Using the Aesthetic Stance to Achieve Historical Thinking

This research study focuses on how an aesthetic reading stance with dystopian literature can aid teens in the development of historical thinking skills. My research is based on ideas from Louise Rosenblatt’s transactional theory and Sam Wineburg’s concept and definition for historical thinking along with the UCLA Standards for Historical Thinking. Historical thinking requires students to gain factual information but also experiences. As a social studies teacher, this practitioner inquiry study created an opportunity to explore how I might position students into the intellectual mindsets of historical thinking through fictional reading in the aesthetic stance. This study provided students the opportunity to read dystopian literature in a government class. The goal was for students to experience other peoples and societies and explore what it might mean to be a citizen in any society. The written student responses demonstrated that students made connections to course content, personal experiences, and the larger social and political world. The student responses demonstrated that the fictional readings in dystopian literature became a part of their personal experiences. By creating opportunities for reading in the aesthetic stance, my students experienced the lives of citizens in different societies. This curriculum case study was my experiment with aesthetic reading experiences and whether they guided students to reach the goals of historical thinking and comparative government due to lived through experiences in dystopian societies. I conclude this study by drawing connections to the teaching of empathy and independent reading

Cost-efficiency of specialist inpatient rehabilitation for working-aged adults with complex neurological disabilities: A multicentre cohort analysis of a national clinical dataset

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate functional outcomes, care needs and cost-efficiency of specialist rehabilitation for a multicentre cohort of inpatients with complex neurological disability, comparing different diagnostic groups across 3 levels of dependency. DESIGN: A multicentre cohort analysis of prospectively collected clinical data from the UK Rehabilitation Outcomes Collaborative (UKROC) national clinical database, 2010–2015. SETTING: All 62 specialist (levels 1 and 2) rehabilitation services in England. PARTICIPANTS: Working-aged adults (16–65 years) with complex neurological disability. Inclusion criteria: all episodes with length of stay (LOS) 8–400 days and complete outcome measures recorded on admission and discharge. Total N=5739: acquired brain injury n=4182 (73%); spinal cord injury n=506 (9%); peripheral neurological conditions n=282 (5%); progressive conditions n=769 (13%). INTERVENTION: Specialist inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation. OUTCOME MEASURES: Dependency and care costs: Northwick Park Dependency Scale/Care Needs Assessment (NPDS/NPCNA). Functional independence: UK Functional Assessment Measure (UK Functional Independence Measure (FIM)+FAM). Cost-efficiency: (1) time taken to offset rehabilitation costs by savings in NPCNA-estimated costs of ongoing care, (2) FIM efficiency (FIM gain/LOS days), (3) FIM+FAM efficiency (FIM+FAM gain/LOS days). Patients were analysed in 3 groups of dependency. RESULTS: Mean LOS 90.1 (SD 66) days. All groups showed significant reduction in dependency between admission and discharge on all measures (paired t tests: p<0.001). Mean reduction in ‘weekly care costs’ was greatest in the high-dependency group at £760/week (95% CI 726 to 794)), compared with the medium-dependency (£408/week (95% CI 370 to 445)), and low-dependency (£130/week (95% CI 82 to 178)), groups. Despite longer LOS, time taken to offset the cost of rehabilitation was 14.2 (95% CI 9.9 to 18.8) months in the high-dependency group, compared with 22.3 (95% CI 16.9 to 29.2) months (medium dependency), and 27.7 (95% CI 15.9 to 39.7) months (low dependency). FIM efficiency appeared greatest in medium-dependency patients (0.54), compared with the low-dependency (0.37) and high-dependency (0.38) groups. Broadly similar patterns were seen across all 4 diagnostic groups. CONCLUSIONS: Specialist rehabilitation can be highly cost-efficient for all neurological conditions, producing substantial savings in ongoing care costs, especially in high-dependency patients

