Reduction and analysis of data collected during the electromagnetic tornado experiment

Progress is reviewed on the reduction and analysis of tornado data collected on analog tape. The strip chart recording of 7 tracks from all available analog data for quick look analysis is emphasized

Determination of mass outflow from a thunderstorm complex using ATS 3 pictures

Satellite cloud photography for determining mass outflow and tornado formatio

Chemistry of Tropical Root Crops: Significance for Nutrition and Agriculture in the Pacific

Crop Production/Industries,

U.S. East Coast Trough Indices at 500 hPa and New England Winter Climate Variability

Using monthly gridded 500-hPa data, two synoptic indices are defined to better understand the principle mechanisms controlling intraseasonal to multiannual winter climate variability in NewEngland (NE). The “trough axis index” (TAI) is created to quantify the mean longitudinal position of the common East Coast pressure trough, and the “trough intensity index” (TII) is calculated to estimate the relative amplitude of this trough at 42.5°N. The TAI and TII are then compared with records for NE regional winter precipitation, temperature, and snowfall with the goal of understanding physical mechanisms linking NE winter climate with regional sea surface temperatures (SST), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the Pacific–North American (PNA) teleconnection pattern. The TAI correlates most significantly with winter precipitation at inland sites, such that a western (eastern)trough axis position is associated with greater (lower) average monthly precipitation. Also, significant correlations between the TAI and both NE regional SSTs and the NAO suggest that longitudinal shifting of the trough is one possible mechanism linking the North Atlantic with NE regional winterclimate variability. The NE winter temperature is significantly correlated with the TII, regional SSTs, and the NAO. While the PNA also correlates with the TII, NE winter climate variables are apparently unrelated to the PNA index

Teaching phonics and reading effectively: ‘A balancing act’ for teachers, policy makers and researchers

The debates about what are the most effective ways to teach young children to learn to read have been described as ‘the reading wars’. In 2022 the research published in a paper by Wyse and Bradbury (2022) stimulated widespread attention including in the media. Wyse and Bradbury concluded on the basis of four major research analyses that although systematic phonics teaching was important the approach in England to synthetic phonics was too narrow and therefore in need of improvement. In 2023 the paper was the subject of a critique by Greg Brooks (2023). This paper responds to Brooks' critique by providing new information about the nature of the responses to the paper to contextualise Brooks' response. It is concluded that Brooks' response includes too many errors, and is too selective, to be regarded as a robust and reasonable critique. It is argued that the nature of Brooks' approach to criticism only serves to entrench the reading wars, and raises ethical considerations about the nature of the attack on Wyse and Bradbury (2022). Context and implications Rationale for this study This paper responds to Greg Brooks' (2023) criticisms of Wyse and Bradbury (2022). Why the new findings matter It is important that the erroneous views expressed in Brooks (2023) are corrected because the debates about reading have important consequences for young children's education. Implications for practitioners, policy makers, researchers Understanding the most effective ways to teach reading is important for children's education worldwide. Research is a source of vital knowledge about what are the most effective ways to teach reading. Interpreting research findings accurately and in a balanced way in order to make recommendations about curriculum policies and classroom practice is vital to ensure that any such recommendations are well justified. Imbalanced and erroneous accounts risk non-optimal teaching and educational policies, and hence negative consequences for children's learning

Role of community drug and alcohol services in physical healthcare for people who use illicit opioids: a qualitative study of clinical staff in the UK

Objectives: To understand how clinicians working in addiction services perceive their responsibilities for physical healthcare of clients who use opioids, and how physical healthcare could be improved for this group. Design: Qualitative study comprising semistructured interviews. Participants: 16 clinicians, including nurses and nurse practitioners, nurse consultants, addiction psychiatrists, specialist general practitioners and psychiatry specialty registrars. Setting Community-based drug and alcohol treatment services in the UK, with services including outpatient opioid agonist therapy. Results: We identified three overarching themes. First, clients have unmet physical health needs that are often first identified in community drug and alcohol services. Participants reported attempts to improve their clients’ access to healthcare by liaising directly with health services and undertaking other forms of health advocacy, but report limited success, with many referrals ending in non-attendance. Second, most participants saw their role as supporting access to mainstream health services rather than providing physical healthcare directly, though sometimes reported frustration at being unable to provide certain treatments such as antibiotics for a respiratory infection. A minority of participants felt that people who use illicit opioids would be best served by an integrated ‘one-stop-shop’ model, but felt this model is currently unlikely to receive funding. Third, participants felt isolated from other health services, in part due to commissioning arrangements in which funding is provided through local government rather than the National Health Service. Conclusions: Clinicians participating in this study serve a patient group with unmet physical health needs, but lack the resources to respond effectively to these needs

The passion, pedagogy and politics of reading

The teaching of reading has been a source of contentious debate for many years. Margaret Meek Spencer contributed her passion for the importance of specific texts to help children learn to read. In addition to the kinds of texts to be used, important aspects of the debateimportant aspects of the debate include the relationship between national curriculum policies and robust research evidence about what works in teaching reading This paper notes a historical trend in government policy that has included England's Department for Education in England’s strengthening its control of the curriculum and pedagogy for teaching reading in ways which run contrary to many of Meek Spencer’s arguments. The paper examines the use of statutory assessment, particularly a Phonics Screening Check, its influence on pedagogy and links with the politics of reading. We conclude that policy needs to be reformed to better reflect robust research evidence