Understanding the Multiple Influences on Black Parents' School Involvement: A Longitudinal Perspective.

This study explores longitudinal influences of various factors on Black parents' involvement in their children's education. Guided by Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler's Model of Parent Involvement, this research examines whether parents' school climate perceptions, attitudes about involvement, self-efficacy, and children's academic performance predict parent involvement over time. Utilizing data from the Maryland Adolescence in Context Study with a sample of 560 Black parents, we found that positive school climate perceptions and favorable attitudes towards involvement significantly predict increased parent involvement in later years. The results underscore the importance of supportive school environments and parent attitudes in fostering their involvement.

The Influence of Racial Socialization, Mentor Support, and Emotion Regulation on the Psychological Well-Being of African American Boys.

Although it is well-documented that school-based racial discrimination can have adverse effects on African American adolescents, the understanding of how socio-emotional factors can act as safeguards is still limited. This study explores whether emotion regulation, mentor support, and parent racial socialization help African American boys cope with school-based racial discrimination. Factors such as emotion regulation are internal assets, while mentor support and parent racial socialization are external resources. Four hundred and eighty-seven African American boys aged 12 to 18 (M = 14.33; SD = 1.62) participated. School-based racial discrimination correlated negatively with psychological well-being. Only emotion regulation and parental racial socialization were related to positive psychological well-being. However, mentor support buffered against the negative impacts of school-based racial discrimination on psychological well-being. These results underscore the significance of assets and resources in bolstering African American boys' resilience against school-based racial discrimination, with implications for interventions and future research.

Development and Evaluation of Ensemble Learning-based Environmental Methane Detection and Intensity Prediction Models.

The environmental impacts of global warming driven by methane (CH4) emissions have catalyzed significant research initiatives in developing novel technologies that enable proactive and rapid detection of CH4. Several data-driven machine learning (ML) models were tested to determine how well they identified fugitive CH4 and its related intensity in the affected areas. Various meteorological characteristics, including wind speed, temperature, pressure, relative humidity, water vapor, and heat flux, were included in the simulation. We used the ensemble learning method to determine the best-performing weighted ensemble ML models built upon several weaker lower-layer ML models to (i) detect the presence of CH4 as a classification problem and (ii) predict the intensity of CH4 as a regression problem. The classification model performance for CH4 detection was evaluated using accuracy, F1 score, Matthew's Correlation Coefficient (MCC), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC ROC), with the top-performing model being 97.2%, 0.972, 0.945 and 0.995, respectively. The R 2 score was used to evaluate the regression model performance for CH4 intensity prediction, with the R 2 score of the best-performing model being 0.858. The ML models developed in this study for fugitive CH4 detection and intensity prediction can be used with fixed environmental sensors deployed on the ground or with sensors mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for mobile detection.

School Connectedness and Mental Health Among Black Adolescents.

Black students' school experiences are important for their mental health. The current study explored the link between school connectedness in middle childhood and depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors among Black adolescents. Participants were Black youth (Mage = 9.36 years, SD = 0.38 at time 1), (Mage = 15.59 years, SD = 0.60 at time 2), and 50.2% female. The findings demonstrated a significant association between school connectedness assessed at age nine and reduced depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors reported at age fifteen. Notably, gender moderated the relationship between school connectedness and depressive symptoms, with a stronger association found for girls. These results offer valuable insights into how early perceptions of school connectedness impact the mental health of Black adolescents as they grow older. These findings also indicate that girls might be more attuned to the social and emotional aspects of their schools. These findings validate the significance of a sense of connection to school with mental health outcomes among Black adolescents and indicate the possibility of school connectedness interventions to enhance their overall well-being.

Reflecting on change: Critical consciousness as a protective factor for Black youth.