Photometric Supernova Cosmology with BEAMS and SDSS-II

Supernova cosmology without spectroscopic confirmation is an exciting new frontier which we address here with the Bayesian Estimation Applied to Multiple Species (BEAMS) algorithm and the full three years of data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II Supernova Survey (SDSS-II SN). BEAMS is a Bayesian framework for using data from multiple species in statistical inference when one has the probability that each data point belongs to a given species, corresponding in this context to different types of supernovae with their probabilities derived from their multi-band lightcurves. We run the BEAMS algorithm on both Gaussian and more realistic SNANA simulations with of order 10^4 supernovae, testing the algorithm against various pitfalls one might expect in the new and somewhat uncharted territory of photometric supernova cosmology. We compare the performance of BEAMS to that of both mock spectroscopic surveys and photometric samples which have been cut using typical selection criteria. The latter typically are either biased due to contamination or have significantly larger contours in the cosmological parameters due to small data-sets. We then apply BEAMS to the 792 SDSS-II photometric supernovae with host spectroscopic redshifts. In this case, BEAMS reduces the area of the (\Omega_m,\Omega_\Lambda) contours by a factor of three relative to the case where only spectroscopically confirmed data are used (297 supernovae). In the case of flatness, the constraints obtained on the matter density applying BEAMS to the photometric SDSS-II data are \Omega_m(BEAMS)=0.194\pm0.07. This illustrates the potential power of BEAMS for future large photometric supernova surveys such as LSST.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Ap

Results from the Supernova Photometric Classification Challenge

We report results from the Supernova Photometric Classification Challenge (SNPCC), a publicly released mix of simulated supernovae (SNe), with types (Ia, Ibc, and II) selected in proportion to their expected rate. The simulation was realized in the griz filters of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) with realistic observing conditions (sky noise, point-spread function and atmospheric transparency) based on years of recorded conditions at the DES site. Simulations of non-Ia type SNe are based on spectroscopically confirmed light curves that include unpublished non-Ia samples donated from the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP), the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS), and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II). A spectroscopically confirmed subset was provided for training. We challenged scientists to run their classification algorithms and report a type and photo-z for each SN. Participants from 10 groups contributed 13 entries for the sample that included a host-galaxy photo-z for each SN, and 9 entries for the sample that had no redshift information. Several different classification strategies resulted in similar performance, and for all entries the performance was significantly better for the training subset than for the unconfirmed sample. For the spectroscopically unconfirmed subset, the entry with the highest average figure of merit for classifying SNe~Ia has an efficiency of 0.96 and an SN~Ia purity of 0.79. As a public resource for the future development of photometric SN classification and photo-z estimators, we have released updated simulations with improvements based on our experience from the SNPCC, added samples corresponding to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the SDSS, and provided the answer keys so that developers can evaluate their own analysis.Comment: accepted by PAS

Implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF for routine point-of-care diagnosis of tuberculosis at the primary care level

Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) offers rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance. However, little is known about routine point-of-care (POC) use in high TB/HIV burden settings. We describe our experiences of launching Xpert as the POC, initial diagnostic for all TB suspects at a primary healthcare clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa. Noted important benefits of POC Xpert were fewer clinic visits, rapid detection of TB and rifampicin resistance, real-time assessment of accompanying household members of new TB cases, and increased staff motivation for TB screening. While Xpert results are available within 2 hours, actual turn-around time was longer for most patients because of sample preparation time and clinic congestion. Consequently, a GX4 instrument did not result in a 16-test capacity during an 8-hour working day, and some patients did not receive same-day results. Loss to follow-up was an unforeseen challenge, overcome by clinic flow changes, marking of clinic files, documenting patients' physical description and locating patients in the clinic by cell phone. Staff with high school education successfully performed the assay after minimal training. Human resource requirements were considerable, with a minimum of 2 staff needed to supervise sputum collection, process sputum, perform assays, and document results for an average of 15 TB suspects daily. POC placement of the instrument transferred logistical responsibilities to the clinic, including quality assurance, maintenance, stock control and cartridge disposal. POC use of Xpert is feasible at the primary healthcare level but must be accompanied by financial, operational and logistical support

Implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF for routine point-of-care diagnosis of tuberculosis at the primary care level

as a first-line diagnostic for TB in patients suspected of HIV-associated TB or multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB.1 South Africa, the first country to roll out the assay, opted to place the instruments at centralised microscopy centres and reference laboratories of the National Health Laboratory Service, mainly owing to cost considerations and to allow rapid roll-out.2 Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert)’s short turnaround time and simplicity raised potential for point-of-care (POC) use.3,4 The motivation for POC technology (be it HIV, CD4 or TB testing) is to provide same-day results, hasten treatment initiation, and avoid loss to follow-up during the diagnostic process. Little is known about POC use of Xpert at primary healthcare level, and operational research is needed before its use at the peripheral level can be recommended.3,5 In July 2011, we launched Xpert as the initial, routine, POC diagnostic for all TB suspects at Witkoppen Health and Welfar

Predicting the mutations generated by repair of Cas9-induced double-strand breaks.

The DNA mutation produced by cellular repair of a CRISPR-Cas9-generated double-strand break determines its phenotypic effect. It is known that the mutational outcomes are not random, but depend on DNA sequence at the targeted location. Here we systematically study the influence of flanking DNA sequence on repair outcome by measuring the edits generated by >40,000 guide RNAs (gRNAs) in synthetic constructs. We performed the experiments in a range of genetic backgrounds and using alternative CRISPR-Cas9 reagents. In total, we gathered data for >109 mutational outcomes. The majority of reproducible mutations are insertions of a single base, short deletions or longer microhomology-mediated deletions. Each gRNA has an individual cell-line-dependent bias toward particular outcomes. We uncover sequence determinants of the mutations produced and use these to derive a predictor of Cas9 editing outcomes. Improved understanding of sequence repair will allow better design of gene editing experiments

The Vehicle, Spring 1995

Table of Contents Poetry The SwimmersJennifer Moropage 2 Everlasting ArmsSue Songerpage 2 Talking to an AddictBridgett Jensenpage 3 SecretsTiffany Abbottpage 5 CryingMatthew Berrypage 6 winter fieldsKeith Spearpage 7 untitledKemp Nishan Munizpage 7 Rainy Night in ParisDiana Matijaspage 8 nap timeKelly A. Pricepage 10 Angel of the EarthHeather Anne Winterspage 10 Color DreamsMatthew J. Nelsonpage 12 Dandelion PaintSandy Beauchamppage 13 Merry Go Round MarathonElizabeth Bromleypage 14 The ArmadilloKeith Spearpage 15 The Shoe SagaJennifer Moropage 16 Coffee Cup Confessional BoothSue Songerpage 18 What Gravity, A Rock And A Rabbit Have To Do With My Love LifeMartin Paul Brittpage 19 Good Bye, Good KnightRich Birdpage 20 Photography Railroad Station IKelly A. Pricepage 22 1000 VinesKelly A. Pricepage 23 Self PortraitKelly A. Pricepage 24 Prose Queen of Dead AirBryan Levekpage 26 Closer to the noiseMichell Heidelpage 29 Somewhere in BetweenKimberly Hunterpage 32 Miss SteakBryan Levekpage 37 Chasing the ChasteTerry Bassettpage 43 Biographies Authors, editorspage 48https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1065/thumbnail.jp

Time to Treatment and Patient Outcomes among TB Suspects Screened by a Single Point-of-Care Xpert MTB/RIF at a Primary Care Clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa

In December 2010, the World Health Organization recommended a single Xpert MTB/RIF assay as the initial diagnostic in people suspected of HIV-associated or drug resistant tuberculosis. Few data are available on the impact of this recommendation on patient outcomes. We describe the diagnostic follow-up, clinical characteristics and outcomes of a cohort of tuberculosis suspects screened using a single point-of-care Xpert