Understanding Mathematics and Science Advice Networks of Middle School Teachers

We report findings from a research project designed to examine the mathematics and science advice networks of teachers who participated in professional development under the auspices of the NSF-funded Rocky Mountain-Middle School Math and Science Partnership. We provide descriptive statistics of results. Additionally, we reflect on the research process and discuss some of the practical challenges involved

Readout from iconic memory involves similar neural processes as selective spatial attention

Iconic memory and spatial attention are often considered as distinct topics, but may have functional similarities. Here we provide fMRI evidence for some common underlying neural effects. Participants judged three visual stimuli in one hemifield of a bilateral array comprising six stimuli. The relevant hemifield for partial report was indicated by an auditory cue, administered either before the visual array (pre-cues, spatial attention) or shortly after (post-cues, iconic memory). Pre- and post-cues led to similar activity modulations in lateral occipital cortex, contralateral to the cued side, indicating that readout from iconic memory can have similar neural effects to spatial attention. We also found common bilateral activation of a fronto-parietal network for post-cue and pre-cue trials. These neuroimaging data suggest that some common neural mechanisms underlie selective spatial attention and readout from iconic memory. Some differences were also found, with post-cues leading to higher activity in right middle frontal gyrus

Growth of a mat-forming photograph in the presence of UV radiation

Knowledge of the survival and growth of microorganisms in the presence of ultraviolet radiation is important for understanding the potential for life to exist in environments exposed to high fluxes of UV radiation. The growth of a mat-forming phototrophic prokaryote, Chloroflexus aurantiacus, was examined in the presence of continuous high UV irradiation under otherwise optimal growth conditions. Evidence was sought for an intrinsic ability to grow in the presence of UV radiation in a carefully chosen organism known to be unusually resistant to UV radiation, of ancient lineage among the phototrophs, to resemble ancient microfossils from the Precambrian, and to be a mat-former. It was assumed that even a high intrinsic UV resistance would be inadequate for survival and growth in the presence of very high UV fluxes, and iron (Fe3+) was selected as a common, abundant UV-absorbing substance that might protest microorganisms growing in or under iron-bearing sediments. The effectiveness of Fe(3+) was tested as a UV protective agent at low concentrations in thin layers. It was concluded that intrinsic UV resistance in some organisms may account for growth, not just survival, of these organisms when exposed to high UV fluxes under otherwise optimal growth conditions in an anoxic environment. It was also concluded that Fe(3+) bearing sediments of 1 mm or less in thickness may provide an adequate shield against high UV fluxes permitting the growth of microorganisms just below their surface. As long as growth conditions were met, then the evolution and development of microorganisms would not be hampered by high UV fluxes impinging upon the surface of iron-bearing sediments

The broad emission-line region: the confluence of the outer accretion disc with the inner edge of the dusty torus

(Abridged) We investigate the observational characteristics of BLR geometries in which the BLR clouds bridge the gap, both in distance and scale height, between the outer accretion disc and the hot dust, forming an effective surface of a "bowl". The gas dynamics are dominated by gravity, and we include the effects of transverse Doppler shift, gravitational redshift and scale-height dependent macro-turbulence. Our simple model reproduces many of the phenomena observed in broad emission-line variability studies, including (i) the absence of response in the core of the optical recombination lines on short timescales, (ii) the enhanced red-wing response on short timescales, (iii) differences between the measured delays for the HILs and LILs, and (iv) identifies turbulence as a means of producing Lorentzian profiles (esp. for LILs) in low inclination systems, and for suppressing significant continuum--emission-line delays between the line wings and line core (esp. in LILs). A key motivation of this work was to reveal the physical underpinnings of the reported measurements of SMBH masses and their uncertainties. We find that SMBH masses derived from measurements of the fwhm of the mean and rms profiles show the closest correspondence between the emission lines in a single object, even though the emission line fwhm is a more biased mass indicator with respect to inclination. The predicted large discrepancies in the SMBH mass estimates between emission lines at low inclination, as derived using the line dispersion, we suggest may be used as a means of identifying near face-on systems. Our general results do not depend on specific choices in the simplifying assumptions, but are in fact generic properties of BLR geometries with axial symmetry that span a substantial range in radially-increasing scale height supported by turbulence, which then merge into the inner dusty TOR.Comment: 29 pages, 23 figures and 1 tabl

Structural, magnetic, electric, dielectric, and thermodynamic properties of multiferroic GeV4S8

The lacunar spinel GeV4S8 undergoes orbital and ferroelectric ordering at the Jahn-Teller transition around 30 K and exhibits antiferromagnetic order below about 14 K. In addition to this orbitally driven ferroelectricity, lacunar spinels are an interesting material class, as the vanadium ions form V4 clusters representing stable molecular entities with a common electron distribution and a well-defined level scheme of molecular states resulting in a unique spin state per V4 molecule. Here we report detailed x-ray, magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, heat capacity, thermal expansion, and dielectric results to characterize the structural, electric, dielectric, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of this interesting material, which also exhibits strong electronic correlations. From the magnetic susceptibility, we determine a negative Curie-Weiss temperature, indicative for antiferromagnetic exchange and a paramagnetic moment close to a spin S = 1 of the V4 molecular clusters. The low-temperature heat capacity provides experimental evidence for gapped magnon excitations. From the entropy release, we conclude about strong correlations between magnetic order and lattice distortions. In addition, the observed anomalies at the phase transitions also indicate strong coupling between structural and electronic degrees of freedom. Utilizing dielectric spectroscopy, we find the onset of significant dispersion effects at the polar Jahn-Teller transition. The dispersion becomes fully suppressed again with the onset of spin order. In addition, the temperature dependencies of dielectric constant and specific heat possibly indicate a sequential appearance of orbital and polar order.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

Buoyancy Effects on Concurrent Flame Spread Over Thick PMMA

The flammability of combustible materials in a spacecraft is important for fire safety applications because the conditions in spacecraft environments differ from those on earth. Experimental testing in space is difficult and expensive. However, reducing buoyancy by decreasing ambient pressure is a possible approach to simulate on-earth the burning behavior inside spacecraft environments. The objective of this work is to determine that possibility by studying the effect of pressure on concurrent flame spread, and by comparison with microgravity data, observe up to what point low-pressure can be used to replicate flame spread characteristics observed in microgravity. Specifically, this work studies the effect of pressure and microgravity on upward/concurrent flame spread over 10 mm thick polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) slabs. Experiments in normal gravity were conducted over pressures ranging between 100 and 40 kPa and a forced flow velocity of 200 mm/s. Microgravity experiments were conducted during NASAs Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire II), on board the Cygnus spacecraft at 100 kPa with an air flow velocity of 200 mm/s. Results show that reductions of pressure slow down the flame spread over the PMMA surface approaching that in microgravity. The data is correlated in terms of a non-dimensional mixed convection analysis that describes the convective heat transferred from the flame to the solid, and the primary mechanism controlling the spread of the flame. The extrapolation of the correlation to low pressures predicts well the flame spread rate obtained in microgravity in the Saffire II experiments. Similar results were obtained by the authors with similar experiments with a thin composite cotton/fiberglass fabric (published elsewhere). Both results suggest that reduced pressure can be used to approximately replicate flame behavior of untested gravity conditions for the burning of thick and thin solids. This work could provide guidance for potential ground-based testing for fire safety design in spacecraft and space habitats