Wireless, in-vessel neutron monitor for initial core-loading of advanced breeder reactors

An experimental wireless, in-vessel neutron monitor was developed to measure the reactivity of an advanced breeder reactor as the core is loaded for the first time to preclude an accidental critically incident. The environment is liquid sodium at a temperature of approx. 220 C, with negligible gamma or neutron radiation. With ultrasonic transmission of neutron data, no fundamental limitation was observed after tests at 230 C for 2000 h. The neutron sensitivity was approx. 1 count/s-nv, and the potential data transmission rate was approx. 10,000 counts/s

Leadership and Gender: School Counselors’ Experiences of Girls’ Leadership in Secondary Schools

There has been a proliferation of girls’ leadership programs to stymie the leaking pipeline of women’s leadership and resulting gender leadership gap. School counselors are advocates and change agents in the schools and play a key role in student development and leadership programming. School counselors’ training in their counseling programs may impact their support and assessment of girls’ leadership programming. This phenomenological research utilized the open-ended questions of an online survey to understand school counselors’ experiences of girls’ leadership. The themes, (a) Formal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (b) Informal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (c) No Girls’ Leadership, and (d) Non-Gender Specific Approach to Girls’ Leadership were discovered. Themes are discussed and suggestions for school counselors and counselor educators are offered

Leadership and Gender: School Counselors’ Experiences of Girls’ Leadership in Secondary Schools

There has been a proliferation of girls’ leadership programs to stymie the leaking pipeline of women’s leadership and resulting gender leadership gap. School counselors are advocates and change agents in the schools and play a key role in student development and leadership programming. School counselors’ training in their counseling programs may impact their support and assessment of girls’ leadership programming. This phenomenological research utilized the open-ended questions of an online survey to understand school counselors’ experiences of girls’ leadership. The themes, (a) Formal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (b) Informal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (c) No Girls’ Leadership, and (d) Non-Gender Specific Approach to Girls’ Leadership were discovered. Themes are discussed and suggestions for school counselors and counselor educators are offered

Effects of Diets Containing Soybean Hulls or Rolled Corn on the Performance and Mineral Status of Newly Received Calves

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of soybean hulls as an energy source for newly received feeder calves and their effects on ADG, DMI, gain/feed (G/F), morbidity rate and mineral status. Steers from a single source were blocked into previously weaned (PW; n = 63; BW = 265 ± 2.9 kg) and non-weaned (NW; n = 92; BW = 264 ± 2.4 kg) groups, then allotted to one of two dietary treatment groups. Diets consisted of either rolled corn (CRN) or soybean hulls (SBH), and oat silage and vitamin/mineral supplements. Liver biopsies and blood samples were collected at the initiation of the trial and again after 28 d on feed. Steers fed CRN had lower (P \u3c 0.10) ADG through d 28 compared to SBH. Previously weaned steers had a higher (P \u3c 0.10) ADG than NW steers through d 28. The SBH diets caused higher (P \u3c 0.01) DMI through d 28 and overall. There was a diet × weaning group interaction (P \u3c 0.10) for DMI through d 28. Cumulative feed/gain (F/G) was lower (P \u3c 0.05) for cattle fed CRN diets. Liver Cu concentrations decreased (P \u3c 0.01) by 22% in steers fed SBH, but were unchanged in steers fed CRN diets. Previously weaned steers had a greater loss of liver Cu compared to NW steers (P \u3c 0.01). Liver Zn concentration was affected by a diet × weaning group interaction (P \u3c 0.05). Morbidity rate (6.5%) was not affected by treatments. These results suggest the use of soybean hulls in newly received calf diets has the potential to stimulate DMI, and that Cu and Zn in soybean hulls may have limited availability

The Effects of Trace Mineral Inclusion Management on the Performance and Mineral Status of Newly Recwived Feeder Calves

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of trace mineral inclusion management on the performance and mineral status of newly received feeder calves. Steers from 2 pastures at a single ranch in Western South Dakota blocked into non-implanted (NI; n = 64; BW = 240 kg), May implanted (MI; n = 64; BW 252 kg;) and August implanted (AI; n = 66; BW = 248 kg;) groups, then allotted to one of two treatment groups. Treatments consisted of either: a pelleted supplement fed at a fixed amount to meet the gram / daily requirement (GDR) of Cu (as CuSO4) and Zn (as ZnSO4) of a growing steer or as a percent of the diet (PER). Liver biopsy and blood samples were collected at the initiation of the trial and again after 28 d on feed. The ADG and feed conversion (F/G) was not affected by diet treatment. Cumulative DMI tended to be greater (P \u3c 0.10) in PER diets (7.31 vs. 7.12 kg). Steers receiving PER treatments tended (P \u3c 0.11) to have less of a decrease in hepatic Zn than GDR treatments. The change in hepatic K was affected (P \u3c 0.05) by implant with AI steers having the greatest increase. These results suggest that if performance and morbidity are enhanced by feeding Cu and Zn to meet the gram daily requirement of the animal, then Cu and Zn may need to be fed at a greater level to see any differences from this practice

