University of West Georgia

There is a paucity of research that examines and addresses the school librarianship knowledge gap on the design and delivery of culturally responsive K–12 online learning. The present study is the second phase of a national grant–funded research project that aims to thoroughly capture and assess the institutional structures, pedagogical practices, and learner needs found in the implementation of a professional development learning product targeting that knowledge gap. Findings for this phase of the project focus on how the ways in which school librarians define their role within, and describe the characteristics of, culturally informed and responsive K–12 virtual learning change through professional development.

Using JWST/MIRI observations, we report the detection of CO$_2$ ice in the dusty torus of the planetary nebula NGC 6302, an environment generally considered hostile to fragile molecular species and ices due to intense UV irradiation. This detection accompanies cold (20-50 K) gas-phase CO$_2$ along the same sightlines. The ice absorption profile exhibits a double-peak profile, a characteristic of pure, crystalline CO$_2$ ice. The CO$_2$ gas-to-ice ratio is more than an order of magnitude higher than in young stellar objects, pointing to distinct ice formation or processing mechanisms in evolved stellar environments. This discovery demonstrates that the dusty torus provides sufficient shielding to harbour ice chemistry, and that ice-mediated surface reactions must be incorporated into chemical models of planetary nebulae.

This qualitative phenomenological study investigates the perceptions and experiences of solo middle school librarians regarding social capital within their professional network in a large suburban school district in the Southwestern United States. Through in-depth interviews with five participants, the research identified key themes including collegiality, professional organizations, principal support, librarians as teachers, and isolation. Findings reveal that solo librarians highly value social capital experiences, particularly informal collegial interactions and district-level meetings, but face significant barriers to participation, including time constraints, lack of support staff, and limited administrative understanding of their role. The study highlights the importance of reducing isolation and fostering social capital among school librarians to enhance their professional growth, improve library services, and ultimately support student achievement. The research underscores the need for accountability to school library standards, increased staffing, and greater opportunities for solo librarians to engage in social capital activities. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Altered intercellular communication is a hallmark of aging, influencing systemic processes across the cardiovascular, neurological, and psychological systems. Among these, cardiovascular aging is particularly important due to its strong association with morbidity and mortality in industrialized societies. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the natural fluctuations in the time intervals between heartbeats and serves as an indicator of neural interorgan communication, particularly within the cardiac and neural systems, which is fundamentally underpinned by intercellular signaling. HRV captures the autonomic nervous system’s regulation of cardiac function, reflecting the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. Beyond its mechanistic significance, HRV provides a window into the organism’s adaptive capacity to stress and the maintenance of homeostasis, encapsulating the interplay between cardiovascular, neural, and endocrine systems. Increasing evidence recognizes HRV as a predictor of survival across diverse populations, from patients with cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological disorders to the general population. Importantly, HRV is modifiable, making it a compelling target for interventions aimed at enhancing healthspan and lifespan. Among these interventions, nutritional strategies hold particular promise. This review synthesizes current evidence on the impact of key dietary factors including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and calorie restriction on HRV modulation in human studies. These findings underscore the potential of nutritional approaches to mitigate the deleterious effects of cardiac and neural aging while promoting systemic resilience. HRV transcends its role as a biomarker, serving both as an independent outcome measure and a critical component of algorithmic models for evaluating the efficacy of aging-related interventions. By advancing our understanding of HRV and its modulation through diet, this review bridges fundamental aging biology with applied clinical strategies, highlighting its transformative potential in optimizing both quality of life and longevity.

In recent times, the wireless network market has received an influx of innovative technologies to cope up with the ever-growing data traffic demand and make efficient deployment and utilization of network resources. Despite that, cellular service and coverage in non-urban areas still remains largely unreliable. Providers predominantly set up roaming agreements to offer service to their customers in such regions where they have no coverage. These roaming services come with their own set of technical and operational constraints and limitations. As an alternative, we introduce <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Wireless Peering</i> for cellular providers, a concept inspired by ISP peering in wireline networks. By facilitating <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">settlement-free</i> spectrum sharing, <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Wireless Peering</i> allows providers to seamlessly extend their coverage to off-network regions, without any hardware modifications. Due to its software-defined nature, the model offers high scalability, cost-effectiveness and ease of deployment. In this paper, we detail the core ideas and operational framework of a <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Wireless Peering</i> model with a particular emphasis on improving customer satisfaction and provider revenue gains. Simulation results using <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">OpencellID</i> data on real-life providers and customers across contiguous United States (US) exhibit significant improvements over roaming for both customers and providers.

Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) power AC motors by way of an intermediate connecting cable or wires. The cable used, and the termination method of the cable can greatly affect system performance, including a reduction in the mean time between failure (MTBF) for the motor and other nearby electrical equipment. Many issues plaguing modern VFD systems are caused by the use of non-optimal cable, termination and grounding methods. By creating an isolated test setup, it is possible to measure how cable construction and installation influence a VFD system’s overall performance. Testing was performed on eight different cable constructions and four different termination methods. Results were compared to observe how different system properties were affected. The system properties evaluated include Common Mode Current (CMC), Cable Ground Current, Cable Shield current, Motor Shaft Current, and more. Based on measurements taken, the data indicates that using a properly terminated shielded VFD cable helps to reduce radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) and conducted EMI current flowing through the motor bearings and helps to improve performance in other system parameters like CMC.