Does Socioeconomic Status Influence Students’ Postsecondary Plans?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not socioeconomic status (SES) influenced high school students’ plans for continuing their learning after high school. This study collected data via an online survey and a sample size of 343 participants from three comprehensive public high schools. A hierarchical logistic regression was conducted and found to be statistically significant. The variables of gender, race, and SES were found not to be significant predictors of having a postsecondary plan, but grade point average (GPA) was a significant predictor. The results failed to reject the null hypothesis, meaning household SES was not a significant predictor of having a postsecondary plan. This study also aimed to identify what factors influenced students in making their postsecondary decisions through a profile analysis using a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results from the repeated measures ANOVA indicate a significant difference in the mean responses for the different barriers and for the different barriers based on SES. The barriers of affordability, the ability to apply, the expectation of success, worry about fitting in, and parental experiences and expectations, all showed significant differences. Responses to four open-ended questions identified financial influences, family influences, and self-interests as influencing the participants’ postsecondary decisions. The intent of this study was to help school and school district leaders better understand how to support students, especially those from low-SES households, in planning for postsecondary learning

Hard Times on the Hill

Booklet contains a series of eight articles by Roz Young on the history of UD, which appeared in the Dayton Daily News from May 10 to June 28, 1997. Repnnted in 2002 with design and illustrations by A. Brian Zampier, S.M., for the Rector\u27s Office of the University of Dayton

Acceleration of Nucleophilic CH Activation by Strongly Basic Solvents

(IPI)Ru(II)(OH)_n(H_2O)_m, 2, where IPI is the NNN-pincer ligand, 2,6-diimidizoylpyridine, is shown to catalyze H/D exchange between hydrocarbons and strongly basic solvents at higher rates than in the case of the solvent alone. Significantly, catalysis by 2 is accelerated rather than inhibited by increasing solvent basicity. The evidence is consistent with the reaction proceeding by base modulated nucleophilic CH activation

Heritage Stone 9. Tyndall Stone, Canada’s First Global Heritage Stone Resource: Geology, Paleontology, Ichnology and Architecture

Tyndall Stone is a distinctively mottled and strikingly fossiliferous dolomitic limestone that has been widely used for over a century in Canada, especially in the Prairie Provinces. It comprises 6–8 m within the lower part of the 43 m thick Selkirk Member of the Red River Formation, of Late Ordovician (Katian) age. It has been quarried exclusively at Garson, Manitoba, 37 km northeast of Winnipeg, since about 1895, and for the past half-century extraction has been carried out solely by Gillis Quarries Ltd. The upper beds tend to be more buff-coloured than the grey lower beds, as a result of groundwater weathering. Tyndall Stone, mostly with a smooth or sawn finish, has been put to a wide variety of uses, including exterior and interior cladding with coursed and random ashlar, and window casements and doorways. Split face finish and random ashlar using varicoloured blocks split along stylolites have become popular for commercial and residential buildings, respectively. Tyndall Stone lends itself to carving as well, being used in columns, coats of arms and sculptures. Many prominent buildings have been constructed using Tyndall Stone, including the provincial legislative buildings of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the interior of the Centre Block of the House of Commons in Ottawa, courthouses, land titles buildings, post offices and other public buildings, along with train stations, banks, churches, department stores, museums, office buildings and university buildings. These exhibit a variety of architectural styles, from Beaux Arts to Art Deco, Châteauesque to Brutalist. The Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights are two notable Expressionist buildings.   The lower Selkirk Member is massive and consists of bioturbated, bioclastic wackestone to packstone, rich in crinoid ossicles. It was deposited in a low-energy marine environment within the photic zone, on the present-day eastern side of the shallow Williston Basin, which was part of the vast equatorial epicontinental sea that covered much of Laurentia at the time. Scattered thin bioclastic grainstone lenses record episodic, higher energy events. Tyndall Stone is spectacularly fossiliferous, and slabs bearing fossils have become increasingly popular. The most common macrofossils are receptaculitids, followed by corals, stromatoporoid sponges, nautiloid cephalopods, and gastropods. The relative abundance of the macrofossils varies stratigraphically, suggesting that subtle environmental changes took place over time.    The distinctive mottles—‘tapestry’ in the trade—have been regarded as dolomitized burrows assigned to Thalassinoides and long thought to have been networks of galleries likely made by arthropods. In detail, however, the bioclastic muddy sediment underwent a protracted history of bioturbation, and the large burrows were mostly horizontal back-filled features that were never empty. They can be assigned to Planolites. The matrix and the sediment filling them were overprinted by several generations of smaller tubular burrows mostly referrable to Palaeophycus due to their distinctive laminated wall linings. Dolomite replaced the interiors of the larger burrows as well as smaller burrows and surrounding matrix during burial, which is why the mottling is so variable in shape.Tyndall Stone est un calcaire dolomitique distinctement marbré et remarquablement fossilifère qui a été largement utilisé pendant plus d'un siècle au Canada, en particulier dans les provinces des Prairies. Ce calcaire s'étend sur 6 à 8 m dans la partie inférieure du membre de Selkirk de la formation de Red River, d'une épaisseur de 43 m et d'âge Ordovicien supérieur (Katien). Il est exploité exclusivement à Garson (Manitoba), à 37 km au nord-est de Winnipeg, depuis environ 1895 et, depuis un demi-siècle, l'extraction est assurée exclusivement par Gillis Quarries Ltd. En raison de l'altération par les eaux souterraines, les couches supérieures ont tendance à être brun clair alors que les couches inférieures sont grises. Le calcaire Tyndall Stone, dont la finition est le plus souvent adoucie ou sciée, a été utilisé à des fins très diverses, notamment pour le revêtement extérieur et intérieur avec des pierres de taille à assises irrégulières, ainsi que pour les encadrements de fenêtres et les embrasures de portes. Le fini éclaté et la pierre de taille de dimension aléatoire utilisant des blocs polychromes fendus le long de stylolites sont devenus populaires pour les bâtiments commerciaux et résidentiels, respectivement. Tyndall Stone se prête également à la taille de colonnes et à la réalisation d’armoiries et de sculptures. De nombreux bâtiments importants ont été construits en Tyndall Stone, notamment les édifices législatifs provinciaux de la Saskatchewan et du Manitoba, l'intérieur de l'édifice du Centre de la Chambre des communes à Ottawa, des palais de justice, des bureaux de titres fonciers, des bureaux de poste et d'autres édifices publics, ainsi que des gares, des banques, des églises, des grands magasins, des musées, des immeubles de bureaux et des bâtiments universitaires. Ces bâtiments présentent une grande variété de styles architecturaux, des Beaux-Arts à l'Art déco, en passant par le style Château et le Brutalisme. Le Musée canadien de l'histoire et le Musée canadien pour les droits de la personne sont deux bâtiments expressionnistes remarquables.   Le membre inférieur de Selkirk est massif et se compose de roche sédimentaire carbonatée wackestone à packstone bioturbée et bioclastique, riche en ossicules de crinoïdes. Il s'est déposé dans un environnement marin à faible énergie dans la zone photique, sur l'actuel versant oriental du bassin de Williston peu profond, qui faisait partie de la vaste mer épicontinentale équatoriale couvrant la majeure partie de la Laurentia à l'époque. De minces lentilles éparses de grès bioclastique témoignent d'événements épisodiques à haute énergie. Tyndall Stone est spectaculairement fossilifère et les dalles contenant des fossiles sont de plus en plus populaires. Les macrofossiles les plus courants sont les réceptaculitides, suivis des coraux, des éponges stromatoporoïdes, des céphalopodes nautiloïdes et des gastéropodes. L'abondance relative des macrofossiles varie en fonction de la stratigraphie, ce qui suggère que des changements environnementaux subtils ont eu lieu au fil du temps.   Les marbrures distinctives – appelées "tapisserie" dans le commerce – ont été perçues comme des terriers dolomitisés attribués aux Thalassinoides et longtemps considérées comme des réseaux de galeries vraisemblablement creusés par des arthropodes. Dans le détail, cependant, le sédiment vaseux bioclastique a subi une longue histoire de bioturbation, et les grands terriers étaient principalement des éléments horizontaux remblayés qui n'étaient jamais vides. Ils peuvent être attribués à des Planolites. La matrice et les sédiments qui les remplissent sont surchargés par plusieurs générations de terriers tubulaires plus petits, principalement attribuables à des Palaeophycus en raison de leurs revêtements muraux stratifiés distinctifs. La dolomite a remplacé l'intérieur des plus grands terriers ainsi que des plus petits terriers et la matrice environnante pendant l'enfouissement, ce qui explique la forme variable de la marbrure

Release of cholesterol-rich particles from the macrophage plasma membrane during movement of filopodia and lamellipodia.

Cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages release large numbers of ~30-nm cholesterol-rich particles. Here, we show that those particles represent fragments of the plasma membrane that are pulled away and left behind during the projection and retraction of filopodia and lamellipodia. Consistent with this finding, the particles are enriched in proteins found in focal adhesions, which attach macrophages to the substrate. The release of particles is abolished by blocking cell movement (either by depolymerizing actin with latrunculin A or by inhibiting myosin II with blebbistatin). Confocal microscopy and NanoSIMS imaging studies revealed that the plasma membrane-derived particles are enriched in 'accessible cholesterol' (a mobile pool of cholesterol detectable with the modified cytolysin ALO-D4) but not in sphingolipid-sequestered cholesterol [a pool detectable with ostreolysin A (OlyA)]. The discovery that macrophages release cholesterol-rich particles during cellular locomotion is likely relevant to cholesterol efflux and could contribute to extracellular cholesterol deposition in atherosclerotic plaques

Extreme morning chronotypes are often familial and not exceedingly rare: the estimated prevalence of advanced sleep phase, familial advanced sleep phase, and advanced sleep-wake phase disorder in a sleep clinic population.

Study objectivesReport the first prevalence estimates of advanced sleep phase (ASP), familial advanced sleep phase (FASP), and advanced sleep-wake phase disorder (ASWPD). This can guide clinicians on the utility of screening for extreme chronotypes both for clinical decision-making and to flag prospective participants in the study of the genetics and biology of FASP.MethodsData on morning or evening sleep schedule preference (chronotype) were collected from 2422 new patients presenting to a North American sleep center over 9.8 years. FASP was determined using a severity criterion that has previously identified dominant circadian mutations in humans. All patients were personally seen and evaluated by one of the authors (C.R.J.).ResultsOur results demonstrate an ASP prevalence of 0.33%, an FASP prevalence of 0.21%, and an ASWPD prevalence of at least 0.04%. Most cases of young-onset ASP were familial.ConclusionsAmong patients presenting to a sleep clinic, conservatively 1 out of every 300 patients will have ASP, 1 out of every 475 will have FASP, and 1 out of every 2500 will have ASWPD. This supports obtaining a routine circadian history and, for those with extreme chronotypes, obtaining a family history of circadian preference. This can optimize treatment for evening sleepiness and early morning awakening and lead to additional circadian gene discovery. We hope these findings will lead to improved treatment options for a wide range of sleep and medical disorders in the future

Structure of an Enclosed Dimer Formed by the Drosophila Period Protein

Period (PER) is the major transcription inhibitor in metazoan circadian clocks and lies at the center of several feedback loops that regulate gene expression. Dimerization of Drosophila PER influences nuclear translocation, repressor activity, and behavioral rhythms. The structure of a central, 346-residue PER fragment reveals two associated PAS (Per-Arnt-Sim) domains followed by a protruding α-helical extension (αF). A closed, pseudosymmetric dimer forms from a cross handshake interaction of the N-terminal PAS domain with αF of the opposing subunit. Strikingly, a shift of αF against the PAS β-sheet generates two alternative subunit interfaces in the dimer. Taken together with a previously reported PER structure in which αF extends, these data indicate that αF unlatches to switch association of PER with itself to its partner Timeless. The variable positions of the αF helix provide snapshots of a helix dissociation mechanism that has relevance to other PAS protein systems. Conservation of PER interaction residues among a family of PAS-AB-containing transcription factors suggests that contacts mediating closed PAS-AB dimers serve a general function

Metallicity Mapping with gri Photometry: The Virgo Overdensity and the Halos of the Galaxy

We describe the methodology required for estimation of photometric estimates of metallicity based on the SDSS gri passbands, which can be used to probe the properties of main-sequence stars beyond ~ 10 kpc, complementing studies of nearby stars from more metallicity-sensitive color indices that involve the u passband. As a first application of this approach, we determine photometric metal abundance estimates for individual main-sequence stars in the Virgo Overdensity, which covers almost 1000 square degrees on the sky, based on a calibration of the metallicity sensitivity of stellar isochrones in the gri filter passbands using field stars with well-determined spectroscopic metal abundances. Despite the low precision of the method for individual stars, internal errors of in [Fe/H] ~ +/- 0.1 dex can be achieved for bulk stellar populations. The global metal abundance of the Virgo Overdensity determined in this way is = -2.0 +/- 0.1 (internal) +/- 0.5 (systematic), from photometric measurements of 0.7 million stars with heliocentric distances from ~ 10 kpc to ~ 20 kpc. A preliminary metallicity map, based on results for 2.9 million stars in the northern SDSS DR-7 footprint, exhibits a shift to lower metallicities as one proceeds from the inner- to the outer-halo population, consistent with recent interpretation of the kinematics of local samples of stars with spectroscopically available metallicity estimates and full space motions.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in IAU Symp. 26