Preschool Approach to Teaching Alphabet Knowledge

This action research project was completed by a researcher interested in the alphabet knowledge curriculum. More specifically, in the study of letters, and how to incorporate the relationship of uppercase and lowercase identification, letter sounds awareness, sound placements, and writing letter formation as critical components of an alphabet knowledge curriculum. This researcher taught preschool for thirteen years. The students were able to participate in the study. Students received Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge (EAK) lessons daily. The study was part of our priority standards aligned to the Iowa Early Learning Standards and Teaching Strategies GOLD. The students were asked to identify uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and produce letter sounds in random order. Following each teaching of six cycles of daily EAK lessons. Data was collected with priority standard assessments at the beginning of the school year, after each cycle rotation, and at the end of the school year to determine if EAK was a successful intervention. The research was conducted to result in continued lessons in the Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge if proven to be successful

Bilateral Optic Disc Drusen with Neuroretinitis

Background: Neuroretinitis is an inflammation of the posterior pole of the eye, resulting in optic disc edema and macular star formation. Systemic conditions associated with these findings include tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, syphilis, lyme disease, toxocariasis, mumps, herpes simplex, and cat scratch disease. This case illustrates diagnosis and treatment for a patient with neuroretinitis complicated by preexisting vision loss. Case Report: A Caucasian male in his 40’s presented to the eye clinic for an emergency appointment with complaints of constant blurry vision, especially inferiorly upon awakening, in his right eye for the past two weeks. His ocular history included optic disc drusen in both eyes with profound peripheral vision loss in the left eye. The patient’s systemic history included cluster headaches and sleep apnea. Entering visual acuities were 20/150- OD and 20/20 OS. Additional medical history questioning revealed the recent adoption of a kitten. Conclusion: This case describes the diagnosis and treatment for the rare condition of neuroretinitis secondary to a Toxocara infection. While cat scratch disease was initially suspected, detailed laboratory testing identified the true, and more rare, causative infectious agent. A variety of differential diagnoses were ruled out through laboratory and imaging studies. Consultations with neuro-ophthalmology and infectious disease specialists were exceedingly valuable in contributing to a positive outcome for this patient. This patient’s preexisting ODD with vision loss heightened the concern to preserve the patient’s remaining vision and further added to the complexity of this challenging case. The importance of medical history questions regarding animal contact also proved vital for accurate diagnosis and treatment of this sight threatening condition

The Effect of the 2009 USPSTF breast cancer screening recommendations on breast cancer in Michigan: A longitudinal study

In 2009, the revised United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines recommended against routine screening mammography for women age 40â 49 years and against teaching selfâ breast examinations (SBE). The aim of this study was to analyze whether breast cancer method of presentation changed following the 2009 USPSTF screening recommendations in a large Michigan cohort. Data were collected on women with newly diagnosed stage 0â III breast cancer participating in the Michigan Breast Oncology Quality Initiative (MiBOQI) registry at 25 statewide institutions from 2006 to 2015. Data included method of detection, cancer stage, treatment type, and patient demographics. In all, 30 008 women with breast cancer detected via mammogram or palpation with an average age of 60.1 years were included. 38% of invasive cancers were identified by palpation. Presentation with palpable findings decreased slightly over time, from 34.6% in 2006 to 28.9% in 2015 (P < .001). Over the 9â year period, there was no statistically significant change in rate of palpationâ detected tumors for women age <50 years or â ¥50 years (P = .27, .30, respectively). Younger women were more likely to present with palpable tumors compared to older women in a statewide registry. This rate did not increase following publication of the 2009 USPSTF breast cancer screening recommendations.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146414/1/tbj13034.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146414/2/tbj13034_am.pd

NMR parameters in alkali, alkaline earth and rare earth fluorides from first principle calculations

