An Investigation of Student Disciplinary Procedures of Twelve Rural Jefferson County Districts after Implementation of Illinois Law Banning Corporal Punishment

The purpose of the study was to investigate and assess the effectiveness of the student disciplinary procedures in the twelve elementary K-8 rural school districts in Jefferson County, Illinois, since the Illinois legislative body banned the use of corporal punishment by P.A. 88-346 which became effective January 1, 1994. Discipline has been a major concern in the effectiveness of schools for quite some time and appeared as the number one concern of the public pertaining to our public schools in the 1994 Gallup Poll. Since corporal punishment has been banned, personnel in many schools are concerned about how effective their present disciplinary procedures really are. The survey instrument was mailed to each of the superintendents of the twelve rural elementary K-8 school districts in Jefferson County, Illinois. The study provided specific data concerning the change in the overall number of occurrences in the usage of disciplinary procedures and in the individual areas of removal from the classroom, before and after school detentions, in-school detentions, and suspensions since the banning of corporal punishment. Alternative disciplinary procedures instituted after the banning of corporal punishment, if any, were also examined. All twelve of the superintendents within the field study responded to the survey instrument. The results of the data showed that, in the perception of the superintendents who responded to the survey, the use of disciplinary procedures has increased since the banning of corporal punishment. The results showed that, in eleven out of the twelve districts, the overall number of disciplinary occurrences had increased and an increase was also shown in the removal of students from the classroom because of disruptions. In ten out of the twelve districts the superintendents perceived increases in the occurrences of in-school suspensions and suspensions. Ten of the twelve superintendents perceived that the banning of corporal punishment did have an effect on the number of occurrences of disciplinary procedures used within their particular school districts. Ten of the twelve superintendents agreed that corporal punishment should be reinstated in the state of Illinois

Orthogonal Selection and Fixing of Coordination Self-Assembly Pathways for Robust Metallo-organic Ensemble Construction

Supramolecular construction strategies have overwhelmingly relied on the principles of thermodynamic control. While this approach has yielded an incredibly diverse and striking collection of ensembles, there are downsides, most obviously the necessity to trade-off reversibility against structural integrity. Herein we describe an alternative “assembly-followed-by-fixing” approach that possesses the high-yielding, atom-efficient advantages of reversible self-assembly reactions, yet gives structures that possess a covalent-like level of kinetic robustness. We have chosen to exemplify these principles in the preparation of a series of M₂L₃ helicates and M₄L₆ tetrahedra. While the rigidity of various bis­(bidentate) ligands causes the larger species to be energetically preferred, we are able to freeze the self-assembly process under “non-ambient” conditions, to selectivity give the disfavored M₂L₃ helicates. We also demonstrate “kinetic-stimuli” (redox and light)-induced switching between architectures, notably reconstituting the lower energy tetrahedra into highly distorted helicates

Identification of male-specific volatiles from Neartic and Neotropical stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae).

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Preliminary evidence that low ankle-brachial index is associated with reduced bilateral hip extensor strength and functional mobility in peripheral arterial disease

ObjectivePeripheral arterial disease (PAD) has been associated with skeletal muscle pathology, including atrophy of the affected muscles. In addition, oxidative metabolism is impaired, muscle function is reduced, and gait and mobility are restricted. We hypothesized that greater severity of symptomatic PAD would be associated with lower levels of muscle mass, strength, and endurance, and that these musculoskeletal abnormalities in turn would impair functional performance and walking ability in patients with PAD.MethodsWe assessed 22 persons with intermittent claudication from PAD in this cross-sectional pilot study. Outcome assessments included initial claudication distance and absolute claudication distance via treadmill protocols and outcomes from the 6-minute walk (6MW). Secondary outcomes included one repetition maximum strength/endurance testing of hip extensors, hip abductors, quadriceps, hamstrings, plantar flexors, pectoral, and upper back muscle groups, as well as performance-based tests of function. Univariate and stepwise multiple regression models were constructed to evaluate relationships and are presented.ResultsTwenty-two participants (63.6% male; mean [standard deviation] age, 73.6 [8.2] years; range, 55-85 years) were studied. Mean (standard deviation) resting ankle-brachial index (ABI) was 0.54 ([0.13]; range, 0.28-0.82), and participants ranged from having mild claudication to rest pain. Lower resting ABI was significantly associated with reduced bilateral hip extensor strength (r = 0.54; P = .007) and reduced whole body strength (r = 0.32; P = .05). In addition, lower ABI was associated with a shorter distance to first stop during the 6MW (r = 0.38; P = .05) and poorer single leg balance (r = 0.44; P = .03). Reduced bilateral hip extensor strength was also significantly associated with functional outcomes, including reduced 6MW distance to first stop (r = 0.74; P = .001), reduced 6MW distance (r = 0.75; P < .001), and reduced total short physical performance battery score (worse function; r = 0.75; P = .003).ConclusionsOur results suggest the existence of a causal pathway from a reduction in ABI to muscle atrophy and weakness, to whole body disability represented by claudication outcomes and performance-based tests of functional mobility in an older cohort with symptomatic PAD. Longitudinal outcomes from this study and future trials are required to investigate the effects of an anabolic intervention targeting the muscles involved in mobility and activities of daily living and whether an increase in muscle strength will improve symptoms of claudication and lead to improvements in other functional outcomes in patients with PAD

