Opportunities to Respond in an Inclusive Early Childhood Classroom

The purpose of this study was to determine if providing students with opportunities to respond resulted in positive student behavior. The researcher conducted the study in an inclusive preschool classroom including students on Individualized Education Plan’s (IEP) and English Language Learners (ELL). The intent of the study was to reduce the amount of negative behaviors in order to provide students with more instructional time and less time addressing unwanted behaviors

La superficie de la cavidad del molde: Métodos de fabricación y efectos sobre la pieza

Se presentan los diferentes procesos para elaborar la superficie de una cavidad de molde y se explica su reproducción en la pieza plástica mediante el moldeo por inyección

Simulating the dynamics of dispersal and dispersal ability in fragmented populations with mate-finding Allee effects

We consider the spatial propagation and genetic evolution of model populations comprising multiple subpopulations, each distinguished by its own characteristic dispersal rate. Mate finding is modeled in accord with the assumption that reproduction is based on random encounters between pairs of individuals, so that the frequency of interbreeding between two subpopulations is proportional to the product of local population densities of each. The resulting nonlinear growth term produces an Allee effect, whereby reproduction rates are lower in sparsely populated areas; the distribution of dispersal rates that evolves is then highly dependent upon the population's initial spatial distribution. In a series of numerical test cases, we consider how these dynamics affect lattice-like arrangements of population fragments, and investigate how a population's initial fragmentation determines the dispersal rates that evolve as a habitat is colonized. First, we consider a case where initial population fragments coincide with habitat islands, within which death rates differ from those that apply outside; the presence of inhospitable exterior regions exaggerates Allee effect-driven reductions in dispersal ability. We then examine how greater distances separating adjacent population fragments lead to more severe reductions in dispersal ability. For populations of a fixed initial magnitude, fragmentation into smaller, denser patches leads not only to greater losses of dispersal ability, but also helps ensure the population's long-term persistence, emphasizing the trade-offs between the benefits and risks of rapid dispersal under Allee effects. Next, simulations of well-established populations disrupted by localized depopulation events illustrate how mate-finding Allee effects and spatial heterogeneity can drive a population's dispersal ability to evolve either downward or upward depending on conditions, highlighting a qualitative distinction between population fragmentation and habitat heterogeneity. A final test case compares populations that are fragmented across multiple scales, demonstrating how differences in the relative scales of micro- and macro-level fragmentation can lead to qualitatively different evolutionary outcomes

Evaluating the clinical and economic burden of healthcare-associated infections during hospitalization for surgery in France

Over 4 million patients suffer nosocomial infections annually in the European Union. This study aimed to estimate the healthcare burden associated with healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) following surgery in France, and explore the potential impact of infection control strategies and interventions on the clinical and economic burden of disease. Data on the frequency of HAIs were gathered from the 2010 Programme de Médicalisation des Systèmes d'Information (PMSI), and cost data were taken from the 2009 Echelle Nationale de Coûts à Méthodologie Commune (ENCC). It was estimated that 3% of surgical procedures performed in 2010 in France resulted in infection, resulting in an annual cost of €57892715. Patients experiencing a HAI had a significantly increased mortality risk (4·15-fold) and an increased length of hospital stay (threefold). Scenario analysis in which HAI incidence following surgery was reduced by 8% (based on a study of the effectiveness of triclosan-coated sutures), suggested that, annually, 20205 hospital days and €4588519 could be saved. Analyses of 20% and 30% reductions in incidence (based on an estimate of the number of preventable nosocomial infections) suggested that annual savings of €11548057 and €17334696, respectively, could be made. New infection control interventions which reduce HAI incidence during hospitalization for surgery have the potential to provide valuable cost savings to healthcare provider

A pseudospectral implementation of Hamiltonian surface wave equations for coastal wave simulation

A Hamiltonian formulation of surface water wave dynamics offers several useful features for numerical simulations of coastal waves, including reduction of the fully three-dimensional fluid problem to free surface variables and conservation of an approximated total energy. The spectral linear version of the Hamiltonian dynamical equations captures wavelength dispersion using a pseudodifferential operator, while higher-order approximations of the total energy lead to dynamical equations that incorporate nonlinear effects in terms of this operator. These models, derived for constant depth, are extended for use with varying-depth bathymetries by replacing the pseudodifferential operator with a symmetrized combination of several such operators evaluated at selected depths from the bathymetry at hand. This new operator is constructed so as to minimize its error from the true local-depth operator over the entire bathymetry, with priority given to wavelengths for which the most accurate modeling is desired. The resulting equations are implemented using a Fourier pseudospectral method, with damping regions used to manage the inherent periodic boundary conditions, source terms used to generate waves within the computational domain, and additional damping terms used to roughly simulate reflective interfaces. The implementation is validated by comparison to data from several benchmark experiments: a focusing wave group over uniform depth, irregular waves over a sloping bathymetry, and monochromatic waves over a challenging shoal bathymetry. The results demonstrate the promising ability of this approach to accurately simulate dispersive and bathymetric effects, and to achieve improved accuracy through the use of nonlinear terms. These improvements in accuracy, however, appear to be limited by the increasing degree of filtration of wavenumber modes required to control aliasing in models of increasing order. Finally, the implementation is demonstrated through simulations of realistic wave scenarios over actual coastal bathymetries

A Budget Impact and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Blood Glucose Monitoring System in One Italian Region

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Interventional fetal balloon valvuloplasty for congenital heart disease—current shortcomings and possible perspectives

Fetal cardiac interventions are new and relatively unknown investigational options for modifying congenital heart disease in utero. Techniques for safer access to the fetus must be improved, and selection criteria for patients for whom these procedures are potentially beneficial must be developed. Currently, antenatal cardiac intervention attempts are being made to either prevent or reverse hydrops in fetuses with cardiac valve disease or outflow tract obstruction or to recruit hypoplastic ventricles. Most important are early detection and referral of these fetuses, thereby enabling timely procedures with improved outcomes. However, performing successful fetal cardiac interventions requires multidisciplinary collaboration between obstetricians, pediatric cardiologists, pediatric cardiac surgeons, and anesthesiologists, as each discipline provides specific skills for these critically ill babie