Teaching the American Dream: How U.S. Refugee Resettlement Responsibilizes Refugees

My project, grounded in three months’ work and research with Jewish Resettlement Services (JRS), shows how US resettlement responsibilizes refugees through policies that teach independence and self-sufficiency while demonizing dependency. Yet, as I illustrate, refugees often want to be dependent on JRS. I combine ethnographic insights and discursive analysis to elucidate the contrasting ways in which JRS workers and refugees frame “successful” resettlement. I apply an anti-oppressive lens to show how US resettlement produces “responsible” citizens while evading its own responsibilities to properly support people whom the US has had a major role in displacing. I propose a new framework for resettlement, rooted in solidarity with refugees and in social justice

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE SYNTACTIC DEVICES IN SELECTED NIGERIAN PREACHERS' SERMONS

The dynamic phenomenon of language and the idea that it shapes human actions and decisions is what creates different forms of usage. This feature of Language makes it accommodate different thoughts, terminologies and usages, and allows situations to influence the choice of language use. For instance, religion is one major social factor that has over the years influenced the use of language; English in specific, in Nigeria. This work exammes two sermons by Pastor Paul Enemche of Dunamics International Gospel Centre and Pastor Chris Oyakilome of Christ Embassy, with the view to x-ray their use of /inguzstic devices in order to outline how the use of such devices affects meaning and fulfils the goals of their messages. It also seeks to assess the ways that such linguistic devices may have formed the basic characreristics of language use by Nigerian Pentecostal Preacher. Within the framework oJ HallidaJ 's ( 1985) ystemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), which is a distinct approach in the study and description of language use m the society, the study identifies repetition, syntactic parallelism, rhetorical questions, imperative sentences and dependent clauses followed by independent ones as the distinguishing linguistic dzaracteristics of sermon in the Pentecostal context

Mass freezing in growing neutrino quintessence

Growing neutrino quintessence solves the coincidence problem for dark energy by a growing cosmological value of the neutrino mass which emerges from a cosmon-neutrino interaction stronger than gravity. The cosmon-mediated attraction between neutrinos induces the formation of large scale neutrino lumps in a recent cosmological epoch. We argue that the non-linearities in the cosmon field equations stop the further increase of the neutrino mass within sufficiently dense and large lumps. As a result, we find the neutrino induced gravitational potential to be substantially reduced when compared to linear extrapolations. We furthermore demonstrate that inside a lump the possible time variation of fundamental constants is much smaller than their cosmological evolution. This feature may reconcile current geophysical bounds with claimed cosmological variations of the fine structure constant.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. Version published in PR

Regulation of cAMP responses by the G12/13 pathway converges on adenylyl cyclase VII

Regulation of intracellular cyclic adenosine 3’, 5’-monophosphate (cAMP) by multiple pathways enables differential function of this ubiquitous second messenger in a context dependent manner. Modulation of Gs-stimulated intracellular cAMP has long been known to be modulated by the Gi and Gq/Ca2+ pathways. Recently, the G13 pathway was also shown to facilitate cAMP responses in murine macrophage cells. We report here that this synergistic regulation of cAMP synthesis by the Gs and G13 pathways is mediated by a specific isoform of adenylyl cyclase, AC7. Furthermore, this signaling paradigm exists in several hematopoietic lineages and can be recapitulated by exogenous expression of AC7 in HEK 293 cells. Mechanistic characterization of this synergistic interaction indicates that it occurs downstream of receptor activation and it can be mediated by the alpha subunit of either G12 or G13. Our results demonstrate that AC7 is a specific downstream effector of the G12/13 pathway

Objective and Subjective Evaluation of the Use of Directional Sound Sources in Auralizations

Omni-directional sources are often used in room acoustic computer simulations, as opposed to directional sources, since measured directivity data are quite limited and difficult to obtain. The purpose of this study is to investigate the objective and subjective significance of adding more complex directivity to the sources used in computer simulations and auralizations. A simple hall was used as the modelled space in the software program ODEON. Three source positions on stage and three receiver audience positions were chosen. Impulse responses (IRs) were calculated for the nine source/receiver combinations, using (a) an omni-directional source, (b) a highly directional source beaming in a sixteenth-tant of a sphere, and (c) three realistic sources: piano, singing voice and violin. The directivity data for the three realistic sources, obtained from the Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt website, were available in octave bands from 1 kHz – 4 kHz for the piano and violin, and from 125 Hz – 4 kHz for the singing voice. The objective measures evaluated were Sound Pressure Level (SPL), Reverberation Time (T60) and Clarity Index (C80). In general, there is at least 5% difference in T60 data between the omni-directional source and the realistic directional ones. Differences in SPL and C80 are more irregular across frequency bands and appear to be more apparent for sources with higher directivity index. For select source/receiver combinations, the IRs resulting from each source directivity have been convolved with anechoic musical recordings of piano, singing and violin to produce auralizations. Subjective testing revealed a noticeable difference between the omni-directional and the sixteenth-tant sources, but not with the realistic sources

Objective and Subjective Evaluation of the Use of Directional Sound Sources in Auralizations

