Planning for Middle Level Clinical Experiences During a Crisis

This article describes the trials and tribulations that a middle level education program faced during the global pandemic and recommendations that others can take away from these experiences. The provided suggestions for middle level teacher education programs are specifically for the current pandemic, but can be used for other disasters as well. We advocate that educator preparation programs develop a plan to deal with possible school closers or other disruptions to their field placements to prepare for the next disaster. Some of the recommendations include: (a) create an emergency plan, (b) cultivate relationships, (c) prepare your candidates in the best practices of online teaching and educate them about online teaching platforms, (d) focus on the well-being of the candidates and not just ensuring that they complete the requirements, (e) consider relationship building skills when hiring field supervisors, (f) include strategies that help candidates understand how to deal with stress into your curriculum, and (g) adjust to situations on a case-to-case basis

Clouds Toward the Virgo Cluster Periphery: Gas-rich Optically Inert Galaxies

Aperture synthesis observations of two HI cloud complexes located in the periphery of the Virgo galaxy cluster are presented. These low HI-mass clouds ($M_{HI}<$ 10$^{9}$) are seen projected on the M region of the western Virgo cluster, where the galaxy population is thought to lie behind the main A cluster surrounding M87. The kinematic measurements of both unresolved Arecibo and resolved VLA-C observations are in good agreement. The HI detections cannot be identified with any optical, IR, or UV emission from available archival imaging. They are inert at these wavelengths. The HI masses of the individual VLA detections range from 7.28 $\leq$ log($M_{HI}) \leq$ 7.85. The total dynamical mass estimates are several times their HI content, ranging from 7.00 $\leq$ log($M_{dyn}) \leq$ 9.07, with the assumption that the clouds are self-gravitating and in dynamical equilibrium. We report the observed parameters derived from the VLA observations. One of these HI clouds appears to be the most isolated optically inert detection observed in the outer reaches of Virgo.Comment: 20 pages, 6 tables, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Stretching from Punch Card/Programming to Business Data Processing to Business Information Systems

The world’s oldest undergraduate degree program in data processing and information systems at Mississippi State University turned fifty years old in 2013. In this paper, we review the pioneering activities of the program’s founder, Charles Moore, and provide insights into his foresight about the potential importance of information systems to business organizations. We explain how the program’s founding marked a shift in the epistemological view of information systems education in the mid-1960s. We show the course offerings of business data processing and information systems and the timeline at MSU over the past five decades. We also share how his efforts are instilled in the continuing development of the business information systems program at Mississippi State University to this day

The Challenge of Integrating Renewable Generation in the Alberta Electricity Market

Renewable electric generation is forecast to enjoy an increasing share of total capacity and supply regimes in the future. Alberta is no exception to this trend, having initiated policy incentives in response to calls for increasing the fraction of wind and solar energy available to the province over the next decade.1 This call is coming from various sectors including advocacy groups, the provincial government and some utilities. The University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy convened a roundtable discussion on Sept. 15, 2015. Given the wide-ranging aspects of increased renewables integration (for example the policy options, economic forces and engineering/technical issues) the topic demands attention from a wide range of experts and stakeholders. To that end, we endeavoured to group expert panellists and representatives of utilities, public agencies, academe and consumer groups to consider the planning necessary to integrate new renewable capacity into the existing and future grid system in the province and its potential impact. The purpose of the roundtable was to facilitate and foster a knowledge exchange between interested and knowledgeable parties while also aggregating this knowledge into a more complete picture of the challenges and potential strategies associated with increased renewables integration in the Alberta electricity grid

Are Newly Discovered HI High Velocity Clouds Minihalos in the Local Group?

A set of HI sources extracted from the north Galactic polar region by the ongoing ALFALFA survey has properties that are consistent with the interpretation that they are associated with isolated minihalos in the outskirts of the Local Group (LG). Unlike objects detected by previous surveys, such as the Compact High Velocity Clouds of Braun & Burton (1999), the HI clouds found by ALFALFA do not violate any structural requirements or halo scaling laws of the LambdaCDM structure paradigm, nor would they have been detected by extant HI surveys of nearby galaxy groups other than the LG. At a distance of d Mpc, their HI masses range between $5 x 10^4 d^2 and 10^6 d^2 solar and their HI radii between <0.4d and 1.6 d kpc. If they are parts of gravitationally bound halos, the total masses would be on order of 10^8--10^9 solar, their baryonic content would be signifcantly smaller than the cosmic fraction of 0.16 and present in a ionized gas phase of mass well exceeding that of the neutral phase. This study does not however prove that the minihalo interpretation is unique. Among possible alternatives would be that the clouds are shreds of the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; to appear Ap.J. Letter

Environmental conditions at the South Col of Mount Everest and their impact on hypoxia and hypothermia experienced by mountaineers

