Stop, Collaborate, and Listen: A Faculty Learning Community Developed to Address Gaps in Pre-Service Education about Interdisciplinary Collaboration

There is a notable lack of opportunity for students in pre-service professional training programs and faculty in higher education to collaborate and work together, across disciplines within a common area of professional expertise. In this case, a faculty learning community (FLC) was formed to create a set of video-based simulations based on relevant topics for Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings, used to inform the development of an Individualized Education Program. These materials were made available across departments and universities, establishing a common language and set of CSE practices. Additionally, a structured three-level text reading and discussion provided faculty with an opportunity for professional development, networking, and scholarship. The project was completed following Cox’s 16 Recommendations for a Faculty Learning Community as a guideline for the successful implementation of the project, the creation of course materials, and analysis of faculty learning outcomes. It is important to note that the FLC process applies to a wide range of disciplines as a means of engaging faculty in responsive and reflective teaching practices as well as professional development

Design of a Skipper CCD Focal Plane for the SOAR Integral Field Spectrograph

We present the development of a Skipper Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) focal plane prototype for the SOAR Telescope Integral Field Spectrograph (SIFS). This mosaic focal plane consists of four 6k $\times$ 1k, 15 $\mu$m pixel Skipper CCDs mounted inside a vacuum dewar. We describe the process of packaging the CCDs so that they can be easily tested, transported, and installed in a mosaic focal plane. We characterize the performance of $\sim 650 \mu$m thick, fully-depleted engineering-grade Skipper CCDs in preparation for performing similar characterization tests on science-grade Skipper CCDs which will be thinned to 250$\mu$m and backside processed with an antireflective coating. We achieve a single-sample readout noise of $4.5 e^{-} rms/pix$ for the best performing amplifiers and sub-electron resolution (photon counting capabilities) with readout noise $\sigma \sim 0.16 e^{-} rms/pix$ from 800 measurements of the charge in each pixel. We describe the design and construction of the Skipper CCD focal plane and provide details about the synchronized readout electronics system that will be implemented to simultaneously read 16 amplifiers from the four Skipper CCDs (4-amplifiers per detector). Finally, we outline future plans for laboratory testing, installation, commissioning, and science verification of our Skipper CCD focal plane

Peer interactions and roles of high school students with severe disabilities during inclusive service-learning

The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine how high school students with severe disabilities interact with peers and adults, the relationship between specific contextual factors and peer interactions, and the informal roles students with severe disabilities assume during inclusive service-learning. Data were collected through video and live observations of four high school students with severe disabilities throughout an inclusive arts-based service-learning project, and interviews with peers, art teachers, and focus groups of preservice teachers who facilitated the service-learning project. The data were analyzed using a combination of inductive and deductive processes to investigate peer and adult interactions, contextual factors, and the roles assumed by students with severe disabilities during the project. The findings indicate that students with severe disabilities had interactions with peers during inclusive service-learning that ranged in frequency and ease from natural to challenging; the majority of interactions were task related; adults and peers had positive perceptions of group functioning; and adult interactions occurred primarily within the function of providing supports. All of the contextual factors examined were each found to be associated with peer interactions. Students with severe disabilities assumed a variety of roles that fell within the three categories described in the literature: group building roles, task completion roles, and individualistic roles. An additional role category, neutral roles, emerged through the qualitative analysis. Recommendations for future investigations and inclusive service-learning practice are also presented

Status of the Dark Energy Survey Camera (DECam) Project

The Dark Energy Survey Collaboration has completed construction of the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), a 3 square degree, 570 Megapixel CCD camera which will be mounted on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at CTIO. DECam will be used to perform the 5000 sq. deg. Dark Energy Survey with 30% of the telescope time over a 5 year period. During the remainder of the time, and after the survey, DECam will be available as a community instrument. All components of DECam have been shipped to Chile and post-shipping checkout finished in Jan. 2012. Installation is in progress. A summary of lessons learned and an update of the performance of DECam and the status of the DECam installation and commissioning will be presented

Cerebral microbleeds and stroke risk after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack:a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies

