African-Centered Pedagogy: Exploring Black Male Identity and Achievement through an African-Centered Lens

This mixed method study researched African-centered pedagogy and examined if it made a difference for Black males in middle school. The study examined what it meant to be Black for the participants through administering the Multidimensional Model of Black Identity (MMBI) which measures Black males\u27 connections to their own cultural group. Students were asked three semi-structured questions about their experiences in school. In addition, MCA test scores and GPA were compared. Twenty-four middle school students participated for two different middle school types in Minnesota: one traditional school and one African-Centered school. Findings revealed that there were substantially different scores on the MMBI. Overall, students who attended the African-Centered school had better tests scores and GPA. Although, the t-tests conducted demonstrated these scores were not statistically significant. Major themes emerged from student interviews including that students wanted to learn had high expectations of their teachers. Implications and future research are discussed

October 1964

Turf and Lawn Grass Association Better turf through research and Educatio

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH

Information Systems Working Papers Serie

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH

Information Systems Working Papers Serie

A combined analysis of outcome following breast cancer: differences in survival based on BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation status and administration of adjuvant treatment

BACKGROUND: The prognostic significance of germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 in women with breast cancer remains unclear. A combined analysis was performed to address this uncertainty. METHODS: Two retrospective cohorts of Ashkenazi Jewish women undergoing breast-conserving treatment for invasive cancer between 1980 and 1995 (n = 584) were established. Archived tissue blocks were used as the source of DNA for Ashkenazi Jewish BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutation analysis. Paraffin-embedded tissue and follow-up information was available for 505 women. RESULTS: Genotyping was successful in 496 women, of whom 56 (11.3%) were found to carry a BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutation. After a median follow-up period of 116 months, breast cancer specific survival was worse in women with BRCA1 mutations than in those without (62% at 10 years versus 86%; P < 0.0001), but not in women with the BRCA2 mutation (84% versus 86% at 10 years; P = 0.76). Germline BRCA1 mutations were an independent predictor of breast cancer mortality in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 2.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2–4.8; P = 0.01). BRCA1 status predicted breast cancer mortality only among women who did not receive chemotherapy (hazard ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval 2.0–11.7; P = 0.001). The risk for metachronous ipsilateral cancer was not greater in women with germline BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutations than in those without mutations (P = 0.68). CONCLUSION: BRCA1 mutations, but not BRCA2 mutations, are associated with reduced survival in Ashkenazi women undergoing breast-conserving treatment for invasive breast cancer, but the poor prognosis associated with germline BRCA1 mutations is mitigated by adjuvant chemotherapy. The risk for metachronous ipsilateral disease does not appear to be increased for either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, at least up to 10 years of follow up

Black race as a predictor of poor health outcomes among a national cohort of HIV/AIDS patients admitted to US hospitals: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: In general, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) population has begun to experience the benefits of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART); unfortunately, these benefits have not extended equally to Blacks in the United States, possibly due to differences in patient comorbidities and demographics. These differences include rates of hepatitis B and C infection, substance use, and socioeconomic status. To investigate the impact of these factors, we compared hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS) between Blacks and Whites with HIV/AIDS while adjusting for differences in these key characteristics. METHODS: The 1996-2006 National Hospital Discharge Surveys were used to identify HIV/AIDS patients admitted to US hospitals. Survey weights were incorporated to provide national estimates. Patients < 18 years of age, those who left against medical advice, those with an unknown discharge disposition and those with a LOS < 1 day were excluded. Patients were stratified into subgroups by race (Black or White). Two multivariable logistic regression models were constructed with race as the independent variable and outcomes (mortality and LOS > 10 days) as the dependent variables. Factors that were significantly different between Blacks and Whites at baseline via bivariable statistical tests were included as covariates. RESULTS: In the general US population, there are approximately 5 times fewer Blacks than Whites. In the present study, 1.5 million HIV/AIDS hospital discharges were identified and Blacks were 6 times more likely to be hospitalized than Whites. Notably, Blacks had higher rates of substance use (30% vs. 24%; P < 0.001), opportunistic infections (27% vs. 26%; P < 0.001) and cocaine use (13% vs. 5%; P < 0.001). Conversely, fewer Blacks were co-infected with hepatitis C virus (8% vs. 12%; P < 0.001). Hepatitis B virus was relatively infrequent (3% for both groups). Crude mortality rates were similar for both cohorts (5%); however, a greater proportion of Blacks had a LOS > 10 days (21% vs. 19%; P < 0.001). Black race, in the presence of comorbidities, was correlated with a higher odds of LOS > 10 days (OR, 95% CI = 1.20 [1.10-1.30]), but was not significantly correlated with a higher odds of mortality (OR, 95% CI = 1.07 [0.93-1.25]). CONCLUSION: Black race is a predictor of LOS > 10 days, but not mortality, among HIV/AIDS patients admitted to US hospitals. It is possible that racial disparities in hospital outcomes may be closing with time

Genomic analyses in Cornelia de Lange Syndrome and related diagnoses: Novel candidate genes, <scp>genotype–phenotype</scp> correlations and common mechanisms

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) is a rare, dominantly inherited multisystem developmental disorder characterized by highly variable manifestations of growth and developmental delays, upper limb involvement, hypertrichosis, cardiac, gastrointestinal, craniofacial, and other systemic features. Pathogenic variants in genes encoding cohesin complex structural subunits and regulatory proteins (NIPBL, SMC1A, SMC3, HDAC8, and RAD21) are the major pathogenic contributors to CdLS. Heterozygous or hemizygous variants in the genes encoding these five proteins have been found to be contributory to CdLS, with variants in NIPBL accounting for the majority (&gt;60%) of cases, and the only gene identified to date that results in the severe or classic form of CdLS when mutated. Pathogenic variants in cohesin genes other than NIPBL tend to result in a less severe phenotype. Causative variants in additional genes, such as ANKRD11, EP300, AFF4, TAF1, and BRD4, can cause a CdLS‐like phenotype. The common role that these genes, and others, play as critical regulators of developmental transcriptional control has led to the conditions they cause being referred to as disorders of transcriptional regulation (or “DTRs”). Here, we report the results of a comprehensive molecular analysis in a cohort of 716 probands with typical and atypical CdLS in order to delineate the genetic contribution of causative variants in cohesin complex genes as well as novel candidate genes, genotype–phenotype correlations, and the utility of genome sequencing in understanding the mutational landscape in this population