A study of the effectiveness of teacher training for identification of students with visual problems

Six elementary school teachers identified students in their classes they felt had visual problems. The teachers were then given instructions about the visual system and ten days to observe their students. Another selection of students with visual problems was made after the observation period. All students were screened and the sensitivity of three teachers improved while that of the other three did not. Teacher motivation was indirectly measured by class participation and the three teachers who became more sensitive were also the ones deemed more motivated due to high class participation. To increase teacher motivation we suggest strong administration support and providing the training during regularly scheduled inservice times in order to avoid increasing the burden on already overworked teachers

All interventions differ, although some are more different than others

It is a well-known statement of statistical wisdom that all treatments differ. We could substitute the word ‘intervention’ or the phrase ‘surgical procedure’ for ‘treatment’ and qualify the word ‘differ’ by, for instance, saying “have different outcomes”. Yet, in doing so we challenge far more than semantics, questioning the relevance of much of the research reported in The Bone and Joint Journal, and the wider medical literature. For example, the DRAFFT study compared the clinical effectiveness of Kirschner wire fixation with locking plate fixation for patients with a dorsally displaced fracture of the distal radius. Selectively picking out the key result of the paper one would conclude that there was no difference in outcomes between the two groups; thus that there was no difference between the treatments. This result seems to contradict the first statement in this paragraph, which follows from the simple argument that by definition all treatments must be different because no two things can ever be exactly the same in every respect. This sounds like a matter of philosophical interest only, but understanding how we reconcile this apparent contradiction helps shed light on an issue that continues to be a cause of confusion for many authors submitting papers to our Journal

Two-photon or higher-order absorbing optical materials for generation of reactive species

Disclosed are highly efficient multiphoton absorbing compounds and methods of their use. The compounds generally include a bridge of pi-conjugated bonds connecting electron donating groups or electron accepting groups. The bridge may be substituted with a variety of substituents as well. Solubility, lipophilicity, absorption maxima and other characteristics of the compounds may be tailored by changing the electron donating groups or electron accepting groups, the substituents attached to or the length of the pi-conjugated bridge. Numerous photophysical and photochemical methods are enabled by converting these compounds to electronically excited states upon simultaneous absorption of at least two photons of radiation. The compounds have large two-photon or higher-order absorptivities such that upon absorption, one or more Lewis acidic species, Lewis basic species, radical species or ionic species are formed

Knowledge and Perceptions of HPV Vaccine Acceptance among African-American College Women

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Prevalence rates among sexually active young women are approximately 50%. An HPV vaccine has been created that has high efficacy in preventing persistent HPV infection, cervical cancer precursor lesions, and genital warts caused by four HPV subtypes. The purpose of this study was to assess African-American college women’s knowledge and perceptions of HPV, and their association with the acceptance of HPV vaccination. Variable selection was guided by the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior. Written surveys were administered to 122 African-American women between the ages of 18 and 26 who were enrolled as undergraduates at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Statistically significant associations were found between planning to get vaccinated against HPV and several perception variables. Health education efforts aimed at African-American women in college should be renewed, given the high percentage of misconceptions about HPV among members of the study population. Interventions should appeal to social networks of the young women, as their opinions regarding the vaccine weighs in their decision to plan to get vaccinated. This study underscores the need for continuous and consistent health education interventions directed at African-American women of college age

Experimental demonstration of the relationship between the second- and third-order polarizabilities of conjugated donor-acceptor molecules

The dependence of the second- and third-order polarizabilities ((beta) and (gamma) ) on ground-state polarization was measured for a series of donor-acceptor polyenes using electric field induced second harmonic generation and third harmonic generation, respectively. The changes in ground-state polarization, associated with the donor/acceptor strength or solvent polarity, were probed by x-ray crystallography, 1H-NMR, electronic absorption, and Raman spectroscopies. The observed behavior of (beta) and (gamma) as a function of ground- state polarization agrees well with theoretical predictions. In particular, positive and negative peaks, as well as sign changes, were observed for both (beta) and (gamma) . The dependences for (beta) and (gamma) are consistent with a derivative relationship between them. In addition, the third-order polarizability of a series of molecules possessing zero bond length alternation was found to be negative, in agreement with predictions based on the relationship between the polarizabilities and ground-state geometry

Paving the Way for Small Satellite Access to Orbit: Cyclops’ Deployment of SpinSat, the Largest Satellite ever Deployed from the International Space Station

The Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS), known as “Cyclops” to the International Space Station (ISS) community, successfully deployed the largest satellite ever (SpinSat) from the ISS on November 28, 2014. Cyclops, a collaboration between the NASA ISS Program, NASA Johnson Space Center Engineering, and Department of Defense Space Test Program (DoD STP) communities, is a dedicated 10-100 kg class ISS small satellite deployment system. This paper will showcase the successful deployment of SpinSat from the ISS. It will also outline the concept of operations, interfaces, requirements, and processes for satellites to utilize the Cyclops satellite deployment system

