Transforming High School Counseling: Counselors\u27 Roles, Practices, and Expectations for Students\u27 Success

This study examined the current roles and practices of American high school counselors in relation to the ASCA National Model. Expectations for student success by high school counselors were also examined and compared to those of teachers\u27 and school administrators\u27. A nationally representative sample of 852 lead counselors from 944 high schools was surveyed as part of the High School Longitudinal Study: 2009-2012. Findings are examined in the light of the National Model and advocated practices

Gender Difference in STEM Career Aspiration and Social-Cognitive Factors in Collectivist and Individualist Cultures

Gender equity in STEM demands that girls and women are provided with learning experiences, opportunities, and resources that meet their educational and vocational goals. This study examined gender difference in STEM learning experience, parental involvement, and self-efficacy to predict STEM career aspiration of different sociocultural groups. Two independent samples of high school students, one recruited from a collectivist culture (Taiwanese sample, N = 590) and the other recruited randomly from an individualist culture (American sample, N = 590), were used to examine the differences. Findings suggested a greater gender difference in STEM learning experience, parental involvement, and STEM self-efficacy of students from the collectivist culture than students from the individualist culture. Results of logistic analyses showed differential prediction of STEM career aspiration in two different cultural contexts. Findings were discussed in light of socio-cultural contexts

The Role of Proline Rich Tyrosine Kinase 2 (Pyk2) on Cisplatin Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Aims: We previously demonstrated Proline rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) plays important roles in regulating tumor progression, migration and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aimed to examine the role of proline rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) on cisplatin resistance in HCC and to explore its underlying molecular mechanism. Methodology/Principal Findings: Stable transfectants either overexpressing or suppressing Pyk2 were established in different HCC cell lines. MTT, colony formation and Annexin-V assays were employed to examine their in vitro responses to cisplatin. Xenograft ectopic and orthotopic nude mice models were generated to investigate the in vivo responses of them to cisplatin treatment. cDNA microarray was performed to identify Pyk2-induced genes which were further validated by quantitative real-time RT-PCR using clinical HCC samples. In vitro functional study demonstrated that Pyk2-overexpressing HCC transfectants exhibited relatively lower cytotoxicity, higher colony-forming ability and lower apoptosis to cisplatin compared with the control transfectants. Moreover, Pyk2 overexpressing HCC transfectants had a higher survival rate under cisplatin treatment by up-regulation of AKT phosphorylation. In vivo xenograft nude mice model demonstrated that Pyk2-overexpressing transfectants developed higher tolerance to cisplatin treatment together with less tumor necrosis and apoptosis. cDNA microarray analysis revealed that there were more than 4,000 genes differentially expressed upon overexpression of Pyk2. Several upregulated genes were found to be involved in drug resistance and invasion in cancers. Among them, the expression profiles of MDR1, GAGE1, STAT1 and MAP7 were significantly associated with the expression of Pyk2 in clinical HCC samples. Conclusions: Our results may suggest a new evidence of Pyk2 on promoting cisplatin resistance of HCC cells through preventing cell apoptosis, activation of AKT pathway and upregulation of drug resistant genes. © 2011 Geng et al.published_or_final_versio

A Garlic Derivative, S-allylcysteine (SAC), Suppresses Proliferation and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly malignant and metastatic. Currently, there is no effective chemotherapy for patients with advanced HCC leading to an urgent need to seek for novel therapeutic options. We aimed to investigate the effect of a garlic derivative, S-allylcysteine (SAC), on the proliferation and metastasis of HCC. Methodology/Principal Findings: A series of in vitro experiments including MTT, colony-forming, wound-healing, invasion, apoptosis and cell cycle assays were performed to examine the anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects of SAC on a metastatic HCC cell line MHCC97L. The therapeutic values of SAC single and combined with cisplatin treatments were examined in an in vivo orthotopic xenograft liver tumor model. The result showed that the proliferation rate and colony-forming abilities of MHCC97L cells were suppressed by SAC together with significant suppression of the expressions of proliferation markers, Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Moreover, SAC hindered the migration and invasion of MHCC97L cells corresponding with up-regulation of E-cadherin and down-regulation of VEGF. Furthermore, SAC significantly induced apoptosis and necrosis of MHCC97L cells through suppressing Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 as well as activating caspase-3 and caspase-9. In addition, SAC could significantly induce the S phase arrest of MHCC97L cells together with down-regulation of cdc25c, cdc2 and cyclin B1. In vivo xenograft liver tumor model demonstrated that SAC single or combined with cisplatin treatment inhibited the progression and metastasis of HCC tumor. Conclusions/Significance: Our data demonstrate the anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects of SAC on HCC cells and suggest that SAC may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of HCC patients. © 2012 Ng et al.published_or_final_versio

