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In this qualitative study, the authors extend the previous research and present findings from a study investigating post-secondary theoretically-based study strategy courses. In Texas, these courses are known as learning frameworks courses, offered for college credit, and derive full-formula funding from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Researchers focused on learning frameworks courses offered at Texas public community colleges in the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters. A total of 44 course coordinators or their designees were interviewed via phone or email. Using content analysis, researchers coded data into content categories and thematic units. Findings provide historical, administrative and curricula perspectives including primary distinctions among course topics; theoretical perspectives (or lack thereof); textbooks, resources, and assessment selections; and instructor training. The authors recommended the development of statewide resources to assist institutions in meeting statewide curricula requirements.

This research examined how a teacher's discussion of the strands of scientific proficiencies changed over the course of an inquiry cycle as students engaged in a complex, technology-enhanced inquiry learning environment called "PlantingScience" (PS). Our research is descriptive in nature and attempts to deconstruct the complexity of teacher talk in the classroom as related to the strands of science proficiency. For this study, we used an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. First, the research team watched twenty recorded PS science lessons, transcribed the teacher's comments about inquiry, and identified each class/lab's phase of inquiry. Then, the research team coded the teacher's transcribed inquiry comments. By using both the scientific proficiency and inquiry lenses to examine one teacher's orchestration, our findings detail the art of teacher talk for promoting the four strands of scientific proficiencies through the phases of inquiry. As students transitioned through each phase of inquiry, the teacher emphasized the strands of scientific proficiency differently, but all strands were present. Since teachers play a vital role in developing students' understanding of science as both content and practice, this research helps recognize and describe strategies promoting greater scientific proficiency in students.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore single-mother college students' perceptions of their college-related experiences and to learn about campus services related to these experiences that could help them during their college journey. Ten single mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Five themes emerged from the data: mothers are motivated by their children, mothers are managers, mothers are time pressured, mothers want the university to consider them as individuals, and mothers want the university to consider their children. Study limitations, future research, and recommendations for policy and practice were presented.

An industrial-type distillation column, including appropriate pumps, heat exchangers, and automation, was used as a unit operations experiment to provide a link between classroom teaching and real-world applications. Students were presented with an open-ended experiment where they defined the testing parameters to solve a generalized problem. The goal was to provide operating conditions for optimum economic efficiency. An assessment revealed that students developed proficiency for comprehending the intertwined facets of typical chemical processes.

