The influence of enrollment in agriscience education courses on student achievement of high school students in Louisiana

The purpose of this study was to compare academic achievement of high school students in Louisiana by whether or not they are identified as an agriscience education student. The rationale for the study is to determine if agriscience education contributes to the academic achievement of high school students. The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) Graduate Exit Exams were used to measure academic achievement. All graduate exit exam test scores for the 2004-2005 school year were utilized for the study. The data for this study came from the Louisiana Department of Education. The study described all 10th and 11th grade students completing the various graduate exit exams by age, grade level, gender, ethnicity, 504 status, socioeconomic status, and whether or not they were agriscience education students. The study also described the performance of 10th and 11th grade students on the science, English language arts, social studies, and mathematics Graduate Exit Exams. The study compared academic achievement of agriscience education students with that of non-agriscience education students in the areas of science, social studies, ELA, and mathematics. These comparisons revealed that although there were statistically significant differences in scores in many areas, the effect size of each of these areas was either small or of low practical significance. Statistically significant models were found explaining a portion of variance in scores on science, ELA, social studies, and mathematics GEE’s. All of these models had either moderate or large effect sizes. Being an agriscience education student had a statistically significant positive impact on student academic achievement. Even though these findings were statistically significant, they had low practical significance

Actin–myosin network reorganization breaks symmetry at the cell rear to spontaneously initiate polarized cell motility

We have analyzed the spontaneous symmetry breaking and initiation of actin-based motility in keratocytes (fish epithelial cells). In stationary keratocytes, the actin network flow was inwards and radially symmetric. Immediately before motility initiation, the actin network flow increased at the prospective cell rear and reoriented in the perinuclear region, aligning with the prospective axis of movement. Changes in actin network flow at the cell front were detectable only after cell polarization. Inhibition of myosin II or Rho kinase disrupted actin network organization and flow in the perinuclear region and decreased the motility initiation frequency, whereas increasing myosin II activity with calyculin A increased the motility initiation frequency. Local stimulation of myosin activity in stationary cells by the local application of calyculin A induced directed motility initiation away from the site of stimulation. Together, these results indicate that large-scale actin–myosin network reorganization and contractility at the cell rear initiate spontaneous symmetry breaking and polarized motility of keratocytes

Interleukin‐22 and CD160 play additive roles in the host mucosal response to Clostridium difficile infection in mice

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110834/1/imm12414.pd

Tightness of slip-linked polymer chains

We study the interplay between entropy and topological constraints for a polymer chain in which sliding rings (slip-links) enforce pair contacts between monomers. These slip-links divide a closed ring polymer into a number of sub-loops which can exchange length between each other. In the ideal chain limit, we find the joint probability density function for the sizes of segments within such a slip-linked polymer chain (paraknot). A particular segment is tight (small in size) or loose (of the order of the overall size of the paraknot) depending on both the number of slip-links it incorporates and its competition with other segments. When self-avoiding interactions are included, scaling arguments can be used to predict the statistics of segment sizes for certain paraknot configurations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, REVTeX

Perinatal and Socioeconomic Risk Factors for Variable and Persistent Cognitive Delay at 24 and 48 Months of Age in a National Sample

The objective of this paper is to examine patterns of cognitive delay at 24 and 48 months and quantify the effects of perinatal and sociodemographic risk factors on persistent and variable cognitive delay. Using data from 7,200 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), multiple logistic regression models identified significant predictors of low cognitive functioning at 24 and 48 months. Additional multiple logistic models predicting cognitive delay at 48 months were estimated separately for children with and without delay at 24 months. Of the nearly 1,000 children delayed at 24 months, 24.2% remained delayed by 48 months; 7.9% of the children not delayed at 24 months exhibited delay at 48 months. Low and very low birthweight increased cognitive delay risk at 24, but not 48 months. Low maternal education had a strongly increasing effect (OR = 2.3 at 24 months, OR = 13.7 at 48 months), as did low family income (OR = 1.4 at 24 months, OR = 7.0 at 48 months). Among children delayed at 24 months, low maternal education predicted delay even more strongly at 48 months (OR = 30.5). Low cognitive functioning is highly dynamic from 24 to 48 months. Although gestational factors including low birthweight increase children’s risk of cognitive delay at 24 months, low maternal education and family income are more prevalent in the pediatric population and are much stronger predictors of both persistent and emerging delay between ages 24 and 48 months

Impact of Marine Drugs on Cytoskeleton-Mediated Reproductive Events

Marine organisms represent an important source of novel bioactive compounds, often showing unique modes of action. Such drugs may be useful tools to study complex processes such as reproduction; which is characterized by many crucial steps that start at gamete maturation and activation and virtually end at the first developmental stages. During these processes cytoskeletal elements such as microfilaments and microtubules play a key-role. In this review we describe: (i) the involvement of such structures in both cellular and in vitro processes; (ii) the toxins that target the cytoskeletal elements and dynamics; (iii) the main steps of reproduction and the marine drugs that interfere with these cytoskeleton-mediated processes. We show that marine drugs, acting on microfilaments and microtubules, exert a wide range of impacts on reproductive events including sperm maturation and motility, oocyte maturation, fertilization, and early embryo development

WSES guidelines for management of Clostridium difficile infection in surgical patients

In the last two decades there have been dramatic changes in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), with increases in incidence and severity of disease in many countries worldwide. The incidence of CDI has also increased in surgical patients. Optimization of management of C difficile, has therefore become increasingly urgent. An international multidisciplinary panel of experts prepared evidenced-based World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) guidelines for management of CDI in surgical patients.Peer reviewe