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This essay uses the reprocessing of the "Luis Alberto Sánchez papers," the collection of a prominent Peruvian politician and author housed at Penn State University, to argue that ethical and reparative processing needs should be prioritized within an archives' overall extensible processing program. The author explores the tension between two differing threads within the archival literature of: (1) using minimal or extensible processing practices to efficiently process backlogs; and (2) of acknowledging the power of archivists in shaping the historical record and their ethical responsibilities towards communities represented within their collections. This essay argues that archivists should prioritize collections where archival practices have perpetuated in obfuscating or marginalizing the records of traditionally underrepresented communities. It also argues that prioritizing this work capitalizes on the inherent flexibility within an extensible processing framework.

The relation of spatial skills to academic success in areas such as math and science has sparked discussion in early education around how spatial thinking skills might be included in early schooling. Planning and evaluating new curricula or interventions requires understanding these skills and having the means to assess them. Prior developmental research focused primarily on one aspect of dynamic spatial transformations (DST), namely mental rotation. This study broadens our knowledge by addressing another important DST, namely mental folding. We devised a new test suitable for young children. Performance of 180 children between 4 and 7?years suggests that mental folding appears at around 5.5?years of age, although there were also marked individual differences. These data on the emergence of DST suggest that educational programs targeting this skill could start in preschool or kindergarten and provide a means to assess the effectiveness of such efforts. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

In light of numerous discussions about whether to follow Mark Greene and Dennis Meissner's suggestions to process lightly and broadly, valid reasons remain for continuing traditional practices for many literary correspondence collections. In this case study, the authors use the Kenneth Burke Papers in the Special Collections Library, Pennsylvania State University Libraries, as an example of when it is desirable to provide item-level indexing. Recognizing that the majority of archival records may not require such detailed description, the authors discuss when it is appropriate to examine and index literary correspondents, a practice used with many other literary collections in which name access to literary correspondents is a legitimate, valued interest. (Contains 4 notes and 1 table.)

Topographic map evidence for previously unexplained Casselman River direction changes (including where it joins the Youghiogheny River) indicates prolonged and massive volumes of south-oriented water once flowed across the Conemaugh-Casselman River drainage divide and formed diverging southwest- and southeast-oriented channels with the southwest-oriented flow joining south-oriented flow on today’s north-oriented Youghiogheny River alignment. The southeast-oriented channel eroded a water gap across an emerging Negro Mountain and then a diverging southwest-oriented channel followed the northeast-oriented Casselman River alignment to reach south-oriented flow on the now north-oriented Youghiogheny River alignment while the southeast-oriented channel and a southeast-oriented channel which diverged from the southwest-oriented channel eroded the Flaughtery and Piney Creek water gaps into an emerging Meadow Mountain. Conemaugh River drainage system development ended south-oriented flow into the Casselman River drainage basin while regional uplift caused drainage reversals to create today’s northeast-, northwest-, and southwest-oriented Casselman River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of how librarians can situate themselves as pedagogical partners by bringing their unique information literacy perspective and expertise to the programmatic assessment process. This report resulted from the Thun Library and the Penn State Berks Composition Program's collaboration to assess the institution's first-year composition (FYC) course. From previous programmatic assessments of their students' work, the faculty knew that students struggled with source use in their rhetoric but found it difficult to pinpoint students' exact source issues. By adapting a rubric theoretically-grounded in the ACRL "Framework" to deconstruct the concept of source use into four categories, librarians developed a rubric that illuminated source engagement problems on a more granular level than the programmatic assessments conducted without librarian involvement, leading to specific suggestions for addressing issues with student source engagement

