The Experience of Gifted Girls Transitioning from Elementary School to Sixth and Seventh Grade: A Grounded Theory

This research explored the experiences of gifted girls transitioning from elementary school to sixth and seventh grade. The current literature indicates that gifted girls often struggle emotionally during this transition. Seven research participants were selected and interviewed over a four-month period. Grounded theory methodology was used to analyze data, generate subsequent interview questions, and build theory. This study indicated that these gifted girls transition was facilitated by their strong identities, which enabled them to balance their social and academic lives. Their strong identities allowed them to choose strategies that helped them build connections with both gifted and nongifted peers. These relationships contributed significantly to their sense of self, and in turn supported their transition experiences

My Sister, Our Stories: Exploring the Lived Experience of School Leavers through Narrative and Poetics

The purpose of this study was to explore the educational experiences of two adult female siblings who are both school leavers. Through the use of thematic narrative analysis, sibling narratives and poetic re-presentations, their stories were developed. These stories represent the participants’ experiences of prior schooling and their current commitments to education. While each story conveyed a profound similarity in terms of prior schooling, contrasting narratives were illustrated through description of transitional moments and sibling relationship. The analysis also explored the intersections of race, gender,and social class within educative moments of the life experiences of the participants

Trial of Selective Early Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus with Ibuprofen

BACKGROUND: The cyclooxygenase inhibitor ibuprofen may be used to treat patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants. Whether selective early treatment of large PDAs with ibuprofen would improve short-term outcomes is not known. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating early treatment (≤72 hours after birth) with ibuprofen for a large PDA (diameter of ≥1.5 mm with pulsatile flow) in extremely preterm infants (born between 23 weeks 0 days' and 28 weeks 6 days' gestation). The primary outcome was a composite of death or moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia evaluated at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age. RESULTS: A total of 326 infants were assigned to receive ibuprofen and 327 to receive placebo; 324 and 322, respectively, had data available for outcome analyses. A primary-outcome event occurred in 220 of 318 infants (69.2%) in the ibuprofen group and 202 of 318 infants (63.5%) in the placebo group (adjusted risk ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.20; P = 0.10). A total of 44 of 323 infants (13.6%) in the ibuprofen group and 33 of 321 infants (10.3%) in the placebo group died (adjusted risk ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.90). Among the infants who survived to 36 weeks of postmenstrual age, moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia occurred in 176 of 274 (64.2%) in the ibuprofen group and 169 of 285 (59.3%) in the placebo group (adjusted risk ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.96 to 1.23). Two unforeseeable serious adverse events occurred that were possibly related to ibuprofen. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of death or moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age was not significantly lower among infants who received early treatment with ibuprofen than among those who received placebo. (Funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme; Baby-OSCAR ISRCTN Registry number, ISRCTN84264977.)

Study protocol: baby-OSCAR trial: Outcome after Selective early treatment for Closure of patent ductus ARteriosus in preterm babies, a multicentre, masked, randomised placebo-controlled parallel group trial.

BACKGROUND: The question of whether to treat patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) early or wait until symptoms appear remains high on the research agenda for neonatal medicine. Around 7000 extremely preterm babies under 29 weeks' gestation are born in the UK every year. In 40% of cases the PDA will fail to close spontaneously, even by 4 months of age. Untreated PDA can be associated with several serious and life-threatening short and long-term complications. Reliable data to support clinical decisions about PDA treatment are needed to prevent serious complications in high risk babies, while minimising undue exposure of infants. With the availability of routine bedside echocardiography, babies with a large PDA can be diagnosed before they become symptomatic. METHODS: This is a multicentre, masked, randomised, placebo-controlled parallel group trial to determine if early-targeted treatment of a large PDA with parenteral ibuprofen in extremely preterm babies (23+ 0-28+ 6 weeks' gestation) improves short and long-term health and economic outcomes. With parental informed consent, extremely preterm babies (born between 23+ 0-28+ 6 weeks' gestation) admitted to tertiary neonatal units are screened using echocardiography. Babies with a large PDA on echocardiography, defined by diameter of at least 1.5 mm and unrestricted pulsatile PDA flow pattern, are randomly allocated to either ibuprofen or placebo within 72 h of birth. The primary endpoint is the composite outcome of death by 36 weeks' postmenstrual age or moderate or severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) at 36 weeks postmenstrual age. DISCUSSION: Prophylactic pharmacological treatment of all preterm babies unnecessarily exposes them to potentially serious side effects of drug treatment, when their PDA may have closed spontaneously. However, delaying treatment until babies become symptomatic could result in loss of treatment benefit as irreversible damage may have already been done. Targeted, early pharmacological treatment of PDA in asymptomatic babies has the potential to overcome the disadvantages of both prophylactic (overtreatment) and symptomatic approaches (potentially too late). This could result in improvements in the clinically important short-term clinical (mortality and moderate or severe BPD at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age) and long-term health outcomes (moderate or severe neurodevelopment disability and respiratory morbidity) measured at 2 years corrected age. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN84264977 . Date assigned: 15/09/2010

