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Cohort scheduling intentionally places students in the same sections of several classes (e.g., biology, algebra, and writing) with a consistent peer group and is typically done for small groups (<30 students) to enable better interaction among students. The goal of this study was to compare cohort scheduling to traditional scheduling methods among freshmen in a physiology-related program. Outcomes included retention to the university and major, semester grades, and institutional integration and perceived group cohesion. Incoming freshmen (n = 209) were randomized into control (n = 43; scheduled with traditional methods) and intervention (n = 166; coenrolled in first-year seminar course, biology, and medical terminology) groups. Outcomes were collected via surveys or requested from the university registrar. There was no significant difference in the likelihood of retention to the university or major and no differences between groups in pass/fail rates for the first-year seminar or biology courses. At the end of the semester, there were no differences between groups in Perceived Cohesion for Small Groups (P = 0.102) or the Institutional Integration Scale (P = 0.357). However, the intervention group scored higher on the Institutional Integration Scale's subscales related to social integration and faculty. Cohort scheduling did not impact retention to the university or major but improved secondary outcomes related to retention, specifically social integration and student perceptions of faculty.

Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma). Overexpression of ZIC1 suppresses the growth of group 3 medulloblastoma models, whereas it promotes the proliferation of SHH medulloblastoma precursor cells. SHH medulloblastoma ZIC1 mutants show increased activity versus wild-type ZIC1, whereas G4 medulloblastoma ZIC1 mutants exhibit LOF phenotypes. Distinct ZIC1 mutations affect cells of the rhombic lip in diametrically opposed ways, suggesting that ZIC1 is a critical developmental transcriptional regulator in both the normal and transformed rhombic lip and identifying ZIC1 as an exquisitely context-dependent driver gene in medulloblastoma.

This exploratory research addresses the state of student self-regulation (SR) in an online secondary school. Students are more likely to be successful, especially in online schools, when they are self-regulated. Understanding these students' current SR abilities can facilitate targeted interventions. Data for this study was gathered from a student survey and interviews of students, parents, and teachers from an online secondary school. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that many students perceived their SR as being adequate to strong and that students were more aware of the help-seeking and time management dimensions of SR than of the other dimensions. This awareness aligned with the structure of the school that emphasized these two SR activities. Findings also indicated that poor mental health had a strong dampening effect on a student's SR abilities and that students' understanding of motivation was tied to their ability to overcome difficulties and to complete work. Finally, students' character traits seemed to both precede and support the development and use of SR dimensions. These findings suggest that targeted support for SR dimensions; an understanding of how mental health affects SR; the role of motivation; and an emphasis on character growth can support and promote SR growth.

Using social network analysis, we sought to characterize the professional collaboration and advice networks among rural science teachers. Furthermore, we explored how the characteristics of individual teachers and distance between teachers affected the likelihood of forming connections. Science teachers in publicly funded rural schools were asked whom they collaborate with and seek advice from and the mode and frequency of their communications. Results were analyzed using UCINET to calculate statistical significance of tie formation. Ties among rural teachers were sparse, with a quarter of teachers having no connections within the bounded network. In contrast to other social network studies, characteristics of individual teachers were not a significant predictor of tie formation in our population, but geographic proximity was a strong predictor. Our findings suggest that districts can support teachers in forming supportive ties by providing time, funding, and/or technology tools and training.

Social network theory posits that social interactions provide access to information and other resources but may also constrain opportunities. Although social networks have been analyzed in educational settings to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and the structures supporting or constraining educators, few studies address how social network analysis (SNA) has been utilized in rural settings. A review of the literature on social networks in rural schools among teachers and/or administrators indicates there is little research on the ties among rural educators, with a frequent assumption of no networking opportunities. Although similar attributes and proximity are frequently uncovered as predictors of tie formation in traditional SNA, in rural spaces these attributes are often intentionally utilized to structure effective networking and professional development. Studies within a school or district differed from studies between schools or districts. Due to the unique characteristics of rural settings, researchers should consider using ego-network studies or expanding defined boundaries of social networks to develop a clearer picture of the networks that provide opportunities or constrain rural educators.