With several fiesh.faces on the bench, lawstlits have been testing the waters on a variety of issues m deternline the direction of this new Supreme Court. One of these issues is religion, which has been a lively issue®r centuries, and remains a contentious legal issue today. In 2021, the Court granted certiorari to Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, providing it the opportunity to clean up decades of.free exercise precedent gone awry. The Court ruled unanimously in.favor of the petitioners but fuiled to fix the recurring issue.s of the modern free exercise jurisprudence. A majority of the court declined to overturn Employment Division Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, a controversial decision from its inception that has been rebulled by Congress and widely criticized fur running atind of the Free Exercise Clause. In Fulton, the Court of fired a narrow holding and did not address the core issues at the heart of the case. Because of the Court's shortcomings, the problems of Smith remain and leave the Free Exercise Clause in a precarious state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on several forthcoming conferences related to visual sociology. International Conference, in Zeist Holland, will be held from June 13-18, 1986. The conference is sponsored by: the Dutch Sociological and Anthropological Association, the European Association for the Visual Studies of Man and the international Visual Sociology Association. Visual Sociology and Visual Anthropology are two new fields which have undergone a relatively strong development during the last few years. The objective of the conference in Zeist is to give a snapshot picture of the State of the Arts of International Visual Sociology and Visual Anthropology. On October 9, 10, and 11, 1986, the Institute of Culture and Communication of Temple University will host the Sixth International Conference on Culture and Communication at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in center city Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This Conference is intended as an interdisciplinary forum for the growing interest and research on relationships of society, culture and communication.

Rapid changes in technology make it increasingly important to understand the impact of modes of presentation and the use of computers to obtain data. In order to begin to explore the effects of new technologies in the domain of anti-drug public service announcements (PSAs), 154 adolescents from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Philadelphia were randomly assigned to one of three series of six anti-drug PSAs or a series of six political PSAs (control). Half the subjects viewed and evaluated the PSAs on a laptop computer, while the other half viewed the PSAs on a TV monitor and evaluated them using a paper and pencil self-completion questionnaire. As expected, sets of anti-drug PSAs were judged to be more effective in helping people avoid drugs than the set of political PSAs. There were, however, important differences in effectiveness as a function of gender and ethnicity. In addition, in contrast to previous research, there were only minimal differences between the use of computer methodology and the more traditional TV and paper and pencil methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first PA Forward Information Literacy Summit was held in State College at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park campus, on Wednesday, July 24, 2013. This summit brought together K-12 and academic librarians from Pennsylvania to discuss current issues in information literacy. This text is a transcript of a discussion between Ellysa Cahoy, past chair of the of the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards Committee, and the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards Review Task Force, and Craig Gibson and Trudi Jacobson who are currently co-chairs of the ACRL Information Literacy Standards Revision Task Force. This Revision Task Force is charged with reviewing and revising the current ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, that were originally adopted by ACRL in 2000. This discussion was about the process by which the Standards came to be under review, some of the issues involved in the review, and the time line for the review and librarian feedback and comment on the process. The PowerPoint presentation which accompanied this discussion, as well as other documents mentioned during the presentation are attached to this transcript as supplemental files. [PowerPoint presentation and other supplemental files are not included in the ERIC version of this document.]

In light of numerous discussions about whether to follow Mark Greene and Dennis Meissner's suggestions to process lightly and broadly, valid reasons remain for continuing traditional practices for many literary correspondence collections. In this case study, the authors use the Kenneth Burke Papers in the Special Collections Library, Pennsylvania State University Libraries, as an example of when it is desirable to provide item level indexing. Recognizing that the majority of archival records may not require such detailed description, the authors discuss when it is appropriate to examine and index literary correspondents, a practice used with many other literary collections in which name access to literary correspondents is a legitimate, valued interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the issuance of paper money by Pennsylvania when it was an English Colony. Pennsylvania was successful at issuing paper money with a minimal effect on prices to an extent that it is sometimes said to violate the classical quantity theory of money. The paper contends that new paper issues of money were absorbed without inflation because they encouraged more transactions to be made using money, due to it being more efficient for transactions than barter or bookkeeping. It tries to explain fixed rates in colonial Pennsylvania despite the lack of specie by considering the model of economists Thomas J. Sargent and Neil Wallace that money issues, if backed by "real bills," are not necessarily inflationary.

Focuses on the development of a local check-in system for serials management at the Nesbitt Library in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Application of Microsoft Access and basic Kardex check-in principles; Common problems in automating check-in and claiming; Presentation of several possible check-in process based on predicted enumeration.

An interactive poster exhibited at two poster sessions at the Fall 2016 American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting was used as a vehicle to learn about ACS members' concerns and needs related to research ethics and to identify opportunities for engagement of the Society by the Committee on Ethics (ETHX) and others in terms of ethics awareness, education, and meeting programming. The poster which leveraged color-coded sticky notes engaged 92 poster session attendees representing a wide array of shareholders from academe and industry. 15% of the participants returned to the poster to learn what other conferees had posted. The study identified a number of critical gaps in knowledge that represent opportunities for ACS, educators, and others to engage members in the vital area of research ethics education and training. These include a lack of awareness of existing resources on research ethics, an interest among members for materials for student training, and concerns about ethical issues in the areas of publications, plagiarism, data-handling, teaching ethics, and ethical decision-making.

