\u27Don’t Worry, I Got You. You Can Do This\u27: A Student-Centered Approach to Reimagining College Access

As high school college counselor caseloads increase, they have less time for consistent one-on-one counseling to support students with college planning. Thus, for many students – particularly those in large or under-resourced schools – the process is depersonalized, focused on simply distributing information. Drawing on narrative and ethnographic research, this paper explores a unique program that positions young people as paid college access professionals in their schools. Findings show that these students – Youth College Counselors (YCC) – make college planning a more student-centered, meaningful experience. Strategies YCCs engage with to support peers are examined to shine a light on how YCCs use their unique position inside schools to rethink college planning. YCCs resist a dominant narrative of young people, particularly those who live in marginalized communities, as objects onto which policy happens, and instead serve as school change actors. Findings suggest that high schools must create space in policy and practice to thoughtfully position students as agents of school change

Education Interrupted: The Growing Use of Suspensions in New York City's Public Schools

The New York Civil Liberties Union analyzed 10 years of discipline data from New York City schools, and found that:*The total number of suspensions in New York City grew at an alarming rate over the last decade: One out of every 14 students was suspended in 2008-2009; in 1999-2000 it was one in 25. In 2008-2009, this added up to more than 73,000 suspensions.*Students with disabilities are four times more likely to be suspended than students without disabilities.*Black students, who comprise 33 percent of the student body, served 53 percent of suspensions over the past 10 years. *Black students with disabilities represent more than 50 percent of suspended students with disabilities.*Black students also served longer suspensions on average and were more likely to be suspended for subjective misconduct, like profanity and insubordination.*Suspensions are becoming longer: More than 20 percent of suspensions lasted more than one week in 2008-2009, compared to 14 percent in 1999-2000. The average length of a long-term suspension is five weeks (25 school days).*Between 2001 and 2010, the number of infractions listed in the schools' Discipline Code increased by 49 percent. During that same period, the number of zero tolerance infractions, which mandate a suspension regardless of the individual facts of the incident, increased by 200 percent.*Thirty percent of suspensions occur during March and June of each school year

Imagining What Could Be: The Role of Youth Leadership in Realizing College for All

In New York City, there exists an uneven landscape of college guidance among high schools, creating a college guidance gap . While some schools offer robust counseling that helps students contextualize college admissions information toward making relevant college decisions, other schools have elevated student-to-counselor rates and do not have access to other educational resources necessary to effectively support students. Using ethnographic research and survey data, anchored by dynamic narrative inquiry, this dissertation explores how young people enrolled in under-resourced schools can act as agents of change in the lives of their peers within the context of college planning. Youth Leadership for College Access is a program in New York City that positions students to become paid college access coordinators in their schools (called Youth Leaders), with intensive training and ongoing technical support. Through deep analysis of both their summer training as well as the everyday work that they do with peers during the school year, this dissertation argues that Youth Leaders reimagine college planning as a meaningful, student-centered, relevant experience. They do this by grounding their work by the lives of their peers, and strategically use their unique position inside schools -- as both student and college access professional -- to help their peers resolve problems they may face when planning for college. This dissertation will show how college access interventions can work effectively when we position young people at the center of school change

Survey of the Use of Pedometers and Knowledge of Caloric Intake and Expenditure

Background and Purpose. As the prevalence of obesity continues to rise, medical professionals are searching for ways to combat this epidemic. One of the first steps is to assess the activity levels and eating habits of those who are obese and look for ways to modify these two areas in order to assist the obese individual in achieving a desirable and healthy weight. The purpose of this study is to determine if pedometer use, gender, or body mass influence one\u27s knowledge of caloric consumption and expenditure. Subjects and Methods. 253 questionnaires were sent out to randomly selected faculty and staff at the University of North Dakota via email. The survey consisted of 18 questions on body composition, activity levels, pedometer usage, knowledge of caloric values and knowledge of caloric expenditure. Results. Of the 253 questionnaires sent out, 54 (20.3%) were returned and fit the criteria for inclusion in the study. Due to the low number of pedometer users responding, no analytical statistics were done to compare pedometer users with non-pedometer users. There was no significant difference found in knowledge of caloric intake and expenditure when analyzing by gender or obesity. Many interesting descriptive statistics were gathered regarding the use of pedometers and the subjects eating habits. Discussion and Conclusion. In those participants who do use pedometers there were no detrimental effects reported and there were various changes that occurred while using a pedometer that are associated with a healthier lifestyle. More research is necessary to find if implementing pedometers into daily routines for obese individuals will assist them in maintaining a healthy lifestyle

Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector

Acknowledgements This paper constitutes an output of the Belmont Forum/FACCE-JPI funded DEVIL project (NE/M021327/1). Financial support from the CGIAR Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the EU-FP7 AnimalChange project is also recognized. P.K.T. acknowledges the support of a CSIRO McMaster Research Fellowship.Peer reviewedPostprin

Bench to Bedside Development of [18F]Fluoromethyl-(1,2-2H4)choline ([18F]D4-FCH)

malignant transformation is characterised by aberrant phospholipid metabolism of cancers, associated with the upregulation of choline kinase alpha (CHK alpha). due to the metabolic instability of choline radiotracers and the increasing use of late-imaging protocols, we developed a more stable choline radiotracer, [F-18]fluoromethyl-[1,2-H-2(4)]choline ([F-18]D4-FCH). [F-18]D4-FCH has improved protection against choline oxidase, the key choline catabolic enzyme, via a H-1/D-2 isotope effect, together with fluorine substitution. Due to the promising mechanistic and safety profiles of [F-18]D4-FCH in vitro and preclinically, the radiotracer has transitioned to clinical development. [F-18]D4-FCH is a safe positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, with a favourable radiation dosimetry profile for clinical imaging. [F-18]D4-FCH PET/CT in lung and prostate cancers has shown highly heterogeneous intratumoral distribution and large lesion variability. treatment with abiraterone or enzalutamide in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients elicited mixed responses on PET at 12-16 weeks despite predominantly stable radiological appearances. the sum of the weighted tumour-to-background ratios (TBRs-wsum) was associated with the duration of survival

Bench to Bedside Development of [18F]Fluoromethyl-(1,2-2H4)choline ([18F]D4-FCH)

Malignant transformation is characterised by aberrant phospholipid metabolism of cancers, associated with the upregulation of choline kinase alpha (CHKα). Due to the metabolic instability of choline radiotracers and the increasing use of late-imaging protocols, we developed a more stable choline radiotracer, [18F]fluoromethyl-[1,2-2H4]choline ([18F]D4-FCH). [18F]D4-FCH has improved protection against choline oxidase, the key choline catabolic enzyme, via a 1H/2D isotope effect, together with fluorine substitution. Due to the promising mechanistic and safety profiles of [18F]D4-FCH in vitro and preclinically, the radiotracer has transitioned to clinical development. [18F]D4-FCH is a safe positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, with a favourable radiation dosimetry profile for clinical imaging. [18F]D4-FCH PET/CT in lung and prostate cancers has shown highly heterogeneous intratumoral distribution and large lesion variability. Treatment with abiraterone or enzalutamide in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients elicited mixed responses on PET at 12–16 weeks despite predominantly stable radiological appearances. The sum of the weighted tumour-to-background ratios (TBRs-wsum) was associated with the duration of survival