Using Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with Problem Students

The traditional approaches of spending hours of time addressing each student\u27s problems is no longer feasible today due to the large caseloads of students school counselors and teachers often face. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is an approach which may be used for typical student concerns to achieve rapid observable change. School administrators and leachers will also benefit since each component of the approach may be used independently in a variety of situations. This thesis describes an outcome study of solution-oriented strategy in working with middle school students identified by teachers as having behavioral difficulties in the classroom. Subjects involved were a sample of twenty-eight middle-school classroom teachers. Fifteen or more teachers made-up the \u27experimental group\u27 with specific interventions initiated. In a workshop-type format, the teachers received instructions on how to utilize seven basic approaches in solution-focused therapy which they immediately incorporated in their interventions with a student they identified they would like to work with. The evaluation of the BSFT workshop is shown in Appendix D. The remaining half of the teachers were the control group without any given intervention. The independent variable relevant to this study is a solution-focused approach to behavior problems. The dependent variable is the change in student behavior as measured by teacher rating on the Conner Behavior Scale-Revised. This was carried out by administering a pretest measuring student behavior prior to the intervention and a posttest measuring the same variable following it

Proton lifetime bounds from chirally symmetric lattice QCD

We present results for the matrix elements relevant for proton decay in Grand Unified Theories (GUTs). The calculation is performed at a fixed lattice spacing a^{-1}=1.73(3) GeV using 2+1 flavors of domain wall fermions on lattices of size 16^3\times32 and 24^3\times64 with a fifth dimension of length 16. We use the indirect method which relies on an effective field theory description of proton decay, where we need to estimate the low energy constants, \alpha = -0.0112(25) GeV^3 and \beta = 0.0120(26) GeV^3. We relate these low energy constants to the proton decay matrix elements using leading order chiral perturbation theory. These can then be combined with experimental bounds on the proton lifetime to bound parameters of individual GUTs.Comment: 17 pages, 9 Figure

Role of the σ\sigma-resonance in determining the convergence of chiral perturbation theory

The dimensionless parameter $\xi = M_\pi^2/(16 \pi^2 F_\pi^2)$, where $F_\pi$ is the pion decay constant and $M_\pi$ is the pion mass, is expected to control the convergence of chiral perturbation theory applicable to QCD. Here we demonstrate that a strongly coupled lattice gauge theory model with the same symmetries as two-flavor QCD but with a much lighter $\sigma$-resonance is different. Our model allows us to study efficiently the convergence of chiral perturbation theory as a function of $\xi$. We first confirm that the leading low energy constants appearing in the chiral Lagrangian are the same when calculated from the $p$-regime and the $\epsilon$-regime as expected. However, $\xi \lesssim 0.002$ is necessary before 1-loop chiral perturbation theory predicts the data within 1%. For $\xi > 0.0035$ the data begin to deviate dramatically from 1-loop chiral perturbation theory predictions. We argue that this qualitative change is due to the presence of a light $\sigma$-resonance in our model. Our findings may be useful for lattice QCD studies.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, revtex forma

Acid-sensing ion channel 3 decreases phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases and induces synoviocyte cell death by increasing intracellular calcium.

IntroductionAcid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3) is expressed in synoviocytes, activated by decreases in pH, and reduces inflammation in animal models of inflammatory arthritis. The purpose of the current study was to characterize potential mechanisms underlying the control of inflammation by ASIC3 in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS).MethodsExperiments were performed in cultured FLS from wild-type (WT) and ASIC3-/- mice, ASIC1-/- mice, and people with rheumatoid arthritis. We assessed the effects of acidic pH with and without interleukin-1β on FLS and the role of ASICs in modulating intracellular calcium [Ca(2+)](i), mitogen activated kinase (MAP kinase) expression, and cell death. [Ca(2+)](i) was assessed by fluorescent calcium imaging, MAP kinases were measured by Western Blots; ASIC, cytokine and protease mRNA expression were measured by quantitative PCR and cell death was measured with a LIVE/DEAD assay.ResultsAcidic pH increased [Ca(2+)](i) and decreased p-ERK expression in WT FLS; these effects were significantly smaller in ASIC3-/- FLS and were prevented by blockade of [Ca(2+)]i. Blockade of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) prevented the pH-induced decreases in p-ERK. In WT FLS, IL-1β increases ASIC3 mRNA, and when combined with acidic pH enhances [Ca(2+)](i), p-ERK, IL-6 and metalloprotienase mRNA, and cell death. Inhibitors of [Ca(2+)](i) and ERK prevented cell death induced by pH 6.0 in combination with IL-1β in WT FLS.ConclusionsDecreased pH activates ASIC3 resulting in increased [Ca(2+)](i), and decreased p-ERK. Under inflammatory conditions, acidic pH results in enhanced [Ca(2+)](i) and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase that leads to cell death. Thus, activation of ASIC3 on FLS by acidic pH from an inflamed joint could limit synovial proliferation resulting in reduced accumulation of inflammatory mediators and subsequent joint damage

