Research Synthesis For Adaptive Mentorship

Adaptive Mentorship (AM) is a mentoring model the authors have developed over a 21-year period. Mentor-protpairs originally applied it in teacher-education internship programs; however, the authors have subsequently witnessed its adoption by other mentorship/coaching practitioners/researchers across the professions.In this report, the authors describe AM, its rationale, implementation, strengths, and limitations and they synthesize the latest findings regarding its effectiveness as a tool in mentoring teacher-candidates

Associations of passerine birds, rabbits, and ticks with \u3cem\u3eBorrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia andersonii\u3c/em\u3e in Michigan, U.S.A.

Background Wild birds contribute to maintenance and dissemination of vectors and microbes, including those that impact human, domestic animal, and wildlife health. Here we elucidate roles of wild passerine birds, eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus), and Ixodes dentatus ticks in enzootic cycles of two spirochetes, Borrelia miyamotoi and B. andersonii in a region of Michigan where the zoonotic pathogen B. burgdorferi co-circulates. Methods Over a four-year period, wild birds (n = 19,631) and rabbits (n = 20) were inspected for tick presence and ear tissue was obtained from rabbits. Samples were tested for Borrelia spirochetes using nested PCR of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region (IGS) and bidirectional DNA sequencing. Natural xenodiagnosis was used to implicate wildlife reservoirs. Results Ixodes dentatus, a tick that specializes on birds and rabbits and rarely bites humans, was the most common tick found, comprising 86.5% of the 12,432 ticks collected in the study. The relapsing fever group spirochete B. miyamotoi was documented for the first time in ticks removed from wild birds (0.7% minimum infection prevalence; MIP, in I. dentatus), and included two IGS strains. The majority of B. miyamotoi-positive ticks were removed from Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). Borrelia andersonii infected ticks removed from birds (1.6% MIP), ticks removed from rabbits (5.3% MIP), and rabbit ear biopsies (5%) comprised twelve novel IGS strains. Six species of wild birds were implicated as reservoirs for B. andersonii. Frequency of I. dentatus larval and nymphal co-feeding on birds was ten times greater than expected by chance. The relatively well-studied ecology of I. scapularis and the Lyme disease pathogen provides a context for understanding how the phenology of bird ticks may impact B. miyamotoi and B. andersonii prevalence and host associations. Conclusions Given the current invasion of I. scapularis, a human biting species that serves as a bridge vector for Borrelia spirochetes, human exposure to B. miyamotoi and B. andersonii in this region may increase. The presence of these spirochetes underscores the ecological complexity within which Borrelia organisms are maintained and the need for diagnostic tests to differentiate among these organisms

A Concept for an STJ-based Spectrograph

We describe a multi-order spectrograph concept suitable for 8m-class telescopes, using the intrinsic spectral resolution of Superconducting Tunneling Junction detectors to sort the spectral orders. The spectrograph works at low orders, 1-5 or 1-6, and provides spectral coverage with a resolving power of R~8000 from the atmospheric cutoff at 320 nm to the long wavelength end of the infrared H or K band at 1800 nm or 2400 nm. We calculate that the spectrograph would provide substantial throughput and wavelength coverage, together with high time resolution and sufficient dynamic range. The concept uses currently available technology, or technologies with short development horizons, restricting the spatial sampling to two linear arrays; however an upgrade path to provide more spatial sampling is identified. All of the other challenging aspects of the concept - the cryogenics, thermal baffling and magnetic field biasing - are identified as being feasible.Comment: Accepted in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 12 pages with 10 figure

Distinct roles for two Caenorhabditis elegans acid-sensing ion channels in an ultradian clock

Biological clocks are fundamental to an organism’s health, controlling periodicity of behaviour and metabolism. Here, we identify two acid-sensing ion channels, with very different proton sensing properties, and describe their role in an ultradian clock, the defecation motor program (DMP) of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. An ACD-5-containing channel, on the apical membrane of the intestinal epithelium, is essential for maintenance of luminal acidity, and thus the rhythmic oscillations in lumen pH. In contrast, the second channel, composed of FLR-1, ACD-3 and/or DEL-5, located on the basolateral membrane, controls the intracellular Ca2+ wave and forms a core component of the master oscillator that controls the timing and rhythmicity of the DMP. flr-1 and acd-3/del-5 mutants show severe developmental and metabolic defects. We thus directly link the proton-sensing properties of these channels to their physiological roles in pH regulation and Ca2+ signalling, the generation of an ultradian oscillator, and its metabolic consequences

The Mass of the Black Hole in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 4593 from Reverberation Mapping

We present new observations leading to an improved black hole mass estimate for the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4593 as part of a reverberation-mapping campaign conducted at the MDM Observatory. Cross-correlation analysis of the H_beta emission-line light curve with the optical continuum light curve reveals an emission-line time delay of 3.73 (+-0.75) days. By combining this time delay with the H_beta line width, we derive a central black hole mass of M_BH = 9.8(+-2.1)x10^6 M_sun, an improvement in precision of a factor of several over past results.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

