"Integrating Social and Emotional Learning with Content" builds a framework for creatively and effectively using picture books to integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) with teaching across ...content areas. Thoughtful book choices in mixed-ability early elementary classrooms have the power to not only support gifted students as they develop academically, but also to provide an opportunity to address their unique social and emotional needs, such as asynchronous development and an early awareness of complex and challenging issues in their lives and the world at large. Picture books are an invaluable tool for this work because the characters, topics, and settings increasingly represent and celebrate the lived experiences of diverse student populations, supporting culturally responsive teaching. Packed with lesson plans, book lists, and more, this book is perfect for teachers in gifted and mixed-ability classrooms as well as homeschooling parents looking to help their children make meaningful connections between their culture, languages, and lived experiences and the academic content and SEL skills they are being taught in the classroom.
Neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) is major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. Therapeutic hypothermia is standard clinical care for moderate hypoxic-ischaemic (HI) brain injury, ...however it reduces the risk of death and disability only by 11% and 40% of the treated infants still develop disabilities. Thus it is necessary to develop supplementary therapies to complement therapeutic hypothermia in the treatment of neonatal HIE. The modified Rice-Vannucci model of HI in the neonatal mouse is well developed and widely applied with different periods of hypothermia used as neuroprotective strategy in combination with other agents. However, different studies use different periods, time of initiation and duration of hypothermia following HI, with subsequent varying degrees of neuroprotection. So far most rodent data is obtained using exposure to 5-6h of therapeutic hypothermia. Our aim was to compare the effect of exposure to three different short periods of hypothermia (1h, 1.5h and 2h) following HI insult in the postnatal day 7 C57/Bl6 mouse, and to determine the shortest period providing neuroprotection. Our data suggests that 1h and 1.5h of hypothermia delayed by 20min following a 60min exposure to 8%O2 do not prove neuroprotective. However, 2h of hypothermia significantly reduced tissue loss, TUNEL+ cell death and microglia and astroglia activation. We also observed improved functional outcome 7 days after HI. We suggest that the minimal period of cooling necessary to provide moderate short term neuroprotection and appropriate for the development and testing of combined treatment is 2h.
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in neonates, with an estimated global incidence of 3/1,000 live births. HIE brain damage is associated with an ...inflammatory response and oxidative stress, resulting in the activation of cell death pathways. At present, therapeutic hypothermia is the only clinically approved treatment available for HIE. This approach, however, is only partially effective. Therefore, there is an unmet clinical need for the development of novel therapeutic interventions for the treatment of HIE. Curcumin is an antioxidant reactive oxygen species scavenger, with reported anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activity. Curcumin has been shown to attenuate mitochondrial dysfunction, stabilize the cell membrane, stimulate proliferation, and reduce injury severity in adult models of spinal cord injury, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The role of curcumin in neonatal HIE has not been widely studied due to its low bioavailability and limited aqueous solubility. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of curcumin treatment in neonatal HIE, including time of administration and dose-dependent effects. Our results indicate that curcumin administration prior to HIE in neonatal mice elevated cell and tissue loss, as well as glial activation compared to HI alone. However, immediate post-treatment with curcumin was significantly neuroprotective, reducing grey and white matter tissue loss, TUNEL+ cell death, microglia activation, reactive astrogliosis, and iNOS oxidative stress when compared to vehicle-treated littermates. This effect was dose-dependent, with 200 μg/g body weight as the optimal dose-regimen, and was maintained when curcumin treatment was delayed by 60 or 120 min post-HI. Cell proliferation measurements showed no changes between curcumin and HI alone, suggesting that the protective effects of curcumin on the neonatal brain following HI are most likely due to curcumin's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, as seen in the reduced glial and iNOS activity. In conclusion, this study suggests curcumin as a potent neuroprotective agent with potential for the treatment of HIE. The delayed application of curcumin further increases its clinical relevance.
Blaise Castle House Museum in Bristol (UK) houses a large and impressive collection of 130 European fans ranging from 1700-1950 with 60 brisé and 70 other fans in a generally good condition. This ...research project explored how to best support this sort of collection by using 3D fabrication technology to create bespoke mounts. At present making mounts for fans is complex and time consuming due to the layering and structure of fans, and the need for accuracy if the mount is to support the fan sufficiently. This project explored how creating a digital 3D image of a fan could enable 3D fabrication technologies to be used to produce an exact "imprint" of the object ensuring that all areas were supported, allowing a more suitable fan display to be created. This paper outlines the process of exploring the principles of creating mounts for fans, and narrates the process of selecting suitable objects for display and the process of creating a digitally-produced fan mount. Publication Abstract
Project OCCAMS (Online Curriculum Consortium for Accelerating Middle School) is a collaboration between the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, the Center for Gifted Education ...at The College of William & Mary, and Columbus Public Schools with a goal of providing accelerated learning in language arts aimed at increasing achievement and increasing participation in advanced courses in high school among students from racial and economic subgroups underrepresented in traditional gifted education services. Using a critical technology theoretical framework that examines the impact of technology on people at the individual, educational, and global levels and addresses questions around appropriate use, accessibility, and impact, project outcomes are explored through an interpretive focus on equity, including impacts on student achievement as well as students’ subjective experiences in the program. Potential implications for broader efforts in the field of gifted education to reduce disproportionality in gifted identification and close opportunity and excellence gaps beyond gifted identification reforms are also explored.
