A Teacher’s Toolbox for Building Communication - Among Professionals Who Service Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities

The purpose of this project is to observe and document the communication and collaboration between new special education teachers and veteran support staff; culminating in the creation of a resource, describing effective communication skills and strategies. A quick-reference communication guide will be designed according to the feedback gathered from the professionals within the education field as well as from special education teachers. The data included is applicable to seasoned teachers being relocated to new sites, as well as individuals new to the teaching profession. Initial implementation and access to the guide will be available through the local County Office of Education, Human Resource Department

Magellan/MMIRS near-infrared multi-object spectroscopy of nebular emission from star forming galaxies at 2<z<3

To investigate the ingredients, which allow star-forming galaxies to present Lyalpha line in emission, we studied the kinematics and gas phase metallicity (Z) of the interstellar medium. We used multi-object NIR spectroscopy with Magellan/MMIRS to study nebular emission from z=2-3 star-forming galaxies discovered in 3 MUSYC fields. We detected emission lines from four active galactic nuclei and 13 high-z star-forming galaxies, including Halpha lines down to a flux of 4.E-17 erg/sec/cm^2. This yielded 7 new redshifts. The most common emission line detected is [OIII]5007, which is sensitive to Z. We were able to measure Z for 2 galaxies and to set upper(lower) limits for another 2(2). The Z values are consistent with 0.3<Z/Zsun<1.2. Comparing the Lyalpha central wavelength with the systemic redshift, we find Delta_v(Lyalpha-[OIII])=70-270 km/sec. High-redshift star-forming galaxies, Lyalpha emitting (LAE) galaxies, and Halpha emitters appear to be located in the low mass, high star-formation rate (SFR) region of the SFR versus stellar mass diagram, confirming that they are experiencing burst episodes of star formation, which are building up their stellar mass. Their Zs are consistent with the relation found for z<2.2 galaxies in the Z versus stellar mass plane. The measured Delta_v(Lyalpha-[OIII]) values imply that outflows of material, driven by star formation, could be present in the z=2-3 LAEs of our sample. Comparing with the literature, we note that galaxies with lower Z than ours are also characterized by similar Delta_v(Lyalpha-[OIII]) velocity offsets. Strong [OIII] is detected in many Lyalpha emitters. Therefore, we propose the Lyalpha/[OIII] flux ratio as a tool for the study of high-z galaxies; while influenced by Z, ionization, and Lyalpha radiative transfer in the ISM, it may be possible to calibrate this ratio to primarily trace one of these effects.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, 6 table

The development of a nursing subset of patient problems to support interoperability

Since the emergence of electronic health records, nursing information is increasingly being recorded and stored digitally. Several studies have shown that a wide range of nursing information is not interoperable and cannot be re-used in different health contexts. Difficulties arise when nurses share information with others involved in the delivery of nursing care. The aim of this study is to develop a nursing subset of patient problems that are prevalent in nursing practice, based on the SNOMED CT terminology to assist in the exchange and comparability of nursing information. Explorative qualitative focus groups were used to collect data. Mixed focus groups were defined. Additionally, a nursing researcher and a nursing expert with knowledge of terminologies and a terminologist participated in each focus group. The participants, who work in a range of practical contexts, discussed and reviewed patient problems from various perspectives. Sixty-seven participants divided over seven focus groups selected and defined 119 patient problems. Each patient problem could be documented and coded with a current status or an at-risk status. Sixty-six percent of the patient problems included are covered by the definitions established by the International Classification of Nursing Practice, the reference terminology for nursing practice. For the remainder, definitions from either an official national guideline or a classification were used. Each of the 119 patient problems has a unique SNOMED CT identifier. To support the interoperability of nursing information, a national nursing subset of patient problems based on a terminology (SNOMED CT) has been developed. Using unambiguously defined patient problems is beneficial for clinical nursing practice, because nurses can then compare and exchange information from different settings. A key strength of this study is that nurses were extensively involved in the development process. Further research is required to link or associate nursing patient problems to concepts from a nursing classification with the same meaning

Kolotl.

28 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cm.The monophyly and phylogenetic position of Diplocentrus Peters, 1861, has remained ambiguous since the first published phylogenetic analysis of diplocentrid relationships, in which it was rendered paraphyletic by the placement of exemplar species from two other diplocentrid genera, Bioculus Stahnke, 1968, and Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905. The discovery of two diplocentrids with neobothriotaxic pedipalps, Diplocentrus magnus Beutelspacher and López-Forment, 1991, and Diplocentrus poncei Francke and Quijano-Ravell, 2009, from the central Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacán, respectively, raised further questions about the limits of Diplocentrus. A recent phylogenetic analysis of 29 species of Diplocentrus and five exemplar species of the most closely related genera, based on 95 morphological characters and 4202 aligned nucleotides from DNA sequences of five markers in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, recovered the monophyly of Diplocentrus, excepting two neobothriotaxic species from central Mexico, justifying their removal from Diplocentrus. In the present contribution, Kolotl, n. gen. is created to accommodate the two species, Kolotl magnus (Beutelspacher and López-Forment, 1991), n. comb., and Kolotl poncei (Francke and Quijano-Ravell, 2009), n. comb., and both are redescribed

Development of innovative micropattern gaseous detectors with resistive electrodes and first results of their applications

