Reading Instruction for Students with Emotional Disturbance: A Mixed-Methods Investigation.

Although there is a substantial body of observation research investigating the manner in which reading instruction is provided to students with learning disabilities, there is little research in this area involving students with and at risk for emotional disturbance. The purpose of this investigation was to contribute to the limited corpus of observation studies investigating school-based practice in reading for this student population. In this investigation, 11 teachers from two states were systematically observed while providing reading instruction over the course of the 2017-2018 school year. Participating students were also observed over the course of the year and completed two standardized reading assessments at the beginning and end of this investigation. Teachers were also interviewed to identify contextual factors that promote or impede the provision of high quality reading instruction to this student population. Study findings suggest that teachers are in need of additional training, support, and resources to maximize instructional time. Students in this sample tended to make no or minimal progress in reading and were frequently observed displaying low levels of academic engagement across settings. Implications for school practice and areas for future research are discussed

The Responsible Inclusion of Students Receiving Special Education Services for Emotional Disturbance: Unraveling the Practice to Research Gap.

The majority of students receiving special education services for emotional disturbance (ED) receive a significant amount of instruction in general education classrooms, which emphasizes curriculums based on college and career readiness standards. In turn, those teachers who provide instruction to students with ED in inclusive settings are responsible for using evidence-based practices (EBPs) for those teaching situations in which they exist to meet free appropriate public education (FAPE) mandates. However, the identification of EBPs is a necessary pre-condition to eventual school adoption and teacher use of such practices. In this investigation, we completed a synthesis of syntheses to (a) determine the degree to which academic intervention research has focused on students with ED in general education classrooms and (b) identify practices that are effective at improving the academic performance of students with ED in these settings. Overall, few studies were identified. Of those studies identified, half did not disaggregate outcomes for students with ED. A quality indicator coding based on the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) design standards revealed that no studies with disaggregated outcomes permitted causal inferences. Implications for school practice and areas for future research are discussed

The Effects of a Function-Based Classwide Intervention on the Behavior of Students in Urban Self-Contained English Language Arts Classrooms

School-based support teams may be overwhelmed, making it essential that teachers quickly integrate effective behavior management practices into their developing repertoire of skills. Using a randomized multiple baseline design, this study investigated the effects of a function-based classwide intervention on disruptive behavior and class engagement in three urban self-contained ELA classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Teacher implementation was supported through the application of a problem solving consultation framework. Visual analysis of observation data suggested that interventions were effective in all three classrooms. The participating teacher also reported intervention and consultation services as socially valid

Virtually Enhanced Fluid Laboratories for Teaching Meteorology

The “Weather in a Tank” project offers instructors a repertoire of rotating tank experiments and a curriculum in fluid dynamics to better assist students in learning how to move between phenomena in the real world and basic principles of rotating fluid dynamics that play a central role in determining the climate of the planet. Despite the increasing use of laboratory experiments in teaching meteorology, many teachers and students do not have access to suitable apparatuses and so cannot benefit from them. This article describes a “virtually enhanced” laboratory that could be very effective in getting across a flavor of the experiments and bring them to a wider audience. In the pedagogical spirit of Weather in a Tank, the focus is on how simple underlying principles, illustrated through laboratory experiments, shape the observed structure of the large-scale atmospheric circulation.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant AGS-1338814

Multiple conserved regulatory domains promote Fezf2 expression in the developing cerebral cortex.

BackgroundThe genetic programs required for development of the cerebral cortex are under intense investigation. However, non-coding DNA elements that control the expression of developmentally important genes remain poorly defined. Here we investigate the regulation of Fezf2, a transcription factor that is necessary for the generation of deep-layer cortical projection neurons.ResultsUsing a combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) we mapped the binding of four deep-layer-enriched transcription factors previously shown to be important for cortical development. Building upon this we characterized the activity of three regulatory regions around the Fezf2 locus at multiple stages throughout corticogenesis. We identified a promoter that was sufficient for expression in the cerebral cortex, and enhancers that drove reporter gene expression in distinct forebrain domains, including progenitor cells and cortical projection neurons.ConclusionsThese results provide insight into the regulatory logic controlling Fezf2 expression and further the understanding of how multiple non-coding regulatory domains can collaborate to control gene expression in vivo

