Factors Used in Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) Device Choice

This Brief describes how schools/districts determined their technology device choice. The purpose of the Brief is to gain a better understanding of the decision making processes regarding the technology device(s) that was chosen by districts in the summer of 2013 and how satisfied they were with those devices for the 2013 -2014 school year. Surveys were administered to Superintendents in the Summer of June 2014 regarding this purpose

Journal of Fishing Voyage, Schooner St. Lawrence, 1858

Journal for the Schr. St. Lawrence, a cod fishing vessel out of Cape Porpoise (Me.) whose master was Captain J. A. Pinkham. The log records a Fishing voyage from Cape Porpoise to the “Western Bank.” Includes much reference to weather conditions and regular accounts of catch for individual crew members, including total number of fish taken in front of Journal

MBS Ratings and the Mortgage Credit Boom

We study credit ratings on subprime and Alt-A mortgage-backed securities (MBS) deals issued between 2001 and 2007, the period leading up to the subprime crisis. The fraction of highly-rated securities in each deal is decreasing in mortgage credit risk (measured either ex-ante or ex-post), suggesting ratings contain useful information for investors. However, we also find evidence of significant time-variation in risk-adjusted credit ratings, including a progressive decline in standards around the MBS market peak between the start of 2005 and mid-2007. Conditional on initial ratings, we observe underperformance (high mortgage defaults and losses, and large rating downgrades) amongst deals with observably higher-risk mortgages based on a simple ex-ante model, and deals with a high fraction of opaque low-documentation loans. These findings hold over the entire sample period, not just for deal cohorts most affected by the crisis.

Spring 2013 Teacher Survey: MEPRI/MLTI Middle and High School Technology Report

In the spring of 2013, the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) at the University of Southern Maine administered the annual Statewide Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) teacher survey. In addition to gathering data on continuing trends of Maine teachers’ technology implementation, new goals were identified to respond to the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) preferred solution initiative in the spring of 2013. The MDOE opted to select a preferred solution which allowed schools the autonomy to choose from among four other approved bids. In anticipation that a number of schools would choose to provide an alternative technology solution to students and teachers, MEPRI tailored the annual teacher survey to collect data for two purposes. The first purpose was to collect baseline data for schools and to inform them on their technology use to date in an individualized school profile. These individual school profiles were provided only to eligible schools for their internal use and were not published or provided to the MLTI staff. The second was a summary report that continued collecting information regarding teacher implementation of technology statewide and for State of Maine reporting purposes. This Brief includes the Summary Report and information on how survey responses were analyzed

Effects of Fiber Orientation on the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Fiber-Filled Polymer Systems in Large Format Polymer Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing

Large format polymer extrusion-based additive manufacturing has been studied recently due to its capacity for high throughput, customizable bead size and geometry, and ability to manufacture large parts. Samples from three fiber-filled amorphous thermoplastic materials 3D printed using a Masterprint 3X machine from Ingersoll Machine Tools were studied, along with their neat counterparts. Characterization techniques included thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA). TGA results showed that the fillers decreased the degradation temperature for most of the materials investigated, with a 30°C decrease for polycarbonate (PC) and a 12°C decrease for polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). For all the materials used, heat capacity increases with increasing temperature. Moreover, results show that a highly conductive filler increases the heat capacity. In contrast, a material with a lower conductivity decreases the heat capacity indicated in the 15.2% and 2.54% increase for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and PC and a 27.68% decrease for PETG. The TMA data show that the printed bead exhibits directional properties consistent with an orthotropic material. Smaller strains and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) were measured along the bead direction and across the bead compared to the through bead thickness showing that fillers are predominantly oriented in the bead direction, which is consistent with the literature. CTE values through bead thickness and neat material are similar in magnitude, which corresponds to the CTE of the matrix material. The experimental results serve to characterize the effect of fiber filler on the part thermal strains in three principal directions and two-part locations during the extrusion and bead deposition of large-format polymer extrusion-based additive manufacturing technologies

A Middle School One-to-One Laptop Program: The Maine Experience

Over eight years ago, Maine embarked on a bold new initiative. Entitled the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI), this program funded by the State of Maine, provided all 7th and 8th grade students and their teachers with laptop computers, and provided schools and teachers with a wireless internet infrastructure, technical assistance, and professional development for integrating laptop technology into their curriculum and instruction. The first full implementation of MLTI began in the Fall of the 2002-03 academic year. At the same time the Maine commissioner of education contracted with the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) to conduct the ongoing evaluation of MLTI. MEPRI is a non-partisan research institute funded jointly by the Maine State Legislature and the University of Maine System. Over the past eight years the MEPRI research and evaluation team has used a mixed method approach in the evaluation of the MLTI program; an approach that uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques in collecting and analyzing research and evaluation evidence. The evidence presented in this report indicates the MLTI program has had a significant impact on curriculum, instruction, and learning in Maine’s middle schools. In the areas of curriculum and instruction, the evidence indicates many teachers have reached the tipping point in the adoption and integration of the laptop into their teaching. However, the adoption is uneven for some teachers, and in some content areas. Relatively speaking, mathematics teachers use the laptops less frequently than their colleagues in other core disciplines. Most teachers are not using the laptops as frequently in assessment as one might anticipate, and too few teachers report using the laptop in teaching 21st Century Skills

