Criminal Tax Law in the U.S. – A Model for Improving German Criminal Tax Law Enforcement?

Steuerkriminalität, Steuerrecht, Strafrecht, Strafe, Vereinigte Staaten, Deutschland, Tax fraud, Tax law, Criminal law, Penalty, United States, Germany

Status of the International Space Station Waste and Hygiene Compartment

The Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) serves as the primary system for removal and containment of metabolic waste and hygiene activities on board the United States segment of the International Space Station (ISS). The WHC was launched on ULF 2 and is currently in the U.S. Laboratory and is integrated into the Water Recovery System (WRS) where pretreated urine is processed by the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The waste collection part of the WHC system is derived from the Service Module system and was provided by RSC-Energia along with additional hardware to allow for urine delivery to the UPA. The System has been integrated in an ISS standard equipment rack structure for use on the U.S. segment of the ISS. The system has experienced several events of interest during the deployment, checkout, and operation of the system during its first year of use and these will be covered in this paper. Design and on-orbit performance will also be discussed

Motor Skill Improvement in Preschoolers: How Effective Are Activity Cards?

Strategies to early develop and implement motor skill promotion in preschoolers are lacking. Thus, we examined the effects of a card-based exercise promotion program in a kindergarten setting. 214 preschool children (5.5 ± 0.6 y, range 4.2–6.7 y) were examined in the present intervention study. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were measured. Children were randomly assigned to the KIDZ-Box® physical activity intervention program (INT: n = 107) or the control group (CON: n = 107). Children were trained daily for 15 min over 7 month at the preschool for agility, balance, endurance and jump performance, employing the card-based KIDZ-Box® media package. At pre- and post-testing, dynamic balance, jump and agility performance were tested. Cross-sectionally, agility testing differed between sexes (p = 0.01) and BMI (p = 0.02). Trends towards a significant association were found between BMI and side-to-side jumping (p = 0.1) and beam balancing (p = 0.05). Relevant interventional effects favoring the intervention group were slightly found for agility (p = 0.04, ηp2 = 0.02) and moderately for side-to-side jumping (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.08). Balance performance did not relevantly improve. As jumping cards have been used frequently by the teachers, jumping improvements are plausible. The activity cards are feasibly applicable but should be employed with more structure during longer training sessions

Para uma cultura discursiva em aulas de matemáticas na secundária: Capacitação docente para a equidade no ensino de estudantes bilíngues emergentes

The continued proliferation of linguistic diversity in US mainstream classrooms, coupled with the language demands of the Common Core State Standards for mathematics instruction (CCSSM), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principles to Actions (PtA), has prompted educational researchers to identify effective, linguistically relevant practices for preparing secondary mathematics educators adept at meeting the needs of emergent bilingual students. In this article we argue for implementation of teacher education courses in mathematics that infuse “pedagogical language knowledge” as a tool for providing future teachers the skills and dispositions to foster a “classroom culture of discourse.” This call come in light of the discipline-specific language demands of the above-mentioned standards and secondary students’ use of variable linguistic repertoires across and within languages to learn and display mathematical thinking and ideasLa proliferación de la diversidad en los salones de clase en EEUU, unida a las exigencias lingüísticas de los denominados Common Core State Standards for Mathematics y de los estándares Principles to Actions (PtA) del Concilio Nacional de Maestros de Matemáticas, ha motivado a los investigadores en el campo de la educación a que identifiquen prácticas educativas orientadas a la preparación de una nueva generación de maestros de matemáticas aptos para diseñar e implementar un modelo pedagógico equitativo que responda a las necesidades del estudiantado bilingüe emergente. Por ende, en este artículo recalcamos la importancia de impartir cursos de formación docente en matemáticas que potencien un conocimiento de lo que se ha denominado en inglés como pedagogical language knowledge. Estos conocimientos servirán como herramientas que asistirán a dichos maestros a fomentar una cultura inclusiva y discursiva en el salón de clase a raíz de las exigencias lingüísticas de los nuevos estándares y de la variación lingüística que caracteriza al contexto escolarA proliferação da diversidade em salas de aulas em EEUU, unida as exigências linguísticas dos denominados Common Core State Standards for Mathematics e das normas do Principles to Action (PtA) do Concilio Nacional de Maestros de Matemáticas, têm motivado aos investigadores no campo da educação a que identifiquem práticas educativas orientadas à preparação de uma nova geração de professores de matemáticas aptos a desenvolverem e implementarem um modelo pedagógico equitativo que responda as necessidades dos estudantes bilíngues emergentes. Portanto, neste artigo enfatizamos a importância de promover cursos de formação docente em matemáticas que potencialize um conhecimento denominado em inglês como pedagogical language knowledge. Estes conhecimentos servirão como ferramentas que auxiliarão a estes maestros a fomentarem uma cultura inclusiva e discursiva em salas de aulas a raiz de exigências linguísticas dos novos padrões e da variação linguística que caracteriza o contexto escola

A Pilot Study to Measure Upper Extremity H-reflexes Following Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Therapy after Stroke

Upper extremity (UE) hemiparesis persists after stroke, limiting hand function. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an effective intervention to improve UE recovery, although the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Our objective was to establish a reliable protocol to measure UE agonist–antagonist forearm monosynaptic reflexes in a pilot study to determine if NMES improves wrist function after stroke. We established the between-day reliability of the H-reflex in the extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL) and flexor carpi radialis (FCR) musculature for individuals with prior stroke (n = 18). The same-day generation of ECRL/FCR H-reflex recruitment curves was well tolerated, regardless of age or UE spasticity. The between-day reliability of the ECRL H-reflex was enhanced above FCR, similar to healthy subjects [20], with the Hmax the most reliable parameter quantified in both muscles. H-reflex and functional measures following NMES show the potential for NMES-induced increases in ECRL Hmax, but confirmation requires a larger clinical study. Our initial results support the safe, easy, and efficacious use of in-home NMES, and establish a potential method to measure UE monosynaptic reflexes after stroke