The importance of trauma-informed approaches in education – the impact of implementing a brain-based approach to supporting learners across a Scottish Local Authority

Throughout the history of education, a series of fashions, fads and trends has come and gone – some resulting in widespread changes in approach, some creating barely a ripple in the pedagogical pool . Currently, a wave is being created by the desire to develop approaches that are trauma-informed – a move that is being driven by a number of factors including the introduction of funding streams such as the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) and the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF), alongside growing public awareness of the impact childhood trauma and adversity has across many areas of a child’s development. However, we have previously warned (Barrett, 2018) of the pitfalls associated with the grass roots movement that has arisen across Scotland in recent years which has, in our opinion, been at risk of over-simplifying incredibly complex, deep-rooted societal issues that go far beyond the realm of education. We have, therefore, welcomed the more nuanced approach that has developed within the movement as the focus has shifted to become more acknowledging of the complexity and multitude of factors involved in childhood trauma and adversity The social-political context of childhood adversity and trauma means solutions to such a complex problem need to be sought within arenas far removed from education - such as government legislature and economic policy. These changes are both long term in nature, meaning the enduring effects of these experiences will continue to be felt for generations to come. It is crucial, therefore, that schools and other educational establishments are able to adapt their environments and teaching practices to meet the increasingly complex needs of the learners coming through their doors. This study will describe a small-scale project which sought to gather standardised evidence of the impact of the Readiness for Learning (R4L) approach we have developed as part of a wider evaluation approach. The R4L approach combines a range of theories to develop procedures that encourage BALTIC practice – Brain-Based, Attachment-Led, Trauma-Informed and Community-based. The approach is heavily influenced by the Neurosequential Model in Education (Bruce Perry, e.g. Perry, 2013), as well as the work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth (Bowlby, 1969) (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970), Dan Siegel (e.g. Siegel, 2001), Francine Shapiro (e.g. EMDR.com, 2018), Dan Hughes (e.g. Hughes, pers. Comm. 31st October 2017) and Urie Bronfenbrenner (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). This study focuses on the implementation of R4L within a targeted population of Primary One (4/5 year olds) and the impact that it had on a range of standardised performance measures up until the March of their Primary Three year. Further information on the wider development and implementation of the approach can be found in Taylor and Barrett (2018). We will conclude by offering some wider reflections on the need for trauma-informed approaches within education, and the conditions we believe need to be in place for these to be successful

Two Separate Worlds, One Shared Goal: An Exploration of Special Collections Catalogers\u27 Reporting Lines and Institutional Organization

This chapter seeks to better understand and quantify some of the challenges current special collections catalogers face through conducting and analyzing the authors\u27 recent survey of special collections catalogers primarily working in American cultural heritage institutions. While these findings are neither simple nor straightforward, it is possible to suggest some preliminary solutions. Overarching trends and challenges included communication between departments, security of valuable materials versus workspace locations, and priority setting

Individual and non‐additive effects of exotic sap‐feeders on root functional and mycorrhizal traits of a shared conifer host

Forest pests drive tree mortality through disruption of functional traits linked to nutrient acquisition, growth and reproduction. The impacts of attack by individual or multiple above‐ground herbivores on root functional traits critical to tree health have received little attention. This is especially true for exotic herbivores, organisms often found in disturbed forests. We excavated whole‐root systems from eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) individuals experimentally infested with hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA: Adelges tsugae) and elongate hemlock scale (EHS: Fiorina externa) individually, or in combination, for periods of 2 and 4 years. Below‐ground root biomass, functional traits and storage nutrients were measured to assess impacts of herbivory. We also quantified ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) colonisation of fine roots and used culture‐independent methods to examine EMF diversity. Trees infested with HWA had a greater root mass fraction (root to total biomass ratio), although feeding had no observable effects on root functional traits (e.g. specific root length) or on resource allocation to roots. HWA feeding did significantly reduce EMF colonisation of hemlock fine roots, though surprisingly, EMF diversity and that of other fungal associates were unaffected. In contrast to HWA, EHS (alone or in conjunction with HWA) feeding had no observable effect on below‐ground traits or EMF colonisation alone; however, its presence mediated HWA effects when trees were co‐infested. Simultaneous infestation within the same year yielded significant reductions in EMF colonisation, whereas prior EHS attack weakened HWA effects. Our results collectively suggest that prior EHS attack dampens the impact of HWA on below‐ground functional traits. This highlights how the timing and sequence of herbivore arrival can alter plant‐mediated interactions between herbivores and their effects on above–below‐ground linkages and associated tree health

Aggregated Antibiograms and Monitoring of Drug-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae

Community-specific antimicrobial susceptibility data may help monitor trends among drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and guide empiric therapy. Because active, population-based surveillance for invasive pneumococcal disease is accurate but resource intensive, we compared the proportion of penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates obtained from existing antibiograms, a less expensive system, to that obtained from 1 year of active surveillance for Georgia, Tennessee, California, Minnesota, Oregon, Maryland, Connecticut, and New York. For all sites, proportions of penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates from antibiograms were within 10 percentage points (median 3.65) of those from invasive-only isolates obtained through active surveillance. Only 23% of antibiograms distinguished between isolates intermediate and resistant to penicillin; 63% and 57% included susceptibility results for erythromycin and extended-spectrum cephalosporins, respectively. Aggregating existing hospital antibiograms is a simple and relatively accurate way to estimate local prevalence of penicillin-nonsusceptible pneumococcus; however, antibiograms offer limited data on isolates with intermediate and high-level penicillin resistance and isolates resistant to other agents

