Inclusion: influencing attitudes through training, collaboration, and support

The purpose of this study was to examine the current attitudes towards inclusion of kindergarten through 5th grade general education teachers and paraprofessionals in a small New Jersey school district. Participants were surveyed using the MATIES, Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale. An attempt was made to influence the attitudes of those teachers and paraprofessionals through a brief series of interventions that included in-service training, collaboration between the researcher, teachers and paraprofessionals, and the provision of support to teachers in areas where they expressed a specific need. After the intervention, participants were resurveyed to determine if a change in attitudes had taken place. Three subscales were obtained. They measured cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitudes. The full score of the MATIES revealed that attitudes had improved as a result of the intervention, and analysis of the subscales indicated that this improvement had occurred specifically in cognitive and affective attitudes, but not in behavioral attitudes. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed

Domestic Relations - Post-Separation Sexual Intercourse Precludes Enforcement of Agreement Requiring Parties to Live Separate and Apart - Higgins v. Higgins

This Note will identify how the majority in Higgins analyzed prior case law to derive a legal definition for the term separate and apart. This Note will also serve as a caveat to the legal community. The Higgins decision resulted from the couple\u27s failure to abide by the terms of a condition precedent that had been inserted into a property settlement provision of the separation agreement. The decision should be confined to its narrow facts. The case does however deserve close scrutiny. Application by subsequent courts of the Higgins ruling as precedent for the proposition that isolated acts of sexual intercourse destroy an entire separation agreement would seriously undermine legislative enactments and wreak havoc with regard to executed provisions of separation agreements

Torches, Thieves, and Tinder: Recurring Themes in Mythical Origins of Fire

Fire is one of the basic forces of the world. We cook with it, we see with it, and we use it for just about everything central to our lives. But how did we get it? Fire can be stolen or gifted, clutched in claws or carried in hands. Myths regarding the origin of fire help to explain some of the potential thoughts and reasoning that we can find globally, to understand what people were thinking about fire around the world. Eighteen origin of fire myths from around the world were examined using content analysis methodology to discover similarities across stories. Findings include the possible reasons behind the theft of fire, an examination of why theft might be lightly punished, and the roles of animals in fire myths.Master of Science in Library Scienc

PCB Layer Optimization of Planar Medium Frequency Transformer for On-Board EV Chargers

Planar medium frequency transformer (MFT) is a promising solution for on-board electric vehicle (EV) chargers, to achieve high power density and high efficiency. The trend towards higher power densities and higher efficiencies exposes a number of limitations on conventional litz wire transformers, especially for increasing the current density. Litz wire current density is limited by the temperature, due to poor thermal management capabilities. PCBs, however, have better thermal management capabilities, which allows for higher current densities. This paper optimizes planar MFT windings focusing on maximizing current density and the simplicity of the implementation. The losses, power density and thermal constraints are investigated and a pareto-front is created based on optimal solutions. High efficiency and power densities are achieved from 2D/3D FEM simulations. A solution within thermal constraints is selected and a prototype is built based on similar ratings. Tests with different current densities are carried out on the prototype and the temperatures are compared. The results verify that planar MFT with high current densities are feasible solutions for high efficiency and high power density MFTs

The overlooked role of a biotin precursor for marine bacteria - desthiobiotin as an escape route for biotin auxotrophy

AbstractBiotin (vitamin B7) is involved in a wide range of essential biochemical reactions and a crucial micronutrient that is vital for many pro- and eukaryotic organisms. The few biotin measurements in the world’s oceans show that availability is subject to strong fluctuations. Numerous marine microorganisms exhibit biotin auxotrophy and therefore rely on supply by other organisms. Desthiobiotin is the primary precursor of biotin and has recently been detected at concentrations similar to biotin in seawater. The last enzymatic reaction in the biotin biosynthetic pathway converts desthiobiotin to biotin via the biotin synthase (BioB). The role of desthiobiotin as a precursor of biotin synthesis in microbial systems, however, is largely unknown. Here we demonstrate experimentally that bacteria can overcome biotin auxotrophy if they retain the bioB gene and desthiobiotin is available. A genomic search of 1068 bacteria predicts that the biotin biosynthetic potential varies greatly among different phylogenetic groups and that 20% encode solely bioB and thus can potentially overcome biotin auxotrophy. Many Actino- and Alphaproteobacteria cannot synthesize biotin de novo, but some possess solely bioB, whereas the vast majority of Gammaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia exhibit the last four crucial biotin synthesis genes. We detected high intra- and extracellular concentrations of the precursor relative to biotin in the prototrophic bacterium, Vibrio campbellii, with extracellular desthiobiotin reaching up to 1.09 ± 0.15*106 molecules per cell during exponential growth. Our results provide evidence for the ecological role of desthiobiotin as an escape route to overcome biotin auxotrophy for bacteria in the ocean and presumably in other ecosystems.</jats:p

