Measuring Youth Program Quality: A Guide to Assessment Tools

Thanks to growing interest in the subject of youth program quality, many tools are now available to help organizations and systems assess and improve quality. Given the size and diversity of the youth-serving sector, it is unrealistic to expect that any one tool or process will fit all programs or circumstances. This report compares the purpose, history, structure, methodology, content and technical properties of nine different program observation tools

Functionalized Materials from Atom Transfer Radical Processes

This work is focused on the synthesis, characterization, and application of functionalized materials prepared from atom transfer radical processes. Atom transfer radical processes encompass both atom transfer radical addition (ATRA) and polymerization (ATRP) reactions, both of which are catalyzed by ppm amounts of copper complexes. The synthetic efforts of ATRA include increasing adduct selectivity through optimization of reaction conditions to generate small molecules in high to moderate yields. ATRA provides retention of the halogen moiety, which is an attractive functional group that can be further modified with other transformations. Specifically, the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne [3+2] cycloaddition (CuAAC) allows for the realization of various applications due to the robust nature and host of “click-able” targets. This, in conjunction with the stout nature of ATRA, enables these materials to have use in all aspects of biomedical applications. ATRP reactions were primarily utilized to prepare homo- and block copolymers using a photoinduced methodology. The photoATRP reaction enables polymerization of various acrylate-based monomers in a one-pot, multi-step fashion, generating block copolymers without the need for polymer isolation prior to additional block additions. Specifically, the photoATRP reaction was utilized to generate amphiphilic block copolymers containing a hydrophilic/hydrophobic section. When subjected to specific environments (solvent/temp/concentration/etc.), these amphiphiles have the ability to form micelles, of which can be utilized for small molecule encapsulation. These polymers would find use in all areas of biomedicine, such as bioimaging or drug delivery. It was envisioned that the polymerization could be employed to a host of multifunctional/star-shaped initiators, which may enable the formation of unimolecular micelles, a characteristic which is highly sought over. Additionally, ATRP was utilized to prepare polymeric materials to characterize by means of MS/MS. Very similar to proteomics, subjecting these polymeric materials to collisional induced dissociation (CID) experiments enables proficient end-group and block identification based on measured fragments. This work provides significant contributions to several fields: small molecule synthesis using ATRA in conjunction with CuAAC, block copolymer formation via ATRP, as well as the application of functionalized materials from the aforementioned methods. Moreover, these materials acted as an excellent scaffold to conduct MS/MS experiments to contribute to the growing field commonly referred to as “polymeromics.

Stratigraphic Changes in Ichnopedofacies of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation, Northeast Chinle Basin, Southeastern Utah: Implications for Depositional Controls and Paleoclimate

The Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in the Stevens Canyon area, southeastern Utah, represents fluvial, palustrine, and lacustrine strata deposited in a continental back-arc basin on the western edge of Pangea. Previous investigations interpreted a megamonsoonal climate with increasing aridity for the Colorado Plateau towards the end of the Late Triassic. In this study, we systematically integrate ichnologic and pedologic features of the Chinle Formation into ichnopedofacies to interpret paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic variations in the northeastern part of the Chinle Basin. Seventeen ichnofossil morphotypes and six paleosol orders were combined to form 12 ichnopedofacies. Ichnopedofacies development was controlled by autocyclic and allocyclic processes, and hydrology. In the northeast Chinle Basin, annual precipitation was ~1100–1300 mm in the Petrified Forest Member. Precipitation levels were 1300 mm/yr at the base of the lower Owl Rock Member, decreased to ~700–1100 mm/yr, and then to ~400–700 mm/yr. Two drying upward cycles from ~1100 mm/yr to ~700 mm/yr are observed in the middle and upper Owl Rock members. In the Church Rock Member, precipitation decreased from ~400 mm/yr at the base of the unit to ~25–325 mm/yr at the end of Chinle Formation deposition. Ichnopedofacies indicate monsoonal conditions persisted until the end of the Triassic Period with decreasing precipitation the result of the northward migration of Pangea. Ichnopedofacies in the northeast Chinle Basin indicate both long-term drying of climate and short-term, wet-dry fluctuations. Wet-dry cycles occur at other locations in the Chinle Basin, but variation exists in interpreted precipitation levels across the Chinle Basin due to the use of different climate indices. Overall trends of decreasing paleoprecipitation between the northeast and southeast Chinle Basin during Petrified Forest Member deposition, and between the northeast and central part of the Chinle Basin basin during Owl Rock Member deposition are recognized. Climate was not consistent across the Chinle Basin during the Late Triassic; there were complex variations in precipitation

Observation of many-body localization of interacting fermions in a quasi-random optical lattice

We experimentally observe many-body localization of interacting fermions in a one-dimensional quasi-random optical lattice. We identify the many-body localization transition through the relaxation dynamics of an initially-prepared charge density wave. For sufficiently weak disorder the time evolution appears ergodic and thermalizing, erasing all remnants of the initial order. In contrast, above a critical disorder strength a significant portion of the initial ordering persists, thereby serving as an effective order parameter for localization. The stationary density wave order and the critical disorder value show a distinctive dependence on the interaction strength, in agreement with numerical simulations. We connect this dependence to the ubiquitous logarithmic growth of entanglement entropy characterizing the generic many-body localized phase.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures + supplementary informatio

Boosting propagule transport models with individual-specific data from mobile apps

Management of invasive species and pathogens requires information about the traffic of potential vectors. Such information is often taken from vector traffic models fitted to survey data. Here, user-specific data collected via mobile apps offer new opportunities to obtain more accurate estimates and to analyze how vectors' individual preferences affect propagule flows. However, data voluntarily reported via apps may lack some trip records, adding a significant layer of uncertainty. We show how the benefits of app-based data can be exploited despite this drawback. Based on data collected via an angler app, we built a stochastic model for angler traffic in the Canadian province Alberta. There, anglers facilitate the spread of whirling disease, a parasite-induced fish disease. The model is temporally and spatially explicit and accounts for individual preferences and repeating behaviour of anglers, helping to address the problem of missing trip records. We obtained estimates of angler traffic between all subbasins in Alberta. The model's accuracy exceeds that of direct empirical estimates even when fewer data were used to fit the model. The results indicate that anglers' local preferences and their tendency to revisit previous destinations reduce the number of long inter-waterbody trips potentially dispersing whirling disease. According to our model, anglers revisit their previous destination in 64% of their trips, making these trips irrelevant for the spread of whirling disease. Furthermore, 54% of fishing trips end in individual-specific spatially contained areas with mean radius of 54.7km. Finally, although the fraction of trips that anglers report was unknown, we were able to estimate the total yearly number of fishing trips in Alberta, matching an independent empirical estimate.Comment: Keywords: Angler; Gravity Model; Invasives (Applied Ecology); Modelling (Disease Ecology); Smartphone Apps; Survey Method; Vector; Whirling Diseas

The ICO Approach to Quantifying and Restoring Forest Spatial Pattern: Implementation Guide

This document is intended as a “How To” guide for managers and stakeholders wishing to implement the Individual, Clumps, and Openings (ICO) method for silvicultural prescriptions and/or monitoring. This guide is organized into stand-alone chapters. Managers should read and use chapters as they find useful to their own needs.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/ico/1002/thumbnail.jp