1,771 research outputs found
Professional Concerns: Reading Comprehension and Essay Writing
Glenda C. Petrini, a Social Studies teacher at Thoreau Intermediate School in Vienna, Virginia, had tried for five years to teach the inquiry method to her students before she tried using reading skills as a vehicle for the comprehension of inquiry. In her article which follows, Ms. Petrini tells how she used the knowledge which she gained of reading skills to instruct her students in ways that would significantly strengthen their essay writing. Ms. Petrini presents convincing evidence that the teaching of reading and the teaching of writing can be combined very effectively
The weight-inclusive vs. weight-normative approach to health: Evaluating the evidence for prioritizing well-being over weight
Using an ethical lens, this review evaluates two methods of working within patient care and public health: the weight-normative approach (emphasis on weight and weight loss when defining health and well-being) and the weight-inclusive approach (emphasis on viewing health and well-being as multifaceted while directing efforts toward improving health access and reducing weight stigma). Data reveal that the weight-normative approach is not effective for most people because of high rates of weight regain and cycling from weight loss interventions, which are linked to adverse health and well-being. Its predominant focus on weight may also foster stigma in health care and society, and data show that weight stigma is also linked to adverse health and well-being. In contrast, data support a weight-inclusive approach, which is included in models such as Health at Every Size for improving physical (e.g., blood pressure), behavioral (e.g., binge eating), and psychological (e.g., depression) indices, as well as acceptability of public health messages. Therefore, the weight-inclusive approach upholds nonmaleficience and beneficience, whereas the weight-normative approach does not. We offer a theoretical framework that organizes the research included in this review and discuss how it can guide research efforts and help health professionals intervene with their patients and community
Seasonal variations of glaciochemical, isotopic and stratigraphic properties in Siple Dome (Antarctica) surface snow
Six snow-pit records recovered from Siple Dome, West Antarctica, during 1994 are used to study seasonal variations in chemical (major ion and H202), isotopic (deuterium) and physical stratigraphic properties during the 1988-94 period. Comparison of δD measurements and satellite-derived brightness temperature for the Siple Dome area suggests that most seasonal SD maxima occur within ±4 weeks of each 1 January. Several other chemical species (H2O2, non-sea-salt (nss) SO4 2-, methanesulfonic acid and NO3-) show coeval peaks with SD, together providing an accurate method for identifying summer accumulation. Sea-salt-derived species generally peak during winter/spring, but episodic input is noted throughout some years. No reliable seasonal signal is identified in species with continental sources (nssCa2+ nss Mg2+), NH4 + or nssCl-. Visible strata such as large depth-hoar layers (\u3e5 cm) are associated with summer accumulation and its metamorphosis, but smaller hoar layers and crusts are more difficult to interpret. A multi-parameter approach is found to provide the most accurate dating of these snow-pit records, and is used to determine annual layer thicknesses at each site Significant spatial accumulation variability exists on an annual basis, but mean accumulation in the sampled 10 km2 grid for the 1988-94 period is fairly uniform
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Reactions of C+ + Cl-, Br-, and I--A comparison of theory and experiment.
Rate constants for the reactions of C+ + Cl-, Br-, and I- were measured at 300 K using the variable electron and neutral density electron attachment mass spectrometry technique in a flowing afterglow Langmuir probe apparatus. Upper bounds of <10-8 cm3 s-1 were found for the reaction of C+ with Br- and I-, and a rate constant of 4.2 ± 1.1 × 10-9 cm3 s-1 was measured for the reaction with Cl-. The C+ + Cl- mutual neutralization reaction was studied theoretically from first principles, and a rate constant of 3.9 × 10-10 cm3 s-1, an order of magnitude smaller than experiment, was obtained with spin-orbit interactions included using a semiempirical model. The discrepancy between the measured and calculated rate constants could be explained by the fact that in the experiment, the total loss of C+ ions was measured, while the theoretical treatment did not include the associative ionization channel. The charge transfer was found to take place at small internuclear distances, and the spin-orbit interaction was found to have a minor effect on the rate constant
Spectral Graph Convolutions for Population-based Disease Prediction
Exploiting the wealth of imaging and non-imaging information for disease
prediction tasks requires models capable of representing, at the same time,
individual features as well as data associations between subjects from
potentially large populations. Graphs provide a natural framework for such
tasks, yet previous graph-based approaches focus on pairwise similarities
without modelling the subjects' individual characteristics and features. On the
other hand, relying solely on subject-specific imaging feature vectors fails to
model the interaction and similarity between subjects, which can reduce
performance. In this paper, we introduce the novel concept of Graph
Convolutional Networks (GCN) for brain analysis in populations, combining
imaging and non-imaging data. We represent populations as a sparse graph where
its vertices are associated with image-based feature vectors and the edges
encode phenotypic information. This structure was used to train a GCN model on
partially labelled graphs, aiming to infer the classes of unlabelled nodes from
the node features and pairwise associations between subjects. We demonstrate
