Academic attainment in deaf and hard-of-hearing students in distance education

This study compared outcomes in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students and nondisabled students taking courses by distance learning with the UK Open University in 2012. DHH students who had no additional disabilities were more likely to complete their courses than nondisabled students, and they were just as likely to pass the courses that they completed and to obtain good grades on the courses that they passed. DHH students who had additional disabilities were less likely to complete their courses, less likely to pass the courses that they completed, and less likely to obtain good grades on the courses that they pass than were nondisabled students. It is concluded that hearing loss per se has no effect on academic attainment, but that additional disabilities may have an impact on DHH students’ academic performance

Supplementing feedlot steers and heifers with Zilmax increases proportions of strip loin, chuck clod, and top sirloin steaks exceeding Warner-Bratzler shear force thresholds, whereas aging moderates this effect

Ractopamine hydrochloride (Elanco, Greenfield, IN) and Zilmax (zilpaterol hydrochloride; Intervet/Schering-Plough, Millsboro, DE) are β-adrenergic agonists approved in the United States and several other countries to increase growth rate, improve efficiency of feed utilization, and increase carcass meat yield. Zilmax has been shown to improve feed efficiency by 26% and increase hot carcass weight, longissimus muscle area, and meat yield. However, a few studies have shown that Zilmax significantly increased Warner-Bratzler shear force values (decreased tenderness). The objectives of our research were to determine the effects of supplementing feedlot diets of steers and heifers with Zilmax for 0, 20, 30, or 40 days before harvest and the subsequent effects of 7, 14, and 21 days of aging on tenderness of steer and heifer Longissimus lumborum (from strip loins) and heifer Triceps brachii (from chuck clods) and Gluteus medius (from top sirloin butts) muscles

Theory of laser ion acceleration from a foil target of nanometers

A theory for laser ion acceleration is presented to evaluate the maximum ion energy in the interaction of ultrahigh contrast (UHC) intense laser with a nanometer-scale foil. In this regime the energy of ions may be directly related to the laser intensity and subsequent electron dynamics. This leads to a simple analytical expression for the ion energy gain under the laser irradiation of thin targets. Significantly, higher energies for thin targets than for thicker targets are predicted. Theory is concretized to the details of recent experiments which may find its way to compare with these results.Comment: 22 pages 7 figures. will be submitted to NJ

Non-minimal Maxwell-Modified Gauss-Bonnet Cosmologies: Inflation and Dark Energy

In this paper we show that power-law inflation can be realized in non-minimal gravitational coupling of electromagnetic field with a general function of Gauss-Bonnet invariant. Such a non-minimal coupling may appear due to quantum corrections. We also consider modified Maxwell-$F(G)$ gravity in which non-minimal coupling between electromagnetic field and $f(G)$ occur in the framework of modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity. It is shown that inflationary cosmology and late-time accelerated expansion of the universe are possible in such a theory.Comment: 10 pages, no figur

The Concept of Power in the Analysis of Organisations with Social and Political Goals

I propose a theoretical framework for examining the extent to which organisations with social and political goals (OSPs) empower (or disempower) participants as effective political citizens. Theories of power – including behaviouralism, Structuration and Foucauldian notions – are drawn on to illuminate relevant aspects of organisational life. Together they account for the role of individuals, rules and processes, procedure and administration, culture and practice, techniques of organisation and communication. The intention is to shed light on how groups or individuals are empowered or otherwise and provides a basis, where necessary, for challenging existing structures and practices in the name of greater empowerment