Update to the study protocol Face Your Fears:Virtual reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) versus standard CBT for paranoid ideations in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a randomized clinical trial

We unfortunately need to make an update to our published study protocol that describes a significant change in the design of the study. The Committee on Health Research Ethics of the Capital Region Denmark recently rejected the approval of changing the primary outcome in the trial, on the invariable grounds that the trial has already commenced. It is therefore necessary to retain the Green Paranoid Thought Scale (GPTS) part B, ideas of persecution, as our primary outcome, and GPTS part A, ideas of social reference, as a secondary outcome, which is described opposite in our published study protocol. The exchange of outcomes has not affected participation in our trial or the informed consent. Intervention in both groups and assessments are unchanged. The two outcomes together constitute GPTS and the unifying concept we attempt to treat, namely paranoid ideations. As this is a blinded, methodologically rigorous trial, we did not have—and still do not have—access to preliminary data, and therefore, we have no knowledge of the distribution of our two intervention groups nor the potential effect of the intervention. The power calculation remains unchanged irrespective of the selection of the primary outcome. We have been fully transparent with the changes in primary and secondary outcomes on ClinicalTrials.gov throughout the trial. Due to the considerations mentioned above, we assumed that there would not be any ethical implications of the change of primary outcome. We sincerely apologize for the irregularity caused because of this assumption. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04902066. Initial release April 19th, 2021.</p

Face Your Fears: Virtual reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) versus standard CBT for paranoid ideations in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders:a randomized clinical trial

Background: Schizophrenia spectrum disorders cause suffering for patients, relatives, and the surrounding society. Paranoid ideations, encompassing ideas of social reference and manifest persecutory delusions, are among the most frequent symptoms in this population and a cause of significant distress. Recent meta-analyses of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for psychosis show small to moderate effect sizes in reducing paranoid ideations. Virtual reality-based CBT (VR-CBT) could improve therapy efficacy as exposure and behavioral experiments in VR can be optimized, individualized, and carried out in a safe environment. Few VR-CBT studies exist for paranoid ideations and there is a need for large-scale, methodologically rigorous trials. Methods: This study is a randomized, assessor-blinded parallel-groups multi-center superiority clinical trial, fulfilling the CONSORT criteria for non-pharmacological treatment. A total of 256 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, including schizotypal disorder (ICD-10 F20-29), will be allocated to either 10 sessions of symptom-specific CBT-VR plus treatment as usual-versus 10 sessions of standard symptom-specific CBT for paranoid ideations (CBT) plus treatment as usual. All participants will be assessed at baseline, treatment end (3 months post baseline), and then 9 months post baseline. A stratified block-randomization with concealed randomization sequence will be conducted. Independent assessors blinded to the treatment will evaluate the outcome. Analysis of outcome will be carried out with the intention to treat principles. The primary outcome is ideas of social reference measured with Green Paranoid Thought Scale Part A (GPTS-A) at the cessation of treatment at 3 months post baseline. Secondary outcomes are ideas of persecution (GPTS-B), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP), Safety Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), and CANTAB Emotion Recognition Task. Discussion: The trial will elucidate whether VR-CBT can enhance therapy efficacy for paranoid ideations. Additionally, Trial findings will provide evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of VR-CBT for paranoid ideations that can guide the possible dissemination and implementation into clinical practice

Effect of vaccination with a novel GnRH-based immunocontraceptive on immune responses and fertility in rats

1. As human-wildlife conflicts increase worldwide, novel methods are required for mitigating these conflicts. Fertility control, based on immunocontraceptives, has emerged as an alternative option to lethal methods for managing wildlife. 2. Immunocontraceptives are vaccines that generate an immune response to key components of an animal\u27s reproductive system. Some of these vaccines target the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and have been used successfully as contraceptives for many wildlife species. However, the need to capture animals for treatment limits the field applications of injectable vaccines. The availability of orally delivered immunocontraceptives would increase the breadth of applications of fertility control for wildlife management. 3. This study explored a new approach to developing an oral immunocontraceptive, exploiting the bioadhesive and immunologically active properties of killed Mycobacterium avium cell wall fragments (MAF). The MAF was conjugated to a GnRH recombinant protein called IMX294, used as a GnRH-specific immunogen. 4. An initial trial using the MAF-IMX294 conjugate provided the first evidence that an orally delivered immunocontraceptive vaccine could generate anti-GnRH antibody titres in laboratory rats. 5. Increasing the dose and frequency of vaccine administered to rats, in a second trial, enhanced the immune response, eliciting titres that reduced the proportion of females giving birth. This provided the first evidence of the contraceptive effect of an oral anti-GnRH vaccine. 6. Future work is required to further increase the immunogenic effect of the oral vaccine and to establish a dosing schedule that is effective for practical field applications