Background and Objective: Hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis are more prevalent than previously considered in women during pregnancy and the postpartum, and are associated with adverse effects on the mother and her fetus. We determined the efficacy and accuracy of screening women for primary hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis by testing TSH and two thyroid antibodies (TAb): thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), in eluates of filter paper specimens collected during early pregnancy and the postpartum. Methods: We enrolled 494 first-trimester pregnant women with no exclusion criteria into a prospective study to detect primary hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis. Finger stick blood was applied to filter paper, dried in room air, eluted, and promptly tested for TSH and TAb. A total of 178 of the pregnant women (36%) were tested in the early postpartum. Women with abnormal results had confirmatory serum tests. Results: It was found that 91 pregnant women (18.4%) and 43 postpartum women (24.2%) had abnormal TSH values (>4.0 mU/L) and/or positive TAb; 140 pregnant women (28.3%) had TSH values >2.5 mU/L. All subjects with TSH values >4.0 mU/L tested positive for TAb. Eighteen women (3.6%) who tested normal during pregnancy tested abnormal in the postpartum. Conclusions: This study confirms that TSH and TPOAb measured in eluates of blood-spotted filter paper specimens are excellent screening tests to detect primary hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis in pregnant and postpartum women. Results are very comparable to serum data in this population published in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporating scientific literacy into inquiry driven research is one of the most effective mechanisms for developing an undergraduate student's strength in writing. Additionally, discovery-based laboratories help develop students who approach science as critical thinkers. Thus, a three-week laboratory module for an introductory cell and molecular biology course that couples inquiry-based experimental design with extensive scientific writing was designed at Westminster College to expose first year students to these concepts early in their undergraduate career. In the module students used scientific literature to design and then implement an experiment on the effect of cellular stress on protein expression in HeLa cells. In parallel the students developed a research paper in the style of the undergraduate journal "BIOS" to report their results. HeLa cells were used to integrate the research experience with the Westminster College "Next Chapter" first year program, in which the students explored the historical relevance of HeLa cells from a sociological perspective through reading "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. In this report I detail the design, delivery, student learning outcomes, and assessment of this module, and while this exercise was designed for an introductory course at a small primarily undergraduate institution, suggestions for modifications at larger universities or for upper division courses are included. Finally, based on student outcomes suggestions are provided for improving the module to enhance the link between teaching students skills in experimental design and execution with developing student skills in information literacy and writing.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine existing learning innovation systems and propose a systematic methodology of delivering educational innovations in the right amount, in the right place and at the right time. Design/methodology/approach: Higher education is not effectively incorporating new discoveries in cognitive science and human learning into effective teaching strategies. In this paper, the authors explore the various impediments to change. To partially overcome these barriers, Drexel University, in collaboration with Untra Academic Management Solutions, LLC, has embarked on the development of a knowledge management system to assist instructors in obtaining, implementing, evaluating and disseminating new educational innovations. The system as envisioned would be capable of adapting to various educational environments and evolving with changes in curricula, faculty expectations, learning outcomes and student characteristics. Findings: The SocraticNet as a learning environment is stimulated, based on Socratic inquiry among teachers and learners. It is an interactive social network system utilising Web 2.0-based emerging technologies fostering communication and sharing among faculty, students and others (e.g. librarians) engaged in a particular course or other educational experience. Students learn by sharing what they know, by asking questions, judging and evaluating the retrieved information, and using this information efficiently in completing their assignments or research papers. This approach results in multidimensional information flow: instructor to instructor, instructor to student, student to instructor, student to student: which adds a new richness to the interactions between faculty and students providing the framework for a true learning community. Research limitations/implications: The present work has been conducted at one institution. This can be extended to include more institutions and tried with different disciplines. There are implications for changes in relation to teaching and learning approached adopted in higher education and also for development of technology tailored to address issues emanating from the scenario. Practical implications: The research work presented has the potential to stimulate debate to further develop and refine thinking on the role and use of technology directed at improving teaching and learning in higher education. Originality/value: This paper examines learning and teaching styles in higher education taking cognizance of conditions and factors impeding new innovations in practice. Details discussions are presented and unique suggestions are made.

