Experiments with ceramic coatings

Report describes the procedures and techniques used in the application of a ceramic coating and the evaluation of test parts through observation of the cracks that occur in this coating due to loading

Using the VARK: A Writing Department’s Commitment to “Turning the Light Bulbs On”

Writing faculty at Saint Louis University have developed a teaching approach which is tailored to fit the learning styles of their students

In Forma Pauperis, Sec. 514.040: A Practical User\u27s Guide for Attorneys

Missouri attorneys have the ability to have costs and fees waived for their indigent clients

Polarization-resolved second-harmonic-generation optical coherence tomography in collagen

We describe a novel imaging technique, second-harmonic-generation optical coherence tomography (SHOCT). This technique combines the spatial resolution and depth penetration of optical coherence tomography (OCT) with the molecular sensitivity of second-harmonic-generation spectroscopy. As a consequence of the coherent detection required for OCT, polarization-resolved images arise naturally. We demonstrate this new technique on a skin sample from the belly of Icelandic salmon, acquiring polarization-resolved SHOCT and OCT images simultaneously

Monitoring Scaled Quail Occupancy and Colonization Post-Translocation on a Large Landscape

Large landscapes are important for sustaining quail populations in semiarid climates where annual variation in vital rates, and thus population volatility, tends to be larger than in subtropical climates. Translocations may need to be conducted on a similar scale to ensure long-term success. Large landscapes pose challenges for monitoring release sites in terms of costs and logistics. However, large landscapes also provide an excellent opportunity to evaluate habitat preferences and suitability because they inherently hold more variation in habitat type. Multiseason occupancy surveys are a potential monitoring tool for translocations where population persistence is a benchmark for success. Occupancy (i.e., presence–absence) data for quail are relatively easy to collect compared to more intensive surveying (i.e., mark-recapture or distance sampling) and can be analyzed in a framework that allows for the estimation of detection, colonization, and extinction as functions of spatial or temporal covariates. We used a multiseason occupancy survey to monitor a reintroduced population of scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) on a large landscape. Our objectives were to: 1) evaluate occupancy post-translocation, and 2) determine how landscape characteristics and distance from release points influenced colonization and extinction. Over 800 scaled quail were translocated to a \u3e40,000-ha study area of contiguous rangeland in Knox County, Texas, USA from 2016–2017. We collected presence–absence data during a 10-day period in March just prior to release (2016) and for 2 years after first release (2017–2018). We sampled 73 locations on a 1.5-km × 1.5-km grid 3 times per year. We were unable to estimate true occupancy and thus any influence of covariates, because of low detection probability (p = 0.05, standard error = 0.02). However, we found that naïve occupancy based on detection within and outside of surveys increased from 1% in 2016 to 23% and 10% in 2017 and 2018, respectively. We recommend that monitoring programs prioritize survey methods that increase detection, such as sampling only during peak calling and call-back surveys, and using more than one method of detection

Effects of Source Population and Release Strategy on Survival and Dispersal of Translocated Scaled Quail in the Rolling Plains of Texas—A Preliminary Report

Scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) have declined 3.5% annually in Texas from 1966-2013, but declines have not been uniform across the state. The Rolling Plains Ecoregion has experienced a 6.8% decrease during this period, while the western Edwards Plateau has remained stable. Habitat loss that has contributed to scaled quail decline also inhibits recolonization. Translocation has become an increasingly popular tool to reestablish populations for recreational or conservational purposes. Overall success rate of translocations is low and has prompted research into factors that contribute to the establishment of a self-sustaining population. Source population and release strategy are two translocation tactics that may influence the success of scaled quail translocation efforts. Best practices for translocation are often species and location specific and, thus, it is critical for translocation techniques to be tested across a variety of species and landscapes. We used radio-tagged quail to estimate survival and dispersal of translocated, wild-caught scaled quail as a function of source ecoregion and a delayed release treatment using multi-state models in Program MARK. Specifically, we compared quail sourced from within the Rolling Plains and from the Edwards Plateau, as well as a delayed release treatment consisting of 4–8 week holding periods on site

