Low-light-level nonlinear optics with slow light

Electromagnetically induced transparency in an optically thick, cold medium creates a unique system where pulse-propagation velocities may be orders of magnitude less than $c$ and optical nonlinearities become exceedingly large. As a result, nonlinear processes may be efficient at low-light levels. Using an atomic system with three, independent channels, we demonstrate a quantum interference switch where a laser pulse with an energy density of $\sim23$ photons per $\lambda^2/(2\pi)$ causes a 1/e absorption of a second pulse.Comment: to be published in PR

MU Interdisciplinary Innovations Fund Grant Status Report

Project Supervisors: Connie Brooks, Ph.D. (psychology) and Lynelle Phillips, MPH, RN (nursing) ; Project Coordinator: Danielle Quintero, M.A. (counseling psychology).Final report of a 2013/2014 IIF project, "Integrating Wellness into Trauma Treatment: A Holistic Interdisciplinary Approach for Foster Children." This report summarizes the key grant activities and progress that occurred between May and September of 2014 as part of the initial report. Of note is that an updated summation covering between October 2014 and May 2015 has been added to this report for the project. The research team has entitled the project TRYAD (Trauma, Recovery, Youth Assessment & Development).MU Interdisciplinary Innovations Fun

Engineering Technology Programs and Technical Standards: Investigating Library Access and Course Integration

Due to ABET accreditation requirements and industry expectations, integrating technical standards into Engineering Technology (ET) curricula is crucial for student success. However, previous studies have shown that faculty report access and knowledge challenges in working to integrate standards into ET course content. Additionally, academic librarians have long acknowledged there are many issues with providing access to standards to campus users, such as high costs and extensive digital rights management (DRM) restrictions. The purpose of this study is to conduct an environmental scan of library websites at institutions with ET programs to investigate library-provided access to standards and to survey ET faculty members about their contemporary standards education approaches and practices. A key finding is that ET students at larger schools are much more likely to have access to standards online, with 82% of libraries at institutions with over 15,000 students subscribing to standards online versus only 46% of libraries at institutions under 10,000 students. Additionally, the results show there is a disconnect between library-provided access to standards (58% of libraries provide online access) and ET faculty members’ use of academic libraries for standards access (28% report using standards through the library). More education about technical standards is needed for ET faculty members working to integrate standards into curricula. Standards developing organizations (SDOs) should consider investigating ways they can offer educational opportunities for faculty, provide specific case studies and examples of how standards could be implemented into various ET courses, and if they are not already doing so, offer free or low-cost solutions for faculty to obtain standards for use within a course

The Power of Play: Theatre’s Potential for Healing the Wounds of Capitalism

Capitalist hegemony wreaks havoc on the psyche through exploitation, isolation, and encouragement of worry. Actor training offers healing in the ways in which it encourages self value, connection, and mindfulness, therefore serving as a powerful tool for coping with anxiety and depression exacerbated by life under a capitalist system

Near-Infrared Photometric Survey of Proto-Planetary Nebula Candidates

We present JHK' photometric measurements of 78 objects mostly consisting of proto-planetary nebula candidates. Photometric magnitudes are determined by means of imaging and aperture photometry. Unlike the observations with a photometer with a fixed-sized beam, the method of imaging photometry permits accurate derivation of photometric values because the target sources can be correctly identified and confusion with neighboring sources can be easily avoided. Of the 78 sources observed, we report 10 cases in which the source seems to have been misidentified or confused by nearby bright sources. We also present nearly two dozen cases in which the source seems to have indicated a variability which prompts a follow-up monitoring. There are also a few sources that show previously unreported extendedness. In addition, we present H band finding charts of the target sources.Comment: 3 tables, 1 figur

Efficacy of Video Modeling for Treatment of Selective Mutism in Children

Selective mutism is an extremely rare socio-pragmatic communication disorder that affects less than 1% of the population. The treatment of selective mutism may be addressed via many different approaches, including drug therapies and behavioral approaches or combinations of both. Self-modeling is a behavioral approach and is similar to that of video modeling. Video modeling treatment is becoming a more popular approach to serve individuals with social and behavioral disorders. Video modeling has been documented to improve social and behavioral deficits in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Because selective mutism is a rare condition and because the effects of video modeling and video self- modeling treatment are not well-documented, this case study explores the effects of a video modeling and video self-modeling hybrid approach on twin, school-aged females, both with a diagnosis of selective mutism. A hybrid approach of video modeling and video self-modeling was implemented in five weekly sessions of individual therapy. Two participants, both with a diagnosis of selective mutism participated in a nine- week study. Initially, during two different sessions, a language sample was collected from each participant. Following the initial collection of language samples, the participants were enrolled in five weeks of video modeling and video self-modeling treatment. At the conclusion of the therapy, two post-treatment language samples were collected from each participant. The post-treatment language samples were compared with the pre-treatment to determine if there was any increase in a) Type-Token Ratio to determine what types of words the participants were using; b) Mean Length of Utterance to determine the average length of statements; c) total number of utterances; d) frequency of initiation of conversation; e) frequency of eye contact during interactions; f) use of greeting; and g) frequency of not responding to prompts/questions. An increase was seen in all of the following: total number of utterances; frequency of initiation of conversation; frequency of eye contact during interactions; use of greetings. Mean Length of Utterance, Type-Token Ratio, and frequency of not responding to prompts/questions appeared to not improve as a result of video modeling treatment