Who Ya Gonna Call? Networks of Rural School Administrators

When they need help or advice, who are rural school administrators going to call? Relationships among rural school administrators develop into networks that can affect the success of administrators and their schools. Understanding the structure and content of these networks provides insights into how resources, innovations, and communication flow both within and between rural district administrators. Based on network theory and analysis, this study examines the structure, content, and strategic implications of the administrative networks within and across six contiguous rural school districts in the Western United States. Network graphs are included, illustrating both individual district and the combined six-district rural administrator networks. While acquaintance ties and active work ties are evident both within and across districts, relationally embedded ties and greater cohesion of ties are more evident within districts than across districts. Analyses include consideration of administrative assignment, gender, and geographical location of the network structures. Strategic implications of the network structures and content are discussed

Medically attended pediatric influenza during the resurgence of the Victoria lineage of influenza B virus

SummaryObjectivesDuring the 2002–2003 season, a new variant of influenza B co-circulated with influenza A viruses. This study examines the characteristics and outcomes of children with influenza A and B virus infection vs. other acute respiratory illnesses.MethodsA retrospective chart review was performed on children with laboratory-confirmed influenza infection, and influenza negative acute respiratory illnesses that prompted a hospital visit.ResultsChildren with influenza were more often previously healthy and presenting with upper respiratory symptoms, while influenza negative patients typically had underlying medical conditions, and lower respiratory tract disease. Children with influenza B were older, were more likely to be in school, and presented with myositis more frequently than those with influenza A. A third of children with influenza A, and 42% with influenza B required hospitalization. The highest hospitalization rates were in infants under one year. No healthy children, and only 15% of those with chronic medical problems, had received influenza vaccine. Vaccine efficacy was estimated to be 82.6%.ConclusionsMost children with influenza were previously healthy. Overall, a third of children with influenza required hospitalization. Influenza A and B were clinically indistinguishable, except for older age and higher incidence of myositis in patients with influenza B. Influenza vaccine coverage in both healthy and high-risk children was low

Investigation on the Use of a FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) Camera to Detect Relationships Between Internal and Surface Temperatures of Beef Carcasses During Chilling

The objective of this study was to collect preliminary data on the efficacy of using thermal imaging technology as a means to assess beef carcass chilling

Influence of Post-harvest Circulatory Rinse on Tenderness and Objective Color of Cow Striploin Steaks

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of a post-harvest rinse of an isotonic solution through the circulatory system on tenderness of steaks from cows

What do people do with porn? qualitative research into the consumption, use and experience of pornography and other sexually explicit media

This article reviews qualitative research into the consumption of pornography and other sexually explicit media emerging from a range of subject areas. Taking a critique of quantitative methods and a focus on measuring sexual effects and attitudes as a starting point, it considers the proposition that qualitative work is more suited to an examination of the complex social, cultural and political constructions of sexuality. Examining studies into the way men, women and young people see, experience, and use explicit media texts, the article identifies the key findings that have emerged. Qualitative work shows that sexuality explicit media texts are experienced and understood in a variety of ways and evoke strong and often contradictory reactions, not all of which are represented in public debates about pornography. These texts function in a range of different ways, depending on context; as a source of knowledge, a resource for intimate practices, a site for identity construction, and an occasion for performing gender and sexuality. The article reviews these studies and their findings, identifying what they suggest about directions for future research, both in terms of developing methodology and refining approaches to sexuality and media consumption.</p

Inductively coupled plasma etching of nano-patterned sapphire for flip-chip GaN light emitting diode applications

The flip-chip configuration is employed for the production of high-brightness GaN-based light emitting diodes to improve the extraction of heat. A lithographic approach based on a sacrificial SiO2 nanosphere etch mask was developed to enhance the external extraction of light from the sapphire substrate. Closed-packed arrays of SiO2 nanospheres were prepared by a simple solution-based method on the sapphire substrate. Subsequent dry-etching via inductively coupled plasma using a gas mixture of BCl3 and Cl2 transferred a pattern into the sapphire substrate with the lowest etching at the center of the SiO2 nanosphere. This process created an array of circular cones in the surface of the sapphire that were found to be effective in enhancing the light extraction efficiency through multi-photon scatterings. Room temperature photoluminescence exhibited an increase of 22.5% in intensity after the surface of sapphire was textured

Controlling trapping potentials and stray electric fields in a microfabricated ion trap through design and compensation

Recent advances in quantum information processing with trapped ions have demonstrated the need for new ion trap architectures capable of holding and manipulating chains of many (>10) ions. Here we present the design and detailed characterization of a new linear trap, microfabricated with scalable complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) techniques, that is well-suited to this challenge. Forty-four individually controlled DC electrodes provide the many degrees of freedom required to construct anharmonic potential wells, shuttle ions, merge and split ion chains, precisely tune secular mode frequencies, and adjust the orientation of trap axes. Microfabricated capacitors on DC electrodes suppress radio-frequency pickup and excess micromotion, while a top-level ground layer simplifies modeling of electric fields and protects trap structures underneath. A localized aperture in the substrate provides access to the trapping region from an oven below, permitting deterministic loading of particular isotopic/elemental sequences via species-selective photoionization. The shapes of the aperture and radio-frequency electrodes are optimized to minimize perturbation of the trapping pseudopotential. Laboratory experiments verify simulated potentials and characterize trapping lifetimes, stray electric fields, and ion heating rates, while measurement and cancellation of spatially-varying stray electric fields permits the formation of nearly-equally spaced ion chains.Comment: 17 pages (including references), 7 figure

Internal Temperature Decline Rate in Beef Primals is Reduced in Heavier Carcasses

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of increasing beef hot carcass weights on internal temperature decline during chilling

Comparison of the physical, chemical and electrical properties of ALD Al2O3 on c- and m-plane GaN

This study compares the physical, chemical and electrical properties of Al[subscript 2]O[subscript 3] thin films deposited on gallium polar c- and nonpolar m -plane GaN substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Correlations were sought between the film's structure, composition, and electrical properties. The thickness of the Al[subscript 2]O[subscript 3] films was 19.2 nm as determined from a Si witness sample by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The gate dielectric was slightly aluminum-rich (Al:O=1:1.3) as measured from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profile, and the oxide-semiconductor interface carbon concentration was lower on c -plane GaN. The oxide's surface morphology was similar on both substrates, but was smoothest on c -plane GaN as determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Circular capacitors (50-300 μm diameter) with Ni/Au (20/100 nm) metal contacts on top of the oxide were created by standard photolithography and e-beam evaporation methods to form metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs). The alumina deposited on c -plane GaN showed less hysteresis (0.15 V) than on m -plane GaN (0.24 V) in capacitance-voltage (CV) characteristics, consistent with its better quality of this dielectric as evidenced by negligible carbon contamination and smooth oxide surface. These results demonstrate the promising potential of ALD Al[subscript 2]O[subscript 3] on c -plane GaN, but further optimization of ALD is required to realize the best properties of Al[subscript 2]O[subscript 3] on m -plane GaN