December Rain

I lost my mother during the covid pandemic. She was in a nursing home which was locked down for most of March-December. In late November, she contracted COVID-19 during an outbreak in the home. She passed peacefully in her sleep on the morning of December 11, 2020. She was an incredible woman of compassion and grace and I am blessed to be her son. I\u27ve included a poem I\u27ve written called December Rain, along with a couple of photos.https://dc.ewu.edu/covid/1010/thumbnail.jp

Stakeholders\u27 Input on 4-H Science and Technology Program Areas: An Exploratory Study

In an effort to prepare youth for the 21st century workplace, 4-H has placed an emphasis in science and technology program areas. The purpose of the exploratory study reported here was to gather input via a mail survey from 4-H families concerning the development of new science and technology programs. The results of the survey were themed into six main areas: technology, agriculture, science, implementation ideas, self-efficacy, and miscellaneous. Moreover, the results of the survey indicated that new programs should be connected to traditional program areas especially agriculture

Using Robotics as an Educational Tool in 4-H

Although America is the world leader in science and technology innovation, the educational system is not preparing enough science and technology workers to maintain leadership. In an effort to prepare youth for the 21st century, Nebraska 4-H conducted a 2-day workshop using robotics to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. A subsequent competition was held at the State Fair to debut robots to the community. The competition was popular with fair-goers and let youth experiment with their robot designs and programming. To engage more youth, Nebraska will pilot the 4-H CCS curriculum and expand the State Fair competition

The 4-H Computer Refurbishing Program: An Implementation Model

The 4-H Computer Refurbishing Program was implemented as a service learning project for the 2006 National 4-H Technology and Leadership Conference. The specific goals of the program were to decrease the number of computers discarded each year and provide 21st century job skills to youth. The program was introduced as a model 4-H\u27ers could take back to their communities to start their own refurbishing efforts. The model is comprised of the following three steps: 1) program planning, 2) inventory management, and 3) technology training

Geometry and electronic structure of iridium adsorbed on graphene

We report investigation of the geometry and electronic structure of iridium atoms adsorbed onto graphene through a combined experimental and theoretical study. Ir atoms were deposited onto a flake of graphene on a Pt(111) surface and found to form clusters even at low temperatures. The areal density of the observed clusters on the graphene flake suggests the clusters are most likely pairs of Ir atoms. Theoretical ab initio density functional (DFT) calculations indicate that these Ir dimers are oriented horizontally, near neighboring "bridge" sites of the graphene lattice, as this configuration has the strongest adsorption energy of all high-symmetry configurations for the Ir dimer. A large peak in the local density of states (LDOS) at the Dirac point energy was measured via scanning tunneling spectroscopy, and this result is reproduced by a DFT calculation of the LDOS. The peak at the Dirac point energy is found to be from the Ir s and p states. The LDOS in the monomer case was also calculated, and is found to significantly differ from the experimentally determined data, further supporting the hypothesis of low-temperature clustering

A New Model of 4-H Volunteer Development in Science, Engineering, and Technology Programs

New initiatives centered on science, engineering, and technology (SET) in 4-H may be moving away from the long-established adult volunteer delivery model. This shift in delivery may be due to a lack of availability of adult volunteers who possess the necessary SET competencies to effectively lead 4-H clubs. One way to offset this trend may be to blend traditional face-to-face training with continuous training efforts that include asynchronous on-line training modules, synchronous Web-based meetings, and self-directed learning. This new 4-H SET Volunteer Competencies Training Model is being tested in the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program

Examining 4-H Robotics and Geospatial Technologies in the Learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Topics

The study reported here investigated the use of educational robotics, paired with GPS and GIS geospatial technologies, as a context for learning selected concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics within a 4-H camp setting. The study involved 38 students between the ages of 11 to 15. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used in the study, with a 29-question multiple-choice instrument targeting various academic topics. The results of the study suggest that the 4-H robotics and geospatial summer camp program is a promising approach for supporting STEM-related learning, as represented by a significant increase of means from pretest to posttest

A New Model of 4-H Volunteer Development in Science, Engineering, and Technology Programs

New initiatives centered on science, engineering, and technology (SET) in 4-H may be moving away from the long-established adult volunteer delivery model. This shift in delivery may be due to a lack of availability of adult volunteers who possess the necessary SET competencies to effectively lead 4-H clubs. One way to offset this trend may be to blend traditional face-to-face training with continuous training efforts that include asynchronous on-line training modules, synchronous Web-based meetings, and self-directed learning. This new 4-H SET Volunteer Competencies Training Model is being tested in the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program

Bridging Formal and Informal Learning Environments

Out-of-school time programs that provide science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational content are promising approaches to develop skills and abilities in students. These programs may potentially inspire students with engaging hands-on, minds-on activities that encourages their natural curiosity around STEM content areas. However, it is also important to align out-of-school time learning activities with what is being taught in the formal classroom so that the experiences are congruent. Two examples of congruent programs are described in this article

A comparison of the effects of three forms of dry needling and a conventional physiotherapy protocol on rotar cuff syndrome: a pilot study

Aim: This pilot study compared the efficacy of superficial dry needling (SDN), deep dry needling (DDN), placebo dry needling (PDN) and a common physiotherapy control group (CON) when used in the treatment of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in rotator cuff syndrome (RCS) patients. Methodology: A randomised, single-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study (n=20) was conducted comparing the three needling groups to each other and to a common physiotherapy protocol. Participants were selected patients presenting for treatment in a private practice. The objectives of the study were to compare the groups on three levels: Pre trial-Post trial, within individual treatment session (Intra-treatment), and between treatment sessions (Inter-treatment). All groups were treated with the same basic common protocol but three of them had the addition of one each of the needling interventions. A modified Constant-Murley scale, range of motion and power were used as outcomes measures. Ethical permission was obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand. Results: Results were analysed for the four groups using an ANCOVA. DDN had significant improvement over CON over the trial period (p≤0.05) and SDN (p≤0.02). This was particularly due to highly significant intra-treatment effect on internal range of motion at session 3 (p≤0.01) and the highly significant inter-treament effect between session 3 and 4 (p≤0.03). DDN was significantly less effective than the other groups at session 3 (p≤0.01) and session 4 (p≤0.03). External rotation power was also significantly greater for DDN between sessions 2 and 3 (inter-treatment) (p≤0.05). 49% of the MTrPs identified were found within the infraspinatus muscles. Discussion: Twitch-obtaining dry needling (DDN) appears to show greater clinical benefit on the effects of myofascial trigger points than SDN, CON or PDN. The effect appears to correlate with the greater incidence of MTrPs in the infrapinatus muscles whose functions directly relate to the improved parameters. The clinical effect may be related to the effects of the bleeding elicited by intramuscular needling (humoral effects). This is evidenced by the transiently poor effect of DDN immediate following treatment becoming significanly better by the following treatment. Conclusion: The pilot study showed that DDN may be an effective treatment for RCS when used in conjunction with a conventional physiotherapy programme. The elicitation of a local twitch response and associated bleeding may be significant. In future studies, particular attention should be paid to both the infraspinatus muscle and the timing of the intervention and observation intervals