1,253 research outputs found
The Costs and Benefits of a Comprehensive Induction Program
Until now there have been no benefit-cost studies of mentoring programs for beginning teachers to provide legislators, educational administrators, and program leaders with the kind of economic information they need for informed decision making. In a benefit-cost analysis we estimate the financial benefits of a given course of action against the actual costs, and use the resulting balance to guide decision making. Costs are either one-time, or may be ongoing. Benefits are most often received over time. In its simple form, benefit-cost analysis is carried out using only actual financial costs and financial benefits. A more sophisticated approach attempts also to put a financial value on intangible costs and benefits, a process that can be highly subjective. In order to provide an estimate of the potential return on the investment in a comprehensive mentoring program for beginning teachers we collected actual cost data for the Santa Cruz New Teacher Project across all its local contexts,calculated the measured benefits, assigning them a monetary value where possible, and computed the net present value over five years. We looked at net benefits or costs from multiple perspectives: the state, the district, the school, the teacher, and the student. The total of all these represents the net benefit or cost to society.calculated the measured benefits, assigning them a monetary value where possible, and computed the net present value over five years. We looked at net benefits or costs from multiple perspectives: the state, the district, the school, the teacher, and the student. The total of all these represents the net benefit or cost to society
A Near-Infrared Survey of the Inner Galactic Plane for Wolf-Rayet Stars I. Methods and First Results: 41 New WR Stars
The discovery of new Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in our Galaxy via large-scale
narrowband optical surveys has been severely limited by dust extinction. Recent
improvements in infrared technology have made narrowband-broadband imaging
surveys viable again. We report a new J, K and narrow-band imaging survey of
300 square degrees of the plane of the Galaxy, spanning 150 degrees in Galactic
longitude and reaching 1 degree above and below the Galactic plane. The survey
has a useful limiting magnitude of K = 15 over most of the observed Galactic
plane, and K = 14 within a few degrees of the Galactic center. Thousands of
emission line candidates have been detected. In spectrographic follow-ups of
173 WR star candidates we have discovered 41 new WR stars, 15 of type WN and 26
of type WC. Star subtype assignments have been confirmed with K band spectra,
and distances approximated using the method of spectroscopic parallax. A few of
the new WR stars are amongst the most distant known in our Galaxy. The
distribution of these new WR stars is seen to follow that of previously known
WR stars along the spiral arms of the Galaxy. Tentative radial velocities were
also measured for most of the new WR stars.Comment: 55 pages, 23 figures, 7 tables, accepted to Astronomical Journa
Prioritizing surveillance activities for certification of yaws eradication based on a review and model of historical case reporting
BACKGROUNDt: The World Health Organization
(WHO) has targeted yaws for global eradication. Eradication
requires certification that all countries are yaws-free. While
only 14 Member States currently report cases to WHO, many more
are known to have a history of yaws and some of them may have
ongoing transmission. We reviewed the literature and developed a
model of case reports to identify countries in which passive
surveillance is likely to find and report cases if transmission
is still occurring, with the goal of reducing the number of
countries in which more costly active surveillance will be
required. METHODSt: We reviewed published and
unpublished documents to extract data on the number of yaws
cases reported to WHO or appearing in other literature in any
year between 1945 and 2015. We classified countries as: a)
having interrupted transmission; b) being currently endemic; c)
being previously endemic (current status unknown); or d) having
no history of yaws. We constructed a panel dataset for the years
1945-2015 and ran a regression model to identify factors
associated with some countries not reporting cases during
periods when there was ongoing (and documented) transmission.
