Rigid

As tutors, we are asked to do the same task on a daily basis. Because of this monotony, we can fall into a rigid routine that may have us saying and doing the same things. This article examines the leading causes of these rigid sessions and some helpful solutions. More precisely, it focuses on the critical aspects of conversation and how this simple idea can promote better tutoring sessions. A basic outline of a productive conversation is provided as a reference

Science and Mathematics Teacher Communities of Practice: Social Influences on Discipline-Based Identity and Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Background Teacher communities of practice, identity, and self-efficacy have been proposed to influence positive teacher outcomes in retention, suggesting all three may be related constructs. Qualitative studies of communities of practice can be difficult to empirically link to identity and self-efficacy in larger samples. In this study, we operationalized teacher communities of practice as specific networks related to teaching content and/or pedagogy. This scalable approach allowed us to quantitatively describe communities of practice and explore statistical relationships with other teacher characteristics. We asked whether these community of practice networks were related to identity and self-efficacy, similar to other conceptualizations of communities of practice. Results We analyzed survey data from 165 in-service K-12 teachers prepared in science or mathematics at 5 university sites across the USA. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analyses indicated that math teachers consistently reported smaller communities of practice and lower identity and self-efficacy scores. Correlations revealed that communities of practice are more strongly and positively related to identity than self-efficacy. Conclusion We demonstrate that teacher communities of practice can be described as networks. These community of practice networks are correlated with teacher identity and self-efficacy, similar to published qualitative descriptions of communities of practice. Community of practice networks are therefore a useful research tool for evaluating teacher characteristics such as discipline, identity, self-efficacy, and other possible outcomes (e.g., retention). These findings suggest that teacher educators aiming to foster strong teacher identities could develop pre-service experiences within an explicit, energizing community of practice

Application of deep brain stimulation for the treatment of childhood-onset dystonia in patients with MEPAN syndrome

IntroductionMitochondrial Enoyl CoA Reductase Protein-Associated Neurodegeneration (MEPAN) syndrome is a rare inherited metabolic condition caused by MECR gene mutations. This gene encodes a protein essential for fatty acid synthesis, and defects cause progressively worsening childhood-onset dystonia, optic atrophy, and basal ganglia abnormalities. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown mixed improvement in other childhood-onset dystonia conditions. To the best of our knowledge, DBS has not been investigated as a treatment for dystonia in patients with MEPAN syndrome.MethodsTwo children with MEPAN were identified as possible DBS candidates due to severe generalized dystonia unresponsive to pharmacotherapy. Temporary depth electrodes were placed in six locations bilaterally and tested during a 6-day hospitalization to determine the best locations for permanent electrode placement. The Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS) and Barry-Albright Dystonia Scale (BADS) were used for preoperative and postoperative testing to quantitatively assess dystonia severity changes. Patient 1 had permanent electrodes placed at the globus pallidus internus (GPi) and pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN). Patient 2 had permanent electrodes placed at the GPi and ventralis intermedius nucleus of the thalamus (VIM).ResultsBoth patients successfully underwent DBS placement with no perioperative complications and significant improvement in their BFMDRS score. Patient 2 also demonstrated improvement in the BADS.DiscussionWe demonstrated a novel application of DBS in MEPAN syndrome patients with childhood-onset dystonia. These patients showed clinically significant improvements in dystonia following DBS, indicating that DBS can be considered for dystonia in patients with rare metabolic disorders that currently have no other proven treatment options

The contribution of depressive ‘disorder characteristics’ to determinations of prognosis for adults with depression : an individual patient data meta-analysis

This is the final version. Available on open access from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this record.The supplementary material for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291721001367Background This study aimed to investigate general factors associated with prognosis regardless of the type of treatment received, for adults with depression in primary care. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and Cochrane Central (inception to 12/01/2020) for RCTs that included the most commonly used comprehensive measure of depressive and anxiety disorder symptoms and diagnoses, in primary care depression RCTs (the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule: CIS-R). Two-stage random-effects meta-analyses were conducted. Results. Twelve (n = 6024) of thirteen eligible studies (n = 6175) provided individual patient data. There was a 31% (95%CI: 25 to 37) difference in depressive symptoms at 3–4 months per standard deviation increase in baseline depressive symptoms. Four additional factors: the duration of anxiety; duration of depression; comorbid panic disorder; and a history of antidepressant treatment were also independently associated with poorer prognosis. There was evidence that the difference in prognosis when these factors were combined could be of clinical importance. Adding these variables improved the amount of variance explained in 3–4 month depressive symptoms from 16% using depressive symptom severity alone to 27%. Risk of bias (assessed with QUIPS) was low in all studies and quality (assessed with GRADE) was high. Sensitivity analyses did not alter our conclusions. Conclusions. When adults seek treatment for depression clinicians should routinely assess for the duration of anxiety, duration of depression, comorbid panic disorder, and a history of antidepressant treatment alongside depressive symptom severity. This could provide clinicians and patients with useful and desired information to elucidate prognosis and aid the clinical management of depression. IntroductionMedical Research Council (MRC)Wellcome TrustMQ FoundationNational Institute of Health Research (NIHR)University College LondonUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of SouthamptonUniversity of YorkUniversity of Exete

