Identification and discussion of selected Roman objects. In: Cook, Martin, Lawson, John A and McLaren, Dawn, 'Excavations and Interventions in and around Cramond Roman Fort and Annexe, 1976 to 1990'. Scottish Archaeology Internet Report 74

Cramond Roman Fort has been the focus of archaeological interest since the publication of John Wood’s history of the parish in the late 18th century, with a floruit of activity in the latter half of the 20th century. Playing an important part in this volume of work have been the excavations led by the late Mr Charlie Hoy (d 1991), an Edinburgh amateur archaeologist working principally with the Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society and latterly on his own. His excavations have recovered a wide range of evidence from the Mesolithic through the Roman and medieval periods up to the post-medieval development of Cramond House Estate. Hoy’s investigations have been hugely important to our understanding of the Roman fort’s associated annexe/extramural settlement, in particular providing new evidence for its origins in the Antonine period, and for Severan occupation, as well as uncovering a multi-phased road and associated wooden structures. In addition, the artefact assemblage further adds to the corpus from the site and includes an internationally significant sword pendant belonging to a beneficiarius (beneficiarii were troops on special service for the provincial governor) that demonstrates the presence of German troops at the fort, and perhaps hints at the presence of the emperor himself

Effect of Preventive Home Visits by a Nurse on the Outcomes of Frail Elderly People in the Community: a randomized controlled trial

Background: Timely recognition and prevention of health problems among elderly people have been shown to improve their health. In this randomized controlled trial the authors examined the impact of preventive home visits by a nurse compared with usual care on the outcomes of frail elderly people living in the community. Methods: A screening questionnaire identified eligible participants (those aged 70 years or more at risk of sudden deterioration in health). Those randomly assigned to the visiting nurse group were assessed and followed up in their homes for 14 months. The primary outcome measure was the combined rate of deaths and admissions to an institution, and the secondary outcome measure the rate of health services utilization, during the 14 months; these rates were determined through a medical chart audit by a research nurse who was blind to group allocation. Results: The questionnaire was mailed to 415 elderly people, of whom 369 (88.9%) responded. Of these, 198 (53.7%) were eligible, and 142 consented to participate and were randomly assigned to either the visiting nurse group (73) or the usual care group (69). The combined rate of deaths and admissions to an institution was 10.0% in the visiting nurse group and 5.8% in the usual care group (p = 0.52). The rate of health services utilization did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Influenza and pneumonia vaccination rates were significantly higher in the visiting nurse group (90.1% and 81.9%) than in the usual care group (53.0% and 0%) (p \u3c 0.001). Interpretation: The trial failed to show any effect of a visiting nurse other than vastly improved vaccination coverage

Screening Seniors for Risk of Functional Decline: Results of a Survey in Family Practice

To measure functional status, determine risk of functional decline and assess consistency between responses and standardized instruments. Design: A mailed survey which measured functional impairment, recent hospitalization and bereavement. A positive response on at least one of these factors indicated that the individual was “at risk” for functional decline. A random sample (n=73) of “at risk” subjects (specifically, family practice patients aged 70 and older) were assessed by a nurse. Results: The response rate was 89% (369/415), 59% of seniors were female and the mean age was 77.1 (SD=5.5) years. Self-reported risk, based on activities of daily living (ADLs), was associated with impairment in at least one basic ADL (p\u3c0.0005) using a standardized instrument. The positive predictive value of the survey for ADL impairment was 65%. Conclusion: Response to a mailed survey was high and self-reported ADL risks were consistent with findings from standardized assessment tools

Using a Virtual Reality Environment to Train Special Educators Working with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Implement Discrete Trial Teaching

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing disability category receiving special education services in schools with a current prevalence rate of 1 in 68 children in the United States, a 30% increase since 2012. Teachers of students with ASD and other disabilities are encouraged by law to use evidence-based practices (EBPs). In order to be effective, special educators must be knowledgeable about and able to implement EBPs that address disability-specific needs so they can provide intensive, explicit instruction within the broader general education curriculum. Both the National Professional Development Center on ASD and the National Autism Center identified Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) as an EBP for students with ASD. DTT uses small repetitive steps to teach concepts in a planned, controlled, systematic one-to-one format where educators pair positive reinforcement with clear contingencies and repetition to teach a variety of new skills. Computer-simulated environments offer one method of training teachers in the area of EBPs without practicing on actual students. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of a didactic training alone (simulating a traditional professional development), and the effects of adding coaching in a virtual reality environment (i.e., TLE TeachLivE™), on special educators’ implementation fidelity with DTT in their classrooms with students with ASD. Five in-service special educators who had previous DTT training but were still not implementing the EBP with fidelity participated in the study. Results suggest the didactic training alone was not sufficient to bring special educators to fidelity of implementation with DTT but after one one-hour session in TLE TeachLivE™, participants were able to implement DTT with fidelity in their own classrooms. Special educators maintained their fidelity of implementation up to eight weeks after the conclusion of the intervention. Therefore, coaching in a virtual reality environment following a didactic training was effective in training special educators to implement an EBP with high levels of fidelity in their own classrooms with students with ASD, demonstrating skill transferability and retention

Traditional vs modern:Role of breed type in determining enteric methane emissions from cattle grazing as part of contrasting grassland-based systems

Ruminant livestock turn forages and poor-quality feeds into human edible products, but enteric methane (CH4) emissions from ruminants are a significant contributor to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and hence to climate change. Despite the predominance of pasture-based beef production systems in many parts of Europe there are little data available regarding enteric CH4 emissions from free-ranging grazing cattle. It is possible that differences in physiology or behaviour could influence comparative emissions intensities for traditional and modern breed types depending on the nutritional characteristics of the herbage grazed. This study investigated the role of breed type in influencing CH4 emissions from growing beef steers managed on contrasting grasslands typical of intensive (lowland) and extensive (upland) production systems. Using the SF6 dilution technique CH4 emissions were estimated for a modern, fast-growing crossbred (Limousin cross) and a smaller and hardier native breed (Welsh Black) when grazing lowland perennial ryegrass (high nutritional density, low sward heterogeneity) and semi-improved upland pasture (low/medium nutritional density, high sward heterogeneity). Live-weight gain was substantially lower for steers on the upland system compared to the lowland system (0.31 vs. 1.04 kg d-1; s.e.d. = 0.085 kg d-1; P<0.001), leading to significant differences in estimated dry matter intakes (8.0 vs. 11.1 kg DM d-1 for upland and lowland respectively; s.e.d. = 0.68 kg DM d-1; P<0.001). While emissions per unit feed intake were similar for the lowland and upland systems, CH4 emissions per unit of live-weight gain (LWG) were substantially higher when the steers grazed the poorer quality hill pasture (760 vs 214 g kg-1 LWG; s.e.d. = 133.5 g kg-1 LWG; P<0.001). Overall any effects of breed type were relatively small relative to the combined influence of pasture type and location

Monitoring LMXBs with the Faulkes Telescopes

We have been undertaking a monitoring project of 13 low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) using FT North since early 2006. The introduction of FT South has allowed us to extend this monitoring to include 15 southern hemisphere LMXBs. With new instrumentation, we also intend to expand this monitoring to include both infrared wavelengths and spectroscopy.Comment: Conference proceedings from 'A Population Explosion: The Nature and Evolution of X-ray Binaries in Diverse Environments', 28 Oct - 2 Nov, St. Petersburg Beach, FL. 3 pages, 3 figure