Objectives: The objectives of this paper is to conduct a bibliometric analysis to examine the research status and development trend of anterior cruciate ligament injury and reconstruction in children and adolescents over the past 20 years. Design: Descriptive Research. Methods: This study obtained information regarding studies on Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Children and Adolescents from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Visual and bibliometric analysis were conducted using VOSviewer, Origin 2022, Pajek64 5.18and Excel 2019. These analytic tools facilitated the analysis of various aspects, including countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals and keywords related to the research. Results: From 2003 to 2023, a total of 1328 articles were retrieved in WOS, and 637 articles were selected by two authors. The most productive institutions are Childrens Hosp Philadelphia, Kocher, ms. Their articles have the highest number of publications and citations. The American journal of sports medicine is the most frequently cited journal for articles on anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in children and adolescents. The most common keywords used in these articles were "anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction", "injury, children, adolescent", and "skeletally immature patients". Conclusions: This study provides valuable insights into the research focus of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in children and adolescents. In recent years, there has been significant attention paid to areas of "the return to sport, re-repture rate and functional recovery after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction" in this specific population. These aspects have emerged as key directions for future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section offers news and updates concerning the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). The TMS Foundation will open the exhibition "COMIC-Tanium: The Super Materials of the Super Heroes" at the Toonseum Museum in Pennsylvania in summer 2013. TMS has appointed Justin A. Scott as its technical project leader. Award nominations for 2014 are being accepted by the Society.

Presents information on architectural and engineering education at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Educational programs in architecture; Information on graduate program in computational design; Educational programs in civil and environmental engineering.

Explores the possibility that leading party newspapers contributed to the inclusion of women in politics in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Depiction of women as victims of the opposition; Notion popularized by editors William Cobbett and Benjamin Franklin Bache that women were political actors; Political representation of women in partisan post-war journalism.

Local control of schooling has been considered a defining feature of the American school system; however, in the past several decades of public schooling has also increasingly been subject to the influence of extralocal institutional mandates that encourage curricular and organizational standardization. We conducted a content analysis of 480 school district mission statements from Pennsylvania to understand the relationships between school and place and the locally articulated purposes of schooling. Strikingly uniform use of language and themes across multiple district contexts suggests that (a) district mission statements may not be representative of locally articulated visions of schooling and (b) the influences of local context may be superseded by broader institutional discourses regarding the purposes of education and schooling.

Wireless charging schemes aim to counter some drawbacks of electric vehicles' wired charging, such as the fact that it does not encourage mobility, leads to safety issues regarding high voltage cables, power adapters high cost, and has more battery waste by companies. In this paper, a comparative study of wireless power transfer multiple coil geometries is performed to analyze the efficiency, coupling coefficient, mutual inductance, and magnetic flux density production for each geometry. Results show that coil geometry, current excitation, and shielding techniques within the Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) system substantially influence magnetic flux leakage. In addition, the paper proposes an analytical framework for a WEVC scheme via electromagnetic resonance coupling. Safety considerations of the WEVC system, including the effects on humans, are investigated in several scenarios based on the relative location of the human while EV charging is conducted as the leading paper's goal. The exposure measurements are performed across various radial distances from the coils using 3-D FEA ANSYS Maxwell Software (American technology company, Pennsylvania, United States). The analysis shows that WEVC systems can achieve high power transfer, resulting in increased magnetic flux leakage around the coils. The safe distance for humans and animals during the charging sequence is attained from research results. For instance, in the 120 mm spiral coil, 120 mm square coil, and 600 mm spiral coil operating at 1 A, excitation, the SAR levels are under the threshold of 700 mm away from the coils. For the 600 mm spiral coil excited at 8 A, the SAR levels fall under the threshold at 900 mm away from the coils. When shielding is utilized, the safe distance is improved by up to 350 mm. Considering the regulations of the Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) standards, 600 mm is a safe distance away from the coils, and, vertically, anywhere past 300 mm is safe for humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of artificial intelligence technology, machine learning-based production forecasting models can achieve the rapid prediction and analysis of production. However, these models need to be built on a large dataset, and having only a small amount of data may result in a decrease in prediction accuracy. Therefore, this paper proposes a transfer learning prediction method based on the hierarchical interpolation model. It uses data from over 2000 shale gas wells in 22 blocks of the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania to train the transfer learning model. The knowledge obtained from blocks with sufficient sample data is transferred and applied to adjacent blocks with limited sample data. Compared to classical production decline models and mainstream time-series prediction models, the proposed method can achieve an accurate production decline trend prediction in blocks with limited sample data, providing new ideas and methods for studying the declining production trends in shale gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American newspaper editorial boards occupy unusual positions within their newspapers as the only journalists at the papers who may openly express their opinions. When they exercise their opinion-making power in the form of candidate endorsements, they potentially intervene in the democratic process by influencing readers' voting decisions. This article examines American newspaper endorsements of political candidates from the point of view of editorial board members who were involved in endorsement processes during the 2002 and 2004 campaign seasons in Pennsylvania. Through ethnographic observation and interviews with four newspaper editorial boards and 16 editorial board members, this article explores the purposes and roles with which editorial board members believe they undertake the endorsement process, the ways in which they envision the consumers of their endorsements and the challenges they encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paucity of research exists regarding the relative strengths and limitations and effects on practice in gifted education state policies. The purpose of this five-state study is to shed light on selected states' gifted education policies. Four data sources were probed and comparisons were made within each state and across the five states. Additionally, a deductive analysis was conducted of each state's written policies against the National Association for Gifted Children program standards (NAGC, 1998), which serve as benchmarks for evaluating policies and services. Suggestions are given for policy development and research, based on five-state findings of existing gifted programs, services, and student accountability systems and the way in which selected policy components are integrated within state school reform efforts. (Contains 3 tables.)

