Search Results (4)

The transition from middle school to high school can be difficult for students as they navigate new environments and teacher expectations. This transition can be particularly difficult for twice-exceptional students who often struggle with the necessary executive functioning skills needed to meet these expectations, as well as their own self-awareness, self-efficacy, and the self-advocacy skills they need to help ease this transition. In this article, we discuss a unique pilot seminar program by the teachers and counselors at a school for twice exceptionality that helps students develop skills and a sense of self that will be beneficial to them, not only during their high school years, but also for their future lives and careers. Full article

The space radiation environment outside the protection of the Earth’s magnetosphere is severe and difficult to shield against. The cumulative effective dose to astronauts on a typical Mars mission would likely introduce risk exceeding permissible limits for carcinogenesis without innovative strategies for radiation shielding. Damaging cardiovascular and central nervous system effects are also expected in these space environments. There are many potential options for advanced shielding and risk mitigation, but magnetic shielding using superconductors offers several distinct advantages including using the conditions in space to help maintain the superconductor’s critical temperature and lower mass compared to equivalent passive shielding materials. Despite these advantages, the development of magnetic shielding technology has remained primarily in conceptual stages since the introduction of the idea in 1961. Over the last several decades, magnetic shielding has experienced periods of high and low attention by the human spaceflight community, leading to computational tools with single-use or other limitations and a non-uniform distribution of publications on the topic over time. Within the context of technology development and the surrounding space policy environment, this paper reviews and summarizes the available literature on the application of active magnetic shielding for space radiation protection, identifies challenges, and highlights areas for future research. Full article

This paper reviews the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in insects, rodents, and pets. Insects (e.g., houseflies, cockroaches), rodents (rats, mice), and pets (dogs, cats) act as reservoirs of AMR for first-line and last-resort antimicrobial agents. AMR proliferates in insects, rodents, and pets, and their skin and gut systems. Subsequently, insects, rodents, and pets act as vectors that disseminate AMR to humans via direct contact, human food contamination, and horizontal gene transfer. Thus, insects, rodents, and pets might act as sentinels or bioindicators of AMR. Human health risks are discussed, including those unique to low-income countries. Current evidence on human health risks is largely inferential and based on qualitative data, but comprehensive statistics based on quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) are still lacking. Hence, tracing human health risks of AMR to insects, rodents, and pets, remains a challenge. To safeguard human health, mitigation measures are proposed, based on the one-health approach. Future research should include human health risk analysis using QMRA, and the application of in-silico techniques, genomics, network analysis, and ’big data’ analytical tools to understand the role of household insects, rodents, and pets in the persistence, circulation, and health risks of AMR. Full article

Inadequate access to safe drinking water is one of the most pervasive problems currently afflicting the developing world. Scientists and engineers are called to present affordable but efficient solutions, particularly applicable to small communities. Filtration systems based on metallic iron (Fe⁰) are discussed in the literature as one such viable solution, whether as a stand-alone system or as a complement to slow sand filters (SSFs). Fe⁰ filters can also be improved by incorporating biochar to form Fe⁰-biochar filtration systems with potentially higher contaminant removal efficiencies than those based on Fe⁰ or biochar alone. These three low-cost and chemical-free systems (Fe⁰, biochar, SSFs) have the potential to provide universal access to safe drinking water. However, a well-structured systematic research is needed to design robust and efficient water treatment systems based on these affordable filter materials. This communication highlights the technology being developed to use Fe⁰-based systems for decentralized safe drinking water provision. Future research directions for the design of the next generation Fe⁰-based systems are highlighted. It is shown that Fe⁰ enhances the efficiency of SSFs, while biochar has the potential to alleviate the loss of porosity and uncertainties arising from the non-linear kinetics of iron corrosion. Fe⁰-based systems are an affordable and applicable technology for small communities in low-income countries, which could contribute to attaining self-reliance in clean water supply and universal public health. Full article