Assessment variability among states in determining Part C eligibility criteria

Early intervention (EI), known as Part C, is an integral component of providing young children with individualized attention that enriches their development. The EI services are provided to children zero to two years old that are deemed eligible by specific diagnosis, clinical opinion, or based on assessment scores. States have flexibility on which assessments should be used and the qualifications of the examiner. The variations among states and districts can have implications on who is eligible to receive services throughout the country. The purpose of this study is to investigate the assessments and examiner\u27s qualification in each state. The ongoing data that will be collected will be interpreted to answer the following questions: Does the type of assessment used to determine children\u27s eligibility for EI services in each state correlate to the projected number of referred children? Does the difference in the examiner\u27s qualifications have an impact on the number of children in EI? The data suggests that there needs to be further examination to answer these questions. The states\u27 ambiguity of assessments and evaluator qualifications raises concerns on the reliability and validity on the evaluation process

On the Enumeration and Asymptotic Analysis of Fibonacci Compositions

We study Fibonacci compositions, which are compositions of natural numbers that only use Fibonacci numbers, in two different contexts. We first prove inequalities comparing the number of Fibonacci compositions to regular compositions where summands have a maximum possible value. Then, we consider asymptotic properties of Fibonacci compositions, comparing them to compositions whose terms come from positive linear recurrence sequences. Finally, we consider analogues of these results where we do not allow the use of a certain number of consecutive Fibonacci numbers starting from $F_2 = 1$.Comment: 24 pages, 1 tabl

On the Optimal Control of a Linear Peridynamics Model

We study a non-local optimal control problem involving a linear, bond-based peridynamics model. In addition to existence and uniqueness of solutions to our problem, we investigate their behavior as the horizon parameter $\delta$, which controls the degree of nonlocality, approaches zero. We then study a finite element-based discretization of this problem, its convergence, and the so-called asymptotic compatibility as the discretization parameter $h$ and the horizon parameter $\delta$ tend to zero simultaneously.Comment: 35 page

Neuroprotective Effects of Pre-Treament with l-Carnitine and Acetyl-l-Carnitine on Ischemic Injury In Vivo and In Vitro

The therapeutic effect of stroke is hampered by the lack of neuroprotective drugs against ischemic insults beyond the acute phase. Carnitine plays important roles in mitochondrial metabolism and in modulating the ratio of coenzyme A (CoA)/acyl-CoA. Here, we investigate the neuroprotective effects of l-carnitine (LC) and Acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) pre-treatment on ischemic insults under the same experimental conditions. We used a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model to evaluate the protective roles of LC and ALC in acute focal cerebral ischemia in vivo and to understand the possible mechanisms using model of PC12 cell cultures in vitro. Results showed that ALC, but not LC, decreased infarction size in SD rats after MCAO in vivo. However, both LC and ALC pretreatment reduced oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced cell injury and decreased OGD-induced cell apoptosis and death in vitro; at the same time, both of them increased the activities of super oxide dismutase (SOD) and ATPase, and decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in vitro. Thus, our findings suggested that LC and ALC pre-treatment are highly effective in the prevention of neuronal cell against ischemic injury in vitro, however, only ALC has the protective effect on neuronal cell injury after ischemia in vivo

A study of the addition of plant products to canola and sunflower biodiesel aiming thermal and oxidative stability

