School Climate Development Survey

Over the last twenty-five years the Consortium on Chicago School Research has engaged in systematic study of more than 400 Chicago Public Schools to determine organizational traits that are related to improvement in student learning. This effort was designed to help explain widely divergent levels of student success between very similar schools in the Chicago system. Initial discussions with educators at all levels, reviews of previous research, pilot studies, and field studies led to the identification of five school contextual factors – the 5Essential Supports – determined to be critical to school success: (1) effective leaders, (2) collaborative teachers, (3) involved families, (4) supportive environment, and (5) ambitious instruction. The framework of the 5Essential Supports served as a theoretical basis for a survey effort designed to measures and report on facets of school culture that could then be used by school leaders and practitioners to guide school improvement efforts. Research related to the 5Essential Supports consistently demonstrates a strong relationship between the presence of these supports and gains in student achievement. Led by Dr. James McMillan and Dr. Charol Shakeshaft from VCU’s School of Education, the purpose of this MERC study was (1) to develop a shortened version of the 5Essentials staff climate survey for the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium schools, (2) to pilot test the new survey with teachers and administrators, and (3) to determine effective methods of dissemination to support schools use f the survey data for school improvement purposes. The piloting and validation phase of the study demonstrated that the core constructs underlying the 5Essentials maintained high levels of validity and reliability in the shortened version. MERC also piloted and received feedback from school leaders on formats for reporting school climate results

The influence of reading ability on subsequent changes in verbal IQ in the teenage years

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is regularly used in both education and employment as a measure of cognitive ability. Although an individual's IQ is generally assumed to stay constant across the lifespan, a few studies have suggested that there may be substantial variation at the individual level. Motivated by previous reports that reading quality/quantity has a positive influence on vocabulary acquisition, we hypothesised that reading ability in the early teenage years might contribute to changes in verbal IQ (VIQ) over the next few years. We found that good readers were more likely to experience relative improvements in VIQ over time, with the reverse true for poor readers. These effects were largest when there was a discrepancy between Time 1 reading ability and Time 1 VIQ. In other words, VIQ increases tended to be greatest when reading ability was high relative to VIQ. Additional analyses supported these findings by showing that variance in VIQ change associated with Time 1 behaviour was also associated with independent measurements of brain structure. Our finding that reading in the early teenage years can predict a significant proportion of the variance in subsequent VIQ change has implications for targeted education in both home and school environments

Genetic and environmental influences on food preferences in adolescence

Background: Food preferences vary substantially among adults and children. Twin studies have established that genes and aspects of the shared family environment both play important roles in shaping children's food preferences. The transition from childhood to adulthood is characterized by large gains in independence, but the relative influences of genes and the environment on food preferences in late adolescence are unknown. Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on food preferences in older adolescents. Design: Participants were 2865 twins aged 18-19 y from the TEDS (Twins Early Development Study), a large population-based cohort of British twins born during 1994-1996. Food preferences were measured by using a self-report questionnaire of 62 individual foods. Food items were categorized into 6 food groups (fruit, vegetables, meat or fish, dairy, starch foods, and snacks) by using factor analysis. Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling established genetic and environmental contributions to variations in preferences for each food group. Results: Genetic factors influenced a significant and substantial proportion of the variation in preference scores of all 6 food groups: vegetables (0.54; 95% CI: 0.47, 0.59), fruit (0.49; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.55), starchy foods (0.32; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.39), meat or fish (0.44; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.51), dairy (0.44; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.50), and snacks (0.43; 95% CI: 0.36, 0.49). Aspects of the environment that are not shared by 2 twins in a family explained all of the remaining variance in food preferences. Conclusions: Food preferences had a moderate genetic basis in late adolescence, in keeping with findings in children. However, by this older age, the influence of the shared family environment had disappeared, and only aspects of the environment unique to each individual twin influenced food preferences. This finding suggests that shared environmental experiences that influence food preferences in childhood may not have effects that persist into adulthood

A radio continuum survey of the southern sky at 1420 MHz. Observations and data reduction

We describe the equipment, observational method and reduction procedure of an absolutely calibrated radio continuum survey of the South Celestial Hemisphere at a frequency of 1420 MHz. These observations cover the area 0h < R.A. < 24h for declinations less than -10 degree. The sensitivity is about 50 mK T_B (full beam brightness) and the angular resolution (HPBW) is 35.4', which matches the existing northern sky survey at the same frequency.Comment: 9 pages with 9 figures, A&A, in pres

The effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of cytisine versus varenicline for smoking cessation in an Australian population: a study protocol for a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial

Smoking cessation medications are effective but often underutilised because of costs and side effects. Cytisine is a plant-based smoking cessation medication with over 50 years of use in Central and Eastern Europe. While cytisine has been found to be well-tolerated and more effective than nicotine replacement therapy, direct comparison with varenicline have not been conducted. This study evaluates the effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of cytisine compared with varenicline.Two arm, parallel group, randomised, non-inferiority trial, with allocation concealment and blinded outcome assessment.Australian population-based study.Adult daily smokers (N=1266) interested in quitting will be recruited through advertisements and Quitline telephone-based cessation support services.Eligible participants will be randomised (1:1 ratio) to receive either cytisine capsules (25-day supply) or varenicline tablets (12-week supply), prescribed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended dosing regimen. The medication will be mailed to each participant's nominated residential address. All participants will also be offered standard Quitline behavioural support (up to six 10-12 minute sessions).Assessments will be undertaken by telephone at baseline, 4- and 7-months post-randomisation. Participants will also be contacted twice (two and four weeks post-randomisation) to ascertain adverse events, treatment adherence and smoking status. The primary outcome will be self-reported 6-month continuous abstinence from smoking, verified by carbon monoxide at 7-month follow-up. We will also evaluate the relative safety and cost-effectiveness of cytisine compared with varenicline. Secondary outcomes will include self-reported continuous and 7-day point prevalence abstinence and cigarette consumption at each follow-up interview.If cytisine is as effective as varenicline, its lower cost and natural plant-based composition may make it an acceptable and affordable smoking cessation medication that could save millions of lives worldwide

Exact field ionization rates in the barrier suppression-regime from numerical TDSE calculations

Numerically determined ionization rates for the field ionization of atomic hydrogen in strong and short laser pulses are presented. The laser pulse intensity reaches the so-called "barrier suppression ionization" regime where field ionization occurs within a few half laser cycles. Comparison of our numerical results with analytical theories frequently used shows poor agreement. An empirical formula for the "barrier suppression ionization"-rate is presented. This rate reproduces very well the course of the numerically determined ground state populations for laser pulses with different length, shape, amplitude, and frequency. Number(s): 32.80.RmComment: Enlarged and newly revised version, 22 pages (REVTeX) + 8 figures in ps-format, submitted for publication to Physical Review A, WWW: http://www.physik.tu-darmstadt.de/tqe

Volume and functional outcome of intracerebral hemorrhage according to oral anticoagulant type

Objective: To compare intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) volume and clinical outcome of non–vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOAC)–associated ICH to warfarin-associated ICH. Methods: In this multicenter cross-sectional observational study of patients with anticoagulant-associated ICH, consecutive patients with NOAC-ICH were compared to those with warfarin-ICH selected from a population of 344 patients with anticoagulant-associated ICH. ICH volume was measured by an observer blinded to clinical details. Outcome measures were ICH volume and clinical outcome adjusted for confounding factors. Results: We compared 11 patients with NOAC-ICH to 52 patients with warfarin-ICH. The median ICH volume was 2.4 mL (interquartile range [IQR] 0.3–5.4 mL) for NOAC-ICH vs 8.9 mL (IQR 4.0–21.3 mL) for warfarin-ICH (p = 0.0028). In univariate linear regression, use of warfarin (difference in cube root volume 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69 to 2.53) and lobar ICH location (compared with nonlobar ICH; difference in cube root volume 1.52; 95% CI 2.20 to 0.85) were associated with larger ICH volumes. In multivariable linear regression adjusting for confounding factors (sex, hypertension, previous ischemic stroke, white matter disease burden, and premorbid modified Rankin Scale score [mRS]), warfarin use remained independently associated with larger ICH (cube root) volumes (coefficient 0.64; 95% CI 0.24 to 1.25; p = 0.042). Ordered logistic regression showed an increased odds of a worse clinical outcome (as measured by discharge mRS) in warfarin-ICH compared with NOAC-ICH: odds ratio 4.46 (95% CI 1.10 to 18.14; p = 0.037). Conclusions: In this small prospective observational study, patients with NOAC-associated ICH had smaller ICH volumes and better clinical outcomes compared with warfarin-associated ICH

Challenges of Early Years leadership preparation: a comparison between early and experienced Early Years practitioners in England

Leadership has been under-researched in the Early Years (EY) sector of primary schools in England, especially in leading change for professional development. The aim of this paper is to theorise what the leadership culture for EY practitioners looks like, and how Initial Teacher Training providers and schools are preparing practitioners for leadership. Using case studies of EY practitioners in different stages of their career in primary schools, we offer an insight into their preparedness for leadership in EY, the implication being that leadership training requires an understanding and embedding of the EY culture and context. Interviews with both sample groups allowed for deeper insight into the lived world. Interviews were also conducted with the head teachers to gain an overview of the leadership preparation they provided. The main findings suggest that newer EY practitioners are better prepared for leadership from their university training in comparison to more experienced EY practitioners