Email marketing software offers quick and easy tools that can help you grow your business, and we've tested the best of them.

In this episode of the podcast, Tom chats with Tim Stuart about his new book, Personalized Learning in a PLC at Work: Student Agency Through the Four Critical Questions.

Valor Collegiate Academies has been in the top 5 percent of Tennessee schools on growth and achievement every year since it started in 2014. But Tom visited Valor because of the well-regarded Valor Compass, a holistic human-development program.

Mentoring a student-teacher won't hurt a teacher's district evaluation score—in fact, it might even give it a boost, according to a working study.

Unwilling to haul a heavy SLR or mirrorless camera? If you want a capable compact camera you can slip into your pocket, these are the top models we've tested.

Want better photos than your phone can provide? We test and rate hundreds of cameras and lenses each year, ranging from pocket-friendly shooters to high-end medium format systems. Here's everything you need to know to pick the best digital camera for you.

President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping will sit down for a highly anticipated dinner with investors and allies eager for a truce in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

For the first time in 130 years, there will be no rallies and marches to celebrate what began as a campaign for an eight-hour working day.

Handyman Vincenzo Perugia walked out of the Louvre with a rolled-up painting under his smock. What ensured should be a lesson to us all, says Hannes Viljoen.

Wide-scale use of insecticide-treated bed nets has led to substantial declines in global incidences of malaria in recent years. As a result, mosquitos have been shifting their biting times to earlier in the evening and later in the morning. In a new study, an international team of researchers has found that mosquitoes are most likely to transmit malaria in the early evening, when people are exposed, then at midnight, when people are protected by bed nets, or in the morning. The findings may have implications for malaria prevention initiatives.

Chad’s North West may become the next stage for insurgency, drug-running and religious extremism in the Sahel if the government continues to actively neglect the poorest of the violence-plagued country’s poor regions.

The Central African Republic has a long history of crises, but the way the most recent one was managed indicates that a new security constellation may be emerging in the region.

South Africa’s efforts to foster peace and security have placed it centre stage in some of the continent’s most intractable conflicts. This is an inevitable result of the quest to promote “African solutions for African problems”.

To avoid a revival of past ethnic tensions between Hutu and Tutsi, Burundi needs to find the right balance between land restitution and national reconciliation.

Le Burundi est l’un des pays les plus pauvres (le taux de pauvreté atteint 67 %) et les plus petits d’Afrique (27 834 kilomètres carrés) avec l’une des plus grandes densités humaines du continent (près de 400 habitants par kilomètre carré). C’est du reste un pays profondément rural où seulement 11 % de la population réside en ville. Alors que l’accès à la terre et à la propriété est un véritable enjeu socio-économique, le Burundi fait face à de sérieux problèmes agricoles.

David Figlio and Eduwonkette discuss if today's testing and accountability policies accurately depict student performance and the size of the achievement

What should be included in a measure of school quality? If not by standardized test scores, how should we measure student achievement? Julian Vasquez Heilig and I each have some thoughts.

Federal law requires states to report student test scores in achievement levels, but leaders in the Golden State want to take a different approach.

A 10-year study by a blue-ribbon panel of scientists concludes that high-stakes testing and other accountability measures have largely failed to translate to real improvements in student achievement.

Brain infections with Cryptococcus neoformans are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Cryptococcosis typically presents as meningoencephalitis or fungal mass lesions called cryptococcomas. Despite frequent in vitro discoveries of promising novel antifungals, the clinical need for drugs that can more efficiently treat these brain infections remains. A crucial step in drug development is the evaluation of in vivo drug efficacy in animal models. This mainly relies on survival studies or post-mortem analyses in large groups of animals, but these techniques only provide information on specific organs of interest at predefined time points. In this proof-of-concept study, we validated the use of non-invasive preclinical imaging to obtain longitudinal information on the therapeutic efficacy of amphotericin B or fluconazole monotherapy in meningoencephalitis and cryptococcoma mouse models. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) enabled the rapid in vitro and in vivo evaluation of drug efficacy while complementary high-resolution anatomical information obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain allowed a precise assessment of the extent of infection and lesion growth rates. We demonstrated a good correlation between both imaging readouts and the fungal burden in various organs. Moreover, we identified potential pitfalls associated with the interpretation of therapeutic efficacy based solely on post-mortem studies, demonstrating the added value of this non-invasive dual imaging approach compared to standard mortality curves or fungal load endpoints. This novel preclinical imaging platform provides insights in the dynamic aspects of the therapeutic response and facilitates a more efficient and accurate translation of promising antifungal compounds from bench to bedside.

Aspergillus niger, the third species responsible for invasive aspergillosis has been considered as a homogeneous species until DNA-based identification uncovered many cryptic species. These species have been recently reclassified into the Aspergillus section Nigri. However little is yet known among the section Nigri about the species distribution and the antifungal susceptibility pattern of each cryptic species. A total of 112 clinical isolates collected from 5 teaching hospitals in France and phenotypically identified as A. niger were analyzed. Identification to the species level was carried out by nucleotide sequence analysis. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) of itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, isavuconazole and amphotericin B were determined by both the EUCAST and gradient concentration strips methods. Aspergillus tubingensis (n=51, 45.5%) and A. welwitschiae (n=50, 44.6%) were the most common species while A. niger accounted for only 6.3% (n=7). The MICs of azoles drugs were higher for A. tubingensis than for A. welwitschiae. The MIC of amphotericin B was 2 mg/L or less for all isolates. Importantly, MICs determined by EUCAST showed no correlation with those determined by gradient concentration strips methods, these latter being lower than the former (Spearman's rank correlation tests ranging - depending on the antifungal agent - from 0.01 to 0.25; p>0.4). In conclusion, A. niger should be considered as a minority species in the section Nigri. The differences in MICs between species for different azoles underline the importance of accurate identification. Significant divergences in the determination of MIC between EUCAST and gradient concentration strips methods require further investigation.

Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis is a debilitating infection of bone. Treatment of osteomyelitis is impaired by the propensity of invading bacteria to induce pathologic bone remodeling that may limit antibiotic penetration to the infectious focus. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diflunisal was previously identified as an osteoprotective adjunctive therapy for osteomyelitis, based on the ability of this compound to inhibit S. aureus quorum sensing and subsequent quorum-dependent toxin production. When delivered locally during experimental osteomyelitis, diflunisal significantly limits bone destruction without affecting bacterial burdens. However, because diflunisal's "quorum-quenching" activity could theoretically increase antibiotic recalcitrance, it is critically important to evaluate this adjunctive therapy in the context of standard of care antibiotics. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of vancomycin to treat osteomyelitis during local diflunisal treatment. We first determined that systemic vancomycin effectively reduces bacterial burdens in a murine model of osteomyelitis, and identified a dosing regimen that decreases bacterial burdens without eradicating infection. Using this dosing scheme, we found that vancomycin activity is unaffected by the presence of diflunisal in vitro and in vivo. Similarly, locally-delivered diflunisal still potently inhibits osteoblast cytotoxicity in vitro and bone destruction in vivo in the presence of sub-therapeutic vancomycin. However, we also found that the resorbable polyurethane foams used to deliver diflunisal serve as a nidus for infection. Taken together, these data demonstrate that diflunisal does not significantly impact standard of care antibiotic therapy for S. aureus osteomyelitis, but also highlight potential pitfalls encountered with local drug delivery.

On Tuesday, Avast responded to a PCMag-Motherboard investigation into the company's browser history collection practices, saying it was entirely legal. Avast users should expect to see a prompt from the antivirus products, asking them to consent to the data harvesting.

'As CEO of Avast, I feel personally responsible and I would like to apologize to all concerned,' wrote Ondrej Vlcek following a PCMag-Motherboard investigation into the privacy risks around the data harvesting.

Parenting styles run the gamut and so do the features in parental control and monitoring utilities. We've tested the top hardware- and software-based services to help you choose the right one for your family.

Windows Defender is improving, but you still shouldn't rely on Windows 10's security tools as your sole means of protection. Many free third-party security apps are more effective at keeping you safe. We've tested 17 no-cost services to help you find the best free antivirus for protecting your PC.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have increased over the decade. Guidelines recommend HIV testing with incident STIs. Prevalence and factors associated with HIV testing in acute STIs are unknown in adolescents. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of completed HIV testing among adolescents with incident STIs and identify patient and health care factors associated with HIV testing.

BACKGROUND:

Elevated non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are used to identify children at increased cardiovascular risk, but the use of non–HDL-C in childhood to predict atherosclerosis is unclear. We examined whether the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute classification of youth non–HDL-C status predicts high common carotid artery intima-media thickness in adulthood.

Need help with what to buy? On Twitter, reach out to @PCMag using the #PCMagPicks hashtag, and we'll track down an answer for you.

A first-leg comeback has put Manchester City in the driving seat as Real Madrid travel to north-west England facing a 2-1 deficit.

For Roberto Ramirez, serving God in missions has been one step of faith after another.

Mauritians are Africa's wealthiest individuals, while Zimbabweans count as the poorest, according to the latest Africa Wealth Report.

Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are the hot spots for card fraud in South Africa, according to a report on global fraud activity.

Sabric, a financial crime information centre, shares its tips on staying safe over the festive season.

If you want to get healthy, a fitness tracker can help. Here at PCMag, we put them through vigorous testing to see which ones are up to the challenge.

If you're buying for someone who lives by the SoulCycle schedule, or wants to get in shape in 2020, this is the gift guide for you.

More singularly focused than smartwatches, dedicated fitness trackers are wearable devices that can help you move more, sleep better, and improve your overall health. Here's what you need to know to pick the right one for you, as well as the 10 best fitness trackers we've tested.

Extremely low or negative yields in global markets make it challenging for investors to generate meaningful returns, says Brian McMillan of Investec Structured Products.

Africa can be a challenging place to do business and property investment is not exempt from some, often unique, challenges, says a Nedbank expert.

There are three challenges facing investors going forward, HSBC chief market strategist at HSBC Private Bank tells Fin24.

Money Smart Week SA, a financial literacy campaign aimed at motivating and empowering South Africans to become more educated about their finances, is taking place from March 23 to 28, 2020.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s February Budget speech will be scrutinised for evidence the country is doing enough to preserve its last remaining investment grade rating from Moody’s.

There's more than one way to invest in the yellow metal: either by buying it in its physical form, or investing in shares linked to gold. Fin24 asked the experts how to get started.

Interest in Section 12J has grown each year, with the current financial year being no different, says Jonty Sacks, a partner at Jaltech.