Aimee Webb

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New teacher job satisfaction : effects of general job facets and teacher job specific facets

This study addressed the job satisfaction of new teachers in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCP... more This study addressed the job satisfaction of new teachers in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The JCPS district is the 29 th largest in the United Sates and serves over 98,000 students. Understanding what contributes to the satisfaction and retention of new teachers in a large urban school district has implications for cost effective human resource management and student achievement. The researcher mailed a district-wide survey questionnaire about new teacher job sattsfaction using procedures developed by Dillman (2000). The survey mailing yielded a sample of 630 participants. The researcher computed: (a) descriptive statistics, (b) principal components .factor analysis, (c) correlation analysis, and (d) hierarchical mUltiple regression analysis. The components identified by the factor analysis included: (a) v Preparedness/Ability (ex = .95), (b) School Leadership (ex = .87), (c) Independence/Principal Recognition (ex = .84), (d) Time/Salary (ex = .77), (e) Co-workers (ex = .84), (f) Benefits (ex = .73), (f) Variety (ex = .61), and Support Equipment/Materials (ex = .65). The study addressed personal characteristics of new teacher (e.g., age, ethnicity, gender), cast as control variables and both general job facets (e.g., salary, retirement benefits) and job-specific facets (teacher preparedness/ability, and school leadership) as predictor variables of interest. The dependent variable was a global measure of overall new teacher job satisfaction measured by a two-item additive composite score.

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Maternal cognitive skills and infant feeding practices in rural Guatemala

The FASEB Journal, 2006

[Risk of an unwanted pregnancy following a single unprotected coitus; observations on the current hormonal postcoital contraceptive methods] [letter]

Nederlands Tijdschrift Voor Geneeskunde, 1993

A UK physician reminds readers of a Dutch medical journal that predicting risk of pregnancy is no... more A UK physician reminds readers of a Dutch medical journal that predicting risk of pregnancy is not easy particularly when a woman does not know when her period is due as is often the case when a woman seeks emergency contraception. There also may be significant individual variations in the length of the follicular and luteal phase. 2 Dutch physicians believe as daily dose of 5 mg ethinyl estradiol for 5 days is an effective postcoital contraceptive. In the UK the Yuzpe regime (100 mcg ethinyl estradiol and 500 mcg levonorgestrel repeated after 12 hours) is the accepted method of postcoital contraception. The UK physician points out that claiming a postcoital method has a gross failure rate of 3% does not mean it is 97% effective because it is not easy to estimate how many pregnancies would have been expected. The UK physician and some medical colleagues have compared the Yuzpe regime with 600 mg of danazol repeated after 12 hours and 600 mg mifepristone state (N = 616). The Yuzpe regime had the lower crude failure rate (2.6% vs. 4.7%). Its standardized ratio (0.443 vs 0.767 for danazol) indicated its clinical effect. They noted that an unacceptably high number of observed pregnancies would have had to occur to prove any clinical effect for danazol so they concluded the study. Thus the UK physician considers this study to be a trial against a placebo. Yet this study and another study in Scotland found no failures in women using the 600 mifepristone stat. This regime holds considerable promise as a postcoital contraceptive. It did pose problems with delayed bleeding however. Even though other postcoital contraceptive methods do have a clinical effect they do fail. There has been only 1 case of failure with postcoital insertion of an IUD. The UK physician calls for the colleagues to look forward to newer regimes instead of retesting effective methods which still do fail resulting in unwanted pregnancies.

A Comparison of Human and Machine Estimation of Speaker Age

Statistical Language and Speech Processing, 2015

The estimation of the age of a speaker from his or her voice has both forensic and commercial app... more The estimation of the age of a speaker from his or her voice has both forensic and commercial applications. Previous studies have shown that human listeners are able to estimate the age of a speaker to within 10 years on average, while recent machine age estimation systems seem to show superior performance with average errors as low as 6 years. However the machine studies have used highly non-uniform test sets, for which knowledge of the age distribution offers considerable advantage to the system. In this study we compare human and machine performance on the same test data chosen to be uniformly distributed in age. We show that in this case human and machine accuracy is more similar with average errors of 9.8 and 8.6 years respectively, although if panels of listeners are consulted, human accuracy can be improved to a value closer to 7.5 years. Both human and machines have difficulty in accurately predicting the ages of older speakers.

