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In this article, we open with a discussion of stress and its potential impact on the teaching profession. We then follow with an empirical rationale for and steps in the implementation of potentially promising mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) interventions for teachers, particularly teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Body scan, calm breathing, focused attention, and relaxation are highlighted. A list of resources for further use of MBSR is included.

A survey study of 248 educators in four states was conducted to identify respondents' formal training, use, and perceived effectiveness of 37 evidence-based classroom management practices within four general categories: (a) antecedent-based, (b) instructionally based, (c) consequence-based, and (d) self-management. Results indicated that, on average, only one in three respondents received formal training in most of the practices. However, 91% of responding educators reported formal training with antecedent-based practices, while just over half received formal training in self-management strategies. Results also indicated that formal training significantly predicted use of practices, but not perceptions of effectiveness. We describe implications for improving preservice and in-service teachers' formal training on evidence-based classroom management practices, as well as implications for practicing teachers.

Difficulty managing classroom behavior is a frequently recognized problem for teachers, especially teachers early in their careers. Classroom rules are identified as an integral part of effective classroom management as they are relatively simple to implement and focus on preventing challenging behaviors before they occur. Sources such as classroom management textbooks and practitioner-oriented journal articles recommend a number of characteristics that make classroom rules effective; unfortunately, these sources have not been uniform in their recommendations. The purpose of this review of effective practices is to compare what information teachers are being given either in their preservice coursework or in-service training via textbooks and practitioner-oriented articles with actual empirical research that used classroom rules as an independent variable. Results indicated that the two most important characteristics of effective classroom rules are teaching the rules to students and tying rules to positive and/or negative consequences. Other characteristics recommended in secondary sources remain equivocal in the research. Implications for effective teacher preparation in classroom management are discussed.

Four male 9th-grade students with mild to moderate disabilities participated in a single case design that compared choral responding (CR) and a choral responding plus mnemonic device (CR+) during geography lessons. The authors used an alternating treatments design to evaluate the effects of the two strategies on students' on-task behavior and daily quiz scores in identifying states on a map of the United States. The results showed that the CR+ was more effective than CR in increasing on-task behavior and accuracy levels on daily quiz scores, as well as performance on a 1-week delayed recall test. The teacher and students rated the CR+ as highly acceptable. A discussion of limitations, future research, and practical implications is included.

This article is a review of functional behavior assessment studies in general education setting for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The studies were assessed in accordance with published standards for evidence-based practices. Overall, few studies met criteria for inclusion in this review and even fewer studies included all three parts of a complete FBA. Results indicate that there are few studies of FBA that specifically address students with behavior problems in general education. Although FBA may have future promise for the described setting and population, there currently is too little information available and lack of consistency in practice to yet claim it is an evidence-based practice.

