Association of Oxidative Stress with Disease Activity and Damage in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Cross Sectional Study from a Tertiary Care Centre in Southern India

To study oxidative stress in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by estimating serum oxidised LDL (OxLDL), 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), and total anti-oxidant status and to correlate with SLE disease activity and disease damage. Eighty SLE patients satisfying the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology (SLICC/ACR) 2012 criteria and 80 healthy controls were studied. Exclusion criteria were infections, renal insufficiency, other connective tissue diseases, drug-induced lupus, smoking, alcohol consumption. Disease activity was measured by SLE disease activity index-2 K (SLEDAI), disease damage was quantified by SLICC-Damage Index (SDI). Sera was tested for OxLDL, 8-OHdG, and total antioxidant status (TAS) by double-antibody sandwich ELISA; MDA measured by Colorimetric assay. Oxidative stress markers were compared between group1- controls, group 2-mildly active SLE (SLEDAI ≤ 5), group 3- moderate to highly active SLE (SLEDAI ≥ 6). SLE patients had significantly higher MDA, 8-OHdG and lower TAS when compared to healthy controls, while OxLDL was similar in the three groups. MDA, 8-OHdG were significantly higher, TAS lower in group 3 compared to group 2. MDA had positive correlation with SLEDAI, TAS negatively correlated with SLEDAI. SLE with neuropsychiatric manifestations, vasculitis, anti-sdDNA antibodies had higher MDA, MDA/TAS ratio. SLE patients with thrombocytopenia, and vasculitis had higher OxLDL. Only OxLDL was significantly higher in those patients who have SDI > 1. SLE patients have increased oxidative stress measured by increases in MDA, 8-OHdG, and lower total antioxidant status that was associated with disease activity and some disease manifestations. However only OxLDL was associated with damage.     

Collegiate athletes and career identity

Given the unique experiences of collegiate athletes and the need to facilitate their transition as they complete postsecondary education and join the workforce, the present study sought to evaluate a group-administered career development program at a US university focused on preparing students for the transition into professional life upon graduation. Utilizing the quantitative portion of the Life After Sport Scale, we surveyed National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student athletes to examine the relationship between attending the career intervention sessions and career-athlete identity. Results suggested that attending one or more program session workshops was not significantly related to career-athlete identity, while student gender had the strongest association with this potentially important construct in student athlete career development. Research and practice implications of these findings are discussed.     

Who uses a means-tested scholarship,and what do they choose?

This paper provides detailed evidence regarding the nature of selection into a school voucher system. We use micro-data on scholarship applications matched with state student-level records on test scores, schools attended, and demographic background characteristics to describe the attributes of students who choose to participate in Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, a means-tested scholarship program that is the largest of its type in the United States. We find evidence that those who choose to participate in the program tend to be lower-performing students from poorly performing schools, and that students of different backgrounds tend to choose different types of private schools. Students participating in the program tend to select schools that have more white students and fewer minority students, regardless of student race.     

Correcting Biased Cohen’s Kappa in NVivo

This study demonstrates that NVivo, a popular research tool for content analysis, produces biased Cohen’s kappa as it calculates the reliability statistic at the character level, which is unsuitable for most content-analytic studies adopting a higher unit of analysis (e.g., sentence, paragraph). Based on empirical data and a statistical simulation, this study proposes a method of bias correction applicable to situations where two independent raters conduct binary coding.     

Contemporary education policies in Southeast Asia: common philosophical underpinnings and practices

This article examines the various education policies in Southeast Asian countries, highlighting the underlining philosophies and current practices in the region. The conceptual framework of the presentation includes key concepts such as access and equity, unity and identity, quality and relevance, efficiency and effectiveness. Each of these key concepts will be analysed using a framework consisting of key questions, guiding philosophies, policy options as well as issues and challenges. The article reviews policies relating to questions such as “who get access to what kinds of education?”, “how to widen access?”, “how to ensure success?”, “what kinds of education for a multicultural society?”, “how to promote national integration and social cohesion through education?”, “how to improve quality of education?”, “how to manage and administer the school delivery system?”. It draws examples from different countries in the SEA region to illustrate the issues and challenges in formulating and implementing contemporary education policies.     

