EDUCATION POLICIES AND THE EFFECT ON THE SKILLED TRADES WORK FORCE

The United Stated of America has pushed for all to gain a higher level of education. For many years schools steered underperforming students into vocational studies. This placed a stigma on those who learn or perform vocational careers to be less than those whom have completed a college degree. Now (2019) America is facing a shortage of skilled trades persons. Those who entered a vocation soon learn that many of the skilled trades are demanding positions which require not only skill, but knowledge and dedication to learn. With the growth of technology, many of the trades require higher levels of math and science skills. Less people are learning what is needed to build, repair, or maintain that which is used daily or that will last a life time. Has education policy and reform affected the skill trades labor force? The perception of young people needing furtherance of education through means of college to become successful in life may have driven people away from working with their hands. A series of quantitative research was used to determine if education policy and reform has affected the skilled trades industry in a negative way. There is an increasing shortage of those who are entering the field on a yearly basis coupled with those who are leaving the many trades, has started a bidding war for talent. Most students find they are receiving job offers before they finish school. With the rising cost of college tuition compared to the lower cost of vocational trade school and the un-known employment market for certain degrees versus the almost guarantee of employment, one would think a shortage would not be upon us. The research shows a correlation of those who have sought higher education and the shrinkage that occurred in the skilled trades

Surviving a Drought: Population Dynamics of \u3ci\u3eOchotona pallasi pricei\u3c/i\u3e in a Dry Steppe, Gobi Altai, Mongolia

Two distinct life history traits are described from the genus Ochotona, the group of “burrowing” species exhibiting high but fluctuating population densities and the “non-burrowing” species exhibiting relatively stable low population densities. The life history traits are linked to ecosystem dynamics with climatically variable steppe environments hosting “burrowing” species and relatively stable mountainous and rocky habitats hosting “non-burrowing” species. There are few intermediate species, living in both steppe and rocky environments. This study presents survival rates, reproductive rates and a tentative model of population dynamics for Ochotona pallasi pricei, an intermediate species with respect to habitat preference. We used Cormack-Jolly-Seber models on 153 trapped as well as observed individuals during 10 encounter occasions to estimate survival rates. The study period lasted from November 2000 to July 2002, including a severe drought summer in 2001. Reproductive rates are estimated based on observation of the 100 x 100 m2 study site. Population dynamics are simulated using a Leslie-Matrix with monthly time steps. Neither the drought conditions nor the harsh winter conditions showed an influence on the survival rates of the observed individuals. Instead, population density, sex, and age were explaining factors in the most parsimonious model. Independence of climatic conditions suggests that O. pallasi pricei exhibits traits of a “non-burrowing” species although living in a variable steppe environment. This sheds new light on the evolution of the behavioral traits of pikas, since the variability of the climate cannot predict the life history traits of the species. The behavioral traits may be more conservative than has been assumed previously. Survival during the drought summer is probably enabled by the storage of enough dry herbs and grasses in the burrows of the animals, while the territorial behavior of the species is the prerequisite of harvesting enough biomass to persist through the adverse climatic conditions of a potentially coming drought

An Investigation into EPID Flood Fields Independent from the Linear Accelerator Beam

The EPID (electronic portal imaging device) was designed for in vivo imaging of patients during radiotherapy treatment. The ability of EPIDs to promptly acquire two dimensional data, lends them to be considered for use in quality assurance of the linac. This thesis set out to investigate the possibility of using a radionuclide, technetium 99 m (Tc99m), to produce a flood field for the calibration of an EPID, because using a beam calibrated EPID to measure the beam is self-referential. The difference in relative response between the energy spectrum of a 6MV beam and the Tc99m was investigated using EGSNRC DoseXYZ Monte Carlo Modelling. The relative output ratio was calculated to be less than 1.6%. The dose response of the EPID with respect to dose rate was checked using different activities of Tc99m and found to be linear. The flatness from a phantom was calculated, with a model in MATLAB, for a range of heights, overlaps, thickness, and deformations, to find the optimum balances between signal strength and flatness. This model was checked for accuracy using diagnostic radiographic film. The culmination of the energy response, linearity and the calculated flatness is a flood field taken with a flood phantom on the EPID with low signal strength. To get a signal to noise ratio of 3% the mean of over 2000 flood field images were used. This accuracy was not adequate for clinical use but the averaging of pixels it is accurate enough for QA