Omni-directional sources are often used in room acoustic computer simulations, as opposed to directional sources, since measured directivity data are quite limited and difficult to obtain. The purpose of this study is to investigate the objective and subjective significance of adding more complex directivity to the sources used in computer simulations and auralizations. A simple hall was used as the modelled space in the software program ODEON. Three source positions on stage and three receiver audience positions were chosen. Impulse responses (IRs) were calculated for the nine source/receiver combinations, using (a) an omni-directional source, (b) a highly directional source beaming in a sixteenth-tant of a sphere, and (c) three realistic sources: piano, singing voice and violin. The directivity data for the three realistic sources, obtained from the Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt website, were available in octave bands from 1 kHz – 4 kHz for the piano and violin, and from 125 Hz – 4 kHz for the singing voice. The objective measures evaluated were Sound Pressure Level (SPL), Reverberation Time (T60) and Clarity Index (C80). In general, there is at least 5% difference in T60 data between the omni-directional source and the realistic directional ones. Differences in SPL and C80 are more irregular across frequency bands and appear to be more apparent for sources with higher directivity index. For select source/receiver combinations, the IRs resulting from each source directivity have been convolved with anechoic musical recordings of piano, singing and violin to produce auralizations. Subjective testing revealed a noticeable difference between the omni-directional and the sixteenth-tant sources, but not with the realistic sources

Floral Resource Dynamics for Pollinators in a Central Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Restoration

Recently, native and managed colonies of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and other insects, have experienced a largescale declines. In an effort to restore habitat for pollinators, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) created the CP-42 Pollinator Habitat conservation practice under the Conservation Reserve Program. This program pays private landowners to restore habitat for pollinator species with ecological and economic importance. To qualify for the program, CP-42 seed mixes must include: • A minimum of 9 pollinator-friendly flowering plants, • A minimum of three species in bloom during each of three seasonal periods (April-June 15, June 15-July, AugustOctober), and • no more than 25% native, non-sod forming grasses. Since 2014, more than 200,000 acres have been enrolled in the CP-42 program in Iowa with virtually no post-seeding monitoring or evaluation. To determine whether CP-42 sites are likely to meet the program’s floral resource targets, we analyzed a 5-year data set on flower phenology from an existing prairie restoration established with a similar seed mix

Peer Rejection and Friendships in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Contributions to Long-Term Outcomes

Even after evidence-based treatment, Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with poor long-term outcomes. These outcomes may be partly explained by difficulties in peer functioning, which are common among children with ADHD and which do not respond optimally to standard ADHD treatments. We examined whether peer rejection and lack of dyadic friendships experienced by children with ADHD after treatment contribute to long-term emotional and behavioral problems and global impairment, and whether having a reciprocal friend buffers the negative effects of peer rejection. Children with Combined type ADHD (N0300) enrolled in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) were followed for 8 years. Peer rejection and dyadic friendships were measured with sociometric assessments after the active treatment period (14 or 24 months after baseline; M ages 9.7 and 10.5 years, respectively). Outcomes included delinquency, depression, anxiety, substance use, and general impairment at 6 and 8 years after baseline (Mean ages 14.9 and 16.8 years, respectively). With inclusion of key covariates, including demographics, symptoms ofADHD, ODD, and CD, and level of the outcome variable at 24 months, peer rejection predicted cigarette smoking, delinquency, anxiety, and global impairment at 6 years and global impairment at 8 years after baseline. Having a reciprocal friend was not, however, uniquely predictive of any outcomes and did not reduce the negative effects of peer rejection. Evaluating and addressing peer rejection in treatment planning may be necessary to improve long-term outcomes in children with ADHD

North Atlantic natural variability modulates emergence of widespread Greenland melt in a warming climate

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2018. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 45 (2018): 9171-9178, doi:10.1029/2018GL079682.Record‐breaking melt over Greenland in recent decades is linked not only to climate change but also to natural variability, including persistent atmospheric high‐pressure conditions in the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation and warm North Atlantic Ocean temperatures during the positive phase of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. However, the relative importance of natural variability for Greenland melt under varying degrees of greenhouse forcing is still unclear. Using reanalysis data and a large ensemble of climate model simulations, we find that a negative North Atlantic Oscillation and positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation consistently promote heightened summer melt under various forcing conditions. Moreover, timing of widespread 21st century Greenland melt varies considerably between ensemble members due to different phasing of these modes of natural variability. These results indicate the importance of natural modes of variability across a range of external forcing conditions for interannual melt variability and the emergence of widespread Greenland melt.U.S. National Science Foundation Grant Number: ANS‐1736738; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Summer Student Fellow program Grant Number: AGS‐13553392019-03-1

Gambaran Histopatologik Hati Tikus Wistar Yang Diberi Ekstrak Daun Kelor (Moringa Oleifera) Setelah Diinduksi Karbon Tetraklorida (CCl4)

: Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is a traditional plant, which is known to treat liver disease. The effect of moringa is related to the antioxidant activity of its compounds such as quercetin and flavonoid silymarin which are useful as liver protector. Carbon tetraclorida is a hepatotoxic substance that is usually used as an inducer of liver damage in studies related to hepatoprotector activity of a substance. This study aimed to describe liver histopathological features of Wistar rats fed with moringa leaf extract after CCl4 induction. This was an experimental study using 24 Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) which were divided into 4 groups. Group A, the negative control, was terminated at day 6th, and the other groups (B, C, and D) were induced with CCl4 0.05 cc/day for 5 days. After CCl4 induction, group B were terminated at day 6th; group C was treated with moringa leaf extract 100 mg/day for 5 days and was terminated at day 11th; group D received no treatment for 5 days and was terminated at day 11th. The results showed that groups induced with CCl4 for 5 days showed the presence of inflammatory cells and fatty cells. The groups treated with moringa leaf extract 100mg/day for 5 days after CCl4 induction 0.05 cc/day exhibited regeneration of liver cells in nearly all lobules. Conclusion: Administration of moringa leaf extract of 100mg/day could accelerate liver cell regeneration of Wistar rats after induction of CCl4 0.05cc/day