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The reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals marks a pivotal moment in the landscape of higher education in prison (HEP) programming in the United States. However, despite this promising development, financial barriers persist, hindering the growth and sustainability of HEP initiatives. This qualitative study delves into the challenges faced by faculty, staff, and administrators within Pennsylvania's colleges and universities as they establish and operate HEP programs amidst an evolving funding environment. Drawing on interviews with nine HEP administrators across the state, we explore obstacles they confront, ranging from the Pell grant funding gap to logistical hurdles such as access to educational materials and technology. Moreover, demographic disparities and security concerns emerge as significant factors impacting the relationship between HEP programs and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC). Our findings extend beyond financial constraints, revealing broader systemic barriers to equitable and accessible HEP programming. We provide potential policy solutions to address these multifaceted challenges and foster a more supportive institutional environment for post-secondary education in Pennsylvania's carceral system.

Crocanthemum canadense (L.) Britton (Cistaceae) is critically imperiled in Nova Scotia. The decline of Nova Scotian Crocanthemum canadense is largely due to the loss of the Annapolis Valley sand barrens habitat. Fungal symbionts may aid in nutrient and water acquisition as well as plant defenses. The role of fungal associations with Crocanthemum canadense is unknown; our goal was to identify fungal symbionts to inform ongoing conservation research. We isolated fungi from eighteen Crocanthemum canadense plants collected from Greenwood, Nova Scotia. Using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA barcoding of fungal cultures, we identified 58 fungal taxa. ITS2 meta-amplicon barcoding of roots and rhizosphere soil revealed 241 fungi with basidiomycetes accounting for 53.8% of reads. Chaetothyriales sp., Mycetinis scorodonius, Acidomelania panicicola, and Scleroderma citrinum were the most abundant root associates based on meta-amplicon data. We quantified percent root colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) using root staining and microscopy. The average AMF colonization rate of the roots was 29.6% (n = 18). Our research provides a foundation for understanding the fungal community in this declining habitat and the first account of fungal symbionts in the above- and below-ground tissues and rhizosphere of Crocanthemum canadense. Identifying fungi influencing endangered Nova Scotian Crocanthemum canadense is valuable for developing conservation strategies. Key words: AMF, Cistaceae, Crocanthemum, endangered species, endophyte, mycorrhiza, sand barren. Crocanthemum canadense (L.) Britton (Cistaceae) est en grand danger d'extinction en Nouvelle-Ecosse. Le déclin de Crocanthemum canadense néo-écossais est principalement dû à la perte d'habitat des landes de sable de la vallée de l 'Annapolis. Les symbiotes fongiques peuvent contribuer à l 'acquisition de nutriments et d'eau ainsi qu' à la défense des plantes. Le rôle des associations fongiques avec Crocanthemum canadense est inconnu; l'objectif des auteurs consistait à identifier les symbiotes fongiques afin de guider les recherches en cours sur la conservation. Ils ont isolé des champignons à partir de dix-huit plants de Crocanthemum canadense récoltés à Greenwood, en Nouvelle-Ecosse. En utilisant le code à barres de l 'interne transcrit spacer (ITS) de l 'ADNr des cultures fongiques, ils ont identifié 58 taxons fongiques. Le codage à barres du méta-amplicon ITS2 des racines et du sol de la rhizosphère a révélé la présence de 241 champignons, les basidiomycètes représentant 53,8% des lectures. Chaetothyriales sp., Mycetinis scorodonius, Acidomelania panicola, et Scleroderma citrinum étaient les espèces associées racines les plus abondantes sur la base des données méta-amplicon. Les auteurs ont quantifié le pourcentage de colonisation des racines par les champignons mycorhiziens à arbuscules (CMA) en utilisant la coloration des racines et la microscopie. Le taux moyen de colonisation des racines par les CMA était de 29,6% (n =18). Ils fournissent une base pour comprendre la communauté fongique dans cet habitat en déclin et la première description des symbiotes fongiques dans les tissus aériens et souterrains et la rhizosphère de Crocanthemum canadense. L'identification des champignons influençant Crocanthemum canadense en Nouvelle-Ecosse, une espèce menacée, est précieuse pour l 'élaboration de stratégies de conservation. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés : CMA, Cistaceae, Crocanthemum, espèce menacée, endophyte, mycorhize, lande de sable., Introduction Crocanthemum canadense (L.) Britton (Cistaceae) is a small, herbaceous perennial classified as critically imperiled in Nova Scotia by the Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act (Figs. 1A-1B) (Newell 2007). The [...]

