Cretaceous Stratigraphy of the Belvidere Area, Kiowa County, Kansas

The Belvidere area comprises about 100 square miles in southeastern Kiowa County, Kansas, located at the eastern edge of the High Plains. This is the type area for the Comanchean series of Early Cretaceous age as developed in Kansas and includes the type localities for 17 group, formation, and member names. Only two of these names--Cheyenne sandstone and Kiowa shale--have come into general use, however. The development of present classification of the Cretaceous rocks in southern Kansas is reviewed and a detailed description of the Cretaceous formations exposed in the Belvidere area is given. Sandstone, sandy shale, and conglomerate belonging to the Cheyenne sandstone are the oldest Cretaceous rocks known in Kansas. They are of continental origin and were deposited on the eroded surface of various Permian rocks. The thickness of the Cheyenne sandstone in the Belvidere area ranges from 32 to 94 feet. Conformably overlying the Cheyenne is the Kiowa shale, which comprises nearly 300 feet of marine shale, thin sandstone, and fossiliferous limestone. Beds of iron-cemented sandstone, light-colored clay, and shale containing fossil plants that overlie the Kiowa shale in the upper part of the Medicine Lodge Valley are assigned to the Dakota (?) formation. The contact between Kiowa and Dakota (?) beds, which is presumed to divide the Comanchean from the succeeding Gulfian series, is difficult to determine in most places for the two formations are conformable and gradational. In places the contact is represented by a transition zone in which rocks having predominantly marine characteristics are interbedded with rocks having predominantly continental characteristics. The line between the two formations in Kansas is arbitrarily placed at the top of the highest bed of marine origin

Cracking the Code of Distributed Leadership: New Insights from a Study of Leader Practitioners

The landscape of distributed leadership has become littered with conceptual confusion. Spillane (2006) provided the foundation for a theory of distributed leadership by defining three conceptual forms: Collaborative, collective and coordinated. Despite its widespread intuitive appeal, traditional epistemological methods have hampered efforts to operationalize these distinct forms of leadership in practice. Cluster analysis provides an alternative method of analysis, revealing construct clarity by linking specific leadership and influence behaviors reported by middle-managers to each form of distributed leadership. Several forms of differentiated integration emerged from analysis, revealing more complexity than previously surmised and yielding a Model of Differentiated Leadership Integration

The effects of regional insolation differences upon advanced solar thermal electric power plant performance and energy costs

The performance and cost of the 10 MWe advanced solar thermal electric power plants sited in various regions of the continental United States were determined. The regional insolation data base is discussed. A range for the forecast cost of conventional electricity by region and nationally over the next several cades are presented

The effects of regional insolation differences upon advanced solar thermal electric power plant performance and energy costs

The performance and cost of four 10 MWe advanced solar thermal electric power plants sited in various regions of the continental United States was studied. Each region has different insolation characteristics which result in varying collector field areas, plant performance, capital costs and energy costs. The regional variation in solar plant performance was assessed in relation to the expected rise in the future cost of residential and commercial electricity supplied by conventional utility power systems in the same regions. A discussion of the regional insolation data base is presented along with a description of the solar systems performance and costs. A range for the forecast cost of conventional electricity by region and nationally over the next several decades is given

Sources of Motivation and Work Engagement: A Cross-Industry Analysis of Differentiated Profiles

This cross-industry study tested four theoretical propositions derived from a meta-theory of motivation. Multidimensional assessment utilized to deconstruct five self-based sources of motivation predicted engagement among employees in two disparate industries. Significant differences emerged on four of five motivational sources, and predicted levels of engagement among educators and manufacturing employees. Covariate analysis explored the impact of gender, educational attainment and industry tenure as moderating factors. Dominant source analysis was introduced as an alternative approach to exploring workers’ dispositional sources of motivation. Results substantiate the predictive utility of differential motivational profiles and the stability of motivational sources over years of tenure

Ohio’s College Credit Plus Program: Participants’ First-Year College Performance

This exploratory study assessed the relationship between participation in Ohio’s College Credit Plus (CCP) program and subsequent first-year GPA following college or university matriculation. Positive correlations were found between first-year cumulative GPA and all three dimensions of the CCP program assessed: credit hours completed, number of general education courses taken, and number of career pathway courses taken. Regression analysis found general education courses accounted for more variance in first-year GPA than career path courses, although the Fischer’s Z-test for an interaction effect was not significant. Interpretation of results emphasizes the need for comparative and longitudinal follow-up studies to establish causality

Different assessment tasks produce different estimates of handedness stability during the eight to 14 month age period

Using 150 infants (57% males), two common tasks for assessing infant hand-use preferences for acquiring objects were compared for their ability to detect stable preferences during the age period of eight to 14 months. One task assesses the preference using nine presentations of objects; the other uses 32 presentations. Monthly classifications of hand preference for each task were determined by either a commonly used a decision criterion in which one hand is used 50% more often than the other or a criterion based on proportion of hand-use difference that exceeds a conventional alpha probability of 0.05. The seven monthly assessments provided by the two tasks also were examined for latent classes in their developmental trajectories. The two tasks were significantly different for both their identification of latent classes and their monthly classification of the infant’s hand-use preference. The 32 presentations yielded three developmental trajectories (45% right preferring, 5% left preferring, and 50% no clear preference) whereas the nine presentations revealed only two trajectories (70% right, 30% no preference). The nine presentations task, with the 50% proportion decision criterion, was very generous in classifying right and left-preferring infants at each month but produced greater fluctuations across months compared to the 32 presentation task with an alpha decision criterion. Both tasks revealed that a large proportion of infants are still developing a hand-use preference during this age period. Recommendations are made for examining the development of hand-use preferences and their relation to the development of other neuropsychological functions

