Investigating the Predictors of Postsecondary Education Success and Post-College Life Circumstances of Foster Care Alumni

As a group, youth who have spent time in foster care are far behind the general population in postsecondary educational attainment. Nevertheless, most do hold aspirations for higher education. For those who make it to college, foster care alumni face a variety of obstacles related to successful postsecondary completion. However, it is unclear whether the factors that affect postsecondary success in this population are similar to those identified for other college students or more unique to the distinctive experience of being in foster care. Furthermore, while there is general consensus that higher education is beneficial to foster care alumni in overcoming adversity, no study has examined how foster care alumni who graduate from college actually fare in their adult lives compared with the general population of college graduates, or with those in the general population who did not graduate college. The study aims first to identify the predictors of postsecondary retention and success using survey data from a cross-sectional sample of foster care alumni who received Casey Family Scholarship Program or Orphan Foundation of America Foster Care to Success postsecondary scholarships. Second, the study compares adult outcomes of foster care alumni graduates with general population graduates and general population non-graduates to explore the role higher education plays in these youths\u27 lives. Results are interpreted in relation to Bronfenbrenner\u27s Ecological Systems Theory, theories of educational persistence and motivation, trauma theory, and theories related to other difficulties of being in foster care. Analyses include bivariate examinations of postsecondary factors and their relation to college disengagement; discrete-time survival analysis of general college retention factors and factors more unique to the foster care population in predicting college graduation; and multivariate comparisons (ANOVA\u27s, ANCOVA\u27s, and chi-squares) of foster youth graduates and non-foster youth graduates and non-graduates in relation to their post-college life circumstances. In bivariate comparisons of general population factors related to retention, five of the nine factors (academic-related skills, institutional commitment, social support, social involvement, and institutional financial support) had at least one indicator with a significant or trend-level relationship with college disengagement. In bivariate comparisons of foster care-specific factors related to retention, four out of the seven factors (maltreatment/ trauma/PTSD, other mental health problems, independent living stability, tangible support) had at least one item with a significant or trend-level relationship with college disengagement. Comparing the two separate factor models, the general population factor group modeled the data slightly better in predicting college graduation than the foster care-specific factor model. No model improvement was found when foster care-specific factors were added into the general population factor model. Both general population and foster care alumni graduates fared more positively than general population non-graduates for three post-college factors: individual income, financial satisfaction, and happiness. Only the general population graduates were found to be faring better than general population non-graduates on a variety of other factors. Foster youth graduates fared less positively than general population graduates on a variety of post-college outcomes. Results have implications for policy and practice regarding the most effective means of supporting postsecondary aspirations of youth with foster care experience

Replacing the Transfusion of 1-2 Units of Blood with Plasma Expanders that Increase Oxygen Delivery Capacity: Evidence from Experimental Studies.

At least a third of the blood supply in the world is used to transfuse 1-2 units of packed red blood cells for each intervention and most clinical trials of blood substitutes have been carried out at this level of oxygen carrying capacity (OCC) restoration. However, the increase of oxygenation achieved is marginal or none at all for molecular hemoglobin (Hb) products, due to their lingering vasoactivity. This has provided the impetus for the development of "oxygen therapeutics" using Hb-based molecules that have high oxygen affinity and target delivery of oxygen to anoxic areas. However it is still unclear how these oxygen carriers counteract or mitigate the functional effects of anemia due to obstruction, vasoconstriction and under-perfusion. Indeed, they are administered as a low dosage/low volume therapeutic Hb (subsequently further diluted in the circulatory pool) and hence induce extremely small OCC changes. Hyperviscous plasma expanders provide an alternative to oxygen therapeutics by increasing the oxygen delivery capacity (ODC); in anemia they induce supra-perfusion and increase tissue perfusion (flow) by as much as 50%. Polyethylene glycol conjugate albumin (PEG-Alb) accomplishes this by enhancing the shear thinning behavior of diluted blood, which increases microvascular endothelial shear stress, causes vasodilation and lowering peripheral vascular resistance thus facilitating cardiac function. Induction of supra-perfusion takes advantage of the fact that ODC is the product of OCC and blood flow and hence can be maintained by increasing either or both. Animal studies suggest that this approach may save a considerable fraction of the blood supply. It has an additional benefit of enhancing tissue clearance of toxic metabolites

Postsecondary Strengths, Challenges, and Supports Experienced by Foster Care Alumni College Graduates