Mentoring and target‐setting in a secondary school in England: an evaluation of aims and benefits

This paper reflects upon the nature of a target‐setting and mentoring scheme in an 11–16 school in England, through a series of retrospective interviews with students who continued into further education. It considers the extent to which the initiative impacted both upon students’ formal academic achievement at 16+ and upon the subsequent longer‐term aspirations of these students. Interviews with students who achieved considerable ‘value‐added’ in their GCSE examinations suggested that the impact of mentoring was strongest amongst those students who came from homes where there was less expectation of them participating in further and higher education, and that this effect was not differentiated according to gender. The paper suggests that longer‐term transformation of students’ aspirations, and the challenging of gendered course and career stereotypes, will only be achieved if schools adopt a more holistic and proactive approach to careers education and to widening participation for their students, and that the absence of such proactivity will limit the longer‐term gains initiated by successful mentoring activities.     

ELL preschoolers’ English vocabulary acquisition from storybook reading

This study investigates the effects of rich explanation, baseline vocabulary, and home reading practices on English language learning (ELL) preschoolers’ sophisticated vocabulary learning from storybook reading. Eighty typically developing preschoolers were pretested in L1 (Portuguese) and L2 (English) receptive vocabulary and were assigned to experimental or control groups. Eight books were selected and paired. Experimental participants heard books read three times over a 3-week period with rich explanations of target vocabulary. Controls heard stories read without explanations. Parents completed questionnaires about the frequency, content, and language of home reading practices. Rich explanation, initial L2 vocabulary, and frequency of home reading make significant contributions to sophisticated word learning from storyreading. Findings have important implications for L2 vocabulary acquisition in ELL preschoolers.     

Teacher Candidates Learn to Enact Curriculum in a Partnership-Sponsored Literacy Enrichment Program for Youth

This article reports on a multiyear formative experiment of a summer enrichment program that served as literacy enrichment for middle-school students, a field experience for preservice teacher candidates, and a professional development and leadership opportunity for practicing teachers. The analysis focuses on how the design team conceptualized, implemented, and researched inquiry-based, literacy-infused curriculum within the program, which was embedded in a broader university–school partnership. Findings report curriculum-related decisions and adjustments made over two iterations of the program before detailing the data-driven adjustments planned for the program’s third iteration in 2017. Findings reveal that literacy supports were richer when the curriculum with which preservice teacher candidates worked was explicit about the content they must address and well sequenced. Such explicitness left more bandwidth for candidates to focus on literacy and reduced the chances it would get lost in candidates’ other concerns. Implications are discussed for others designing clinical experiences intended to interrupt the status quo in both literacy teacher education and K–12 schooling, with the goal of promoting more equitable outcomes for all.     

Validating English Language Proficiency Assessment Uses for English Learners: Academic Language Proficiency and Content Assessment Performance

States use standards‐based English language proficiency (ELP) assessments to inform relatively high‐stakes decisions for English learner (EL) students. Results from these assessments are one of the primary criteria used to determine EL students’ level of ELP and readiness for reclassification. The results are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of and funding allocation to district or school programs that serve EL students. In an effort to provide empirical validity evidence for such important uses of ELP assessments, this study focused on examining the constructs of ELP assessments as a fundamental validity issue. Particularly, the study examined the types of language proficiency measured in three sample states’ ELP assessments and the relationship between each type of language proficiency and content assessment performance. The results revealed notable variation in the presence of academic and social language in the three ELP assessments. A series of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses also revealed varied relationships among social language proficiency, academic language proficiency, and content assessment performance. The findings highlight the importance of examining the constructs of ELP assessments for making appropriate interpretations and decisions based on the assessment scores for EL students. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Correlates of dementia-related anxiety: self-perceived dementia risk and ageism

ABSTRACT

As public awareness of and exposure to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have increased worldwide, the fear of developing ADRD, or dementia-related anxiety (DRA), is expected to increase as well. It was hypothesized that at least part of what makes dementia so anxiety-provoking is the association of ADRD with older adults, an often stigmatized group. To test this hypothesis, two online studies examined how ageist beliefs contribute to DRA; the roles of ADRD-related factors, such as self-perceived risk and personal exposure, were also examined. Study 1 included university students (n = 295, age range: 18 to 58 years, M_age  = 21.16, SD_age  = 4.85) to determine what factors may contribute to young adults’ DRA. Study 2 included adults of all ages (n = 352, age range: 18 to 81 years, M_age  = 37.85, SD_age  = 12.88) to determine whether Study 1 results were replicable among adults of all ages. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used. Results from both studies demonstrated that being female and having higher self-perceived dementia risk and benevolent ageism uniquely explicated higher levels of DRA. Within Study 2, significant relationships for both benevolent and hostile ageism were observed, suggesting that diverse negative attitudes toward older adults are associated with DRA. It is possible that strong ageist attitudes stigmatize older adults as those who are forgetful and this may contribute to DRA, as age is a major risk factor for developing dementia. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.