NGC 5548 in a Low-Luminosity State: Implications for the Broad-Line Region

We describe results from a new ground-based monitoring campaign on NGC 5548, the best studied reverberation-mapped AGN. We find that it was in the lowest luminosity state yet recorded during a monitoring program, namely L(5100) = 4.7 x 10^42 ergs s^-1. We determine a rest-frame time lag between flux variations in the continuum and the Hbeta line of 6.3 (+2.6/-2.3) days. Combining our measurements with those of previous campaigns, we determine a weighted black hole mass of M_BH = 6.54 (+0.26/-0.25) x 10^7 M_sun based on all broad emission lines with suitable variability data. We confirm the previously-discovered virial relationship between the time lag of emission lines relative to the continuum and the width of the emission lines in NGC 5548, which is the expected signature of a gravity-dominated broad-line region. Using this lowest luminosity state, we extend the range of the relationship between the luminosity and the time lag in NGC 5548 and measure a slope that is consistent with alpha = 0.5, the naive expectation for the broad line region for an assumed form of r ~ L^alpha. This value is also consistent with the slope recently determined by Bentz et al. for the population of reverberation-mapped AGNs as a whole.Comment: 24 pages, 3 tables, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Testing Spallation Processes With Beryllium and Boron

The nucleosynthesis of Be and B by spallation processes provides unique insight into the origin of cosmic rays. Namely, different spallation schemes predict sharply different trends for the growth of LiBeB abundances with respect to oxygen. ``Primary'' mechanisms predict BeB $\propto$ O, and are well motivated by the data if O/Fe is constant at low metallicity. In contrast, ``secondary'' mechanisms predict BeB $\propto$ O$^2$ and are consistent with the data if O/Fe increases towards low metallicity as some recent data suggest. Clearly, any primary mechanism, if operative, will dominate early in the history of the Galaxy. In this paper, we fit the BeB data to a two-component scheme which includes both primary and secondary trends. In this way, the data can be used to probe the period in which primary mechanisms are effective. We analyze the data using consistent stellar atmospheric parameters based on Balmer line data and the continuum infrared flux. Results depend sensitively on Pop II O abundances and, unfortunately, on the choice of stellar parameters. When using recent results which show O/Fe increasing toward lower metallicity, a two-component Be-O fits indicates that primary and secondary components contribute equally at [O/H]$_{eq}$ = -1.8 for Balmer line data; and [O/H]$_{eq}$ = -1.4 to -1.8 for IRFM. We apply these constraints to recent models for LiBeB origin. The Balmer line data does not show any evidence for primary production. On the other hand, the IRFM data does indicate a preference for a two-component model, such as a combination of standard GCR and metal-enriched particles accelerated in superbubbles. These conclusions rely on a detailed understanding of the abundance data including systematic effects which may alter the derived O-Fe and BeB-Fe relations.Comment: 40 pages including 11 ps figures. Written in AASTe

Long term health care use and costs in patients with stable coronary artery disease : a population based cohort using linked electronic health records (CALIBER)

Aims To examine long term health care utilisation and costs of patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD). Methods and results Linked cohort study of 94,966 patients with SCAD in England, 1st January 2001 to 31st March 2010, identified from primary care, secondary care, disease and death registries. Resource use and costs, and cost predictors by time and 5-year cardiovascular (CVD) risk profile were estimated using generalised linear models. Coronary heart disease hospitalisations were 20.5% in the first year and 66% in the year following a non-fatal (myocardial infarction, ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke) event. Mean health care costs were £3,133 per patient in the first year and £10,377 in the year following a non-fatal event. First year predictors of cost included sex (mean cost £549 lower in females); SCAD diagnosis (NSTEMI cost £656 more than stable angina); and co-morbidities (heart failure cost £657 more per patient). Compared with lower risk patients (5-year CVD risk 3.5%), those of higher risk (5-year CVD risk 44.2%) had higher 5-year costs (£23,393 vs. £9,335) and lower lifetime costs (£43,020 vs. £116,888). Conclusion Patients with SCAD incur substantial health care utilisation and costs, which varies and may be predicted by 5-year CVD risk profile. Higher risk patients have higher initial but lower lifetime costs than lower risk patients as a result of shorter life expectancy. Improved cardiovascular survivorship among an ageing CVD population is likely to require stratified care in anticipation of the burgeoning demand

Further Sunyaev-Zel'dovich observations of two Planck ERCSC clusters with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager

We present follow-up observations of two galaxy clusters detected blindly via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect and released in the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue. We use the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager, a dual-array 14-18 GHz radio interferometer. After radio source subtraction, we find a SZ decrement of integrated flux density -1.08+/-0.10 mJy toward PLCKESZ G121.11+57.01, and improve the position measurement of the cluster, finding the centre to be RA 12 59 36.4, Dec +60 04 46.8, to an accuracy of 20 arcseconds. The region of PLCKESZ G115.71+17.52 contains strong extended emission, so we are unable to confirm the presence of this cluster via the SZ effect.Comment: 4 tables, 3 figures, revised after referee's comments and resubmitted to MNRA