349 research outputs found
The Disparate Americans: A Qualitative Analysis of Appalachians, Character, and Character Education in Appalachia
This thesis evaluates and critiques a federal research grant on character education initiatives in Appalachia. In order to do so, 1) This thesis addresses the evolution of the term âcharacterâ from Classical times to contemporary applications, while building toward the definitions, validity and current practices in character education and how it relates to Appalachians, 2) This thesis presents the challenges and upsides of developing character education curricula in Appalachia and how outside perceptions and stereotypes impact the people within, and 3) This thesis examines and interacts with original qualitative and quantitative data from the research grant
A Strategic Approach to Public Health Workforce Development and Capacity Building
In February 2010, CDCâs National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), and Tuberculosis (TB) Prevention (NCHHSTP) formally institutionalized workforce development and capacity building (WDCB) as one of six overarching goals in its 2010â2015 Strategic Plan. Annually, workforce team members finalize an action plan that lays the foundation for programs to be implemented for NCHHSTPâs workforce that year. This paper describes selected WDCB programs implemented by NCHHSTP during the last 4 years in the three strategic goal areas: (1) attracting, recruiting, and retaining a diverse and sustainable workforce; (2) providing staff with development opportunities to ensure the effective and innovative delivery of NCHHSTP programs; and (3) continuously recognizing performance and achievements of staff and creating an atmosphere that promotes a healthy workâlife balance. Programs have included but are not limited to an Ambassador Program for new hires, career development training for all staff, leadership and coaching for mid-level managers, and a Laboratory Workforce Development Initiative for laboratory scientists. Additionally, the paper discusses three overarching areasâemployee communication, evaluation and continuous review to guide program development, and the implementation of key organizational and leadership structures to ensure accountability and continuity of programs. Since 2010, many lessons have been learned regarding strategic approaches to scaling up organization-wide public health workforce development and capacity building. Perhaps the most important is the value of ensuring the high-level strategic prioritization of this issue, demonstrating to staff and partners the importance of this imperative in achieving NCHHSTPâs mission
Von Willebrand factor delays liver repair after acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury in mice
Background & Aim: Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced acute liver failure is associated with substantial alterations in the hemostatic system. In mice, platelets accumulate in the liver after APAP overdose and appear to promote liver injury. Interestingly, patients with acute liver injury have highly elevated levels of the platelet-adhesive protein von Willebrand factor (VWF), but a mechanistic connection between VWF and progression of liver injury has not been established. We tested the hypothesis that VWF contributes directly to experimental APAP-induced acute liver injury. Methods: Wild-type mice and VWF-deficient (Vwfâ/â) mice were given a hepatotoxic dose of APAP (300 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle (saline). VWF plasma levels were measured by ELISA, and liver necrosis or hepatocyte proliferation was measured by immunohistochemistry. Platelet and VWF deposition were measured by immunofluorescence. Results: In wild-type mice, VWF plasma levels, high molecular weight (HMW) VWF multimers, and VWF activity decreased 24 h after APAP challenge. These changes coupled to robust hepatic VWF and platelet deposition, although VWF deficiency had minimal effect on peak hepatic platelet accumulation or liver injury. VWF plasma levels were elevated 48 h after APAP challenge, but with relative reductions in HMW multimers and VWF activity. Whereas hepatic platelet aggregates persisted in livers of APAP-challenged wild-type mice, platelets were nearly absent in Vwfâ/â mice 48 h after APAP challenge. The absence of platelet aggregates was linked to dramatically accelerated repair of the injured liver. Complementing observations in Vwfâ/â mice, blocking VWF or the platelet integrin αIIbÎČ3 during development of injury significantly reduced hepatic platelet aggregation and accelerated liver repair in APAP-challenged wild-type mice. Conclusion: These studies are the first to suggest a mechanistic link between VWF, hepatic platelet accumulation, and liver repair. Targeting VWF might provide a novel therapeutic approach to improve repair of the APAP-injured liver. Lay summary: Patients with acute liver injury due to acetaminophen overdose have highly elevated levels of the platelet-adhesive protein von Willebrand factor. It is not known whether von Willebrand factor plays a direct role in the progression of acute liver injury. We discovered that von Willebrand factor delays repair of the acetaminophen-injured liver in mice and that targeting von Willebrand factor, even in mice with established liver injury, accelerates liver repair.</p
Status of Muon Collider Research and Development and Future Plans
The status of the research on muon colliders is discussed and plans are
outlined for future theoretical and experimental studies. Besides continued
work on the parameters of a 3-4 and 0.5 TeV center-of-mass (CoM) energy
collider, many studies are now concentrating on a machine near 0.1 TeV (CoM)
that could be a factory for the s-channel production of Higgs particles. We
discuss the research on the various components in such muon colliders, starting
from the proton accelerator needed to generate pions from a heavy-Z target and
proceeding through the phase rotation and decay ()
channel, muon cooling, acceleration, storage in a collider ring and the
collider detector. We also present theoretical and experimental R & D plans for
the next several years that should lead to a better understanding of the design
and feasibility issues for all of the components. This report is an update of
the progress on the R & D since the Feasibility Study of Muon Colliders
presented at the Snowmass'96 Workshop [R. B. Palmer, A. Sessler and A.