Changes in Serum Electrolytes, Urea, and Creatinine in Aloe Vera-treated Rats

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of Aloe vera extract (AvE) on serum electrolytes, urea, and creatinine as indices of renal function in Sprague-Dawley rats. Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 80 and 130 g were used. Rats were divided into two groups: The control and the test groups (n=6). The test group received 1 ml of AvE daily for 28 days. Both the groups fed on standard rat chow and water ad libitum. The results showed a decrease in serum levels of sodium, and potassium, but an increase in the serum levels of bicarbonate, urea, and creatinine in the test group. The changes seen were, however, statistically insignificant, except for the serum levels of sodium and creatinine (P<0.05). It is thus concluded that AvE impairs renal handling of electrolytes with consequent hyponatremia and hypercreatinemia. However, this might be of therapeutic value in conditions associated with hypernatremia

Plasma, tissue and urinary levels of aloin in rats after the administration of pure aloin

Aloin is a physiologically active anthraquinone present in aloe. There are two isomers of aloin, aloin A and aloin B, occurring as a mixture of diastereomers. The objective of this study was to determine the bioavailability and tissue distribution of aloin. Rats were gavaged with 11.8g/kg aloin, and the levels of aloin and its conjugates were measured in plasma, tissues, and urine. Plasma aloin level showed a peak at 1hr after the administration and the concentration was 59.07±10.5 ng/ml. The 24 h cumulated urinary aloin was 0.03% of the initial dose. These results suggest that aloin is absorbed and reaches a peak plasma level within 1-1.5 h after the administration and a significant portion is possibly metabolized or is excreted in feces. These results can apply to the determination of the adequate intake level of aloe and aloe products to achieve the desired biological effect, and to interprete in vitro study results

Inner ear pressure evaluation using wideband tympanometry in children with Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome (LVAS): A pilot study

Objective To investigate middle ear function in children with Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome (LVAS) to explore the feasibility of measuring inner ear pressure using Wideband tympanometry (WBT). Methods 13 young children with LVAS were recruited. WBT and other audiological measurements i.e., Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR), Auditory Brain Stem Response (ABR), and Distorted Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE) were performed. Absorbance under ambient and peak pressure were compared with normative data, and analyzed using a one sample t-test. Results Average absorbance in children with LVAS was significantly lower than normative data under ambient pressure at 1000, 1189, 1296, 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz. Absorbance under peak pressure was also significantly lower at 707, 794, 917, 1000, 1189, 1297, 1498 and 2000 Hz. However, absorbance was higher than standard values above 4000 Hz under ambient and peak pressure. It was also higher under ambient pressure at frequencies below 500 Hz. Conclusion The special characteristics of middle ear function found in children with Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome (LVAS) indicate that WBT offers a sensitive and non-invasive method to evaluate inner ear pressure indirectly

Comparaison entre l'Avare de Molière et l'Aululaire de Plaute

Groo

Domestic Relations - Post-Separation Sexual Intercourse Precludes Enforcement of Agreement Requiring Parties to Live Separate and Apart - Higgins v. Higgins

This Note will identify how the majority in Higgins analyzed prior case law to derive a legal definition for the term separate and apart. This Note will also serve as a caveat to the legal community. The Higgins decision resulted from the couple\u27s failure to abide by the terms of a condition precedent that had been inserted into a property settlement provision of the separation agreement. The decision should be confined to its narrow facts. The case does however deserve close scrutiny. Application by subsequent courts of the Higgins ruling as precedent for the proposition that isolated acts of sexual intercourse destroy an entire separation agreement would seriously undermine legislative enactments and wreak havoc with regard to executed provisions of separation agreements