Characterizing Long COVID in Children and Adolescents

ImportanceMost research to understand postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), or long COVID, has focused on adults, with less known about this complex condition in children. Research is needed to characterize pediatric PASC to enable studies of underlying mechanisms that will guide future treatment.ObjectiveTo identify the most common prolonged symptoms experienced by children (aged 6 to 17 years) after SARS-CoV-2 infection, how these symptoms differ by age (school-age [6-11 years] vs adolescents [12-17 years]), how they cluster into distinct phenotypes, and what symptoms in combination could be used as an empirically derived index to assist researchers to study the likely presence of PASC.Design, setting, and participantsMulticenter longitudinal observational cohort study with participants recruited from more than 60 US health care and community settings between March 2022 and December 2023, including school-age children and adolescents with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection history.ExposureSARS-CoV-2 infection.Main outcomes and measuresPASC and 89 prolonged symptoms across 9 symptom domains.ResultsA total of 898 school-age children (751 with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection [referred to as infected] and 147 without [referred to as uninfected]; mean age, 8.6 years; 49% female; 11% were Black or African American, 34% were Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish, and 60% were White) and 4469 adolescents (3109 infected and 1360 uninfected; mean age, 14.8 years; 48% female; 13% were Black or African American, 21% were Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish, and 73% were White) were included. Median time between first infection and symptom survey was 506 days for school-age children and 556 days for adolescents. In models adjusted for sex and race and ethnicity, 14 symptoms in both school-age children and adolescents were more common in those with SARS-CoV-2 infection history compared with those without infection history, with 4 additional symptoms in school-age children only and 3 in adolescents only. These symptoms affected almost every organ system. Combinations of symptoms most associated with infection history were identified to form a PASC research index for each age group; these indices correlated with poorer overall health and quality of life. The index emphasizes neurocognitive, pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms in school-age children but change or loss in smell or taste, pain, and fatigue/malaise-related symptoms in adolescents. Clustering analyses identified 4 PASC symptom phenotypes in school-age children and 3 in adolescents.Conclusions and relevanceThis study developed research indices for characterizing PASC in children and adolescents. Symptom patterns were similar but distinguishable between the 2 groups, highlighting the importance of characterizing PASC separately for these age ranges

Sensory Communication

Contains table of contents for Section 2, an introduction and reports on twelve research projects.National Institutes of Health Grant R01 DC00117National Institutes of Health Grant R01 DC02032National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grant 2 R01 DC00126National Institutes of Health Grant 2 R01 DC00270National Institutes of Health Contract N01 DC-5-2107National Institutes of Health Grant 2 R01 DC00100U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N61339-96-K-0002U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N61339-96-K-0003U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-97-1-0635U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-97-1-0655U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Subcontract 40167U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-96-1-0379U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-96-1-0202National Institutes of Health Grant RO1 NS33778Massachusetts General Hospital, Center for Innovative Minimally Invasive Therapy Research Fellowship Gran

George Bradshaw House, 73 South Center Street

Exterior, main facade.Brick, Woo

US Energy Revolution:_x000b_ Effects on Global Oil Prices

This presentation discusses the impact of the US energy revolution on the global oil prices and the US economy itself. This so-called energy revolution is about extracting tight oil by the use of unconventional technologies and methods from the ground. Tight Oil, Shale Oil, or Light Tight Oil (LTO) is crude oil contained in formations of low permeability from which conventional wells can produce oil, but only at very low and uneconomic rates. However, by combining unconventional hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, or “fracking”, technologies on a massive scale it became possible for the US to increase its oil and gas output dramatically in a short span of time. Indeed, today the US is the largest producer of crude oil followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia. In addition, improvements in energy usage and structural changes resulted in lower energy intensity and thus higher efficiency and productivity throughout the economy. Historically, the use of fracking can be traced back to the 1930’s and 1940’s but, hydraulic fracturing had not been utilized on a large scale until early 2000’s, when energy companies began actively expanding crude oil and natural gas exploration with an emphasis in shale formations. This industrial expansion was aided by a landmark study conducted by the EPA in 2004 which found that fracking posed no threat to underground drinking water supplies. Following the EPA’s study, hydraulic fracturing became exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act by the Bush administration in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Supply and Demand Analysis is used to explain the dramatic decline in oil prices experienced in the last year. Supply factors are highlighted that tie together the new ”fracking” technology and the massive increase in oil supply. Demand factors are analyzed to explain both the current decline in oil use and the potential demand for oil in the future. Lastly, market forces are examined in order to project the long-term trajectory for the price of oil

A Sensor Network for Monitoring Sagebrush

Sagebrush volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions are of great interest to the scientific community. This project aims to develop a system for remote sensing of these VOC emissions for large-scale use. To do this a sensor tag was developed using an ESP32-based microcontroller called the TinyPICO along with a microSD card breakout board and BME680 temperature, humidity, pressure, and gas VOC Sensor. Future implementations have room for including a laser-induced graphene VOC transducer capable of reading the VOC emissions from the sagebrush. The TinyPICO comes with an onboard wireless antenna that allows for wireless communication using the ESP-NOW protocol. Using ESP-NOW a system was implemented that had remote sensors daisy chaining back to one central sensor tag that stored all data recorded amongst the sensors. Using this technique a large area can be remotely monitored without the need to check the other sensors along the chain