The Use of Altered Gravity as a Tool to Understand Neurovestibular Mechanisms in Vertebrates

Vertebrates sense gravito-inertial acceleration by mechanoreceptors (hair cells) in the otolith structures of the inner ear. These structures consist of ciliated sensory hair cells surmounted by biomineral grains of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) called otoconia that provide mechanical loading of hair cell cilia. Changes in their high density can alter the hair cells sensitivity to acceleration and orientation with respect to gravity. A widely considered mechanism by which the animal responds to a chronic change in amplitude of gravity is a change in weight-lending otoconia. Hair cells are synaptically coupled to the vestibular nerve afferents that convey the signals into the brain. Synapses are modifiable in strength and numbers, and thereby can be an additional target to adjust the sensation as the gravity load changes. Here, we present the results obtained in 2 species exposed both to G and HG. Adult toadfish, Opsanus tau, were exposed to G in 2 short-duration shuttle missions and to 1.4 2.24G [resultant] centrifugation for 1-32 days; re-adaptation was studied following 1-8 days after return to 1G. Results show a biphasic pattern in response to 2.24G: initial hypersensitivity, similar to that observed after G exposure, followed by transition to a significant decrease at 16-32 days. Recovery from HG exposure is 4-8 days. Two major pieces of information are still needed: vertebrate hair cell response to altered gravity and impact of longer duration exposures on sensory plasticity. To address the latter we applied electron microscopic techniques to image otoconia mass obtained from 1) mice subjected to 91-days of weightlessness in the Mouse Drawer System (MDS) flown on International Space Station, 2) mice subjected to 91-days of 1.24G centrifugation on ground, and 3) mice flown on 2 short-duration orbital missions. Images indicate a clear restructuring of individual otoconia, suggesting deposition to the outer shell. Images from their HG counterparts indicate the converse - an ablation of the otoconia mass. For shorter duration exposures to weightlessness on 13-day shuttle missions mice otoconia appear normal. Despite the permanence of 1G in evolution the animal senses exposure to a novel, non-1G, environment and adaptive mechanisms are initiated - in the short term compensation is likely confined to the peripheral sensory receptors, the brain or both. For longer exposures structural modifications of the endorgan may also result

A one-sided Prime Ideal Principle for noncommutative rings

Completely prime right ideals are introduced as a one-sided generalization of the concept of a prime ideal in a commutative ring. Some of their basic properties are investigated, pointing out both similarities and differences between these right ideals and their commutative counterparts. We prove the Completely Prime Ideal Principle, a theorem stating that right ideals that are maximal in a specific sense must be completely prime. We offer a number of applications of the Completely Prime Ideal Principle arising from many diverse concepts in rings and modules. These applications show how completely prime right ideals control the one-sided structure of a ring, and they recover earlier theorems stating that certain noncommutative rings are domains (namely, proper right PCI rings and rings with the right restricted minimum condition that are not right artinian). In order to provide a deeper understanding of the set of completely prime right ideals in a general ring, we study the special subset of comonoform right ideals.Comment: 38 page

Compact Nuclei in Galaxies at Moderate Redshift:II. Their Nature and Implications for the AGN Luminosity Function