Identifiers in e-Science platforms for the ecological sciences

In the emerging Web of Data, publishing stable and unique identifiers promises great potential in using the web as common platform to discover and enrich data in the ecologic sciences. With our collaborative e-Science platform “BEFdata”, we generated and published unique identifiers for the data repository of the Biodiversity – Ecosystem Functioning Research Unit of the German Research Foundation (BEF-China; DFG: FOR 891). We linked part of the identifiers to two external data providers, thus creating a virtual common platform including several ecological repositories. We used the Global Biodiversity Facility (GBIF) as well the International Plant Name Index (IPNI) to enrich the data from our own field observations. We conclude in discussing other potential providers for identifiers for the ecological research domain. We demonstrate the ease of making use of existing decentralized and unsupervised identifiers for a data repository, which opens new avenues to collaborative data discovery for learning, teaching, and research in ecology

A simple one-dimensional model of heat conduction which obeys Fourier's law

We present the computer simulation results of a chain of hard point particles with alternating masses interacting on its extremes with two thermal baths at different temperatures. We found that the system obeys Fourier's law at the thermodynamic limit. This result is against the actual belief that one dimensional systems with momentum conservative dynamics and nonzero pressure have infinite thermal conductivity. It seems that thermal resistivity occurs in our system due to a cooperative behavior in which light particles tend to absorb much more energy than the heavier ones.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PR

Transducer-Based Force Generation Explains Active Process in Drosophila Hearing

BACKGROUND: Like vertebrate hair cells, Drosophila auditory neurons are endowed with an active, force-generating process that boosts the macroscopic performance of the ear. The underlying force generator may be the molecular apparatus for auditory transduction, which, in the fly as in vertebrates, seems to consist of force-gated channels that occur in series with adaptation motors and gating springs. This molecular arrangement explains the active properties of the sensory hair bundles of inner-ear hair cells, but whether it suffices to explain the active macroscopic performance of auditory systems is unclear.Results: To relate transducer dynamics and auditory-system behavior, we have devised a simple model of the Drosophila hearing organ that consists only of transduction modules and a harmonic oscillator that represents the sound receiver. In vivo measurements show that this model explains the ear's active performance, quantitatively capturing displacement responses of the fly's antennal sound receiver to force steps, this receiver's free fluctuations, its response to sinusoidal stimuli, nonlinearity, and activity and cycle-by-cycle amplification, and properties of electrical compound responses in the afferent nerve.Conclusions: Our findings show that the interplay between transduction channels and adaptation motors accounts for the entire macroscopic phenomenology of the active process in the Drosophila auditory system, extending transducer-based amplification from hair cells to fly ears and demonstrating that forces generated by transduction modules can suffice to explain active processes in ears