1st Workshop on Maritime Computer Vision (MaCVi) 2023: Challenge Results

The 1$^{\text{st}}$ Workshop on Maritime Computer Vision (MaCVi) 2023 focused on maritime computer vision for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), and organized several subchallenges in this domain: (i) UAV-based Maritime Object Detection, (ii) UAV-based Maritime Object Tracking, (iii) USV-based Maritime Obstacle Segmentation and (iv) USV-based Maritime Obstacle Detection. The subchallenges were based on the SeaDronesSee and MODS benchmarks. This report summarizes the main findings of the individual subchallenges and introduces a new benchmark, called SeaDronesSee Object Detection v2, which extends the previous benchmark by including more classes and footage. We provide statistical and qualitative analyses, and assess trends in the best-performing methodologies of over 130 submissions. The methods are summarized in the appendix. The datasets, evaluation code and the leaderboard are publicly available at https://seadronessee.cs.uni-tuebingen.de/macvi.Comment: MaCVi 2023 was part of WACV 2023. This report (38 pages) discusses the competition as part of MaCV

Effects of alirocumab on types of myocardial infarction: insights from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial

Aims  The third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) Task Force classified MIs into five types: Type 1, spontaneous; Type 2, related to oxygen supply/demand imbalance; Type 3, fatal without ascertainment of cardiac biomarkers; Type 4, related to percutaneous coronary intervention; and Type 5, related to coronary artery bypass surgery. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction with statins and proprotein convertase subtilisin–kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors reduces risk of MI, but less is known about effects on types of MI. ODYSSEY OUTCOMES compared the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab with placebo in 18 924 patients with recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and elevated LDL-C (≥1.8 mmol/L) despite intensive statin therapy. In a pre-specified analysis, we assessed the effects of alirocumab on types of MI. Methods and results  Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Myocardial infarction types were prospectively adjudicated and classified. Of 1860 total MIs, 1223 (65.8%) were adjudicated as Type 1, 386 (20.8%) as Type 2, and 244 (13.1%) as Type 4. Few events were Type 3 (n = 2) or Type 5 (n = 5). Alirocumab reduced first MIs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77–0.95; P = 0.003], with reductions in both Type 1 (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.99; P = 0.032) and Type 2 (0.77, 0.61–0.97; P = 0.025), but not Type 4 MI. Conclusion  After ACS, alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy favourably impacted on Type 1 and 2 MIs. The data indicate for the first time that a lipid-lowering therapy can attenuate the risk of Type 2 MI. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction below levels achievable with statins is an effective preventive strategy for both MI types.For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz299</p

Effect of alirocumab on mortality after acute coronary syndromes. An analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES randomized clinical trial

