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Project-based learning (PBL) instructional methods attempt to make connections between students and their ability to solve real problems. We framed our qualitative study within sociocultural theory and used the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) model to define the positive and negative factors occurring during a PBL activity. We followed 22 rural community college chemistry students during a garden-based PBL activity and collected data through discussions, observations, open-ended exam questions, semi-structured interviews, and reflective journals. Our goal was to identify the social influences on groups in real time, meaning defining group interactions as they were occurring, and organize the findings within a SWOT framework. We discovered four strengths (discussions, groups, instructor support, and knowledge/experience), six weaknesses (absences, collaboration, communication, dominant member, motivation, and procrastination), four opportunities (Canvas and Google Docs, community members/ family, out-of-class communication/discussions, and websites), and two threats (animosity and personal issues/ignoring the group). The results offer insight into the complex network of social interactions within the peer group. We include strategies for finding the right balance between SWOT factors.

This research report explores the potential racial disparity in the use of regional nerve blocks for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in hospitals. The study found that hospitals with a higher proportion of Black patients undergoing TKA were less likely to administer nerve blocks. This difference persisted even after accounting for patient characteristics. The findings suggest that there may be a racial disparity in access to nerve blockade for pain management during TKA. However, it is important to note that the study has limitations and may not apply to the entire US population. [Extracted from the article]

PurposeDevelopment of nongenetic animal models of local retinal degeneration is essential for studies of retinal pathologies, such as chronic retinal detachment or age-related macular degeneration. We present two different methods to induce a highly localized retinal degeneration with precise onset time, that can be applied to a broad range of species in laboratory use.MethodsA 30-μm thin polymer sheet was implanted subretinally in wild-type (WT) rats. The effects of chronic retinal separation from the RPE were studied using histology and immunohistochemistry. Another approach is applicable to species with avascular retina, such as rabbits, where the photoreceptors and RPE were thermally ablated over large areas, using a high power scanning laser.ResultsPhotoreceptors above the subretinal implant in rats degenerated over time, with 80% of the outer nuclear layer disappearing within a month, and the rest by 3 months. Similar loss was obtained by selective photocoagulation with a scanning laser. Cells in the inner nuclear layer and ganglion cell layer were preserved in both cases. However, there were signs of rewiring and decrease in the size of the bipolar cell terminals in the damaged areas.ConclusionsBoth methods induce highly reproducible degeneration of photoreceptors over a defined area, with complete preservation of the inner retinal neurons during the 3-month follow-up. They provide a reliable platform for studies of local retinal degeneration and development of therapeutic strategies in a wide variety of species.

Alcohol use is a contributor in the premature deaths of approximately 3 million people annually. Among the risk factors for alcohol misuse is circadian rhythm disruption; however, this connection remains poorly understood. Inhibition of the circadian nuclear receptor REV-ERBα is known to disrupt molecular feedback loops integral to daily oscillations, and impact diurnal fluctuations in the expression of proteins required for reward-related neurotransmission. However, the role of REV-ERBα in alcohol and substance use-related phenotypes is unknown. Herein, we used a Rev-erbα knockout mouse line and ethanol two-bottle choice preference testing to show that disruption of Rev-erbα reduces ethanol preference in male and female mice. Rev-erbα null mice showed the lowest ethanol preference in a two-bottle choice test across all genotypes, whereas there were no ethanol preference differences between heterozygotes and wildtypes. In a separate experiment, alcohol-consuming wildtype C57Bl/6N mice were administered the REV-ERBα/β inhibitor SR8278 (25 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg) for 7 days and alcohol preference was evaluated daily. No differences in alcohol preference were observed between the treatment and vehicle groups. Our data provides evidence that genetic variation in REV-ERBα may contribute to differences in alcohol drinking.

A falta de informações sobre o real custo dos serviços públicos provoca uma demanda social em saber qual a qualidade dos gastos públicos. Entretanto, há uma carência de estudos práticos que abordam a gestão de custos aplicados a instituições do setor público. Assim, objetivou-se estimar e avaliar os custos da atividade leiteira do Instituto Federal de Minas Gerais - Campus Bambuí, no período de 2012 a 2014, com a finalidade de obter um diagnóstico gerencial. A abordagem da pesquisa caracteriza-se como quali-quantitativa; em relação aos objetivos, é classificada como descritiva e explicativa, e, quanto aos procedimentos, define-se como pesquisa documental e estudo de caso. O estudo demonstrou que a atividade é subsidiada e depende de recursos financeiros do governo para manter a atual estrutura produtiva, pois não possuiviabilidade operacional mínima, ou seja, os recursos próprios não são suficientes para arcar com os gastos operacionais. Dessa forma, será necessário rever a atual estrutura produtiva do setor de bovinocultura e seu planejamento de gastos, uma vez que os recursos empregados na atividade são públicos e precisam ser aplicados de forma eficaz e eficiente para que gerem a maior quantidade de benefícios e atenda às expectativas da sociedade.

