Using Communication to Improve Parental Involvement in the Sixth-Grade Classroom

The purpose of this action research project is to determine the impact of communication on parental engagement and student achievement. Various types of communication were sent home to help initiate parental engagement. During the first communication session, parents had access to a class website that was updated daily. During the second communication session, a weekly newsletter was sent home. In the final communication session, parents received a weekly email outlining what was happening in class and what homework students should be working on. Qualitative data was collected at the end of each communication period to determine parental engagement levels and student achievement based on involvement. Data was collected using an independent, two-sample t-test, where it assumed unequal variances. The test helped determine whether there was a significant difference between families that engaged with the communication and those that did not. Analysis of the data suggests a positive relationship between communication being used to boost parental engagement and student achievement

Photojournalism and post-traumatic stress disorder : understanding how photographs can contribute to stereotypes

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 43.8 million U.S. adults -- or 18.5 percent of the total population -- reported having some sort of mental illness in 2013. Only 44.7 percent (19.6 million) of these adults with mental illnesses received mental health services (SAMHSA, 2013). There are a number of reasons why more than half of the adults reported to have a mental illness in 2013 did not receive treatment. However, one possible explanation is that some simply did not seek help. According to several studies (Maier, Gentile, Vogel & Kaplan, 2014; Nairn, 1999; Sieff, 2003; Stuart, 2006), persons with mental illnesses sometimes do not seek treatment because of the stigma attached to mental illness. The researchers of these studies also suggested that media play a big role in maintaining this negative stigma

Mobike: Backpedaling Out of India

In the past few years, the bike-sharing industry has gained traction in large cities and suburban areas all over the world. Mobike, an app-based bike-sharing company founded in China in 2015, introduced a new, efficient and eco-friendly mode of travel for short commutes using smart bikes which are bikes with a motor that help assist the rider’s pedal-power. Bike-sharing has grown into a booming industry due to rapid urbanization, traffic congestion, and pollution problems. Mobike entered India in 2018 but faced many challenges. Since the takeover and expansion of Mobike, Meituan, the holding company, has suffered a loss of 4.6 billion yuan ($680 million), which is triple the bike-sharing business contribution of 1.5 billion yuan (Liu, 2019). These problems have been seen industry-wide as interest in bike-sharing has been waning and the industry, especially start-ups, are not adequately regulated (QP software, 2019). Challenges for Mobike in India include low literacy, aversion to cashless payments, and privacy concerns. Additionally, public transportation is a popular mode of travel and most cities do not have designated bike lanes. Indeed, India just doesn’t have the same “bike culture” like China. This case study focuses on how Mobike needs to adapt its marketing mix to address consumers’ needs while tackling the many challenges it faces in India. Keywords: Bike-sharing, India, China, Emerging Markets, Fitness, Mobike, International Marketing Strategy, Smart Bikes, Transportation, Case Study Note: Reference available on reques

Exploratory insights from the right-sided electrocardiogram following prolonged endurance exercise.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged strenuous exercise has a profound effect on cardiac function. The right heart may be more susceptible to this imposition; yet, right-sided chest leads have not been utilised in this setting. METHODS: Thirty highly trained athletes at the 2014 Western States 100-mile Endurance Run from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California (body mass 68 ± 12 kg, age 45 ± 10 years, 57 ± 15 miles per week) were recruited for the study. Pre- and post-race, a right-sided 12-lead ECG was obtained and data were extracted for P, R and S waves, J point, ST segment and T wave amplitude. Data were compared using Students T-test and statistical significance set as P < .05. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in P wave amplitude (29%) and QTc interval (4%) pre- to post-race from standard 12-lead ECG. From the right-sided12-lead ECG, a 23% (P = .01) and 38% (P = .03) increase in J point amplitude in V1R and V2R and a 22% (P = .05) increase in ST segment integral in V2R and V3R were evident. T wave inversion was evident in leads V2R-V6R in 50-90% of athletes, respectively. Close examination revealed marked heterogeneity in individual ECGs. CONCLUSIONS: Completion of a 100-mile ultra-marathon resulted in significant changes in the right-sided ECG alongside more marked responses in specific individuals. P wave, ST segment and T wave changes post-race are indicative of acute exercise-induced right heart electrical adaptation