Introduction: Cigarette purchasing patterns may be linked with greater readiness to make a quit attempt and more quit attempts among domiciled samples. However, little is known about the cigarette purchasing patterns of homeless smokers or their potential relations to quitting intention and behaviors. This study redressed this gap among a convenience sample of homeless adult smokers from a large shelter in Dallas, Texas.Methods: Participants (N = 207; Mage = 43; 71.5% male) smoked ≥100 cigarettes over the lifetime and endorsed current daily smoking. Variables assessed included cigarette dependence (time to first cigarette of the day), monthly income, quantity of cigarettes most recently purchased, average money spent on cigarettes weekly, readiness/motivation to quit smoking, and the number intentional quit attempts lasting ≥24h in the past year. Regression analyses were conducted to characterize associations of cigarette purchasing patterns with readiness to quit and quit attempts controlling for sex, age, cigarette dependence, and income.Results: Most participants purchased cigarettes by the pack (61.4%), and more than half the sample spent ≤$20 on cigarettes per week. Results indicated that spending less money per week on cigarettes was associated with greater readiness to quit (P = .016), even when controlling for income, cigarette dependence, and other covariates. Stratified analyses indicated that this association was significant only for homeless smokers reporting no regular monthly income.Conclusions: Homeless daily smokers with no reported income who spend little money on cigarettes may make particularly apt targets for cessation interventions due to potential associations with quitting motivation.Implications: Adults who are homeless smoke at greater rates and quit at lower rates than domiciled adults, leading to significant smoking-related health disparities among this group. Findings suggest that cigarette purchasing patterns are linked with readiness to quit smoking among smokers who are homeless. Results elucidate one of the myriad factors that contribute to tobacco-related disparities among this group and findings may have implications for cessation interventions in homeless shelters and other contexts where resources are limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: One of the most common types of skin breakdown in aging populations is skin tears. The International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP) advocates for special attention to be paid to dressing selection related to skin tear management. It is paramount that dressings protect the fragile nature of the skin associated with those who at heightened risk for skin tear development. Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of soft silicone dressings (a contact layer and/or foam) for the healing of skin tears with local practices that do not include soft silicone dressings. Methodology: The study was a pragmatic randomised controlled prospective study. One hundred and twenty-six individuals from two long-term care facilities in Ontario Canada who presented with skin tears were randomized into the treatment group using either soft silicone dressings (a contact layer and/or foam) or the control group using non-adhesive dressings. Results: The current study demonstrated that 96.9% (n=63) of skin tears in the treatment group healed over a three-week period compared to 34.4% (n=21) in the control group. The proportion of wound healing experienced at week two was 89.2% (n=58) in the treatment group compared to 27.9% (n=17) in the control group. There was a significantly greater reduction in wound surface area relative to baseline in the treatment group (2.9 cm²) compared to the control group (0.6 cm²) (X²=21.792 p<0.0001) at week one. Survival analysis data supported that skin tears healed 50% faster in the treatment group (11days) compared to the control group (22 days) (X²= 59.677 p<0.0001). Conclusion: Results of this study suggest the use of silicone dressings support wound healing and aid in wound closure within the expected healing trajectory, with faster complete wound closure and mean healing times compared to non-silicone dressing for the treatment of STs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium in tap water was previously found to have life-extending effects across 18 Japanese municipalities. Using a larger dataset with several Texas counties, our study shows that lithium concentrations in tap water are negatively associated with all-cause mortality ( r = −0.18, p = 0.006, 232 counties) and years of potential life lost ( r = −0.22, p = 0.001, 214 counties). Thus, our present findings extend and reinforce lithium's purported life-prolonging effect in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We report the results of alendronate ingestion plus exercise in preventing the declines in bone mass and strength and elevated levels of urinary calcium and bone resorption in astronauts during 5.5 months of spaceflight. Introduction: This investigation was an international collaboration between NASA and the JAXA space agencies to investigate the potential value of antiresorptive agents to mitigate the well-established bone changes associated with long-duration spaceflight. Methods: We report the results from seven International Space Station (ISS) astronauts who spent a mean of 5.5 months on the ISS and who took an oral dose of 70 mg of alendronate weekly starting 3 weeks before flight and continuing throughout the mission. All crewmembers had available for exercise a treadmill, cycle ergometer, and a resistance exercise device. Our assessment included densitometry of multiple bone regions using X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and assays of biomarkers of bone metabolism. Results: In addition to pre- and post-flight measurements, we compared our results to 18 astronauts who flew ISS missions and who exercised using an early model resistance exercise device, called the interim resistance exercise device, and to 11 ISS astronauts who exercised using the newer advanced resistance exercise device (ARED). Our findings indicate that the ARED provided significant attenuation of bone loss compared with the older device although post-flight decreases in the femur neck and hip remained. The combination of the ARED and bisphosphonate attenuated the expected decline in essentially all indices of altered bone physiology during spaceflight including: DXA-determined losses in bone mineral density of the spine, hip, and pelvis, QCT-determined compartmental losses in trabecular and cortical bone mass in the hip, calculated measures of fall and stance computed bone strength of the hip, elevated levels of bone resorption markers, and urinary excretion of calcium. Conclusions: The combination of exercise plus an antiresoptive drug may be useful for protecting bone health during long-duration spaceflight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the contribution of financial risk to shareholder value in the petroleum industry in Texas. Management of commodity price cycles; Components of real option strategy; Business advantages from a changing economic conditions.