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages

Generalist and specialist species differ in the breadth of their ecological niches. Little is known about the niche width of obligate human pathogens. Here we analyzed a global collection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 clinical isolates, the most geographically widespread cause of human tuberculosis. We show that lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages, suggesting a distinction between generalists and specialists. Population genomic analyses showed that, whereas the majority of human T cell epitopes were conserved in all sublineages, the proportion of variable epitopes was higher in generalists. Our data further support a European origin for the most common generalist sublineage. Hence, the global success of lineage 4 reflects distinct strategies adopted by different sublineages and the influence of human migration.We thank S. Lecher, S. Li and J. Zallet for technical support. Calculations were performed at the sciCORE scientific computing core facility at the University of Basel. This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 310030_166687 (S.G.) and 320030_153442 (M.E.) and Swiss HIV Cohort Study grant 740 to L.F.), the European Research Council (309540-EVODRTB to S.G.), TB-PAN-NET (FP7-223681 to S.N.), PathoNgenTrace projects (FP7-278864-2 to S.N.), SystemsX.ch (S.G.), the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF; S.N.), the Novartis Foundation (S.G.), the Natural Science Foundation of China (91631301 to Q.G.), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5U01-AI069924-05) of the US National Institutes of Health (M.E.)

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Women, Girls, and Addiction : Celebrating the Feminine in Counseling Treatment and Recovery

Women, Girls, and Addiction is the first book on the efficacy of treatment approaches and interventions that are tailored to working with addicted women, and the first publication of any kind to provide a feminist approach to understanding addiction from the female perspective. Part one provides an overview of feminist theory and addiction counseling, followed by an historical look at women and addiction. Part two gives an in-depth look at the biological, psychological, and social factors. The final section presents a series of chapters spanning the lifespan, which each feature age-specific special issues, treatment strategies, interventions, and commonly encountered topics.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/university-archives-msu-authors/1130/thumbnail.jp

Tiger QPCR raw data and ratios

Real time PCR raw CT scores for 100 and 200 bp QPCR assays with calculated ratios to determine DNA qualit

Data from: Extracting DNA from ‘jaws’: high yield and quality from archived tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) skeletal material

Archived specimens are highly valuable sources of DNA for retrospective genetic/genomic analysis. However, often limited effort has been made to evaluate and optimize extraction methods, which may be crucial for downstream applications. Here, we assessed and optimized the usefulness of abundant archived skeletal material from sharks as a source of DNA for temporal genomic studies. Six different methods for DNA extraction, encompassing two different commercial kits and three different protocols, were applied to material, so-called bio-swarf, from contemporary and archived jaws and vertebrae of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier). Protocols were compared for DNA yield and quality using a qPCR approach. For jaw swarf, all methods provided relatively high DNA yield and quality, while large differences in yield between protocols were observed for vertebrae. Similar results were obtained from samples of white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Application of the optimized methods to 38 museum and private angler trophy specimens dating back to 1912 yielded sufficient DNA for downstream genomic analysis for 68% of the samples. No clear relationships between age of samples, DNA quality and quantity were observed, likely reflecting different preparation and storage methods for the trophies. Trial sequencing of DNA capture genomic libraries using 20 000 baits revealed that a significant proportion of captured sequences were derived from tiger sharks. This study demonstrates that archived shark jaws and vertebrae are potential high-yield sources of DNA for genomic-scale analysis. It also highlights that even for similar tissue types, a careful evaluation of extraction protocols can vastly improve DNA yield

Extracting DNA from ‘jaws’: high yield and quality from archived tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) skeletal material

Archived specimens are highly valuable sources of DNA for retrospective genetic/genomic analysis. However, often limited effort has been made to evaluate and optimize extraction methods, which may be crucial for downstream applications. Here, we assessed and optimized the usefulness of abundant archived skeletal material from sharks as a source of DNA for temporal genomic studies. Six different methods for DNA extraction, encompassing two different commercial kits and three different protocols, were applied to material, so-called bio-swarf, from contemporary and archived jaws and vertebrae of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier). Protocols were compared for DNA yield and quality using a qPCR approach. For jaw swarf, all methods provided relatively high DNA yield and quality, while large differences in yield between protocols were observed for vertebrae. Similar results were obtained from samples of white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Application of the optimized methods to 38 museum and private angler trophy specimens dating back to 1912 yielded sufficient DNA for downstream genomic analysis for 68% of the samples. No clear relationships between age of samples, DNA quality and quantity were observed, likely reflecting different preparation and storage methods for the trophies. Trial sequencing of DNA capture genomic libraries using 20 000 baits revealed that a significant proportion of captured sequences were derived from tiger sharks. This study demonstrates that archived shark jaws and vertebrae are potential high-yield sources of DNA for genomic-scale analysis. It also highlights that even for similar tissue types, a careful evaluation of extraction protocols can vastly improve DNA yield