ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN CAREER TECHNICAL SCHOOLS FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE AN IEP/504

This study examines the interaction of career technical education and traditional school education and the impact each school type has on students with disabilities. Each school type is being measured on academic performance on ACT Scores taken during the student’s senior year and using Ohio End-of-Course Exams scores as a baseline that are taken during the student’s sophomore year. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to see what the best predictor of ACT Scores was using End-of-Course Exams scores, school type, gender, IEP, 504, and free-reduced lunch status as predictors. The study takes place in Greene County, Ohio where students attend their junior and senior years of High School. The curriculum in both school types is the same, it is only the environment that is different. The population of students with disabilities within Career Technical centers is growing and the graduation rate for this population is 67% nationwide. The combination of these two factors brings added concern to the issue and provides the motive for this study. Career Technical Schools provide more opportunities to meet the requirements of the alternative pathway necessary for graduation and is the leading cause for the increased population of students with disabilities. Therefore, this study measures the impact of career technical school environments and whether that leads to better academic scores with the assumption that the student’s social and emotional needs are being met as they are grouped with students that have similar career interests. Further investigation between the school types was taken in measuring college credits earned by students with disabilities and to see if there is a statistically significant mean difference in college credits earned between each school type. To measure this a two-sample t-test was run. The results found that students who attended a career technical school performed 1.26 points higher on their ACT than students who attended a traditional school. School type was found to be a significant predictor of ACT at the 0.01 level. Further results were found that End-of-Course scores (at 0.001 level) and whether a student was on an IEP or a 504(at the 0.01 level) are significant predictors of ACT Scores as well. Testing the mean difference of college credits earned across school type was statistically significant at the 0.001 level which showed career technical schools to have more students with disabilities earning college credits in High School. These results came from a convenience sample in Greene County, Ohio, and provide insight into how career environments have positive impacts on academic performances

Determination of interproton distances from NOESY spectra in the active site of paramagnetic metalloenzymes: cyanide-inhibited horseradish peroxidase

Two dimensional (2D) nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) or NOESY experiments are performed on cyanide inhibited horseradish peroxidase in order to assess the prospects for obtaining quantitative interproton distances for the hyperfine shifted and paramagnetically relaxed active site signals in an intermediate sized (-44 kDa) paramagnetic metalloenzyme. This protein represents an ideal test case for such experiments because a series of structurally defined proton pairs on the heme and axial His 170 have been previously assigned. The relaxation properties of hyperfine shifted signals relevant to the experimental setup of 2D experiments and interpretation of both 1D and 2D NOE data are also investigated. NOESY spectra as a function of mixing time show that quantitative rise curves can be obtained that clearly differentiate between primary and secondary NOES even among the most strongly relaxed protons, but this requires very short mixing times in the range 0.5-3.0 ms. The sensitivity of the weak cross peaks at these short mixing times is improved by the relatively rapid pulse repetition rate and concommitant increase in the number of scans allowed by the rapid relaxation of active site protons. The paramagnetic relaxation influence, as well as the size of the protein, results in rise curves that are linear to only 1.5 ms for geminal protons and to only 3-5 ms for more weakly dipolar coupled proton pairs. However, the cross peak intensities in the linear region are shown to yield cross relaxation rates and internuclear distances for a series of assigned and orientationally invariant proton pairs that are in good agreement with their known distances. The patterns of NOESY rise curves are used both to determine the orientations of one propionate and both vinyl groups relative to the heme and to show that the axial His exhibits an orientation relative to its helix that is similar but not identical to that in crystallographically characterized cytochrome c peroxidase. Selective and nonselective 1D as well as 2D selective relaxation rate measurements for hyperfine shifted signals show that only selective or intrinsic relaxation rates can be used to optimize the setup of NOESY experiments and interpret 1D NOE data. The results of the study indicate that NOESY spectra can be expected to yield valuable quantitative structural information on the hyperfine shifted active site residues in a variety of cyanide-inhibited heme peroxidases

Mutations in ponA, the Gene Encoding Penicillin-Binding Protein 1, and a Novel Locus, penC, Are Required for High-Level Chromosomally Mediated Penicillin Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Chromosomally mediated penicillin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae occurs in part through alterations in penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) and a decrease in outer membrane permeability. However, the genetic and molecular mechanisms of transformation of a penicillin-susceptible strain of N. gonorrhoeae to high-level penicillin resistance have not been clearly elucidated. Previous studies suggested that alterations in PBP 1 were involved in high-level penicillin resistance. In this study, we identified a single amino acid mutation in PBP 1 located 40 amino acids N terminal to the active-site serine residue that was present in all chromosomally mediated resistant N. gonorrhoeae (CMRNG) strains for which MICs of penicillin were ≥1 μg/ml. PBP 1 harboring this point mutation (PBP 1*) had a three- to fourfold lower rate of acylation (k2/K′) than wild-type PBP 1 with a variety of β-lactam antibiotics. Consistent with its involvement in high-level penicillin resistance, replacement of the altered ponA gene (ponA1) in several CMRNG strains with the wild-type ponA gene resulted in a twofold decrease in the MICs of penicillin. Surprisingly, transformation of an intermediate-level penicillin-resistant strain (PR100; FA19 penA4 mtr penB5) with the ponA1 gene did not increase the MIC of penicillin for this strain. However, we identified an additional resistance locus, termed penC, which was required along with ponA1 to increase penicillin resistance of PR100 to a high level (MIC = 4 μg/ml). The penC locus by itself, when present in PR100, increases the MICs of penicillin and tetracycline twofold each. These data indicate that an additional locus, penC, is required along with ponA1 to achieve high-level penicillin resistance

