Drug Urinalysis in the Public Schools: Going Beyond T.L.O.

The approach taken here will be to discuss briefly the fourth amendment, review traditional doctrines involving school searches, analyze the recent United States Supreme Court decision in New Jersey v. T.L.O., describe the relevant issues in a urinalysis search and recommend the standard by which such procedures should be judged

Toward a descriptive model of galactic cosmic rays in the heliosphere

Researchers review the elements that enter into phenomenological models of the composition, energy spectra, and the spatial and temporal variations of galactic cosmic rays, including the so-called anomalous cosmic ray component. Starting from an existing model, designed to describe the behavior of cosmic rays in the near-Earth environment, researchers suggest possible updates and improvements to this model, and then propose a quantitative approach for extending such a model into other regions of the heliosphere

GRB 071028B, a burst behind large amounts of dust in an unabsorbed galaxy

We report on the discovery and properties of the fading afterglow and underlying host galaxy of GRB 071028B, thereby facilitating a detailed comparison between these two. Observations were performed with the Gamma-ray Burst Optical and Near-infrared Detector at the 2.2 m telescope on the La Silla Paranal Observatory in Chile. We conducted five observations from 1.9 d to 227.2 d after the trigger and obtained deep images in the g'r'i'z' and JHKs bands. Based on accurate seven-channel photometry covering the optical to near-infrared wavelength range, we derive a photometric redshift of z = 0.94 +0.05 -0.10 for the unabsorbed host galaxy of GRB 071028B. In contrast, we show that the afterglow with an intrinsic extinction of AV(SB) = (0.70 +/- 0.11) mag is moderately absorbed and requires a relatively flat extinction curve. According to the reported Swift/BAT observations, the energetics yield an isotropic energy release of E(gamma,iso.,rest) = (1.4 +2.4 -0.7) x 10^51 erg.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&

MANAGING COMMON NIGHTHAWKS AT MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, KANSAS, TO REDUCE AIRCRAFT STRIKES

McConnell Air Force Base (AFB) experiences a unique bird/aircraft hazard problem with migrating common nighthawks from August to October. Nighthawks are the most commonly struck species at McConnell AFB, representing about 38% of reported bird/aircraft strikes. During August and September, nighthawks represented 82% of the bird strikes found on the airfield. Approaches for managing nighthawks on and around airfields are limited because of the night environment, logistics and an incomplete understanding of nighthawk behavior. We determined the number of nighthawks using McConnell AFB and associated foraging, loafing and roosting areas, analyzed their food habits, and developed a translocation management strategy to reduce hazards to aircraft. During 1998, 1999 and 2000, we observed 600, 540 and 920 nighthawks, respectively, on the airfield. The greatest activity on the airfield occurred from September 27-30 in 1998, September 9- 14 in 1999, and September 6-8 in 2000. The peak number of nighthawks observed using the airfield during these periods was 142, 90 and 118, respectively. Nighthawks foraged around the airfield mainly between 1800 and 2200 and usually roosted on the airfield about 1800 with a peak between 2200 and 0200. During one 2-hour survey period in 1999 and 2000, 37 and 59 nighthawks, respectively, were flushed from the airfield. Thirty-seven nighthawks collected during the study consumed mostly corn earworm moths (Noctuidae) and beetles (Scarabaeidae). Management of nighthawks on McConnell AFB has been difficult because commonly used hazing techniques seem to be ineffective; these birds usually return to the same roosting location after being flushed, which can present an even greater risk to aircraft. We developed and evaluated a unique technique for capturing and translocating nighthawks from the airfield. Only 1 of 214 nighthawks translocated 88 km from McConnell AFB returned. Nighthawk/aircraft strikes at McConnell AFB declined from 9 in 1998, when no translocation was conducted, to 0 in 1999 and 3 in 2000

MANAGING COMMON NIGHTHAWKS AT MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, KANSAS, TO REDUCE AIRCRAFT STRIKES

McConnell Air Force Base (AFB) experiences a unique bird/aircraft hazard problem with migrating common nighthawks from August to October. Nighthawks are the most commonly struck species at McConnell AFB, representing about 38% of reported bird/aircraft strikes. During August and September, nighthawks represented 82% of the bird strikes found on the airfield. Approaches for managing nighthawks on and around airfields are limited because of the night environment, logistics and an incomplete understanding of nighthawk behavior. We determined the number of nighthawks using McConnell AFB and associated foraging, loafing and roosting areas, analyzed their food habits, and developed a translocation management strategy to reduce hazards to aircraft. During 1998, 1999 and 2000, we observed 600, 540 and 920 nighthawks, respectively, on the airfield. The greatest activity on the airfield occurred from September 27-30 in 1998, September 9- 14 in 1999, and September 6-8 in 2000. The peak number of nighthawks observed using the airfield during these periods was 142, 90 and 118, respectively. Nighthawks foraged around the airfield mainly between 1800 and 2200 and usually roosted on the airfield about 1800 with a peak between 2200 and 0200. During one 2-hour survey period in 1999 and 2000, 37 and 59 nighthawks, respectively, were flushed from the airfield. Thirty-seven nighthawks collected during the study consumed mostly corn earworm moths (Noctuidae) and beetles (Scarabaeidae). Management of nighthawks on McConnell AFB has been difficult because commonly used hazing techniques seem to be ineffective; these birds usually return to the same roosting location after being flushed, which can present an even greater risk to aircraft. We developed and evaluated a unique technique for capturing and translocating nighthawks from the airfield. Only 1 of 214 nighthawks translocated 88 km from McConnell AFB returned. Nighthawk/aircraft strikes at McConnell AFB declined from 9 in 1998, when no translocation was conducted, to 0 in 1999 and 3 in 2000

