AN INVESTIGATION OF A FOREST FIELD TRIP FOR ELELMENTARY STUDENTS: WHAT STRATEGIES WERE USED, AND TO WHAT EXTENT WERE THESE STRATEGIES EFFECTIVE IN SUPPORTING STUDENT LEARNING?

Many times when field experiences occur with elementary students there is no assessment of the programming, and therefore no data showing how the participants’ learning was impacted. This study focuses on the effectiveness of a forest field trip offered to 3rd-5th grade students at a public school in Gogebic County, Michigan. The study was guided by the following research questions: What strategies have been used to conduct forest-based environmental education programs in the Western Upper Peninsula? What has been the impact of the strategies on students’ environmental knowledge? In what ways if any, can the conduct of the learning experiences be improved? The students participated in a 1.5-hour field trip that included experiential, environmental science activities at a nearby forest. To assess the participants’ environmental knowledge, pre- and posttests were administered. Prior to participating in the program the students completed a one-page, three-part pretest based on the content that would be covered during the field trip. The activities were developed from three different lessons found in the Project Learning Tree curriculum guide (American Forest Foundation, 2007). Each activity was about 20-30 minutes long. The students completed the posttest immediately following the field trip experience. The results were analyzed by class and grade to determine if there were changes after participation in the programming. Teachers were also given an evaluation to determine what strategies are most effective in making outdoor field trips possible for students. The results did show statistically significant gains in the test scores, with some of the questions showing higher gains than others. The 5th grade students had the highest gains between the pre- and posttest scores. The teacher evaluations showed that teachers would be more likely to participate in an outdoor field trip if transportation reimbursements were available and if a natural resource professional was present to lead the programming. These findings may be of interest to educators and other personnel interested in using forest field trips as a way of supporting student learning

Effect of Nintendo® Wii Fit™ balance games on postural control and balance among adults with Down Syndrome.

A Nintendo Wii Fit gaming device may eliminate several barriers to exercise and promote participation in balance training among adults with Down syndrome (DS). This study seeks to determine if a Nintendo Wii balance exercise regimen will improve postural control and balance among adults with DS over the age of 18. Nine participants were randomly divided into a treatment (TR) and control (CR) group. A TekScan HR mat was used to measure the following variables: anterior/posterior sway (AP), medial/lateral sway (ML), area (A), distance (D), and variability (V) in two feet eyes open (EO) and two feet eyes closed (EC) stances. A 2X2 RM ANOVA was utilized to analyze results as well as Cohen's d for effect size calculations. There were no significant differences found within group-by-time interaction, time, and group effects for any dependent variable (p>.05). Effect sizes were calculated for EOTR: AP (d = -.44), ML (d = -.03), A (d = -.47), D (d = -.48), and V (d = -.29. Values for the EOCR saw a larger effect among all variables: AP (d = -.84), ML (d = -.17), area (d = -.73), D (d = -.78), and V (d = -.67). ECTR values were as follows: AP (d = -.91), ML (d = -.53), A (d = -.76), D (d = -.69), and V (d = -.71). Values for ECCR are as follows: AP (d = -.41), ML (d = +2.81), A (d = -.48), D (d = -.42), and V (d = -.21). Although there were not statistically significant improvements in postural control between groups or over time, based on effect size calculations either of these training methods may still be an effective mode of improving postural control

Trk: a neuromodulator of age-specific behavioral and neurochemical responses to cocaine in mice.