Explores, in a reprint of the 1989 Junior Division National History Day winning paper, the history of some technological developments in Pennsylvania's coal mining industry. Examines the "breaker boys," youths who sorted coal in severe working conditions. Introduces Ellen Webster Palmer, who addressed the problem by organizing the Boys' Industrial Association (BIA). (CH)

Background: Nurse-led rounding checklists are a common strategy for facilitating evidence-based practice in the intensive care unit (ICU). To streamline checklist workflow, some ICUs have the nurse or another individual listen to the conversation and customize the checklist for each patient. Such customizations assume that individuals can reliably assess whether checklist items have been addressed. Objective: To evaluate whether 1 critical care nurse can reliably assess checklist items on rounds. Methods: Two nurses performed in-person observation of multidisciplinary ICU rounds. Using a standardized paper-based assessment tool, each nurse indicated whether 17 items related to the ABCDEF bundle were discussed during rounds. For each item, generalizability coefficients were used as a measure of reliability, with a single-rater value of 0.70 or greater considered sufficient to support its assessment by 1 nurse. Results: The nurse observers assessed 118 patient discussions across 15 observation days. For 11 of 17 items (65%), the generalizability coefficient for a single rater met or exceeded the 0.70 threshold. The generalizability coefficients (95% CIs) of a single rater for key items were as follows: pain, 0.86 (0.74-0.97); delirium score, 0.74 (0.64-0.83); agitation score, 0.72 (0.33-1.00); spontaneous awakening trial, 0.67 (0.49-0.83); spontaneous breathing trial, 0.80 (0.70-0.89); mobility, 0.79 (0.69-0.87); and family (future/past) engagement, 0.82 (0.73-0.90). Conclusion: Using a paper-based assessment tool, a single trained critical care nurse can reliably assess the discussion of elements of the ABCDEF bundle during multidisciplinary rounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lives of caregivers can be deeply impacted by having a child with a developmental disability (DD). To offset those impacts, caregivers may engage in accommodations, or strategies to bolster everyday functioning. The nature and extent of these accommodations can provide insight into how the family is doing and what supports are needed from a family-centered perspective. This paper presents the development and preliminary validation of the Accommodations & Impact Scale for Developmental Disabilities (AISDD). The AISDD is a rating scale that measures day-to-day accommodations and impacts of raising a child with a DD. A sample of 407 caregivers of youth with DDs (Mage = 11.7 years; 63% males) completed the AISDD, along with measures of caregiver strain, daily challenges, child adaptive behavior, and behavior and emotional regulation. The AISDD is a unidimensional, 19-item scale with excellent internal consistency (ordinal alpha =.93) and test–retest (ICC =.95) reliability. Scores were normally distributed and sensitive to age (r = −.19), diagnosis (ASD + ID > ASD > ID), adaptive functioning (r = −.35), and challenging behaviors (r =.57). Finally, the AISDD showed excellent convergent validity with similar measures of accommodations and impacts. These findings support the use of the AISDD as a valid and reliable tool for measuring accommodations among caregivers of individuals with DDs. This measure shows promise in its ability to identify which families may need additional support for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Advanced Nursing (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents an overview of how the Swarthmore College Peace Collection: A Memorial to Jane Addams was developed. Significant material acquired from her nephew James Weber Linn's collection of papers, from Hull-House, and from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom is mentioned. The Swarthmore College Peace Collection's website has correspondence from famous people such as Edward Bok, Carrie Chapman Catt, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt, Beatrice Potter Webb, and Woodrow Wilson.

