Estimating Achievement Gaps from Test Scores Reported in Ordinal "Proficiency" Categories

Test scores are commonly reported in a small number of ordered categories. Examples of such reporting include state accountability testing, Advanced Placement tests, and English proficiency tests. This paper introduces and evaluates methods for estimating achievement gaps on a familiar standard-deviation-unit metric using data from these ordered categories alone. These methods hold two practical advantages over alternative achievement gap metrics. First, they require only categorical proficiency data, which are often available where means and standard deviations are not. Second, they result in gap estimates that are invariant to score scale transformations, providing a stronger basis for achievement gap comparisons over time and across jurisdictions. We find three candidate estimation methods that recover full-distribution gap estimates well when only censored data are available

Internal auditory canal metastasis mimicking a vestibular schwannoma at presentation - a case report and review of the literature.

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Metastasis to the internal auditory canal from breast carcinoma is extremely rare and difficult to diagnose. It radiologically mimics vestibular schwannoma and can occur as a first manifestation of systemic relapse after a long disease-free interval in patients previously treated for early breast cancer. The diagnosis is usually made retrospectively and the optimal management of such metastasis following complete resection remains undefined

The Zero Point of Extinction Toward Baade's Window

We measure the zero point of the Stanek (1996) extinction map by comparing the observed (V-K) colors of 206 K giant stars with their intrinsic (V-K)_0 colors as derived from their H\beta indices. We find that the zero point of the Stanek map should be changed by \Delta A_V = -0.10 +/- 0.06 mag, obtaining as a bonus a three-fold reduction of the previous statistical error. The most direct way to test for systematic errors in this determination would be to conduct a parallel measurement based on the (V-K) colors of RR Lyraes (type ab).Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

The Variable Stars and Blue Horizontal Branch of the Metal-Rich Globular Cluster NGC 6441

We present time-series VI photometry of the metal-rich ([Fe/H] = -0.53) globular cluster NGC 6441. Our color-magnitude diagram shows that the extended blue horizontal branch seen in Hubble Space Telescope data exists in the outermost reaches of the cluster. The red clump slopes nearly parallel to the reddening vector. A component of this slope is due to differential reddening, but part is intrinsic. The blue horizontal branch stars are more centrally concentrated than the red clump stars. We have discovered about 50 new variable stars near NGC 6441, among them eight or more RR Lyrae stars which are very probably cluster members. Comprehensive period searches over the range 0.2-1.0 days yielded unusually long periods (0.5-0.9 days) for the fundamental pulsators compared with field RR Lyrae of the same metallicity. Three similar long-period RR Lyrae are known in other metal-rich globulars. With over ten examples in hand, it seems that a distinct sub-class of RR Lyrae is emerging. The observed properties of the horizontal branch stars are in reasonable agreement with recent models which invoke deep mixing to enhance the atmospheric helium abundance, while they conflict with models which assume high initial helium abundance. The light curves of the c-type RR Lyrae seem to have unusually long rise times and sharp minima. Reproducing these light curves in stellar pulsation models may provide another means of constraining the physical variables responsible for the anomalous blue horizontal branch extension and sloped red clump observed in NGC 6441.Comment: 30 pages plus 6 EPS and 6 JPEG figures; uses AAS TeX. Accepted by the Astronomical Journal. Minor changes include computing He abundance, modifications to Figs 1 and 8, and expansion on idea that blue HB stars may be produced in binarie

I-Climate: A “Clinical Climate Informatics” Action Framework to Reduce Environmental Pollution From Healthcare

Addressing environmental pollution and climate change is one of the biggest sociotechnical challenges of our time. While information technology has led to improvements in healthcare, it has also contributed to increased energy usage, destructive natural resource extraction, piles of e-waste, and increased greenhouse gases. We introduce a framework Information technology-enabled Clinical cLimate InforMAtics acTions for the Environment (i-CLIMATE) to illustrate how clinical informatics can help reduce healthcare\u27s environmental pollution and climate-related impacts using 5 actionable components: (1) create a circular economy for health IT, (2) reduce energy consumption through smarter use of health IT, (3) support more environmentally friendly decision-making by clinicians and health administrators, (4) mobilize healthcare workforce environmental stewardship through informatics, and (5) Inform policies and regulations for change. We define Clinical Climate Informatics as a field that applies data, information, and knowledge management principles to operationalize components of the i-CLIMATE Framework

The association of microbial activity with Fe, S and trace element distribution in sediment cores within a natural wetland polluted by acid mine drainage

