The Impact of Breastfeeding Interventions on Breastfeeding Behavior

Breast milk is the natural first food for all infants, and breastfeeding provides multiple benefits for both the mother and child. However, breastfeeding rates in the United States are far from optimal, despite these benefits. There are multiple complex and interrelated reasons for the suboptimal breastfeeding rates, and multiple interventions have been completed with the goal of obtaining optimal breastfeeding rates. This literature review examines the efficacy of these breastfeeding interventions, specifically examining whether antenatal breastfeeding education was associated with increased breastfeeding initiation and duration relative to individualized support. Results of the literature review suggest that a combination of antenatal breastfeeding education and individualized support was associated with the greatest increase in breastfeeding initiation and duration. Solutions to increase breastfeeding rates were proposed, including subsidizing antenatal breastfeeding education to make access universal. Overall, despite the complex hurdles that mothers face when deciding to pursue or forgo breastfeeding their infant, there exist multiple interventions to address these hurdles and ultimately promote breastfeeding initiation and duration

Violence in Algeria: From Colony to Independent Nation

From November 1st, 1954 to March 19, 1962, the French-Algerian War was one of the bloodiest struggles of decolonization in modern history. Why was this struggle so violent? By investigating the violent colonization techniques used by the French military which resulted in 850,000 Algerian deaths and the French social and political policies that placed the Algerians at the bottom of the social hierarchy, this thesis shows how the actions by the French during the colonial era led to the rise of Algerian resistance movements. This would eventually cause the violence in the French-Algerian War in order for the “last to become the first.

Looking at Earth from Space: Teacher's Guide with Activities for Earth and Space Science

The Maryland Pilot Earth Science and Technology Education Network (MAPS-NET) project was sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to enrich teacher preparation and classroom learning in the area of Earth system science. This publication includes a teacher's guide that replicates material taught during a graduate-level course of the project and activities developed by the teachers. The publication was developed to provide teachers with a comprehensive approach to using satellite imagery to enhance science education. The teacher's guide is divided into topical chapters and enables teachers to expand their knowledge of the atmosphere, common weather patterns, and remote sensing. Topics include: weather systems and satellite imagery including mid-latitude weather systems; wave motion and the general circulation; cyclonic disturbances and baroclinic instability; clouds; additional common weather patterns; satellite images and the internet; environmental satellites; orbits; and ground station set-up. Activities are listed by suggested grade level and include the following topics: using weather symbols; forecasting the weather; cloud families and identification; classification of cloud types through infrared Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) imagery; comparison of visible and infrared imagery; cold fronts; to ski or not to ski (imagery as a decision making tool), infrared and visible satellite images; thunderstorms; looping satellite images; hurricanes; intertropical convergence zone; and using weather satellite images to enhance a study of the Chesapeake Bay. A list of resources is also included

School District Efficiency as Measured by the Financial Allocation Study of Texas

The purpose of this record of study was to analyze efficiency in Texas public schools through the use of the Financial Allocation Study of Texas (FAST). A quantitative analysis of the FAST was conducted using ordered logistic regressions as a means of determining which factors contribute to the efficiency. Data from the three years of the FAST were used in the analysis. The biggest predictor of efficiency in the FAST was the percent of students who were economically disadvantaged. Additionally, it was found that larger districts are more efficient than smaller districts. Efficient districts spend less overall per pupil in 9 of the 15 functions of spending reported by schools and spend less on a variety of programs, including regular education, special education, and athletics/cocurricular spending. However, it was found that spending in the area of bilingual/ESL increased efficiency. It was also found that districts with high property wealth were less efficient overall and that the student/teacher ratio and teacher experience was negatively correlated with efficiency. The implications of this research include the need for districts wishing to become more efficient to increase the class size of classrooms and focus spending on improving the achievement of economically disadvantaged students. In addition, districts should focus resources on campus level administrators rather than instructional or curriculum specialists

The Status of the Blacknose Shiner (Notropis heterolepis) tn Iowa: A Preliminary Survey

During the last 45 years, the blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis) has been restricted to a three county area in northwestern Iowa. We surveyed locations where this siltation-intolerant species had been captured to update the status of the fish in the state. Streams were blocked with nets on both the upstream and downstream ends of sample areas, and fish were collected with a backpack electrofisher and seines. Lakes where the blacknose shiner had been found were also sampled. No blacknose shiners were found and several possible explanations are offered for their absence from historical sites

Cholinergic Modulation of Locomotion and Striatal Dopamine Release Is Mediated by α6α4* Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Dopamine (DA) release in striatum is governed by firing rates of midbrain DA neurons, striatal cholinergic tone, and nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs) on DA presynaptic terminals. DA neurons selectively express α6* nAChRs, which show high ACh and nicotine sensitivity. To help identify nAChR subtypes that control DA transmission, we studied transgenic mice expressing hypersensitive α6^(L9’S*) receptors. α6^(L9’S) mice are hyperactive, travel greater distance, exhibit increased ambulatory behaviors such as walking, turning, and rearing, and show decreased pausing, hanging, drinking, and grooming. These effects were mediated by α6 α4* pentamers, as α6^(L9’S) mice lacking α4 subunits displayed essentially normal behavior. In α6^(L9’S) mice, receptor numbers are normal, but loss of α4 subunits leads to fewer and less sensitive α6* receptors. Gain-of-function nicotine-stimulated DA release from striatal synaptosomes requires α4 subunits, implicating α6α4β2* nAChRs in α6^(L9’S) mouse behaviors. In brain slices, we applied electrochemical measurements to study control of DA release by α6^(L9’S) nAChRs. Burst stimulation of DA fibers elicited increased DA release relative to single action potentials selectively in α6^(L9’S), but not WT or α4KO/ α6^(L9’S), mice. Thus, increased nAChR activity, like decreased activity, leads to enhanced extracellular DA release during phasic firing. Bursts may directly enhance DA release from α6^(L9’S) presynaptic terminals, as there was no difference in striatal DA receptor numbers or DA transporter levels or function in vitro. These results implicate α6α4β2* nAChRs in cholinergic control of DA transmission, and strongly suggest that these receptors are candidate drug targets for disorders involving the DA system