Responses to psychostimulants vary with age, but the molecular etiologies of these differences are largely unknown. The goal of the present research was to identify age-specific behavioral and molecular adaptations to cocaine and to elucidate the mechanisms involved therein. Postweanling, periadolescent, and adult male CD-1 mice were exposed to cocaine (20 mg/kg) for 7 d. The rewarding effects of cocaine were assessed, as were the response to a Trk antagonist and the regulation of dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, 32 kDa (DARPP-32). Cocaine was rewarding in both periadolescent and adult mice using a conditioned place preference procedure. In contrast, postweanling mice failed to demonstrate significant cocaine-induced place preference. Because components of the neurotrophin system including brain-derived neurotrophic factor and TrkB are developmentally regulated, their role in the age-specific effects of cocaine was determined using the Trk receptor antagonist K252a. Postweanling mice that received K252a before daily cocaine showed a significant place preference to the cocaine-paired environment that was not seen in the absence of K252a. DARPP-32 protein levels were significantly upregulated in the lateral region of the caudate-putamen exclusively in postweanling mice after chronic cocaine. Daily pretreatment with K252a attenuated the induction of DARPP-32 in the postweanling striatum. These data indicate that Trk neurotransmission plays a role in age-specific behavioral and molecular responses to cocaine and concurrently modulates DARPP-32 levels

Progression and adherence to an individually prescribed and supervised resistance training intervention in older adults recovering in hospital from lower limb fragility fracture

This study evaluated adherence and progression with a 12-week resistance training program amongst a sample of older adults recovering in hospital from lower limb fragility fracture. Forty-nine participants (mean age 84 years) commenced the resistance training program seven days after the injury. The exercise prescription involved training of the hip and knee extensors, hip abductors, and ankle plantar- and dorsi flexors using resistive bands. Exercise sessions were completed tri-weekly for six weeks under supervision by a physiotherapist and tri-weekly for an additional six weeks independently. Adherence was assessed as the proportion of exercise sessions completed of those prescribed and any progression in resistance was documented. Level of adherence was not found to be influenced by age, gender, cognition or strength but was greater amongst those admitted from the community setting and for the first six weeks when supervision was present. Participants were able to obtain similar levels of resistance for the injured side compared to the noninjured side for all exercises excluding hip abduction and those admitted from the community setting achieved higher levels of resistance compared to those admitted from the residential care setting. These findings suggest that an early resistance training program is feasible and well tolerated amongst older adults recovering from lower limb fragility fracture. Further work is necessary to determine how this level of resistance training translates into functional improvements and how to improve adherence levels in clinical rehabilitation settings

Whole genome sequencing identifies a deletion in protein phosphatase 2A that affects its stability and localization in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Whole genome sequencing is a powerful tool in the discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and small insertions/deletions (indels) among mutant strains, which simplifies forward genetics approaches. However, identification of the causative mutation among a large number of non-causative SNPs in a mutant strain remains a big challenge. In the unicellular biflagellate green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, we generated a SNP/indel library that contains over 2 million polymorphisms from four wild-type strains, one highly polymorphic strain that is frequently used in meiotic mapping, ten mutant strains that have flagellar assembly or motility defects, and one mutant strain, imp3, which has a mating defect. A comparison of polymorphisms in the imp3 strain and the other 15 strains allowed us to identify a deletion of the last three amino acids, Y313F314L315, in a protein phosphatase 2A catalytic subunit (PP2A3) in the imp3 strain. Introduction of a wild-type HA-tagged PP2A3 rescues the mutant phenotype, but mutant HA-PP2A3 at Y313 or L315 fail to rescue. Our immunoprecipitation results indicate that the Y313, L315, or YFLΔ mutations do not affect the binding of PP2A3 to the scaffold subunit, PP2A-2r. In contrast, the Y313, L315, or YFLΔ mutations affect both the stability and the localization of PP2A3. The PP2A3 protein is less abundant in these mutants and fails to accumulate in the basal body area as observed in transformants with either wild-type HA-PP2A3 or a HA-PP2A3 with a V310T change. The accumulation of HA-PP2A3 in the basal body region disappears in mated dikaryons, which suggests that the localization of PP2A3 may be essential to the mating process. Overall, our results demonstrate that the terminal YFL tail of PP2A3 is important in the regulation on Chlamydomonas mating

