Academic Challenges and Success Strategies of Students with Dyslexia Seeking a Two-Year College Degree

Dyslexia is a learning disability that hinders a person\u27s ability to process elements of reading and writing. Although younger students with dyslexia often receive remedial education and accommodations, dyslexic college students may not receive assistance targeted to their individual needs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to ascertain the challenges that might impede the academic success of college students with dyslexia and identify strategies used by academically successful dyslexic students at a 2-year college. Knowles\u27s theory of informal adult education and self-direction provided the conceptual framework for the study. Using a case study design, 10 current college students who had a diagnosis of dyslexia with documentation on file at the college\u27s student support center and a minimum 3.0-grade point average were purposefully selected to participate. Data from semi-structured interviews and reflective field notes were analyzed using open coding to develop themes. Eight themes emerged related to Knowles\u27 constructs; 4 as challenges (accelerated pace, communication, time management, and concentration) and 4 as strategies to improve educational outcomes (technical assistance, organization, support, and modification). A workshop and mentoring program were developed to provide academic support for college students with dyslexia, highlighting those areas that dyslexic students identified as challenging. Continued research on the educational needs of older students with dyslexia was recommended. Targeted interventions for students with dyslexia may result in a positive social change by helping them achieve a higher education degree and become successful members of their communities

Comparison of methods for the determination of low density lipoprotein cholesterol

Heatlh, Physical Education, and Leisur

Maritime Economics in a Post-Expansion Panama Canal Era

(First paragraph) The 2016 opening of an expanded Panama Canal will allow for Post-Panamax containerships up to 12 500 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) in size to transit the Panama Canal. In response, some US East Coast container ports are having their channels and berths dredged deeper—to allow Post-Panamax containerships from Asia (transiting the expanded canal) to call at their ports. What are the implications for the US West Coast ports? Will there be a cargo shift from West Coast to East Coast ports? These topics as well as the impacts of other changes in global shipping lanes (e.g., the Suez Canal and the Arctic shipping lanes) on global trade and ports in the Post-Expansion Panama Canal Era were discussed in various sessions of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) 2014 Conference. This special issue is dedicated to the study of the above impacts. The goal of this special issue is to encourage research in this important area by highlighting the influence of the Panama Canal expansion to the global maritime sectors and examining the potentially dramatic changes in the Post-Expansion Era. Hence, five IAME conference papers and an additional paper by Ducruet are chosen for this reason

Investigating Skeletal Muscle Metabolic Adaptations underlying Aerobic Fitness Gains Following High Intensity Interval Training in a Rat Model of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

poster abstractRationale: In patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) a shift from oxidative to a less efficient non-oxidative (glycolytic) metabolism in skeletal muscle is believed to contribute to the reduced exercise tolerance hallmark of the disease. As seen for other cardiopulmonary diseases, exercise training (ExT) may ameliorate this “glycolytic switch” in PAH and improve exercise capacity. Previous studies in this lab showed an improved metabolic profile of skeletal muscle in PAH rats following an ExT protocol of continuous running at moderate relative intensity, 60 minutes at 75% of maximal aerobic capacity (VO2Max). High intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown in healthy individuals as well as in patients with cardiovascular disease to promote favorable cardiac and skeletal muscle adaptations and greater improvements in aerobic capacity versus customary continuous training. This study tests the hypothesis in a PAH rat model that HIIT will result in preserved aerobic capacity and a greater attenuation of skeletal muscle glycolytic shift than that observed with continuous moderate intensity exercise. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats received either monocrotaline (MCT, 40 mg/kg, s.q.) to induce PAH (n= 8), or saline, for healthy controls (n=4). After 2 wks, with MCT-induced PAH wellestablished, 6 wks of treadmill HIIT was initiated for a subset of PAH animals (PAH-ExT, n= 6) and healthy controls (CON-ExT, n=2). The HIIT runs were alternated between 2 to 3 minutes of high intensity exercise (85% VO2max reserve) and active recovery intervals between 2 to 3 minutes (10 m/min, 0 incline) VO2max was assessed at baseline, and in pre-training and post-training via analysis of expired gases during incremental treadmill running. Preliminary results: MCT-induced decrement in VO2max was attenuated by HIIT. Abundance of membrane glucose transporter Glut-1, a marker of glycolytic metabolism, is currently being evaluated in soleus cryosections with immunofluorescent staining. Findings are being compared to historical data for PAH and healthy rats from a study protocol that differed only by training approach-continuous instead of HIIT

Kids These Days: Increasing Youth Engagement in Community Heritage and Social Justice Through the Implementation of a Youth Participatory Empowerment Model

The purpose of this co-authored, qualitative, action research study was to examine how to empower youth to become active participants in their communities. Citizen engagement in community and public life is vital to a healthy democracy and young people have a unique place in community citizenry, but are often dismissed or excluded from decision-making. The research team developed a model, the Youth Participatory Empowerment Model (YPEM), to guide youth through a process of identifying and engaging a community heritage or social justice need in their community. The team assembled a guidebook of activities to engage groups in difficult self, group, and community work. To test the model, each of the six members of the research team implemented YPEM to engage youth in six locations throughout the United States. The members of each group represent a diverse sampling of the country and include tribal, undocumented, rural, suburban, and urban youth from low income or underserved populations. Researchers collected interview and observation data to identify themes and strategies that support community youth leadership. The model seeks to cultivate youth voice, youth engagement, and youth empowerment and to assist group mentors with this process. The results of the six groups highlight the importance of youth leadership, trust and safety, partnerships, and multidimensional mentorship. These observations led to the development of an updated version of YPEM, which includes the four main observations and strategies that proved successful in the field

Investigating Skeletal Muscle Metabolic Adaptations underlying Aerobic Fitness Gains following High Intensity Interval Training in a Rat Model of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

poster abstractRationale: In patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) a shift from oxidative to a less efficient non-oxidative (glycolytic) metabolism in skeletal muscle is believed to contribute to the reduced exercise tolerance hallmark of the disease. As seen for other cardiopulmonary diseases, exercise training (ExT) may ameliorate this “glycolytic switch” in PAH and improve exercise capacity. Previous studies in this lab showed an improved metabolic profile of skeletal muscle in PAH rats following an ExT protocol of continuous running at moderate relative intensity, 60 minutes at 75% of maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 Max). This study tests the hypothesis in a PAH rat model that HIIT will also result in preserved aerobic capacity and attenuation of skeletal muscle glycolytic shift. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats received either monocrotaline (MCT, 40 mg/kg) to induce mild PAH (n= 14), or saline, for healthy controls (n=9). After 2 wks, a 6 wkprogram of treadmill HIIT was initiated for a subset of PAH (n= 8) and healthy controls (n=6). The 30 min HIIT sessions alternated between 2 minutes at 85% VO2 max and 3 minutes at ~30% VO2 max. VO2 max was assessed at baseline, and in pre-training and post-training via analysis of expired gases. Preliminary results: MCT-induced decrement in VO2 max was attenuated by HIIT (p0.05). Western blotting of soleus homogenates for cytochromes I-V of the electron transport chain (OXPHOS), and for PGC1α, a potent stimulus for mitochondrial biogenesis, is being performed at present to further investigate potential training-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle metabolis