Modification and Assessment of a Residential Summer Program for High School Women

The importance of reducing the gender gap in engineering programs by recruiting and retaining female students is well recognized. Although women hold roughly half of all jobs in the United States, only 24% of STEM jobs are occupied by women. The problem is even more pronounced for engineering, where women held about 12% of jobs as of 2013 (Corbett & Hill, 2015). Consequently, interactive, hands-on outreach programs are a common tool used by universities to encourage interest in engineering from K–12 students. Engineering—Get Into Real Learning (E-GIRL) is a week-long, residential summer program offered by Texas Tech University for female high school students. The primary goal of the program is to help participants make informed decisions about engineering majors and careers. To this aim, the purposes of the program are: (1) to offer a platform for female high school students to learn about the various disciplines of engineering offered at Texas Tech University and other universities; (2) to provide a realistic university experience, including coursework, social, and professional development opportunities; and (3) to provide hands-on exposure to a real-world engineering problem. E-GIRL ran for the second time in the summer of 2016, based on the favorable support it received in 2015. Primary components of this year’s program were a multidisciplinary group project focused on the theme of CO2 capture and storage, as well as a series of two-hour classes taught by university faculty and graduate students in the following six engineering disciplines: chemical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science. This paper presents the multidisciplinary structure of the program and its connection to the project that was assigned to program participants. The curriculum structure, the in-class activities, and the method of delivery for each discipline are explained in depth. The assessment of the program’s second year, including comparisons to the results from the first year and modifications to the program based on feedback from previous program participants, are discussed. Assessment was conducted through engineering skills assessment questionnaires, which required students to self-evaluate their competence in 18 skill sets before and after the program. These skill sets are qualities often identified to be important for engineers, and encompass traits associated with problem solving, project management, teamwork, and communication skills. Key results show improved self-assessment for most of the engineering skills after the program. Additionally, the skills that did not show improved self-assessment ratings after the program were consistent throughout both years. Qualitative results show a more matured and complete understanding of engineering and the individual engineering disciplines upon completion of the program. Through oral presentations, participants demonstrated in-depth engagement with the environmental conservation theme of the project. The environmental conservation theme is consistent with the participants’ aspirations for considering an engineering career and championing sustainability, which was highlighted by program participants in 2015 as a desired additional focus of the program. Overall, the program provided an opportunity for participants to experience the multidisciplinary nature of engineering, aided participants’ understanding of the roles of individual engineering disciplines, and furnished a realistic preview of student life in a university

By Us and For Us: A Story of Early Childhood Development Systems Change and Results in a Rural Context

Since 2007, the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund — a donor-advised fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation — has invested in early childhood development in Coös County — New Hampshire’s largest and most rural and economically disadvantaged county. Community providers from a range of disciplines formed strong professional relationships and agreed on common goals and evidence-based strategies to improve services for children and families. This article describes how local community members joined forces with the fund to create an integrated early childhood development system for Coös’ children and families. It provides background on the investment and initiative strategy, summarizes key results, and outlines lessons for funders and others pursuing systems change efforts in early learning, in rural areas, or more broadly. With increasing interest in strategies to promote childhood resilience, school readiness, and community revitalization, Coös County’s rural story of relationship and community systems change can inform the field

Development of a toolkit for a mentoring program

The mentoring kit for a mentoring program provides the mentors with the necessary resources and tools to help to mentees and teams to understand, apply and integrate their strengths in their respective roles. The tools of the kit offer a working model with the mentee to develop an effective strategy that improves his/her performance through development based on strengths. One of the most effective methods for managing and developing talent within students are mentoring programs. These programs provide a vehicle in which knowledge and wisdom is shared while creating an environment for learning and growth. Novice mentors could benefit from a toolkit to help structure effective mentoring programs. This article describes such a toolkit to provide mentors with the necessary resources and tools to help mentees and teams to understand, apply and integrate their strengths in their respective roles. The objectives of this toolkit are: 1. Deliver models and structures so that the mentee has the ability to: - Develop transformational, theoretical and experiential learning processes. - Develop, evaluate and optimize your resources to function with greater creativity, prominence, leadership and proactivity. 2. Stimulate the development of skills that provide innovative perspectives. 3. Learn to apply the tools and skills acquired in the educational field to: - Understand and diagnose situations in context. - Develop intervention plans with his/her mentor adjusted to the needs and expectations of themselves. - Generate spaces for the identification of barriers and conflicts in his/her processes. - Stimulate actions to overcome challenges or opportunities. – Effective accompaniment of the mentees to reach their goals. Additionally, the tools included in the kit offer a working model for the mentee to develop an effective strategy that improves his/her performance through development based on strengths. This article presents the importance of the use of mentoring tools, under the guidelines of the mentoring toolkit design. This article presents the importance of the use of mentoring tools, under the guidelines of the mentoring toolkit design. This paper reflects simple tools that can be used in a systematic way so that in the mentoring process the participant can perform the most difficult task of all, that of investigating themselves and at the same time the mentor can count on valuable data to be able to facilitate the work. Future research will focus on the evaluation of the toolkit