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New teacher job satisfaction : effects of general job facets and teacher job specific facets

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Update: Effects of Antioxidant and Non-Antioxidant Vitamin Supplementation on Immune Function

Nutrition Reviews, 2007

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Characterization of a carbohydrate response element regulating the gene for human galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase

Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, 2002

Human galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (hGALT) is a central enzyme in the conserved pathwa... more Human galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (hGALT) is a central enzyme in the conserved pathway by which galactose is converted to energy, UDP-galactose and UDP-glucose. A natural mutation that deleted -119 to -116 bp (delGTCA) of the promoter decreased hGALT mRNA and enzyme activity and prompted analysis of hGALT gene regulation. Regulatory domains were identified by inspection and confirmed in a reporter system. Previous studies by others were confirmed that HepG2 cells grown in D-glucose increased hGALT enzyme activity and mRNA by 30%. We extended these observations by sequencing the promoter region and identifying a potential carbohydrate response element (ChoRE). The response to glucose rose to 190% when a plasmid construct containing a luciferase reporter and only the -165 bp region as a promoter was transfected into HepG2 and NIH:OVCAR-3. By contrast, fibroblasts transfected with the identical construct failed to respond to glucose. Within the -165 bp region there were two enhancer (E-box) motifs that encompassed the delGTCA mutation. The deletion diminished the positive regulatory response, but an additional GTCA repeat unexpectedly increased the response. Using this postulated ChoRE as a probe in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, multiple nuclear proteins bound and one was identified as a member of the basic/helix-loop-helix/leucine zipper enhancer-binding (b/HLH/LZ) family. Increased binding of proteins correlated with increased hGALT expression when the spacing between E-box motifs was enlarged but the carbohydrate response was dampened. When the 3(&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;)E-box was mutated, b/HLH/LZ binding and gene expression were abolished. We conclude that the hGALT promoter region contains a ChoRE in which the spacing between and the sequence of its E-box motifs are critical. One nuclear protein of the b/HLH/LZ family is necessary, but not sufficient for the carbohydrate response.

Greater Years of Maternal Schooling and Higher Scores on Academic Achievement Tests are Independently Associated with Improved Management of Child Diarrhea by Rural Guatemalan Mothers

Maternal and Child Health Journal, 2009

Background-Appropriate home management can alleviate many of the consequences of diarrhea includi... more Background-Appropriate home management can alleviate many of the consequences of diarrhea including malnutrition, impaired development, growth faltering, and mortality. Maternal cognitive ability, years of schooling, and acquired academic skills are hypothesized to improve child health by improving maternal child care practices, such as illness management. Methods-Using information collected longitudinally in 1996-1999 from 466 rural Guatemalan women with children < 36 months, we examined the independent associations between maternal years of schooling, academic skills, and scores on the Raven's Progressive Matrices and an illness management index (IMI). Results-Women scoring in the lowest and middle tertiles of academic skills scored lower on the IMI compared to women in the highest tertile (-0.24 [95%CI: -0.54, 0.07]; -0.30 [95%CI: -0.54, -0.06], respectively) independent of sociodemographic factors, schooling, and Raven's scores. Among mothers with less than one year of schooling, scoring in the lowest tertile on the Raven's Progressive Matrices compared to the highest was significantly associated with scoring one point lower on the IMI (-1.18 [95% CI: -2.20, -0.17]). Conclusions-Greater academic skills were independently associated with maternal care during episodes of infant diarrhea. Schooling of young girls and/or community based programs that provide women with academic skills such as literacy, numeracy and knowledge could potentially improve mothers' care giving practices.

