Modified Dihadron Fragmentation Functions in Hot and Nuclear Matter

Medium modification of dihadron fragmentation functions due to gluon bremsstrahlung induced by multiple partonic scattering is studied in both deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) off large nuclei and high-energy heavy-ion collisions within the same framework of twist expansion. The modified fragmentation functions for dihadrons are found to follow closely that of single hadrons leading to a weak nuclear suppression of their ratios as measured by HERMES in DIS experiments. Meanwhile, a moderate medium enhancement of the near-side correlation of two high transverse momentum hadrons with increasing centrality is found in heavy-ion collisions because of the trigger bias and the increase in parton energy loss with centrality. Successful comparisons between theory and experiment for multi-hadron observables in both confining and deconfined environments offers comprehensive evidence for partonic energy loss as the mechanism of jet modification in dense matter.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, 2 figures, revised figures and discussio

Access and Opportunity at American Women’s Colleges: Contemporary Findings

American women’s colleges were founded to create access and opportunity for women in higher education, and 36 continue to operate toward that mission in 2020. While historical and anecdotal evidence shows the value of women’s colleges, contemporary research about student demographics and outcomes at American women’s colleges is limited. This study is designed to fill this gap in literature. It uses quantitative research methods to compare access and opportunity at American women’s colleges to liberal arts colleges and public universities. The findings reveal that women’s colleges are enrolling students similar in demographic profile to public universities (enrolling those who have been historically less well served by higher education) and achieving completion rates like liberal arts colleges (statistically higher than public universities). Women’s colleges, then, continue to advance women’s social and economic opportunity by providing access and achieving positive outcomes for women who are often underserved by higher education

Identities, intentionality and institutional fit: perceptions of senior women administrators at liberal arts colleges in the Upper Midwestern USA

This qualitative study engaged women senior administrators at liberal arts colleges in the Upper Midwestern USA to better understand how their intersecting identities mediate their enacted leadership. Data were collected from eight participants via a questionnaire, document review, one-on-one interviews and observations. Positionality theory informed the study design and inquiry. Data analysis using the constant comparative method revealed that women leaders\u27 positionality is intentionally monitored and constantly negotiated in the liberal arts college context. Participants described that they had to be more intentional about revealing or displaying traits associated with those identities that did not fit their institutional environment. This study was an important step in broadening understandings of the complex ways in which leaders\u27 multiple identities interact to shape women\u27s leadership

Sexual Misconduct Discourses within a Gendered Campus Environment

Using data from focus groups, class papers and institutional documents, this project for the HLC Quality Initiative examined discourses around sexual misconduct at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and considered how these discourses reflect a gendered campus environment. The research aimed to inform the national conversation on sexual misconduct on college campuses and to suggest specific recommendations for implementation at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University

AstroGrid-D: Enhancing Astronomic Science with Grid Technology

We present AstroGrid-D, a project bringing together astronomers and experts in Grid technology to enhance astronomic science in many aspects. First, by sharing currently dispersed resources, scientists can calculate their models in more detail. Second, by developing new mechanisms to efficiently access and process existing datasets, scientific problems can be investigated that were until now impossible to solve. Third, by adopting Grid technology large instruments such as robotic telescopes and complex scientific workflows from data aquisition to analysis can be managed in an integrated manner. In this paper, we present prominent astronomic use cases, discuss requirements on a Grid middleware and present our approach to extend/augment existing middleware to facilitate the improvements mentioned above

Epigenetics and cell death: DNA hypermethylation in programmed retinal cell death.

BackgroundVertebrate genomes undergo epigenetic reprogramming during development and disease. Emerging evidence suggests that DNA methylation plays a key role in cell fate determination in the retina. Despite extensive studies of the programmed cell death that occurs during retinal development and degeneration, little is known about how DNA methylation might regulate neuronal cell death in the retina.MethodsThe developing chicken retina and the rd1 and rhodopsin-GFP mouse models of retinal degeneration were used to investigate programmed cell death during retinal development and degeneration. Changes in DNA methylation were determined by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC).ResultsPunctate patterns of hypermethylation paralleled patterns of caspase3-dependent apoptotic cell death previously reported to occur during development in the chicken retina. Degenerating rd1 mouse retinas, at time points corresponding to the peak of rod cell death, showed elevated signals for 5mC and 5hmC in photoreceptors throughout the retina, with the most intense staining observed in the peripheral retina. Hypermethylation of photoreceptors in rd1 mice was associated with TUNEL and PAR staining and appeared to be cCaspase3-independent. After peak rod degeneration, during the period of cone death, occasional hypermethylation was observed in the outer nuclear layer.ConclusionThe finding that cell-specific increases of 5mC and 5hmC immunostaining are associated with the death of retinal neurons during both development and degeneration suggests that changes in DNA methylation may play a role in modulating gene expression during the process of retinal degeneration. During retinal development, hypermethylation of retinal neurons associates with classical caspase-dependent apoptosis as well as caspase-3 independent cell death, while hypermethylation in the rd1 mouse photoreceptors is primarily associated with caspase-3 independent programmed cell death. These findings suggest a previously unrecognized role for epigenetic mechanisms in the onset and/or progression of programed cell death in the retina

College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University HLC Quality Initiative Summary Report

This Quality Initiative (QI) sought to identify more systematically how the College of Saint Benedict (CSB) and Saint John’s University (SJU) structures, programming, curriculum, and environments promote or inhibit healthy gender development among CSB and SJU students. CSB, a Catholic Benedictine residential liberal arts college for women, and SJU, a Catholic Benedictine residential liberal arts college for men, share a common academic program, while maintaining separate residential life and student development offices. Gender is a central component of our missions. As single-sex institutions working in partnership with each other, we have a unique obligation and opportunity to focus on gender development. The project sought to 1. Examine the current status of gender development on campus; 2. Examine the impact of gender-related policies (or lack thereof) on gender development and gender inclusion on campus; and 3. Examine the gender development impact of several high impact academic programs. The project involved hundreds of CSB and SJU faculty, staff, and students across multiple disciplines and institutional areas in designing and conducting six distinct projects to address the research goals. The Primary Investigators (PI) established connections among the various projects and shared findings with internal and external communities throughout the course of the QI project

Catholic women\u27s college students\u27 constructions of identity: influence of faculty and staff on students\u27 personal and professional self-understanding

This article investigates the influence of faculty and staff on women student\u27s constructions of their personal and professional identities. Situated in two Catholic women\u27s colleges, this qualitative study analyzes the ways in which in-class and out-of-class interactions among students, faculty, and staff helped students envision their future intentions. Students described ways in which college personnel served as career role models, modeled a work/family balance, and advised them as they planned for their futures. This study\u27s implications for the empowerment of women at both Catholic women\u27s colleges and nonreligiously affiliated coeducational institutions relate to the benefits of college personnel who model a personal and professional life balance, the need to consider both service and leadership in learning experiences, and the ways in which Catholic women\u27s institutions articulate their missions to students