High energy resolution DEMETER satellite observations from the Instrument for the Detection of Particle (IDP) are analyzed during an electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC)‐induced electron precipitation event. Analysis of an Interval Pulsation with Diminishing Periods (IPDP)‐type EMIC wave event, using combined satellite observations to correct for incident proton contamination, detected an energy precipitation spectrum ranging from ∼150 keV to ∼1.5 MeV. While inconsistent with many theoretical predictions of >1 MeV EMIC‐induced electron precipitation, the finding is consistent with an increasing number of experimentally observed events detected using lower resolution integral channel measurements on the POES, FIREBIRD, and ELFIN satellites. Revised and improved DEMETER differential energy fluxes, after correction for incident proton contamination shows that they agree to within 40% in peak flux magnitude, and 85 keV (within 40%) for the energy at which the peak occurred as calculated from POES integral channel electron precipitation measurements. This work shows that a subset of EMIC waves found close to the plasmapause, that is, IPDP‐type rising tone events, can produce electron precipitation with peak energies substantially below 1 MeV. The rising tone features of IPDP EMIC waves, along with the association with the high cold plasma density regime, and the rapidly varying electron density gradients of the plasmapause may be an important factor in the generation of such low energy precipitation, co‐incident with a high energy tail. Our work highlights the importance of undertaking proton contamination correction when using the high‐resolution DEMETER particle measurements to investigate EMIC‐driven electron precipitation. Plain Language Summary: Energetic electrons are lost rapidly from the outer radiation belt. Several processes are thought to drive the electron losses. One process is through interactions with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. Theoretical studies suggest that electrons primarily with energy >1 MeV are lost through this process, however, previous experimental satellite observations indicate that precipitation bursts with much lower electron energies are more common. One issue is that the previous satellite observations were made with poor energy resolution and are challenging to interpret due to coincident proton precipitation, which contaminate the electron measurements. Here we use observations from the DEMETER satellite which we have corrected for proton contamination. The measurements, made with higher energy resolution than before, confirm that indeed, low energy electron precipitation can happen when EMIC waves drive electron losses. The study finds that this lower energy characteristic is likely to be driven by a small subset of rising tone EMIC waves, known as Interval Pulsation with Diminishing Periods (IPDP), typically confined to the magnetic local time evening sector. Key Points: An electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave event (an interval of pulsations with diminishing period, IPDP) was studied from Low Earth OrbitCo‐incident satellite observations detected IPDP‐induced energetic electron precipitation, starting at 150 keV, peaking at 215 keVHigh‐resolution measurements from the DEMETER satellite show enhanced fluxes from 215 keV to 1.5 MeV exhibiting a "hard" power‐law spectrum [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetotelluric (MT) impedances from 62 sites in southern South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand have been used to model geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) in four transformers during two solar storms. Induced electric fields during the storms are calculated from the MT impedances using the magnetic fields measured at the Eyrewell (EYR) geomagnetic observatory, approximately 200 km north of the study area. Calculated GIC during the sudden storm commencements (SSC) give a generally good match to GIC measured by the network operator, Transpower New Zealand. Long period GIC (periods longer than about 10,000 s) are less well modeled. Calculations based on thin‐sheet modeling, which has restrictions on the shortest period of variation which can be modeled, perform less well for the GIC associated with SSC, but are equally good, if not better, at modeling longer period GIC. Consistent underestimation of large GIC at one transformer (HWBT4) near Dunedin are likely to be the result of uncertainty in the assumed values of line, transformer, and earthing resistances. The assumption of a spatially uniform magnetic field across the study area, which is implied by use of the magnetic field measured at EYR as a basis for calculation, may also lead to incorrect calculation of GIC. For one storm use of magnetic field data from a magnetometer within the study area leads to much improved modeling of the observed GIC. This study compares modeled and measured GIC using specifically measured MT impedance data. Plain Language Summary: Variations in the Earth's magnetic field during magnetic storms produce induced currents (geomagnetically induced currents–GIC) in the ground which can present a risk to electricity transmission networks. Long period magnetotelluric measurements made at 62 sites in southern South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand have been used to model GIC observed during two magnetic storms. It is found that large GIC occurring over short periods of time associated with the commencement of a storm can be well modeled. GIC occurring over longer periods are less well modeled. Uncertainty in values