The Impact of School-Based Mentoring on At-Risk Students of an Urban School District

It is necessary to consider and implement a strategy to close the academic performance gap, particularly for at-risk adolescents in urban school districts. Mentoring programs have been around for a long time and continue to be successful. This research study\u27s goal was to investigate the influence at-risk adolescents in an urban school district get from a school-based mentorship program. The study had a total of 40 participants (10 mentors, 8 parents, 10 teachers, 10 students, and 2 administrators). The study employed a mixed methods research strategy. Using a quantitative method approach, the researcher investigated whether a mentorship program had significant impacts on at-risk children\u27s attendance, I-Ready scores, and behavior referrals. The student’s scores on the pre-and post-tests were computed and ranked using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. The same test was utilized to compare behavior referrals, and attendance from the fall semester to the spring semester of the current academic year. Focus groups and interviews were used to gather qualitative information and were both recorded using Zoom. The results indicated that school-based mentoring had a statistical significance on student I-Ready test scores, attendance, grade point average, and discipline referrals. The study closed with implications, limits, and suggestions for further research on mentoring initiatives in schools

Cannabidiolic acid methyl ester (HU-580) treatment in two preclinical models of schizophrenia: the role of CB1 and 5-HT1A receptors

Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous psychiatric disorder that is difficult to treat, and current treatment options are limited in their efficacy due to unpleasant side effects. It is paramount that new treatments are discovered that are better tolerated and have a high degree of symptom relief. Schizophrenia pathology is extremely complex and involves down-regulated cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) and up-regulated 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor (5-HT1AR) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). HU-580 is a newly synthesized cannabinoid compound that is an agonist to 5-HT1AR and an antagonist to CB1R with the potential to reverse schizophrenia pathology. We examined the potential of cannabidiolic acid methyl ester (HU-580) treatment in two preclinical models of schizophrenia using C57BL/6 mice. The models used were the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonism using dizocilpine (MK-801) and the maternal immune activation (MIA) with a dual hit component. We investigated if these models would induce schizophrenia-like behaviors, receptor sensitization, and neurophysiology, and if these effects were reversed/blocked by HU-580. This study found that MK-801 induced hyperlocomotion, immobility, social withdrawal, novel object preference deficits, down-regulation of CB1R and 5-HT1AR, deficits in difference response on mismatch negativity. The MIA model induced social deficits, increased latency to enter a lit box compartment, novel object preference deficits, increased escape behavior, down-regulated CB1R, and up regulated 5-HT1AR. HU-580 blocked the effects of MK-801 in hyperlocomotion, immobility, and cognitive deficits, and CB1R/5-HT1AR down-regulation. HU-580 also prevented MIA induced anxiety-like behavior, cognitive deficits and 5-HT1AR up-regulation. This study supports the involvement of CB1R and 5-HT1AR in the PFC in schizophrenia mouse models and provides evidence for the efficacy of HU-580 treatment

Should a Sentinel Node Biopsy Be Performed in Patients with High-Risk Breast Cancer?

A negative sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy spares many breast cancer patients the complications associated with lymph node irradiation or additional surgery. However, patients at high risk for nodal involvement based on clinical characteristics may remain at unacceptably high risk of axillary disease even after a negative SLN biopsy result. A Bayesian nomogram was designed to combine the probability of axillary disease prior to nodal biopsy with customized test characteristics for an SLN biopsy and provides the probability of axillary disease despite a negative SLN biopsy. Users may individualize the sensitivity of an SLN biopsy based on factors known to modify the sensitivity of the procedure. This tool may be useful in identifying patients who should have expanded upfront exploration of the axilla or comprehensive axillary irradiation

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) polymer coatings facilitate smaller neural recording electrodes

We investigated using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) to lower the impedance of small, gold recording electrodes with initial impedances outside of the effective recording range. Smaller electrode sites enable more densely packed arrays, increasing the number of input and output channels to and from the brain. Moreover, smaller electrode sizes promote smaller probe designs; decreasing the dimensions of the implanted probe has been demonstrated to decrease the inherent immune response, a known contributor to the failure of long-term implants. As expected, chronically implanted control electrodes were unable to record well-isolated unit activity, primarily as a result of a dramatically increased noise floor. Conversely, electrodes coated with PEDOT consistently recorded high-quality neural activity, and exhibited a much lower noise floor than controls. These results demonstrate that PEDOT coatings enable electrode designs 15 µm in diameter.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90823/1/1741-2552_8_1_014001.pd

Concert recording 2015-12-03

[Track 01]. Cello concerto in C major / Joseph Haydn -- [Track 02]. Orientale, Spanish dance no. 2 / Enrique Granados -- [Track 03]. March from Music for children / Sergei Prokofiev -- [Track 04]. Kol Nidrei / Max Bruch -- [Track 05]. Quartet for 4 cellos, op. 6 / Josef Werner -- [Track 06]. Suite no. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011 / J.S. Bach -- [Track 07]. Sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 5, no. 2 / Ludwig van Beethoven -- [Track 08]. Requiem for three cellos and piano, op. 66 / David Popper -- [Track 09]. Concerto for cello in D minor / Edouard Lalo

Designing for interaction

At present, the design of computer-supported group-based learning (CS)GBL) is often based on subjective decisions regarding tasks, pedagogy and technology, or concepts such as ‘cooperative learning’ and ‘collaborative learning’. Critical review reveals these concepts as insufficiently substantial to serve as a basis for (CS)GBL design. Furthermore, the relationship between outcome and group interaction is rarely specified a priori. Thus, there is a need for a more systematic approach to designing (CS)GBL that focuses on the elicitation of expected interaction processes. A framework for such a process-oriented methodology is proposed. Critical elements that affect interaction are identified: learning objectives, task-type, level of pre-structuring, group size and computer support. The proposed process-oriented method aims to stimulate designers to adopt a more systematic approach to (CS)GBL design according to the interaction expected, while paying attention to critical elements that affect interaction. This approach may bridge the gap between observed quality of interaction and learning outcomes and foster (CS)GBL design that focuses on the heart of the matter: interaction