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Family-Centered Organization Creating “Lazos” to Affix Families and Their Students to Education: A Case Study
No full textHistorically, parental involvement has alternatively shifted from being a central participant within the United States’ education reform to being a secondary input stakeholder primarily due to the constant attempts to align its purpose, presence, and effects in education initiatives. Additionally, the varied constructs considered by multiple researchers and federal or state education agencies to define ‘parental involvement’, the variety of ‘population descriptors’, and ‘types of communication’ have increased the complexity to address the needs diverse family structures have to successfully build “lazos” to affix themselves and their students to education. This case study explores the perspectives low socioeconomic Hispanic families form in connection to a muti-faceted, family-centered organization rooted in South Texas that aims to create “lazos” to affix families and their students to education. Through focus group interviews, participants shared their perspectives about how a family-centered organization model has created “lazos” to affix families and their children to education. Three themes emerged: 1) Family-Centered Organization Creating “Lazos” to Affix Families and Their Children to Education For Life, Not Just Their Current Schools, 2) A Haven and Source of Impetus For The Constant Factor: Families as Change Catalysts, and 3) A Social Problem: Policies and Education Reform. These findings support and challenge prior research and how Bourdieu’s social and capital theory has been utilized as a theoretical framework lens to analyze parental involvement
Adaptive vs. Traditional Learning: Long-Term Knowledge Retention -A Literature Review
No full textAdaptive learning, a personalized educational approach, has appeared as a substitute paradigm to conventional teaching methodologies. Opposed to instruction-based learning, adaptive learning prepares learning content in a way that corresponds to individual learner needs, increasing engagement and knowledge retention. The present study has been conducted to review the literature to evaluate the influence of adaptive learning systems on long-term knowledge retention as compared to their traditional counterparts. Real-time feedback, spaced repetition, and scaffolded content can reduce cognitive load and enhance the learning experience, as they are considered highly effective tools. Several studies have shown that retention improves through the use of adaptive systems, as they help fill information gaps and encourage active learning, especially in STEM fields. Despite the benefits of using adaptive systems in relevant areas, some challenges remain, including limited access in low-resource settings, underrepresentation in non-STEM areas, and difficulties integrating with traditional teaching methods. The present research suggests that future studies should concentrate on longitudinal studies, hybrid models, and equitable access to adaptive technologies. Adaptive learning will revolutionize the learning sector in various situations by addressing these challenges
Enhanced recovery after neurosurgery: a narrative review comparing clinical outcomes, protocols, and challenges with standard postoperative care
No full textBackground: By integrating evidence-based pre-, intra-, and postoperative therapies, enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have transformed perioperative care in numerous surgical specialties. Although their use in neurosurgery aims to maximize patient recovery, minimize complications, and reduce hospital stays, the evidence remains heterogeneous, and large randomized controlled trials are scarce.
Objectives: This narrative review contrasts the clinical outcomes, advantages, and challenges of ERAS protocols with those of conventional postoperative care in neurosurgery, with a focus on cranial, spinal, pediatric, cancer, and functional procedures.
Methods: A thematic synthesis of peer-reviewed clinical evidence was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar (2000-2025). Studies comparing ERAS and standard care were reviewed for outcomes including length of stay (LOS), complications, pain control, opioid use, and patient satisfaction. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews were considered for context only, while emphasis was placed on primary clinical data.
Results: ERAS protocols were associated with reduced LOS (3.9 → 3.4 days in spine; 13 → 10 days in cranial surgery), lower postoperative complications [fever -7.9%, unplanned intensive care unit admissions -34.1%], and decreased opioid and patient-controlled analgesia use (-12.1% and -60.2%, respectively). Patient recovery and functional independence improved, although 30-day readmissions slightly increased (+1.0%) before declining by 90 days (-0.3%). Implementation remains inconsistent due to resource limitations, challenges with multidisciplinary coordination, and protocol variability across institutions.