A tribute to Michael R. Raupach for contributions to aeolian fluid dynamics

Since the pioneering work of Bagnold in the 1940s, aeolian research has grown to become an integral part of earth-system science. Many individuals have contributed to this development, and Dr. Michael R. Raupach (1950–2015) has played a pivotal role. Raupach worked intensively on wind erosion problems for about a decade (1985–1995), during which time he applied his deep knowledge of turbulence to aeolian research problems and made profound contributions with far-reaching impact. The beauty of Raupach’s work lies in his clear conceptual thinking and his ability to reduce complex problems to their bare essentials. The results of his work are fundamentally important and have many practical applications. In this review we reflect on Raupach’s contribution to a number of important aspects of aeolian research, summarise developments since his inspirational work and place Raupach’s efforts in the context of aeolian science. We also demonstrate how Raupach’s work provided a foundation for new developments in aeolian research. In this tribute, we concentrate on five areas of research: (1) drag partition theory; (2) saltation roughness length; (3) saltation bombardment; (4) threshold friction velocity and (5) the carbon cycl

PTF10nvg: An Outbursting Class I Protostar in the Pelican/North American Nebula

During a synoptic survey of the North American Nebula region, the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) detected an optical outburst (dubbed PTF10nvg) associated with the previously unstudied flat or rising spectrum infrared source IRAS 20496+4354. The PTF R-band light curve reveals that PTF10nvg brightened by more than 5 mag during the current outburst, rising to a peak magnitude of R~13.5 in 2010 Sep. Follow-up observations indicate PTF10nvg has undergone a similar ~5 mag brightening in the K band, and possesses a rich emission-line spectrum, including numerous lines commonly assumed to trace mass accretion and outflows. Many of these lines are blueshifted by ~175 km/s from the North American Nebula's rest velocity, suggesting that PTF10nvg is driving an outflow. Optical spectra of PTF10nvg show several TiO/VO bandheads fully in emission, indicating the presence of an unusual amount of dense (> 10^10 cm^-3), warm (1500-4000 K) circumstellar material. Near-infrared spectra of PTF10nvg appear quite similar to a spectrum of McNeil's Nebula/V1647 Ori, a young star which has undergone several brightenings in recent decades, and 06297+1021W, a Class I protostar with a similarly rich near--infrared emission line spectrum. While further monitoring is required to fully understand this event, we conclude that the brightening of PTF10nvg is indicative of enhanced accretion and outflow in this Class-I-type protostellar object, similar to the behavior of V1647 Ori in 2004-2005.Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal; 21 pages, 11 figures, 6 tables in emulateapj format; v2 fixes typo in abstract; v3 updates status to accepted, adjusts affiliations, adds acknowledgmen

Prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of low-dose amiodarone in patients with severe heart failure and asymptomatic frequent ventricular ectopy

Sudden cardiac death is a common cause of mortality in patients with congestive heart failure. To determine if low-dose amiodarone could reduce sudden death among these patients, a prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blind pilot trial was conducted. One hundred one patients with ejection fractions p = 0.02) and remained low after 6 months, while there was no change in ventricular ectopy among the patients receiving placebo. Despite the reduction in ectopy, there was no improvement in mortality or decrease in the incidence of sudden death. One-year mortality by Kaplan-Meier analysis was 28% in the group receiving amiodarone and 19% in the group receiving placebo (p = NS). One-year mortality in patients with >75% reduction in ventricular ectopy after 1 month of treatment was 31% versus 17% in patients with p = NS). Although the size of the trial and its statistical power do not eliminate the possibility of a significant reduction in mortality with low-dose amiodarone, any effect is likely to be modest, i.e., <25%. Therefore low-dose amiodarone can be safely administered to patients with severely impaired myocardial function and will significantly suppress spontaneous ventricular ectopy. However, despite arrhythmia suppression, low-dose amiodarone may not reduce or may have only a modest effect on the incidence of sudden death in patients with heart failure and asymptomatic ventricular ectopy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29119/1/0000158.pd