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Instructional quality is associated with better academic outcomes for students. This study aimed to investigate how teachers' job satisfaction was associated with clarity of instruction and cognitive activation as measures of instructional quality. In addition, we investigated whether this association between teachers' job satisfaction and instructional quality was mediated by teacher-student relationships. Drawing on the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), we compared participants from both Eastern (N = 27,106; Japan, Taipei, Korea, Shanghai) and Western sociocultural contexts (N = 20,209; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom). Multilevel structural equation modelling results indicated that teachers' job satisfaction was positively associated with instructional quality across Eastern and Western settings. The relationship between teachers' job satisfaction and instructional quality was partially mediated by better student-teacher relationships. There were some differences between the cultural settings in how job satisfaction correlated with clarity of instruction and cognitive activation. We suggest that these differences may be accounted for by cultural characteristics leading to different approaches to teaching. Our results suggest that teachers' job satisfaction and the quality of classroom-level relationships may be important indicators of positive instructional outcomes. While schools focus on student outcomes, they should also address teachers' job satisfaction and prioritise the importance of relationships between teachers and students in classrooms.

The article presents a discussion of terrorism and its relation with politics in the U.S., adapted from Mark Harrison's blog. Topics discussed include variability in the support among muslims for suicide terrorism; making of marginal costs and benefits by young terrorists; choosing terrorism as career; and rational choice towards terrorist groups.

The article focuses on the effect of the global recession in testing the efficiency of government in the European countries. It mentions that recession is being used as a weapon by the left parties to attack on the ruling government. It further mentions of the effect of recession on several economies including the U.S, Australia and Europe.

The author discusses the do-it-yourself (DIY) economy and its applicability in the times of financial crises. It is mentioned that the Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy London movements have roots in DIY economics, as in both cases the public opposes the high bonuses to the bankers in the times of increasing unemployment. Also, the public in the U.S. and Europe is not satisfied with the government bailout of the corporations when households and small businesses are suffering financial crises.

Frisch-ring CdZnTe detectors have demonstrated both good energy resolution, < 1% FWHM at 662 keV, and good efficiency in detecting gamma rays, highlighting the strong potential of CdZnTe materials for such applications. We are designing a hand-held gamma-ray spectrometer based on Frisch-ring detectors at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It employs an 8 × 8 CdZnTe detector array to achieve a high volume of 19.2 cm³, so greatly improving detection efficiency. By using the front-end application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) developed at BNL, this spectrometer has a small profile and high energy-resolution. It includes a signal processing circuit, digitization and storage circuits, a high-voltage module, and a universal serial bus (USB) interface. In this paper, we detail the system's structure and report the results of our tests with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 2007, the American Bar Association, in the first comprehensive revision of its Model Code of Judicial Conduct since 1990, adopted a new Model Code. The new Code was prepared by an ABA Joint Commission created in 2003. This article describes the processes leading to the Commission's creation, composition, and operation. The significant format changes from the previous Code are explained. A major portion of the article is devoted to an analysis and brief explanation of some of the proposed changes from the previous Code, with a focus only on principal changes and substantive additions and deletions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shell egg microbiology has been studied extensively, but little information is available on how modern U.S. processing conditions impact microbial populations. As regulations are being drafted for the industry, such information can be important for determining processing steps critical to product safety. Five different shell egg surface microbial populations (aerobic bacteria, yeasts and molds, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli and Salmonella) were monitored at 12 points along the processing line (accumulator, prewash rinse, washer 1, washer 2, sanitizer, dryer, oiler, scales, two packer head lanes, rewash entrance, and rewash exit). Three commercial facilities were each visited three times, a total of 990 eggs were sampled, and 5,220 microbiological samples were subsequently analyzed. Although variations existed in concentrations of microorganisms recovered from each plant, the patterns of fluctuation for each population were similar at each plant. On average, aerobes, yeasts and molds, Enterobacteriaceae, and E. coli prevalence were reduced by 30, 20, 50, and 30%, respectively, by the end of processing. The microbial concentrations (log CFU per milliliter) in the egg rinse collected from packer head lanes were decreased by 3.3, 1.3, 1.3, and 0.5, respectively, when compared with those of rinses collected from eggs at the accumulator. Salmonella was recovered from 0 to 48% of pooled samples in the three repetitions. Higher concentrations of Salmonella were recovered from preprocessed than from in-process or ready-to-pack eggs. These data indicate that current commercial practices decrease microbial contamination of egg shell surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the approaches that can be taken by the U.S. government to organize education and achieve social benefits. Advantage of a market approach whereby schools compete and are directly accountable to parents over the accountability approach through political process; Benefits of instituting reforms that could increase competition in public schools; Factors that contributed to the poor performance of government schools; Problems that affect the public provision of schooling.

