Common Core State Standards in Arkansas

In July 2010, the Arkansas Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC Assessment program. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) then created a strategic plan and a timeline for the implementation of the standards. The new standards were implemented in Arkansas K-2 classrooms this past school year, 2011-12. During this current school year, 2012-13, the standards are being implemented in grades 3-8

Arkansas’ ESEA Waiver Approval Update

On June 29th, 2012, the US Department of Education announced that it had approved Arkansas’s ESEA waiver request. On July 4th, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) announced it had identified 48 Priority and 110 Focus schools. Priority and Focus schools are the new names for the two lowest-rated school performance categories; schools and districts in these categories are subject to ADE intervention. This policy brief explains the major differences between the accountability system under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the new revised system

Common Core State Standards in Arkansas

In July 2010, the Arkansas Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC Assessment program. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) then created a strategic plan and a timeline for the implementation of the standards. The new standards were implemented in Arkansas K-2 classrooms this past school year, 2011-12. During this current school year, 2012-13, the standards are being implemented in grades 3-8

Robotic Partial Nephrectomy for a Peripheral Renal Tumor

Partial nephrectomy (PN) is the preferred surgical treatment for T1 renal tumors whenever technically feasible. When properly performed, it allows preservation of nephron mass without compromising oncologic outcomes. This reduces the postoperative risk of renal insufficiency, which translates into better overall survival for the patients. PN can be technically challenging, because it requires the surgeon to complete the tasks of tumor excision, hemostasis and renorrhaphy, all within an ischemic time of preferably below 30 minutes. The surgeon needs to avoid violating the tumor margins while leaving behind the maximal parenchymal volume at the same time. Variations such as zero ischemia, early unclamping, and selective clamping have been developed in an attempt to reduce the negative impact of renal ischemia, but inevitably add to the steep learning curves for any surgeon. Being able to appreciate the fine details of each surgical step in PN is the fundamental basis to the success of this surgery. The use of the robotic assistance allows a good combination of the minimally invasive nature of laparoscopic surgery and the surgical exposure and dexterity of open surgery. It also allows the use of adjuncts such as concurrent ultrasound assessment of the renal mass and intraoperative fluorescence to aid the identification of tumor margins, all with a simple hand switch at the console. Robot-assisted laparoscopic PN is now the most commonly performed type of PN in the United States and is gaining acceptance on the global scale. In this video, we illustrate the steps of robot-assisted laparoscopic PN and highlight the technical key points for success

The Outcome of Surgery versus Medical Management in the Treatment of Vesicoureteral Reflux

Evaluation of the relative merits of medical versus surgical management of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) has been limited by the few prospective studies comparing these strategies. Among those trials that have been reported, the only consistent positive finding has been that incidence of febrile UTI is lower among children undergoing surgical treatment in comparison with medical treatment. Studies have not found significant differences in overall incidence of UTI, or in rates of new renal scarring or progression of existing scarring. It is likely that there is a subset of children with VUR who do benefit from aggressive treatment of their VUR, but we are not yet able to fully determine which children these are. It is hoped that future research will further clarify which treatments are useful in which children

Improving Polypharmacy and Medication Review in the Elderly

Polypharmacy in elderly patients increases risk of adverse drug events, which can cause health and functional impairment, necessitating considerate medication review. Many patients do not remember the names or doses of their medications when asked in the office. To successfully deprescribe and avoid adverse drug events, we need accurate medication information. By asking elderly patients to bring all of their medications to each visit, we can ensure the most accurate information possible.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/2003/thumbnail.jp