Mémento 2 : Résidences 1999-2000

This richly illustrated catalogue documents the work of 35 artists who took part in six residencies (including two events - La Cueillette and La Ruche) that took place in 1999 and 2000 at Centre Est-Nord-Est. The centre’s director, F. Michel, describes the nature and purpose of the residencies as well as that of the catalogue : to reflect each participant’s experience. Includes brief comments by the artist on their work and on their stay. Text in French and English. Biographical notes

Two Warm Super-Earths Transiting the Nearby M Dwarf TOI-2095

We report the detection and validation of two planets orbiting TOI-2095 (TIC 235678745). The host star is a 3700K M1V dwarf with a high proper motion. The star lies at a distance of 42 pc in a sparsely populated portion of the sky and is bright in the infrared (K=9). With data from 24 Sectors of observation during TESS's Cycles 2 and 4, TOI-2095 exhibits two sets of transits associated with super-Earth-sized planets. The planets have orbital periods of 17.7 days and 28.2 days and radii of 1.30 and 1.39 Earth radii, respectively. Archival data, preliminary follow-up observations, and vetting analyses support the planetary interpretation of the detected transit signals. The pair of planets have estimated equilibrium temperatures of approximately 400 K, with stellar insolations of 3.23 and 1.73 times that of Earth, placing them in the Venus zone. The planets also lie in a radius regime signaling the transition between rock-dominated and volatile-rich compositions. They are thus prime targets for follow-up mass measurements to better understand the properties of warm, transition radius planets. The relatively long orbital periods of these two planets provide crucial data that can help shed light on the processes that shape the composition of small planets orbiting M dwarfs.Comment: Submitted to AAS Journal

The Magellan-TESS Survey I: Survey Description and Mid-Survey Results

One of the most significant revelations from Kepler is that roughly one-third of Sun-like stars host planets which orbit their stars within 100 days and are between the size of Earth and Neptune. How do these super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets form, what are they made of, and do they represent a continuous population or naturally divide into separate groups? Measuring their masses and thus bulk densities can help address these questions of their origin and composition. To that end, we began the Magellan-TESS Survey (MTS), which uses Magellan II/PFS to obtain radial velocity (RV) masses of 30 transiting exoplanets discovered by TESS and develops an analysis framework that connects observed planet distributions to underlying populations. In the past, RV measurements of small planets have been challenging to obtain due to the faintness and low RV semi-amplitudes of most Kepler systems, and challenging to interpret due to the potential biases in the existing ensemble of small planet masses from non-algorithmic decisions for target selection and observation plans. The MTS attempts to minimize these biases by focusing on bright TESS targets and employing a quantitative selection function and multi-year observing strategy. In this paper, we (1) describe the motivation and survey strategy behind the MTS, (2) present our first catalog of planet mass and density constraints for 25 TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs; 20 in our population analysis sample, five that are members of the same systems), and (3) employ a hierarchical Bayesian model to produce preliminary constraints on the mass-radius (M-R) relation. We find qualitative agreement with prior mass-radius relations but some quantitative differences (abridged). The the results of this work can inform more detailed studies of individual systems and offer a framework that can be applied to future RV surveys with the goal of population inferences.Comment: 101 pages (39 of main text and references, the rest an appendix of figures and tables). Submitted to AAS Journal

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

More questions than answers; using an observational study to count reference activity

In an effort to determine the nature of the questions being asked at the many library service desks across the University of Calgary, an observational study of reference desk activity was conducted in fall 2008 and winter 2009. The chapter reviews the methodology, results and conclusions. The results of the study led to a redesign of the reference service models at the University of Calgary.Ye