Campus employment as a high-impact practice: relationship to academic success and persistence of first-generation college students

2016 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.The double burden of spiraling costs and limited financial aid has prompted more college students to work more hours than ever. Yet, working more hours can be detrimental to students’ academic success and persistence, and first-generation college students are at even higher risk. While institutions cannot control off campus employment students choose, they do have opportunity to influence the content of jobs on campus. Campus jobs purposefully designed to provide a high-impact experience for students could potentially mitigate risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate how campus employment impacts academic success and persistence of first-generation college students, and compare differences in academic success and persistence of first-generation college students whose campus jobs were configured as high-impact practices with first-generation college students whose campus jobs were not, and make recommendations for practitioners. Archival datasets were collected from two institutions with a selection of campus jobs configured as high impact practices. The final sample included 1413 records of sophomores who had entered college as first-time, full-time freshmen, and worked on campus during their sophomore year. Regression analyses and factorial ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Results supported much of what has been shown in the literature about first-generation college students: they receive Pell, work more hours, earn lower GPAs and persist at lower rates. Results with respect to campus employment were inconclusive: type of campus job was not shown to be a significant individual predictor of either success measure, GPA or persistence. Yet, a statistically significant interaction of first-generation student status and type of campus job was found. While caution is recommended in interpreting such results, this interaction may stimulate different thinking for practitioners and researchers alike. Practitioners might consider the extent to which they could structure their campus jobs to include elements of high-impact practices; researchers may be encouraged to design studies of high-impact campus jobs and the extent to which they provide support for first-generation college students

Crescita e sviluppo di microalghe autoctone della costa Tirrenica per la produzione di biomassa

Nell’ambito della produzione di biomasse l’utilizzo delle microalghe rappresenta una potenzialità sia nella biomitigazione dell’ anidride carbonica, che nella produzione di energia e/o biocarburanti rappresentando una fonte energetica rinnovabili. Le microalghe crescono utilizzando luce e anidride carbonica pertanto possono considerarsi una risorsa rinnovabile; inoltre dimostrano una maggiore efficienza fotosintetica rispetto alle piante terrestri ed una elevata capacità nella fissazione dell’anidride carbonica. Nell’ambito delle tecnologie di mitigazione dei gas serra, le microalghe possono essere impiegate come metodo di biofissazione di CO2, da applicare a qualsiasi impianto con emissioni gassose diffuse. Nella sperimentazione proposta si proceduto partendo da alcuni campioni di acqua marina superficiale provenienti da aree limitrofe la costa Tirrenica. Dalle colture impure, sono state isolate, con tecniche di microbiologia classica, tre ceppi di alghe in purezza. Tra questi ultimi è stato prescelto ,per ulteriori indagini, quello appartenente al genere Tetraselmis, d’interesse scientifico poiché già ampliamente proposto in letteratura per il suo utilizzo in colture bioenergetiche. E’stato ,inoltre, utilizzato un fotobioreattore “indoor” da laboratorio, per l’ottimizzazione delle condizioni di crescita della biomassa microalgale. Partendo da campioni di 100 ml di alghe prelevati dai reattori tubulari, centrifugati ed essiccati a 70 °C per una notte sono stati ottenuti 131,66 mg di biomassa (1,31g/L) per il ceppo Tetraselmis e 39,33 mg di biomassa (0,39 g/L) per il ceppo Chlamydomonas (alga modello per indagini biomolecolari). La biomassa ottenuta è stata sottoposta ad analisi termo gravimetriche (TGA), che hanno indicato la migliore degradazione termica di Tetraselmis nel range dei 200-400 °C sia in aria che in azoto e Clamydomonas tra i 250-400 °C sia in aria che in azoto. Da questa indagine è emersa la comparabilità dell’alga in oggetto con altri prodotti combustibili di origine organica. Nella seconda parte della sperimentazione, sempre utilizzando microcosmi da laboratorio è stata effettuata una misura di crescita cellulare del genere Tetraselmis andando a determinare quotidianamente alcuni parametri tra i quali: conteggio cellulare mediante il metodo della camera di Burker; densità ottica (O.D.) a 530 nm; determinazione spettrofotometrica delle clorofilla a, b e proteine solubili. Dall’analisi di questi parametri si evince che il genere Tetraselmis pur presentando una velocità di crescita inferiore rispetto al genere Chlamydomonas dimostra una migliore attitudine in termini di produzione di biomassa

Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds.

Plastic debris is ingested by hundreds of species of organisms, from zooplankton to baleen whales, but how such a diversity of consumers can mistake plastic for their natural prey is largely unknown. The sensory mechanisms underlying plastic detection and consumption have rarely been examined within the context of sensory signals driving marine food web dynamics. We demonstrate experimentally that marine-seasoned microplastics produce a dimethyl sulfide (DMS) signature that is also a keystone odorant for natural trophic interactions. We further demonstrate a positive relationship between DMS responsiveness and plastic ingestion frequency using procellariiform seabirds as a model taxonomic group. Together, these results suggest that plastic debris emits the scent of a marine infochemical, creating an olfactory trap for susceptible marine wildlife

NuvaRing

This issue of eMedRef provides information to clinicians on the mechanism, effectiveness, use and contraincations of the NuvaRing

Empowering Youth to Take Charge of School Wellness

Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) ensure that students are represented in school wellness discussions. YACs empower students to present ideas, insights, and input on nutrition and physical activity; work alongside peers to assess wellness needs; and develop recommendations for enhancing/expanding the school wellness environment. YACs provide a platform for students to make positive impacts on their school\u27s wellness policy. The YAC described in this article provided recommendations to increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods on the cafeteria menu; expand opportunities for physical activity; and enhance the school lunch experience in the cafeteria

Diagnostic efficiency of different amphetamine screening tests - the search for an optimal cutoff

Increased use of designer drugs (amphetamines and amphetamine-like substances) raises the need for fast screening tests in urine in clinical settings, workplace and drug rehabilitation. Immunological assays currently used are subject to unwanted crossreactivities, partly depending on the cutoff concentrations used. The values recommended in Europe and the USA are 500 and 1000 ng/ml, respectively. In Switzerland, the recommended concentration of 300 ng/ml results in a high rate of false-positive urine samples and expensive, time-consuming confirmation testing. Using the Abbott Axsym analyzer, we found numerous false positives from patients in rehabilitation centers due to concomitant medication. Therefore, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the Abbott test at different cutoff concentrations and the sensitivity of the Roche Cobas Integra, Beckman Synchron and Biosite Triage point-of-care test were examined. HPLC Bio-Rad Remedi was chosen as the method of higher hierarchical order. The specificity of the Axsym analyzer (300 ng/ml) was 86%. At 500 ng/ml or 1000 ng/ml the specificity was increased to 99 or 100%, respectively, while the sensitivity only decreased from 97 to 91 or 81%, respectively. In summary, the cutoff concentration for amphetamine screening tests should not be below 500 ng/ml to avoid a high rate of false-positive result