. As with any leadership role, leaders of small schools can face challenges, some of which are unique to the small school context. To better understand these challenges and identify potential solutions to these challenges, a systematic review of the literature was conducted on the challenges and the potential solutions reported by leaders of small schools in the UK. Seventeen studies published between 2000 and 2023 were included for synthesis, which captured the experiences of headteachers of small primary schools in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. From meta-aggregating the extracted findings, five challenges were identified: (a) nature of the leadership role; (b) finances and resources; (c) relationship and partnership management; (d) teaching and learning; and (e) schools’ location and accessibility. Five potential solutions to these challenges were noted: (a) inclusive and focused leadership; (b) enhanced finances and pooled resources; (c) developing relationships and partnerships; (d) providing leaders and staff with effective support and Continuing Professional Development (CPD); and (e) enhanced school provision. Suggestions for policy and practice that can help leaders of small schools are discussed

A Toxicogenomic Comparison of Primary and Photochemically Altered Air Pollutant Mixtures

Background: Air pollution contributes significantly to global increases in mortality, particularly within urban environments. Limited knowledge exists on the mechanisms underlying health effects resulting from exposure to pollutant mixtures similar to those occurring in ambient air. In order to clarify the mechanisms underlying exposure effects, toxicogenomic analyses are used to evaluate genomewide transcript responses and map these responses to molecular networks

Early (and Later) LHC Search Strategies for Broad Dimuon Resonances

Resonance searches generally focus on narrow states that would produce a sharp peak rising over background. Early LHC running will, however, be sensitive primarily to broad resonances. In this paper we demonstrate that statistical methods should suffice to find broad resonances and distinguish them from both background and contact interactions over a large range of previously unexplored parameter space. We furthermore introduce an angular measure we call ellipticity, which measures how forward (or backward) the muon is in eta, and allows for discrimination between models with different parity violation early in the LHC running. We contrast this with existing angular observables and demonstrate that ellipticity is superior for discrimination based on parity violation, while others are better at spin determination.Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures. References added, minor modifications made to section

Holographic Domains of Anti-de Sitter Space

An AdS_4 brane embedded in AdS_5 exhibits the novel feature that a four-dimensional graviton is localized near the brane, but the majority of the infinite bulk away from the brane where the warp factor diverges does not see four-dimensional gravity. A naive application of the holographic principle from the point of view of the four-dimensional observer would lead to a paradox; a global holographic mapping would require infinite entropy density. In this paper, we show that this paradox is resolved by the proper covariant formulation of the holographic principle. This is the first explicit example of a time-independent metric for which the spacelike formulation of the holographic principle is manifestly inadequate. Further confirmation of the correctness of this approach is that light-rays leaving the brane intersect at the location where we expect four-dimensional gravity to no longer dominate. We also present a simple method of locating CFT excitations dual to a particle in the bulk. We find that the holographic image on the brane moves off to infinity precisely when the particle exits the brane's holographic domain. Our analysis yields an improved understanding of the physics of the AdS_4/AdS_5 model.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figure

RTOG 0518: Randomized Phase III Trial to Evaluate Zoledronic Acid for Prevention of Osteoporosis and Associated Fractures in Prostate Cancer Patients

Background: RTOG 0518 evaluated the potential benefit of zoledronic acid therapy in preventing bone fractures for patients with high grade and/or locally advanced, non-metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma receiving luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist and radiotherapy (RT). Methods: Eligible patients with T-scores of the hip ( −2.5 vs. > −1.0) and negative bone scans were prospectively randomized to either zoledronic acid, 4 mg, concurrently with the start of RT and then every six months for a total of 6 infusions (Arm 1) or observation (Arm 2). Vitamin D and calcium supplements were given to all patients. Secondary objectives included quality of life (QOL) and bone mineral density (BMD) changes over a period of three years. Results: Of 109 patients accrued before early closure, 96 were eligible. Median follow-up was 36.3 months for Arm I and 34.8 months for Arm 2. Only two patients experienced a bone fracture (1 in each arm) resulting in no difference in freedom from any bone fracture (p=0.95), nor in QOL. BMD percent changes from baseline to 36 months were statistically improved with the use of zoledronic acid compared to observation for the lumbar spine (6% vs. −5%, p<0.0001), left total hip (1% vs. −8%, p=0.0002), and left femoral neck (3% vs. −8%, p=0.0007). Conclusions: For patients with advanced, non-metastatic prostate cancer receiving LHRH agonist and RT, the use of zoledronic acid was associated with statistically improved BMD percent changes. The small number of accrued patients resulted in decreased statistical power to detect any differences in the incidence of bone fractures or QOL

Quantitative assessments of glycolysis from single cells

The most common positron emission tomography (PET) radio-labeled probe for molecular diagnostics in patient care and research is the glucose analog, 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-D-glucose (^(18)F-FDG). We report on an integrated microfluidics-chip/beta particle imaging system for in vitro ^(18)F-FDG radioassays of glycolysis with single cell resolution. We investigated the kinetic responses of single glioblastoma cancer cells to targeted inhibitors of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. Further, we find a weak positive correlation between cell size and rate of glycolysis