Effects of a high fat diet on brain metabolism in rats: An in vivo 1H-MRS study

Diet-induced obesity and its metabolic consequences can lead to neurological dysfunction and increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite these realities, the effects of a high fat diet on the central nervous system are not well understood. To better understand effects of high fat consumption on the metabolic status of brain regions affected by AD and PD, we used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to measure neurochemicals in the hippocampus and in the striatum of rats fed a high-fat diet vs rats fed normal low-fat chow. We detected lower levels of total creatine (tCr: phosphocreatine; PCr + creatine; Cr) and higher glutamine in both the hippocampus and striatum of high fat-fed rats. Additional effects observed in the hippocampus included higher n-acetylaspartylglutamic acid (NAAG), and lower myo-inositol (Ins), gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), and serine (Ser). Post-mortem tissue analyses revealed lower phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1) protein levels in the striatum but not the hippocampus. Overall, these changes indicate diet induced alterations in bioenergetic function and neurotransmission within both the hippocampal and striatal tissue

Presence in Double Vision

Early childhood offers us the opportunity to view humanity in its rawest form – the joys, sorrows, desires are expressed through words, body, play, and creative expression. Cuffaro (1995) teaches us that in early childhood classrooms, we begin to learn to live in community, practice democratic living, and experience, enact and build essential understandings of the social world. In early childhood classrooms where play is encouraged, facilitated, and observed, the essential tensions of our culture are played out. These spaces offer perceptive observers an opportunity to understand how gender identity, development, and relationship shape teaching and learning (Chu, 2014; Katch, 2002; Paley, 1986). The inquiry described in this article stems from the observations of an astute, wise, kindergarten teacher named Eric, who was dedicated to being “vitally present” in relationship to his students and whose capacity for presence was challenged by a young boy named TJ

Presence in Context: Teachers’ Negotiations with the Relational Environment of School

This inquiry research builds on the theory of presence in teaching (Rodgers & Raider-Roth, 2006) adding nuanced understandings of how school contexts play into teachers’ abilities to support students’ learning. Findings are drawn from multiple interviews with five veteran middle school teachers, teachers’ written work, and field observations. Illustrating these findings is the compelling story of an exemplary teacher’s negotiations of her practice in response to the school’s relational environment. Our findings point to the teacher’s sense of isolation and vulnerability–indicators of the relational context in the school as a threat to undermining her presence. They also create a compelling argument for the importance of a healthy relational context to support teachers’ most powerful teaching, hence students’ learning

Selected Works by Harriet Cuffaro

Selected works by Harriet Cuffaro

Introduction: Living a Philosophy of Early Childhood Education - A Festschrift for Harriet Cuffaro

This issue of the Occasional Paper Series is a Festschrift in honor of Harriet K. Cuffaro, a Bank Street College faculty member from 1968-1998. A Festschrift—a volume reflecting the values, theories, and passions of a senior scholar in a field—seeks to offer scholarship that builds on these contributions. Harriet Cuffaro has touched and shaped more lives of teachers, scholars, and colleagues than we can possibly count. A teacher in her soul, and an esteemed scholar of John Dewey, Harriet has “unfolded and connected” essential Deweyan ideas and made them accessible and meaningful in the lives of teachers. It is our hope that this volume honors the lessons we have all learned from Harriet

A Hopeful Pedagogy to Critical Thinking

Elements of what we are calling a “hopeful pedagogy” emerged when faculty reflected on the question - Do you think your current approach to develop CT in students is successful? Faculty across disciplines and institutions used the word “hope” to characterize the outcome of their efforts. While attempting to disentangle the “hopeful pedagogy”, we found answers in (a) how faculty defined CT in disciplinary and non-disciplinary contexts; (b) a misalignment between faculty and institutional approaches to CT; (c) a disconnect between faculty and their own approaches to CT, and (d) logistical and curricular issues within general education programs that placed constraints on the ability of faculty to adequately focus on CT. The “hopeful pedagogy” brought to the forefront the serious implications of a misaligned system for student learning, faculty engagement, institutional improvement and accountability

Evaluation of the effect of poor water, sanitation and hygiene practices on growth and the incidence of infectious diseases in infants and young children aged 6-23 months in a selected rural district, Zambia

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (School of Public Health)Poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and practices in communities are known to be responsible for most of the infections occurring among infants and young children in developing countries. A combined effect of disease, poor diet, care practices and other factors among infants/children are known to lead to undernutrition reported in most developing countries. Apart from the reduced growth and productivity potential that malnutrition exhibits on the affected population, it is also an underlying cause to 50% of child mortality in poor communities. In light of this, the primary objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of poor WASH practices on growth and infectious disease incidence in infants and young children aged 6-23 months in the rural district of Monze in Zambia

“The False Promise of Group Harmony”: The Centrality of Challenging Practices in Teachers’ Professional Development

This article discusses an action research study of a week-long Summer Teachers Institute which immersed teachers in the study of Jewish historical and cultural texts. We investigate how this kind of cultural immersion created opportunities for transformative learning – the kind of learning that would not merely be the application of “new lessons,” but that would also help teachers reconceptualize their teaching practices regarding Jewish religion and culture. Our findings suggest that text study practices of challenging – in tandem with practices of supporting and voicing – were central in constructing a “relational learning community.” Such a community was a necessary condition for transformative learning

Revisión sobre Industria 4.0 en el contexto cubano

Objetivo: Realizar una revisión sobre el fenómeno de la Industria 4.0 o Cuarta Revolución Industrial para presentar una reflexión sobre si, en el contexto cubano actual, es oportuno dar seguimiento a las transformaciones tecnológicas que implica. Métodos: Búsqueda bibliográfica e investigación documental para establecer el estado del arte sobre el tema. Principales resultados: Se realizó una revisión de la literatura para caracterizar el suceso de la Industria 4.0. Se reconocen las acciones contenidas en la estrategia nacional de desarrollo económico y social de Cuba que promueven el avance hacia la Industria 4.0. Conclusiones: La Industria 4.0 o Cuarta Revolución Industrial está asociada a un nivel de desarrollo superior de la tecnología. La estrategia de desarrollo de Cuba no puede estar apartada de las transformaciones tecnológicas que implica este fenómeno. Aunque en el plan de desarrollo económico y social del país se toman acciones para orientar el cambio tecnológico, la preparación de los directivos empresariales es necesaria para que puedan conducir la hoja de ruta de sus organizaciones