Background: Previous trials of PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9) inhibitors demonstrated reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, but not death. We assessed the effects of alirocumab on death after index acute coronary syndrome. Methods: ODYSSEY OUTCOMES (Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes After an Acute Coronary Syndrome During Treatment With Alirocumab) was a double-blind, randomized comparison of alirocumab or placebo in 18 924 patients who had an ACS 1 to 12 months previously and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins despite intensive statin therapy. Alirocumab dose was blindly titrated to target achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) between 25 and 50 mg/dL. We examined the effects of treatment on all-cause death and its components, cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death, with log-rank testing. Joint semiparametric models tested associations between nonfatal cardiovascular events and cardiovascular or noncardiovascular death. Results: Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Death occurred in 334 (3.5%) and 392 (4.1%) patients, respectively, in the alirocumab and placebo groups (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.98; P=0.03, nominal P value). This resulted from nonsignificantly fewer cardiovascular (240 [2.5%] vs 271 [2.9%]; HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.05; P=0.15) and noncardiovascular (94 [1.0%] vs 121 [1.3%]; HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.59 to 1.01; P=0.06) deaths with alirocumab. In a prespecified analysis of 8242 patients eligible for ≥3 years follow-up, alirocumab reduced death (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.94; P=0.01). Patients with nonfatal cardiovascular events were at increased risk for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths (P<0.0001 for the associations). Alirocumab reduced total nonfatal cardiovascular events (P<0.001) and thereby may have attenuated the number of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths. A post hoc analysis found that, compared to patients with lower LDL-C, patients with baseline LDL-C ≥100 mg/dL (2.59 mmol/L) had a greater absolute risk of death and a larger mortality benefit from alirocumab (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.90; Pinteraction=0.007). In the alirocumab group, all-cause death declined wit h achieved LDL-C at 4 months of treatment, to a level of approximately 30 mg/dL (adjusted P=0.017 for linear trend). Conclusions: Alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy has the potential to reduce death after acute coronary syndrome, particularly if treatment is maintained for ≥3 years, if baseline LDL-C is ≥100 mg/dL, or if achieved LDL-C is low. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01663402

Low mitochondrial DNA copy number of resected cecum appendix correlates with high severity of acute appendicitis

Background/Purpose: The roles of mitochondrial DNA alterations in acute appendicitis (AA) remain unclear. We evaluated the alterations of mtDNA copy number and mtDNA integrity [proportion of mtDNA templates without 8-hydroxyl-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)] of the resected cecum appendixes in clinically suspected acute appendicitis (CSAA). Methods: A total of 228 CSAA patients, including 50 harbored negative AA (NAA), 155 true AA (TAA) without rupture and 23 TAA with rupture, who underwent appendectomies were enrolled. Tissues of resected cecum appendixes from the paraffin-embedded pathological blocks were subjected to DNA extraction, and their mtDNA copy number and mtDNA integrity were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). Results: During the progression of disease severity from NAA to TAA without rupture and further TAA with rupture, increases of white blood cell (WBC) counts (p = 0.001), positive bacterial culture rates in turbid ascites (p = 0.016) and area (p < 0.001)/or volume (p < 0.001) indices of resected cecum appendixes were noted among CSAA patients. On the contrary, decrease of mtDNA copy number (p = 0.003) was observed during disease progression of CSAA patients, especially in female patients (p = 0.007). Furthermore, lower mtDNA copy numbers were correlated with higher WBC counts (p = 0.001) and larger area (p = 0.003) or volume (p < 0.001) indices of the resected cecum appendixes. However, such an alteration was not observed in mtDNA integrity of resected cecum appendixes. Conclusion: We conclude that a low mtDNA copy number of the resected cecum appendix may reflect high severity of acute appendicitis. Keywords: Acute appendicitis, Mitochondrial DNA copy number, Immune response, 8-Hydroxyl-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG

Assessing High School Student’s STEM Career Interests Using a Social Cognitive Framework

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the STEM Career Interest Survey (STEM-CCIS) with data from 590 high-school students in Taiwan. Measurement models based on Social-Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and STEM discipline-specific dimensions (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) were examined using confirmatory factor analyses. Findings from confirmatory factor analyses indicated that STEM-CCIS possesses adequate reliability and factorial validity, replicating the sound psychometric properties of the original English version of the STEM-CIS. Implications for the use of the STEM-CCIS are discussed

Understanding middle students\u27 beliefs about knowledge and learning using a multidimensional paradigm

Recent theory (Schommer, 1990) suggests that personal epistemology is multidimensional. The multidimensional epistemology structure with middle school students was tested in this study. Over 1, 200 students in Grades 7 and 8 completed an epistemological belief questionnaire. Prior theory, developed with college students, suggested 4 epistemological belief factors: Ability to Learn, Structure of Knowledge, Speed of Learning, and Stability of Knowledge. Confirmatory factor analysis applied to a random half of the sample indicated that a 3-factor model was a good fit to the data. That model was replicated with the second half of the data. Follow-up regression analyses indicated that the more students believed in gradual learning and incremental ability to learn, the higher GPA they earned. © 2000 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC