Northeast State Community College

Abstract Today, more than any other time in history, student demographics of college and university students in the United States are experiencing rapid and profound changes. Along with these increases in nontraditional student enrollment comes an increasing percentage of working nontraditional college students with a multitude of commitments that serve to create barriers to educational success that traditional student learners do not have in a traditional college setting. This article reviews findings from a study of nontraditional students' perceptions of satisfaction and engagement in campus activities and explore reasons and motivations that influence their pursuit of further educational activity.

Objective: The study assesses the impact of dual enrollment participation on remediation and completion for traditional first time, full-time freshmen at a community college in Northeast Tennessee. Method: This study began with the full population of 1,232 students who enrolled between 2008 and 2012 at a community college in northeast Tennessee the fall semester after finishing high school. The population was required to have American College Testing (ACT) scores, completely fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), enroll full-time as a degree-seeking student, and complete the first fall semester. Propensity score matching was utilized to eliminate self-selection bias and enable parametric comparisons using optimal matching of dual enrollment participants and non-participants while controlling for a range of covariates. Results: The analyses showed that community college students who participated in dual enrollment were (a) 9% or nearly 3.4 times less likely to take remediation, (b) 26% or nearly 2.5 times more likely to graduate in 2 years, and (c) 28% or nearly 1.5 times more likely to graduate in 3 years. Contributions: This study contributes to the literature showing that dual enrollment reduces remediation rates and assists in timely completions for community college students. Policy recommendations are to increase equitable participation, normalize dual enrollment for students academically able to do college coursework, align state terminology with the nation, and improve data for future research.

Evidence is growing regarding the salutary relationships between spirituality and health, including alcohol problems, yet little is known about spirituality and health in the context thereof. Cross-sectional associations between forgiveness and health were examined among college student problematic drinkers (n = 126; ♀ = 60%; M (age) = 22) in Southern Appalachia. Controlling for demographic variables (including religiosity), dimensions of forgiveness accounted for 7-33 percent of the variance in the health-related variables in a salutary fashion. Forgiveness of Self appears to be the most important dimension of forgiveness measured, yet the most difficult to develop.

A discrete trials procedure incorporating graduated prompts, social and consumable reinforcement, corrective feedback, delay of reinforcement, and a chaining procedure was used to teach four actively psychotic, chronic schizophrenic patients rudimentary conversational skills. In a multiple-baseline design, training was sequentially applied to the target conversational skills of giving a salutation, addressing the trainer by his or her name, making a personal inquiry, and asking a conversational question. Results showed systematic training effects in three of the four subjects. Training gains were reliable but slow, requiring over 70 trials to reach acquisition criterion on certain skills. The fourth subject exhibited only unstable gains on the first target response and minor improvements on the second target response, the latter of which disappeared when training procedures were withdrawn. All subjects displayed spontaneous recovery on the generalization measure of answering a personal inquiry.

This study addresses a campus institutional effectiveness (IE) process and its influence on faculty and staff. Although a comprehensive, rational IE process appeals to campus leaders, this study found that it creates significant faculty and staff challenges. Campus leaders, faculty, and staff differ in their (a) knowledge and support of IE; (b) participation in IE process activities; and (c) perceptions of IE strengths, weaknesses, and usefulness. Needed IE data are typically available to campus stakeholders except for student learning outcomes data across all academic programs. Administrators, faculty, and staff agree that a lack of time is the major IE impediment. IE expectations may be too challenging for campus participants, and faculty and staff need more institutional support to analyze and use existing data. Future research should focus on faculty and staff aspects of community college effectiveness.

Schizophrenic patients typically have poor grooming and self-care skills, which hinder their social relationships and their chances of successful adaptation in the community. A practical and inexpensive program for teaching grooming skills to hospitalized chronic mental patients has been developed in a California state hospital. Patients are also taught to evaluate their grooming behavior and to carry out grooming activities independently. Grooming deficits and improvements are rated on an 11-category performance checklist. Two small-scale pilot studies showed that the program is efficacious and that nursing staff can effectively apply the procedures; in another study, the program was implemented on a large psychiatric unit with minimal staffing and resources.

