Equivalence of block sequences in Schreier spaces and their duals

We prove that any normalized block sequence in a Schreier space $X_\xi$, of arbitrary order $\xi<\omega_1$, admits a subsequence equivalent to a subsequence of the canonical basis of some Schreier space. The analogous result is proved for dual spaces to Schreier spaces. Basing on these results, we examine the structure of strictly singular operators on Schreier spaces and show that there are $2^\mathfrak{c}$ many closed operator ideals on a Schreier space of any order, its dual and bidual space.Comment: Corrected citatio

Completing College: National and State Reports

The national six-year college completion rate reached 62.2 percent, a 1.2 percentage point increase from last year. The completion rate increased regardless of starting institution types. Two-thirds of states increased at least 1 percentage point in completion rates over last year.This is the tenth report in the Completing College report series, featuring the completion rate trends nationally and for states, updated with the fall 2015 entering cohort's outcomes tracked through June 2021.The new longitudinal data dashboard offers national and multi-state comparisons through interactive visualizations and analysis tools. Underlying data are available online for downloading. The national eight-year completion rates are not included in the current report and will be published at a later time

Highly accurate model for prediction of lung nodule malignancy with CT scans

Computed tomography (CT) examinations are commonly used to predict lung nodule malignancy in patients, which are shown to improve noninvasive early diagnosis of lung cancer. It remains challenging for computational approaches to achieve performance comparable to experienced radiologists. Here we present NoduleX, a systematic approach to predict lung nodule malignancy from CT data, based on deep learning convolutional neural networks (CNN). For training and validation, we analyze >1000 lung nodules in images from the LIDC/IDRI cohort. All nodules were identified and classified by four experienced thoracic radiologists who participated in the LIDC project. NoduleX achieves high accuracy for nodule malignancy classification, with an AUC of ~0.99. This is commensurate with the analysis of the dataset by experienced radiologists. Our approach, NoduleX, provides an effective framework for highly accurate nodule malignancy prediction with the model trained on a large patient population. Our results are replicable with software available at http://bioinformatics.astate.edu/NoduleX

For the Dead Homie: Black Male Rappers, Homicide Survivorship Bereavement, and the Rap Tribute of Nipsey Hussle

Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom’s murder represented a cultural cataclysmic event that startled the Hip Hop community and triggered previous memories of Black men’s homicidal deaths in the world. Nipsey Hussle’s death inspired touching rap tribute songs by Black male rappers, who sought to commemorate his cultural legacy and express their bereavement as homicide survivors. Rap tribute songs occupy a significant history, as rappers historically employed them to honor Hip Hop’s fallen soldiers, communicate their homicide survivorship bereavement processes, and speak about social perils in the Black community. Framed by critical race (CRT) and gender role conflict theoretical frameworks, this study investigated twenty-six rap tribute songs, which were authored by twenty-eight Black male rap artists in commemoration of Nipsey Hussle’s life and legacy. We sought to understand how the examined Black male rappers use their music to grieve and communicate their bereavement experiences as homicide survivors. The findings yielded complex, yet contradictory themes related to existing scholarship on Black men’s homicide survivorship bereavement strategies, rap’s homicide-related lyrics, and the sociocultural functions of rap tribute songs as rhetorical expressions of Black men’s homosociality and as laments of deceased friends and rappers. The examined rap tribute songs advanced three dominant themes in relation to the Black male rappers’ articulations of their homicide survivorship bereavement of Nipsey Hussle, which were 1) Black men’s grief, homosociality, and complex vulnerability narratives, 2) fear and paranoia declarations, and 3) and resolution of internal conflict and grief with vengeance. This investigation was significant to Hip Hop studies, for it illustrated how twenty-eight Black male rap artists leveraged the rhetorical power of rap tribute songs to articulate their complex homicide survivor bereavement processes, advance vital counternarratives concerning Black men’s mental health experiences with repeated exposure to homicide deaths and violence in rap and urban communities, and offer rich criticisms of gun violence, internalized racism, poverty, and systemic oppression

