Public Schools Not Ready for a Pandemic

Public Schools Not Ready for a Pandemic

Less than half of American schools are prepared for a pandemic or bioterrorist attack, according to St. Louis University researchers who studied schools’ disaster management plans. 

“There’s no plan in place for [most American] schools to be ready for the next [pandemic] event,” said principal investigator Terri Rebmann, Ph.D, with Saint Louis University’s Institute for Biosecurity. “How do you continue to educate the children? What do you do for the kids who are low income and [get] two meals out of their day from the school?”

BlogSum: Helping Researchers Make Sense of Social Media

BlogSum: Helping Researchers Make Sense of Social Media

Last month, computer scientists at Concordia University unveiled a new system called BlogSum that aims to bring computers one step closer to understanding materials like online blogs. In today’s world of blogs and connectivity in social media, this breakthrough technology could be the key to unlocking how consumers view an organization more quickly and easily than ever before.

An Evaluation of Student Conformity When Using Professor Rating Websites

An Evaluation of Student Conformity When Using Professor Rating Websites

Are all students equally likely to utilize websites like RateMyProfessor to determine the appropriate courses to take in college? Positive and negative professor reviews were examined to discover whether previous student feedback might influence future students’ perceptions of instructor attractiveness and anticipated academic effort. Two hypothetical professors, Professor X and A were created for this study. Each professor had either positive or negative commentary. Two hypotheses were formulated: (1) there would be a main effect between the low self-esteem individuals and the likelihood of choosing Professor X, with positive student commentary; and (2) students that are attracted to a professor review will anticipate more positive academic effort for the course

Bioassay and Antibiotic Activity of Jamaican Actinomycetes Isolates

Bioassay and Antibiotic Activity of Jamaican Actinomycetes Isolates

The growth in antibiotic resistance has resulted in a constant need for novel antimicrobials. To slow down the acquisition of resistance many pharmaceutical companies are now focusing on the development of novel, narrow-spectrum therapeutics with specificity, potency and decreased side effects. Antibiotic production is a feature of several soil microbes and may represent a survival mechanism whereby organisms can eliminate competition and colonize a niche. Since many of the original antibiotics were harvested from tropical soil Actinomycete species, we collected soil samples from Jamaica as the island’s soil microbiology is rich and poorly understood.

The Effect of Salinity on Particle Filtration Rates of the West African Mangrove Oyster

The Effect of Salinity on Particle Filtration Rates of the West African Mangrove Oyster

Previous studies exploring the potential of developing mangrove oyster fisheries in Ghana have suggested that this approach could provide both financial gain (Obodai and Yankson, 1999a) and nutritional value (Yankson 2004) to the Ghanaian people, supplementing a historically low-protein diet as well as augmenting local economies. However ,information on the basic ecology of the West African mangrove oyster (Crassostrea tulipa) is limited. This study aimed to build preliminary knowledge of this species by investigating the precise relationship between environmental salinity and filtration rates

Treatment Options in Motor Neuron Disease: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Treatment Options in Motor Neuron Disease: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) are two poorly understood Motor neuron diseases.  Both diseases eventually prove fatal and their complex pathogenesis makes them difficult to treat. We reviewed the current literature to produce a comprehensive but succinct guide to ALS and SMA for the undergraduate. We review the genetics, aetiology and pathogenesis to identify similarities and differences between the two diseases.

Apples That Don’t Turn Brown: What’s Keeping Them off the Shelves?

Apples That Don’t Turn Brown: What’s Keeping Them off the Shelves?

Most Americans eat genetically modified (GM) food every day. Regulatory agencies do not require them to be labeled, since each crop is determined to be nutritionally equivalent to organic food. This may soon change in California, where Proposition 37 will reach the ballots in November. The bill, titled the California Right to Know Genetically Modified Food Act, is the first of its kind in the U.S.