The Multicultural Classroom: Plan, Build, Renew - Librarian as Constructivist Architect

Of New York State’s largest urban school districts, Rochester ranks lowest with an appalling graduation rate of 39%.1 With goals of keeping our poorest children in school and focusing their futures on college, SUNY Geneseo hosted 50 young “CSI candidates” who worked tirelessly to solve fictitious art thefts. Library research, blogging, public speaking, interviewing, forensic science, and digital photography were among the skills incorporated, forming a solid base of critical literacy for these young scholars. Milne Library helped create an educational yet recreational learning environment by offering instructors, classroom space, technology, potential suspects, and ultimately, one of the indicted “criminals.” Susan Norman will offer the overarching goals of the RYSAG (Rochester Young Scholars Academy at Geneseo) program, the results of our efforts, and plans for the future. Kim Davies Hoffman will bring focus to the importance of libraries and librarians in the struggle to keep children (specifically those from the inner city) in school and aiming high towards a successful future. 1. Who’ll lead city schools, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 10/27/0

A Research Agenda for "Temporary" Migrants in Canada

The existing research on refugees, TFWs, and international students looks at their experiences and challenges separately. There needs to be an increase in comparative and longitudinal quantitative data and research that compares across the different temporary migrant categories. It is crucial for policy-makers to establish a research agenda together with academics to inform policy developments related to immigration, integration, multiculturalism, settlement and citizenship.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Angel Investment Groups, Networks and Funds: A Guidebook to Developing the Right Angel Organization for Your Community

Discusses the basic factors, variables, and decisions involved in creating and running an angel group to invest in start-up companies. Gives examples of organizational, legal, and investment structures; questions for community assessments; and agreements

Drug therapy for symptoms associated with anxiety in adult palliative care patients

Background: This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2004 (Issue 1) and previously updated in 2012 (Issue 10). Anxiety is common in palliative care patients. It can be a natural response to the complex uncertainty of having a life-limiting illness or impending death, but it may represent a clinically significant issue in its own right. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of drug therapy for treating symptoms of anxiety in adults with a progressive life-limiting illness who are thought to be in their last year of life. Search methods: We ran the searches for this update to May 2016. We searched the CENTRAL, MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), PsychLIT (Silver Platter) and PsycINFO (Ovid). We searched seven trials registers and seven pharmaceutical industry trials registers. We handsearched the conference abstracts of the European Association of Palliative Care. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials which examined the effect of drug therapy for the treatment of symptoms of anxiety in adult palliative care patients, that is, people with a known progressive life-limiting illness that is no longer responsive to curative treatment, including advanced heart, respiratory and neurological diseases (including dementia). Comparator treatments included placebo; another drug therapy or different dose schedule; or a non-drug intervention such as counselling, cognitive behaviour therapies or relaxation therapies. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently screened titles and abstracts to identify potentially relevant papers for inclusion in the review. We sought full-text reports for all papers retained at this stage and two reviews authors independently assessed these for inclusion in the review. We planned to assess risk of bias and extract data including information on adverse events. We planned to assess the evidence using GRADE and to create a 'Summary of findings' table. Main results: In this update, we identified 707 potentially relevant papers and of these we sought the full-text reports of 10 papers. On examination of these full-text reports, we excluded eight and two are awaiting classification as we have insufficient information to make a decision. Thus, in this update, we found no studies which met our inclusion criteria. For the original review, we identified, and then excluded, the full-text reports of six potentially relevant studies. For the 2012 update, we sought, and excluded, two full-text reports. Thus, we found no studies that assessed the effectiveness of drugs to treat symptoms of anxiety in palliative care patients. Authors' conclusions: There is a lack of evidence to draw a conclusion about the effectiveness of drug therapy for symptoms of anxiety in adult palliative care patients. To date, we have found no studies that meet the inclusion criteria for this review. We are awaiting further information for two studies which may be included in a future update. Randomised controlled trials which assess management of anxiety as a primary endpoint are required to establish the benefits and harms of drug therapy for the treatment of anxiety in palliative care

Local De Novo Assembly of RAD Paired-End Contigs Using Short Sequencing Reads

Despite the power of massively parallel sequencing platforms, a drawback is the short length of the sequence reads produced. We demonstrate that short reads can be locally assembled into longer contigs using paired-end sequencing of restriction-site associated DNA (RAD-PE) fragments. We use this RAD-PE contig approach to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and determine haplotype structure in threespine stickleback and to sequence E. coli and stickleback genomic DNA with overlapping contigs of several hundred nucleotides. We also demonstrate that adding a circularization step allows the local assembly of contigs up to 5 kilobases (kb) in length. The ease of assembly and accuracy of the individual contigs produced from each RAD site sequence suggests RAD-PE sequencing is a useful way to convert genome-wide short reads into individually-assembled sequences hundreds or thousands of nucleotides long

Optimising a digitally delivered behavioural weight loss programme: study protocol for a factorial cluster randomised controlled trial

Background: Digitally delivered weight loss programmes can provide a convenient, potentially cheaper, and scalable treatment option for people who may need to lose weight. However, outcomes are often inferior to in-person interventions in the long-term. This trial will use principles from the Multiphase Optimisation Strategy (MOST) framework to test whether it can enhance the effectiveness of a commercial digital behavioural weight loss programme. This trial aims to identify an optimised combination of four intervention components to enhance weight loss over a 24-week period. We will also explore which components contribute to improvements in participant retention and engagement with the programme. Methods: Approximately 1400 adults with a BMI > 21 kg/m2 will be enrolled and randomised to one of 16 experimental conditions in a 24 factorial cluster design. The trial will test four intervention components: an introductory video call with the health coach, drop-in webchat sessions with the health coach, goal setting statements, and food diary review and feedback. All participants will receive the core digital behavioural weight loss programme and up to four new intervention components. Participation in the trial will last for 24 weeks. The primary outcome will be weight change at 16 weeks. Other outcomes, measured at 4, 16, and 24 weeks, include programme drop-out and engagement (number of interactions with the three main app functions). Fidelity and acceptability will be assessed using data on component adherence and self-report questionnaires. Decision-making for the enhanced programme will be based on components that contribute to at least a minimal improvement in weight loss, defined as ≥ 0.75kg, alone or in combination with other components. Discussion: The factorial design is an efficient way to test the efficacy of behavioural components alone, or in combination, to improve the effectiveness of digital weight loss programmes. This trial will test the implementation of the MOST framework in an industry setting, using routinely collected data, which may provide a better way to refine and evaluate these types of interventions in a model of continuous service improvement. Trial registration: Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN14407868. Registered 5 January 2024, 10.1186/ISRCTN14407868