Testing Conducted for Lithium-Ion Cell and Battery Verification

The NASA Glenn Research Center has been conducting in-house testing in support of NASA's Lithium-Ion Cell Verification Test Program, which is evaluating the performance of lithium-ion cells and batteries for NASA mission operations. The test program is supported by NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology under the NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program, which serves to bridge the gap between the development of technology advances and the realization of these advances into mission applications. During fiscal year 2003, much of the in-house testing effort focused on the evaluation of a flight battery originally intended for use on the Mars Surveyor Program 2001 Lander. Results of this testing will be compared with the results for similar batteries being tested at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Naval Research Laboratory. Ultimately, this work will be used to validate lithium-ion battery technology for future space missions. The Mars Surveyor Program 2001 Lander battery was characterized at several different voltages and temperatures before life-cycle testing was begun. During characterization, the battery displayed excellent capacity and efficiency characteristics across a range of temperatures and charge/discharge conditions. Currently, the battery is undergoing lifecycle testing at 0 C and 40-percent depth of discharge under low-Earth-orbit (LEO) conditions

SkinSafe: Comparing Staphylococcus aureus Growth Across Liner Types in Kenya

The interface between an amputee’s residual limb and prosthetic liner is at risk for high levels of bacterial growth which can lead to infection. Silicone liners have the advantage of patient comfort, but they may have a sealing effect that could exacerbate bacterial growth, which is particularly a concern in places lacking clean water such as Kijabe, Kenya. To investigate this concern, the SkinSafe team has conducted a prosthetic liner study using a bacterial skin model which suspends a liner and a layer of agar above a self-regulating heat and water source to capture the dynamic behavior of the skin–liner interface. Staphylococcus aureus was grown on this model using three different liners: the Ossur Iceross silicone liner, the Namaste silicone liner, and the sock–EVA liner. Final growth concentrations will be compared between the three liner types to determine whether silicone liners require additional hygiene protocols for use in Kenya. Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2022/1015/thumbnail.jp

Online Learning in Schools of Business: The Impact of Strategy on Course Enrollments

Online education in schools of business is an ongoing, emerging practice. Strategic planning by institutions and programs seeks to identify the most relevant factors in providing the most effective online learning for students. This requires that schools of business figure out what factors positively and directly affect course enrollments. This research study surveyed deans of AACSB-accredited business schools to determine their online learning strategies and practices. The results of the survey and study support online education as a means to meet the increasing needs of a diverse and ever-changing student population both now and in the future

Gender-specific associations of short sleep duration with prevalent and incident hypertension : the Whitehall II Study

Sleep deprivation (5 hour per night) was associated with a higher risk of hypertension in middle-aged American adults but not among older individuals. However, the outcome was based on self-reported diagnosis of incident hypertension, and no gender-specific analyses were included. We examined cross-sectional and prospective associations of sleep duration with prevalent and incident hypertension in a cohort of 10 308 British civil servants aged 35 to 55 years at baseline (phase 1: 1985-1988). Data were gathered from phase 5 (1997-1999) and phase 7 (2003-2004). Sleep duration and other covariates were assessed at phase 5. At both examinations, hypertension was defined as blood pressure 140/90 mm Hg or regular use of antihypertensive medications. In cross-sectional analyses at phase 5 (n5766), short duration of sleep (5 hour per night) was associated with higher risk of hypertension compared with the group sleeping 7 hours, among women (odds ratio: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.13 to 3.58), independent of confounders, with an inverse linear trend across decreasing hours of sleep (P0.003). No association was detected in men. In prospective analyses (mean follow-up: 5 years), the cumulative incidence of hypertension was 20.0% (n740) among 3691 normotensive individuals at phase 5. In women, short duration of sleep was associated with a higher risk of hypertension in a reduced model (age and employment) (6 hours per night: odds ratio: 1.56 [95% CI: 1.07 to 2.27]; 5 hour per night: odds ratio: 1.94 [95% CI: 1.08 to 3.50] versus 7 hours). The associations were attenuated after accounting for cardiovascular risk factors and psychiatric comorbidities (odds ratio: 1.42 [95% CI: 0.94 to 2.16]; odds ratio: 1.31 [95% CI: 0.65 to 2.63], respectively). Sleep deprivation may produce detrimental cardiovascular effects among women. (Hypertension. 2007;50:694-701.) Key Words: sleep duration blood pressure hypertension gender differences confounders comorbiditie