The Harlem Children's Zone, Promise Neighborhoods, and the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education

Examines the role of community services in raising academic achievement in the Harlem Children's Zone. Questions the effectiveness of replicating the neighborhood approach, rather than the schools-only approach, in the Promise Neighborhoods Initiative

A method to predict the thermal conductance of a bolted joint

Analytical method to predict interface thermal conductance of bolted joint

Remote sensing as an aid for marsh management: Lafouche parish, Louisiana

NASA aerial photography, primarily color infrared and color positive transparencies, was used in a study of marsh management practices and in comparing managed and unmanaged marsh areas. Weir locations for tidal control are recommended

Antibiotic Prescribing for Treatment of Acute Pediatric Illnesses by Advanced Practice Nurses

Antibiotic over-prescribing by physicians for the treatment of acute respiratory tract illnesses have been examined in a variety of settings. Different studies have examined nurse practitioner (NP) prescribing practices both in the United States and various international settings. There have been limited studies specifically examining antibiotic prescribing practices in the pediatric population. However, no studies were found which compared population specific NP groups. The purpose of this study was to understand differences in antibiotic prescribing practices among advanced practice pediatric providers. The goal of this project was to describe and compare antibiotic prescribing practices of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNP) and family nurse practitioners (FNP) in the management of acute pediatric illnesses in the primary care setting. A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used to evaluate and compare prescribing practices of advanced practice pediatric providers to determine appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in various clinical situations. Survey data was analyzed and chi-square test for independence indicated no significant difference between PNP and FNP for appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing. However, analysis of individual vignettes indicated NPs did well on ear, nose and throat questions but not questions with other content. This may indicate a need for antibiotic stewardship continuing education in management of cough and genitourinary issues in young children. In conclusion, advanced practice pediatric providers prescribe antibiotics similarly in the primary care setting

A Fourier transform spectrometer for visible and near ultra-violet measurements of atmospheric absorption

The development of a prototype, ground-based, Sun-pointed Michelson interferometric spectrometer is described. Its intended use is to measure the atmospheric amount of various gases which absorb in the near-infrared, visible, and near-ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Preliminary spectra which contain the alpha, 0.8 micrometer, and rho sigma tau water vapor absorption bands in the near-infrared are presented to indicate the present capability of the system. Ultimately, the spectrometer can be used to explore the feasible applications of Fourier transform spectroscopy in the ultraviolet where grating spectrometers were used exclusively

Remote sensing as an aid to route evaluation for relocated Louisiana Highway 1

NASA aerial photography in the form of color infrared and color positive transparencies is used as an aid for evaluation of the route proposed for relocated Louisiana Highway 1, between LaRose and Golden Meadow, in South Louisiana

An investigation of environmental factors associated with the current and proposed jetty systems at Belle Pass, Louisiana

The history of the existing jetty system at Belle Pass was investigated to determine its past effect on the littoral currents and beach erosion. Present flow patterns and erosion rates were also studied, along with the prevailing recession rates of local beaches not influenced by the jetty system. Aerial photographs and maps were used in conjunction with periodic hydraulic measurements, ground observations, and physical measurements of beach erosion. A scale model was constructed to further the study of flow patterns and velocities. It is shown that the existing jetty has not adversely affected the coastline in the area; erosive processes have been retarded by the jetty and its companion groin. Future erosion patterns are predicted, and projected effects of the proposed jetty system are given

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Simulations of Apsidal and Nodal Superhumps

In recent years a handful of systems have been observed to show "negative" (nodal) superhumps, with periods slightly shorter than the orbital period. It has been suggested that these modes are a consequence of the slow retrograde precession of the line of nodes in a disk tilted with respect to the orbital plane. Our simulations confirm and refine this model: they suggest a roughly axisymmetric, retrogradely-precessing, tilted disk that is driven at a period slightly less than half the orbital period as the tidal field of the orbiting secondary encounters in turn the two halves of the disk above and below the midplane. Each of these passings leads to viscous dissipation on one face of an optically-thick disk -- observers on opposite sides of the disk would each observe one brightening per orbit, but 180 degrees out of phase with each other.Comment: 11 pages. Accepted for publication in The ApJ Letter

The Orbital Period of the Ultracompact Low-Mass X-Ray Binary 4U 1543--624

We report the discovery of the orbital period of the ultracompact low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1543-624 using time-resolved optical photometry taken with the 6.5-m Clay (Magellan II) telescope in Chile. The light curve in the Sloan r' band clearly shows a periodic, sinusoidal modulation at 18.2+-0.1 min with a fractional semiamplitude of 8%, which we identify as the binary period. This is the second shortest orbital period among all the known LMXBs, and it verifies the earlier suggestion of 4U 1543-624 as an ultracompact binary based on X-ray spectroscopic properties. The sinusoidal shape of the optical modulation suggests that it arises from X-ray heating of the mass donor in a relatively low-inclination binary, although it could also be a superhump oscillation in which case the orbital period is slightly shorter. If the donor is a C-O white dwarf as previously suggested, its likely mass and radius are around 0.03 M_sun and 0.03 R_sun, respectively. For conservative mass transfer onto a neutron star and driven by gravitational radiation, this implies an X-ray luminosity of 6.5X10^36 erg/s and a source distance of 7 kpc. We also discuss optical photometry of another LMXB, the candidate ultracompact binary 4U 1822-000. We detected significant optical variability on a time scale of about 90 min, but it is not yet clear whether this was due to a periodic modulation.Comment: 4 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Superhumps: Confronting Theory with Observation

We review the theory and observations related to the ``superhump'' precession of eccentric accretion discs in close binary sytems. We agree with earlier work, although for different reasons, that the discrepancy between observation and dynamical theory implies that the effect of pressure in the disc cannot be neglected. We extend earlier work that investigates this effect to include the correct expression for the radius at which resonant orbits occur. Using analytic expressions for the accretion disc structure, we derive a relationship between the period excess and mass-ratio with the pressure effects included. This is compared to the observed data, recently derived results for detailed integration of the disc equations and the equivalent empirically derived relations and used to predict values for the mass ratio based on measured values of the period excess for 88 systems.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA