Implementing Peer Coaching in a State Funded Pre-Kindergarten Program: An Autoethnography

This autoethnography - rooted in the qualitative tradition of field research, explored the life experiences of the researcher which subsequently led to the preparation, implementation, and analysis of a professional development program. The purpose of this study was to reflect upon whether or not a peer coaching program would enhance the development of pre-kindergarten teachers\u27 emergent literacy strategies in the Greater New Orleans area. This autoethnography employed the author as the research tool in order to understand the researcher\u27s personal self within the context of the professional development. The guiding question of this study is as follows - does utilizing peer coaching increase teachers\u27 emergent literacy development strategies in a pre-kindergarten program? This research will not only add to the body of early childhood research in the area of professional development, but also distinguish autoethnography as a viable, emerging, qualitative research method; this is because it acknowledges the link between the personal and the cultural. The study will give information relating to the effectiveness of the peer coaching program as a means to provide professional development for teachers. More importantly, students in the classrooms may benefit from the newly implemented professional development, as teachers may improve emergent literacy in the classroom

Howard County Farmers Association (HCFA) Business Concept

Final project for AREC489N: Economics of Local Agriculture: Food Hubs (Spring 2016). University of Maryland, College Park.The Howard County Office of Community Sustainability is seeking food hub-based solutions that connect small and mid-sized farmers in Howard County with restaurants and retailers to expand the market for locally produced agricultural products. Under the supervision of instructor Philip Gottwals, the University of Maryland’s PALS-affiliated AREC 489N team studied successes and failures of organizations that have undertaken similar projects to determine the most appropriate and feasible solutions to the issues raised. A review of public data quickly revealed that Howard County's agricultural sector is both small and highly diversified. As such it offers both opportunities for, and challenges to, the creation of a food hub. Vegetable production, for example, is limited to 110 acres of production with the largest crop acreage devoted to an ornamental crop, pumpkins. The next largest vegetable crops are sweet corn and tomatoes, with all others representing negligible commercial, fresh market acreage. For a food hub to be viable, an increase in production and diversity would be required. Otherwise, it would be impractical to gather and distribute wholesale quantities of vegetables to restaurants, retailers, or wholesalers. Interviews with County farmers confirmed that market opportunity is not limited by facility-based services, such as aggregation, but instead were limited by programmatic and policy restrictions. Chief among their concerns are the impending food safety certification requirements imposed by the federal Food Safety Modernization Act audited by Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification. These regulations, which were previously enforced only on the largest farms, now apply to all fruit and vegetable producers, regardless of farm size or program cost. Unless these standards are adopted at the farm level, local producers would be barred from many, if not all, commercial sales. Further evidence that a facility-based food hub is unlikely to be successful in Howard County can be found in the depth and breadth of the existing food supply chain. Howard County is the epicenter of a 100-mile radius supply chain that includes approximately 4,000 firms that are involved in all aspects of the food industry, including logistics, manufacturing, and distribution. After interviewing businesses operating in these sectors, it was determined that sufficient options to aggregate, ship, or value add were available in the market, but that critical services, such as quality assurance, food safety certification, and marketing support were lacking, putting local farmers at a marked disadvantage over farms from outside the area. Given the above, the project team concluded that it would be a greater benefit to our client if further research and project development efforts were directed toward designing a multi-pronged Quality Assurance Program for the County combined with an associated marketing and brand management program to raise awareness of Howard County farm products. This multifaceted approach strives to implement the newly emerging food safety requirements as a method of expansion into new markets. This allows growers to participate in the supply-chain where well-documented demand for local, GAP-certified produce and quality assured beef cattle exists. The second facet of the approach involves creating a suite of strategic marketing initiatives designed to bolster consumer demand for local food.Howard Count

Iron status in the elderly: a review of recent evidence

A comprehensive literature review of iron status in the elderly was undertaken in order to update a previous review (Fairweather-Tait et al, 2014); 138 papers were retrieved that described research on the magnitude of the problem, aetiology and age-related physiological changes that may affect iron status, novel strategies for assessing iron status with concurrent health conditions, hepcidin, lifestyle factors, iron supplements, iron status and health outcomes (bone mineral density, frailty, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney failure, cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases). Each section concludes with key points from the relevant papers. The overall findings were that disturbed iron metabolism plays a major role in a large number of conditions associated with old age. Correction of iron deficiency/overload may improve disease prognosis, but diagnosis of iron deficiency requires appropriate cut-offs for biomarkers of iron status in elderly men and women to be agreed. Iron deficiency (with or without anemia), anemia of inflammation, and anemia of chronic disease are all widespread in the elderly and, once identified, should be investigated further as they are often indicative of underlying disease. Management options should be reviewed and updated, and novel therapies, which show potential for treating anemia of inflammation or chronic disease, should be considered