Evaluating “Reach” in the Health Is Power (HIP) Study

Title: EVALUATING “REACH” IN THE HEALTH IS POWER (HIP) STUDY Author(s): Kristin L. Wolfe1, Ygnacio Lopez III, MS1, Scherezade K. Mama, MPH1,2, Ashley V. Medina, BS1, Jacqueline Reese-Smith, PhD1,3, Rebecca E. Lee, PhD1 Affiliations: 1 University of Houston, 2 University of Texas School of Public Health, 3 University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Purpose. In the United States, minority women (African American [AA] and Hispanic or Latina [HL]) are most vulnerable to obesity and related health compromising conditions. Health Is Power (HIP; 1R01CA109403) was a randomized controlled community based trial to promote physical activity and vegetable and fruit consumption among AA and HL women. In order to examine the strengths and weaknesses of this intervention, the RE-AIM framework, a system to evaluate studies based on five constructs, was used. The first construct, reach, is an important indicator of the validity of an intervention. It provides information about both the intended and the actual population. The purpose of this study was to examine the reach of HIP using the RE-AIM framework. Method. Women were recruited via posted advertisements in local media and in announcements in bulletins of community partners. Reach was determined using the number of women screened, eligible, and retained. Chi-square analysis was used to determine whether participation rates differed significantly between AA and HL women at screening, baseline (T1), randomization, and post-intervention (T2) time points. Results. In Houston, 691 AA women (M BMI= 35 kg/m2, M age=44.8 years) and 99 HL women (M BMI= 33.8 kg/m2, M age=44.1 years) were screened. Out of the 691 AA women, 257 were eligible to participate, 226 (32.7%) were randomized, and 162 (23.4%) completed T2. Out of the 99 HL women, 50 were eligible, 33 (33.3%) were randomized, and 21 (21.21%) completed T2. In Austin, 176 HL women (M BMI= 34.3 kg/m2, M age=46.7 years) were screened. Of this number, 98 were eligible to participate, 70 (39.8%) were randomized, and 35 (19.89%) completed the post-intervention. Participation rates did not differ significantly between AA and HL women. Conclusion. Approximately one in three women screened were randomized and one in five women completed the intervention. HIP showed moderate levels of reach, with AA and HL women exhibiting similar numbers. Future studies should determine how to increase participation rates among AA and HL women in weight loss interventions, and explore use of other RE-AIM constructs. Keywords: RE-AIM, Obesity, African-American, Hispanic, Latina, women Learning Objectives Please submit two to four learning objects for your presentation. After reviewing this presentation, the viewer will be able to: Objective 1: list reasons for obesity in minority women. Objective 2: define the construct of “reach”. Objective 3: describe the HIP project

Development of the NIH PROMIS® Sexual Function and Satisfaction Measures in Patients with Cancer

We describe the development and validation of the PROMIS Sexual Function and Satisfaction (PROMIS SexFS) measures version 1.0 for cancer populations

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Assessment of the Utility of Kidney Histology as a Basis for Discarding Organs in the United States: A Comparison of International Transplant Practices and Outcomes.

peer reviewedBACKGROUND: Many kidneys donated for transplant in the United States are discarded because of abnormal histology. Whether histology adds incremental value beyond usual donor attributes in assessing allograft quality is unknown. METHODS: This population-based study included patients who received a deceased donor kidney that had been biopsied before implantation according to a prespecified protocol in France and Belgium, where preimplantation biopsy findings are generally not used for decision making in the allocation process. We also studied kidneys that had been acquired from deceased United States donors for transplantation that were biopsied during allocation and discarded because of low organ quality. Using donor and recipient characteristics, we fit multivariable Cox models for death-censored graft failure and examined whether predictive accuracy (C index) improved after adding donor histology. We matched the discarded United States kidneys to similar kidneys transplanted in Europe and calculated predicted allograft survival. RESULTS: In the development cohort of 1629 kidney recipients at two French centers, adding donor histology to the model did not significantly improve prediction of long-term allograft failure. Analyses using an external validation cohort from two Belgian centers confirmed the lack of improved accuracy from adding histology. About 45% of 1103 United States kidneys discarded because of histologic findings could be accurately matched to very similar kidneys that had been transplanted in France; these discarded kidneys would be expected to have allograft survival of 93.1% at 1 year, 80.7% at 5 years, and 68.9% at 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: In this multicenter study, donor kidney histology assessment during allocation did not provide substantial incremental value in ascertaining organ quality. Many kidneys discarded on the basis of biopsy findings would likely benefit United States patients who are wait listed

Mutation Screening of Multiple Genes in Spanish Patients with Autosomal Recessive Retinitis Pigmentosa by Targeted Resequencing

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited retinal dystrophies characterised ultimately by the loss of photoreceptor cells. RP is the leading cause of visual loss in individuals younger than 60 years, with a prevalence of about 1 in 4000. The molecular genetic diagnosis of autosomal recessive RP (arRP) is challenging due to the large genetic and clinical heterogeneity. Traditional methods for sequencing arRP genes are often laborious and not easily available and a screening technique that enables the rapid detection of the genetic cause would be very helpful in the clinical practice. The goal of this study was to develop and apply microarray-based resequencing technology capable of detecting both known and novel mutations on a single high-throughput platform. Hence, the coding regions and exon/intron boundaries of 16 arRP genes were resequenced using microarrays in 102 Spanish patients with clinical diagnosis of arRP. All the detected variations were confirmed by direct sequencing and potential pathogenicity was assessed by functional predictions and frequency in controls. For validation purposes 4 positive controls for variants consisting of previously identified changes were hybridized on the array. As a result of the screening, we detected 44 variants, of which 15 are very likely pathogenic detected in 14 arRP families (14%). Finally, the design of this array can easily be transformed in an equivalent diagnostic system based on targeted enrichment followed by next generation sequencing

Systematic assessment of long-read RNA-seq methods for transcript identification and quantification

The Long-read RNA-Seq Genome Annotation Assessment Project (LRGASP) Consortium was formed to evaluate the effectiveness of long-read approaches for transcriptome analysis. The consortium generated over 427 million long-read sequences from cDNA and direct RNA datasets, encompassing human, mouse, and manatee species, using different protocols and sequencing platforms. These data were utilized by developers to address challenges in transcript isoform detection and quantification, as well as de novo transcript isoform identification. The study revealed that libraries with longer, more accurate sequences produce more accurate transcripts than those with increased read depth, whereas greater read depth improved quantification accuracy. In well-annotated genomes, tools based on reference sequences demonstrated the best performance. When aiming to detect rare and novel transcripts or when using reference-free approaches, incorporating additional orthogonal data and replicate samples are advised. This collaborative study offers a benchmark for current practices and provides direction for future method development in transcriptome analysis