Feedback and focus: Exploring post-secondary students’ perceptions of feedback, mindfulness, and stress

Addressing feedback-associated stress as a barrier to learning is increasingly relevant to student success and well-being. Mindfulness practices support stress management for students during the academic feedback process. Even if students receive high-quality feedback, the receiving end of feedback can be stressful, perhaps raising feelings of anxiety, confusion, or inadequacy. Feedback literacy and mindfulness practices complement one another. Mindfulness can potentially support feedback literacy by focusing one’s attention on the tasks needed to address feedback, instead of being distracted by emotions triggered by feedback. This study, comprised of an online survey (n = 237) and focus groups (n = 6), assesses post-secondary students’ perceptions concerning feedback literacy, mindfulness, and stress, and their thoughts about digital mindfulness tools intended to support students experiencing feedback-associated stress. Recruitment of students was from courses in Health Sciences, Medical Sciences, Media Studies, and Law. The survey data demonstrate that students with greater mindfulness have significantly greater feedback literacy as well as lower stress. Focus group data shows that a broad range of affective and behavioral responses are shaped by students’ perceptions of their abilities, circumstances, and feedback itself. Although students expressed familiarity with mindfulness practices, few considered explicitly linking mindfulness to their feedback process. Nevertheless, students expressed interest regarding the development of digital mindfulness tools to alleviate feedback-associated stress and offered recommendations for implementation

Microfabricated Particles for Engineered Drug Therapies: Elucidation into the Mechanisms of Cellular Internalization of PRINT Particles

To investigate the cellular internalization pathways of shape- and size-specific particles as a function of zeta potential in different cell types

Randomized Control Trial of Postnatal rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 Replacement in Preterm Infants: Post-hoc Analysis of Its Effect on Brain Injury

Background: Postnatal insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) replacement with recombinant human (rh)IGF-1 and IGF binding protein-3 (rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3) is being studied as a potential treatment to reduce comorbidities of prematurity. We have recently reported on a phase II, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial comparing postnatal rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 replacement with standard of care (SOC) in extremely preterm infants (NCT01096784). Maximum severity of retinopathy of prematurity was the primary endpoint of the trial and presence of GMH-IVH/PHI one of the pre-specified secondary endpoints. Infants therefore received serial cranial ultrasound scans (CUS) between birth and term age. In this post-hoc analysis we present a detailed analysis of the CUS data of this trial and evaluate the effect of postnatal rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 replacement on the incidence of different kinds of brain injury in extremely preterm infants. Methods: This report is an exploratory post-hoc analysis of a phase II trial in which infants <28 weeks gestational age were randomly allocated to rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 or SOC. Serial cranial ultrasounds were performed between birth and term-equivalent age. Presence of germinal matrix hemorrhage and intraventricular hemorrhage (GMH-IVH), periventricular hemorrhagic infarction (PHI), post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation, and white matter injury (WMI) were scored by two independent masked readers. Results: The analysis included 117 infants; 58 received rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 and 59 received SOC. A trend toward less grade II–III GMH-IVH and PHI was observed in treated infants vs. SOC. A subanalysis of infants without evidence of GMH-IVH at study entry (n = 104) showed reduced progression to GMH-IVH in treated infants (25.0% [13/52] vs. 40.4% [21/52]; not significant). No effects of rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 on WMI were observed. Conclusion: The potential protective effect of rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 on the occurrence of GMH-IVH/PHI appeared most pronounced in infants with no evidence of GMH-IVH at treatment start

The up-regulation of ferritin expression using a small-molecule ligand to the native mRNA

The binding of small molecules to distinctive three-dimensional structures in mRNA provides a new dimension in RNA control, previously limited to the targeting of secondary structures with antisense and RNA interference; such targeting can modulate mRNA function and rates of protein biosynthesis. Small molecules that selectively bind the iron-responsive element (IRE), a specific three-dimensional structure in the noncoding region of the ferritin mRNA model that is recognized by the iron-regulatory protein repressor, were identified by using chemical footprinting. The assay used involved an oxoruthenium(IV) complex that oxidizes guanine bases in RNA sequences. Small molecules that blocked oxidation of guanines in the internal loop region were expected to selectively increase the rate of ferritin synthesis, because the internal loop region of the ferritin IRE is distinctive from those of other IREs. The natural product yohimbine was found (based on gel mobility shifts) to block cleavage of the internal loop RNA site by >50% and seemed to inhibit protein binding. In the presence of yohimbine, the rate of biosynthesis of ferritin in a cell-free expression system (rabbit reticulocyte lysate) increased by 40%. Assignment of the IRE–yohimbine interaction as the origin of this effect was supported by a similar increase in synthesis of luciferase protein in a chimera of the IRE and luciferase gene. The identification of a small, drug-like molecule that recognizes a naturally occurring three-dimensional mRNA structure and regulates protein biosynthesis rates raises the possibility that small molecules can regulate protein biosynthesis by selectively binding to mRNA