Background: The use of maintenance medication in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in real life is known to deviate from recommendations in guidelines, which are largely based on randomized controlled trials and selected populations. Objectives: We used the COSYCONET (CO PD and Sy stemic Consequences – Co morbidities Net work) cohort to analyze factors linked to the use of COPD drugs under non-interventional circumstances. Design: COSYCONET is an ongoing, multi-center, non-interventional cohort of patients with COPD. Methods: Patients with COPD of Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) grades 0–4 participating in visits 1–5 were included. Data covered the period from 2010 to 2018. Generalized linear models were used to examine the relation of COPD characteristics to different types of respiratory medication. Results: A total of 1043 patients were included. The duration of observation was 4.5 years. Use of respiratory medication depended on GOLD grades 0–4 and groups A-D. Long-acting muscarinic antagonist therapy increased over time, and was associated with low carbon monoxide (CO) diffusing capacity, while inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use decreased. Active smoking was associated with less maintenance therapy in general, and female sex with less ICS use. From the eight items of the COPD Assessment Test, only hill and stair climbing were consistently linked to treatment. Conclusion: Using data from a large, close to real-life observational cohort, we identified factors linked to the use of various types of respiratory COPD medication. Overall, use was consistent with GOLD recommendations. Beyond this, we identified other correlates of medication use that may help us to understand and improve therapy decisions in clinical practice. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01245933. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective instruction is a critical predictor of student achievement. As students with exceptionalities such as emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, who typically struggle with academic achievement, spend increasing amounts of general education settings, the need for precise instructional behaviors becomes more imperative. The authors present the results of 1,197 systematic direct observations of teachers' instructional behaviors and their effect on student engagement and disruption. Results indicate statistically significant correlations between teaching and student engagement and disruptions, although there is variability depending on the grade level (elementary school vs. high school). Limitations, implications, and directions for future practice are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to update the research regarding perceptions of specific challenging behaviors that teachers find to be most prevalent and/or problematic. This study analyzes the role of teacher demographics (gender, race, grade level, and years of experience) on their perceptions of specifically defined challenging behaviors. After conducting a comprehensive review of the literature, nine categories of challenging behaviors in schools and classrooms were created. Using these definitions, this study analyzed 800 surveys of kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers in five districts of one state to measure their perceptions of these nine categories of challenging behavior. Teachers were also surveyed for demographic data to investigate response patterns for different challenging behaviors. Analyses indicated that "Off-task" was the most prevalent and problematic challenging behavior and "Isolation/No social interaction" was the least prevalent and problematic challenging behavior. Statistically significant differences in ratings were noted according to gender, grade level and years teaching. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Background: Alterations in body composition, including a low fat-free mass index (FFMI), are common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and occur regardless of body weight.Research Question: Is the impact of low FFMI on exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQL) and systemic inflammation different among COPD patients stratified in different body mass index classifications?Study Design and Methods: We analysed baseline data of COPD patients from the COSYCONET (COPD and Systemic Consequences - Comorbidities Network) cohort. Assessments included lung function, bioelectrical impedance analysis, six-minute walk distance (6MWD), HRQL and inflammatory markers. Patients were stratified in underweight (UW), normal weight (NW), pre-obese (PO) and obese (OB) according to BMI and as presenting low, normal or high FFMI using 25th and 75th percentiles of reference values. Linear mixed models were used to investigate the associations between FFM and fat mass with secondary outcomes in each BMI group.Results: 2137 COPD patients (GOLD 1-4, 61% males, age: 65±8years, FEV1: 52.5±18.8%pred) were included. The proportions of patients in UW, NW, PO and OB groups were 12.3%, 31.3%, 39.6%, 16.8%. The frequency of low FFMI decreased from lower to higher BMI groups (UW:81%, NW:53%, PO:42%, OB:39%). FFM was associated with the 6MWD in the UW group, even when adjusting for a broad set of covariates (P<0.05). HRQL was not associated with FFM after adjustment for lung function or dyspnea (P>0.32). Fat mass was associated with higher systemic inflammation in the NW and PO groups (P<0.05).Interpretation: In patients with COPD with lower weight, such as UW patients, higher FFMI is independently associated with better exercise capacity. In contrast, in PO and OB COPD patients, a higher FFMI were not consistently associated with better outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to ambiguous findings on cardiovascular benefits of systemic omega-3 fatty acid therapy, endogenous mechanisms contributing to local organ-specific concentrations of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) were examined. Using gas chromatography, 43 fatty acids were analyzed in atrial and ventricular myocardium and in pericardial fluid of male Wistar rats. To examine the endogenous fatty acid metabolism, precursors were administered into the pericardial sac. Pro- and antiinflammatory actions were induced by talc or fenofibrate, respectively. Physical exercise and a sedentary obese state were used for increased beta-oxidation. DHA (22:6n-3) was increased in ventricular when compared with atrial myocardium (9.0 ± 2.1% vs. 4.7 ± 1.0%, p < 0.001). Intrapericardial EPA (20:5n-3) application lead to an increase of the succeeding tetracosapentaenoic acid (24:5n-3) in atrial myocardium, which is a key precursor of DHA. In contrast, proinflammatory stimulation of the n-6 HUFA pathway did not influence the n-3 metabolism. Exercise- and obesity-induced increased beta-oxidation, the finalizing step of DHA synthesis, was associated with increased ventricular DHA concentrations (6.7 ± 1.0% vs. 8.4 ± 1.2%, p < 0.01). It is concluded that the endogenous metabolism contributes markedly to myocardial HUFA concentrations. The findings are supposed to influence the efficacy of oral HUFA treatment and provide a rationale for divergent findings of previous trials on omega-3 therapy. Key words: arachidonic acid, arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, atrium, beta- oxidation, DHA, EPA, ethyl ester, exercise, heart failure, highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), pericardium, pericardial treatment, omega-3 (n-3), omega-6 (n-6), pericardial inflammation, ventricle, wall stress, wheel running. Dans le contexte ou les donnees relatives auxbenefices systemiques d'une therapie aux acides gras omega-3 sont ambigues, les auteurs ont examine les mecanismes endogenes qui contribuent aux concentrations locales d'acides gras hautement insatures (AGHI) specifiques d'organes. Quarante-trois acides gras du myocarde auriculaire, du myocarde ventriculaire et du liquide pericardique ont ete analyses par chromatographie gazeuse chez des rats Wistar males. Afin d'examiner le metabolisme des acides gras endogenes, des precurseurs ont ete administres dans le sac pericardique. Des reponses pro-inflammatoires et anti-inflammatoires ont ete induites respectivement par du talc ou du fenofibrate. L'exercice physique et l'etat d'obesite sedentaire ont ete utilises comme conditions ou labeta-oxydation est accrue. Le DHA (22:6n-3) etait accru dans le myocarde ventriculaire comparativement au myocarde auriculaire (9,0 ± 2,1 % vs. 4,7 ± 1,0 %, p < 0,001). L'application d'EPA (20:5n-3) intra-pericardique resultait en une augmentation dans la myocarde auriculaire d'acide tetracosapentaenoique (24:5n-3), un precurseur cle de DHA. Par contre, la stimulation pro-inflammatoire du sentier des AGHI n-6 n'influencait pas le metabolisme des n-3. Labeta- oxydation accrue par l'exercice ou l'obesite, la derniere etape de la synthese de DHA, etait associee a une augmentation des concentrations de DHA ventriculaire (6,7 ± 1,0 % vs. 8,4 ± 1,2 %, p < 0,01). Les auteurs concluent que le metabolisme endogene contribue de facon marquee aux concentrations AGHI dans le myocarde. Ce phenomene pourrait influencer l'efficacite d'un traitement oral aux AGHI et fournir une explication des donnees divergentes issues des essais precedents portant sur la therapie par omega-3. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: acide arachidonique, arythmie, fibrillation auriculaire, oreillette, beta-oxydation, DHA, EPA, ester d'ethyle, exercice, insuffisance cardiaque, acides gras hautement insatures (AGHI), acides gras polyinsatures (AGPI), pericarde, traitement pericardique, omega-3 (n-3), omega-6 (n-6), inflammation pericardique, ventricule, contraction parietale, course sur roue., Introduction Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), a long chain subgroup of poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), are crucial in numerous cellular and molecular mechanisms (Calder 2003; Mozaffarian and Wu 2012). [...]