An attempt to optimize the outcome of penetrating keratoplasty in congenital aniridia-associated keratopathy (AAK)

Purpose To propose an optimized microsurgical and medical approach to reduce the risk of complications after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in patients with aniridia-associated keratopathy (AAK). Methods Retrospective observational case series of 25 PKP performed in 16 patients with AAK. Preoperative indications were endothelial decompensation and vascularized scars (68%) or graft failure (32%) due to limbal stem cell deficiency. The optimized approach included a combination of a small corneal graft size (around 7.0 mm), interrupted 10–0nylon sutures, simultaneous AMT as a patch, large bandage contact lens, temporary lateral tarsorrhaphy, postoperative autologous serum eye drops, and systemic immunosuppression. Main outcome measures included: visual acuity, transplant survival, and complications encountered during follow-up of 107 weeks on average. Results A complete modified keratoplasty scheme was used in 10 of 25 PKP (group 1), while at least one of the modifications was missing in the other 15 PKP (group 2). After 8 weeks of follow-up, the epithelium was closed in 23 eyes. Visual acuity improved in 19 eyes at 6 months of follow-up, and remained stable in six eyes. None of the eyes showed a decrease in visual acuity. At the last post-operative follow-up, this visual improvement persisted in 14 eyes and graft survival rate after 156 weeks (3 years) was 69% in group 1 versus 44% in group 2 (p = 0.39, log-rank test). Secondary corneal neovascularization (8%), scarring (4%), ulcer (4%), or graft rejection (8%) happened mostly in the second group which was missing at least one of the suggested modifications. Conclusions PKP in congenital aniridia must be considered as a high-risk keratoplasty. An optimized therapeutic approach seems to be promising in order to reduce the postoperative complication rate in these most difficult eyes

Changes in risk behaviours and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections following HIV preventive interventions among female sex workers in five districts in Karnataka state, south India

OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of a large-scale HIV prevention programme for female sex workers (FSW) in Karnataka state, south India, on the prevalence of HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STI), condom use and programme coverage. METHODS: Baseline and follow-up integrated biological and behavioural surveys were conducted on random samples of FSW in five districts in Karnataka between 2004 and 2009. RESULTS: 4712 FSW participated in the study (baseline 2312; follow-up 2400), with follow-up surveys conducted 28-37 months after baseline. By follow-up, over 85% of FSW reported contact by a peer educator and having visited a project STI clinic. Compared with baseline, there were reductions in the prevalence of HIV (19.6% vs 16.4%, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.81, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.99, p=0.04); high-titre syphilis (5.9% vs 3.4%, AOR 0.53, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.77, p=0.001); and chlamydia and/or gonorrhoea (8.9% vs 7.0%, AOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.94, p=0.02). Reported condom use at last sex increased significantly for repeat clients (66.1% vs 84.1%, AOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.58 to 2.48, p<0.001) and marginally for occasional clients (82.9% vs 88.0%, AOR 1.22, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.66, p=0.2), but remained stable for regular partners (32%). Compared with street and home-based FSW, brothel-based FSW were at highest risk of HIV and STI, despite high levels of reported condom use. CONCLUSIONS: This large-scale HIV prevention programme for FSW achieved reductions in HIV and STI prevalence, high rates of condom use with clients and high rates of programme coverage. Improved strategies to increase condom use with regular partners and reduce the vulnerability of brothel-based FSW to HIV are required

Harnessing nuclear spin polarization fluctuations in a semiconductor nanowire

Soon after the first measurements of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in a condensed matter system, Bloch predicted the presence of statistical fluctuations proportional to $1/\sqrt{N}$ in the polarization of an ensemble of $N$ spins. First observed by Sleator et al., so-called "spin noise" has recently emerged as a critical ingredient in nanometer-scale magnetic resonance imaging (nanoMRI). This prominence is a direct result of MRI resolution improving to better than 100 nm^3, a size-scale in which statistical spin fluctuations begin to dominate the polarization dynamics. We demonstrate a technique that creates spin order in nanometer-scale ensembles of nuclear spins by harnessing these fluctuations to produce polarizations both larger and narrower than the natural thermal distribution. We focus on ensembles containing ~10^6 phosphorus and hydrogen spins associated with single InP and GaP nanowires (NWs) and their hydrogen-containing adsorbate layers. We monitor, control, and capture fluctuations in the ensemble's spin polarization in real-time and store them for extended periods. This selective capture of large polarization fluctuations may provide a route for enhancing the weak magnetic signals produced by nanometer-scale volumes of nuclear spins. The scheme may also prove useful for initializing the nuclear hyperfine field of electron spin qubits in the solid-state.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure