The educational landscape is continually changing in response to legislation and the adoption of new standards, such as the Common Core. Currently, little is known about how these changes have influenced the school day. To examine the motor and technology requirements of kindergarten, second-, and fourth-grade general education classrooms. For 6 full school days, we made unobtrusive observations of and took notes that described classroom activities throughout the day. Data were coded by a committee, allocating each minute of the day into 1 of 10 activity categories. Kindergarten, second-, and fourth-grade classrooms. Three general education classrooms with approximately 20 students in each class. Students spent between 37.1% and 60.2% of the school day performing fine motor activities, with handwriting accounting for 3.4%-18.0% of the day. Time spent using technology was relatively sparse in kindergarten (4.8%) and second grade (3.1%) compared with fourth grade (14.3%). Transitions between activities (18.9%-23.4% of time spent) exceeded time spent handwriting. This article provides an updated estimate of motor demands throughout the school day. Estimates of fine motor activities were consistent with previous research, but the focus on handwriting appears to have substantially diminished. Within the context of their own school, occupational therapists may find transitions to be a good opportunity for providing services within the classroom. In addition, handwriting practice outside of school may be more necessary in the current educational climate than in previous years.

Student-centered teaching allows students to be actively engaged in hands-on, minds-on activities that emphasize creativity and collaboration, enabling them to ask questions and design their own investigations to real-world problems. One such problem is water contamination, which causes human health and environmental issues. However, chemical water quality testing for pollutants can be timely and expensive. In addition to chemical testing, researchers have developed assays using unicellular organisms to determine which pollutants are present and in what concentrations. In this three-hour laboratory activity, high school students and undergraduate biology or microbiology students work in pairs to help a fictional company develop a water quality microbioassay. Students design their own laboratory protocols to test the reaction of a bioluminescent bacterial species (i.e., Photobacterium phosphoreum or Aliivibrio fischeri ) to exposure of common aquatic pollutants such as fertilizer, household cleaners, and motor oil. During this laboratory activity, students apply previously learned components of experimental design, including positive and negative controls, constants, and experimental groups. In addition, students gain experience writing a scientific explanation for a recommendation regarding the bioluminescent bacteria's suitability in a bioassay. Pre- and post-evaluation data revealed that students were successful in achieving the activity's objectives as well as in designing their investigations and writing their protocols using scaffolds within the lesson.

Obesity leads to deficits in skeletal muscle function that are accompanied by reduced physical activity and energy expenditure. The basis of such deficits may originate from within the contractile apparatus, but little is known about how obesity might interfere with body weight‐induced changes in skeletal muscle composition. We recently showed that in obese Zucker rats, body weight‐appropriate alternative splicing of troponin T (TnnT3) pre‐mRNA is impaired, representative of a mismatch between body weight and skeletal muscle molecular composition. However, the generality of these finding to other models of obesity is unknown. In the present study, alternative splicing of the TnnT3 pre‐mRNA was observed within 1 wk of feeding a HFD to Sprague‐Dawley rats, even though no significant change in either body weight or composition was apparent. Moreover, changes in alternative splicing were dose‐dependent, with a greater effect observed in animals fed a diet containing 60 compared to 30 or 45 kcal% from fat. These findings represent the first evidence of nutrient‐induced regulation of alternative splicing in mammals, and suggest that early‐onset disruptions of body weight homeostasis in response to HFD may play an important role in the development of obesity. (support: NIH DK15658 (LSJ), Pennsylvania Department of Health (SRK), APS Postdoctoral Fellowship (RJS), and an APS 2011 Frontiers in Physiology Award (EAC))

The purpose of this study was to determine similarities and differences in nasalance scores observed with different computerized nasalance systems in the context of vowel-loaded sentences. Methodology Subjects were 46 Caucasian adults with no perceived hyper- or hyponasality. Nasalance scores were obtained using the Nasometer 6200 (Kay Elemetrics Corp.), the Nasometer II 6400 (Kay Elemetrics Corp.), and the NasalView (Tiger DRS, Inc.) for sentences loaded with mixed, high front, high back, low front, or low back vowels. Measures of nasalance obtained with the NasalView were significantly higher than those obtained with the Nasometer 6200, and the measures of nasalance obtained with the Nasometer 6200 were significantly higher than those obtained with the Nasometer II 6400. However, similar effects of vowel loading on measures of nasalance were observed, regardless of system. For all systems, the high front vowel sentence tended to result in higher measures of nasalance than did the high back, low front, and low back vowel sentences--the mixed vowel sentence tended to have a higher degree of nasalance than did any of the other sentences. Although nasalance data computed using different systems are not readily comparable, all three systems that were evaluated produced similar effects of vowel loading on nasalance. Increased nasalance for high front versus low back vowels may be due to factors such as increased oral impedance, reduced radiated oral sound pressure, possible increases in airflow via the nasal cavity, and increased transpalatal nasalance.

Alcohol and drug abuse is becoming a growing economic and social problem in the Appalachian region. The aim of this study is to shed light on the characteristics of individuals who sought free health care services in the Appalachian southwest Virginia region and who are facing the challenges of unemployment and substance abuse problems and are in need of health care and mental health services. This descriptive exploratory study is based on a sample of 139 individuals (61.9% women) who attended the Remote Area Medical Expedition in Wise County, Virginia, July25 to 28, 2005. The results of this study show that there is a strong relationship between problems with unemployment and substance abuse in the southwest Virginia region. The disparities in substance abuse and mental health care services are also addressed, and implications for policy, research, and practice are suggested.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a sweeping piece of civil rights legislation directly affecting public schools. Although the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are more frequently applied, ADA may offer both students and employees another avenue for redress. It is at this intersection between the ADA and the IDEA that requirements for anti-discriminatory policies and practices present serious dilemmas for school officials. Typically, over time courts will provide answers about requirements, and state education agencies will promulgate application regulations. In the meantime, school officials grapple on a regular basis with implementing the requirements of the ADA. The authors of this article describe current circumstances that act as a catalyst for reflection, discussion, and proactive—rather than reactive—responses.

Increased accountability, rising academic standards, and high-stakes assessments place pressures on education agencies to provide alternative exit options for high school students. This study highlights state-level diploma options, graduation requirements, and the potential impact on students, specifically those with disabilities and others at risk. Findings illustrate the need for alternative diploma options that have value and meaning for all students.

The conversational interactions of 9 teachers and their third-grade students were recorded during individual seatwork time in academic lessons. teachers' views about their responsibilities in working with students who are exceptional or at risk of academic failure were quite divergent and were related to their instructional discourse strategies. teachers who saw themselves as instrumental in effective inclusion engaged in more academic compared to nonacademic interactions. this group also exhibited greater use of techniques to extend students' thinking, compared to those teachers who held contrasting views. they also interacted more with their students who are exceptional and at risk than with their typically achieving students, and at higher levels of cognitive extension than did the other teachers, who seldom interacted with the students who were in the exceptional and at-risk group. the results shed light on how teachers differ in adapting instruction for students in inclusive classrooms, and how instruction might be differentially delivered as a function of teachers' views about inclusion.

The word fraction may have several meanings

An amusing diary chronicling one teacher's journey on the way to computer competence