A utilização de antioxidantes sintéticos nas indústrias de biocombustíveis visando prolongar a vida útil destes materiais é comum, porém com a finalidade de se utilizar o maior número de matérias-primas renováveis na produção do biodiesel é que surgiu a ideia de se estudar a adição de produtos vegetais aos biodieseis, pois eles são ricos em compostos fenólicos (os principais responsáveis pela ação antioxidante). O trabalho foi executado em duas etapas, na qual a primeira consistiu em estudar, por meio da termogravimetria (TGA) a influência da adição das folhas de alecrim e da erva mate imersos nos biodieseis de canola e de girassol (ambos produzidos no laboratório) durante o período de 90 dias e na ausência de fatores pró-oxidantes. A segunda etapa consistiu na extração dos extratos vegetais das cascas de laranja, das folhas de alecrim e erva mate, por extração Soxhlet com a utilização do solvente orgânico diclorometano. Os extratos obtidos nesta etapa foram adicionados em diferentes proporções (1.000 mg/L e 2.000 mg/L) aos biodieseis de canola e girassol e expostos a duas diferentes condições. A condição I consistiu em expor os biodieseis aditivados ao ar atmosférico, luz e temperatura ambiente durante 60 dias e a condição II consistiu na exposição dos biodieseis ao aquecimento durante o mesmo período em uma estufa a 60°C. O estudo da influência dessas adições foi acompanhado por TGA e análise do índice de acidez. Ao final, constatou-se que as folhas de alecrim e erva mate diretamente adicionadas aos biodieseis e isolados de fatores pró-oxidação não apresentaram alterações significativas, uma vez que os biodieseis aditivados apresentaram valores de temperatura inicial de degradação (Ti) semelhantes. Por este motivo definiu-se outra etapa do trabalho, na qual os biodieseis aditivados foram expostos a fatores pró-oxidação, podendo-se dessa forma avaliar a eficiência das adições. Em paralelo, fez-se estudo semelhante com o produto sintético butil-hidroxitolueno (BHT), observando-se que nenhum dos extratos vegetais estudados superou sua ação antioxidante. Porém todos os extratos vegetais adicionados nos biodieseis apresentaram ação antioxidante no decorrer dos 60 dias, pois o B100 puro apresentou índice de acidez superior e Ti inferior ao das amostras aditivadas. As amostras aditivadas expostas à condição I apresentaram resultados próximos ao do B100 enquanto que na condição II foi possível observar a ação antioxidante dos extratos naturais e do produto sintético. Observou-se que dentre os biodieseis com extratos vegetais estudados, o B100 de canola com 2.000 mg/L do extrato de casca de laranja e o B100 de girassol com 2.000 mg/L do extrato de erva mate apresentaram melhor estabilidade termooxidativa.The use of synthetic antioxidants at biofuel factories with the objective of extending the useful life of these fuels is common. However, it was bearing in mind the intent of using the greatest number of renewable resources in the production of biodiesel that the idea of studying the addition of plant products in biodiesel came up. This is because they are rich in phenolic compounds, which are responsible for the antioxidant activity. The study consisted of two stages. The first stage was to study, using thermogravimetry (TGA), the influence of rosemary leaves and yerba mate immersed in canola and sunflower biodiesel (both produced in labs) for a period of 90 days without any pro-oxidant factors. The second stage encompassed the extraction of plant extracts from orange peels, rosemary leaves, and yerba mate by Soxhlet extraction with the use of organic dichloromethane solvents. The extracts obtained at this point were added in different proportions (1,000 mg/L and 2,000 mg/L) in canola and sunflower biodiesel and exposed to two different conditions. The first condition was exposing the modified biodiesel to atmospheric air, light and room temperature during 60 days; the second condition consisted of exposing the biodiesel to heat during the same period in a greenhouse at 60 ºC. The influence of these additions and biodiesel exposures were tracked using TGA and acidity index analyses. At the end, it was clear that adding rosemary leaves and yerba mate directly into biodiesels and isolating them from pro-oxidant factors resulted in no significant contributions coming from these products since both the unmodified biodiesels and the modified biodiesels showed similar Ti values (initial degradation temperature). For this reason, it was necessary to start another work phase, where all biodiesels were exposed to pro-oxidant factors, making possible the analysis of the efficiency of the additions. No plant extract exceeded the antioxidant action of the BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), however they all showed antioxidant activity during the 60-day period since pure B100 showed higher acidity index levels and lower Ti levels compared to the modified samples. The biodiesels exposed to the first condition showed similar results in the pure B100 and the modified B100, unlike what happened with the samples exposed to heat. When the biodiesels were exposed to heat, the activity of the additives became clearer. It was possible to conclude that among the biodiesels with added plant extracts, the canola B100 added with 2,000 mg/L of orange peel extract and sunflower B100 added with 2,000 mg/L of yerba mate extract showed higher thermal-oxidative stability

The effect of L-carnitine on carbonic anhydrase level in rats exposed to exhaustive exercise and hypothermic stress

L-Carnitine is a quaternary ammonium compound biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine. It plays an important regulatory role in the mitochondria and is required for the transport of fatty acids from the cytosol into the mitochondria during the breakdown of lipids or fats for the generation of metabolic energy. The functions of L-carnitine in skeletal muscle are critical to sustaining normal bioenergetics during exercise. Carbonic anhydrase (CA; carbonate hydrolyase, EC 4.2.1.1) is a well-characterized pH regulatory enzyme in most tissues including erythrocytes and catalyzes reversible hydration of CO2 to HCO3- and H+. The only known physiological function of the CA isozymesis to facilitate the interconversion of CO2 and HCO3 -, Therefore they play key roles in diverse processes, such as physiological pH control and gas balance, calcification, and photosynthesis. In the presentstudy, the effect of L-carnitine on carbonic anhydrase levels in rats exposed to hypothermic stress was investigated. For this purposes, 24 healthy Spraque Dawley male rats were divided into four groups: thefirst group made exhaustive swimming exercises at the temperature of 18°C; to the second group Lcarnitine was given and exhaustive swimming exercises made at the temperature of 18°C; to the thirdgroup (sedentary group) only L-carnitine was given; and the last group (sedentary group) served as control. The results obtained from the present study demonstrated that the biggest inhibition was observed in the group that was given L-carnitine and made exhaustive swimming exercises at the temperature of 18°C. There were differences between groups 1 and 2, 3 and 4 (