After implementation of the Real Plan in July 1994 by the Brazilian government, the industrial chicken was established in consumer preference causing change in their spending habits. This change was attributed in great part due to their affordability to the consumer. This article aims to analyze the price transmission elasticity of poultry in the state of São Paulo market and identify which market level focuses on the greatest power of pricing, either at the producer level, wholesale and retail. By studying São Paulo’s poultry market, we intend to provide information to support decision making by managers of the production chain. Furthermore, São Paulo is the largest poultry consumer market in the country. Therefore, it is used in the treatment of poultry price data at the producer level, wholesale and retail the econometric model of Vector Autoregressive (VAR). The results found by analyzing the variance decomposition of forecast errors demonstrate that the producer has a high power setting of prices of poultry in the São Paulo’s market, having direct influence on the formation of prices both at wholesale as well as retail.

Statistics prove that being middle-aged, well educated, white, and male enhances earnings. This paper uses data from the March 1991 Current Population Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census along with some common statistical techniques to chart the specific impact of age, education, race, and gender on earnings. It is shown that earnings tend to begin low, rise well through middle age, then decline during the final years of an individual's work life. It also is shown that expanded earnings are associated with increases in education. With the first two variables examined--age and education--as with the others, charts and tables are included to convey the data described. The differences among races are markedly less if comparisons are made at comparable levels of education. Finally, lifetime earnings of males are higher than those of females among all races and at each level of educational attainment. (DB)

Background: Falls are the most common medication‐related safety event in older adults. Deprescribing fall risk‐increasing drugs (FRIDs) may mitigate fall risk. This study assesses the effects of an innovative deprescribing program in reducing FRID burden and falls‐related acute visits over 1 year. Methods: The Falls Assessment of Medications in the Elderly (FAME) Program is a pilot deprescribing program designed to improve medication safety in Veterans aged ≥65, screening positive for high fall risk at the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Central case finding and electronic case reviews with deprescribing recommendations were completed by an interdisciplinary team, forwarded to prescribers for approval, then implemented during follow‐up telephone visits by FAME team. Primary outcome was change in FRID burden calculated by modified Drug Burden Index (DBI) at 1 year and an exploratory outcome was 1‐year fall‐related acute visits. Results: Overall, 472 patients (236 intervention cases, 236 matched controls) were included in the study. Of the 236 patients receiving a FAME deprescribing plan, 147 had recommendations approved by prescriber and patient. In the intention‐to‐treat analysis, the 1‐year change in modified DBI was −0.15 (95% CI −0.23, −0.08) in the intervention cohort and −0.11 (−0.21, −0.00) in the matched control cohort (p = 0.47). The odds of increasing DBI by a clinically important threshold of 0.5 was significantly lower in the FAME cohort (OR 0.37, 0.21, 0.66). Fall‐related acute events occurred in 6.3% of patients in the intervention group versus 11.0% in control patients over a one‐year period (p = 0.10). Conclusions: The program was associated with a significantly lower odds of further increasing FRID burden at 1 year compared to matched controls. An electronic case review and telephone counseling program has the potential to reduce drug‐related falls in high‐risk older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All superclasses of retinal neurons, including bipolar cells (BCs), amacrine cells (ACs) and ganglion cells (GCs), display gap junctional coupling. However, coupling varies extensively by class. Heterocellular AC coupling is common in many mammalian GC classes. Yet, the topology and functions of coupling networks remains largely undefined. GCs are the least frequent superclass in the inner plexiform layer and the gap junctions mediating GC-to-AC coupling (GC::AC) are sparsely arrayed amidst large cohorts of homocellular AC::AC, BC::BC, GC::GC and heterocellular AC::BC gap junctions. Here, we report quantitative coupling for identified GCs in retinal connectome 1 (RC1), a high resolution (2 nm) transmission electron microscopy-based volume of rabbit retina. These reveal that most GC gap junctions in RC1 are suboptical. GC classes lack direct cross-class homocellular coupling with other GCs, despite opportunities via direct membrane contact, while OFF alpha GCs and transient ON directionally selective (DS) GCs are strongly coupled to distinct AC cohorts. Integrated small molecule immunocytochemistry identifies these as GABAergic ACs (γ+ ACs). Multi-hop synaptic queries of RC1 connectome further profile these coupled γ+ ACs. Notably, OFF alpha GCs couple to OFF γ+ ACs and transient ON DS GCs couple to ON γ+ ACs, including a large interstitial amacrine cell, revealing matched ON/OFF photic drive polarities within coupled networks. Furthermore, BC input to these γ+ ACs is tightly matched to the GCs with which they couple. Evaluation of the coupled versus inhibitory targets of the γ+ ACs reveals that in both ON and OFF coupled GC networks these ACs are presynaptic to GC classes that are different than the classes with which they couple. These heterocellular coupling patterns provide a potential mechanism for an excited GC to indirectly inhibit nearby GCs of different classes. Similarly, coupled γ+ ACs engaged in feedback networks can leverage the additional gain of BC synapses in shaping the signaling of downstream targets based on their own selective coupling with GCs. A consequence of coupling is intercellular fluxes of small molecules. GC::AC coupling involves primarily γ+ cells, likely resulting in GABA diffusion into GCs. Surveying GABA signatures in the GC layer across diverse species suggests the majority of vertebrate retinas engage in GC::γ+ AC coupling.