OBJECTIVES: The previous decade has seen an abundance of scholarship on the benefits of critical consciousness (CC) for racial and ethnic minority youth. However, it is unclear whether CC is a buffer against the negative effects of racial discrimination on Black adolescents' outcomes. The present study examined whether three CC dimensions buffered against the negative effects of racial discrimination on academic attitudes. METHOD: A total of 205 Black adolescents (Mage = 15.10) reported racial discrimination and CC. We conducted multiple regression analyses for each component of CC to test for their direct and protective effects on academic attitudes. RESULTS: Our results revealed associations between CC dimensions and academic attitudes. Critical reflection and critical action also buffered against racial discrimination's negative effects. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for research on the nature and impact of CC dimensions on racial discrimination and academic attitudes are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Barriers to School-Based Mental Health Resource Utilization Among Black Adolescent Males.

Black adolescent males use available mental health services at a disproportionately lower rate compared to males of other racial groups. This study examines barriers to school-based mental health resource (SBMHR) use among Black adolescent males, as a means of addressing reduced usage of available mental health resources and to improve these resources to better support their mental health needs. Secondary data for 165 Black adolescent males were used from a mental health needs assessment of two high schools in southeast Michigan. Logistic regression was employed to examine the predictive power of psychosocial (self-reliance, stigma, trust, and negative previous experience) and access barriers (no transportation, lack of time, lack of insurance, and parental restrictions) on SBMHR use, as well as the relationship between depression and SBMHR use. No access barriers were found to be significantly associated with SBMHR use. However, self-reliance and stigma were statistically significant predictors of SBMHR use. Participants who identified self-reliance in addressing their mental health symptoms were 77% less likely to use available mental health resources in their school. However, participants who reported stigma as a barrier to using SBMHR were nearly four times more likely to use available mental health resources; this suggests potential protective factors in schools that can be built into mental health resources to support Black adolescent males' use of SBMHRs. This study serves as an early step in exploring how SBMHRs can better serve the needs of Black adolescent males. It also speaks to potential protective factors that schools provide for Black adolescent males who have stigmatized views of mental health and mental health services. Future studies would benefit from a nationally representative sample allowing for more generalizable results regarding barriers and facilitators to Black adolescent males' use of school-based mental health resources.

Do We Belong? Examining the Associations Between Adolescents' Perceptions of School Belonging, Teacher Discrimination, Peer Prejudice and Suicide.

In the USA, suicide is a leading cause of death for adolescents ages 12 to 18 (National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2019). Given the urgency of this public health crisis, this paper aims to explore the impact of a sense of school belonging and teacher-based discrimination and peer-based prejudice on suicidal ideation and attempts among Black youth. This secondary analysis used a sample of Black youth (N = 4229; Mage = 16) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents to Adult Health data. Independent variables included a sense of school belonging, school-based teacher discrimination, and school-based peer prejudice; the dependent variable was suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The results of multinomial regression analyses revealed that as Black adolescents' sense of school belonging decreased, they were 35% more likely to be at risk for suicidal ideation and attempts. Findings from our study support the assertion that the school microsystem plays a substantial role in modifying the risk of suicidal behavior among Black youth.

Online Racial Discrimination, Critical Consciousness, and Psychosocial Distress Among Black and Latino Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Past research has found that stressful events such as racial discrimination can spur social development in racially marginalized youth. Critical consciousness has been identified as one such developmental task. Yet, there is still much to learn regarding the role of racial discrimination in developing critical consciousness, particularly as it relates to the mechanism linking racial discrimination to critical consciousness. We examine whether stress, in the form of psychological distress, may explain the link between online racial discrimination and critical consciousness. Online racial discrimination is a type of racial discrimination and is a growing risk to safe internet use for ethnically and racially marginalized youth. The current study employed a moderated mediation model to examine the associations between online racial discrimination and critical consciousness (critical agency and critical action). Data were from 356 Black and Latino adolescents, 50% each (Mage = 15.97, SD = 1.61), and 78.92% female. The model included psychological distress as a mediator between online racial discrimination and critical consciousness and self-esteem as a moderator of psychological distress and two critical consciousness dimensions. Psychological distress was a successful mediator, and self-esteem moderated the link between psychological distress and critical consciousness dimensions. The present findings suggest that psychological distress may be one mechanism through which online racial discrimination may impact the development of critical consciousness in Black and Latino adolescents.

African-Centered Social Work in the 21st Century: A Content Analysis.