This study explores the space density and properties of active galaxies to z=0.8. We have investigated the frequency and nature of unresolved nuclei in galaxies at moderate redshift as indicators of nuclear activity such as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) or starbursts. Candidates are selected by fitting imaged galaxies with multi-component models using maximum likelihood estimate techniques to determine the best model fit. We select those galaxies requiring an unresolved point-source component in the galaxy nucleus, in addition to a disk and/or bulge component, to adequately model the galaxy light. We have searched 70 WFPC2 images primarily from the Medium Deep Survey for galaxies containing compact nuclei. In our survey of 1033 galaxies, the fraction containing an unresolved nuclear component greater than 5% of the total galaxy light is 9+/-1% corrected for incompleteness. In this second of two papers in this series, we discuss the nature of the compact nuclei and their hosts. We present the upper limit luminosity function (LF) for low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN) in two redshift bins to z=0.8. Mild number density evolution is detected for nuclei at -18 -16 and this flatness, combined with the increase in number density, is inconsistent with pure luminosity evolution. Based on the amount of density evolution observed for these objects, we find that almost all present-day spiral galaxies could have hosted a LLAGN at some point in their lives. We also comment on the likely contribution of these compact nuclei to the soft X-ray background.Comment: 50 pages, 14 figures, to appear in ApJ, April 199

A Search for Nitrogen Enriched Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release

A search for nitrogen-rich quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release (SDSS EDR) catalog has yielded 16 candidates, including five with very prominent emission, but no cases with nitrogen emission as strong as in Q0353-383. The quasar Q0353-383 has long been known to have extremely strong nitrogen intercombination lines at lambda 1486 and lambda 1750 Angstroms, implying an anomalously high nitrogen abundance of about 15 times solar. It is still the only one of its kind known. A preliminary search through the EDR using the observed property of the weak C IV emission seen in Q0353-383 resulted in a sample of 23 objects with unusual emission or absorption-line properties, including one very luminous redshift 2.5 star-forming galaxy. We present descriptions, preliminary emission-line measurements, and spectra for all the objects discussed here.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, submitted to AJ; final refereed versio

The Gravitational Lensing in Redshift-space Correlation Functions of Galaxies and Quasars

The gravitational lensing, as well as the velocity field and the cosmological light-cone warp, changes the observed correlation function of high-redshift objects. We present an analytical expression of 3D correlation function, simultaneously including those three effects. When two objects are separated over several hundreds Mpc along a line of sight, the observed correlation function is dominated by the effect of gravitational lensing rather than the intrinsic clustering. For a canonical lambda-CDM model, the lensing signals in the galaxy-galaxy and galaxy-QSO correlations are beyond noise levels in large-scale redshift surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, submitted to ApJ

Cosmological Luminosity Evolution of QSO/AGN Population

We apply the observed optical/X-ray spectral states of the Galactic black hole candidates (GBHCs) to the cosmological QSO luminosity evolution under the assumptions that QSOs and GBHCs are powered by similar accretion processes and that their emission mechanisms are also similar. The QSO luminosity function (LF) evolution in various energy bands is strongly affected by the spectral evolution which is tightly correlated with the luminosity evolution. We generate a random sample of QSOs born nearly synchronously by allowing the QSOs to have redshifts in a narrow range around an initial high redshift, black hole masses according to a power-law, and mass accretion rates near Eddington rates. The QSOs evolve as a single long-lived population on the cosmological time scale. The pure luminosity evolution results in distinct luminosity evolution features due to the strong spectral evolution. Most notably, different energy bands (optical/UV, soft X-ray, and hard X-ray) show different evolutionary trends and the hard X-ray LF in particular shows an apparent reversal of the luminosity evolution (from decreasing to increasing luminosity) at low redshifts, which is not seen in the conventional pure luminosity evolution scenario without spectral evolution. The resulting mass function of black holes (BHs), which is qualitatively consistent with the observed QSO LF evolution, shows that QSO remnants are likely to be found as BHs with masses in the range 10**8-5x10**10 solar masses. The long-lived single population of QSOs are expected to leave their remnants as supermassive BHs residing in rare, giant elliptical galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, ApJ