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Natural recovery and remediation of acid mine drainage (AMD) reduces the generation of acidity and transport of trace elements in the runoff. A natural wetland that receives and remediates AMD from an abandoned copper mine at Parys Mountain (Anglesey, UK) was investigated for better understanding of the remediation mechanisms. Water column concentrations of dissolved Fe and S species, trace metal (loid)s and acidity decreased markedly as the mine drainage stream passed through the wetland. The metal (loid)s were removed from the water column by deposition into the sediment. Fe typically accumulated to higher concentrations in the surface layers of sediment while S and trace metal (loid)s were deposited at higher concentration within deeper (20–50 cm) sediments. High resolution X-ray fluorescence scans of sediment cores taken at three sites along the wetland indicates co–immobilization of Zn, Cu and S with sediment depth as each element showed a similar core profile. To examine the role of bacteria in sediment elemental deposition, marker genes for Fe and S metabolism were quantified. Increased expression of marker genes for S and Fe oxidation was detected at the same location within the middle of the wetland where significant decrease in SO42− and Fe2+ was observed and where generation of particulate Fe occurs. This suggests that the distribution and speciation of Fe and S that mediates the immobilization and deposition of trace elements within the natural wetland sediments is mediated in part by bacterial activity

The Globular Cluster M54 and the Star Formation History of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy

We present a deep color-magnitude diagram in the VI passbands of the globular cluster M54, a member of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. The data extend below the cluster's main sequence turn-off, allowing us to estimate the cluster's age. We find that M54 is 0.5--1.5 gigayears older than the Galactic globulars M68 and M5. In absolute terms, the age is comparable to the published age estimates of the other member clusters Arp 2 and Terzan 8, but is significantly older than the member cluster Terzan 7. An age estimate of the Sagittarius field population relative to M54 suggests that M54 is \gtrsim 3 Gyr older than the field. We discuss briefly the star formation history of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy.Comment: 11 pages, AASTeX, 3 postscript figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Deep Photometry of the Globular Cluster M5: Distance Estimates from White Dwarf and Main Sequence Stars

We present deep VI photometry of stars in the globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904) based on images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. The resulting color-magnitude diagram reaches below V ~ 27 mag, revealing the upper 2-3 magnitudes of the white dwarf cooling sequence, and main sequence stars eight magnitudes and more below the turn-off. We fit the main sequence to subdwarfs of known parallax to obtain a true distance modulus of (m-M)_0 = 14.45 +/- 0.11 mag. A second distance estimate based on fitting the cluster white dwarf sequence to field white dwarfs with known parallax yielded (m-M)_0 = 14.67 +/- 0.18 mag. We couple our distance estimates with extensive photometry of the cluster's RR Lyrae variables to provide a calibration of the RR Lyrae absolute magnitude yielding M_V(RR) = 0.42 +/- 0.10 mag at [Fe/H] = -1.11 dex. We provide another luminosity calibration in the form of reddening-free Wasenheit functions. Comparison of our calibrations with predictions based on recent models combining stellar evolution and pulsation theories shows encouraging agreement. (Abridged)Comment: AASTeX, 29 pages including 5 figures. Complete photometry data and FITS-format images are available at http://physics.bgsu.edu/~layden/ASTRO/PUBL/published.html . Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 2005 October 20. Replaced errant wording in last sentence of paragraph 4 of conclusion

Using a smartphone application to promote healthy dietary behaviours and local food consumption

Smartphone “apps” are a powerful tool for public health promotion, but unidimensional interventions have been ineffective at sustaining behavioural change. Various logistical issues exist in successful app development for health intervention programs and for sustaining behavioural change. This study reports on a smartphone application and messaging service, called “SmartAPPetite,” which uses validated behaviour change techniques and a behavioural economic approach to “nudge” users into healthy dietary behaviours. To help gauge participation in and influence of the program, data were collected using an upfront food survey, message uptake tracking, experience sampling interviews, and a follow-up survey. Logistical and content-based issues in the deployment of the messaging service were subsequently addressed to strengthen the effectiveness of the app in changing dietary behaviours. Challenges included creating relevant food goal categories for participants, providing messaging appropriate to self-reported food literacy and ensuring continued participation in the program. SmartAPPetite was effective at creating a sense of improved awareness and consumption of healthy foods, as well as drawing people to local food vendors with greater frequency. This work serves as a storehouse of methods and best practices for multidimensional local food-based smartphone interventions aimed at improving the “triple bottom line” of health, economy, and environment