Tollestrup, Proceedings of the 1996 DPF/DPB Summer Study on High-Energy Physics
(Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA, 1997)].Comment: 95 pages, 75 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Special Topics,
Accelerators and Beam
Hubble Space Telescope STIS Observations of GRB 000301C: CCD Imaging and Near-Ultraviolet MAMA Spectroscopy
We present Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph observations of the optical transient (OT) counterpart of the Îł-ray burster GRB 000301C obtained 5 days after the burst, on 2000 March 6. CCD clear-aperture imaging reveals a R â 21.50 ± 0.15 source with no apparent host galaxy. An 8000 s, 1150 Ă
18 on the line of sight to the OT. This measured redshift is conservatively a lower limit to the GRB redshift. However, as all other GRBs that have deep Hubble Space Telescope images appear to lie on the stellar field of a host galaxy, and as the large H I column density measured here and in later ground-based observations is unlikely on a random line of sight, we believe we are probably seeing absorption from H I in the host galaxy. In any case, this represents the largest direct redshift determination of a Îł-ray burster to date. Our data are compatible with an OT spectrum represented by a power law with an intrinsic index α = 1.2 (f_Îœ â Îœ^(-α)) and no extinction in the host galaxy, or with α = 0.5 and extinction by SMC-like dust in the OT rest frame with A_V = 0.15. The large N_(H I) and the lack of a detected host are similar to the situation for damped Lyα absorbers at z > 2
HST/STIS observations of GRB000301C: CCD imaging and NUV MAMA spectroscopy
We present HST/STIS observations of the optical counterpart (OT) of the
gamma-ray burster GRB 000301C obtained on 2000 March 6, five days after the
burst. CCD clear aperture imaging reveals a R ~ 21.50+/-0.15 source with no
apparent host galaxy. An 8000 s, 1150 < lambda/A < 3300 NUV-MAMA prism spectrum
shows a relatively flat continuum (in f_lambda) between 2800 and 3300 A, with a
mean flux 8.7 (+0.8,-1.6)+/- 2.6 10^(-18) ergs/s/cm^2/A, and a sharp break
centered at 2797+/-25 A. We interpret it as HI Lyman break at z = 2.067+/-0.025
indicating the presence of a cloud with a HI column density log(HI) > 18 on the
line-of-sight to the OT. This value is conservatively a lower limit to the GRB
redshift. However, the facts that large N(HI) system are usually considered as
progenitors of present day galaxies and that other OTs are found associated
with star forming galaxies strongly suggest that it is the GRB redshift. In any
case, this represents the largest direct redshift determination of a gamma-ray
burster to date. Our data are compatible with an OT spectrum represented by a
power-law with an intrinsic index \alpha = 1.2((f_nu \propto nu^-alpha) and no
extinction in the host galaxy or with alpha = 0.5 and extinction by a SMC-like
dust in the OT rest-frame with A_V = 0.15. The large N(HI) and the lack of
detected host is similar to the situation for damped Ly-alpha absorbers at z >
2.Comment: Replaced by final version. 10 p., 2 fig. Scheduled to appear in ApJ
555 n2 Jul 10, 2001. Minor changes, both redshift and mean near UV flux are
revised with slightly larger values, due to a wrong offset sign in the
wavelength calibratio
The Methodology of Modern Macroeconomics and the Descriptive Approach to Discounting
Critics of modern macroeconomics often raise concerns about unwarranted welfare conclusions and data mining. This paper illustrates these concerns with a thought experiment, based on the debate in environmental economics about the appropriate discount rate in climate change analyses: I set up an economy where a social evaluator wants to determine the optimal time path of emission levels, and seeks advice for this from an old-style neo-classical macroeconomist and a new neo-classical (modern) macroeconomist; I then describe how both economists analyze the economy, their policy advice, and their mistakes. I then use the insights from this thought experiment to point out some pitfalls of the modern macroeconomic methodology
The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe
The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the
dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for
life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront
of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early
evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The
Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed
plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE
is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity
neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream
of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed
as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research
Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in
Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at
Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino
charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet
cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can
accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional
combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and
potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility
for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around
the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program
of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of
LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics
worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will
possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for
LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a
comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the
landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate
and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure
A MISSING-LINK IN THE SUPERNOVA-GRB CONNECTION: THE CASE OF SN 2012ap
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are characterized by ultra-relativistic outflows,
while supernovae are generally characterized by non-relativistic ejecta. GRB
afterglows decelerate rapidly usually within days, because their low-mass
ejecta rapidly sweep up a comparatively larger mass of circumstellar material.
However supernovae, with heavy ejecta, can be in nearly free expansion for
centuries. Supernovae were thought to have non-relativistic outflows except for
few relativistic ones accompanied by GRBs. This clear division was blurred by
SN 2009bb, the first supernova with a relativistic outflow without an observed
GRB. Yet the ejecta from SN 2009bb was baryon loaded, and in nearly-free
expansion for a year, unlike GRBs. We report the first supernova discovered
without a GRB, but with rapidly decelerating mildly relativistic ejecta, SN
2012ap. We discovered a bright and rapidly evolving radio counterpart driven by
the circumstellar interaction of the relativistic ejecta. However, we did not
find any coincident GRB with an isotropic fluence of more than a sixth of the
fluence from GRB 980425. This shows for the first time that central engines in
type Ic supernovae, even without an observed GRB, can produce both relativistic
and rapidly decelerating outflows like GRBs.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Ap
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