For previously endemic countries whose current status is
unknown, we then estimated the probability that countries would
have reported cases if there had in fact been transmission in
the last three years (2013-2015)." - Label: RESULTS content:
Yaws has been reported in 103 of the 237 countries and areas
considered. 14 Member States and 1 territory (Wallis and Futuna
Islands) are currently endemic. 2 countries are believed to have
interrupted transmission. 86 countries and areas are previously
endemic (current status unknown). Reported cases peaked in the
1950s, with 55 countries reporting at least one case in 1950 and
a total of 2.35 million cases reported in 1954. Our regression
model suggests that case reporting during periods of ongoing
transmission is positively associated with socioeconomic
development and, in the short-term, negatively associated with
independence. We estimated that for 66 out of the 86 previously
endemic countries whose current status is unknown, the
probability of reporting cases in the absence of active
surveillance is less than 50%. DISCUSSION:
Countries with a history of yaws need to be prioritized so that
international resources for global yaws eradication may be
deployed efficiently. Heretofore, the focus has been on mass
treatment in countries currently reporting cases. It is also
important to undertake surveillance in the 86 previously endemic
countries for which the current status is unknown. Within this
large and diverse group, we have identified a group of 20
countries with more than a 50% probability of reporting cases in
the absence of active surveillance. For the other 66 countries,
international support for active surveillance will likely be
required
Mechanisms of Fetal Programming in Hypertension
Events that occur in the early fetal environment have been linked to long-term health and lifespan consequences in the adult. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), which may occur as a result of nutrient insufficiency, exposure to hormones, or disruptions in placental structure or function, may induce the fetus to alter its developmental program in order to adapt to the new conditions. IUGR may result in a decrease in the expression of genes that are responsible for nephrogenesis as nutrients are rerouted to the development of more essential organs. Fetal survival under these conditions often results in low birth weight and a deficit in nephron endowment, which are associated with hypertension in adults. Interestingly, male IUGR offspring appear to be more severely affected than females, suggesting that sex hormones may be involved. The processes of fetal programming of hypertension are complex, and we are only beginning to understand the underlying mechanisms
Paxamarca: un asentamiento inca en el curso medio del río Marañón (provincia de Luya, Amazonas)
In this article, we present an evaluation of the Paxamarca settlement during the Inca hegemony, by analyzing typical buildings of the Tahuantinsuyo, in which kallankas, kanchas, and other structures that formed part of the so-called architecture of power and were located among local style buildings stand out. We also suggest the possible importance of the complex in controlling and organizing a wide territory during the Late Horizon.En el presente trabajo, exponemos algunas de nuestras apreciaciones sobre el asentamiento de Paxamarca durante la hegemonía inca, mediante el reconocimiento de edificios típicos del Tahuantinsuyo, en los que destacan kallankas, kanchas y otras estructuras que formaron parte de la denominada arquitectura de poder, ubicadas entre edificios de estilo local. Expresamos, además, la posible importancia del complejo en el control y la organización de un amplio territorio durante el Horizonte Tardío
The drift table: designing for ludic engagement
The Drift Table is an electronic coffee table that displays slowly moving aerial photography controlled by the distribution of weight on its surface. It was designed to investigate our ideas about how technologies for the home could support ludic activities-that is, activities motivated by curiosity, exploration, and reflection rather than externally-defined tasks. The many design choices we made, for example to block or disguise utilitarian functionality, helped to articulate our emerging understanding of ludic design. Observations of the Drift Table being used in volunteers' homes over several weeks gave greater insight into how playful exploration is practically achieved and the issues involved in designing for ludic engagement
Diagnóstico de las canteras de travertino de la provincia de Chupaca, región Junín
La presente tesis trata del diagnóstico de las canteras de travertino de la
provincia de Chupaca, región Junín, para conocer sus recursos minerales, calidad
del travertino, accesibilidad, producción, precios, rentabilidad, etc. y determinar
hasta qué punto es factible su explotación.
El método de la investigación, fue el deductivo y analítico. El tipo de investigación
es la aplicada o tecnológica, que es la utilización de los conocimientos en la
práctica
Haptoglobin Phenotype, Preeclampsia Risk and the Efficacy of Vitamin C and E Supplementation to Prevent Preeclampsia in a Racially Diverse Population
Haptoglobin's (Hp) antioxidant and pro-angiogenic properties differ between the 1-1, 2-1, and 2-2 phenotypes. Hp phenotype affects cardiovascular disease risk and treatment response to antioxidant vitamins in some non-pregnant populations. We previously demonstrated that preeclampsia risk was doubled in white Hp 2-1 women, compared to Hp 1-1 women. Our objectives were to determine whether we could reproduce this finding in a larger cohort, and to determine whether Hp phenotype influences lack of efficacy of antioxidant vitamins in preventing preeclampsia and serious complications of pregnancy-associated hypertension (PAH). This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial in which 10,154 low-risk women received daily vitamin C and E, or placebo, from 9-16 weeks gestation until delivery. Hp phenotype was determined in the study prediction cohort (n = 2,393) and a case-control cohort (703 cases, 1,406 controls). The primary outcome was severe PAH, or mild or severe PAH with elevated liver enzymes, elevated serum creatinine, thrombocytopenia, eclampsia, fetal growth restriction, medically indicated preterm birth or perinatal death. Preeclampsia was a secondary outcome. Odds ratios were estimated by logistic regression. Sampling weights were used to reduce bias from an overrepresentation of women with preeclampsia or the primary outcome. There was no relationship between Hp phenotype and the primary outcome or preeclampsia in Hispanic, white/other or black women. Vitamin supplementation did not reduce the risk of the primary outcome or preeclampsia in women of any phenotype. Supplementation increased preeclampsia risk (odds ratio 3.30; 95% confidence interval 1.61-6.82, p<0.01) in Hispanic Hp 2-2 women. Hp phenotype does not influence preeclampsia risk, or identify a subset of women who may benefit from vitamin C and E supplementation to prevent preeclampsia
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