A complex storm system in Saturn’s north polar atmosphere in 2018

Producción CientíficaSaturn’s convective storms usually fall in two categories. One consists of mid-sized storms ∼2,000 km wide, appearing as irregular bright cloud systems that evolve rapidly, on scales of a few days. The other includes the Great White Spots, planetary-scale giant storms ten times larger than the mid-sized ones, which disturb a full latitude band, enduring several months, and have been observed only seven times since 1876. Here we report a new intermediate type, observed in 2018 in the north polar region. Four large storms with east–west lengths ∼4,000–8,000 km (the first one lasting longer than 200 days) formed sequentially in close latitudes, experiencing mutual encounters and leading to zonal disturbances affecting a full latitude band ∼8,000 km wide, during at least eight months. Dynamical simulations indicate that each storm required energies around ten times larger than mid-sized storms but ∼100 times smaller than those necessary for a Great White Spot. This event occurred at about the same latitude and season as the Great White Spot in 1960, in close correspondence with the cycle of approximately 60 years hypothesized for equatorial Great White Spots.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project AYA2015-65041-P)Gobierno Vasco (project IT-366-19

Coalition theories: empirical evidence for dutch municipalities

The paper analyzes coalition formation in Dutch municipalities. After discussing the main features of the institutional setting, several theories are discussed, which are classified as size oriented, policy oriented and actor oriented models. A test statistic is proposed to determine the predictive power of these models. The empirical analysis shows that strategic positions as well as some of the distinguished preferences are important in the setting of Dutch municipalities. Especially, the dominant minimum number principle yields highly significant results for coalition formations in the period 1978–1986

What’s Sex (Composition) Got to Do with It? The Importance of Sex Composition of Gangs for Female and Male Members’ Offending and Victimization

Sex composition of groups has been theorized in organizational sociology and found in prior work to structure female and male members’ behaviors and experiences. Peer group and gang literature similarly finds that the sex gap in offending varies across groups of differing sex ratios. Drawing on this and other research linking gang membership, offending, and victimization, we examine whether sex composition of gangs is linked to sex differences in offending in this sample, further assess whether sex composition similarly structures females’ and males’ victimization experiences, and if so, why. Self-report data from gang members in a multi-site, longitudinal study of 3,820 youths are employed. Results support previous findings about variations in member delinquency by both sex and sex composition of the gang and also indicate parallel variations in members’ victimization. These results are further considered within the context of facilitating effects such as gender dynamics, gang characteristics, and normative orientation

Change in school ethnic diversity and intergroup relations: The transition from segregated elementary to mixed secondary school for majority and minority students

This research examined the impact of a change in school diversity on school children’s intergroup relations. A longitudinal survey tracked 551 White British and Asian British students (Mage = 11.32) transitioning from elementary (time 1) to secondary (time 2) school in an ethnically segregated town in the United Kingdom. We estimated a multivariate, multilevel model. A cross-sectional comparison of segregated schools and a mixed elementary school at time 1 revealed that both Asian and White British in the mixed school reported more positive intergroup relations. A longitudinal analysis found that the transition from segregated elementary to mixed secondary schools was associated with Asian British developing more positive intergroup relations. White British reported overall less positive intergroup relations, although only trust decreased, evidence from other measures remains inconclusive. The findings are important for understanding early stages of diversity exposure, and the impact of changing diversity levels on majority and minority groups

Hippocampal CA1 Transcriptional Profile of Sleep Deprivation: Relation to Aging and Stress

BACKGROUND: Many aging changes seem similar to those elicited by sleep-deprivation and psychosocial stress. Further, sleep architecture changes with age suggest an age-related loss of sleep. Here, we hypothesized that sleep deprivation in young subjects would elicit both stress and aging-like transcriptional responses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: F344 rats were divided into control and sleep deprivation groups. Body weight, adrenal weight, corticosterone level and hippocampal CA1 transcriptional profiles were measured. A second group of animals was exposed to novel environment stress (NES), and their hippocampal transcriptional profiles measured. A third cohort exposed to control or SD was used to validate transcriptional results with Western blots. Microarray results were statistically contrasted with prior transcriptional studies. Microarray results pointed to sleep pressure signaling and macromolecular synthesis disruptions in the hippocampal CA1 region. Animals exposed to NES recapitulated nearly one third of the SD transcriptional profile. However, the SD-aging relationship was more complex. Compared to aging, SD profiles influenced a significant subset of genes. mRNA associated with neurogenesis and energy pathways showed agreement between aging and SD, while immune, glial, and macromolecular synthesis pathways showed SD profiles that opposed those seen in aging. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that although NES and SD exert similar transcriptional changes, selective presynaptic release machinery and Homer1 expression changes are seen in SD. Among other changes, the marked decrease in Homer1 expression with age may represent an important divergence between young and aged brain response to SD. Based on this, it seems reasonable to conclude that therapeutic strategies designed to promote sleep in young subjects may have off-target effects in the aged. Finally, this work identifies presynaptic vesicular release and intercellular adhesion molecular signatures as novel therapeutic targets to counter effects of SD in young subjects