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Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) impact millions of individuals each year and can pose long term consequences. Despite numerous attempts, no medication has been approved by the FDA to treat TBIs. The causes of these failed trials are multifaceted, but in part can be attributed to the complex nature of TBIs, as well as a lack of sufficient pre-clinical data. In vitro models of TBI are an important tool to help understand the cellular changes seen following the injury, in a highly controlled environment. For the following experiments, a novel model of TBI was used to injure organotypic hippocampal slice cultures, harvested from eight-day old Sprague Dawley rat pups. The focus of experiment 1 was to begin characterizing a new model as a valid model of TBI. A spinal cord injury impactor was used to administer a stretch injury to the tissue. To assess the damage, slices were stained with propidium iodide (PI), NeuN, or DCFH-DA. Generally, injured tissue showed an increase in PI and DCF fluorescence while NeuN fluorescence was unaffected. The purpose of experiment 2 was to determine the effect of ethanol pre-exposure on the injury. Between 25-50% of people are intoxicated at the time of injury, but the effects of alcohol are unknown. In the current experiment, tissue was administered ethanol for two days prior to the injury. Post injury, tissue was stained with PI and NeuN. Generally, the effect of ethanol pre-exposure on these outcome measures was dependent on the severity of the injury. The purpose of experiment 3 was to reduce the effect of the injury. N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA) works by increasing levels of glutathione to reduce ROS related damage. NACA was given immediately post injury and tissue was assessed with PI, NeuN, and DCFH-DA. There was no benefit of NACA, as the timing and concentrations of NACA used were not optimal. The data from these studies suggest the model can be a beneficial tool for studying TBIs. However, further research is necessary to determine the biochemical workings of the injuries., © 2022 Julia Elaine Jagielo-Miller

"Planning Educational Change: Vol. III, Integrating the Desegregated School," by Chesler, Jorgensen, and Erenberg is reviewed in this issue of the "NCRIEEO Newsletter." The book in question tries to provide teachers and administrators with methods for improving race relations in desegregated schools. Some of the techniques suggested include role playing for students, sensitivity sessions for teachers, and diagnosis of school sentiment through the use of questionnaires. The reviewers suggest that discussion of basic issues might enhance educators' understanding of the problems involved in school desegregation. Also discussed are organizational strategies for planning desegregation such as pairing, school closing, open enrollment, and educational parks. In conclusion, the reviewers note that the requirement for the proper utilization of the ideas in "Planning Educational Change" is a commitment to work toward the achievement of a racially integrated society. This issue of the "NCRIEEO Newsletter" also lists recent works (documents as well as journal articles) on equal educational opportunity. For the book reviewed, see ED 042 071. (JW)

Summer 2020 provided the motivation and opportunity to move summer outreach programs into the virtual world. Faculty and students in the Purdue University School of Engineering Technology moved face-to-face programs into a middle school program called Techie Times. This program was designed to provide students with an organized platform occurring just before the school year started, allowing them to learn at home, working with family, or independently. The program was designed to take place nonconsecutively over eight days, covering five various STEM topics. Some of these activities were already a part of the middle school curriculum; others were not. That provided an opportunity to engage students and teach them principles that support various engineering technology curricula. Students were recruited from across the country. Students were placed into three cohorts sorted by biological age and then into smaller groups to enhance interactions. Volunteers moderated the smaller groups representing corporate engineering retirees, university professors, and others interested in helping. The volunteers were provided with information to support the principles being learned in the activity of the day. They asked the students to demonstrate what they did at home and then asked them questions about what they learned from the activity. In the older age groups, volunteers generated hypotheses and tested them to see if they worked, thus providing a challenge for the older and more experienced students. This camp proved to be well-timed on the summer calendar. Parents expressed their pleasure in their students becoming a bit more disciplined as they transitioned from their summer activities to the upcoming school year. This paper will review the program’s curriculum, observations by the parents/guardians, and feedback from the students. The program is an example of a well-transformed outreach program that engaged and enlightened students.

This is a list of 302 troublesome semi-technical medical words identified in Hsu's (2013) Medical Word List resulted from the core meaning-based analysis.

In vielen Karzinomen findet sich ein Funktions- oder Expressionsverlust des putativen Metastasierungssuppressors, des Tetraspanins KAI1. In metastasierten Mammakarzinomzellen konnte zudem eine Splice-Variante des KAI1-Proteins nachgewiesen werden. In dieser Dissertation wurden die tumorbiologischen Effekte der beiden KAI1-Proteine auf die zelluläre Proliferation, Adhäsion sowie deren Wechselwirkungen mit dem Integrin alpha v beta 3 und dem epidermalen Wachstumsfaktorrezeptor untersucht. Hierfür wurde ein vermeintliches Mammakarzinommodell der Zelllinien MDA-MB-231 und MDA-MB-435 kreiert und stabile Transfektanten generiert, die eine erhöhte Expression von entweder KAI1-WT oder KAI1-SP zeigten. Die Daten unterstreichen die differentiellen molekularen Wechselwirkungen und die damit einhergehenden funktionellen Effekte der beiden KAI1-Varianten und deuten darauf hin, dass durch die Expression von KAI1-SP die metastasierungssuppressiven Funktionen von KAI1-WT nicht nur außer Kraft gesetzt werden, sondern dessen Splicen sogar tumorbiologische Effekte auslöst, welche die Tumorprogression und Metastasierung stimulieren. The putative metastasis suppressor and tetraspanin KAI1 is downregulated or lost in many cancers. In metastatic breast cancer, a splice variant of KAI1 has been identified, going along with poor prognosis. This dissertation examines the tumor biological effects of both KAI1-proteins on cellular proliferation, adhesion and their interaction with the integrin alpha v beta 3 and the epidermal growth factor receptor. Therefore, we created a presumed breast cancer cell model, consisting of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-435, and generated stable transfected cells showing either an overexpression of KAI1-WT or KAI1-SP. These data underline the different molecular interactions and functional effects of the two KAI1 variants and indicate that the splice variant of KAI1 does not only abrogate its metastasis suppressive functions. In fact, KAI1-SP rather promotes tumor biological effects that stimulate cancer progression and metastasis.