the potential of the method on the challenging ADNI and ABIDE databases, as a
proof of concept of the benefit from integrating contextual information in
classification tasks. This has a clear impact on the quality of the
predictions, leading to 69.5% accuracy for ABIDE (outperforming the current
state of the art of 66.8%) and 77% for ADNI for prediction of MCI conversion,
significantly outperforming standard linear classifiers where only individual
features are considered.Comment: International Conference on Medical Image Computing and
Computer-Assisted Interventions (MICCAI) 201
Franck-Condon Factors and Radiative Lifetime of the A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} - X^{2}\Sigma^{+} Transition of Ytterbium Monoflouride, YbF
The fluorescence spectrum resulting from laser excitation of the
A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} - X^{2}\Sigma^{+} (0,0) band of ytterbium monofluoride, YbF, has
been recorded and analyzed to determine the Franck-Condon factors. The measured
values are compared with those predicted from Rydberg-Klein-Rees (RKR)
potential energy curves. From the fluorescence decay curve the radiative
lifetime of the A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} state is measured to be 28\pm2 ns, and the
corresponding transition dipole moment is 4.39\pm0.16 D. The implications for
laser cooling YbF are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Bisphenol A Blood and Saliva Levels Prior to and after Dental Sealant Placement in Adults
Purpose: This study examined the effects of a widely used (Delton® Pit & Fissure Sealant – Light Cure Opaque, DENTSPLY Professional, York, PA) pit and fissure sealant material on bisphenol A (BPA) levels in blood and saliva, among both low and high–dose groups over time. Methods: A convenience sample of 30 adults from the Old Dominion University population were randomly and evenly divided into 2 independent variable groups: a low–dose group (1 occlusal sealant application) and high–dose group (4 occlusal sealant applications). A 2 group, time series design was used to examine the presence and concentration of BPA in serum and saliva after sealant placement. Differences comparing low–dose and high–dose groups were examined 1 hour prior (baseline), 1 hour post, 3 hours post and 24 hours after sealant placement, as measured by a direct–competitive BPA Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). Hypothesized outcomes were evaluated by applying a parametric, 2 way ANOVA for repeated measures technique to data on the 30 participants ranging in age from 18 to 40 years, and were of mixed gender and ethnicity. Results: BPA was detected in the saliva of all participants prior to sealant placement and ranged from 0.07 to 6.00 ng/ml at baseline. Salivary BPA concentration levels peaked over a 3 hour period following sealant placement and returned to baseline levels within 24 hours. BPA was significantly elevated at all post–sealant placement time periods for both the low–dose (1 occlusal sealant application) and high–dose (4 occlusal sealant applications) groups with peak levels of 3.98 ng/ml and 9.08 ng/ml, respectively. The blood serum did not contain BPA at any point in this investigation. Conclusions: Exposure to BPA from sources other than dental resins contributes to salivary baseline concentration levels and indicates environmental exposure and use of products containing BPA. Use of specific molecular formulations of dental sealant material determines the release of BPA, therefore, dental sealant materials should be reviewed independently when questioning the release of BPA from dental sealants. In addition, dosage amounts of the dental sealant material used in this study do not influence the serum concentration levels of BPA. Further research is needed to examine the cumulative estrogenic effects of BPA from dental sealants
Temporal Response Properties of the Auditory Nerve in Implanted Children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder and Implanted Children with Sensorineural Hearing Loss
This study aimed to 1) characterize temporal response properties of the auditory nerve in implanted children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD); and 2) compare results recorded in implanted children with ANSD with those measured in implanted children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)
A Climate-Data Record (CDR) of the "Clear-Sky" Surface Temperature of the Greenland Ice Sheet
We have developed a climate-data record (CDR) of "clear-sky" ice-surface temperature (IST) of the Greenland Ice Sheet using Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The CDR provides daily and monthly-mean IST from March 2000 through December 2010 on a polar stereographic projection at a resolution of 6.25 km. The CDR is amenable to extension into the future using Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data. Regional "clear-sky" surface temperature increases since the early 1980s in the Arctic, measured using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) infrared data, range from 0.57 +/- 0.02 to 0.72 +/- 0.1 c per decade. Arctic warming has important implications for ice-sheet mass balance because much of the periphery of the Greenland Ice Sheet is already near O C during the melt season, and is thus vulnerable to rapid melting if temperatures continue to increase. An increase in melting of the ice sheet would accelerate sea-level rise, an issue affecting potentially billions of people worldwide. The IST CDR will provide a convenient data set for modelers and for climatologists to track changes of the surface temperature of the ice sheet as a whole and of the individual drainage basins on the ice sheet. The daily and monthly maps will provide information on surface melt as well as "clear-sky" temperature. The CDR will be further validated by comparing results with automatic-weather station data and with satellite-derived surface-temperature products
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