Design of an OSCE to Assess Clinical Competence of Occupational Therapy Students

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are a series of controlled, timed stations in which students demonstrate clinical skills. OSCEs are commonly used within health professions education to demonstrate competence, prepare for clinical education, and conduct program evaluation. The body of literature addressing the use of OSCEs in occupational therapy (OT) is growing; however, there are no available guidelines for developing an OSCE specific to the profession. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of an OSCE for OT students prior to fieldwork placement. Twelve OT practitioners participated in a modified-Delphi method to generate possible OSCE scenarios. The authors developed a blueprint, designed items, implemented an OSCE, and collected data. Quantitative analysis suggests OSCEs to be valid assessment of clinical skills. Qualitative analysis suggests students perceive OSCEs to be stressful but valuable learning experiences. The authors are conducting additional analysis of outcome data, exploring the utility of OSCEs as a strategy to assess clinical competence in OT. Stakeholders concurred with the need to investigate the experience of learning through doing. The authors believe OSCEs could address universal professional rather than program specific clinical competencies

Evaluating Release Strategy for Translocated Northern Bobwhites in Cross Timbers Ecoregion of Texas: A Pilot Study

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) population decline is largely driven by the loss, fragmentation, and degradation of grassland habitats. Translocation is used to reintroduce or augment populations in fragmented landscapes where natural dispersal is inhibited. Northern bobwhites have been successfully translocated in the southeastern portion of their range, but outcomes of translocations in western ranges have been mixed. Our objective was to conduct a pilot study to test the feasibility of translocating northern bobwhites to a restored, but isolated, habitat in the Cross Timbers ecoregion of Texas, USA and to evaluate the influence of release strategy for improving northern bobwhite site fidelity and survival post-release. The release property was restored through brush management, native species seeding, and proper grazing management. We trapped and translocated 84 northern bobwhites from source populations in the Rolling Plains and Edwards Plateau ecoregions during March 2015. Coveys were assigned to either delayed or immediate release treatment. We radio-collared all hens (n = 40; 11 adults; 29 juveniles) and evenly divided the sample between delayed and immediate releases. Delayed release coveys were held on the release site for 4 weeks in a Surrogator® (Wildlife Management Technologies, LLC). We trapped and radio-collared resident hens (n = 15) in March and monitored all hens through breeding season (March–August; 180 days). We implemented a 2-state (alive or dead) multistate model in Program MARK to analyze survival as a function of the release treatment, resident status, and age. We found no evidence that survival differed between translocated and resident hens (β = 0.48, standard error [SE] = 0.38), release treatments (β = 0.10, SE = 0.40), or age (β = -0.16, SE = 0.54). Daily survival for all hens was 0.99 (SE = 0.009) and breeding season survival was 0.19 (SE = 0.08). Four (20%) immediate, 2 (10%) delayed release, and 0 resident hens dispersed off-property. Translocated and resident hens survived at similar rates, indicating that translocation may be a feasible management strategy for augmenting a northern bobwhite population on restored habitats in the Cross Timbers ecoregion although overall survival was low. We did not find evidence that delayed release improved daily survival post-release, but our small sample size may have prevented us from detecting a difference. However, delayed release birds were effectively sheltered from predation during peak raptor migration. Additional research is needed to fully understand population dynamics and implications of release strategy for translocated northern bobwhite