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Time-independent Maternal and Infant Factors and Time-dependent Infant Morbidities including HIV Infection, Contribute to Infant Growth Faltering during the First 2 Years of Life

Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, 2008

Studies investigating the predictors of growth in infants born to HIV-infected women in developin... more Studies investigating the predictors of growth in infants born to HIV-infected women in developing countries are limited. Using data from 886 Tanzanian HIV-infected women and their infants, we examined the impact of maternal socioeconomic and immunological status, infant characteristics at birth, and HIV, diarrhea and respiratory infections on infants' monthly length-for-age (LAZ) and length-for-weight (WLZ) z-scores during the first 2 years of life. We used restricted cubic splines to estimate average adjusted growth curves by categories of each predictor. LAZ decreased significantly during the first 2 years. WLZ increased from birth to 4 months but decreased significantly thereafter. Greater maternal schooling significantly reduced deterioration in LAZ and WLZ scores from birth to 24 months, while maternal CD4 cell counts !200 mm 23 at baseline were associated with reduced deterioration in LAZ scores. Infants born pre-term or with low-birth weight were significantly more stunted and wasted than their reference groups at all time points though their rate of growth faltering was slower. Infant-HIV status was strongly associated with significantly greater deterioration in LAZ and WLZ scores, beginning at about 4 months of age. Episodes of diarrhea or respiratory infections were related to significantly lower WLZ but not LAZ scores, independent of infant-HIV status. In conclusion, maternal schooling, immunological status and infant infections are important predictors of early growth in children born to HIV-positive women.

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Association between Breast Milk Erythropoietin and Reduced Risk of Mother‐to‐Child Transmission of HIV

The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2010

We examined the prospective associations between breast milk concentrations of erythropoietin, a ... more We examined the prospective associations between breast milk concentrations of erythropoietin, a factor with trophic effects on infant gut epithelia, and the risk of mother-tochild transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through breast-feeding in a study of 59 MTCT cases and 116 controls nested within a cohort of antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected Tanzanian women. Controls were matched to cases on the basis of the time from birth when the breast milk sample was collected. The risk of MTCT was inversely related to breast milk erythropoietin concentration (adjusted odds ratio for highest vs lowest erythropoietin concentration tertile, 0.34 [95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.82]; ). These results suggest a protective effect of breast P p .02 milk erythropoietin against MTCT. In the absence of interventions, transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) occurs through breast-feeding in about 5%-20% of children born to HIV-positive women, which accounts for an estimated one-third to one-half of all HIV infections in African children . Although avoidance of breast-feeding would eliminate this risk, replacement feeding

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Maternal Years of Schooling but Not Academic Skills Is Independently Associated With Infant-Feeding Practices in a Cohort of Rural Guatemalan Women

Journal of Human Lactation, 2009

The effects of maternal academic skills on infant-feeding practices are not clear. From 1996 to 1... more The effects of maternal academic skills on infant-feeding practices are not clear. From 1996 to 1999, the authors collected information on infant-feeding practices from birth on infants born to 279 mothers from 4 rural villages in Guatemala. They examined associations between maternal academic skills and indicators for the initiation of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and timely introduction of complementary foods (CF). Mothers in the highest category of academic skills had greater odds of initiating EBF, but this association failed to remain significant after adjusting for schooling. Compared with mothers with < 1 year of school, mothers with > 3 to ≤ 6 years had greater odds of initiating EBF; mothers with > 6 years of school had greater odds of introducing CF early, while mothers with ≥ 1 to ≤ 3 years had greater odds of introducing CF late. Unmeasured schooling-related factors influenced infant-feeding practices to a greater extent than academic skills. J Hum Lact. 25(3):...

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Arginase inhibition restores NOS coupling and reverses endothelial dysfunction and vascular stiffness in old rats

Journal of Applied Physiology, 2009

There is increasing evidence that upregulation of arginase contributes to impaired endothelial fu... more There is increasing evidence that upregulation of arginase contributes to impaired endothelial function in aging. In this study, we demonstrate that arginase upregulation leads to endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) uncoupling and that in vivo chronic inhibition of arginase restores nitroso-redox balance, improves endothelial function, and increases vascular compliance in old rats. Arginase activity in old rats was significantly increased compared with that shown in young rats. Old rats had significantly lower nitric oxide (NO) and higher superoxide (O2−) production than young. Acute inhibition of both NOS, with NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, and arginase, with 2( S)-amino- 6-boronohexanoic acid (ABH), significantly reduced O2− production in old rats but not in young. In addition, the ratio of eNOS dimer to monomer in old rats was significantly decreased compared with that shown in young rats. These results suggest that eNOS was uncoupled in old rats. Although the expression...