Rationalizing the Activity of an “Artificial Diels-Alderase”: Establishing Efficient and Accurate Protocols for Calculating Supramolecular Catalysis

Self-assembled cages have emerged as novel platforms to explore bio-inspired catalysis. While many different size and shape supramolecular structures are now readily accessible, only a few are known to accelerate chemical reactions under sub-stoichiometric conditions. These limited examples point to a poor understanding of cage catalysis in general, limiting the ability to design new systems. Here we show that a simple and efficient density functional theory-based methodology, in-formed by explicitly solvated molecular dynamics and coupled-cluster calculations is sufficient to accurately reproduce experimental guest binding affinities (MAD = 1.9 kcal mol-1) and identify the catalytic Diels-Alder proficiencies (>80 % accuracy) of two homologous Pd2L4 metallocages with a variety of substrates. This analysis reveals how subtle structural differences in the cage framework affect binding and catalysis. These effects manifest in a smaller distortion and more favorable interaction energy for the catalytic cage compared to the inactive structure. This study gives a detailed insight that would otherwise be difficult to obtain from experiments, providing new opportunities in the design catalytically active supramolecular cages

Computational Modeling of Supramolecular Metallo-organic Cages-Challenges and Opportunities

[Image: see text] Self-assembled metallo-organic cages have emerged as promising biomimetic platforms that can encapsulate whole substrates akin to an enzyme active site. Extensive experimental work has enabled access to a variety of structures, with a few notable examples showing catalytic behavior. However, computational investigations of metallo-organic cages are scarce, not least due to the challenges associated with their modeling and the lack of accurate and efficient protocols to evaluate these systems. In this review, we discuss key molecular principles governing the design of functional metallo-organic cages, from the assembly of building blocks through binding and catalysis. For each of these processes, computational protocols will be reviewed, considering their inherent strengths and weaknesses. We will demonstrate that while each approach may have its own specific pitfalls, they can be a powerful tool for rationalizing experimental observables and to guide synthetic efforts. To illustrate this point, we present several examples where modeling has helped to elucidate fundamental principles behind molecular recognition and reactivity. We highlight the importance of combining computational and experimental efforts to speed up supramolecular catalyst design while reducing time and resources

Artifacts and pheromone blends from Nezara spp.and other stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae).

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Artifacts and Pheromone Blends from Nezara spp. and Other Stink Bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Isomeric com pounds reportedly released by mature males o f Nezara viridula as attractants for conspecific females are evidently artifacts formed by dimerization o f (£)-4-oxo-2-hexenal. Additional analyses o f the male-specific volatiles from Italian, Australian, Brazilian, and Japanese populations o f N. viridula verify that at least two distinctive pheromone strains exist, but an active synthetic pheromone has not yet been developed. Analyses o f volatiles from N. antennata and Acrosternum aseadum males are also reported showing that the native Japanese Nezara sp., and species in the sister genus Acrosternum, produce species-specific blends based on the same com pounds as N. viridula: (Z)-a-bisabolene (l-m ethyl-4-(l,5-im ethyl-(Z )-l,4-hexadienyl)-cyclohexene), and trans- and cis- 1,2-epoxides o f (Z)-a-bisabolene. The trans-/cis- I,2-epoxide ratio o f N. antennata is within the range found for most N. viridula populations, but the blend from Japanese N. viridula males deviates radically from those o f other conspecific populations