Long-Term Outcomes of Low-Achieving Third Grade Readers

Research shows that students who demonstrate low reading achievement in 3rd grade have trouble catching back up to grade level and being successful in school, compared to their peers who demonstrate early proficiency (Fiester 2010; Hernandez 2011; Juel 1988). This report seeks to investigate what happens to Arkansas public school students who demonstrate low achievement in reading in 3rd grade. Reading scores from three cohorts of students are followed from 3rd grade until high school, beginning with data from the 2008-09 school year and continuing through 2016-17. We examine the demographic characteristics of the low-achieving group, assess the extent to which these low-performers catch up by high school, and we highlight the subgroups of students who make the most progress in catching up to their higher achieving peers. This report is structured around two main research questions

The Longitudinal Effects of Beta-Alanine Supplementation on Isometric Strength, Time to Exhaustion, and Lower-Body Isometric Torque in Female Masters Athlete Cyclists

Within the population of aging individuals exists a subset of competitive seniors or masters athletes (MA). As masters-level competition increases in popularity, MA must find methods to enhance individual athletic performance. Beta-alanine (BA) is an amino acid used to enhance physical capability based on ability increase intramuscular carnosine concentrations. Older adults and females have naturally lower carnosine levels compared to age- and gender-matched counterparts and may experience enhanced benefits from BA supplementation. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the longitudinal effects of BA supplementation on isometric handgrip strength (HG), time to exhaustion (TTE), total work completed (TWC), and lower-body isokinetic torque (ISO) in female MA. Methods: Twenty-two female MA (age = 53.3 ± 1.0) participated in this double-blind design. Subjects were randomly assigned to BA (n = 11; 800mg BA + 8 g dextrose) or placebo (PLA; n = 11; 8 g dextrose) groups and supplemented 4 times/day over 28 days. HG, TTE, TWC, and ISO were assessed at baseline and each week throughout the intervention. Blood lactate was measured at baseline, immediate post, and 20-minutes after recovery from TTE. Results: No initial significant differences existed between groups for any variable (p \u3e .05). By the 28th day, TTE (23% vs 1% change) and TWC (21% vs 2% change) significantly increased in BA compared to PLA (p \u3c .05). Lactate clearance rate also significantly increased with BA having 24% greater reductions from peak values after the 20-minute recovery. For ISO, work done during the final third (24.0% vs -16.8% change) and average peak torque (5.4% vs 2.9% change) significantly increased in BA compared to PLA (p \u3c .05). When comparing HG and body composition, no significant differences existed at any time point between the two groups (p \u3e .05). No differences existed for any variable during intermittent time points. CONCLUSION: Four-weeks of BA supplementation increased exercise performance and lactate clearance in female MA potentially due to increases in intramuscular carnosine concentrations. Future research should evaluate mechanistic properties influencing these factors as carnosine concentrations can only be evaluated via muscle biopsy analysis or proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Analysis of Social Dominance in the Green Anole

Dominance relationships are an important aspect of the social organization of many species. Male dominance often results in successful territory defense and/or access to potential mates, and thus is a central component in establishing social rank. In this study, I used mathematical models to consider social interactions of the green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) in both territorial and hierarchical contexts. I then identified the behavioral and morphological traits associated with dominance in this species. I first analyzed a series of ranking algorithms to evaluate their effectiveness as a novel approach to quantifying animal social status. I found that all eight systems considered in this analysis successfully reflected dominance relationships in the green anole; however, no one system consistently predicted ranks using the measured traits. Therefore ranking systems are a viable method of analyzing social hierarchies in anoles, yet multiple systems are required to effectively model these dominance relationships. I then performed three empirical studies using the eight ranking systems from the previous analysis. In the first study, I performed a tournament of arena trials using pairs of 18 male lizards to identify the traits most closely related to male social status in a dominance hierarchy. These arena trials stimulated aggressive interactions, often resulting in a clearly dominant male. I used the resulting win/loss/tie information in the ranking algorithms to rank the individuals. My results showed that behavioral displays and relative head length were the most predictive of rank in the majority of ranking systems. In my next study, I measured morphological traits, aggressive behavior, territory size, and female overlap (a proxy of territory quality) in 24 green anoles in Palmetto State Park, Gonzales, Texas, to determine how these traits were related to territory size and/or quality in a natural population. Results from this study indicated that body size and head length were important predictors of territory size, and head length was the only significant predictor of territory quality. Finally, I sought to validate my results by directly comparing male rank to territory size. In two replicate studies with 10 male lizards each, I first used a series of arena trials to determine individuals’ ranks. I then placed the 10 males into an enclosure with 10 females and measured the sizes of male territories over one week. Although I hypothesized that higher ranked males would have larger territories, I found no correlation between rank and territory size. Overall, these results suggest that head length is an important component of all aspects of dominance (rank, territory size, and territory quality) in the green anole. Head size is closely related to bite force in anoles and is an honest predictor of fighting ability in this species. This study demonstrates that combining animal-based studies with mathematical models is an effective method of analyzing vertebrate social dynamics

Long-Term Outcomes of Low-Achieving Third Grade Readers

Research shows that students who demonstrate low reading achievement in 3rd grade have trouble catching back up to grade level and being successful in school, compared to their peers who demonstrate early proficiency (Fiester 2010; Hernandez 2011; Juel 1988). This report seeks to investigate what happens to Arkansas public school students who demonstrate low achievement in reading in 3rd grade. Reading scores from three cohorts of students are followed from 3rd grade until high school, beginning with data from the 2008-09 school year and continuing through 2016-17

Academic Outcomes for English Language Learners in Arkansas Better Chance Public Pre-K