Young people transitioning from foster care to college experience unique identities and circumstances that make being successful in college especially challenging. We used qualitative survey data from 248 college graduates who were formerly in foster care to explore the strengths, challenges, and supports they experienced while in college that affected their success. A qualitative content analysis of responses to 3 open-ended survey questions revealed 7 global themes related to participants’ college experiences: positive self, overcoming, interpersonal relationships, finances and logistics, academic orientation, physical and mental health, and independent living skills. Subordinate themes are identified and participant quotes are provided to help illuminate participants’ postsecondary experiences. A primary goal for this study is to increase awareness of this hidden population on college campuses and provide a better understanding of their unique circumstances and needs. This information can be used by colleges and advocates to improve support services for these youth

Accurate pre- and post-eruption orbital periods for the dwarf/classical nova V1017 Sgr

V1017 Sgr is a classical nova (from 1919) that displayed an earlier dwarf nova eruption (from 1901) and underwent two more dwarf nova events (in 1973 and 1991). Previous work on this bright system in quiescence (V = 13.5) has consisted only of a few isolated magnitudes, a few spectra and an ambiguous claim of an orbital period of 5.714 d based on nine radial velocities. To test this period, we have collected 2896 magnitudes (plus 53 in the literature) in the UBVRIJHKL bands from 1897-2016, making an essentially complete photometric history of this unique cataclysmic variable. We find that the light curve in all bands is dominated by the ellipsoidal modulations of a G giant companion star, with a post-eruption (after the 1919 nova event) orbital period of 5.786290 ± 0.000032 d. This is the longest period for any classical nova; the accretion must be powered by the nuclear evolution of the companion star and dwarf nova events occur only because the outer parts of the large disc are cool enough to be unstable. Further, we measure the pre-eruption orbital period (from 1907-1916). The orbital period has decreased by 273 ± 61 parts per million across the 1919 eruption, with the significance of the period change being at the 5.7σ confidence level. This is startling and mystifying for nova theory, because the three known period-change effects cannot account for a period decrease in V1017 Sgr, much less one of such a large size

Not as Ubiquitous as We Thought: Taxonomic Crypsis, Hidden Diversity and Cryptic Speciation in the Cosmopolitan Fungus Thelonectria discophora (Nectriaceae, Hypocreales, Ascomycota)

Funding for Open Access provided by the UMD Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund.The distribution of microbial species, including fungi, has long been considered cosmopolitan. Recently, this perception has been challenged by molecular studies in historical biogeography, phylogeny and population genetics. Here we explore this issue using the fungal morphological species Thelonectria discophora, one of the most common species of fungi in the family Nectriaceae, encountered in almost all geographic regions and considered as a cosmopolitan taxon. In order to determine if T. discophora is a single cosmopolitan species or an assemblage of sibling species, we conducted various phylogenetic analyses, including standard gene concatenation, Bayesian concordance methods, and coalescent-based species tree reconstruction on isolates collected from a wide geographic range. Results show that diversity among isolates referred as T. discophora is greatly underestimated and that it represents a species complex. Within this complex, sixteen distinct highly supported lineages were recovered, each of which has a restricted geographic distribution and ecology. The taxonomic status of isolates regarded as T. discophora is reconsidered, and the assumed cosmopolitan distribution of this species is rejected. We discuss how assumptions about geographically widespread species have implications regarding their taxonomy, true diversity, biological diversity conservation, and ecological functions.This study was funded by a grant from United States National Science Foundation (PEET program, grant number DEB-0925696: “Monographic Studies in the Nectriaceae, Hypocreales: Nectria, Cosmospora, and Neonectria” http://www.nsf.gov/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Genome-wide and candidate gene association studies of placental abruption

Placental abruption (PA), a pregnancy-related vascular disorder, is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The success of identifying genetic susceptibility loci for PA, a multi-factorial heritable disorder, has been limited. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and candidate gene association study using 470 PA cases and 473 controls from Lima, Peru. Genotyping for common genetic variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) was conducted using the Illumina Cardio-Metabo Chip platform. Common variations in 35 genes that participate in mitochondrial biogenesis (MB) and oxidative phosphorylation (OS) were selected for the candidate gene study. Regression models were fit to examine associations of each SNP with risk of PA. In pathway analyses, we examined functions and functional relationships of genes represented by the top GWAS hits. Genetic risk scores (GRS), based on top hits of the GWAS and candidate gene analyses, respectively, were computed using the risk allele counting method. The top hit in the GWAS analyses was rs1238566 (empirical P-value=1.04e-4 and FDR-adjusted P-value=5.65E-04) in FLI-1 gene, a megakaryocyte-specific transcription factor. Networks of genes involved in lipid metabolism and cell signaling were significantly enriched by the 51 genes whose SNPs were among the top 200 GWAS hits. SNPs known to regulate MB (e.g. CAMK2B, NR1H3, PPARG, PRKCA, and THRB) and OP (e.g., COX5A, and NDUF family of genes) were associated with PA risk. GRS was significantly associated with PA risk. Our study suggests that integrating multiple analytical strategies in genetic association studies can provide opportunities for identifying genetic risk factors and novel molecular mechanisms that underlie PA