Personalized learning technology is a quickly spreading and well-funded educational trend that is the focus of much discussion and controversy. The impact of personalized learning tools for reading ...in the general education population have been widely researched and hotly debated, but there is little research around the success and impact of its use with gifted students. Using a grounded theory methodology, my qualitative research study worked within the theoretical frameworks of critical technology and New Literacy to compare the assumptions and understandings about the reading process applied by the developers of Reading Plus, a personalized learning program for reading, with the experiences of gifted fourth-grade students using it. My research showed that Reading Plus matches the extant researched criteria for quality personalized learning tools for reading development. Overall, the product’s features fit with the experiences and learning needs of the students in the study; however, there was some misalignment in the areas of students’ motivation, challenge, and academic confidence. Although the student participants comprised a generally homogenous group, their experiences, preferences, and understandings of technology were quite varied. My key recommendations are that educators and curriculum as well as instructional technology developers should focus on the differences in the experiences, preferences, and abilities of students when building, selecting, and using educational technology tools. The need to more individually and holistically match a personalized learning tool with students is necessary and possible, given the increased adaptability of emerging software and hardware in the educational technology marketplace. In addition, researchers need to look more deeply into the impacts of technology on more diverse learner populations, including gifted students.
The purpose of this quantitative comparative study is to analyze the demographic and program choice data of students who completed a study abroad program in the United States over a 10+-year period ...and to determine the impacts of those factors. The literature is well saturated with the benefits of students engaging in any type of study abroad experience during their higher education journey. However, what about those students, or the options presented to them, were the factors that were impactful in motivating them to pursue and complete this endeavor? This information is limited in the discussion. Since the literature is limited on quantitative data, this study will determine the typical study abroad traveler by using data collected from the National Center for Education Statistics. The statistical analysis showed demographics of student travelers and the program choices offered to them do impact their decision to travel with their institutions of higher education overseas. With this information, institutions of higher education can begin working to create programing that will lead to a more equitable opportunity for all their students to benefit from study abroad.
Introduction
Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the most common muscle disease affecting older adults with no disease-modifying treatment. Resistance exercises increase muscle hypertrophy, ...but weakness prevents exercising with higher resistance. In healthy subjects, augmentation of light-load training with blood flow restriction improved muscle strength
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; and similar exercises were safe in the elderly.
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We therefore investigate whether resistance exercises with blood flow restriction is safe and helpful in sIBM patients. We explored methods for exercising weak leg muscles, and options for better outcome measures.
Methods
A matched-control pilot study, with 12-week treatment and 4-week follow-up periods, where participants concentrated on lower limbs resistance exercises with 50% blood flow restriction 3 times/week, at 20%-30% of their repetition maximum. Patients are reviewed 4-weekly for muscle strength, blood biomarkers, 2-minute walk test (2MWT), timed up-and-go (TUG) test, minimal chair height standing ability test (MCHSAT), thigh girths, and quality of life scales.
Results
4 patients with varying abilities were on the exercise arm, and 3 acted as controls. Muscle groups with MRC score ≥2 were able to be exercised. We found strength testing by hand-held dynamometer was unreliable, whereas the 2MWT, TUG test and MCHSAT showed less variability. All patients could perform their exercises at significantly increased repetitions or weights by week 4, without concerning adverse events, with trend towards continued improvement over the 4-month period.
Conclusion
Resistance exercises with blood flow restriction appear safe, and may be helpful in sIBM patients, even in weakened muscles, enabling improvement in muscle strength and endurance.
References
Hughes L, Paton B, Rosenblatt B, Gissane C, Patterson SD. Blood flow restriction training in clinical musculoskeletal rehabilitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Br J Sports
2017.
Vechin FC, Libardi CA, Conceicao MS, et al. Comparisons between low-intensity resistance training with blood flow restriction and high-intensity resistance training on quadriceps muscle mass and strength in elderly.
J Strength Cond Res
2015.
Blaise Castle House Museum à Bristol (Royaume-Uni) abrite une importante et impressionnante collection de 130 éventails européens, datés de 1700 à 1950, dont 60 brisés et 70 autres dans un bon état ...général. Ce projet de recherche consiste à présenter au mieux ce type de collection en utilisant la technologie de fabrication 3D pour créer des supports sur mesure. À l'heure actuelle la conception de présentoirs est complexe et prend du temps, en raison de la structure des objets, et d’un besoin extrême de précision lorsque l’objectif est d’apporter un soutien aux différentes composantes des éventails. Ce projet explore donc comment la création d'une image numérique 3D d'un éventail pourrait permettre à des technologies de fabrication en 3D d’être utilisées pour produire une exacte «empreinte» de l'objet et veiller à ce que toutes les composantes soient supportées, permettant ainsi de créer le présentoir. Ce document décrit le processus d'exploration des principes de la création de montages des éventails; il s’intéresse au processus de sélection des objets appropriés pour l'exposition, et enfin détaille le processus de création d'un support, grâce aux technologies numériques.
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