BSTRACT [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because dairies across the United States have rapidly adopted breeding to beef breed sires, the use of beef semen has increased dramatically in recent years. The objective of this survey was to gather information about the use of beef semen by dairy producers in the Northeast United States to generate beef × dairy cattle for beef markets. The survey was conducted using the services of the Center for Survey Research at the Pennsylvania State University—Harrisburg campus. Respondents had two options for returning their responses: 1) mail the paper survey to CSR in the postage-paid business-reply envelope included in the mailing, or 2) complete the survey online via an open-access web survey link. A total of 669 surveys were received and a final number of 617 surveys were included in the responses based on completeness and validity of the responses. Because of the broad electronic distribution, a true response rate cannot be calculated. Of these, 463 (75.0%) were completed via returned paper survey, and 154 (25.0%) were completed via web, between November 9, 2021 and February 16, 2022. Of the 617 respondents, 539 were from Pennsylvania. Due to the large variations in returned survey copies by state, results are reported without state separation. Across all respondents, 69.7% reported milking 100 or fewer cows and over 90% of collected responses reported Holsteins as the predominant dairy breed in the Northeast. Only 18.8% of the respondents did not currently, nor plan to, breed with beef semen. Deciding which beef bulls to use on Northeast dairy farms was primarily based on the recommendation of the semen sales representative (54.5%) and the price of the semen purchased (42.3%). In addition, 89.7% of respondents cited using Angus genetics in their beef bull selections. However, there was no difference in reported profitability of crossbreeding between respondents who indicated using other beef breeds vs. those who indicated just using Angus (P ≥ 0.19). In conclusion, using beef sires on dairy females, regardless of the breed of beef sire, adds value to the resulting progeny from dairy farms in the Northeast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on an article about the agricultural productivity of Pennsylvania in 18th century. Discussion on economic development; Details of income distribution; Performance of the agriculture sector in the state.

The article reports on the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists' (AATCC) 1989 Student Paper Competition in Philadelphia. The Student Paper Competition was won by the Kansas State University through its research on the influence of antimicrobial agents on dye fading which was presented by Diana G. Johnson. Its runnersup included the University of Nebraska, Universite de Sherbrooke, and the Auburn University. It aimed to provide student chapters an opportunity to develop and present original research projects on dyes. Its research paper presentation was also presided by Theresa A. Perenich.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer after non-melanoma skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in US men. Its incidence and mortality rates vary substantially across geographical regions and over time, with large disparities by race, geographic regions (i.e., Appalachia), among others. The widely used Cox proportional hazards model is usually not applicable in such scenarios owing to the violation of the proportional hazards assumption. In this paper, we fit Bayesian accelerated failure time models for the analysis of prostate cancer survival and take dependent spatial structures and temporal information into account by incorporating random effects with multivariate conditional autoregressive priors. In particular, we relax the proportional hazards assumption, consider flexible frailty structures in space and time, and also explore strategies for handling the temporal variable. The parameter estimation and inference are based on a Monte Carlo Markov chain technique under a Bayesian framework. The deviance information criterion is used to check goodness of fit and to select the best candidate model. Extensive simulations are performed to examine and compare the performances of models in different contexts. Finally, we illustrate our approach by using the 2004-2014 Pennsylvania Prostate Cancer Registry data to explore spatial-temporal heterogeneity in overall survival and identify significant risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recruiting large cohorts efficiently can speed the translation of findings into care across a range of scientific disciplines and medical specialties. Recruitment can be hampered by factors such as financial barriers, logistical concerns, and lack of resources for patients and clinicians. These and other challenges can lead to underrepresentation in groups such as rural residents and racial and ethnic minorities. Here we discuss the implementation of various recruitment strategies for enrolling participants into a large, prospective cohort study, assessing the need for adaptations and making them in real-time, while maintaining high adherence to the protocol and high participant satisfaction. Methods: While conducting a large, prospective trial of a multi-cancer early detection blood test at Geisinger, an integrated health system in central Pennsylvania, we monitored recruitment progress, adherence to the protocol, and participants' satisfaction. Tracking mechanisms such as paper records, electronic health records, research databases, dashboards, and electronic files were utilized to measure each outcome. We then reviewed study procedures and timelines to list the implementation strategies that were used to address barriers to recruitment, protocol adherence and participant satisfaction. Results: Adaptations to methods that contributed to achieving the enrollment goal included offering multiple recruitment options, adopting group consenting, improving visit convenience, increasing the use of electronic capture and the tracking of data and source documents, staffing optimization via leveraging resources external to the study team when appropriate, and integrating the disclosure of study results into routine clinical care without adding unfunded work for clinicians. We maintained high protocol adherence and positive participant experience as exhibited by a very low rate of protocol deviations and participant complaints. Conclusion: Recruiting rapidly for large studies – and thereby facilitating clinical translation – requires a nimble, creative approach that marshals available resources and changes course according to data. Planning a rigorous assessment of a study's implementation outcomes prior to study recruitment can further ground study adaptations and facilitate translation into practice. This can be accomplished by proactively and continuously assessing and revising implementation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a growing body of literature that indicates positive outcomes of group treatment approaches to intervention for communication difficulties in chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). The published research to date examines face‐to‐face group intervention. Aim: This study draws on one of these approaches, 'Improving Natural Social Interaction: Group reHabilitation after Traumatic brain injury' (INSIGHT), and examines the adaptation of this program to a virtual setting. The principles underlying the program, which involved providing an authentic contextualised and natural environment for group interactions and enhancing opportunities for identity expression, were maintained. Methods & Procedures: Six participants with mild to severe TBI and cognitive communication difficulties participated in an 8‐week pilot program of the virtual INSIGHT program. Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) scores completed over the course of the intervention served as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes measures included The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Update, The Awareness of Social Inference Test‐Revised, the La Trobe Communication Questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Outcomes & Results: A mixed multilevel analysis revealed significant improvement in GAS scores. A Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed no significant changes in secondary measures. Conclusions & Implications: There is a growing potential for this group treatment approach, in an online medium, and progress towards individualised goals was clear. The data have implications for examining the assessment measures typically used to document functional outcomes in clinical intervention. Future directions indicate a need to pursue more ecologically valid assessment methods. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject: Recent literature has focused on the benefits of group intervention for cognitive communication diffuclties after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, research to date examines only face‐to‐face group rehabilitation. As there has been a demand for a shift in the way we communicate worldwide, we must make adaptations to current intervention procedures to continue to serve individuals with diverse communication needs. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study contributes new information about the feasibility of a virtual communication skills group for individuals with TBI. This virtual INSIGHT (Improving Natural Social Interaction: Group ehabilitation after Traumatic brain injury) group intervention facilitates progress towards collaboratively set communication goals and the online setting has the potential to increase the accessibility of these services. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Progress towards cognitive and social communication goals can be facilitated by an online group intervention. However, this progress was not correlated with scores on standard assessments of cognitive communication, social communication and quality of life. This has implications for the evaluation of the assessments typically used and their ecological validity and applicability to the communication context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity is known to contribute to good health, but most adults in the United States do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines. Social incentive interventions that leverage insights from behavioral economics have increased physical activity in short-term trials, but there is limited evidence of their effectiveness in community settings or their long-term effectiveness. The STEP Together study is a Hybrid Type 1 effectiveness-implementation study to address these evidence and implementation gaps. This paper describes the process of adapting study procedures prior to the effectiveness trial using Community Engagement (CE) Studios, facilitated meetings during which community members provide feedback on research projects. Six CE Studios were held with community members from the priority population. They were conducted remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifteen liaisons representing 13 community organizations and 21 community members from different neighborhoods in Philadelphia participated. Three elements of the study design were modified based on feedback from the CE Studios: lowering the age requirement for an 'older adult', clarifying the definition of family members to include second-degree relatives, and adding a 6-month survey. These adaptations will improve the fit of the effectiveness trial to the local context and improve participant engagement and retention. CE Studios can be used to adapt intervention strategies and other aspects of study design during hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials. This approach was successfully used with remote online participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and serves as a model for future community-engaged implementation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years, much attention has been focused on the nationwide teacher shortage. As teachers begin to retire in record numbers, and the number of students entering teacher education majors continues to decline, concern around the teacher shortage heightens (US Dept. of Ed., 2016). The numbers are even more dire when looking at Teachers of Color entering the profession (US Dept. of Ed., 2016). To address this TOC shortage, Pennsylvania’s Department of Education called for Institutions of Higher Education to create programs aimed at attracting and retaining students of color in their teacher education programs. The Aspiring to Educate (A2E) program was Pennsylvania’s intentional attempt to diversify the teacher workforce. This paper describes the work of three Black educators, as they examine their positionality and work independently and collectively to answer PA’s call to action through the implementation of start-up Grow Your Own programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the paper "The Extended School Year Controversy: Judicial v. Educational Considerations," by William Healey and Julie Reichman. The issues covered in the paper include the right to extended school year programs for handicapped children, the need for such programs, court considerations of pupil eligibility and implementation of extended school year programs in Pennsylvania. The authors also explains eligibility criteria, pupil need and instructional time and recommendations.