Early Career Perspectives For the NASA SMD Bridge Program

In line with the Astro2020 Decadal Report State of the Profession findings and the NASA core value of Inclusion, the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Bridge Program was created to provide financial and programmatic support to efforts that work to increase the representation and inclusion of students from under-represented minorities in the STEM fields. To ensure an effective program, particularly for those who are often left out of these conversations, the NASA SMD Bridge Program Workshop was developed as a way to gather feedback from a diverse group of people about their unique needs and interests. The Early Career Perspectives Working Group was tasked with examining the current state of bridge programs, academia in general, and its effect on students and early career professionals. The working group, comprised of 10 early career and student members, analyzed the discussions and responses from workshop breakout sessions and two surveys, as well as their own experiences, to develop specific recommendations and metrics for implementing a successful and supportive bridge program. In this white paper, we will discuss the key themes that arose through our work, and highlight select recommendations for the NASA SMD Bridge Program to best support students and early career professionals.Comment: White paper developed by the Early Career Perspectives Working Group for the NASA SMD Bridge Program Workshop. 11 page

The Return: A Native Environmental Health Story

The Native Tradition, Environment And Community Health (TEACH) Project began in 2008 with a small collaborative grant funded by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. The Northwest Indian College and the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health at the University of Washington shared the funding and co-managed the project. In the Western scientific tradition, “Environmental Health” is the study of how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. One of the goals of the Native TEACH Project was to find out how Native ways of understanding the world and our place in it might lead to a unique understanding of environmental health – a “NATIVE Environmental Health Science.” To do this, we got input from Tribal college students, staff and faculty from 30 Tribal colleges around the U.S. We did this through a combination of talking circles, interviews, and written surveys administered at the Northwest Indian College and at the 2009 American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) student conference in Missoula, MT. When we sifted through the information we gathered, we identified three core themes that seemed to appear over and over: Community, Wellness, and Inter-Relationship. Each of these core themes contains many rich associations and layers. Each theme can best be understood as a circle. Native Environmental Health Science is the study of how these three circles intersect and overlap, and what this means for our actions as individuals and communities. The Return is an original story based on our research findings. With it, we hope to share the essence of what we learned from the rich conversations we had with Tribal college students, staff and faculty. It can be read quietly or aloud, used as a coloring book, or even serve as the spark for a group or classroom discussion. Mostly though, it is meant as a gift back to the many people who helped create it by sharing their time, insights, and wisdom.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/ias_books/1086/thumbnail.jp

Metabolic syndrome predictors of brain gray matter volume in an age-stratified community sample of 776 Mexican- American adults: Results from the genetics of brain structure image archive

Introduction: This project aimed to investigate the association between biometric components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) with gray matter volume (GMV) obtained with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from a large cohort of community-based adults (n = 776) subdivided by age and sex and employing brain regions of interest defined previously as the “Neural Signature of MetS” (NS-MetS). Methods: Lipid profiles, biometrics, and regional brain GMV were obtained from the Genetics of Brain Structure (GOBS) image archive. Participants underwent T1-weighted MR imaging. MetS components (waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and blood pressure) were defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. Subjects were grouped by age: early adult (18–25 years), young adult (26–45 years), and middle-aged adult (46–65 years). Linear regression modeling was used to investigate associations between MetS components and GMV in five brain regions comprising the NS-MetS: cerebellum, brainstem, orbitofrontal cortex, right insular/limbic cluster and caudate. Results: In both men and women of each age group, waist circumference was the single component most strongly correlated with decreased GMV across all NS-MetS regions. The brain region most strongly correlated to all MetS components was the posterior cerebellum. Conclusion: The posterior cerebellum emerged as the region most significantly associated with MetS individual components, as the only region to show decreased GMV in young adults, and the region with the greatest variance between men and women. We propose that future studies investigating neurological effects of MetS and its comorbidities—namely diabetes and obesity—should consider the NS-MetS and the differential effects of age and sex