The Learning Landscape: An assessment of state science standards and application in a URI Outreach Center youth education program

Rhode Island state education standards provide educators with curriculum guidance and achievement goals for each grade level. In this case study, I examined the RI state standards and expectations for science education. I undertook this investigation in support of the URI Outreach Center and their elementary education program, Learning Landscape Field Trips. Learning Landscape provides Rhode Island teachers with an opportunity to meet state science standards through the medium of hands-on environmental education programs. Through my investigation, I became fluent in the Learning Landscape curriculum, teaching in more than 20 two-hour sessions. As well, I became familiar with the current and upcoming state science standards. The present science standards in Rhode Island are the Grade Span Expectations, GSEs, which will be replaced by the Next Generation Science Standards, NGSS, by 2017. On a small scale, some Rhode Island schools are beginning to implement parts of the NGSS. The purpose of my case study was to become familiar with the Outreach Center’s Learning Landscape program and identify the extent to which Learning Landscape aligns with the GSEs and upcoming NGSS. The shift from the GSEs to NGSS includes a greater emphasis on the application of science to real world situations. The GSEs require that students be able to “describe,” “understand,” or “identify” key concepts, whereas NGSS emphasizes that students use these concepts to “develop a model” or “design a solution.” Learning Landscape is currently well matched to the life science GSEs, but will also need to undergo a shift towards more applied learning in NGSS. This case study includes first-hand knowledge from instructing the program and my recommendations to the URI Outreach Center on ways to best address NGSS in its Learning Landscape Field Trip program so that environmental education can be infused into the school curriculum. This will aid teachers in meeting the state requirements

Evaluation of a Training Course for University Teachers

This report describes the evaluation of a training course for university teachers offered by the University Teaching Methods Unit of the University of London Institute of Education. The procedures used required the collection of information from the course participants at the conclusion of the course and again after a four month interval. A post course ques- tionnaire asked the participants to assess the success of the course in achieving its stated objectives and to indicate the extent to which the course's scheduled activities contributed to the achievement of the course objectives. Cross tabulation of the results of the two lines of questions identified which course activities contributed to the achievement of specific objectives. The data collected four months later indicated the extent to which and in what areas participants felt the course did have significant impact on their teaching behaviours.Le rapport présent décrit l'évaluation d'un cours de formation pour les enseignants universi-taires offert par l'Institut pédagogique de l'Université de Londres (University of London Institute of Education). La méthode suivie exigea la cueillette de renseignements chez les participants juste à la fin de leurs cours et une deuxième fois quatre mois plus tard. Un questionnaire à la fin du cours demanda aux participants d'évaluer si leur programme at-teignit, oui ou non, ses objectifs et d'indiquer jusqu 'à quel point les activités inscrites au cours contribuèrent à la réalisation de ces objectifs. Une distribution des résultats avec des renvois aux deux séries de questions permit d'identifier les activités du cours qui contri-buèrent à la réalisation d'objectifs précis. Les données cueillies quatre mois plus tard signa-lèrent jusqu'à quel point et dans quels domaines les participants estimaient que leur cours avait une influence significative dans leur conduite en tant qu'enseignant

Hiding in the Shadows: Searching for Planets in Pre--transitional and Transitional Disks

Transitional and pre--transitional disks can be explained by a number of mechanisms. This work aims to find a single observationally detectable marker that would imply a planetary origin for the gap and, therefore, indirectly indicate the presence of a young planet. N-body simulations were conducted to investigate the effect of an embedded planet of one Jupiter mass on the production of instantaneous collisional dust derived from a background planetesimal disk. Our new model allows us to predict the dust distribution and resulting observable markers with greater accuracy than previous work. Dynamical influences from a planet on a circular orbit are shown to enhance dust production in the disk interior and exterior to the planet orbit while removing planetesimals from the the orbit itself creating a clearly defined gap. In the case of an eccentric planet the gap opened by the planet is not as clear as the circular case but there is a detectable asymmetry in the dust disk.Comment: Accepted to ApJL 25th September 2013. 4 figures, 1 tabl

Saturn Forms by Core Accretion in 3.4 Myr

We present two new in situ core accretion simulations of Saturn with planet formation timescales of 3.37 Myr (model S0) and 3.48 Myr (model S1), consistent with observed protostellar disk lifetimes. In model S0, we assume rapid grain settling reduces opacity due to grains from full interstellar values (Podolak 2003). In model S1, we do not invoke grain settling, instead assigning full interstellar opacities to grains in the envelope. Surprisingly, the two models produce nearly identical formation timescales and core/atmosphere mass ratios. We therefore observe a new manifestation of core accretion theory: at large heliocentric distances, the solid core growth rate (limited by Keplerian orbital velocity) controls the planet formation timescale. We argue that this paradigm should apply to Uranus and Neptune as well.Comment: 4 pages, including 1 figure, submitted to ApJ Letter

Application of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine to Ameliorate Sepsis Induced Ileus