The Academic Impacts of Attending a KIPP Charter School in Arkansas

KIPP Delta College Preparatory School (KIPP: DCPS), an open-enrollment charter school, opened in 2002 in Helena, Arkansas. Since its opening, KIPP: DCPS students have consistently outperformed their peers in the Helena/West Helena School district, and moreover, recent test scores suggest that white students and minority students are achieving at the same rate, essentially eliminating the achievement gap that persists between whites and minorities elsewhere in the state. In fact, KIPP\u27s achievement record was so influential that when Arkansas lawmakers instituted a cap on the number of open-enrollment charter schools in the state, they made an exception for KIPP, essentially allowing for an unlimited number of KIPP schools to operate in Arkansas. Yet, despite the national reputation of this charter school network that led lawmakers in Arkansas to exempt KIPP network from the charter school cap in the state, there has been no single evaluation of KIPP performance that compares KIPP students to traditional public school peers on matched observable academic and demographic variables present prior to the KIPP student\u27s eventual enrollment at the charter school. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate KIPP student academic performance to determine whether this policy has been a success. Further, the extent to which students enroll and then remain - or leave - KIPP (attrition) is also examined. In summary, with regard to student attrition and achievement at KIPP: DCPS as compared to their traditional public school (TPS) feeder district peers: * KIPP student attrition rates are statistically significantly higher than the set of academically and demographically matched peers from the TPS feeder districts, with the largest differences observed at the grade 5 to grade 6 transition year. However, when KIPP attrition is compared to the aggregated TPS attrition rates from grades 5 through 8, only the grade 5 to 6 transition year attrition rates are statistically significantly higher at KIPP. * Students who enroll in KIPP during grade 5 and spend at least one year in the charter school from grade 5 through grade 8 outperform their traditional public school peers on the Arkansas Benchmark Exams in math and literacy. * Of first time grade 5 KIPP entrants who are binned together by the number of years they stay in KIPP, only those students who remain enrolled through grade 8 show positive differences in math and literacy achievement as measured by the Arkansas Benchmark Exam when compared to their matched TPS peers. * A subset of first time grade 5 KIPP entrants that remained enrolled in the charter school through grade 8 outperformed their matched TPS peers on the Arkansas Benchmark Exams in math and literacy

Technologies to Increase Animal Performance in Beef Production Systems

Three monensin levels during a stocker phase (0, 800, 1600 g/ton in a free choice mineral) and two levels during finishing (0 [U] or 37.5 mg/kg diet DM [M]) were used to determine the effects of monensin supplementation during a stocker and subsequent finishing phase on beef calves. Steers (n = 605, BW = 278 ± 27 kg) were fed pearl millet hay with soybean hull and corn gluten feed supplement (0.5% BW daily [AF basis] Block 1) or grazed fall wheat (Block 2), spring wheat (Block 3), bermudagrass (Blocks 4 & 5) or wheat with mixed-grass baleage (Block 6). A subset of calves were transported 1,068 km to Canyon, TX (blocks 1, 2, and 4) or 636 km to Stillwater, OK (block 6) for finishing. Rumen fluid was collected on a subset of cattle (n = 30) throughout the experiment to characterize rumen microbiota by next generation sequencing. There were no treatment × diet interactions (P ≥ 0.96) during the stocker phase or location × treatment interactions (P ≥ 0.19) during finishing, therefore data were pooled for statistical analysis. During the stocker phase, cattle consuming monensin had greater (P = 0.01) final BW compared with the 0 treatment. Steers on 800 and 1600 had greater ADG (P = 0.02) and total gain (P = 0.02) than 0. Mineral intake decreased (P \u3c 0.01) as monensin level increased. Stocker × feedlot treatment interactions were not observed for feedlot performance (P ≥ 0.50). Feedlot cattle consuming monensin had decreased (P \u3c 0.01) DMI and increased (P \u3c 0.01) G:F than those that did not. Cattle consuming monensin during finishing had increased (P = 0.03) fat thickness. During the stocker phase, monensin treatments had decreased alpha community (P ≤ 0.04) compared to the 0 treatment. Cattle previously on the 0 and 1600 treatments during the stocker phase and were fed monensin at the feedlot had decreased alpha diversity (P = 0.04) on feedlot d 14 compared to those that did not