of resistances incorporated in the model of the transmission network are likely to be the reason why the size of GIC is consistently underestimated at some locations. The assumption that the magnetic field variations are uniform across the study area is also found to not always be valid. Key Points: Magnetotelluric impedances from 62 sites across southern South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand have been used to model geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) during two stormsCalculated GIC are compared to observed values at 4 transformers and GIC during sudden storm commencements are captured by MT‐based modelsQuantitative comparison between simulations confirms that consideration of spatial variations in the magnetic field is important [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High energy electron precipitation from the Earth's radiation belts is important for loss from the radiation belts and atmospheric chemistry. We follow up investigations presented in Reidy et al. (2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ja028410) where precipitating flux is calculated inside the field of view of the POES T0 detector using quasi‐linear theory and pitch angle diffusion coefficients (Dαα) from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). These results showed good agreements at >30 keV for L* >5 on the dawnside but the flux were too low at higher energies. We have investigated the effect of changing parameters in the calculation of the precipitating flux to improve the results for the higher energies using comparisons of in situ flux and cold plasma measurements from GOES‐15 and RBSP. We find that the strength of the diffusion coefficients rather than the shape of the source spectrum has the biggest effect on the calculated precipitation. In particular we find decreasing the cold plasma density used in the calculation of Dαα increases the diffusion and hence the precipitation at the loss cone for the higher energies, improving our results. The method of calculating Dαα is also examined, comparing co‐located rather than averaged RBSP measurements. We find that the method itself has minimal effect but using RBSP derived Dαα improved our results over using Dαα calculated using the entire BAS wave data base; this is potentially due to better measurements of the cold plasma density from RBSP than the other spacecraft included in the BAS wave data base (e.g., THEMIS). Plain Language Summary: High energy particles trapped in the Earth's radiation belt can enter the atmosphere, known as particle precipitation, and collide with atmospheric particles, which can change the atmospheric chemistry. This input into our atmosphere is key to understanding the effects of space weather on our climate system variability but is difficult to quantify. Reidy et al. (2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ja028410) calculated the precipitation that would be measured by a low‐Earth orbiting satellite using wave‐particle theory and diffusion coefficients from a radiation belt model. Diffusion coefficients describe the amount of diffusion of the trapped radiation belt particle population driven by different sources (e.g., chorus waves). Reidy et al. (2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ja028410) found good agreement between the calculated and measured precipitation for lower energy particles but found there was something missing for the higher energies. This paper investigates the impact of changing certain parameters within the calculations, finding the cold plasma density to be key in improving the results at higher energies. Key Points: Decreasing the cold plasma density increases calculated electron precipitation at the higher energiesCalculated precipitation for a low Earth orbiting detector is weakly dependent on the source spectrumRBSP derived diffusion coefficients provide more diffusion for precipitating particles than those derived from a larger wave database [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract European honey bees Apis mellifera are important commercial pollinators that have suffered greater than normal overwintering losses since 2007 in North America and Europe. Contributing factors likely include a combination of parasites, pesticides, and poor nutrition. We examined diet diversity, diet nutritional quality, and pesticides in honey bee‐collected pollen from commercial colonies in the Canadian Maritime Provinces in spring and summer 2011. We sampled pollen collected by honey bees at colonies in four site types: apple orchards, blueberry fields, cranberry bogs, and fallow fields. Proportion of honey bee‐collected pollen from crop versus noncrop flowers was high in apple, very low in blueberry, and low in cranberry sites. Pollen nutritional value tended to be relatively good from apple and cranberry sites and poor from blueberry and fallow sites. Floral surveys ranked, from highest to lowest in diversity, fallow, cranberry, apple, and blueberry sites. Pesticide diversity in honey bee‐collected pollen was high from apple and blueberry sites and low from cranberry and fallow sites. Four different neonicotinoid pesticides were detected, but neither these nor any other pesticides were at or above LD50 levels. Pollen hazard quotients were highest in apple and blueberry sites and lowest in fallow sites. Pollen hazard quotients were also negatively correlated with the number of flower taxa detected in surveys. Results reveal differences among site types in diet diversity, diet quality, and pesticide exposure that are informative for improving honey bee and land agro‐ecosystem management.