Conclusion: This narrative review demonstrates that ERAS protocols improve recovery, reduce complications, and lower opioid dependence in neurosurgical patients compared with standard care. Despite these advantages, variation in protocol adherence and the limited number of high-quality RCTs restrict universal adoption. Future multicenter trials and standardized frameworks are essential to validate and optimize ERAS integration across neurosurgical practice
Language proficiency in translation and interpreting programs: Insights from administrators and instructors
No full textThis article examines the relationship between language proficiency and translation and interpreting (T&I) education in U.S. programs, focusing on language preparedness and development. This mixed-methods study investigates course prerequisites, proficiency requirements, and perceptions of administrators and instructors regarding students’ expected versus observed proficiency levels. Findings reveal a mismatch between expected and average proficiency when entering a program, with both groups acknowledging that T&I courses contribute to students’ language development but noting that current program practices often fail to align students’ actual proficiency with their needs. At the graduate level, instructors criticize proficiency requirements, and some administrators continue to view translator training as distinct from language teaching, reflecting issues related to program identity and adherence to professional norms. The study highlights a lack of articulation between prerequisite courses and introductory T&I courses, with misaligned proficiency guidelines and unrealistic expectations. The article concludes with recommendations for improving T&I program design
Unraveling Assumed Similarities: North Korean Defector Students’ Navigation of Social Capital and Habitus in South Korean Education
No full textThis study examines North Korean defector students’ experiences navigating social and cultural norms and expectations within South Korea’s educational systems and institutions. North Korean defectors often strive to acquire and perform cultural capital and establish valid habitus in the new context, which can lead to feelings of alienation, exclusion, and discrimination. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital and habitus, we analyze how these norms and hierarchies are maintained and reproduced, particularly within the context of assumed cultural and linguistic homogeneity between North and South Korea. We employ critical discourse analysis (CDA), recognizing discourse as a social and socially influenced process that shapes both individual experience and societal power dynamics. The findings suggest that North Korean defectors navigate their habitus and establish new cultural capital due to significant differences between North and South Korean cultures. This suggestion challenges dominant narratives in South Korean curricula that emphasize shared language and culture as a common ground for understanding and connection
TopoImages: Incorporating Local Topology Encoding into Deep Learning Models for Medical Image Classification
No full textTopological structures in image data, such as connected components and loops, play a crucial role in understanding image content (e.g., biomedical objects). Despite remarkable successes of numerous image processing methods that rely on appearance information, these methods often lack sensitivity to topological structures when used in general deep learning (DL) frameworks. In this paper, we introduce a new general approach, called TopoImages (for Topology Images), which computes a new representation of input images by encoding local topology of patches. In TopoImages, we leverage persistent homology (PH) to encode geometric and topological features inherent in image patches. Our main objective is to capture topological information in local patches of an input image into a vectorized form. Specifically, we first compute persistence diagrams (PDs) of the patches, and then vectorize and arrange these PDs into long vectors for pixels of the patches. The resulting multi-channel image-form representation is called a TopoImage. TopoImages offers a new perspective for data analysis. To garner diverse and significant topological features in image data and ensure a more comprehensive and enriched representation, we further generate multiple TopoImages of the input image using various filtration functions, which we call multi-view TopoImages. The multi-view TopoImages are fused with the input image for DL-based classification, with considerable improvement. Our TopoImages approach is highly versatile and can be seamlessly integrated into common DL frameworks. Experiments on three public medical image classification datasets demonstrate noticeably improved accuracy over state-of-the-art methods
Proteolysis-targeting chimeras in cancer therapy: Targeted protein degradation for next-generation treatment
No full textProteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) have the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment by specifically targeting and degrading oncogenic proteins. Using the ubiquitin-proteasome system, PROTACs allow the selective degradation of disease-causing proteins, including those traditionally deemed “undruggable” by conventional small-molecule inhibitors. By catalytically eliminating rather than inhibiting proteins, PROTACs provide sustained target suppression with lower doses and reduced toxicity. Their bifunctional design linking a protein of interest to an E3 ligase drives targeted ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Recent progress demonstrates promise in treating solid and hematologic malignancies, with several candidates advancing to clinical trials. This review provides a comprehensive overview of developing PROTACs, from understanding their mechanism to clinical applications, and highlights their emerging role in overcoming drug resistance and advancing the limits of cancer treatment. In addition, the authors discuss the challenges of optimizing PROTACs, including issues related to pharmacokinetics, E3 ligase compatibility, and the delivery of PROTACs to tumors. With their modularity, adaptability, and precision, PROTACs represent a next-generation platform for personalized cancer therapy across various patient groups
Qualities of an Effective Middle School Teacher: Five Decades of Teaching
No full textThis study focuses on a case study of a highly effective teacher with five decades of experience. Effective classroom strategies this teacher utilizes were identified through interviews with the teacher and former students. The strategies were compared to Strong’s Qualities of Effective Teachers and found to be aligned. He assessed each positive quality and ranked all except two of as “incredibly important” for effective teaching. The case study adds to Stronge’s Qualities and supports their inclusion in teacher preparation programs and professional development activities in schools
Analysis of Corneal Nerve Morphology and Stromal Haze Pre and Post Oxervate Therapy in Patients with Neurotrophic Keratopathy
No full textNeurotrophic keratopathy (NK) is a rare disease secondary to the damage or degradation of corneal nerves, which results in a compromised integrity of the tear film, corneal epithelium, and stroma. Oxervate, a topical recombinant human nerve growth factor approved by the FDA in August 2018, has shown promising results in healing neurotrophic corneal ulcers and preventing recurrence of this disease. Our preliminary display of results on four patients treated with oxervate provides further insight on the pathophysiology of NK and the mechanism of action of oxervate
Economic Inequality and Political Participation in East Asian Democracies: The Role of Perceived Income Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility
Get PDFThis study examines how perceptions of economic inequality affect political participation focusing on East Asian democracies. It develops nuanced predictions on how perceptions of income inequality and social mobility and their interplay affect individuals’ engagement in various types of political activities in six East Asian democracies. Using the fourth wave of the Asian Barometer Survey, we examine novel arguments built upon the existing inequality-participation nexus. Our analysis suggests that inequality is a multifaceted concept, and the mechanisms of the inequality-participation nexus could vary depending on the regional, socioeconomic, and political context