Aims: Forgiveness, a motivationally and volitionally unique method of coping, has been argued to be relevant to addiction and recovery. However, little empirical evidence exists in support thereof.Methods: As such, cross-sectional associations between dimensions of forgiveness (Fetzer) and drinking (AUDIT) were examined among college students (n = 721; ♀ = 516; Mage = 23) from the rural southern Appalachian region of the United States.Results: Using multiple regression analyses and independent of demographic variables and religiousness, while no forgiveness dimension was predictive of drinking in the first place (yes/no), Feeling Forgiven by God predicted a decreased likelihood of problematic drinking (Non/OK drinking vs. problematic drinking). Further, among problematic drinkers (n = 126; ♀ = 75; Mage = 22), Feeling Forgiven by God predicted fewer alcohol-related problems and Forgiveness of Self predicted lower HALT scores, all with medium effect sizes. Forgiveness of Others was not associated with the alcohol-related variables.Conclusions: Of the dimensions of forgiveness measured, it appears that Feeling Forgiven by God may be most important in the context of drinking and problems therewith, while Forgiveness of Self may be most important in the context of relapse prevention.

Although numerous studies have shown that cochlear impairment exists in audiogenic-seizure (AGS)-susceptible mice, there is only one report of cochlear potentials obtained from AGS-susceptible rats. To investigate the hypothesis that cochlear impairment also exists in AGS rats, cochlear microphonics (CM) and the primary afferent activity of the auditory division of the eighth cranial nerve (N1) were studied in AGS rats. AGS rats were obtained from the Veterans Administration Medical Center (Shreveport, La.) colony of Sprague Dawley derived animals, and control rats were obtained from Sprague Dawley, Inc. Two school bells ringing simultaneously were used to produce a sound of approximately 115 dB (AGS test stimulus). Exposure to the AGS test stimulus was once per week for three consecutive weeks. Chloramphenicol was used to treat the frequent otitis media found in the colony of AGS rats. Two categories of AGS-susceptible and control rats were studied: (1) rats exposed to the AGS test stimulus and chloramphenicol regimen; and (2) rats not receiving these treatments. All rats were anesthetized with i.p. Dial-Urethane and prepared for cochlear round window recording. Cochlear microphonics were recorded in response to a click stimulus. A significant decrease in cochlear sensitivity was seen in both groups of AGS rats when compared to appropriate controls as reflected by a 25-35 dB shift in all CM and N1 input-output functions. These results support the hypothesis that a functional cochlear impairment exists in the AGS rat.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Weather-induced Degradation Recent Results for Degradation in PECT Degradation Mechanisms in PET and PECT Summary References and Notes

A compilation of 205 areas of exposed granitic rock in Nevada was undertaken for the U.S. Department of Energy. The purpose was to obtain data for evaluating granitic rock masses as potential underground nuclear waste repositories. Information, compiled by county for areas of granitic rock exposure, includes general location, coordinates, land classification, areal extent, accessibility, composition, age, rocks intruded, aeromagnetic expression, mining activity, and selected references. 1979). This report is a summary of that open-file report that included all of the above listed factors in addition to hydrologic setting. Several maps included in the open-file report are omitted in this report because of their large size: (1) topographic map of the State of Nevada, (2) generalized land classification of Nevada, (3) generalized hydrology of Nevada and other parts of the Great Basin, showing ground-water discharge and major sources of recharge and runoff, ( 4) tectonic map of Nevada and parts of California, (5) preliminary location of earthquake epicenters throughout Nevada and in parts of California, and ( 6) composite aeromagnetic map of Nevada.

(1962). Existence and Uniqueness of Interpolating Rational Functions. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 69, No. 8, pp. 751-759.

Abstract C-reactive protein (CRP) has been conserved throughout evolution. Human native CRP exhibits calcium-dependent binding specificity for phosphocholine. Human CRP in its non-native structure expresses the capability to bind to deposited and conformationally-altered proteins and which can be achieved by several means including treatment of CRP with acidic pH. The ligand-binding property of human CRP in its non-native structure has implications for toxic and inflammatory conditions and favors the conservation of CRP throughout evolution. It is not known, however, whether CRP from invertebrates exhibits structure-based ligand-binding properties similar to that of human CRP. The aim of this study was to investigate the ligand-binding properties of CRP from the American horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus. We used oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) immobilized on microtiter plates as a model for deposited and conformationally-altered proteins. We found that Limulus CRP binds to ox-LDL at physiological pH, in contrast to human CRP which requires acidic pH to do so. The binding of Limulus CRP to ox-LDL occurred even in the absence of calcium, suggesting that the binding was not mediated through exposed phosphocholine molecules, if any, on ox-LDL. We conclude that the host-defense function of CRP evolved with the development of the immune system to expose a ligand-binding specificity only when needed, that is, an inflammatory microenvironment would have to be sensed by CRP and that CRP would change its structure to execute its function. Limulus CRP also provides us with a tool to investigate the structure-function relationships of human CRP in animal models of inflammation.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether abused and nonabused pregnant, low-socioeconomic adolescents differ in regard to perceived self-care capabilities. SAMPLE: The sample (N = 36) consisted of 18 abused/neglected and 18 nonabused/non-neglected adolescents. DATA ANALYSIS: The adolescents' responses on the Denyes Self-Care Agency Instrument were analyzed to determine significant differences between the two groups regarding self-care agency. FINDINGS: Significant differences were found between the two groups in regard to perceived relative valuing of health and perceived attention to health. CONCLUSIONS: Although abused adolescents had a higher level of relative valuing of health and lower attention to health than their nonabused counterparts, findings show that both groups are capable of performing self-care and should be encouraged to do so.