Despite a strong theoretical foundation, teachers' pedagogical practices that represent the principles of democratic educational theory are not holistically understood. This qualitative integrative literature review provides a more complete view of the practices used by those who define themselves as democratic educators. By analyzing and integrating existing literature on classroom practice this review discusses four pedagogical approaches that engage democratic educational practices including inquiry, artistic, oral, and student-centered methods.

In the field of educational technology and instructional design, research methods are emerging that aim to curate different forms of knowledge and insights beyond traditional research studies, or what Reigeluth and An (in Reigeluth and Carr-Chellman (eds) Instructional-design theories and models: Building a common knowledge base, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, 2009) refer to as "research to prove." As a result of evolving efforts in this area, editors of research journals in the field are receiving increased submissions employing these methods but have detected some persistent confusion among authors surrounding them. This has resulted in authors submitting articles with muddled methodologies and to outlets that may not be a fit for the work an author seeks to share. It can even be unclear whether authors intentionally employed a specific design-related method prior to reporting. In this piece, we will cover four methods--instructional design cases, case studies, design-based research, and formative evaluation of designs/products--to provide clarity for both graduate students and researchers. For each of these, we will provide definitions, discuss exemplars and features of exemplars, summarize key features that should be present in such a study and its reporting, and provide guidance on front-end intentional design and planning for research studies that employ these methodologies. Additional clarity on these methods can better support scholars and emerging scholars in their roles as researchers, authors, and reviewers.

College students are at a heightened risk of experiencing depression and anxiety symptomatology and engaging in maladaptive alcohol use. Understanding how alcohol interventions impact emotional functioning is essential. One such intervention uses Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT), which posits that behavior can be modified using targeted messaging as a function of perceived norms. DRT has been shown to be effective at increasing responsible drinking behaviors and decreasing alcohol-related consequences. However, it is unclear if this intervention influences emotional functioning. The current examines the impact of a DRT intervention on emotional functioning. Participants (n = 147) were recruited from a large Southeastern university. The study included a screening phase, intervention, and six-week follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a positive message condition about people who drink responsibly, a negative message condition about people who do not drink responsibly, and an active control condition. During the study, all participants reported on depression/anxiety symptoms, alcohol use, responsible drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. Mixed-effects regression was used to analyze the data. Results suggest an overall reduction of depressive and anxiety symptomatology in the intervention conditions but not in the control condition. In the positive condition, there was a decrease in depressive and anxiety symptomatology. The messaging was not moderated by normative beliefs. The negative condition also led to decreases in depression and anxiety symptomatology over time. In addition, perceived norms moderated the negative message in the first week after the intervention, an effect consistent with DRT. Prior research indicates this intervention is efficacious for the reduction of adverse alcohol outcomes; these data show that the intervention may also have positive effects on downstream mental health outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 can clinically deteriorate after a period of initial stability, making optimal timing of discharge a clinical and operational challenge. OBJECTIVE: To determine risks for post-discharge readmission and death among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective observational cohort study, 2020-2021, with 30-day follow-up. PARTICIPANTS: Adults admitted for care of COVID-19 respiratory disease between March 2, 2020, and February 11, 2021, to one of 180 US hospitals affiliated with the HCA Healthcare system. MAIN MEASURES: Readmission to or death at an HCA hospital within 30 days of discharge was assessed. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated using an internal validation set (33% of the HCA cohort), and external validation was performed using similar data from six academic centers associated with a hospital medicine research network (HOMERuN). KEY RESULTS: The final HCA cohort included 62,195 patients (mean age 61.9 years, 51.9% male), of whom 4704 (7.6%) were readmitted or died within 30 days of discharge. Independent risk factors for death or readmission included fever within 72 h of discharge; tachypnea, tachycardia, or lack of improvement in oxygen requirement in the last 24 h; lymphopenia or thrombocytopenia at the time of discharge; being ≤ 7 days since first positive test for SARS-CoV-2; HOSPITAL readmission risk score ≥ 5; and several comorbidities. Inpatient treatment with remdesivir or anticoagulation were associated with lower odds. The models AUC for the internal validation set was 0.73 (95% CI 0.71-0.74) and 0.66 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.67) for the external validation set. CONCLUSIONS: This large retrospective study identified several factors associated with post-discharge readmission or death in models which performed with good discrimination. Patients 7 or fewer days since test positivity and who demonstrate potentially reversible risk factors may benefit from delaying discharge until those risk factors resolve.