The article announces the winner for the 2004 Best Paper Award of the 2005 National Oral Health Conference held at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from May 2-4, 2005. The winner of the award is the paper published in the Spring 2004 issue of the journal entitled "The Effects of the Women, Infants, and Children's Supplemental Food Program on Dentally Related Medicaid Expenditures," by Jessica lee, R. Gary Rozier, Edward Norton, Jonathan Kotch, and William Vann.

This paper examines ways in which human values toward surface water, especially large rivers, are relevant to land-use decisions in the watersheds. The study's focus is the symbolic riverscape constructed by residents local to the Susquehanna River at the confluence of its branches in central Pennsylvania. The main analytical tool is the cultural landscape, a conceptualization of the ways in which alteration of the physical world is the product of human value systems. The paper traces the symbolic weights apparent in discourses about the Susquehanna River with regard to environmental use and abuse in the watershed, through qualitative analysis of public expressions of meaning and valuation. The conclusions emphasize an evolution of the meaning of the river toward a central role as an integral and intricate part of the human experience on the landscape, rather than its earlier role as one functional part of the economic system. Land-use actions consonant with that new value are now favored. This work is offered to suggest that land system science, which is highly effective in understanding altered natural systems and their consequences, can benefit from a fuller engagement with more-intimate human aspects of landscape such as symbols, meaning, and narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the resignation of Bambang Parmanto, the editor-in-chief of "The Open Information Science Journal" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It notes that the Parmanto claimed the its publisher Bentham Science Publishing received a fake article without his knowledge. Mahmood Alam, director of publications at Bentham Science Publishing emphasizes the conviction of submitting fake manuscripts because of its being unethical.

Purpose: Maternal substance use and deaths due to overdoses are increasing nationwide. Evidence suggests that the rate of resumed substance use, and fatal and non-fatal overdose is greatest in the first year after birth, particularly around six months postpartum, compared to other parts of the perinatal period. Doula care has been linked to improvements in perinatal health and outcomes. Description: In response to the opioid epidemic, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health developed and implemented the Doula Support Program (DSP), with a focus on one year of postpartum care for birthing people with a substance use disorder (SUD). In this paper, we describe the program and its formation and report on the early challenges and successes of the program implementation, based on information we received from program founders and managers in a group interview. Assessment: Early successes of the program include partnering with local community-based programs to recruit and retain doulas, supplementing traditional doula education with perinatal SUD-specific trainings, and maximizing client referrals by collaborating with local organizations and treatment centers that serve birthing people with SUD. Client retention, however, has proven to be challenging, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: The DSP continues to grow, and lessons learned will facilitate program improvements. The goal of this paper is to outline the development and launch of the DSP and to act as a model for other state and local health departments interested in providing doula care for birthing people with SUD. Significance: Maternal substance use and fatal overdoses are increasing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In response to this crisis, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health's Division of Maternal, Child and Family Health developed the Doula Support Program (DSP), offering doula care to pregnant people with a current or past SUD history up to one-year postpartum. To our knowledge, this is the only doula program in Pennsylvania offering one-year postpartum support to birthing people affected by SUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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