Standards in English education: An enduring historical issue

This article is available open access from the publisher’s website at the link below.This article closely examines the development of education in England, taking special account of educational standards — of the official measurable kind, but also the perceived kind — in the various sectors of education. It argues that, today, and in the past, the ‘problems’ associated with education standards mostly relate to a ‘long tail’ of underperforming schools serving urban areas and attended by relatively underprivileged children. At the other end of the scale, it is suggested that England’s leading schools, both in the public and private sectors, remain the subject of admiration. The same remains true of England’s leading, and typically oldest, universities, which occupy a more privileged position than institutions chartered in the relatively recent past. The article presents a story of persistent unequal educational opportunities over time, which, worryingly, does not seem to be improving in the second decade of the twenty-first century

Investigation of seismicity and related effects at NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Computer Center, Edwards, California

This report discusses a geological and seismological investigation of the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility site at Edwards, California. Results are presented as seismic design criteria, with design values of the pertinent ground motion parameters, probability of recurrence, and recommended analogous time-history accelerograms with their corresponding spectra. The recommendations apply specifically to the Dryden site and should not be extrapolated to other sites with varying foundation and geologic conditions or different seismic environments

Dynamically-Coupled Oscillators -- Cooperative Behavior via Dynamical Interaction --

We propose a theoretical framework to study the cooperative behavior of dynamically coupled oscillators (DCOs) that possess dynamical interactions. Then, to understand synchronization phenomena in networks of interneurons which possess inhibitory interactions, we propose a DCO model with dynamics of interactions that tend to cause 180-degree phase lags. Employing an approach developed here, we demonstrate that although our model displays synchronization at high frequencies, it does not exhibit synchronization at low frequencies because this dynamical interaction does not cause a phase lag sufficiently large to cancel the effect of the inhibition. We interpret the disappearance of synchronization in our model with decreasing frequency as describing the breakdown of synchronization in the interneuron network of the CA1 area below the critical frequency of 20 Hz.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Single electron charging of impurity sites visualized by scanning gate experiments on a quantum point contact

A quantum point contact (QPC) patterned on a two-dimensional electron gas is investigated with a scanning gate setup operated at a temperature of 300 mK. The conductance of the point contact is recorded while the local potential is modified by scanning the tip. Single electron charging of impurities induced by the local potential is observed as a stepwise conductance change of the constriction. By selectively changing the state of some of these impurities, it is possible to observe changes in transmission resonances of the QPC. The location of such impurities is determined, and their density is estimated to be below 50 per \mu m^2, corresponding to less than 1 % of the doping concentration

Are food exposures obtained through commercial market panels representative of the general population? Implications for outbreak investigations

Current methods of control recruitment for case-control studies can be slow (a particular issue for outbreak investigations), resource-intensive and subject to a range of biases. Commercial market panels are a potential source of rapidly recruited controls. Our study evaluated food exposure data from these panel controls, compared with an established reference dataset. Market panel data were collected from two companies using retrospective internet-based surveys; these were compared with reference data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). We used logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios to compare exposure to each of the 71 food items between the market panel and NDNS participants. We compared 2103 panel controls with 2696 reference participants. Adjusted for socio-demographic factors, exposure to 90% of foods was statistically different between both panels and the reference data. However, these differences were likely to be of limited practical importance for 89% of Panel A foods and 79% of Panel B foods. Market panel food exposures were comparable with reference data for common food exposures but more likely to be different for uncommon exposures. This approach should be considered for outbreak investigation, in conjunction with other considerations such as population at risk, timeliness of response and study resources

The Late Prehistoric of the East Fork of the Trinity River

Over the last 42 years, the authors have studied in detail the sites and archeological remains ascribed to the Late Prehistoric period of the East Fork of the Trinity River and its tributaries. This includes 20 major sites and a larger number of smaller campsites that occur within a 75 km by 15 km north-south corridor from Collin County in the north to northwestern Kaufman County in the south. As part of this study, we have accessed and examined all known extant collections from previous investigations with a combined artifact assemblage of nearly 32,000 specimens. In addition, we obtained access to the unpublished field notes and maps from many previous researchers and combined them with our own field and laboratory observations. The results of this study confirms the conclusion of both Bruseth and Martin and Prikryl that the \textit{Wylie Focus}, as originally proposed by Stephenson, is an outdated concept. A new chronological sequence consisting of a Woodland period followed by two Late Prehistoric period phases is proposed. In detailing the proposed new sequences, extensive information on each major site, site features such as the distinctive rim-and-pit structures, burials, hearths and caches, and the diagnostic artifacts that characterize each cultural phase are provided. We also detail how the Late Prehistoric of the East Fork is a unique culture, similar but yet distinctly different from the surrounding sites including Bird Point Island (41FT201) and Adams Ranch (41NV177) in Freestone and Navarro counties

Kombinierte dorsale und palmare Plattenosteosynthese bei distalen intraartikulären Radiusfrakturen

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Behandlungsziel bei komplexen distalen intraartikulären Radiusfrakturen ist die anatomische Gelenkrekonstruktion. In seltenen Fällen kann dies nur mit einer kombinierten, dorsalen und palmaren Abstützung erreicht werden, trotz der zunehmenden Erfahrung mit winkelstabilen palmaren Implantaten. Diese retrospektive Qualitätskontrollstudie untersucht das funktionelle, radiologische und subjektive Outcome der mit dieser Technik operierten Patienten. Patienten und Methoden : An der Klinik für Unfallchirurgie des Universitätsspital Zürich wurden zwischen März 1999 und Januar 2003 von 360 Patienten mit instabiler distaler Radiusfraktur 30 Patienten mit komplexer C2-/C3-Fraktur über einen kombinierten dorsopalmaren Zugang mit einer 3,5-mm-T-Platte und dorsal mit zwei 1/4-Rohr-Platten behandelt und in die Studie eingeschlossen (9 Frauen, 21Männer, Mittelwert des Alters 52). Nachkontrolliert werden konnten 25 der 30 Patienten im Mittel 29 Monate nach Unfall. Ergebnisse: Die angestrebte anatomische Rekonstruktion gelang nicht bei allen Patienten: 56% zeigten leichte, 28% schwere Zeichen der Arthrose. Die Flexion erreichte 66%, die Extension 75% der gesunden Seite, Pronation und Supination sogar 98 bzw. 91%. Die Kraft beim Faustschluss betrug 75% der kontralateralen Seite. Zehn Patienten (40%) entwickelten im Verlauf ein komplexes regionales Schmerzsyndrom (CRPS). Die Rückkehr zur Arbeit war nach 120 Tagen möglich. Schlussfolgerung: Die dorsopalmare Plattenosteosynthese komplexer, distaler intraartikulärer Radiusfrakturen erlaubt eine Gelenkrekonstruktion mit gutem subjektivem, funktionellem und radiologischem Resultat, dies trotz des durch den beidseitigen Zugang verursachten zusätzlichen Weichteilschaden. Das hohe CRPS-Risiko, aber auch der lange Arbeitsausfall müssen bei der Patientenaufklärung berücksichtigt werde