Endorsement of African-centered theory and practice are widespread within Black communities across the United States. The usage of African-centered frameworks is also common among many Black social workers. However, past research suggests that African-centered theory and subsequent models of practice are marginalized within social work literature and curricula. Since advocacy began for the inclusion of African-centered approaches to practice during the mid to late 1990s, there have been no strategic analyses tracing how African-centered scholarship has advanced within social work. This study sought to examine to what extent the African-centered framework is included within scholarship among prominent social work journals. A content analysis was conducted of articles in six major social work journals published between 2000 and 2019. A total of 42 articles met the criteria for inclusion. While there has been a level of change in the number of published articles of African-centered social work, findings suggest that relative to other practice modalities/models, African-centered scholarship is noticeably lacking in social work literature. The article concludes with implications to advance culturally responsive research and practice with communities of African descent.

The Mental Health of Black Youth Affected by Community Violence: Family and School Context as Pathways to Resilience.

Black youth who experience community violence occupy multiple environments with varying levels of influence on how they display resiliency to prevent adverse mental health outcomes. Considering the recent rise of mental health concerns (i.e., increase in suicidal outcomes) among Black youth, along with the abundance of research illustrating the detrimental impact of community violence, more research is needed to examine how different environmental factors (e.g., family and school) shape how youth protect their mental health while displaying resiliency navigating community violence. The purpose of this study was to examine how family and school contexts predict Black youths' ability to display resiliency to navigate community violence and prevent adverse mental health outcomes. This study utilized a path analysis to examine the associations between parent relationships, parent bonding, school climate, resilience to adverse community experiences, community violence, and mental health among 548 Black adolescents in Chicago. Findings highlight that parent relationships, parent bonding, and school climate influence the association between resilience to community violence and mental health outcomes among Black youth. Implications for mental health practice and policy among Black youth are discussed.

Temperature-dependent infrared and calorimetric studies on arsenicals adsorption from solution to hematite nanoparticles.

To address the lack of systematic and surface sensitive studies on the adsorption energetics of arsenic compounds on metal (oxyhydr)oxides, we conducted temperature-dependent ATR-FTIR studies for the adsorption of arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, and dimethylarsinic acid on hematite nanoparticles at pH 7. Spectra were collected as a function of concentration and temperature in the range 5-50 °C (278-323 K). Adsorption isotherms were constructed from spectral features assigned to surface arsenic. Values of K(eq), adsorption enthalpy, and entropy were extracted from fitting the Langmuir model to the data and from custom-built triple-layer surface complexation models derived from our understanding of the adsorption mechanism of each arsenical. These spectroscopic and modeling results were complemented with flow-through calorimetric measurements of molar heats of adsorption. Endothermic adsorption processes were predicted from the application of mathematical models with a net positive change in adsorption entropy. However, experimentally measured heats of adsorption were exothermic for all three arsenicals studied herein, with arsenate releasing 1.6-1.9 times more heat than methylated arsenicals. These results highlight the role of hydration thermodynamics on the adsorption of arsenicals, and are consistent with the spectral interpretation of type of surface complexes each arsenical form in that arsenate is mostly dominated by bidentate, MMA by a mixture of mono- and bidentate, and DMA by mostly outer sphere.

Framing black boys: parent, teacher, and student narratives of the academic lives of black boys.

The discourse on Black boys tends to suggest that Black boys are in complete peril. We begin with evidence that Black boys are excelling in certain contexts (i.e., in certain states, in certain schools, and in certain courses). We then discuss the ways in which the narratives used by parents, teachers, and Black boys themselves may serve to further reinforce views that Black boys are beyond hope. Research on Black parents suggests that they tend to view their sons as vulnerable and have lower expectations for sons than for daughters. Studies of teachers show that they tend to view Black boys as unteachable, as social problems, and as scary. Research on Black boys shows that they are sometimes complicit in supporting these narratives by engaging in negative or ste reotypical behavior. We also include recent research that includes counter-narratives of Black boys. We end with suggestions for future research.