19F isotropic chemical shifts for alkali, alkaline earth and rare earth of column 3 basic fluorides are measured and the corresponding isotropic chemical shieldings are calculated using the GIPAW method. When using PBE exchange correlation functional for the treatment of the cationic localized empty orbitals of Ca2+, Sc3+ (3d) and La3+ (4f), a correction is needed to accurately calculate 19F chemical shieldings. We show that the correlation between experimental isotropic chemical shifts and calculated isotropic chemical shieldings established for the studied compounds allows to predict 19F NMR spectra of crystalline compounds with a relatively good accuracy. In addition, we experimentally determine the quadrupolar parameters of 25Mg in MgF2 and calculate the electric field gradient of 25Mg in MgF2 and 139La in LaF3 using both PAW and LAPW methods. The orientation of the EFG components in the crystallographic frame, provided by DFT calculations, is analysed in term of electron densities. It is shown that consideration of the quadrupolar charge deformation is essential for the analysis of slightly distorted environments or highly irregular polyhedra.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables and ES

Structure-based prediction reveals capping motifs that inhibit β-helix aggregation

The parallel beta-helix is a geometrically regular fold commonly found in the proteomes of bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea, and some vertebrates. beta-helix structure has been observed in monomeric units of some aggregated amyloid fibers. In contrast, soluble beta-helices, both right- and left-handed, are usually “capped” on each end by one or more secondary structures. Here, an in-depth classification of the diverse range of beta-helix cap structures reveals subtle commonalities in structural components and in interactions with the beta-helix core. Based on these uncovered commonalities, a toolkit of automated predictors was developed for the two distinct types of cap structures. In vitro deletion of the toolkit-predicted C-terminal cap from the pertactin beta-helix resulted in increased aggregation and the formation of soluble oligomeric species. These results suggest that beta-helix cap motifs can prevent specific, beta-sheet-mediated oligomeric interactions, similar to those observed in amyloid formation.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant U54-LM008748)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant R01-GM25874)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant R01GM081871

Adjuvant radiation and cetuximab improves local control in head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: Phase II study

BackgroundCutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head/neck (CSCCHN) is common due to chronic sun exposure. As CSCCHN highly expresses EGFR, we prospectively studied postoperative concurrent cetuximab with radiotherapy for locally advanced CSCCHN (LA- CSCCHN).Materials and methodsSingle- institutional phase II trial of LA- CSCCHN (NCT XXXX). Adjuvant radiation was given with concurrent cetuximab. Primary endpoint of 2- year LRC and secondary objectives of 2- year disease- free survival (DFS) and 2- year OS were assessed by Kaplan- Meier analysis.ResultsTwenty- four patients ages 47- 88 (median 71- years) were treated from 2014 to 2017. Fourteen patients had T3/4 disease, 5 had N1 disease, and 7 were N2/3. At median follow- up of 42- months, median OS and DFS was not reached and 64- months. Two- year OS was 75%, 2- year DFS was 70.8%. LRC was 91.1% at 2- years. All grade 3 adverse events were related to skin toxicity (12.5% radiation- related dermatitis, 16.7% cetuximab- related rash).ConclusionsLRC compares favorably to historical data examining postoperative radiation alone but requires further investigation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/170792/1/hed26835_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/170792/2/hed26835.pd

The Effect of the 2009 USPSTF breast cancer screening recommendations on breast cancer in Michigan: A longitudinal study

In 2009, the revised United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines recommended against routine screening mammography for women age 40â 49 years and against teaching selfâ breast examinations (SBE). The aim of this study was to analyze whether breast cancer method of presentation changed following the 2009 USPSTF screening recommendations in a large Michigan cohort. Data were collected on women with newly diagnosed stage 0â III breast cancer participating in the Michigan Breast Oncology Quality Initiative (MiBOQI) registry at 25 statewide institutions from 2006 to 2015. Data included method of detection, cancer stage, treatment type, and patient demographics. In all, 30 008 women with breast cancer detected via mammogram or palpation with an average age of 60.1 years were included. 38% of invasive cancers were identified by palpation. Presentation with palpable findings decreased slightly over time, from 34.6% in 2006 to 28.9% in 2015 (P < .001). Over the 9â year period, there was no statistically significant change in rate of palpationâ detected tumors for women age <50 years or â ¥50 years (P = .27, .30, respectively). Younger women were more likely to present with palpable tumors compared to older women in a statewide registry. This rate did not increase following publication of the 2009 USPSTF breast cancer screening recommendations