Analyses of large-scale public pre-Kindergarten programs in several U.S. states suggest that students with limited English proficiency differentially benefit from such pre-K programs, compared to their English-proficient peers. This analysis describes long-term outcomes of Arkansas public school students who participate in the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) pre-K program. Specifically, we are interested in subgroup outcomes for students with limited English proficiency. We analyze three cohorts of students, those enrolling in Kindergarten in Arkansas public schools in the fall of 2011, 2012, and 2013. We identify whether students in each Kindergarten class attended ABC or not, and we follow their academic outcomes through fifth grade. We describe math and reading standardized test scores and incidence of exiting English Language Learner (ELL) programs, and we report the differences in outcomes between demographically similar students who attended ABC and those who did not

Long-Term Outcomes of Low Achieving Third Grade Readers

This brief examines long-term academic outcomes for students who demonstrate low reading achievement in third grade. Following three cohorts of students from third grade through early high school, we find that students who are behind in third grade are unlikely to ever read proficiently. Economically disadvantaged students, Black students, and male students demonstrate less improvement in reading achievement over time than other types of students

Early Access: Elementary School Outcomes for Arkansas Better Chance Public Pre-Kindergarten Participants

Public pre-Kindergarten programs are frequently promoted as promising early interventions for at-risk students, as they can equip 3- and 4-year-olds with the cognitive, behavioral, and social skills necessary for success in Kindergarten and beyond. The Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program provides low-income and at-risk Arkansas students with tuition-free pre-K opportunities in school districts across the state. The current analysis describes the 3rd and 5th grade outcomes of students who enroll in ABC pre-K programs in Arkansas public schools. In an attempt to understand how well these programs are serving students, we follow four cohorts of program participants through elementary school, and we compare their math and reading achievement test scores to those of similar peers who did not attend ABC programs. We find ABC pre-K participants are more likely to fall into demographic groups that are considered at-risk for low academic performance, and that ABC students outperform similar peers on math and reading achievement tests in 3rd grade in three of four cohorts. These findings suggest that this program has the potential to set students up for lasting academic success

Occurrence of Positive Affect and the Contagious Empathic Repsonse to Laughter in Early Infancy

Emotional Contagion is defined as the unconscious converging of one�s emotional state with another, suggesting that one can �catch� the emotions of another through vocal expressions, postures, and facial expressions (Hatfield et al., 1993). This phenomenon can be observed in adulthood, but also in infancy as early as the first 24 hours following birth. While negative emotional contagion has been studied in the form of contagious crying at various ages of infancy, positive emotional contagion has received very little attention. The purpose of the present study was to observe the emotional reactions of forty-five infants at 5 and 10 months of age when they were presented with a stimulus of their peers displaying facial expressions and making vocalizations of positive affect. It was hypothesized that infants would react to the stimuli of positive emotions with expressions of positive affect and/or vocalizations of laughter. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the intensity and duration of both the expressions and the vocalizations would increase with age between assessments at 5 and 10 months. Due to the fact that this study was exploratory in nature, predictions of the outcome were based on infants� emotional responses to distress in contagious crying studies as well as the typical developmental timeline of positive emotions.Psycholog

Sex differences in exercise-induced diaphragmatic fatigue in endurance-trained athletes

There is evidence that female athletes may be more susceptible to exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia and expiratory flow limitation and have greater increases in operational lung volumes during exercise relative to men. These pulmonary limitations may ultimately lead to greater levels of diaphragmatic fatigue in women. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to determine whether there are sex differences in the prevalence and severity of exercise-induced diaphragmatic fatigue in 38 healthy endurance-trained men (n = 19; maximal aerobic capacity = 64.0 ± 1.9 ml·kg–1·min–1) and women (n = 19; maximal aerobic capacity = 57.1 ± 1.5 ml·kg–1·min–1). Transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) was calculated as the difference between gastric and esophageal pressures. Inspiratory pressure-time products of the diaphragm and esophagus were calculated as the product of breathing frequency and the Pdi and esophageal pressure time integrals, respectively. Cervical magnetic stimulation was used to measure potentiated Pdi twitches (Pdi,tw) before and 10, 30, and 60 min after a constant-load cycling test performed at 90% of peak work rate until exhaustion. Diaphragm fatigue was considered present if there was a 15% reduction in Pdi,tw after exercise. Diaphragm fatigue occurred in 11 of 19 men (58%) and 8 of 19 women (42%). The percent drop in Pdi,tw at 10, 30, and 60 min after exercise in men (n = 11) was 30.6 ± 2.3, 20.7 ± 3.2, and 13.3 ± 4.5%, respectively, whereas results in women (n = 8) were 21.0 ± 2.1, 11.6 ± 2.9, and 9.7 ± 4.2%, respectively, with sex differences occurring at 10 and 30 min (P < 0.05). Men continued to have a reduced contribution of the diaphragm to total inspiratory force output (pressure-time product of the diaphragm/pressure-time product of the esophagus) during exercise, whereas diaphragmatic contribution in women changed very little over time. The findings from this study point to a female diaphragm that is more resistant to fatigue relative to their male counterparts

Early Access: Elementary School Outcomes for Arkansas Better Chance Pre-Kindergarten Participants

The Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program has been providing low-income and at-risk Arkansas children with tuition-free pre-K since 1991. Enrollment in the state’s public pre-K programs has increased modestly over the last ten years. This brief reports the results of an analysis of the 3rd and 5th grade outcomes for students who attended ABC pre-K in the academic years of 2011-12 through 2014-15. We find that students who enroll in ABC programs in the year prior to starting Kindergarten outperform similar peers on math and reading state tests in 3rd grade, but these effects largely fadeout by 5th grade