Effect of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback on Sleep

Healthy amounts of sleep is vital for normal human functions such as daily learning, memory, emotional state and cardiovascular function. Studies conducted previously have shown sleep deprivation to be associated with increases in sympathetic activity contributing to autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation. HRV biofeedback (HRVB) training induces HRV coherence, a condition that maximizes HRV and facilitates autonomic and cardiorespiratory homeostasis. This randomized, controlled, intervention trial will test the hypothesis that HRVB can improve HRV coherence and increase overall sleep quality. Patients are randomized to previously established HRVB or sham protocols (n=40 each, total planned enrollment N=80). Each participant completes a baseline assessment, 6 weekly training sessions, a post-training assessment, a booster training session and assessment (1-month post-training), and a follow-up assessment (2 months post-training). Wrist actigraphy is used to obtain continuous rest/activity recordings 24-hours per day over three 1-week periods coinciding with the baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up assessments. Subjective sleep symptoms are included at each assessment using the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Outcomes include: 15-minute resting HRV recordings (HRV Coherence Ratio), as well as subjective (total PSQI and sleep quality scores) and quantitative sleep measures (actigraphic sleep onset latency, duration, efficiency, wake after sleep onset). To date, 85 patients completed their baseline assessment; 63 completed their post-training assessment, and 50 completed the entire protocol. In preliminary analyses, HRVB patients had elevated mean (±SD) HRV Coherence Ratios at the post-training assessment relative to baseline (0.11±.02 vs. 0.27±0.05, n=43, p\u3c0.001), whereas no differences were observed among controls (0.10±0.02 vs. 0.12±0.02, n=41, p=0.97). Compared to baseline scores PSQI Global Score was reduced at Post Assessment (12.3±0.5 vs 11.1±0.6 n=31, p=0.02) and at Follow-up Assessment (12.3±0.5 vs 10.3±0.9 n=25, p\u3c0.001); no differences among controls. Compared to baseline scores Sleep Duration elevated at Post Assessment (436±15 vs 465±19 n=23, p=0.03) and at Follow-up Assessment (436±15 vs 479±19 n=21, p=0.02); no differences among controls. Preliminary results indicate receipt and persistence of intervention among HRVB participants to date. Results show evidence of Subjective (PSQI) and Objective (Duration) sleep improvements. HRVB is a valid, quantifiable, easily-implemented procedure; and previous research suggests that HRVB can improve overall sleep quality

Implementing Peer Coaching in a State Funded Pre-Kindergarten Program: An Autoethnography

This autoethnography - rooted in the qualitative tradition of field research, explored the life experiences of the researcher which subsequently led to the preparation, implementation, and analysis of a professional development program. The purpose of this study was to reflect upon whether or not a peer coaching program would enhance the development of pre-kindergarten teachers\u27 emergent literacy strategies in the Greater New Orleans area. This autoethnography employed the author as the research tool in order to understand the researcher\u27s personal self within the context of the professional development. The guiding question of this study is as follows - does utilizing peer coaching increase teachers\u27 emergent literacy development strategies in a pre-kindergarten program? This research will not only add to the body of early childhood research in the area of professional development, but also distinguish autoethnography as a viable, emerging, qualitative research method; this is because it acknowledges the link between the personal and the cultural. The study will give information relating to the effectiveness of the peer coaching program as a means to provide professional development for teachers. More importantly, students in the classrooms may benefit from the newly implemented professional development, as teachers may improve emergent literacy in the classroom

Primary ovarian lymphoma: A case report

While Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) often involves the ovaries at time of autopsy, it is rarely present at the time of diagnosis. Here we present a case of a 20-year-old who presented with a large adnexal mass and elevated B-HCG, CA-125, and LDH. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy, and frozen section of the left ovarian mass was suspected to be a dysgerminoma. Final pathologic diagnosis was Ann Arbor stage IVE Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, germinal center subtype. Patient is currently undergoing chemotherapy and has received the 3 of a planned 6 cycles of R-CHOP