P19 progenitor cells progress to organized contracting myocytes after chemical and electrical stimulation: implications for vascular tissue engineering.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that a level of chemical and electrical stimulation exists that allows differentiation of progenitor cells into organized contracting myocytes. METHODS: A custom-made bioreactor with the capability of delivering electrical pulses of varying field strengths, widths, and frequencies was constructed. Individual chambers of the bioreactor allowed continuous electrical stimulation of cultured cells under microscopic observation. On day 0, 1% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), known to differentiate cells into myocytes, was added to P19 progenitor cells. Additionally, for the next 22 days, electrical pulses of varying field strengths (0-3 V/cm), widths (2-40 ms), and frequencies (10-25 Hz) were continuously applied. On day 5, the medium containing DMSO was exchanged with regular medium, and the electrical stimulation was continued. From days 6-22, the cells were visually assessed for signs of viability, contractility, and organization. RESULTS: P19 cells remained viable with pulsed electrical fields <3 V/cm, pulse widths <40 ms, and pulse frequencies from 10 to 25 Hz. On day 12, the first spontaneous contractions were observed. For individual colonies, local synchronization and organization occurred; multiple colonies were synchronized with externally applied electrical fields. CONCLUSION: P19 progenitor cells progress to organized contracting myocytes after chemical and electrical stimulation. Incorporation of such cells into existing methods of producing endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and scaffolds may allow production of improved tissue-engineered vascular grafts.

A novel culture system shows that stem cells can be grown in 3D and under physiologic pulsatile conditions for tissue engineering of vascular grafts.

BACKGROUND: Currently available vascular grafts have been limited by variable patency rates, material availability, and immunological rejection. The creation of a tissue-engineered vascular graft (TEVG) from autologous stem cells would potentially overcome these limitations. As a first step in creating a completely autologous TEVG, our objective was to develop a novel system for culturing undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) in a three-dimensional (3D) configuration and under physiological pulsatile flow and pressure conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A bioreactor was created to provide pulsatile conditions to a specially modified four-well Labtek Chamber-Slide culture system. Undifferentiated mESC were either suspended in a 3D Matrigel matrix or suspended only in cell-culture media within the culture system. Pulsatile conditions were applied to the suspended cells and visualized by video microscopy. RESULTS: Undifferentiated mESC were successfully embedded in a 3D Matrigel matrix and could withstand physiological pulsatile conditions. Video microscopy demonstrated that the mESC in the 3D matrix were constrained to the wells of the culture system, moved in unison with the applied flows, and were not washed downstream; this was in contrast to the mESC suspended in media alone. CONCLUSIONS: Undifferentiated mESC can be grown in 3D and under pulsatile conditions. We will use these results to study the effects of long-term pulsatile conditions on the differentiation of mESC into endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and fibroblast cells with the long-term goal of creating a completely autologous TEVG.

Osteocyte lacunae tissue strain in cortical bone.

Current theories suggest that bone modeling and remodeling are controlled at the cellular level through signals mediated by osteocytes. However, the specific signals to which bone cells respond are still unknown. Two primary theories are: (1) osteocytes are stimulated via the mechanical deformation of the perilacunar bone matrix and (2) osteocytes are stimulated via fluid flow generated shear stresses acting on osteocyte cell processes within canaliculi. Recently, much focus has been placed on fluid flow theories since in vitro experiments have shown that bone cells are more responsive to analytically estimated levels of fluid shear stress than to direct mechanical stretching using macroscopic strain levels measured on bone in vivo. However, due to the complex microstructural organization of bone, local perilacunar bone tissue strains potentially acting on osteocytes cannot be reliably estimated from macroscopic bone strain measurements. Thus, the objective of this study was to quantify local perilacunar bone matrix strains due to macroscopically applied bone strains similar in magnitude to those that occur in vivo. Using a digital image correlation strain measurement technique, experimentally measured bone matrix strains around osteocyte lacunae resulting from macroscopic strains of approximately 2000 microstrain are significantly greater than macroscopic strain on average and can reach peak levels of over 30,000 microstrain locally. Average strain concentration factors ranged from 1.1 to 3.8, which is consistent with analytical and numerical estimates. This information should lead to a better understanding of how bone cells are affected by whole bone functional loading.