The Effect of Facebook on Teaching Applicants\u27 Employability in Georgia

The purpose of this study was to determine if Facebook had an impact on the employability of prospective teachers in K-12 public education in the State of Georgia. The participants in this study included one hundred and ten administrators (all involved in the hiring of teachers) across the state of Georgia. These administrators were asked to answer a short survey that measured their usage of Facebook when investigating prospective teaching applicants applying at their school. The results of the study indicate that even though a growing number of administrators are using Facebook, at this time there is not a significant amount of administrators currently using Facebook to investigate prospective teaching applicants in Georgia. However, over half of the administrators surveyed said they would consider doing so in the future. This increase in usage could impact prospective teachers that utilize Facebook

Characterization of Bacteriophages of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato

Bacteriophages from supernatants of the plant pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (P. tomato) were isolated, enriched, and purified by density block centrifugation in cesium chloride (CsCl) step gradients. The DNA from purified phage was isolated and digested with the restriction endonucleases EcoRl or HindIII. Three different DNA fingerprint patterns were determined indicating 3 unique phage isolates. Genome sizes of the phage ranged from 40 to 52 kilobases (kB). Buoyant densities of phage particles in CsCI varied from 1.36 to 1.51 glml. Electron microscopy revealed a single morphological type with an elongated polyhedral head and a long tail indicating the family Siphovirida

The Arkansas Proposal on Access to Court Records: Upgrading the Common Law with Electronic Freedom of Information Norms

The law and practice of court record access across United States jurisdictions is in a confused state. Public access to records in the hands of government, including court records, is a desirable norm of public policy; on this point, there is universal agreement. But there is disagreement on questions as fundamental as whether public access to court records is founded in constitutional law, or only in common law; and the extent to which court record access is the province of the courts or the legislature. And most importantly, there is widely divergent disagreement about what circumstances warrant restriction on public access to records. These disagreements and the attendant confusion in the law have been exacerbated in the electronic era, which has given rise to myriad concerns over access and privacy that are alien to the common law experience. The purposes of this Article are to review the development of court record access law from its common law origin through its confusing appearance in constitutional law in the company of its equally unsettled twin, courtroom access; to explicate the CCJ/COSCA Guidelines, developed to provide multi-jurisdictional guidance, and second, to provide a “legislative history” for, and an explication of, the Arkansas Proposed Order, with reference to its antecedents in common law, in the Guidelines, and in Arkansas FOI law; and to assess the extent to which the Proposed Order accords with and departs from critical FOI norms enshrined in the Arkansas FOIA, specifically with respect to seven issues we have identified as critical

Radon Potential, Geologic Formations, and Lung Cancer Risk

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to radon is associated with approximately 10% of U.S. lung cancer cases. Geologic rock units have varying concentrations of uranium, producing fluctuating amounts of radon. This exploratory study examined the spatial and statistical associations between radon values and geological formations to illustrate potential population-level lung cancer risk from radon exposure. METHOD: This was a secondary data analysis of observed radon values collected in 1987 from homes (N = 309) in Kentucky and geologic rock formation data from the Kentucky Geological Survey. Radon value locations were plotted on digital geologic maps using ArcGIS and linked to specific geologic map units. Each map unit represented a package of different types of rock (e.g., limestone and/or shale). Log-transformed radon values and geologic formation categories were compared using one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: Observed radon levels varied significantly by geologic formation category. Of the 14 geologic formation categories in north central Kentucky, four were associated with median radon levels, ranging from 8.10 to 2.75 pCi/L. CONCLUSION: Radon potential maps that account for geologic factors and observed radon values may be superior to using observed radon values only. Knowing radon-prone areas could help target population-based lung cancer prevention interventions given the inequities that exist related to radon

Repeat pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in Indigenous Australian adults is associated with decreased immune responsiveness.

BACKGROUND: Indigenous adults residing in the Northern Territory of Australia experience elevated rates of invasive pneumococcal disease despite the routine use of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV). We hypothesised that the limited protection from 23vPPV may be due to hyporesponsiveness as a result of vaccine failure from repeated vaccination. To explore this possibility, we evaluated the immune response to a first and second dose of 23vPPV in Indigenous adults and a first dose of 23vPPV in non-Indigenous adults. METHODS: Serotype-specific IgG was measured by ELISA for all 23 vaccine serotypes at baseline and at one month post-vaccination. Individuals were considered to have an adequate immune response if paired sera demonstrated either: a four-fold rise in antibody concentration; a two-fold rise if the post vaccination antibody was >1.3μg/ml but 4.0μg/ml for at least half of the serotypes tested (12/23). Our per-protocol analysis included the comparison of outcomes for three groups: Indigenous adults receiving a second 23vPPV dose (N=20) and Indigenous (N=60) and non-Indigenous adults (N=25) receiving their first 23vPPV dose. RESULTS: All non-Indigenous adults receiving a first dose of 23vPPV mounted an adequate immune response (25/25). There was no significant difference in the proportion of individuals with an adequate response using our definition (primary endpoint), with 88% of Indigenous adults mounted an adequate response following first dose 23vPPV (53/60) compared to 70% having an adequate response following a second dose of 23vPPV (14/20; p=0.05). The risk difference between Indigenous participants receiving first dose compared to non-Indigenous participants receiving first dose was significant when comparing a response threshold of at least 70% (-27%, 95% CI: -43% to -11%; p=0.01) and 90% (-38%, 95% CI: -60% to -16%; p=0.006) of serotypes with a positive response. CONCLUSION: Indigenous participants demonstrated a poorer response to a first dose 23vPPV compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts, with lower IgG following a second 23vPPV dose. These findings highlight the critical need to evaluate the efficacy of future pneumococcal vaccine programs in the Australian Indigenous populations that recommend repeated doses of 23vPPV