Graduate Basi

Reducing the stress of drug administration:implications for the 3Rs

Restraint in animals is known to cause stress but is used during almost all scientific procedures in rodents, representing a major welfare and scientific issue. Administration of substances, a key part of most scientific procedures, almost always involves physical restraint of the animal. In this study, we developed a method to inject substances to rats using a non-restrained technique. We then compared the physiological, behavioral and emotional impacts of restrained versus non-restrained injection procedures. Our results highlight the negative welfare implications associated with physical restraint and demonstrate a method which can be used to avoid this. Our work shows how adopting strategies that avoid restraint can minimize a widespread source of stress in laboratory animals and improve welfare through refinement

Increasing levels of the endocannabinoid 2-AG is neuroprotective in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Date of Acceptance: 28/07/2015 The authors are grateful to the staff of the Medical Research Facility for their help with the animal care. This work was supported by the NHS Endowment fund 09/03 and the Wellcome Trust (WT080782MF). We thank Merck & Co. Inc., Rathway NJ, USA for the supply of DFU.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Hiding in the Shadows II: Collisional Dust as Exoplanet Markers

Observations of the youngest planets ($\sim$1-10 Myr for a transitional disk) will increase the accuracy of our planet formation models. Unfortunately, observations of such planets are challenging and time-consuming to undertake even in ideal circumstances. Therefore, we propose the determination of a set of markers that can pre-select promising exoplanet-hosting candidate disks. To this end, N-body simulations were conducted to investigate the effect of an embedded Jupiter mass planet on the dynamics of the surrounding planetesimal disk and the resulting creation of second generation collisional dust. We use a new collision model that allows fragmentation and erosion of planetesimals, and dust-sized fragments are simulated in a post process step including non-gravitational forces due to stellar radiation and a gaseous protoplanetary disk. Synthetic images from our numerical simulations show a bright double ring at 850 $\mu$m for a low eccentricity planet, whereas a high eccentricity planet would produce a characteristic inner ring with asymmetries in the disk. In the presence of first generation primordial dust these markers would be difficult to detect far from the orbit of the embedded planet, but would be detectable inside a gap of planetary origin in a transitional disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

A simple method of equine limb force vector analysis and its potential applications

Background Ground reaction forces (GRF) measured during equine gait analysis are typically evaluated by analyzing discrete values obtained from continuous force-time data for the vertical, longitudinal and transverse GRF components. This paper describes a simple, temporo-spatial method of displaying and analyzing sagittal plane GRF vectors. In addition, the application of statistical parametric mapping (SPM) is introduced to analyse differences between contra-lateral fore and hindlimb force-time curves throughout the stance phase. The overall aim of the study was to demonstrate alternative methods of evaluating functional (a)symmetry within horses. Methods GRF and kinematic data were collected from 10 horses trotting over a series of four force plates (120 Hz). The kinematic data were used to determine clean hoof contacts. The stance phase of each hoof was determined using a 50 N threshold. Vertical and longitudinal GRF for each stance phase were plotted both as force-time curves and as force vector diagrams in which vectors originating at the centre of pressure on the force plate were drawn at intervals of 8.3 ms for the duration of stance. Visual evaluation was facilitated by overlay of the vector diagrams for different limbs. Summary vectors representing the magnitude (VecMag) and direction (VecAng) of the mean force over the entire stance phase were superimposed on the force vector diagram. Typical measurements extracted from the force-time curves (peak forces, impulses) were compared with VecMag and VecAng using partial correlation (controlling for speed). Paired samples t-tests (left v. right diagonal pair comparison and high v. low vertical force diagonal pair comparison) were performed on discrete and vector variables using traditional methods and Hotelling’s T2 tests on normalized stance phase data using SPM. Results Evidence from traditional statistical tests suggested that VecMag is more influenced by the vertical force and impulse, whereas VecAng is more influenced by the longitudinal force and impulse. When used to evaluate mean data from the group of ten sound horses, SPM did not identify differences between the left and right contralateral limb pairs or between limb pairs classified according to directional asymmetry. When evaluating a single horse, three periods were identified during which differences in the forces between the left and right forelimbs exceeded the critical threshold (p < .01). Discussion Traditional statistical analysis of 2D GRF peak values, summary vector variables and visual evaluation of force vector diagrams gave harmonious results and both methods identified the same inter-limb asymmetries. As alpha was more tightly controlled using SPM, significance was only found in the individual horse although T2 plots followed the same trends as discrete analysis for the group. Conclusions The techniques of force vector analysis and SPM hold promise for investigations of sidedness and asymmetry in horses

Supporting Primary Students’ Story Writing by Including Retellings, Talk, and Drama with Strategy Instruction

Story writing and story grammar have been studied extensively in an effort to improve students’ reading comprehension. Instruction on story structure and on elements of stories can improve the writing quality of students’ papers. This paper explains a process of supporting primary-grade students’ story writing. The approach is based on strategy instruction and incorporates talk and dramatic play as ways to support the development of characters, descriptions of characters and events, and dialogue between characters. Guidelines are provided and step-by-step directions for teachers to use this work with their students