Preferences of U.S. Faculty Members regarding the Teaching- Research Nexus

The purpose of this article is to examine research and teaching trends over the past 30 years in U.S. higher education. While some faculty lean toward teaching and others toward research, often the two areas of intersect in synergistic and complementary ways. The merit of this study is that it is a follow-up of two earlier surveys. Findings include an examination of national data from 1992, 2007, and 2018 on a few select areas of the teaching-research nexus. The 2018 data includes 1,135 faculty responses from 80 higher education institutions in the United States. The once dominant research output gap between U.S. faculty and those in other countries is leveling off in many subject areas, most notably in STEM subject areas. Findings provide an in-depth analysis by faculty rank, highlighting current research and teaching preferences of junior and senior faculty members. The article also provides a model to partially explain faculty productivity among sampled participants where research preference, collaboration, and institutional research expectations serve as key predictors. Several suggestions for future areas of research are given in the conclusion section

Getting To Excellence: What Every Educator Should Know About Consequences of Beliefs, Attitudes, and Paradigms for the Reconstruction of an Academically Unacceptable Middle School

In this chapter a discussion of a salient dimension of the external environment in which today’s educators find themselves practicing – the policy context - is presented. Critical elements of this discussion include a truncated history of the encroachment on local control of the schools and the ensuing standardized-tests-based accountability and standardized testing movement. We also pay some attention to growing efforts to push back against these movements. We conclude this chapter with perspectives of a set of scholarly informants on quality, equity, and adequacy. Our effort in this chapter is to trace the political distance traveled from education defined by the diverse beliefs, values, attitudes and paradigms specific to the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies to the current emphasis on standardized-tests-based accountability, standards, and testing as they impact or fail to impact quality, equity, and adequacy – the context in which the Willie Ray Smith, Sr. Science and Medical Technology Magnet Middle School was previously branded academically unacceptable but now academically acceptable

Primary Meningeal Rhabdomyosarcoma

Primary meningeal rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare primary brain malignancy, with scant case reports. While most reports of primary intracranial rhabdomyosarcoma occur in pediatric patients, a handful of cases in adult patients have been reported in the medical literature. We report the case of a 44-year-old male who developed primary meningeal rhabdomyosarcoma. After developing episodes of right lower extremity weakness, word finding difficulty, and headaches, a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a vertex lesion with radiographic appearance of a meningeal-derived tumor. Subtotal surgical resection was performed due to sagittal sinus invasion and initial pathology was interpreted as an anaplastic meningioma. Re-review of pathology demonstrated rhabdomyosarcoma negative for alveolar translocation t(2;13). Staging studies revealed no evidence of disseminated disease. He was treated with stereotactic radiotherapy with concurrent temozolamide to be followed by vincristine, actinomycin-D, and cyclophosphamide (VAC) systemic therapy

Biogeography of a plant invasion: drivers of latitudinal variation in enemy release

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Aim: The relationship between herbivory and latitude may differ between native and invasive plant taxa, which can generate biogeographical heterogeneity in the strength of enemy release. Our aim was to compare latitudinal gradients in herbivory between native and invasive plants and investigate whether gradients are driven by local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity. Location: North America. Methods: Using sympatric native and invasive lineages of the wetland grass Phragmites australis and the specialist gall-fly Lipara rufitarsis, we conducted a field survey to examine whether the relationship between herbivory (the proportion of stems galled) and latitude was parallel between lineages. In a subsequent common garden experiment, we assessed whether latitudinal gradients in herbivory were genetically based or driven by phenotypic plasticity. Results: In the field, L. rufitarsis herbivory on the native P. australis lineage increased from 27% of stems galled in southern populations (36.5°) to 37% in northern populations (43.6°), whereas there was no relationship for the invasive lineage. Similar relationships were evident in the common garden experiment, indicating a genetic basis to latitudinal variation in herbivory. Moreover, the invasive lineage suffered five times less herbivory than the native lineage on average, supporting the enemy release hypothesis. However, a genetic basis to this pattern was absent in the common garden experiment, suggesting that local environmental conditions were responsible for the enemy release observed in nature. Specifically, stem height, diameter and density during the L. rufitarsis oviposition period appeared to be important drivers of herbivory. Main conclusions: Non-parallel gradients in herbivory may help explain the equivocal results of other studies that examine enemy release and biotic resistance at local scales, and can be an important mechanism promoting biogeographical variation in invasion success. We suggest that these latitudinal patterns in herbivory and other species interactions are likely to be a common phenomenon across a range of invaded systems