Examines the revenues and expense dynamics of hospitals in California. Evaluation on the policy challenges faced by the industry; Efforts to meet specified performance standards; Consideration on the high competitive pricing environment for commercial business.

The article outlines several aspects of a comparative study of resources mobilization by the U.S., Great Britain, the Soviet Union and Germany before and during the Second World War. These include war preparations and mobilization needs, political leadership and the central coordination of resources and the intensity of resource mobilization. The most extensive economic burdens of war preparation were borne by Germany and the Soviet Union; British rearmament was run on an altogether smaller scale, and in the United States war preparations were almost nonexistent. By the late 1930s Germany was in a position to deploy formidable military assets. These assets depended only partly on her economy. A crucial ingredient in her military successes up to 1942 was her aggressive strategy of surprise and preemption in combined arms operations. Germany's prewar economic preparations were very substantial. The only country to attempt the building of a true military counterweight to German dispositions was the Soviet Union. Throughout the interwar years Soviet military-economic doctrines bad emphasized the permanent dangers of external aggression. In Soviet rearmament was mirrored Germany's drive toward a mass array possessing military-technical superiority, backed up by the mass production facilities of modernized and specialized defense industries.

Reports on the short-range future of long-range planning within the American Bar Association. Goal of the association; Work of the Long Range Planning Council; Key features of the planning system.