Why We Fought : America\u27s Wars in Film and History

Film moves audiences like no other medium; both documentaries and feature films are especially remarkable for their ability to influence viewers. Best-selling author James Brady remarked that he joined the Marines to fight in Korea after seeing a John Wayne film, demonstrating how a motion picture can change the course of a human life—in this case, launching the career of a major historian and novelist. In Why We Fought: America’s Wars in Film and History, editors Peter C. Rollins and John E. O’Connor explore the complexities of war films, describing the ways in which such productions interpret history and illuminate American values, politics, and culture. This comprehensive volume covers representations of war in film from the American Revolution in the 18th century to today’s global War on Terror. The contributors examine iconic battle films such as The Big Parade (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), From Here to Eternity (1953), and Platoon (1986), considering them as historical artifacts. The authors explain how film shapes our cultural understanding of military conflicts, analyzing how war is depicted on television programs, through news media outlets, and in fictional and factual texts. With several essays examining the events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath, the book has a timely relevance concerning the country’s current military conflicts. Jeff Chown examines controversial documentary films about the Iraq War, while Stacy Takacs considers Jessica Lynch and American gender issues in a post-9/11 world, and James Kendrick explores the political messages and aesthetic implications of United 93. From filmmakers who reshaped our understanding of the history of the Alamo, to Ken Burns’s popular series on the Civil War, to the uses of film and media in understanding the Vietnam conflict, Why We Fought offers a balanced outlook— one of the book’s editors was a combat officer in the United States Marines, the other an antiwar activist—on the conflicts that have become touchstones of American history. As Air Force veteran and film scholar Robert Fyne notes in the foreword, American war films mirror a nation’s past and offer tangible evidence of the ways millions of Americans have become devoted, as was General MacArthur, to “Duty, honor, and country.” Why We Fought chronicles how, for more than half a century, war films have shaped our nation’s consciousness. Peter C. Rollins is Regents Professor Emeritus of English and American Film Studies at Oklahoma State University and is former editor of the journal Film & History. He is the coeditor of numerous books, including Hollywood’s Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film. John E. O’Connor is professor emeritus of the Federated Department of History at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University. He is also a founding editor of Film & History and the coeditor of several books. “Why We Fought is not only a thoughtful reading of war films and history, but it is a significant contribution to scholarship. Understanding why we fight is more relevant today than ever before since Americans continue to explore their national identity, their country, and themselves.”—Michael K. Schoenecke, coeditor of All-Stars and Movie Stars: Sports in Film and History Although it is sometimes waged for selfish and extraneous ends, warfare is fundamental to developing human cultures. Regardless of its end, warfare continues to be depicted in documentaries and analyzed more in the imagination than on the battlefield. Battles that are re-created on the stage and silver screen depict the motivations, actual experiences, and consequences of combat. . . . This penetrating collection of essays by two of the best editors of history and film looks deeply into movies\u27 interpretations of why we have fought and examines the ways in which war has been presented to us. --Ray B. Browne, Professor of Popular Culture, Emeritus, Bowling Green State University Peter C. Rollins and John E. O\u27Connor have compiled a historically sound, inclusive, and diverse, interdisciplinary portrait of American wars in film. Each essay has its own bibliography, and the ending filmography is nothing short of superb. Technically and conceptually, this book is, perhaps, the most powerful of its kind produced to date, and it will doubtlessly be lauded as a breakthrough in the studies of war films. --Robert C. Doyle, author of Voices from Captivity: Interpreting the American POW Narrative “This wide-ranging and sophisticated anthology incorporates a broad spectrum of analytical perspectives that establish major film treatments of America’s wars in cinematic and historical contexts, while demonstrating the synergistic relationships between the two approaches.”—Dennis Showalter, Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century “A useful addition to an academic, arts, or film library, this book covers films based on every war fought by the United States.” --Xpress Reviews Rollins and O’Connor’s finished product is a great resource. It is chronologically organized, and uses a variety of mediums and types of analysis. This collection provides an appropriately complete illustration of how war has been depicted and its role in understanding American history. --David R. Buck, southwestjournalofcultures.blogpsot.com Rollins and O’Connor have assembled a rich, varied collection of essays that explore all US wars in order, from the American Revolution to Iraq. Essential. --R. D. Sears, Choice Not only will you learn a lot about the movies, but you’ll also re-examine the context of the film’s creation. . . . A fascinating book. --Book Bit for WTBF- AM/FM These outstanding essays provide proof of the war film genre’s lasting legacy in American history and cinema. --History News Network, hnn.us “The book takes on depictions of every conflict from the American Revolution to September 11 and its aftermath, showing how films have shaped America’s understanding of its history.” --Colloquy “An excellent compilation of essays on war films.” --VVA Veteran Rollins and O’Connor have provided a starting point with which to analyze the influence of wars and conflicts in movies, documentaries, and television shows. --On Point The methodology is to examine a particular film, a pair of films or series to explore the reasons given for having to fight it, the portrayal of combat, and the other political and social implications. --NYMAS Named as a Choice Outstanding Academic Titles. Winner of the 2008 Ray and Pat Browne Award.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_film_and_media_studies/1023/thumbnail.jp

Hollywood\u27s White House: The American Presidency in Film and History

Winner of the 2003 Ray and Pat Browne Book Award, given by the Popular Culture Association The contributors to Hollywood’s White House examine the historical accuracy of these presidential depictions, illuminate their influence, and uncover how they reflect the concerns of their times and the social and political visions of the filmmakers. The volume, which includes a comprehensive filmography and a bibliography, is ideal for historians and film enthusiasts. The essays are supported by numerous sources that provide some good leads . . . the chronological filmography will come in handy. Recommended. -- Library Journal This well-written book, with contributions by both film critics and historians, is an interesting study of the real presidency and the reel presidency. -- USA Today Magazine An excellent example of the American theater. . . . We are the audience. We will be a much more informed audience after reading the essays in this book. -- Ray Browne, Journal of American Culture A scholarly examination of the portrayal of the American presidency in film. -- Choice Winner of the 2004 Ray and Pat Browne Award given by the Popular Culture Association.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_american_popular_culture/1005/thumbnail.jp