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Objective:The obesity epidemic in industrialized nations has important implications for education, as research demonstrates lower academic achievement among obese students. The current paper compares the test scores and school grades of obese, overweight and normal-weight students in secondary and further education, controlling for demographic variables, personality, ability and well-being confounds.Participants:This study included 383 eighth-grade students (49% female; study 1) and 1036 students from 24 community colleges and universities (64% female, study 2), both drawn from five regions across the United States.Measures:In study 1, body mass index (BMI) was calculated using self-reports and parent reports of weight and height. In study 2, BMI was calculated from self-reported weight and height only. Both samples completed age-appropriate assessments of mathematics, vocabulary and the personality trait conscientiousness. Eighth-grade students additionally completed a measure of life satisfaction, with both self-reports and parent reports of their grades from the previous semester also obtained. Higher education students additionally completed measures of positive and negative affect, and self-reported their grades and college entrance scores.Results:Obese students receive significantly lower grades in middle school (d=0.83), community college (d=0.34) and university (d=0.36), but show no statistically significant differences in intelligence or achievement test scores. Even after controlling for demographic variables, intelligence, personality and well-being, obese students obtain significantly lower grades than normal-weight students in the eighth grade (d=0.39), community college (d=0.42) and university (d=0.31).Conclusion:Lower grades may reflect peer and teacher prejudice against overweight and obese students rather than lack of ability among these students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of biomass and nutrients in three compartments (plant shoots, roots and surface soil) in developing ecosystem in two types of reclaimed china clay waste, sand tips and mica dam walls was measured. Biomass and nitrogen accumulated mainly in the root compartment whereas all other elements measured with the exception of potassium in mica dam wall soils, accumulated in the soil fraction. The accumulation of nutrients in the shoot and root pools was not due to redistribution of nutrients from the soil pool as accumulation was demonstrated in all three pools. Soil nitrogen mineralization tests showed an increase in mineralization nitrogen in the reclaimed waste compared to the raw waste. A significant correlation with age since treatment was demonstrated for sand tip soils. The importance of nutrient cycling and of nitrogen cycling in particular in recently established ecosystems, such as reclaimed china clay wastes is emphasized. The relative contributions to nitrogen cycling from mineralization and grazing sources are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a survey of sixty-eight reclaimed china clay wastes, vegetables was scored for overall cover, legume cover and the number of ingressed species, and the accumulation of biomass and major plant nutrients was measured at forty-three sites. Vegetation cover was adequate for slope and sand stabilization, and at certain sites there was a high legume component which contributed to the nitrogen economy of the vegetation. There was limited ingression of new species into these reclaimed areas. Organic matter and most major plant nutrients accumulated in these new ecosystems. An overall nutrient budget comparing inputs from atmospheric deposition and fertilizer sources to net accumulation within these ecosystems showed a net loss of all elements measured with the exception of nitrogen and to a lesser extent phosphorus. In the case of nitrogen there was an overall accumulation in excess of measured inputs reflecting the influence of leguminous species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) experiment, an isolated hailstorm developed on the western side of the PECAN study area on the night of 3-4 July 2015. One of the objectives of PECAN was to advance knowledge of the processes and conditions leading to pristine nocturnal convection initiation (CI). This nocturnal hailstorm developed more than 160 km from any other convective storms and in the absence of any surface fronts or bores. The storm initiated within 110 km of the S-Pol radar; directly over a vertically pointing Doppler lidar; within 25 km of the University of Wyoming King Air flight track; within a network of nine sounding sites taking 2-hourly soundings; and near a mobile mesonet track. Importantly, even beyond 100 km in range, S-Pol observed the preconvection initiation cloud that was collocated with the satellite infrared cloud image and provided information on the evolution of cloud growth. The multiple observations of cloud base, thermodynamic stability, and direct updraft observations were used to determine that the updraft roots were elevated. Diagnostic analysis presented in the paper suggests that CI was aided by lower-tropospheric gravity waves occurring in an environment of weak but persistent mesoscale lifting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]