Educational Interpreter Services for Hearing-Impaired Students: Provider and Consumer Disagreements

Thirteen supervisors of educational programs for hearing-impaired students completed an assessment designed to determine the need for educational interpreters in a midwestern state and how well it was being met. The results suggested that the trend toward the integration of hearing-impaired students in to regular programs continues and that, with the higher incidence of integration, there is an associated unmet need for educational interpreters. Nine supervisors, 24 teachers, 27 interpreters and 18 hearing-impaired college students rated the characteristics and skills of interpreters which they perceived to be most important. Significant differences existed between and within groups in the characteristics and skills perceived important to educational interpreting (p\u3c .05). Major differences existed between the skills and characteristics cited as most important by hearing-impaired persons and those cited by teachers and interpreters

EU-Rotate_N – a decision support system – to predict environmental and economic consequences of the management of nitrogen fertiliser in crop rotations

A model has been developed which assesses the economic and environmental performance of crop rotations, in both conventional and organic cropping, for over 70 arable and horticultural crops, and a wide range of growing conditions in Europe. The model, though originally based on the N_ABLE model, has been completely rewritten and contains new routines to simulate root development, the mineralisation and release of nitrogen (N) from soil organic matter and crop residues, and water dynamics in soil. New routines have been added to estimate the effects of sub-optimal rates of N and spacing on the marketable outputs and gross margins. The model provides a mechanism for generating scenarios to represent a range of differing crop and fertiliser management strategies which can be used to evaluate their effects on yield, gross margin and losses of nitrogen through leaching. Such testing has revealed that nitrogen management can be improved and that there is potential to increase gross margins whilst reducing nitrogen losses

Finite temperature quantum simulation of stabilizer Hamiltonians

We present a scheme for robust finite temperature quantum simulation of stabilizer Hamiltonians. The scheme is designed for realization in a physical system consisting of a finite set of neutral atoms trapped in an addressable optical lattice that are controllable via 1- and 2-body operations together with dissipative 1-body operations such as optical pumping. We show that these minimal physical constraints suffice for design of a quantum simulation scheme for any stabilizer Hamiltonian at either finite or zero temperature. We demonstrate the approach with application to the abelian and non-abelian toric codes.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Dust Storms Come to Central and Southwestern China, Too: Implications from a Major Dust Event in Chongqing

Dust storms from major Asian sources are usually carried by northwesterly or westerly winds over Northern and Southeastern China to the Pacific Ocean. These pathways leave Central and Southwestern China nearly free of incursions. But a strong dust event on 5–6 May 2005 was captured in a 15-month series of weekly filter samples of PM2.5 at three sites in Chongqing. It illustrated that desert dust can be transported to this region, and sometimes strongly. Annual PM2.5 and dust were similar at the three sites, but higher than in simultaneous samples in Beijing. High correlations of dust concentrations were found between the cities during spring, indicating that Asian dust affects a broader swath of China than is often realized. During the event, the concentrations of mineral dust were high at all sites (20–30 μg m−3; 15%–20% of PM2.5 in Chongqing, and 15 μg m−3; 20%–30% of PM2.5 in Beijing), and were part of a broader spring maximum. The proportions of crustal elements and pollution-derived components such as Pb, SO42−, and organic carbon indicated that the sources for this dust differed from Beijing. The dust was considerably enriched in Ca and Mg, characteristic of western deserts, whereas Beijing\u27s dust had the lower Ca and Mg of eastern deserts. This observation agrees with synoptic patterns and back-trajectories. Driven by a cold air outbreak from the northwest, dust from the western Gobi Desert was transported at lower altitudes (level), while dust from the Takla Makan Desert was transported to Chongqing at higher altitudes. Desert dust can also be important to wide areas of China during the cold season, since almost all the weekly dust peaks in the two cities coincided with extensive dust emissions in source regions. These findings collectively suggest that the amount Asian-dust in China has been underestimated both spatially and temporally, and that transported alkaline dust can even be mitigating the effects of acidic deposition in Southern China

Measurement of Pulmonary Flow Reserve and Pulmonary Index of Microcirculatory Resistance for Detection of Pulmonary Microvascular Obstruction

BACKGROUND: The pulmonary microcirculation is the chief regulatory site for resistance in the pulmonary circuit. Despite pulmonary microvascular dysfunction being implicated in the pathogenesis of several pulmonary vascular conditions, there are currently no techniques for the specific assessment of pulmonary microvascular integrity in humans. Peak hyperemic flow assessment using thermodilution-derived mean transit-time (T(mn)) facilitate accurate coronary microcirculatory evaluation, but remain unvalidated in the lung circulation. Using a high primate model, we aimed to explore the use of T(mn) as a surrogate of pulmonary blood flow for the purpose of measuring the novel indices Pulmonary Flow Reserve [PFR = (maximum hyperemic)/(basal flow)] and Pulmonary Index of Microcirculatory Resistance [PIMR = (maximum hyperemic distal pulmonary artery pressure)x(maximum hyperemic T(mn))]. Ultimately, we aimed to investigate the effect of progressive pulmonary microvascular obstruction on PFR and PIMR. METHODS AND RESULTS: Temperature- and pressure-sensor guidewires (TPSG) were placed in segmental pulmonary arteries (SPA) of 13 baboons and intravascular temperature measured. T(mn) and hemodynamics were recorded at rest and following intra-SPA administration of the vasodilator agents adenosine (10-400 microg/kg/min) and papaverine (3-24 mg). Temperature did not vary with intra-SPA sensor position (0.010+/-0.009 v 0.010+/-0.009 degrees C; distal v proximal; p = 0.1), supporting T(mn) use in lung for the purpose of hemodynamic indices derivation. Adenosine (to 200 microg/kg/min) & papaverine (to 24 mg) induced dose-dependent flow augmentations (40+/-7% & 35+/-13% T(mn) reductions v baseline, respectively; p<0.0001). PFR and PIMR were then calculated before and after progressive administration of ceramic microspheres into the SPA. Cumulative microsphere doses progressively reduced PFR (1.41+/-0.06, 1.26+/-0.19, 1.17+/-0.07 & 1.01+/-0.03; for 0, 10(4), 10(5) & 10(6) microspheres; p = 0.009) and increased PIMR (5.7+/-0.6, 6.3+/-1.0, 6.8+/-0.6 & 7.6+/-0.6 mmHg.sec; p = 0.0048). CONCLUSIONS: Thermodilution-derived mean transit time can be accurately and reproducibly measured in the pulmonary circulation using TPSG. Mean transit time-derived PFR and PIMR can be assessed using a TPSG and adenosine or papaverine as hyperemic agents. These novel indices detect progressive pulmonary microvascular obstruction and thus have with a potential role for pulmonary microcirculatory assessment in humans