First-generation and underrepresented minoritized (URM) students may have greater challenges in online learning than other students. Communities of support can help these highly motivated students be more engaged and successful in the remote learning environment. In this scoping literature review, we identified fifteen categories of first-generation and URM student challenges in online learning as found in peer-reviewed research of the last ten years. We placed these challenges within the Student Engagement model and found them to be barriers of student engagement. The results of our analysis may help guide practitioners and educators in the continuance or creation of theoretically grounded interventions for student support.

Background: Partial-thickness rotator cuff tears (PTRCTs), often considered less severe than full-thickness rotator cuff tears (FTRCTs), can be equally symptomatic. Despite the prevalence of PTRCTs, scholarly attention has predominantly focused on FTRCTs, resulting in a relative neglect of PTRCTs. This study aimed to assess the incidence of surgical repairs for PTRCTs in the United States (U.S.) using the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample (NASS) database and delineate practice patterns among a group of American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) members. Methods: The NASS database, representing approximately 67% of U.S. ambulatory surgical encounters, was queried to obtain the incidence of PTRCT and FTRCT repairs for the year 2019. Data on patient sex, hospital location, setting, teaching affiliation and size, and primary payor were also obtained. Separately, a retrospective chart review was conducted by 13 ASES research group members, collecting data on rotator cuff repairs performed from July 2021 to June 2022 at their individual institutions. Collected data included age, sex, extent and type of rotator cuff tears, duration of symptoms prior to surgical repair, and type and duration of nonoperative treatment. Results: The NASS database showed that PTRCT repairs accounted for at least 23% of the 187,787 rotator cuff repairs performed in 2019, with potential underestimation due to unspecified tear categorization. The retrospective chart review of the ASES research group revealed that PTRCT repairs constituted 27.8% of all rotator cuff repairs with substantial variability among institutions (8.6%-67.1%), that nonoperative measures were commonly employed, with a mean 12-month duration before surgical repair, and that the most common type of nonoperative treatment was supervised physical therapy combined with corticosteroid injection (37.7%). Discussion: This study revealed approximately one-fourth of all rotator cuff repairs conducted in the U.S. were attributed to PTRCTs with substantial variability in proportion of PTRCT repairs across individual orthopedic practices. The overall duration of nonoperative treatment was consistent with the existing literature. This study provides insights into the landscape of PTRCT repairs and associated practice patterns. Further investigation into factors influencing treatment decisions is warranted.

Almost fifty years ago, Barrows (1986) claimed that problem-based learning (PBL) was broad enough that a single methodological description was not possible. It has only grown more complex since. In addition to meaningful variations of PBL, there are several related problem-centered pedagogies, such as case-based learning, project-based learning, and inquiry-based learning, among others. Even within PBL, primary research is conducted using a wide variation of measurement approaches, with diverse audiences, in a myriad of disciplines. The inherent complexity of PBL research can present some unique challenges to meta-analysis, such as multiple definitions of "control groups." PBL research also intersects with common meta-analysis challenges such as preexperimental, and multiple treatment designs. This article will explore best practices for conducting meta-analysis using a modest expansion of data and new analyses based on Leary et al. (2013). Readers will see major sections of a meta-analysis alongside a running worked example, enabling a discussion of meta-analytic methods unique to a PBL context.