Mapping Teacher Informal Advice Networks as a Tool for District Administrators: A Case Study.

With few resources and little time for professional development, science education leaders need ways to efficiently disseminate effective pedagogical practices, improve instruction, and support science teachers (Shaked and Schecter, 2016). Efficient leader strategies are especially important as teachers and districts face reforms to existing standards. One potential avenue for dissemination is leveraging the informal social networks of teachers.

The influence of tonality, tempo, and musical sophistication on the listener's time-duration estimates.

Music listening affects time perception, with previous studies suggesting that a variety of factors may influence this: musical, individual, and environmental. Two experiments investigated the effect of musical factors (tonality and musical tempo) and individual factors (a listener's level of musical sophistication) on subjective estimates of duration. Participants estimated the duration of different versions of newly composed instrumental music stimuli under retrospective and prospective conditions.

Technical efficiency of the urban gas industry in china.

China's Paris Agreement Pledge and recent introduction of an Emissions Trading Scheme have created a need for information on where it makes the most economic sense to use different sources of energy. With lower carbon dioxide emissions, natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas provide cleaner sources of energy relative to coal. Although it is practically crucial to investigate the use of these two sources, empirical studies are limited due to lack of data.

Graduate nurses' capability upon entering the workforce: An integrative review.

Objectives: To clarify capability for work readiness in newly graduated registered nurses as viewed from the perspective of clinicians in practice, educators in tertiary institutions, and graduates.

Design: Integrative review.

Data Sources: Databases searched for peer-reviewed studies included PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC, Campbell collaboration, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases.

Levelling the Playing Field: The Role of Workshops to Explore How People With Parkinson's Use Music for Mood and Movement Management as Part of a Patient and Public Involvement Strategy.

From a humanistic perspective, participatory processes in research find support on both ethical and moral grounds. In practical terms however, it is often difficult to establish protocols that best honour (i.e.

Holistic aboveground ecological productivity efficiency modeling using data envelopment analysis in the southeastern U.S.

Aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of an ecosystem is among the most important metrics of valued ecosystem services. Measuring the efficiency scores of ecological production (ESEP) based on ANPP using relevant variables is valuable for identifying inefficient sites. The efficiency scores computed by the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) may be influenced by the number of input variables incorporated into the models and two DEA settings-orientations and returns-to-scales (RTSs).

Replicating or franchising a STEM afterschool program model: core elements of programmatic integrity.

Background: Designed in 2012 with a first implementation in 2013, NE STEM 4U is a professional development program for post-secondary students/undergraduates, and serves as a source of outreach, content knowledge generation, and STEM literacy for youth in grades kindergarten through 8th grade (ages 5-14). The model empowers post-secondary students as facilitators of inquiry-based learning within the context of an out-of-school time program. This study investigated the potential for replicating or 'franchising' this model by evaluating on the following: (1) Is the model replicable? And, if so, (2) what core elements are necessary for program fidelity? And (3) is there a dependency on a particular setting/participant type (e.

What Determines the Perception of Segmentation in Contemporary Music?

Background: This study concerns the perception of musical segmentation during listening to live contemporary classical music. Little is known about how listeners form judgments of musical segments, particularly when typical section markers, such as cadences and fermatas, are absent [e.g.

Evaluation of the clinical impact of concomitant acid suppression therapy in colorectal cancer patients treated with capecitabine monotherapy.

Background: Capecitabine is an oral chemotherapeutic agent used in colorectal cancer. Two prior studies found a negative impact with the concomitant use of proton pump inhibitor agents during treatment with capecitabine in patients with early colorectal and gastroesophageal cancers.

Objective: To determine if there is a clinical impact of the concomitant use of capecitabine and acid suppression therapy in patients with local and metastatic colorectal cancer.

Safety of commercial airflight in patients with brain tumors: a case series.

Introduction: Patients with intracranial masses are often advised to avoid airflight due to concerns of worsening neurological symptoms or deterioration. However, many patients often travel cross-country or internationally to tertiary care centers for definitive care. This study assesses the safety of commercial airflight for brain and skull base tumor patients without severe or progressive neurological deficits.

Measuring Information Processing Speed in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Clinical Versus Research Dichotomy.

A substantial body of research evidence is indicative of disproportionately slowed information processing speed in a wide range of multi-trial, computer-based, neuroimaging- and electroencephalography-based reaction time (RT) tests in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, in what is arguably a dichotomy between research evidence and clinical practice, RT associated with different brain functions is rarely assessed as part of their diagnosis. Indeed, often only the time taken to perform a single, specific task, commonly the Trail making test (TMT), is measured.

No Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Cognition and Mood in Individuals with Cognitive Impairment and Probable Alzheimer's Disease: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

Findings from epidemiological and observational studies have indicated that diets high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD). To determine if increasing intake of DHA and EPA through supplementation is beneficial to cognition and mood in individuals with cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) a four month, randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled study was conducted. Fifty-seven participants with CIND and nineteen with AD were randomised to receive either omega-3 PUFAs (600 mg EPA and 625 mg DHA per day) or placebo (olive oil) over a four month period.

Supporting Graduate Nurse Transition: Collaboration Between Practice and University.

Making the transition from student to RN is challenging and demanding. In Australia, where nurses commonly graduate after 3 years in a Bachelor of Nursing program, graduate transition programs have been established in the workplace to support and socialize new graduates to nursing practice. These programs vary in content, rigor, and available support mechanisms, and no nationally agreed upon standards of expected graduate performance exist.

Use of a physostigmine continuous infusion for the treatment of severe and recurrent antimuscarinic toxicity in a mixed drug overdose.