(1954). What can be done by teachers of speech to preserve freedom of speech: A symposium. The Southern Speech Journal: Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 333-340.

Assessed the efficacy of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking, Form A, in differentiating schizophrenics with and without brain damage. Two groups of 26 state hospital residents each were selected on the basis of evidence of schizophrenia and (or lack of evidence) of brain damage. Results indicated that at least one subtest, total time, and Index significantly discriminated between groups. Additionally, a cut-off index reliably discriminated schizophrenics with brain damage. Discussed were implications for diagnosis and treatment of the populations examined as well as the relationship between brain dysfunction and cognitive processes of schizophrenia.

Abstract The anti-pneumococcal function of native C-reactive protein (CRP) involves the binding of CRP to phosphocholine molecules present on Streptococcus pneumoniae and subsequent activation of the complement system. However, when pneumococci recruit complement inhibitory protein factor H on their surface, they escape the attack of complement. We have reported previously that CRP, in a non-native conformation, expresses the ability to bind immobilized factor H. Accordingly, we hypothesized that such non-native CRP would bind to factor H on pneumococci in vivo, mask its complement inhibitory activity, and therefore should be able to protect against complement-resistant pneumococci. We performed site-directed mutagenesis of CRP and identified a mutant which bound to factor H-coated pneumococci but not to factor H in fluid phase. Mutant CRP was found to be free in the mouse serum and blood and its rate of clearance was similar to that of native CRP. As reported previously, native CRP protected mice from lethal pneumococcal infection when injected into mice 30 minutes prior to the administration of pneumococci, but did not offer any protection when injected at 24 hours after the administration of pneumococci. In contrast, that was not the case with mutant CRP; mutant CRP protected mice from infection more effectively than native CRP, by increasing the survival and decreasing bacteremia. We conclude that, while native CRP is protective only against early-stage infection, mutant CRP capable of binding to factor H may protect against both early-stage and late-stage infections and thus is superior to native CRP in fighting against the disease.

Steele Creek Park, a large municipal park in Sullivan County in northeastern Tennessee, has had nearly continuous observations of natural history data from trained naturalists for more than half a century. Here, we present a herpetofaunal list of species for the park that comprises: 10 species of frogs, 11 species of salamanders, 2 species of lizards, 11 species of snakes, and 7 species of turtles. The inventory includes 10 species previously unreported in Sullivan County. We then compared the park data with increasingly larger land areas in eastern Tennessee to establish a regional species–area curve for herpetofaunal richness that could have predictive capabilities for similar sites in the southern Appalachians.

Lemkau, director of mental health serv- ices of the New York City Community Mental Health Board, pointed out that his paper, somewhat condensed here, served only to introduce 2 days of discussion on mental health.Therefore, he felt that he could risk some statements that might prove ar- 1 esting.

(1968). An acquaintance of yours: Otho Clifford Ault. Peabody Journal of Education: Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 250-250.

Abstract Sepsis, a major clinical problem with high morbidity and mortality, is caused by overwhelming systemic host-inflammatory response. β-arrestin 2, a key regulator and scaffolds of various signaling, modulates cell survival and cell death in various systems. However, the effect of β-arrestin 2 on sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction is not yet known. Here, we show that β-arrestin 2 overexpression significantly enhances animal survival following cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis. Importantly, overexpression of β-arrestin 2 in mice prevents CLP-induced cardiac dysfunction. In addition, β-arrestin 2 overexpression dramatically attenuates CLP-induced myocardial gp130 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation levels following CLP. Therefore, β-arrestin 2 prevents CLP-induced cardiac dysfunction through gp130 and p38. These results suggest that modulation of β-arrestin 2 might provide a novel therapeutic approach to prevent cardiac dysfunction in patients with sepsis.