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Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Virginia’s Education System: Empowering Solutions through Expanded School Choice
Get PDFThe students in the Commonwealth of Virginia suffer from the COVID-19-spawned learning loss, like many other students across the country and the world. This study analyzes the policy implications of remote and hybrid learning models on student achievement as measured by test scores and the number of students enrolled in homeschooling. The results demonstrate a significant decline in student achievement across all subject areas and a sharp increase in homeschool enrollees starting in 2020. As a result of complex educational dynamics and a consideration of various policy options, this paper proposes a school choice policy with education savings accounts (ESAs) as the most practicable and prudent avenue to improve education outcomes and increase opportunities for families based on their preferences
Proteomic profiles of cytokines and chemokines in moderate to severe depression: Implications for comorbidities and biomarker discovery
Get PDFObjective: This study assessed the proteomic profiles of cytokines and chemokines in individuals with moderate to severe depression, with or without comorbid medical disorders, compared to healthy controls. Two proteomic multiplex platforms were employed for this purpose. Metods: An immunofluorescent multiplex platform and an aptamer-based method were used to evaluate 32 protein analytes from 153 individuals with moderate to severe major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls (HCs). The study focused on determining the level of agreement between the two platforms and evaluating the ability of individual analytes and principal components (PCs) to differentiate between the MDD and HC groups. Additionally, the study investigated the relationship between PCs consisting of chemokines and cytokines and comorbid inflammatory and cardiometabolic diseases. Findings: Analysis revealed a small or moderate correlation between 47% of the analytes measured by the two platforms. Two proteomic profiles were identified that differentiated individuals with moderate to severe MDD from HCs. High eotaxin, age, BMI, IP-10, or IL-10 characterized profile 1. This profile was associated with several cardiometabolic risk factors, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes. Profile 2 is characterized by higher age, BMI, interleukins, and a strong negative loading for eotaxin. This profile was associated with inflammation but not cardiometabolic risk factors. Conclusion: This study provides further evidence that proteomic profiles can be used to identify potential biomarkers and pathways associated with MDD and comorbidities. Our findings suggest that MDD is associated with distinct profiles of proteins that are also associated with cardiometabolic risk factors, inflammation, and obesity. In particular, the chemokines eotaxin and IP-10 appear to play a role in the relationship between MDD and cardiometabolic risk factors. These findings suggest that a focus on the interplay between MDD and comorbidities may be useful in identifying potential targets for intervention and improving overall health outcomes
She Speaks for Millions: The Emergence of Female Diplomatic Voices in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Get PDFThis research critically investigates the public diplomacy strategies deployed by a cohort of influential female European leaders on Twitter during the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022-2023. The study comprises eight leaders - Kallas (Estonia), Marin (Finland), von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), Metsola (President of the European Parliament), Sandu (Moldova), Simonyte (Lithuania), Zourabichvili (Georgia), and Meloni (Italy) - representing millions of constituents. By mirroring the analytical attention given to Ukraine\u27s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this study scrutinizes the distinct approaches and dif erences in emotional, cognitive, and structural language use between these influential female figures and President Zelenskyy in their respective Twitter discourse during the crisis. By employing the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC)-22 dictionary, this research intends to uncover unique patterns and nuances in the language use of these leaders, thereby of ering fresh insights into the gendered communication and diplomacy employed by the female cohort during conflicts