Notes on some methods for the examination of soil protozoa

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Spectral line shape of resonant four-wave mixing induced by broad-bandwidth lasers

We present a theoretical and experimental study of the line shape of resonant four-wave mixing induced by broad-bandwidth laser radiation that revises the theory of Meacher, Smith, Ewart, and Cooper (MSEC) [Phys. Rev. A 46, 2718 (1992)]. We adopt the same method as MSEC but correct for an invalid integral used to average over the distribution of atomic velocities. The revised theory predicts a Voigt line shape composed of a homogeneous, Lorentzian component, defined by the collisional rate Γ, and an inhomogeneous, Doppler component, which is a squared Gaussian. The width of the inhomogeneous component is reduced by a factor of √2 compared to the simple Doppler width predicted by MSEC. In the limit of dominant Doppler broadening, the width of the homogeneous component is predicted to be 4Γ, whereas in the limit of dominant homogeneous broadening, the predicted width is 2Γ. An experimental measurement is reported of the line shape of the four-wave-mixing signal using a broad-bandwidth, "modeless", laser resonant with the Q1 (6) line of the A2 Σ - X2 Π(0,0) system of the hydroxyl radical. The measured widths of the Voigt components were found to be consistent with the predictions of the revised theory

Kondo quasiparticle dynamics observed by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

Effective models focused on pertinent low-energy degrees of freedom have substantially contributed to our qualitative understanding of quantum materials. An iconic example, the Kondo model, was key to demonstrating that the rich phase diagrams of correlated metals originate from the interplay of localized and itinerant electrons. Modern electronic structure calculations suggest that to achieve quantitative material-specific models, accurate consideration of the crystal field and spin-orbit interactions is imperative. This poses the question of how local high-energy degrees of freedom become incorporated into a collective electronic state. Here, we use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) on CePd$_3$ to clarify the fate of all relevant energy scales. We find that even spin-orbit excited states acquire pronounced momentum-dependence at low temperature - the telltale sign of hybridization with the underlying metallic state. Our results demonstrate how localized electronic degrees of freedom endow correlated metals with new properties, which is critical for a microscopic understanding of superconducting, electronic nematic, and topological states

Kondo quasiparticle dynamics observed by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

Effective models focused on pertinent low-energy degrees of freedom have substantially contributed to our qualitative understanding of quantum materials. An iconic example, the Kondo model, was key to demonstrating that the rich phase diagrams of correlated metals originate from the interplay of localized and itinerant electrons. Modern electronic structure calculations suggest that to achieve quantitative material-specific models, accurate consideration of the crystal field and spin-orbit interactions is imperative. This poses the question of how local high-energy degrees of freedom become incorporated into a collective electronic state. Here, we use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) on CePd$_{3}$ to clarify the fate of all relevant energy scales. We find that even spin-orbit excited states acquire pronounced momentum-dependence at low temperature—the telltale sign of hybridization with the underlying metallic state. Our results demonstrate how localized electronic degrees of freedom endow correlated metals with new properties, which is critical for a microscopic understanding of superconducting, electronic nematic, and topological states

Converting simulated total dry matter to fresh marketable yield for field vegetables at a range of nitrogen supply levels

Simultaneous analysis of economic and environmental performance of horticultural crop production requires qualified assumptions on the effect of management options, and particularly of nitrogen (N) fertilisation, on the net returns of the farm. Dynamic soil-plant-environment simulation models for agro-ecosystems are frequently applied to predict crop yield, generally as dry matter per area, and the environmental impact of production. Economic analysis requires conversion of yields to fresh marketable weight, which is not easy to calculate for vegetables, since different species have different properties and special market requirements. Furthermore, the marketable part of many vegetables is dependent on N availability during growth, which may lead to complete crop failure under sub-optimal N supply in tightly calculated N fertiliser regimes or low-input systems. In this paper we present two methods for converting simulated total dry matter to marketable fresh matter yield for various vegetables and European growth conditions, taking into consideration the effect of N supply: (i) a regression based function for vegetables sold as bulk or bunching ware and (ii) a population approach for piecewise sold row crops. For both methods, to be used in the context of a dynamic simulation model, parameter values were compiled from a literature survey. Implemented in such a model, both algorithms were tested against experimental field data, yielding an Index of Agreement of 0.80 for the regression strategy and 0.90 for the population strategy. Furthermore, the population strategy was capable of reflecting rather well the effect of crop spacing on yield and the effect of N supply on product grading