Socioeconomic status and cardiovascular risk SCORE

  Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the most frequent causes of morbidity and death both in men and women. The influence of the following factors on the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis is well known: hyperten­sion, hypercholesterolaemia, tobacco smoking, obesity, diabetes, age, and sex. As well as the typical risk factors of CVD, there is also a significant association between the incidence of those diseases and socioeconomic status (SES). Aim: The aim of this study was to establish the correlation between SES status and CVD risk assessed according to the SCORE algorithm. Methods: The study encompassed 516 participants (207 men and 309 women) aged 40–74 years, who had never been diagnosed with any CVD. The SES was calculated by multiplying the patient’s education and net monthly income. The cor­relation between the SES and SCORE was established using linear and logistic regression analysis. Results: After considering the influence of age, an inverse correlation between the SCORE risk value and the SES index was established, both in the entire group (p = 0.006) and in the men’s group (p = 0.007). In the analysis of individual age subgroups, this correlation was demonstrated in the following groups: 55–59-year-olds (p = 0.011), 60–64-year-olds (p = 0.014), and 65–69-year olds (p = 0.034). A similar relationship was established in men aged 65–69 years (p = 0.038) and women aged 40–44 years (p = 0.003). The logistic regression analysis demonstrated that, after considering the influence of age, the odds of the SCORE risk value being ≥ 10% were becoming smaller along with the increase in the SES index value in the entire group (p = 0.048) and in the men’s group (p = 0.011). The odds ratio (OR) for the SCORE risk value being ≥ 10% depending on the SES index value was OR = 0.978 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.956–0.999) in the entire group and OR = 0.964 (95% CI 0.938–0.992) in men. Furthermore, we also established that the risk of SCORE ≥ 5% decreased with the increase in the SES index value in the women’s group (OR = 0.970; 95% CI 0.941–0.999; p = 0.042). Conclusions: 1. We demonstrated a statistically significant correlation between the SES and the CVD risk assessed according to the SCORE algorithm. 2. The value of the CVD risk according to SCORE was inversely correlated with SES status.Wstęp: Schorzenia układu sercowo-naczyniowego są jedną z najczęstszych przyczyn zachorowań i umieralności zarówno wśród mężczyzn, jak i kobiet. Dotychczas określono wiele czynników ryzyka związanych z rozwojem schorzeń układu sercowo-naczyniowego. Dobrze znany jest wpływ czynników, takich jak: nadciśnienie tętnicze, hipercholesterolemia, palenie tytoniu, otyłość, cukrzyca, wiek oraz płeć na wystąpienie i progresję miażdżycy. Oprócz klasycznych czynników ryzyka schorzeń układu sercowo-naczyniowego istotny związek z występowaniem schorzeń z tej grupy ma pozycja socjoekonomiczna (SES). Cel: Celem pracy było określenie zależności między SES a ryzykiem sercowo-naczyniowym ocenionym wg algorytmu SCORE. Metody: Badanie jest częścią projektu WOBASZ II, które przeprowadzono w Polsce w latach 2013–2014 w ramach profilaktyki pierwotnej schorzeń układu sercowo-naczyniowego. Analizie poddano dane zebrane w losowej grupie mieszkańców województw: śląskiego, dolnośląskiego i opolskiego. W każdym z województw wylosowano do badania 6 gmin: 2 małe (do 8 tys. mieszkańców), 2 średnie (od 8 do 40 tys.) i 2 duże (od 40 tys.). Następnie w każdej gminie wylosowano 70 mężczyzn i 70 kobiet w wieku 20 i więcej lat. U wszystkich badanych określono pozycję socjoekonomiczną, którą zdefiniowano wg metody zastosowanej w badaniu ATTICA, jako iloczyn wykształcenia i dochodu miesięcznego (netto). Poszczególnym kategoriom zmiennych nadawano odpowiednie wartości liczbowe — wykształcenie: niepełne podstawowe = 1, podstawowe = 2, zasadnicze zawodowe po szkole podstawowej = 3, gimnazjum = 4, zasadnicze zawodowe po gimnazjum = 5, liceum/technikum (średnie) = 6, policealne = 7, licencjat (niepełne wyższe) = 8, wyższe = 9, dochód: ≤ 500 zł = 1, 501–1000 zł = 2, 1001–1500 zł = 3, 1501–2000 zł = 4, 2001–2500 zł = 5, 2501–3000 zł = 6 i > 3001 zł = 7. Iloczyn wykształcenia i dochodu stanowił wynik SES. Grupy SES zostały wyznaczone następująco: niski SES — wskaźnik 18. Wybrana losowo grupa liczyła 884 osoby. Z powyższej grupy wyodrębniono 516 osób (207 mężczyzn i 309 kobiet) w wieku 40–74 lat, u których nie stwierdzono schorzeń układu sercowo-naczyniowego. Określono u nich ryzyko sercowo-naczyniowe na podstawie algorytmu SCORE dla populacji Polski. SES oceniono jako iloczyn wykształcenia i dochodu miesięcznego (netto). Następnie określono związek między SES a SCORE przy użyciu analizy regresji liniowej i logistycznej. Wyniki: Wyniki analizy regresji liniowej wykazały, że po uwzględnieniu wpływu wieku zależność pomiędzy wartością ryzyka SCORE a wskaźnikiem SES została zaobserwowana zarówno w całej badanej grupie (p = 0,006), jak i w grupie mężczyzn (p = 0.007). Analizując poszczególne podgrupy wiekowe całej badanej grupy, zależność ta potwierdziła się w grupach wiekowych: 55–59 lat (p = 0,011), 60–64 lata (p = 0,014) i 65–69 lat (p = 0.034). Podobną zależność stwierdzono w grupie mężczyzn w wieku 65–69 lat (p = 0,038) i kobiet w wieku 40–44 lata (p = 0,003). Wyniki analizy regresji logistycznej wykazały, że po uwzględnieniu wpływu wieku zwiększone ryzyko wystąpienia wartości ryzyka SCORE ≥ 10% w zależności od wartości wskaźnika SES zaobserwowano w całej badanej grupie (p = 0,048) i w grupie mężczyzn (p = 0,011). Szansa wystąpienia wartości ryzyka SCORE ≥ 10% w zależności od wartości wskaźnika SES wyniosła OR = 0,978 (95% CI 0,956–0,999) w całej grupie oraz OR = 0,964 (95% CI 0,938–0,992) wśród mężczyzn. Ponadto stwierdzono zwiększone ryzyko wystąpienia SCORE ≥ 5% w zależności od wartości wskaźnika SES w grupie kobiet bez uwzględnienia wpływu wieku (p = 0,042; OR = 0,970; 95% CI 0,941–0,999). Wnioski: 1. Wykazano istotną statystycznie zależność między pozycją socjoekonomiczną a ryzykiem sercowo-naczyniowym ocenionym wg algorytmu SCORE. 2. Wartość ryzyka sercowo-naczyniowego wg SCORE była odwrotnie związana z pozycją społeczno-ekonomiczną

Tree species traits but not diversity mitigate stem breakage in a subtropical forest following a rare and extreme ice storm

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