The paper summarizes our latest progress in the development of newly introduced micro pattern gaseous detectors with resistive electrodes. These resistive electrodes protect the detector and the front-end electronics in case of occasional discharges and thus make the detectors very robust and reliable in operation. As an example, we describe in greater detail a new recently developed GEM-like detector, fully spark-protected with electrodes made of resistive kapton. We discovered that all resistive layers used in these studies (including kapton), that are coated with photosensitive layers, such as CsI, can be used as efficient photo cathodes for detectors operating in a pulse counting mode. We describe the first applications of such detectors combined with CsI or SbCs photo cathodes for the detection of UV photons at room and cryogenic temperatures.Comment: Presented at the 11 Vienna Conference on Instrumentation, February, 200

The Cosmic-Ray Proton and Helium Spectra measured with the CAPRICE98 balloon experiment

A new measurement of the primary cosmic-ray proton and helium fluxes from 3 to 350 GeV was carried out by the balloon-borne CAPRICE experiment in 1998. This experimental setup combines different detector techniques and has excellent particle discrimination capabilities allowing clear particle identification. Our experiment has the capability to determine accurately detector selection efficiencies and systematic errors associated with them. Furthermore, it can check for the first time the energy determined by the magnet spectrometer by using the Cherenkov angle measured by the RICH detector well above 20 GeV/n. The analysis of the primary proton and helium components is described here and the results are compared with other recent measurements using other magnet spectrometers. The observed energy spectra at the top of the atmosphere can be represented by (1.27+-0.09)x10^4 E^(-2.75+-0.02) particles (m^2 GeV sr s)^-1, where E is the kinetic energy, for protons between 20 and 350 GeV and (4.8+-0.8)x10^2 E^(-2.67+-0.06) particles (m^2 GeV nucleon^-1 sr s)^-1, where E is the kinetic energy per nucleon, for helium nuclei between 15 and 150 GeV nucleon^-1.Comment: To be published on Astroparticle Physics (44 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables

Reconstructing palaeoclimate and hydrological fluctuations in the Fezzan Basin (southern Libya) since 130 ka: a catchment-based approach

We propose a novel method to evaluate regional palaeoclimate that can be used to alleviate the problems caused by the discontinuous nature of palaeoenvironmental data found in deserts. The technique involves processing satellite imagery and DEM’s to map past rivers, catchments and evaluate the areas and volumes of palaeolakes. This information is used to determine the new Lake Evaluation Index (LEI) that allows a qualitative estimate of the amount of sediment received by lakes and how long-lived those lakes are. Lakes with considerable longevity and large sediment stores are selected for study. Validation is performed using image interpretation of remote sensing data, UltraGPR surveys and fieldwork. These techniques are also used to identify and study spring deposits and fluvial landforms that provide valuable palaeoclimate information. The method is applied to the Fezzan Basin in southern Libya focusing on the Wadi ash Shati and Wadi el-Agial catchments. Results indicate that the palaeohydrology is accurately mapped except within dune fields. We analysed the sedimentology of the key deposits identified by this methodology, developing a chronology using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating. We find evidence for relatively humid conditions during MIS 5c/d and e, as well as during the early to middle Holocene. Larger lakes and more extensive river systems were present during MIS 5 than are found during the Holocene, suggestive of greater humidity. The Holocene humid period started at ~11 ka and continued until ~5 ka being interrupted by abrupt periods of aridity at ~8.2 ka and ~6 ka that coincide with North Atlantic cooling. After each of these arid events the climate was less humid than previously, suggesting that they were superimposed upon an overall drying trend. The termination of the Holocene humid period in the Sahara has received much scrutiny in recent years, and sediments of Palaeolake Shati provide a continuous record of this. We do not find evidence to support the hypothesis of either sudden or gradual aridification of the Sahara at ~5 ka, instead we find that that aridity started to develop at ~6.5 ka, whereupon the lake levels oscillated until finally drying-up by 5.3 ka. Most of the other lakes in the Fezzan also dried up at ~ 5ka. We suggest that thousands of years of aridification prior to 5 ka shrunk these lakes so that additional aridity at this time led to their final desiccation. Because lakes are prodigious dust sources this mechanism potentially explains the rapid rise in dust flux to the Atlantic at 5 ka, with this final drying being the culmination of longer term aridity, albeit overprinted with considerable climate variability

Selective Earth-Abundant System for CO2 Reduction: Comparing Photo- and Electrocatalytic Processes

The valorization of CO2 via photo- or electrocatalytic reduction constitutes a promising approach toward the sustainable production of fuels or value-added chemicals using intermittent renewable energy sources. For this purpose, molecular catalysts are generally studied independently with respect to the photo- or the electrochemical application, although a unifying approach would be much more effective with respect to the mechanistic understanding and the catalyst optimization. In this context, we present a combined photo- and electrocatalytic study of three Mn diimine catalysts, which demonstrates the synergistic interplay between the two methods. The photochemical part of our study involves the development of a catalytic system containing a heteroleptic Cu photosensitizer and the sacrificial BIH reagent. The system shows exclusive selectivity for CO generation and renders turnover numbers which are among the highest reported thus far within the group of fully earth-abundant photocatalytic systems. The electrochemical part of our investigations complements the mechanistic understanding of the photochemical process and demonstrates that in the present case the sacrificial reagent, the photosensitizer, and the irradiation source can be replaced by the electrode and a weak Brønsted acid. © 2019 American Chemical Society