National Board Certification and Teacher Effectiveness: Evidence from Washington

We study the effectiveness of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in Washington State, which has one of the largest populations of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in the nation. Based on value-added models in math and reading, we find that NBPTS certified teachers are about 0.01-0.05 student standard deviations more effective than non-NBCTS with similar levels of experience. Certification effects vary by subject, grade level, and certification type, with greater effects for middle school math certificates. We find mixed evidence that teachers who pass the assessment are more effective than those who fail, but that the underlying NBPTS assessment score predicts student achievement. Finally, we use the individual assessment exercise scores to estimate optimal weights for value-added prediction

Improved Co I Log(gf) Values and Abundance Determinations in the Photospheres of the Sun and Metal-Poor Star HD 84937

New emission branching fraction measurements for 898 lines of the first spectrum of cobalt (Co I) are determined from hollow cathode lamp spectra recorded with the National Solar Observatory 1 m Fourier transform spectrometer on Kitt Peak, AZ and a high-resolution echelle spectrometer. Published radiative lifetimes from laser induced fluorescence measurements are combined with the branching fractions to determine accurate absolute atomic transition probabilities for the 898 lines. Hyperfine structure (hfs) constants for levels of neutral Co in the literature are surveyed and selected values are used to generate complete hfs component patterns for 195 transitions of Co I. These new laboratory data are applied to determine the Co abundance in the Sun and metal-poor star HD 84937, yielding log epsilon(Co) = 4.955 +/- 0.007 (sigma = 0.059) based on 82 Co I lines and log epsilon(Co) = 2.785 +/- 0.008 (sigma = 0.065) based on 66 Co I lines, respectively. A Saha or ionization balance test on the photosphere of HD 84937 is performed using 16 UV lines of Co II, and good agreement is found with the Co I result in this metal-poor ([Fe I/H] = -2.32, [Fe II/H] = -2.32) dwarf star. The resulting value of [Co/Fe]= +0.14 supports a rise of Co/Fe at low metallicity that has been suggested in other studies.NASA NNX10AN93GNSF AST-1211055, AST-1211585McDonald Observator

THE DEVELOPMENT AND STUDY OF CHELATING SUBSTRATES FOR THE SEPARATION OF METAL IONS IN COMPLEX SAMPLE MATRICES

DIONEX U

The carbon dioxide combining power of the blood plasma, its determination and its significance in certain pathological conditions

1. There is a marked fall in the CO₂ combining power of the blood plasma in states of uraemia as estimated by the Van Slyke apparatus.2. Relative normal in Chronic Interstitial Nephritis where there is no clinical evidence of uraemia.3. If the CO₂ combining power reading of the blood plasma remains high then less likelihood of uraemia supervening.4. Suggested early treatment of uraemia before definite clinical signs of this condition appear if one finds the reading of the CO₂ combining power commencing to fall.5. Patient is more likely to die suddenly of cerebral haemorrhage than go into uraemic coma if the CO₂ combining power reading remains high. It is in cases of high blood pressures:- all the cases I have mentioned had relatively high blood pressures.)6. CO₂ combining power reading of the blood plasma is of useful diagnostic value in comatose or semi-comatose patients. If the CO₂ combining power reading is high then less likelihood of patient being in uraemic coma,7. If CO₂ combining,power reading is low in an unconscious patient and after examination of urine no sugar is found, the patient is likely to be in uraemic coma.8. Findings are not so low in this short series of cases as others have found (i.e. the CO₂ combining power readings of the blood plasma).9. There is no particular correlation between the CO₂ combining power findings and the blood chemistry findings.10. CO₂ combining power readings useful in diagnosis of epileptic seizures from uraemic convulsions, if any dubiety should arise in the diagnosis.11. Relative lowness of supposed normal figures found as compared to those found by Van Slyke, Dunlop Stewart and others

Strategies for Evolving Diverse and Effective Behaviours in Pursuit Domains

Evolutionary algorithms have a tendency to overuse and exploit particular behaviours in their search for optimality, even across separate runs. The resulting set of monotonous solutions caused by this tendency is a problem in many applications. This research explores different strategies designed to encourage an interesting set of diverse behaviours while still maintaining an appreciable level of efficacy. Embodied agents are situated within an open plane and play against each other in various pursuit game scenarios. The pursuit games consist of a single predator agent and twenty prey agents, with the goal always requiring the predator to catch as many prey as possible before the time limit is reached. The predator's controller is evolved through genetic programming while the preys' controllers are hand-crafted. The fitness of a solution is first calculated in a traditional manner. Inspired by Lehman and Stanley's novelty search strategy, the fitness is then combined with the diversity of the solution to produce the final fitness score. The original fitness score is determined by the number of captured prey, and the diversity score is determined through the combination of four behaviour measurements. Among many promising results, a particular diversity-based evaluation strategy and weighting combination was found to provide solutions that exhibit an excellent balance between diversity and efficacy. The results were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, showing the emergence of diverse and effective behaviours