The USU Mild/Moderate Distance Learning Degree and Licensure Program: It’s All About Access

Providing access to quality special education teacher training programs for all qualified applicants is particularly pertinent in light of the national shortage of special education teachers. In addition, there are increasing numbers of students enrolling in Utah schools, and a percentage of that increased enrollment includes students with disabilities. The Mild/Moderate Distance Degree and Licensure Program at Utah State University began in 1995 to help address this shortage. Initially, the program was designed to recruit and prepare qualified mild/ moderate special education teachers in one rural area of the state that includes two school districts. Over time, the program expanded to other areas of the state in an effort to provide accessibility to qualified individuals for whom financial and family obligations preclude their ability to enroll in and attend a traditional campus-based program. Currently, 108 individuals have graduated from the program and are employed in 27 Utah school districts. In this article, the authors discuss the development of the distance program over the past decade, what worked, and future directions in distance education delivery at Utah State University

Two-point theory for the differential self-interrogation Feynman-alpha method

A Feynman-alpha formula has been derived in a two region domain pertaining the stochastic differential self-interrogation (DDSI) method and the differential die-away method (DDAA). Monte Carlo simulations have been used to assess the applicability of the variance to mean through determination of the physical reaction intensities of the physical processes in the two domains. More specifically, the branching processes of the neutrons in the two regions are described by the Chapman - Kolmogorov equation, including all reaction intensities for the various processes, that is used to derive a variance to mean relation for the process. The applicability of the Feynman-alpha or variance to mean formulae are assessed in DDSI and DDAA of spent fuel configurations.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to EPJ Plu

FUGM hardware operation manual

This manual describes the detector design features, performance, and operating characteristics of the Fugen reactor gate monitor for monitoring fresh and spent fuel transfers between the core and storage ponds. This system consists of two monitors located at each end of the transfer chute. The larger monitor contains two {sup 3}He tubes, two fission chambers, and two ion chambers. The smaller monitor, used for direction of motion redundancy, contains two ion chambers. All detectors provide information for identifying the type, fresh or spent UOX or MOX fuel, and direction of the fuel transfer. The gamma-ray and neutron detector (GRAND-3) electronics package supplies power to the radiation sensors and collects the radiation data for storage on a laptop computer. The system is designed to operate unattended with data collection by the inspectors occurring on 90-day time intervals. This manual also includes radiation data for the six types of fuel transfers and equipment transfers along with the direction of motion information collected during the installation at the Fugen reactor

Design and calibration of the AWCC for measuring uranium hexafluoride

An Active Well Coincidence Counter (AWCC) has been modified to measure variable enrichment uranium hexafluoride (UF{sub 6}) in storage bottles. An active assay technique was used to measure the {sup 235}U content because of the small quantity (nominal loading of 2 kg UF{sub 6}) and nonuniform distribution of UF{sub 6} in the storage bottles. A new insert was designed for the AWCC composed of graphite containing four americium-lithium sources. Monte Carlo calculations were used to design the insert and to calibrate the detector. Benchmark measurements and calculations were performed using uranium oxide resulted in assay values that agreed within 2 to 3% of destructive assay values. In addition to UF{sub 6}, the detector was also calibrated for HEU ingots, billets, and alloy scrap using the standard Mode 1 end-plug configuration

Cosmic Ray Background Analysis for a Cargo Container Counter.

We have developed a new model for calculating the expected yield of cosmic-ray spallation neutrons in a Cargo Container Counter, and we have benchmarked the model against measurements made with several existing large neutron counters. We also developed two versions of a new measurement uncertainty prediction code based on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The codes calculate the minimum detectability limit for the Cargo Container Counter for either neutron singles or doubles counting, and also propagate the uncertainties associated with efficiency normalization flux monitors and cosmic ray flux monitors. This paper will describe the physics basis for this analysis, and the results obtained for several different counter designs

Nondestructive verification with minimal movement of irradiated light-water-reactor fuel assemblies

Nondestructive verification of irradiated light-water reactor fuel assemblies can be performed rapidly and precisely by measuring their gross gamma-ray and neutron signatures. A portable system measured fuel assemblies with exposures ranging from 18.4 to 40.6 GWd/tU and with cooling times ranging from 1575 to 2638 days. Differences in the measured results for side or corner measurements are discussed. 25 figures, 20 tables

Cognitive dysfunction in naturally occurring canine idiopathic epilepsy

Globally, epilepsy is a common serious brain disorder. In addition to seizure activity, epilepsy is associated with cognitive impairments including static cognitive impairments present at onset, progressive seizure-induced impairments and co-morbid dementia. Epilepsy occurs naturally in domestic dogs but its impact on canine cognition has yet to be studied, despite canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) recognised as a spontaneous model of dementia. Here we use data from a psychometrically validated tool, the canine cognitive dysfunction rating (CCDR) scale, to compare cognitive dysfunction in dogs diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy (IE) with controls while accounting for age. An online cross-sectional study resulted in a sample of 4051 dogs, of which n = 286 had been diagnosed with IE. Four factors were significantly associated with a diagnosis of CCD (above the diagnostic cut-off of CCDR ≥50): (i) epilepsy diagnosis: dogs with epilepsy were at higher risk; (ii) age: older dogs were at higher risk; (iii) weight: lighter dogs (kg) were at higher risk; (iv) training history: dogs with more exposure to training activities were at lower risk. Impairments in memory were most common in dogs with IE, but progression of impairments was not observed compared to controls. A significant interaction between epilepsy and age was identified, with IE dogs exhibiting a higher risk of CCD at a young age, while control dogs followed the expected pattern of low-risk throughout middle age, with risk increasing exponentially in geriatric years. Within the IE sub-population, dogs with a history of cluster seizures and high seizure frequency had higher CCDR scores. The age of onset, nature and progression of cognitive impairment in the current IE dogs appear divergent from those classically seen in CCD. Longitudinal monitoring of cognitive function from seizure onset is required to further characterise these impairments

In-plant test and evaluation of the neutron collar for verification of PWR fuel assemblies at Resende, Brazil

The neutron-coincidence collar has been evaluated for the measurement of pressurized-water reactor (PWR) fuel assemblies at the Fabrica de Elementos Combustiveis plant in Resende, Brazil. This evaluation was part of the cooperative-bilateral-safeguards technical-exchange program between the United States and Brazil. The neutron collar measures the STVU content per unit length of full fuel assemblies using neutron interrogation and coincidence counting. The STYU content is measured in the passive mode without the AmLi neutron-interrogation source. The extended evaluation took place over a period of 6 months with both scanning and single-zone measurements. The results of the tests gave a coincidence-response standard deviation of 0.7% (sigma = 1.49% for mass) for the active case and 2.5% for the passive case in 1000-s measurement times. The length measurement in the scanning mode was accurate to 0.77%. The accuracies of different calibration methods were evaluated and compared

Treating anxiety after stroke (TASK): the feasibility phase of a novel web-enabled randomised controlled trial

TiDier template items. (DOCX 28 kb