Nansen-bottle stations at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2007. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 55 (2008): 379-395, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2007.10.003.Nansen-bottle stations were occupied by ships and personnel of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1931 to about 1981. Most of these data are in archives, but using them intelligently to depict the state of the ocean and to assess time changes in it requires knowing how the observations were made, what accuracies can be assigned to them, and generally how to approach them. This report describes the evolving methods on Woods Hole stations for measuring temperature, depth of observation, salinity, and dissolved-oxygen concentration, and for determining station position. Accuracies generally improved over time, although estimates from the early years are sparse, and even later there is indefiniteness. Analytical error is to be distinguished from sloppy sample collection and blunders. The routine for carrying out Nansen-bottle stations, from the 1950s through the 1970s, is reviewed

Prehospital triage tools across the world: a scoping review of the published literature

Background: Accurate triage of the undifferentiated patient is a critical task in prehospital emergency care. However, there is a paucity of literature synthesizing currently available prehospital triage tools. This scoping review aims to identify published tools used for prehospital triage globally and describe their performance characteristics. Methods: A comprehensive search was performed of primary literature in English-language journals from 2009 to 2019. Papers included focused on emergency medical services (EMS) triage of single patients. Two blinded reviewers and a third adjudicator performed independent title and abstract screening and subsequent full-text reviews. Results: Of 1521 unique articles, 55 (3.6%) were included in the final synthesis. The majority of prehospital triage tools focused on stroke (n = 19; 35%), trauma (19; 35%), and general undifferentiated patients (15; 27%). All studies were performed in high income countries, with the majority in North America (23, 42%) and Europe (22, 40%). 4 (7%) articles focused on the pediatric population. General triage tools aggregate prehospital vital signs, mental status assessments, history, exam, and anticipated resource need, to categorize patients by level of acuity. Studies assessed the tools’ ability to accurately predict emergency department triage assignment, hospitalization and short-term mortality. Stroke triage tools promote rapid identification of patients with acute large vessel occlusion ischemic stroke to trigger timely transport to diagnostically- and therapeutically-capable hospitals. Studies evaluated tools’ diagnostic performance, impact on tissue plasminogen activator administration rates, and correlation with in-hospital stroke scales. Trauma triage tools identify patients that require immediate transport to trauma centers with emergency surgery capability. Studies evaluated tools’ prediction of trauma center need, under-triage and over-triage rates for major trauma, and survival to discharge. Conclusions: The published literature on prehospital triage tools predominantly derive from high-income health systems and mostly focus on adult stroke and trauma populations. Most studies sought to further simplify existing triage tools without sacrificing triage accuracy, or assessed the predictive capability of the triage tool. There was no clear ‘gold-standard’ singular prehospital triage tool for acute undifferentiated patients. Trial registration Not applicable

Not All Cavities Are Treated Equal: Increasing Access to Preventive Dental Care in Texas

The purpose of this report is to examine oral health care for children in Texas. United Ways of Texas is concerned with the disproportionate levels of access that low-income children face. This research team was charged by United Ways to: Develop appropriate measures of access to preventive dental care for children Analyze the geographic and socioeconomic patterns of such access measures in Texas Calculate the expected benefits and costs of expanding access There are significant disparities in access to oral health care for children in Texas. These disparities are frequently based on income levels, ethnic status, and if a child lives in an urban or rural area. Because disparity continues to exist among Texans, this report offers the following recommendations to improve access to dental care. To support these recommendations, this report will: 1. Describe the importance of children's oral health. 2. Show disparities that exist among children. 3. Describe the types of preventive care that can improve children's oral health. 4. Demonstrate that preventive care can be cost-effective. 5. Identify barriers to access in Texas through literature and researchUnited Ways of Texa

Radio Astronomy

Contains reports on seven research projects.M. I. T. Sloan Fund for Basic ResearchNational Science Foundation (Grant GP-8415)Joint Services Electronics Programs (U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, and U. S. Air Force) under Contract DA 28-043-AMC-02536(E)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGL 22-009-016

The Holst Spin Foam Model via Cubulations

Spin foam models are an attempt for a covariant, or path integral formulation of canonical loop quantum gravity. The construction of such models usually rely on the Plebanski formulation of general relativity as a constrained BF theory and is based on the discretization of the action on a simplicial triangulation, which may be viewed as an ultraviolet regulator. The triangulation dependence can be removed by means of group field theory techniques, which allows one to sum over all triangulations. The main tasks for these models are the correct quantum implementation of the Plebanski constraints, the existence of a semiclassical sector implementing additional "Regge-like" constraints arising from simplicial triangulations, and the definition of the physical inner product of loop quantum gravity via group field theory. Here we propose a new approach to tackle these issues stemming directly from the Holst action for general relativity, which is also a proper starting point for canonical loop quantum gravity. The discretization is performed by means of a "cubulation" of the manifold rather than a triangulation. We give a direct interpretation of the resulting spin foam model as a generating functional for the n-point functions on the physical Hilbert space at finite regulator. This paper focuses on ideas and tasks to be performed before the model can be taken seriously. However, our analysis reveals some interesting features of this model: first, the structure of its amplitudes differs from the standard spin foam models. Second, the tetrad n-point functions admit a "Wick-like" structure. Third, the restriction to simple representations does not automatically occur -- unless one makes use of the time gauge, just as in the classical theory.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure; v3: published version. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:0911.213