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia and hypothermia are acknowledged risk factors for those who venture into high-altitude regions. There is, however, little in situ data that can be used to quantify these risks. Here, we use 7 months of continuous meteorological data collected at the South Col of Mount Everest (elevation 7,896 m above sea level) to provide the first in situ characterization of these risks near the summit of Mount Everest. METHODS: This is accomplished through the analysis of barometric pressure, temperature and wind speed data collected by an automatic weather station installed at the South Col. These data were also used as inputs to parameterizations of wind chill equivalent temperature (WCT) and facial frostbite time (FFT). RESULTS: The meteorological data show clear evidence of seasonality, with evidence of pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon conditions. Low pressures, cold temperatures and high wind speeds characterize the pre- and post-monsoon periods with significant variability associated with the passage of large-scale weather systems. In contrast, the monsoon period is characterized by higher pressures, warmer temperatures and lower wind speeds with a pronounced reduction in variability. These environmental conditions are reflected in WCTs as low as −50°C and FFTs as short as 2 min during the pre- and post-monsoon periods. During the monsoon, the risk of cold injury is reduced with WCTs of order −20°C and FFTs longer than 60 min. The daily cycle in the various parameters is also investigated in order to assess the changes in conditions that would be experienced during a typical summit day. The post-monsoon period in particular shows a muted daily cycle in most parameters that is proposed to be the result of the random timing of large-scale weather systems. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide the first in situ characterization of the risk of hypoxia and hypothermia on Mount Everest on daily, weekly and seasonal timescales, and provide additional confirmation as to the extreme environment experienced by those attempting to summit Mount Everest and other high Himalayan mountains

Water mass transformation in the Iceland Sea

The water mass transformation that takes place in the Iceland Sea during winter is investigated using historical hydrographic data and atmospheric reanalysis fields. Surface densities exceeding σθ ¼ 27:8 kg=m3, and hence of sufficient density to contribute to the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation via the overflows across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, exist throughout the interior Iceland Sea east of the Kolbeinsey Ridge at the end of winter. The deepest and densest mixed layers are found in the northwest Iceland Sea on the outskirts of the basin׳s cyclonic gyre, largely determined by stronger atmospheric forcing near the ice edge. Much of the accumulated wintertime heat loss in that region takes place during a few extreme cold air outbreak events. Only a small number of hydrographic profiles (2%) recorded mixed layers sufficiently dense to supply the deepest part of the North Icelandic Jet, a current along the slope off northern Iceland that advects overflow water into the Denmark Strait. However, low values of potential vorticity at depth indicate that waters of this density class may be ventilated more regularly than the direct observations of dense mixed layers in the sparse data set indicate. A sudden increase in the depth of this deep isopycnal around 1995 suggests that the supply of dense water to the North Icelandic Jet, and hence to the densest component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, may have diminished over the past 20 years. Concurrent reductions in the turbulent heat fluxes and wind stress curl over the Iceland Sea are consistent with a decrease in convective activity and a weakening of the cyclonic gyre, both of which could have caused the increase in depth of these dense waters.acceptedVersio

Disseminated neoplasia in blue mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis, from the Black Sea, Romania

Disseminated neoplasia, also called leukemia or hemic neoplasia, has been detected in 15 species of marine bivalve mollusks worldwide. The disease is characterized by the presence of single anaplastic cells with enlarged nuclei and sometimes frequent mitosis, in hemolymph vessels and sinuses. The neoplastic cells gradually replace normal hemocytes leading to the increased mortality of animals. The neoplasia reaches epizootic prevalences in blue mussels, Mytilus trossulus, in some areas, whereas prevalences in Mytilus edulis are generally very low. Mytilus galloprovincialis was suggested to be resistant to the disease although very low prevalences were documented from Spain in the Atlantic Ocean and Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. A case of disseminated neoplasia was discovered in M. galloprovincialis from among 200 specimens studied from the coast of the Romanian Black Sea. Histological preparation revealed the presence of large anaplastic cells with lobed nuclei. This observation extends the geographic range of marine bivalve mollusks with disseminated neoplasia to include the Black Sea

Extreme variability in Irminger Sea winter heat loss revealed by ocean observatories initiative mooring and the ERA5 reanalysis

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2018. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 46(1), (2018): 293-302, doi:10.1029/2018GL080956.Ground‐breaking measurements from the ocean observatories initiative Irminger Sea surface mooring (60°N, 39°30′W) are presented that provide the first in situ characterization of multiwinter surface heat exchange at a high latitude North Atlantic site. They reveal strong variability (December 2014 net heat loss nearly 50% greater than December 2015) due primarily to variations in frequency of intense short timescale (1–3 days) forcing. Combining the observations with the new high resolution European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5 (ERA5) atmospheric reanalysis, the main source of multiwinter variability is shown to be changes in the frequency of Greenland tip jets (present on 15 days in December 2014 and 3 days in December 2015) that can result in hourly mean heat loss exceeding 800 W/m2. Furthermore, a new picture for atmospheric mode influence on Irminger Sea heat loss is developed whereby strongly positive North Atlantic Oscillation conditions favor increased losses only when not outweighed by the East Atlantic Pattern.We are grateful to Meric Srokosz and the two reviewers for helpful comments on this work. S. J. acknowledges the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council ACSIS programme funding (Ref. NE/N018044/1). M. O. acknowledges support from EU Horizon 2020 projects AtlantOS (grant 633211) and Blue Action (grant 727852). G. W. K. M. acknowledges support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Support for the Irminger Sea array of the ocean observatories initiative (OOI) came from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Thanks to the WHOI team and ships' officers and crew for the field deployments and to Nan Galbraith for processing the data and computing the air‐sea fluxes. Support for this processing, and making available and sharing the OOI data, came from the National Science Foundation under a Collaborative Research: Science Across Virtual Institutes grant (82164000) to R. A. W. Data used are available from the following sites: NOAA Climate Prediction Center NAO and EAP indices ftp://ftp.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wd52dg/data/indices/tele_index.nh, ECMWF Reanalysis 5 (ERA5) https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/datasets/archive‐datasets/reanalysis/datasets/era5, and ocean observatories initiative Irminger Mooring https://ooinet.oceanobservatories.org/.2019-06-1