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African American males from urban communities have been attending Jesuit high schools in urban spaces for many years, yet little to no literature exists that explores their experiences while attending these elite private schools. This qualitative study of 10 African American males from an urban community attending a similarly positioned Jesuit high school on the East Coast revealed their struggles with both inter- and intra-racial dimensions of their experiences. This paper explores their challenges with racist comments within the interracial context and their understandings of "acting White" within the intra-racial context.

Using a qualitative framework, researchers explored urban African American male students' perceptions of their school counselors and the ways to improve school counseling services. While participants reported positive feelings toward their school counselors, they identified specific services school counselors can offer them to optimize academic and personal/social performance. The authors discuss the findings' implications on urban school counseling service delivery.

In a "Multicultural Teaching and Learning" course, racial equity is one of the many issues explored. When discussing racial equity in our schools, teacher education students in the course focus their attention on such issues as the achievement gap, referrals to special education of African American and Latino males, the racism of low expectations. When faced with these issues, the mostly White student population is often times silent, color-blind, or oblivious to the racialized dynamics of schooling. In an effort to expand student understanding of racial equity, but also explore the complexity of race in schools, seven African American male teachers in a suburban school district were interviewed. As a result of these interviews, it is apparent that racial equity conversations must also assist teacher education students in understanding the relationships between African American and White teachers. (Contains 1 figure.)

Rats fed diets with cadmium (Cd) concentrations similar to that found in human diets, and nutritionally marginal with respect to iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and calcium (Ca) retained 10 times more Cd in the duodenum than rats fed adequate mineral diets. In the current study, 2 experiments were performed to determine the role of intestinal metallothionein (MT) in the accumulation of duodenal Cd, and to determine whether endogenous rice grain Cd is as available as Cd exogenously incorporated into the grain. In Expt. 1, wild-type and MT-null mice were fed 40% rice diets containing marginal or adequate amounts of Fe, Zn, and Ca, and 240 [micro]g Cd/kg. Duodenal Cd was 10 times higher in both wild-type and MT-null mice regardless of their mineral status. In Expt. 2, one group of rats was fed 40% rice diets in which Cd was incorporated into the rice during growth and maturation, and another group was fed 40% rice diets in which Cd was incorporated into the rice during cooking. Each group also was fed either marginal or adequate amounts of Zn, Fe, and Ca. After 5 wk, rats were given a single meal labeled with [sup.109]Cd, and the amount of label retained after 7 d was determined by whole-body counting. Rats with marginal mineral status retained 10 times more [sup.109]Cd than those with adequate status; however, there was no difference between rats fed endogenous or exogenous Cd rice. Although duodenal Cd concentration was 8 times higher in the marginally fed rats, MT concentration was unchanged. These 2 experiments indicate that MT induction is not involved in duodenal Cd accumulation in animals with marginal dietary status of Fe, Zn, and Ca. In addition, they support the hypothesis that marginal deficiencies of Fe, Zn, and Ca, commonly found in certain human populations subsisting on rice-based diets, play an important role in increasing the risk of dietary Cd exposure. KEY WORDS: * cadmium * metallothionein * MT-null mice * rats * rice

Grassed waterways are used to mitigate the offsite transport of sediment generated by soil erosion. This study used a novel trait‐based ranking approach as a method to screen potential candidate grass monocultures and mixes based on their theoretical performance in reducing (a) detachment via rainsplash, (b) detachment via scouring due to concentrated flow and (c) sediment transport and deposition processes. Selected grass species were grown under simulated UK summer and autumn establishment conditions under three different replicated rainfall scenarios: drought, normal rainfall and excess rainfall. The grass species used were the novel hybrid species Festulolium cv Prior (Fest_1) and Festulolium Bx511 (Fest_2) and a conventional mixture of Lolium perenne and Festuca rubra (Conv). Monocultures and mixtures of these species were studied. Plant traits pertinent to control of soil erosion by water were measured. Aboveground traits included plant height, percentage ground cover, aboveground biomass, stem diameter, stem area density and number of tillers. Belowground traits included total root length, root total surface area, belowground biomass, root diameter and % fine roots ≤0.25 mm. For summer conditions, the species treatments that had the highest overall soil erosion mitigation potential were Conv, Fest_1 + 2 + Conv and Fest_2. For autumn conditions, the best treatments were Fest_1 + 2, Fest_1 + 2 + Conv and Conv. The Fest 1 + 2 + Conv had more desirable traits for erosion control than mono Festulolium treatments for the autumn conditions. The conventional mixture had more desirable traits for erosion control than mono Festulolium treatments in both climate scenarios. The results indicate that the trait‐based ranking approach utilized in this study can be used to inform rapid screening of candidate grass species for soil erosion control. Highlights: How to select the most suitable grass species for soil erosion control under changing climate conditions?A novel scoring system based on plant traits associated with soil erosion mitigation was developed.Fest_1 + 2 and Conv treatments expressed traits strongly associated with maximum soil erosion mitigation.Species selection for grassed waterways should consider the establishment growing season and expected rainfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cover crops can be utilized to lower soil nitrate leaching. However, depending on the species grown and cover crop termination management, this may lead to nitrogen (N) immobilization and/or depletion of soil moisture available to the following cash crop, potentially impacting on crop yields. Cover crop management is also dependent on using herbicides to terminate growth prior to planting the next crop. We used an alternative method for cover crop termination by capitalizing on plant senescence by frost in a multi‐species cover crop established over winter between wheat and maize. The cover crops accumulated greater quantities of N than the control. However, upon cover crop senescence due to cold temperatures, the partially terminated cover crop significantly increased topsoil available N from December to late February. This available N in the topsoil could be susceptible to leaching although this was not observed in our study. Cover crops did not have a significant prolonged effect on soil moisture over winter and late spring. The following maize yields were not significantly different between the control and cover crop treatment. Frost‐sensitive cover crop species could not be reliably terminated under a temperate climate, but provided a continuous supply of soil available N as the plants senesced. Depending on the soil moisture and weather conditions in the spring, there could be a N leaching risk although this could be mitigated by establishing early spring crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon arriving at my Jesuit high school in Detroit I became acutely aware of my positionality in a school populated by Whites, affluent African Americans, and students with two parents at home. Being neither White nor affluent, and being emotionally incarcerated while my father was physically incarcerated, my emotions oscillated between anger, hostility, and confusion. As such, I am called to reflect on recent conversations with African American males similarly positioned at Jesuit high schools. In fact, their stories, situated alongside my own, ground this autoethnographic paper within two theoretical frameworks--resilience theory and critical race theory. By utilizing these frameworks, it is my intention to move beyond a language of crisis that framed my experiences and locate my experiences and those of the students within the juxtaposition of the possibilities associated with a Jesuit education and the resilience and centrality of interracial and intraracial relationships that frame being the "other" in Jesuit schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a qualitative framework, researchers explored urban African American male students’ perceptions of their school counselors and the ways to improve school counseling services. While participants reported positive feelings toward their school counselors, they identified specific services school counselors can offer them to optimize academic and personal/social performance. The authors discuss the findings’ implications on urban school counseling service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]