Flies can be transmission vehicles of Salmonella from cattle to humans. This study determined the prevalence of Salmonella in/on flies captured from 33 cattle farms, including 5 beef and 28 dairy farms, in Georgia, USA, and characterized antibiotic resistance profiles of the isolated Salmonella . Twenty-six out of the 33 cattle farms (79%) and 185 out of the 1650 flies (11%) tested positive for Salmonella in the study. The incidence of Salmonella -positive flies varied from farm to farm, ranging from 0 to 78%. Among the 185 Salmonella isolated from flies, 29% were resistant to ampicillin, 28% to tetracycline, 21% to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 20% to cefoxitin, and 12% to streptomycin. Incidences of resistance against other tested antibiotics were low, ranging from 0 to 3%. Furthermore, 28% of the Salmonella isolates were multidrug resistant, demonstrating resistance to 3 or more antibiotics. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of ampicillin, cefoxitin, streptomycin, and tetracycline against the Salmonella isolates ranged from 32 to > 2048, 64 to 2048, 128 to 1024, and 32 to 1024 μg/mL, respectively. These data suggest that flies could be effective vehicles of transmitting antibiotic resistant Salmonella and disseminating antibiotic resistance genes on cattle farms, posing risks to human and animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The antimicrobial resistance of Arcobacter (n =174) and Campylobacter (n =215) isolated from broiler carcasses in a US poultry processing plant was examined. For Arcobacter, 93.7% (n =163) were resistant to one or more antimicrobials and 71.8% (n =125) were resistant to two or more antimicrobials. For Campylobacter, 99.5% (n =214) were resistant to one or more antimicrobials and 28.4% (n =61) were resistant to two or more antimicrobials. Arcobacter butzleri isolates were particularly resistant to clindamycin (90%; n =126), azithromycin (81.4%; n =114) and nalidixic acid (23.6%; n =33). Resistance to tetracycline was very high in Campylobacter jejuni (99.5%) and Campylobacter coli (96.3%). Our results demonstrate substantial resistance in Arcobacter and Campylobacter to common antimicrobial agents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Broiler carcasses (n =325) were sampled in a U.S. commercial poultry processing plant for the prevalence of Arcobacter and Campylobacter at three sites along the processing line: pre-scald, pre-chill and post-chill. Samples (75–125 broilers per site) were collected during five plant visits from August to October of 2004. Arcobacter was recovered from pre-scald carcasses more frequently (96.8%) than from pre-chill (61.3%) and post-chill carcasses (9.6%). Campylobacter was isolated from 92% of pre-scald carcasses, 100% of pre-chill carcasses, and 52% of post-chill carcasses. In total, Arcobacter was isolated from 55.1% (179 of 325), while Campylobacter was isolated from 78.5% (255 of 325) of the carcasses from the three collection sites. For Arcobacter identification, a species-specific multiplex PCR showed that A. butzleri was the most prevalent species (79.1%) followed by A. cryaerophilus 1B (18.6%). A. cryaerophilus 1A was found at low levels (2.3%). PCR identified the most common Campylobacter species as C. jejuni (87.6%) followed by C. coli (12.4%). Overall, significant contamination of broiler carcasses by Arcobacter was observed, although less than that found for Campylobacter. From pre-scald to post-chill, a far greater reduction in Arcobacter numbers was observed than for Campylobacter. Our results for Arcobacter, obtained from the same environment as the closely related pathogen Campylobacter, will aid in the development of control measures for this emerging pathogen. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Korean War was the first conflict in which helicopters were used extensively for casualty evacuation but their contribution to medical evacuation at that time is disputed. On the one hand, many cases undoubtedly survived because of helicopter transportation; on the other, the proportion of casualties evacuated appears to have been small and difficult to determine precisely. Taking the British army as a case study, this article looks more closely at arrangements for casualty evacuation in Korea, assessing the role of helicopters in relation to other elements of the evacuation system and its operation as a whole. The article is divided into several sections. The first examines the command structure of the medical system in Korea, which extended as far back as hospitals in Japan. It shows how medical support for British forces was closely integrated with that of other Commonwealth forces. It notes that rapid and effective integration was a major factor in the success of medical evacuation because it allowed ideas and equipment to be shared easily and because it fostered a spirit of cooperation. This section also highlights the Second World service of all senior Commonwealth medical officers as a factor conducive to integration. The second section provides an overview of the chain of evacuation from the frontline to hospitals in Japan. It describes the functions of the different medical institutions along the chain and how they were connected. Among other things, it shows how the chain for British and Commonwealth troops intersected with medical units of the United States such as Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals and hospital trains. In the third section of the article, there is a detail examination of evacuation by helicopter, describing how it was arranged, what its limitations were, and what types of casualty were evacuated. It estimates the proportion of casualties that were evacuated by this means. The fourth and fifth sections highlight the importance of command decisions in the effective working of the evacuation system. The fourth concentrates on the evolution of a system of forward treatment of minor cases, looking at the challenge posed by disease and other non-battle casualties. The fifth and final section of the article describes how the system of evacuation functioned as a whole, including the different means used to carry the sick and wounded in addition to helicopters. It stresses the importance of coordination between these different elements and places particular emphasis on the value of wireless communications. The article concludes that the success of casualty evacuation in Korea depended less on any single method of transportation than on effective command and control. In this respect, communication between constituent units of the evacuation chain and cooperation between British and other UN forces was crucial. Of equal and perhaps even greater importance was the decision to implement a policy of forward treatment of sickness and minor injuries. Without such a policy, the lines of evacuation would inevitably have become congested, having a detrimental effect on casualty survival rates. This policy drew on the lessons of the two world wars which were still relatively fresh in the minds of medical commanders. Although far less striking than the advent of the helicopter, prior knowledge of coalition warfare and the handling of mass casualties was crucial to medical success. If there is a lesson to be learned from the Korean War for own times, it is probably this.

