A Reading Lesson Observation Framework for Elementary Teachers, Principals, and Literacy Supervisors

Henk et al present a framework which will provide reference points for assessment and help refine instructional practices in reading

The Writing Observation Framework: A Guide for Refining and Validating Writing Instruction

The Writing Observation Framework (WOF) is a new tool for enhancing writing instruction in schools. The WOF organizes principles of writing instruction In a way that improves the evaluation of teachers\u27 writing practices, encourages a shared philosophy of the writing process and its instruction, and assists schools in demonstrating the integrity of their writing programs

Using Seeds to Propagate and Restore Vallisneria Americana Michaux (Wild Celery) in the Chesapeake Bay

Loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has been significant in many coastal and estuarine systems such as the Chesapeake Bay where SAV die-offs have been observed in marine, brackish, and freshwater SAV communities (Orth and Moore 1983). Large-scale replanting using whole plants can be cost-prohibitive, and the use of plants taken from wild populations for propagule supply may not be possible or desirable. The use of SAV seeds for restoration has been increasingly demonstrated to be an effective method for replanting large areas of bottom, especially for marine species such as eelgrass, Zostera marina (Pickerell et al. 2005; Orth et al. 1994, 2006; Granger et al. 2002). Only more recently have techniques been developed to use seeds in the restoration of some brackish and freshwater SAV species (Ailstock and Shafer 2004, 2006). The commercial production of freshwater SAV for waterfowl habitat has been ongoing for many years in the Midwest and northern prairie regions. However, propagation has for the most part used over-wintering buds or tubers, and costs associated with these methods are high (Korschgen and Green 1988). Although a great deal of research has been conducted on freshwater and brackish SAV, much is still unknown as to the factors affecting the utility of seeds of species such as Vallisneria americana Michaux as an option for SAV restoration, especially in tidal, estuarine habitats

Electric Motors For Centrifugal Compressor Drives

PaperPg. 74-83.In the past, the decision to use electric motors for centrifugal compressor drives has been made only after all other possibilities to use either a steam or gas turbine have been exhausted—or so it has seemed to motor suppliers. This picture may however be changing as a result of the increase in fuel costs, particularly petroleum. In addition to the considerations of heat balance and investment cost, a third factor—the availability of feed stock—must be considered. Why burn a part of the needed hydrocarbons when electric power generated from coal, hydro, or nuclear energy can be purchased with a resultant saving of feed stock to make more product? Obviously, with these alternatives this should not occur—particularly when electric motors of high efficiency and reliability are compressor. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the important elements of selecting a motor for centrifugal compressor drives

HB 192 - Banking and Finance

The Act changes the provisions relating to the responsibilities and standard of care for directors and officers of banks, trust companies, and corporations. The Act codifies the business judgment rule. The operative liability standard for directors and officers is gross negligence, as opposed to simple negligence, and directors and officers may rely on other individuals in the performance of their duties. A rebuttable presumption exists that directors and officers act in good faith

The costs of negative affect attributable to alcohol consumption in later life: a within-between random longitudinal econometric model using UK Biobank

Aims Research demonstrates a negative relationship between alcohol use and affect, but the value of deprecation is unknown and thus cannot be included in estimates of the cost of alcohol to society. This paper aims to examine this relationship and develop econometric techniques to value the loss in affect attributable to alcohol consumption. Methods Cross-sectional (n = 129,437) and longitudinal (n = 11,352) analyses of alcohol consumers in UK Biobank data were undertaken, with depression and neuroticism as proxies of negative affect. The cross-sectional relationship between household income, negative affect and alcohol consumption were analysed using regression models, controlling for confounding variables, and using within-between random models that are robust to unobserved heterogeneity. The differential in household income required to offset alcohol’s detriment to affect was derived. Results A consistent relationship between depression and alcohol consumption (β = 0.001, z = 7.64) and neuroticism and alcohol consumption (β = 0.001, z = 9.24) was observed in cross-sectional analyses, replicated in within-between models (depression β = 0.001, z = 2.32; neuroticism β = 0.001, z = 2.33). Significant associations were found between household income and depression (cross sectional β = -0.157, z = -23.86, within-between β = -0.146, z = -9.51) and household income and neuroticism (cross sectional β = -0.166, z = -32.02, within-between β = -0.158, z = -7.44). The value of reducing alcohol consumption by one gram/day was pooled and estimated to be £209.06 (95% CI £171.84 to £246.27). Conclusions There was a robust relationship between alcohol consumption and negative affect. Econometric methods can value the intangible effects of alcohol use and may, therefore, facilitate the fiscal determination of benefit

Evaluating 17 methods incorporating biological function with GWAS summary statistics to accelerate discovery demonstrates a tradeoff between high sensitivity and high positive predictive value

Where sufficiently large genome-wide association study (GWAS) samples are not currently available or feasible, methods that leverage increasing knowledge of the biological function of variants may illuminate discoveries without increasing sample size. We comprehensively evaluated 17 functional weighting methods for identifying novel associations. We assessed the performance of these methods using published results from multiple GWAS waves across each of five complex traits. Although no method achieved both high sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) for any trait, a subset of methods utilizing pleiotropy and expression quantitative trait loci nominated variants with high PPV (\u3e75%) for multiple traits. Application of functionally weighting methods to enhance GWAS power for locus discovery is unlikely to circumvent the need for larger sample sizes in truly underpowered GWAS, but these results suggest that applying functional weighting to GWAS can accurately nominate additional novel loci from available samples for follow-up studies

Substantial carbon loss respired from a corn-soybean agroecosystem highlights the importance of careful management as we adapt to changing climate

Understanding agroecosystem carbon (C) cycle response to climate change and management is vital for maintaining their long-term C storage. We demonstrate this importance through an in-depth examination of a ten-year eddy covariance dataset from a corn-corn-soybean crop rotation grown in the Midwest United States. Ten-year average annual net ecosystem exchange (NEE) showed a net C sink of -0.39 Mg C ha-1 yr-1. However, NEE in 2014 and 2015 from the corn ecosystem was 3.58 and 2.56 Mg C ha-1 yr-1, respectively. Most C loss occurred during the growing season, when photosynthesis should dominate and C fluxes should reflect a net ecosystem gain. Partitioning NEE into gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) showed this C \u27burp\u27 was driven by higher ER, with a 51% (2014) and 57% (2015) increase from the ten-year average (15.84 Mg C ha-1 yr-1). GPP was also higher than average (16.24 Mg C ha-1 yr-1) by 25% (2014) and 37% (2015), but this was not enough to offset the C emitted from ER. This increased ER was likely driven by enhanced soil microbial respiration associated with ideal growing season climate, substrate availability, nutrient additions, and a potential legacy effect from drought

A gateway conspiracy? Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories prospectively predicts greater conspiracist ideation

A primary focus of research on conspiracy theories has been understanding the psychological characteristics that predict people’s level of conspiracist ideation. However, the dynamics of conspiracist ideation—i.e., how such tendencies change over time—are not well understood. To help fill this gap in the literature, we used data from two longitudinal studies (Study 1 N = 107; Study 2 N = 1,037) conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that greater belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories at baseline predicts both greater endorsement of a novel real-world conspiracy theory involving voter fraud in the 2020 American Presidential election (Study 1) and increases in generic conspiracist ideation over a period of several months (Studies 1 and 2). Thus, engaging with real-world conspiracy theories appears to act as a gateway, leading to more general increases in conspiracist ideation. Beyond enhancing our knowledge of conspiracist ideation, this work highlights the importance of fighting the spread of conspiracy theories