The application of diffusion theory and Monte Carlo lidar radiative transfer simulations presented in Part I of this series of study suggests that snow depth can be derived from the first-, second- ...and third-order moments of the lidar backscattering pathlength distribution. These methods are now applied to the satellite ICESat-2 lidar measurements over the Arctic sea ice and land surfaces of Northern Hemisphere. Over the Arctic sea ice, the ICESat-2 retrieved snow depths agree well with co-located IceBridge snow radar measured values with a root-mean-square (RMS) difference of 7.8 cm or 29.2% of the mean snow depth. The terrestrial snow depths derived from ICESat-2 show drastic spatial variation of the snowpack along ICESat-2 ground tracks over the Northern Hemisphere, which are consistent with the University of Arizona (UA) and Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) gridded daily snow products. The RMS difference in snow depths between ICESat-2 and UA gridded daily snow products is 14 cm, or 28% of the mean UA snow depth. To better understand these results, we also discuss the possible sources of errors in ICESat-2 derived snow depths, including surface roughness within the laser footprint, atmospheric forward scattering, solar background noise, and detector dark current. Simulation results indicate that the snow depth errors would be less than 5 cm if the standard deviation of pulse spreading due to surface roughness is within 50 cm. Our results demonstrate that the ICESat-2 lidar measurements can be used to reliably derive snow depth, which is a critical geophysical parameter for cryosphere studies including sea ice thickness estimation and also provides important constraints in the modeling of terrestrial hydrological processes.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated incidences of domestic violence (DV). The framing of DV within media sources contributes to the public's understanding of DV. Using critical discourse analysis ...(CDA), this paper explores representations of safety within newspapers’ reporting of DV during the pandemic. The sample included newspaper articles (n = 31) from U.S. newspapers. The analysis involved multiple rounds of coding and employing “structured questions.” These articles depicted limited courses of action for DV survivors and represented safety as unattainable. Safety was constructed in four ways: homes are unsafe, social services are overburdened, government failures, and the elusiveness of safety. These discursive formations provide insight regarding “idealized” social responses to DV.
Background
Vismodegib is a novel Hedgehog pathway inhibitor that has revolutionized the treatment of patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) who are poor candidates for surgery or ...radiation. Few studies have explored the use of vismodegib to facilitate further surgery or radiotherapy, and the optimal treatment duration to balance outcomes with adverse effects.
Objectives
To characterize the disease response, progression, and recurrence outcomes of BCC patients, and to report the impact of subsequent therapies.
Methods
We performed a retrospective study of 46 adult patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma (aBCC), including both locally advanced (laBCC) and metastatic (mBCC) disease, treated with vismodegib at a single center from 2012 to 2019.
Results
Thirty-six had laBCC, and 10 had mBCC. Treatment was given over a mean of 21.9 months. Twenty-three (50%) had a complete response (CR), and 19 (41.3%) achieved partial response (PR). Median time to maximal response was 5.3 months. Eleven (23.9%) had resected disease at median 17.2 months, and 11 patients (23.9%) received radiotherapy. Thirty-two (69.6%) experienced progressive disease after achievement of CR or PR. Among 17 CR patients, who stopped treatment, 14 (82.3%) experienced subsequent relapse; 6 (85%) attained a repeat response. Twenty (43.5%) discontinued treatment at least once due to adverse effects.
Conclusions
With a response rate of 91%, London Regional Cancer Center’s (LRCP)’s experience with vismodegib supports its effectiveness in treatment of aBCC. Moreover, a significant number of patients treated with vismodegib became amenable to surgery or radiotherapy. Toxicity remained an important factor that limited treatment duration.
Abstract
Educational leaders are faced with the difficult task of providing optimal services to all students. Among their many challenges is to choose between a variety of professionals whose mission ...is to improve outcomes by addressing largely nonacademic risk factors that affect students’ ability to benefit from their educational experiences. Specialized instructional support personnel are often hired to help remove barriers to learning and improve student outcomes; however, certification requirements for these professionals vary by discipline and state. The purpose of this article is to replicate Altshuler and Webb's analysis of certification requirements for school social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors. To do so, the authors adopted a comparative case study approach to collect, identify, compare, and contrast extant documents related to state certification, including degree, education-specific coursework, practicum/internship experiences, and examination requirements. Results indicate that although school social work certification has become more rigorous, its requirements remain more varied across all categories reviewed compared with those for school psychologists and school counselors. The article concludes with recommendations for practice, policy, and research.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Abstract
Objective
Currently, the majority of cognitive training research measures treatment efficacy using in-laboratory measures, with minimal focus on real-world treatment changes. This case ...series demonstrates the feasibility of transferring cognitive improvements from the laboratory into the everyday life setting.
Method
This case series includes 6 chronic post-stroke participants; mild to moderate cognitive impairment. The intervention combines cognitive training with behavioral techniques, known as the Transfer Package (TP). The TP involves components that target functionality on IADLs in the real-world. Performance on cognitively-based IADLs in the real world are measured pre-treatment, post, and 6-month follow-up. Measures of real-world ability are the: Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), Cognitive Task Activity Log (CTAL) and Inventory of Improved and New Abilities (INCA). In-laboratory measures included the D-KEFS and Timed IADL assessments.
Results
The real-world outcome measures used in this study were the COPM and two measures developed for this study, the CTAL and INCA. The mean change from pre to post on the COPM Performance Scale was 2.18 (SD = 1.33) and the mean change on the COPM Satisfaction Scale was 2.70 (SD = 1.27). The mean change on the CTAL was 1.96 (SD = 0.93). On the INCA, the mean number of improved real-world cognitive activities was 11.8 (SD = 4.9) and the mean number of new cognitive activities was 7.6 (SD = 3.9). Follow-up reported near-perfect retention on CTAL and continued improvement on the INCA. There were minimal changes on in-laboratory measures.
Conclusions
This case series provides a framework for achieving the transfer of cognitive training treatment effects in the real-world life situation by overcoming behavioral barriers to functioning.
We discuss a general description of the solutions to the 1D time-independent Schrödinger equation that does not a priori distinguish between scattering states and bound states and emphasizes and ...reinforces their relationship and connection to each other. This manuscript also introduces the concept of transfer matrices, which it presents as a logical extension of the traditional approach to evaluating 1D potentials. Using the transfer matrix method and a finite step approximation allows for a simple and straight-forward numerical solution of arbitrary 1D potentials. It also separates the process of solving the Schrödinger equation from selecting physically relevant solutions, which is a critical skill in quantum mechanics and is at the core of physics problems in general.