Introduction: Physostigmine was once a widely used antidote for the treatment of antimuscarinic toxicity. However, reports describing the association of physostigmine with asystole and seizures in severe tricyclic antidepressant poisoning resulted in a decrease in use. Recent literature has demonstrated that physostigmine is a safe and effective antidote for the treatment of antimuscarinic toxicity.

Abnormal inhibition of return in mild cognitive impairment: is it specific to the presence of prodromal dementia?

Although there is some evidence that amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) can be characterized by significant deficits in visuospatial function, the cross-sectional design of the majority of these studies renders it impossible to determine whether such deficits occur in aMCI as a result of, or accompany, amnestic dysfunction per se or whether they are the result of disproportionately poorer performance in a sub-group of patients for whom aMCI represents prodromal dementia. Similarly, whether the absence of aMCI-related functional deficit stems from the masking of dementia-specific abnormality by the preserved performance of those with a different cause of aMCI cannot be ascertained. Here we report the outcome of a cross-sectional and 2.

Intra-individual reaction time variability in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: gender, processing load and speed factors.

Compared to cognitively healthy ageing (CH), intra-individual variability in reaction time (IIV(RT)), a behavioural marker of neurological integrity, is commonly reported to increase in both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It varies in MCI with respect to whether it represents the pro-dromal stages of dementia or not; being greatest in those most likely to convert. Abnormal IIV(RT) in MCI therefore represents a potential measure of underlying functional integrity that may serve to differentiate MCI from CH and to help identify those patients for whom MCI is the result of a progressive pathological process.

Primary cilia: the chemical antenna regulating human adipose-derived stem cell osteogenesis.

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) are multipotent stem cells that show great potential as a cell source for osteogenic tissue replacements and it is critical to understand the underlying mechanisms of lineage specification. Here we explore the role of primary cilia in human ASC (hASC) differentiation. This study focuses on the chemosensitivity of the primary cilium and the action of its associated proteins: polycystin-1 (PC1), polycystin-2 (PC2) and intraflagellar transport protein-88 (IFT88), in hASC osteogenesis.

Deception and the misinformation effect: an event-related potential study.

Research in the field of deception often tests participants' ability to lie about information with which they are familiar and have a strong recall of base truth. The current study examined the impact of uncertainty in memory on the ability to deceive, as may happen in real-world eye-witness scenarios. A visual misinformation paradigm was combined with event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the impact of deception and misinformation on ERP components previously associated with deception and memory processes.

Lower omega-3 fatty acid intake and status are associated with poorer cognitive function in older age: A comparison of individuals with and without cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Objectives: Various strands of evidence suggest that low intake of omega-3 fatty acids increases risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The present study investigated differences in dietary intake and blood plasma content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) in individuals with cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND), individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and healthy volunteers (HV).

Methods: A total of 135 individuals aged between 55 and 91 years (19 AD, 55 CIND, and 61 HV) were assessed predominantly within a hospital setting.

Chronic toxicity of fluorotelomer acids to Daphnia magna and Chironomus dilutus.

Saturated and unsaturated fluorotelomer carboxylic acids (fluorotelomer acids: FTAs) represent important intermediates in the degradation of fluorotelomer alcohols to perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs). Recent studies have detected FTAs at low concentrations (ng/L) in precipitation and surface waters; however, information regarding chronic toxicity is lacking. The present study assessed the chronic toxicity of the 8:2 saturated fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (8:2 FTCA) to Chironomus dilutus and the 10:2 saturated and unsaturated fluorotelomer carboxylic acids (10:2 FTCA and 10:2 fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylic acid [FTuCA]) to Daphnia magna in separate life-cycle tests.

Cell-specific gene expression in Langerhans cell histiocytosis lesions reveals a distinct profile compared with epidermal Langerhans cells.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease characterized by heterogeneous lesions containing CD207(+) Langerhans cells (LCs) and lymphocytes that can arise in almost any tissue and cause significant morbidity and mortality. After decades of research, the cause of LCH remains speculative. A prevailing model suggests that LCH arises from malignant transformation and metastasis of epidermal LCs.

Exogenous phasic alerting and spatial orienting in mild cognitive impairment compared to healthy ageing: Study outcome is related to target response.

Whether or not attentional mechanisms such as phasic alerting, spatial cueing and inhibition of return (IOR) remain intact in adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains a matter of debate. This is possibly the result of inter-study outcome variation caused by the adoption of different methodological components by different research groups. Here we investigated the influence of methodological factors upon study outcome, using a Posner-type exogenous cueing paradigm with amnestic MCI patients and healthy older controls.

Recent advances in crustacean genomics.

Crustaceans are a diverse and ancient group of arthropods that have long been studied as interesting model systems in biology, especially for understanding animal evolution and physiology and for environmentally relevant studies. Like many model systems, advances in DNA-sequencing methodologies have led to a large amount of genomics-related projects. The purpose of this article is to highlight the genome projects and functional genomics (transcriptomics) projects that are currently underway in crustacean biology.

Comparison of FDG-PET scans to conventional radiography and bone scans in management of Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Background: We evaluated the effectiveness of FDG-PET scans in identifying sites of active disease and assessing response to therapy in patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). Changes in standardized uptake value (SUV) indicated increased or decreased disease activity before changes are evident by plain films or bone scans.

Methods: One hundred and two PET scans for 44 patients (41 children, 3 adults) with biopsy-proven LCH were compared with 83 corollary imaging modalities and were rated for overall clinical utility: false positive or negative ("inferior"), confirming lesions identified by another imaging modality ("confirmatory"), or showing additional lesions, response to therapy or recurrence of disease activity ("superior"), in comparison to bone scans, MRI, CT or plain films.