Effect of nebulized albuterol on circulating leukocyte counts in normal subjects

AbstractNebulized β2-receptor agonists may cause neutrophil demargination and result in misleading total circulating leukocyte counts (WBCs) in patients with acute bronchospasm. Varying underlying adrenergic stimulation in these patients also makes interpretation of these data difficult. This study examined the direct effect of these agents on the measured WBCs of healthy adults without evidence of bronchospasm or illness.A prospective, blinded, randomized study of 30 healthy volunteers (aged 18–50 years) was performed in a controlled environment. Subjects were excluded if they were pregnant, had a known underlying medical disorder or have had a prior reaction to albuterol or similar medications. Participants in the study were given either a nebulized albuterol treatment or nebulized normal saline (control group). Leukocyte counts were then obtained before and after treatments. Paired data were analysed using a one-tailed t-test while considering an increase of 40% in WBCs to be significant, P=0·05, and β=0·10.Mean leukocyte counts were 5·9 (± 1·2) before treatment as compared to 6·0 (± 1·3) after albuterol nebulization. Using the coefficient of variance of WBCs in normal humans as c. 50% (6000 ± 3000 cells mm−1) we were unable to demonstrate a significant difference in variation in post-nebulized leukocyte counts between the control group and the nebulized albuterol group.While there is concern that the treatment of patients experiencing acute bronchospasm with β2 agonists may result in factitious elevations in peripheral leukocyte counts, we found no direct effect of these agents on measured counts in normal subjects

Incubation Energetics of the Laysan Albatross

The energy expenditure of incubating and foraging Laysan Albatross (Diomedea immutabilis, mean body weight 3.07 kg) was estimated by means of the doubly-la- belled water technique. During incubation, the energy expenditure was similar to that of resting birds that were not incubating an egg. The energy expenditure of foraging albatross (2072 kJ/day) was 2.6 times that of resting birds. It was concluded that the energy expenditure of the tropical Laysan Albatross was not less than that of species foraging over cold, high-latitude oceans. An energy budget compiled for an incubating pair of albatross revealed that the energy expenditure of the female was greater than that of the male bird, during the incubation perio

Potential role for PADI-mediated histone citrullination in preimplantation development.

BACKGROUND: The peptidylarginine deiminases (PADIs) convert positively charged arginine residues to neutrally charged citrulline on protein substrates in a process that is known as citrullination or deimination. Previous reports have documented roles for histone citrullination in chromatin remodeling and gene regulation in several tissue types, however, a potential role for histone citrullination in chromatin-based activities during early embryogenesis has not been investigated. RESULTS: In the present study, we tested by laser scanning confocal indirect immunofluorescence microscopy whether specific arginine residues on the histone H3 and H4 N-terminal tails (H4R3, H3R2 + 8 + 17, and H3R26) were citrullinated in mouse oocytes and preimplantation embryos. Results showed that all of the tested residues were deiminated with each site showing a unique localization pattern during early development. Given these findings, we next tested whether inhibition of PADI activity using the PADI-specific inhibitor, Cl-amidine, may affect embryonic development. We found that treatment of pronuclear stage zygotes with Cl-amidine reduces both histone H3 and H4 tail citrullination and also potently blocks early cleavage divisions in vitro. Additionally, we found that the Cl-amidine treatment reduces acetylation at histone H3K9, H3K18, and H4K5 while having no apparent effect on the repressive histone H3K9 dimethylation modification. Lastly, we found that treatment of zygotes with trichostatin A (TSA) to induce hyperacetylation also resulted in an increase in histone citrullination at H3R2 + 8 + 17. CONCLUSIONS: Given the observed effects of Cl-amidine on embryonic development and the well documented correlation between histone acetylation and transcriptional activation, our findings suggest that histone citrullination may play an important role in facilitating gene expression in early embryos by creating a chromatin environment that is permissive for histone acetylation

An ecological method for the sampling of nonverbal signalling behaviours of young children with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD)

- Background: Profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) are a complex range of disabilities that affect the general health and wellbeing of the individual and their capacity to interact and learn. - Method: We developed a new methodology to capture the nonsymbolic signalling behaviours of children with PMLD within the context of a face-to-face interaction with a caregiver to provide analysis at a micro-level of descriptive detail incorporating the use of the ELAN digital video software. - Conclusion: The signalling behaviours of participants in a natural, everyday interaction can be better understood with the use of this innovation in methodology, which is predicated on the ecology of communication. Recognition of the developmental ability of the participants is an integral factor within that ecology. The method presented establishes an advanced account of the modalities through which a child affected by PMLD is able to communicate