Not So Soft Skills: The Importance of Grit to College Student Success

According to the American College Testing organization (2012), fewer than 35% of students attending public institutions graduate within five years of enrolling. This figure increases to just over fifty percent for private attendees. Clearly, the idea of a “four-year degree” is more elusive for the majority of undergraduate students than it has ever been. These facts have led researchers to consider the factors that delay, or even prevent, graduation. The concept of “grit” (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007) is defined as passion and perseverance for very long-term goals and has become a popular topic in the education literature. Duckworth et al. (2007) found that grit positively associates with academic success. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationships between grit, academic performance, and educational attainment, as measured by number of attempted credit hours at the collegiate level. We also aimed to ascertain whether academically at-risk students (those with less than a 2.0 GPA) had lower grit scores than their non-at-risk peers. We discuss our findings in the context of potential interventions and future directions for research in this area

Tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer's disease: pathogen or protector?

During the past decade, hypotheses concerning the pathogenesis of most neurodegenerative diseases have been dominated by the notion that the aggregation of specific proteins and subsequent formation of cytoplasmic and extracellular lesions represent a harbinger of neuronal dysfunction and death. As such, in Alzheimer's disease, phosphorylated tau protein, the major component of neurofibrillary tangles, is considered a central mediator of disease pathogenesis. We challenge this classic notion by proposing that tau phosphorylation represents a compensatory response mounted by neurons against oxidative stress and serves a protective function. This novel concept, which can also be applied to protein aggregates in other neurodegenerative diseases, opens a new window of knowledge with broad implications for both the understanding of mechanisms underlying disease pathophysiology and the design of new therapeutic strategies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W7J-4FNNC51-2/1/3fd57243f3b01d6654fbf488fd3d00a

Integrating imaging and RNA-seq improves outcome prediction in cervical cancer

Approaches using a single type of data have been applied to classify human tumors. Here we integrate imaging features and transcriptomic data using a prospectively collected tumor bank. We demonstrate that increased maximum standardized uptake value on pretreatment 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography correlates with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) gene expression. We derived and validated 3 major molecular groups, namely squamous epithelial, squamous mesenchymal, and adenocarcinoma, using prospectively collected institutional (n = 67) and publicly available (n = 304) data sets. Patients with tumors of the squamous mesenchymal subtype showed inferior survival outcomes compared with the other 2 molecular groups. High mesenchymal gene expression in cervical cancer cells positively correlated with the capacity to form spheroids and with resistance to radiation. CaSki organoids were radiation-resistant but sensitive to the glycolysis inhibitor, 2-DG. These experiments provide a strategy for response prediction by integrating large data sets, and highlight the potential for metabolic therapy to influence EMT phenotypes in cervical cancer

Science results from sixteen years of MRO SHARAD operations

In operation for >16 years to date, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Shallow Radar (SHARAD) sounder has acquired data at its nominal 300–450 m along-track and 3-km cross-track resolution covering >55% of the Martian surface, with nearly 100% overlap in coverage at that scale in the polar regions and in a number of smaller mid-latitude areas. While SHARAD data have opened a new window into understanding the interior structures and properties of Martian ices, volcanics, and sedimentary deposits up to a few kilometers in depth, they have also led to new revelations about the deeper interior and the behavior of the planet’s ionosphere. Here we summarize the data collected by SHARAD over this time period, the methods used in the analysis of that data, and the resulting scientific findings. The polar data are especially rich, revealing complex structures that comprise up to several dozen reflecting interfaces that extend to depths of 3 km, which inform the evolution of Martian climate in the late Amazonian period. SHARAD observations of mid-latitude lobate debris aprons and other glacier-like landforms detect strong basal reflections and low dielectric loss, confirming that they are icerich debris-covered glaciers. In other mid-latitude terrains, SHARAD data demonstrate the presence of widespread ground ices, likely at lower concentrations. SHARAD signals also probe non-icy materials, mapping out stacked lava flows, probing low-density materials thought to be ash-fall deposits, and occasionally penetrating sedimentary deposits, all of which reveal the structures and interior properties diagnostic of emplacement processes. SHARAD signals are impacted by their passage through the Martian ionosphere, revealing variations in time and space of the total electron content linked with the remanent magnetic field. Advanced techniques developed over the course of the mission, which include subband and super-resolution processing, coherent and incoherent summing, and three-dimensional (3D) radar imaging, are enabling new discoveries and extending the utility of the data. For 3D imaging, a cross-track spacing at the nominal 3-km resolution is more than sufficient to achieve good results, but finer spacing of 0.5 km or less significantly improves the spatially interpolated radar images. Recent electromagnetic modeling and a flight test show that SHARAD’s signal-to-noise ratio can be greatly improved with a large (~120◦) roll of the spacecraft to reduce interference with the spacecraft body. Both MRO and SHARAD are in remarkably fine working order, and the teams look forward to many more years in which to pursue improvements in coverage density, temporal variability in the ionosphere, and data quality that promise exciting new discoveries at Mars