A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Student Support Services Program

ABSTRACT Title of Document: A BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM Ed M. Pacchetti, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Dissertation Directed by: Jennifer K. Rice, Ph.D. This study extends previous research on the Student Support Services program, a federal program that works to ensure college retention and graduation for low-income and first generation students, by examining the benefits and the costs of higher-impact SSS projects. Higher-impact SSS projects are defined as such because the graduation rates of their participants exceed the national graduation rate for other low-income and first generation students who have not participated in the SSS program. Applying a methodology used in other benefit-cost analyses of education programs, this study explores how the benefits over 40 years following participation in higher-impact SSS projects exceed the costs of these projects. This study focuses on benefits and costs to society. The benefit measures utilized in this study include higher income, lower health care costs and lower costs of crime. The cost measures include grant award costs, institutional project contributions, Pell Grant costs and the costs of Stafford Loan subsidies. The findings show that at three discount rates of 3%, 7% and 10%, the benefits of higher-impact SSS projects consistently exceed their costs. In addition, in most estimates of the future value of benefits generated by higher-impact SSS projects, the benefits generated by these projects are significant enough to provide for the grant award costs of all SSS projects at 4-year colleges and universities in project year 2005-2006, the year that is the focus of this study. This study's findings have implications for future research. Because the benefits of higher-impact SSS projects are significant, future research should focus on identifying the components of these projects responsible for success and incorporating these components into less successful projects in an attempt to increase the college graduation rates of all SSS projects. However, this study emphasizes that benefit-cost analysis should be one of many measures used to evaluate SSS projects and determine program success

Spatiotemporal Scales in Modeling: Identifying Target Systems

My dissertation addresses neglected roles of idealization and abstraction in scientific modeling. Current debates about epistemic issues in modeling presuppose that a model in question uncontroversially represents a particular target system. A standard line of argument is that we can gain knowledge of a target system simply by noting what aspects of the target are veridically represented in the model. But this misses epistemically important aspects of modeling. I examine how scientists identify certain phenomena as target systems in their models. Building on the distinction between data and phenomena introduced by Bogen and Woodward, I analyze how scientists target systems from data and from basic theoretical principles. I show that there are two crucial empirical assumptions that are involved in identifying phenomena. These assumptions concern the conditions under which phenomena can be indexed to a particular length or time scale and the conditions under which one can treat phenomena occurring at different length or time scales as distinct. The role of these assumptions in modeling provides the basis for a new argument that shows how, in many cases, idealizations and abstractions in models are essential for providing knowledge about the world in so far as they isolate relevant components of a phenomenon from irrelevant ones. My analysis of the identification of phenomena also shows that structural uncertainty arises in models when the scale of a phenomenon of interest is not properly identified. This clarification promises to improve the communication of the limitation of current climate models to policy makers

Assessing the quality of regional climate information

There are now a plethora of data, models, and approaches available to produce regional and local climate information intended to inform adaptation to a changing climate. There is, however, no framework to assess the quality of these data, models, and approaches that takes into account the issues that arise when this information is produced. An evaluation of the quality of regional climate information is a fundamental requirement for its appropriate application in societal decision-making. Here, an analytical framework is constructed for the quality assessment of science-based statements and estimates about future climate. This framework targets statements that project local and regional climate at decadal and longer time scales. After identifying the main issues with evaluating and presenting regional climate information, it is argued that it is helpful to consider the quality of statements about future climate in terms of 1) the type of evidence and 2) the relationship between the evidence and the statement. This distinction not only provides a more targeted framework for quality, but also shows how certain evidential standards can change as a function of the statement under consideration. The key dimensions to assess regional climate information quality are diversity, completeness, theory, adequacy for purpose, and transparency. This framework is exemplified using two research papers that provide regional climate information and the implications of the framework are explored

Assessing the quality of state-of-the-art regional climate information: the case of the UK Climate Projections 2018

In this paper, we assess the quality of state-of-the-art regional climate information intended to support climate adaptation decision-making. We use the UK Climate Projections 2018 as an example of such information. Their probabilistic, global, and regional land projections exemplify some of the key methodologies that are at the forefront of constructing regional climate information for decision support in adapting to a changing climate. We assess the quality of the evidence and the methodology used to support their statements about future regional climate along six quality dimensions: transparency; theory; independence, number, and comprehensiveness of evidence; and historical empirical adequacy. The assessment produced two major insights. First, a major issue that taints the quality of UKCP18 is the lack of transparency, which is particularly problematic since the information is directed towards non-expert users who would need to develop technical skills to evaluate the quality and epistemic reliability of this information. Second, the probabilistic projections are of lower quality than the global projections because the former lack both transparency and a theory underpinning the method used to produce quantified uncertainty estimates about future climate. The assessment also shows how different dimensions are satisfied depending on the evidence used, the methodology chosen to analyze the evidence, and the type of statements that are constructed in the different strands of UKCP18. This research highlights the importance of knowledge quality assessment of regional climate information that intends to support climate change adaptation decisions