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Maternal and childhood nutrition and later blood pressure levels in young Guatemalan adults

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2005

Background Low birth weight and subsequent rapid child growth are associated with later blood pre... more Background Low birth weight and subsequent rapid child growth are associated with later blood pressure levels. The role of maternal and child nutrition in this association remains unclear. We studied 450 men and women (ages 21-29 years) born during a randomized trial of protein-energy supplementation (Atole) vs low energy/no protein supplementation (Fresco) in pregnancy and early childhood in four rural Guatemalan villages from 1969 to 1977. Protein-energy supplementation was not associated with differences in blood pressure in adulthood (diastolic blood pressure (DBP): β = 0.69 mm Hg, 95% confidence internal (CI) (Ϫ0.82-2.19); P = 0.37; systolic blood pressure (SBP): β = 0.17 mm Hg, 95% CI (Ϫ1.68-2.02); P = 0.86). Within the Atole group, maternal height was associated with later SBP (0.22 mm Hg/cm, 95% CI (Ϫ0.002-0.45); P = 0.05). No other associations between maternal nutritional status, birth size, child growth, or supplement intake were observed for adult blood pressure. Conclusions Our data do not support the role of maternal nutrition during pregnancy, birth size, or early child growth in programming adult blood pressure. Likewise, we found no effect of protein-energy supplementation in pregnancy or in early childhood on blood pressure in young adults.

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On our own, we can't manage": experiences with infant feeding recommendations among Malawian mothers living with HIV

International Breastfeeding Journal, 2010

Background: Infant feeding in communities with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS is a potential c... more Background: Infant feeding in communities with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS is a potential challenge for mothers who must ultimately decide how to feed their infants within contexts that constrain their choices. Methods: We investigated how infant feeding policy recommendations translate into maternal infant feeding decisions and practices using ethnographic research conducted between August 2004 and June 2005 among women participating in a prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program in Lilongwe, Malawi. Results: Qualitative findings are that maternal ability to adhere to recommendations to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of infant life was constrained by expectations and psycho-social support. The most salient were women's pre-existing views on breastfeeding, their understanding of the medico-scientific information, and the quality of counselling received. In contrast, maternal decisions to wean were largely influenced by household economic factors and food insecurity. Conclusions: We conclude that PMTCT programs delivered in ways which "download" the responsibility of adhering to recommendations to women in the absence of adequate psycho-social and livelihood supports contribute to substantial maternal psychosocial distress in this and, likely, similar settings.

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Effect of vitamin supplementation on breast milk concentrations of retinol, carotenoids and tocopherols in HIV-infected Tanzanian women

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007

Background/Objective: The effect of daily prenatal and postnatal vitamin supplementation on conce... more Background/Objective: The effect of daily prenatal and postnatal vitamin supplementation on concentrations of breast milk nutrients is not well characterized in HIV-infected women. We examined the impact of vitamin supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on breast milk concentrations of retinol, carotenoids and tocopherols during the first year postpartum among 626 HIV-infected Tanzanian women. Subjects/Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Women were assigned to one of four daily oral supplements: vitamin Concentrations of breast milk nutrients were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography at birth and every 3 months thereafter. Results: Supplementation with VA þ BC increased concentrations of retinol, b-carotene and a-carotene at delivery by 4799, 1791 and 84 nmol l À1 , respectively, compared to no VA þ BC (all Po0.0001). MV supplementation did not increase concentrations of a-tocopherol or d-tocopherol at delivery but significantly decreased concentrations of breast milk g-tocopherol and retinol. Although concentrations of all nutrients decreased significantly by 3 months postpartum, retinol, a-carotene and b-carotene concentrations were significantly higher among those receiving VA þ BC at 3, 6 and 12 months compared to no VA þ BC. a-Tocopherol was significantly higher, while g-tocopherol concentrations were significantly lower, among women receiving MV compared to no MV at 3, 6 and 12 months postpartum. Conclusions: Sustained supplementation of HIV-infected breastfeeding mothers with MV could be a safe and effective intervention to improve vitamin E concentrations in breast milk. VA þ BC supplementation increases concentrations of breast milk retinol but it is not recommended in HIV-infected mothers due to the elevated risk of vertical transmission.