Importance: Medicare's Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program adjusts hospital payments according to performance on 4 equally weighted quality domains: clinical outcomes, safety, patient experience, and efficiency. The assumption that performance on each domain is equally important may not reflect the preferences of Medicare beneficiaries., Objective: To estimate the relative importance (ie, weight) of the 4 quality domains in the HVBP program from the perspective of Medicare beneficiaries and the impact of using beneficiary value weights on incentive payments for hospitals enrolled in fiscal year 2019., Design, Setting, and Participants: An online survey was conducted in March 2022. A nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries was recruited through Ipsos KnowledgePanel. Value weights were estimated using a discrete choice experiment that asked respondents to choose between 2 hospitals and indicate which they preferred. Hospitals were described using 6 attributes, including (1) clinical outcomes, (2) patient experience, (3) safety, (4) Medicare spending per patient, (5) distance, and (6) out-of-pocket cost. Data analysis was performed from April to November 2022., Main Outcomes and Measures: An effects-coded mixed logit regression model was used to estimate the relative importance of quality domains. HVBP program performance was linked to Medicare payment data in the Medicare Inpatient Hospitals by Provider and Service data set and hospital characteristics from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey data set, and the estimated impact of using beneficiary value weights on hospital payments was estimated., Results: A total of 1025 Medicare beneficiaries (518 women [51%]; 879 individuals [86%] aged ≥65 years; 717 White individuals [70%]) responded to the survey. A hospital's performance on clinical outcomes was most highly valued by beneficiaries (49%), followed by safety (22%), patient experience (21%), and efficiency (8%). Nearly twice as many hospitals would see a payment reduction when using beneficiary value weights than would see an increase (1830 vs 922 hospitals); however, the average net decrease was smaller (mean [SD], -$46 978 [$71 211]; median [IQR], -$24 628 [-$53 507 to -$9562]) than the comparable increase (mean [SD], $93 243 [$190 654]; median [IQR], $35 358 [$9906 to $97 348]). Hospitals seeing a net reduction with beneficiary value weights were more likely to be smaller, lower volume, nonteaching, and non-safety-net hospitals located in more deprived areas that served less complex patients., Conclusions and Relevance: This survey study of Medicare beneficiaries found that current HVBP program value weights do not reflect beneficiary preferences, suggesting that the use of beneficiary value weights may exacerbate disparities by rewarding larger, high-volume hospitals.

This qualitative study investigated factors that guide caregiver decision making and ethical trade-offs for advanced neurotechnologies used to treat children with drug-resistant epilepsy. Caregivers with affected children were recruited to semi-structured focus groups or interviews at one of 4 major epilepsy centers in Eastern and Western Canada and the USA (n = 22). Discussions were transcribed and qualitative analytic methods applied to examine values and priorities (eg, risks, benefits, adherence, invasiveness, reversibility) of caregivers pertaining to novel technologies to treat drug-resistant epilepsy. Discussions revealed 3 major thematic branches for decision making: (1) features of the intervention-risks and benefits, with an emphasis on an aversion to perceived invasiveness; (2) decision drivers-trust in the clinical team, treatment costs; and (3) quality of available information about neurotechnological options. Overall, caregivers' definition of treatment success is more expansive than seizure freedom. The full involvement of their values and priorities must be considered in the decision-making process.

This qualitative study investigated factors that guide physicians' choices for minimally invasive and neuromodulatory interventions as alternatives to conventional surgery or medical management for pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy. North American physicians were recruited to one of 4 focus groups at national conferences. Discussions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. A pragmatic neuroethics framework was applied to interpret results. Discussions revealed 2 major thematic branches: (1) clinical decision making and (2) ethical considerations. Under clinical decision making, physicians emphasized scientific evidence and patient candidacy when assessing neurotechnologies for patients. Ongoing seizures without intervention was important for safety and neurodevelopment. Under ethical considerations, resource allocation, among other financial considerations for technology adoption, were considerable sources of pressure on decision making. Access to neurotechnology was a salient theme differentiating Canadian and American contexts. When assessing novel neurotechnological interventions for pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy, physicians balance clinical and ethical factors to guide decision making and best practice.

Campylobacter is a leading cause of foodborne illness in humans, and improving our understanding of the epidemiology of this organism is essential. The objective of this study was to identify the genes that discriminate isolates of C. jejuni by analysis with whole-genome DNA microarrays. Statistical analyses of whole-genome data from 95 geographically diverse cattle, chicken, and human C. jejuni isolates identified 142 most significant variable genes. Of this total, 125 (88%) belonged to genomic prophage and hypervariable regions. The significance of genomic prophage and hypervariable regions in determining C. jejuni isolate genomic diversity is emphasized by these results. These genes will be useful as biomarkers and components of genotyping systems for C. jejuni to improve our understanding of the epidemiology and population genetics of this major foodborne pathogen.