Acute and Chronic Effect of Acoustic and Visual Cues on Gait Training in Parkinson’s Disease: A Randomized, Controlled Study

In this randomized controlled study we analyse and compare the acute and chronic effects of visual and acoustic cues on gait performance in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). We enrolled 46 patients with idiopathic PD who were assigned to 3 different modalities of gait training: (1) use of acoustic cues, (2) use of visual cues, or (3) overground training without cues. All patients were tested with kinematic analysis of gait at baseline (T0), at the end of the 4-week rehabilitation programme (T1), and 3 months later (T2). Regarding the acute effect, acoustic cues increased stride length and stride duration, while visual cues reduced the number of strides and normalized the stride/stance distribution but also reduced gait speed. As regards the chronic effect of cues, we recorded an improvement in some gait parameters in all 3 groups of patients: all 3 types of training improved gait speed; visual cues also normalized the stance/swing ratio, acoustic cues reduced the number of strides and increased stride length, and overground training improved stride length. The changes were not retained at T2 in any of the experimental groups. Our findings support and characterize the usefulness of cueing strategies in the rehabilitation of gait in PD

Immunomodulators and immunosuppressants for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A network meta-analysis

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: We aim to compare the efficacy and acceptability of immunomodulators and immunosuppressants to treat participants with RRMS and to generate a clinically useful hierarchy of available immunotherapies according to their efficacy and acceptability

Electrode displacement after intracerebral hematoma as a complication of a deep brain stimulation procedure

Domenico Servello1, Marco Sassi1, Stefano Bastianello2, Guy Umberto Poloni2, Francesca Mancini3, Claudio Pacchetti31Functional Neurosurgery Unit, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy; 2Neuroradiology Unit; 3Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorder Unit, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Mondino, Institute of Neurology, Pavia, Italy Objectives: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is nowadays considered a safe and effective procedure for various movement disorders in which conservative treatments have failed to show significant therapeutic results. One of the most common complications of definitive electrode positioning is intraparenchymal hemorrhage.Materials and methods: Authors report the case of a 55-year-old female patient treated for Parkinson’s disease in which intraparenchymal hemorrhage developed after DBS procedure, leading to significant (about 8 mm at the neuroradiological controls) displacement of an otherwise correctly positioned DBS electrode.Results: After conservative management, the hematoma spontaneously resolved. Late neuroradiological controls documented correct, symmetrically positioned electrodes, comparable to the immediate postoperative controls.Conclusions: Six months follow-up endpoint results of the DBS treatment were considered satisfying by an independent neurologist, with modest residual neurological deficits, demonstrating that re-positioning of the electrode was unnecessary in this rare complication.Keywords: deep brain stimulation, electrodes, outcomes, implant, case repor

Clinical and Cognitive Features of Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Introduction: Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is characterized by dilated cerebral ventricles with progressive impaired gait, cognition, and urinary control. Firstly described in 1965 by Hakim and Adam, it remains largely under-diagnosed. The diagnosis is based on clinical and imaging (CT or MRI) investigations; a timely diagnosis and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt surgery has reported to be beneficial in 60 up to 80% of the cases

improved solubility and increased biological activity of neosol rcl40 a novel red clover isoflavone aglycones extract preparation

Abstract Red clover (Trifolium pratense L., Fabaceae; RCL), a perennial plant rich in isoflavones, is a natural alternative for menopausal symptoms, as well as antiaging and antioxidant. Isoflavone preparations usually contain aglycones and β-glycosides. Aglycones, the active moieties, are absorbed slowly and unevenly due to reduced water solubility and biotransformation from β-glycosides. NeoSol™RCL40 is a novel RCL isoflavone aglycones preparation based on active solubilization technologies. In the present study, NeoSol™RCL40 was shown to induce solubilization of isoflavones and to increase estrogenic and antioxidative effects in comparison to a standard RCL extract (RCLE). NeoSol™RCL40 was prepared from RCLE using as host molecules either 2-pyrrolidone, 1-ethenyl homopolymer (PVP), γ-cyclodextrin, or maltodextrin. Solubilisation assays, performed by means of HPLC-UV, showed that solubilization of isoflavone aglycones was highest with RCLE processed with PVP, which was therefore selected for functional assays. In comparison to RCLE, NeoSol™RCL40 containing the same amount of isoflavone aglycones displayed 3.4 times higher estrogenicity in MCF-7 cell, 1.9–2.0 higher antioxidant activity in the DPPH and in the FRAP assay, and was cytoprotective in PC12 cells. As a whole, results support the ability of NeoSol™RCL40 to promote isoflavones solubilization leading to increased biological activity. NeoSol™RCL40 is therefore an interesting novel preparation providing improved availability of active isoflavones aglycones