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Decreased S -Nitrosylation of Tissue Transglutaminase Contributes to Age-Related Increases in Vascular Stiffness

Circulation Research, 2010

Rationale : Although an age-related decrease in NO bioavailability contributes to vascular stiffn... more Rationale : Although an age-related decrease in NO bioavailability contributes to vascular stiffness, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. We hypothesize that NO constrains the activity of the matrix crosslinking enzyme tissue transglutaminase (TG2) via S -nitrosylation in young vessels, a process that is reversed in aging. Objective : We sought to determine whether endothelium-dependent NO regulates TG2 activity by S -nitrosylation and whether this contributes to age-related vascular stiffness. Methods and Results : We first demonstrate that NO suppresses activity and increases S -nitrosylation of TG2 in cellular models. Next, we show that nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition leads to increased surface and extracellular matrix–associated TG2. We then demonstrate that endothelium-derived bioactive NO primarily mediates its effects through TG2, using TG2 −/− mice chronically treated with the NOS inhibitor l - N G -nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME). ...

Congenital portosystemic shunts in Toy and Miniature Poodles

Australian Veterinary Journal, 2000

Three male Poodles (two Toy, one Miniature) were presented to their veterinarians for evaluation ... more Three male Poodles (two Toy, one Miniature) were presented to their veterinarians for evaluation of urolithiasis and varying degrees of hepatic encephalopathy. All three dogs were diagnosed as having intrahepatic shunts and referred for surgical correction. In each case, shunts arose from the right branch of the portal vein and were amenable to perivascular dissection caudal to where the vessel entered the hepatic parenchyma and to placement of perivascular cellophane bands to achieve shunt attenuation. During the same period, a female Miniature Poodle also presented for treatment of a congenital portosystemic shunt discovered during evaluation for generalised motor seizures. This animal had an extrahepatic portoazygous shunt that was completely ligated. Congenital portosystemic shunts have not previously been identified in Toy and Miniature Poodles at the University Veterinary Centre, Sydney and the anatomical types of shunt seen in this breed have not previously been reported in a consecutive series of cases. The three male dogs are noteworthy for a number of reasons: all had intrahepatic shunts, despite being small breed dogs; all three presented in a similar fashion, and all had shunts of an anatomical type amenable to placement of cellophane bands. One male dog died within 12 hours of surgery, the remaining three dogs survived and their liver function was normal at follow-up between 2 and 3 months after surgery. Use of cellophane bands for successful attenuation of intrahepatic shunts has not been previously reported.

The Importance of Pregnant Mother Participation in Mama SASHA Pregnant and Lactating Clubs in Communities

European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety, 2015

ABSTRACT Antenatal clinics (ANCs) are critical for improving maternal nutrition and health knowle... more ABSTRACT Antenatal clinics (ANCs) are critical for improving maternal nutrition and health knowledge. The Mama SASHA project in western Kenya delivers an orange flesh sweet potato intervention through ANC to improve the vitamin A status of women and children less than 2 years. A nested cohort study following women from pregnancy to 9 months postpartum was designed as an evaluation strategy for the Mama SASHA project. A survey was conducted at enrollment among 505 women, 10-24 weeks gestation attending first ANC clinic visit. Of the 505 enrolled women, 72% reported they had not yet received counseling from the nurse on exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months during the current pregnancy; over 90% reported not yet receiving counseling on when to initiate breast feeding, the importance of colostrum, when to initiate complementary feeding or how long to breast feed. 70 % of participants were multiparas (N=352) of whom 91% attended ANC during their previous pregnancy. Of these only 39% reported receiving information from the health facility on breast feeding during their previous pregnancy, 35% on how to eat during pregnancy, and 44% on how to feed young children. These findings highlight that ANC is lost opportunity for providing nutrition education and counseling. There is a significant need to strengthen nutritional counseling both at the ANC as well as through community based platforms such as pregnant and/or lactating clubs.

Aimee Webb

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