The effectiveness of job card grounding and job card grounding with a token economy in the management of the behavior of males residing in a therapeutic group home

Time-out, an effective way of controlling undesirable behavior in children, is considered to potentially yield limited effectiveness for individuals over the age of 11 due to their maturation and their parents’ ability to physically enforce time-out. A practical alternative to time-out for adolescents is Job Card Grounding. Job Card Grounding possesses the same behavioral components of time-out in that it provides a system through which parents can deliver consistent discipline and the adolescent has control over the frequency and duration of the consequence. This study is unique in that Job Card Grounding has not yet been empirically validated in the published literature, though researchers have believed for quite some time that it would be an effective means of managing behavior. Furthermore, recent publications indicate that Job Card Grounding would be an effective behavior management program for individuals ages 11-18 years because it has the recommended qualities of successful behavior management plans such as stability, consistency, and opportunities for positive reinforcement. The current study also explored the effectiveness of Job Card Grounding used in conjunction with a token economy. The effect of Job Card Grounding alone and in combination with a token economy to address the behavior of adolescent males who were wards of the state and resided in a therapeutic group home was assessed across two consecutive summers. In Year 1, an ABB+CA design was utilized to assess the effectiveness of the treatments. The second A phase in Year 1 was a natural withdrawal initiated by the adolescents’ caregiver. In Year 2, an AB design was utilized. The investigators were invited back in Year 2 to re-implement the treatment due to a return of undesirable behaviors. Job Card Grounding alone and with a token economy was found to be effective behavior management tools for this population across both years. The findings of this study may be useful for individuals who work with children and adolescents who have become too old or intellectually advanced for time-out procedures. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed in this paper

Design and Development of an Unrestricted Satellite Motion Simulator

The design of most hardware-based spacecraft attitude simulators restricts motion in one or more axes. The problem addressed in this paper is how to design and build a reconfigurable spacecraft model and testbed to simulate the attitude control performance for any satellite. A new satellite attitude dynamics and control simulator and testbed was designed to facilitate unrestricted attitude control algorithm testing which solves the restricted motion problem by using a spherical rotor mounted on an air bearing for a 360°, 3-axis capable testbed. The simulator uses reaction wheels as the momentum exchange device in the satellite since most small satellites with attitude control capabilities use reaction wheels as the preferred means of momentum exchange. Inside the spherical rotor is a reconfigurable inertia model capable of simulating any spacecraft inertia within its design envelope. To establish the design envelope for allowable inertia values, data from over 60 satellites were included. While not all satellites are CubeSats, the emphasis of this paper is the benefit to the smaller CubeSat developer of a low-cost testbed for attitude control algorithm design, validation and demonstration

New Applications of Resummation in Non-Abelian Gauge Theories: QED X QCD Exponentiation for LHC Physics, IR-Improved DGLAP Theory and Resummed Quantum Gravity

We present the elements of three applications of resummation methods in non-Abelian gauge theories: (1), QED X QCD exponentiation and shower/ME matching for LHC physics; (2), IR improvement of DGLAP theory; (3), resummed quantum gravity and the final state of Hawking radiation. In all cases, the extension of the YFS approach, originally introduced for Abelian gauge theory, to non-Abelian gauge theories, QCD and quantum general relativity, leads to new results and solutions which we briefly summarize.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, presented at RADCOR05, Kanagawa, Japan, Oct., 200

USU Extension’s Focus on Stress and Mental Health in Rural Agriculture

Many agriculture producers are seeking help to combat stress, mental illness, and suicide. Although some resources exist, there is a gap in resources specific to mental health in rural farm and ranch life. In response, Utah State University (USU) Extension developed a mental health education course to address stressors within agriculture

Evaluation of the Theoretical Uncertainties in the Z to ll Cross Sections at the LHC

We study the sources of systematic errors in the measurement of the Z to ll cross-sections at the LHC. We consider the systematic errors in both the total cross-section and acceptance for anticipated experimental cuts. We include the best available analysis of QCD effects at NNLO in assessing the effect of higher order corrections and PDF and scale uncertainties on the theoretical acceptance. In addition, we evaluate the error due to missing NLO electroweak corrections and propose which MC generators and computational schemes should be implemented to best simulate the events.Comment: 23 pages, 52 eps figures, LaTeX with JHEP3.cls, epsfig. Added a reference, acknowledgment, and a few clarifying comments. 4/29: Changes in references, minor rewordings and misprint corrections, and one new table (Table 4) comparing CTEQ and MRST PDFs in the NNLO calculation. Version 6 adds email addresses and corrects one referenc

Development of an Optimized Medium, Strain and High-Throughput Culturing Methods for Methylobacterium extorquens

Methylobacterium extorquens strains are the best-studied methylotrophic model system, and their metabolism of single carbon compounds has been studied for over 50 years. Here we develop a new system for high-throughput batch culture of M. extorquens in microtiter plates by jointly optimizing the properties of the organism, the growth media and the culturing system. After removing cellulose synthase genes in M. extorquens strains AM1 and PA1 to prevent biofilm formation, we found that currently available lab automation equipment, integrated and managed by open source software, makes possible reliable estimates of the exponential growth rate. Using this system, we developed an optimized growth medium for M. extorquens using response surface methodologies. We found that media that used EDTA as a metal chelator inhibited growth and led to inconsistent culture conditions. In contrast, the new medium we developed with a PIPES buffer and metals chelated by citrate allowed for fast and more consistent growth rates. This new Methylobacterium PIPES (‘MP’) medium was also robust to large deviations in its component ingredients which avoided batch effects from experiments that used media prepared at different times. MP medium allows for faster and more consistent growth than other media used for M. extorquens.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Pickleball for Inactive Mid-Life and Older Adults in Rural Utah: A Feasibility Study

Many diseases, disabilities, and mental health conditions associated with aging can be delayed or prevented through regular exercise. Several barriers to exercise, many of which are exacerbated in rural communities, prevent mid-life and older adults from accessing its benefits. However, recently, a racquet sport named pickleball has become popular among older adults, and it appears to overcome some of these barriers. We conducted a feasibility study to evaluate the impact of a six-week pickleball intervention on measures of muscle function, cognitive function, perceived pain, and cardio-metabolic risk, as well as several psychosocial factors contributing to adherence in sedentary rural participants. Participants improved their vertical jump, cognitive performance, and reported a decrease in self-reported pain, suggesting improved physical and cognitive health across the sample. Participants also reported high levels of satisfaction and demonstrated good adherence over the duration of the study. Perhaps of greatest value was the overwhelmingly positive response from participants to the intervention and follow-up interviews reporting a desire to continue pickleball play beyond the study period. Overall, pickleball appears to be a promising intervention to, (1) elicit functional- and cognitive-related improvements, and (2) motivate mid-life and older adults to adhere to exercise sufficiently long to benefit their health