BACKGROUND Cerebral microbleeds are a neuroimaging biomarker of stroke risk. A crucial clinical question is whether cerebral microbleeds indicate patients with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack in whom the rate of future intracranial haemorrhage is likely to exceed that of recurrent ischaemic stroke when treated with antithrombotic drugs. We therefore aimed to establish whether a large burden of cerebral microbleeds or particular anatomical patterns of cerebral microbleeds can identify ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack patients at higher absolute risk of intracranial haemorrhage than ischaemic stroke. METHODS We did a pooled analysis of individual patient data from cohort studies in adults with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Cohorts were eligible for inclusion if they prospectively recruited adult participants with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack; included at least 50 participants; collected data on stroke events over at least 3 months follow-up; used an appropriate MRI sequence that is sensitive to magnetic susceptibility; and documented the number and anatomical distribution of cerebral microbleeds reliably using consensus criteria and validated scales. Our prespecified primary outcomes were a composite of any symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage or ischaemic stroke, symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage, and symptomatic ischaemic stroke. We registered this study with the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews, number CRD42016036602. FINDINGS Between Jan 1, 1996, and Dec 1, 2018, we identified 344 studies. After exclusions for ineligibility or declined requests for inclusion, 20 322 patients from 38 cohorts (over 35 225 patient-years of follow-up; median 1·34 years [IQR 0·19-2·44]) were included in our analyses. The adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] comparing patients with cerebral microbleeds to those without was 1·35 (95% CI 1·20-1·50) for the composite outcome of intracranial haemorrhage and ischaemic stroke; 2·45 (1·82-3·29) for intracranial haemorrhage and 1·23 (1·08-1·40) for ischaemic stroke. The aHR increased with increasing cerebral microbleed burden for intracranial haemorrhage but this effect was less marked for ischaemic stroke (for five or more cerebral microbleeds, aHR 4·55 [95% CI 3·08-6·72] for intracranial haemorrhage vs 1·47 [1·19-1·80] for ischaemic stroke; for ten or more cerebral microbleeds, aHR 5·52 [3·36-9·05] vs 1·43 [1·07-1·91]; and for ≥20 cerebral microbleeds, aHR 8·61 [4·69-15·81] vs 1·86 [1·23-1·82]). However, irrespective of cerebral microbleed anatomical distribution or burden, the rate of ischaemic stroke exceeded that of intracranial haemorrhage (for ten or more cerebral microbleeds, 64 ischaemic strokes [95% CI 48-84] per 1000 patient-years vs 27 intracranial haemorrhages [17-41] per 1000 patient-years; and for ≥20 cerebral microbleeds, 73 ischaemic strokes [46-108] per 1000 patient-years vs 39 intracranial haemorrhages [21-67] per 1000 patient-years). INTERPRETATION In patients with recent ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack, cerebral microbleeds are associated with a greater relative hazard (aHR) for subsequent intracranial haemorrhage than for ischaemic stroke, but the absolute risk of ischaemic stroke is higher than that of intracranial haemorrhage, regardless of cerebral microbleed presence, antomical distribution, or burden. FUNDING British Heart Foundation and UK Stroke Association

Second asymptomatic carotid surgery trial (ACST-2) : a randomised comparison of carotid artery stenting versus carotid endarterectomy

Background: Among asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis but no recent stroke or transient cerebral ischaemia, either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can restore patency and reduce long-term stroke risks. However, from recent national registry data, each option causes about 1% procedural risk of disabling stroke or death. Comparison of their long-term protective effects requires large-scale randomised evidence. Methods: ACST-2 is an international multicentre randomised trial of CAS versus CEA among asymptomatic patients with severe stenosis thought to require intervention, interpreted with all other relevant trials. Patients were eligible if they had severe unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and both doctor and patient agreed that a carotid procedure should be undertaken, but they were substantially uncertain which one to choose. Patients were randomly allocated to CAS or CEA and followed up at 1 month and then annually, for a mean 5 years. Procedural events were those within 30 days of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses are provided. Analyses including procedural hazards use tabular methods. Analyses and meta-analyses of non-procedural strokes use Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN21144362. Findings: Between Jan 15, 2008, and Dec 31, 2020, 3625 patients in 130 centres were randomly allocated, 1811 to CAS and 1814 to CEA, with good compliance, good medical therapy and a mean 5 years of follow-up. Overall, 1% had disabling stroke or death procedurally (15 allocated to CAS and 18 to CEA) and 2% had non-disabling procedural stroke (48 allocated to CAS and 29 to CEA). Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year non-procedural stroke were 2·5% in each group for fatal or disabling stroke, and 5·3% with CAS versus 4·5% with CEA for any stroke (rate ratio [RR] 1·16, 95% CI 0·86-1·57; p=0·33). Combining RRs for any non-procedural stroke in all CAS versus CEA trials, the RR was similar in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (overall RR 1·11, 95% CI 0·91-1·32; p=0·21). Interpretation: Serious complications are similarly uncommon after competent CAS and CEA, and the long-term effects of these two carotid artery procedures on fatal or disabling stroke are comparable