Marine Metallic Mineral Resources of the Pacific Basin

In the 1970s and 1980s, the ocean became a focus of attention for mineral producers and consumers. This paper surveys that trend with particular emphasis on several specific metals and types of resource deposit. In particular, the known and speculative details of manganese nodules, cobalt-rich manganese crusts, and polymetallie massive sulfides are discussed and analyzed in an economic context.Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Localization of Insulin Receptor Substrate-2 in Breast Cancer: A Dissertation

The insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and many of its downstream signaling components have long been implicated in tumor progression and resistance to therapy. The insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and IRS-2 adaptor proteins are two of the major downstream signaling intermediates of the IGF-1R. Despite their considerable homology, previous work in our lab and others has shown that IRS-1 and IRS-2 play divergent roles in breast cancer cells. Signaling through IRS-1 promotes cell proliferation, whereas signaling through IRS-2 promotes cell motility and invasion, as well as glycolysis. Moreover, using a mouse model of mammary tumorigenesis, our lab demonstrated that IRS-2 acts as a positive regulator of metastasis, while IRS-1 cannot compensate for this function. The focus of my thesis research is to understand how IRS-2, but not IRS-1, promotes breast carcinoma cell invasion and metabolism to support metastasis. In preliminary studies, I have found that IRS-1 and IRS-2 exhibit different expression patterns in both cell lines and human tumors with correlations to patient survival, which provides a potential mechanism for their distinct functions. The localization of IRS-1 and IRS-2 within separate intracellular compartments would determine their access to downstream effectors and substrates, and this would result in unique cellular outcomes. Specifically, I have observed that IRS-2, but not IRS-1, co-localizes with microtubules in breast carcinoma cell lines with implications for signaling through AKT and mTORC2. The goal of this research is to determine how the localization of IRS-2 contributes to its regulation of breast cancer progression and response to therapy and how this information could be used to better predict patient outcomes

Feminist Geopolitics: Material States

No abstract available

Why Medical (and Dermatologic) Practice Has Become So Convoluted: The Complexity/Convolutional/Obfuscatory Kleptocracies.

Consider dermatology (or medical) practice from the aspect of those who manage, and seek to glean a profit from, medical management corporations, including but not limited to third party payers. Although much of the complexity burden thrust upon doctors’ offices is borne by the offices and doctors, there is also much that is borne by the companies, and the entire process appears to make no sense whatsoever. How can the business professionals who run these outfits make such blunders? Let us approach this question by examining another industry: fast food franchising

“Don’t Let Government Touch My Medicare”: How Media Framing Shapes Public Support for Health Care Reform

When covering the policymaking process, the media typically cover both substantive aspects of the issue at hand and the political wrangling that occurs as lawmakers attempt to agree on a course of action. In this paper, we use the recent health care debate to investigate the effects of what we call ‘policy’ and ‘process’ frames on the citizens’ perceptions that reform would benefit the nation. First, we apply social network analysis to articles from 144 daily U.S. newspapers in order to track the changing centrality of each type of frame in media coverage. We then combine the results of this analysis with data from the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll to demonstrate the effects of policy and process frames on public attitudes. The results show that increased policy frame centrality had a positive effect on all citizens, regardless of partisan identification or education level, although the effect was strongest for Republicans. The effects for increased process frame centrality were only observed for those in the middle range of education, with partisans on both sides reacting positively, and independents having more negative attitudes toward health reform

Laser Guide Star for Large Segmented-Aperture Space Telescopes, Part I: Implications for Terrestrial Exoplanet Detection and Observatory Stability

Precision wavefront control on future segmented-aperture space telescopes presents significant challenges, particularly in the context of high-contrast exoplanet direct imaging. We present a new wavefront control architecture that translates the ground-based artificial guide star concept to space with a laser source aboard a second spacecraft, formation flying within the telescope field-of-view. We describe the motivating problem of mirror segment motion and develop wavefront sensing requirements as a function of guide star magnitude and segment motion power spectrum. Several sample cases with different values for transmitter power, pointing jitter, and wavelength are presented to illustrate the advantages and challenges of having a non-stellar-magnitude noise limited wavefront sensor for space telescopes. These notional designs allow increased control authority, potentially relaxing spacecraft stability requirements by two orders of magnitude, and increasing terrestrial exoplanet discovery space by allowing high-contrast observations of stars of arbitrary brightness.Comment: Submitted to A

Teacher Use of Diagnostic Score Reports for Instructional Decision-Making in the Subsequent Academic Year

Large-scale summative assessment results are typically used for program-evaluation and resource-allocation purposes; however, stakeholders increasingly desire results from large-scale K–12 assessments that inform instruction. Because large-scale summative results are usually delivered after the end of the school year, teacher use of results is reserved for the subsequent academic year. To evaluate use of summative score reports to inform instruction, we conducted a series of teacher interviews and focus groups with 17 teachers in three states. Teachers were asked to describe how they used summative results from the previous administration of a large-scale alternate assessment system in the subsequent academic year. Interview and focus-group transcripts were coded and identified themes related to when and how score reports are delivered; how teachers use results to plan instruction, formulate goals for individualized education programs (IEPs), and create instructional groupings; how teachers talk to parents about results; and what resources best support their use of score reports. Findings demonstrate preliminary support for diagnostic score report use

String student self-efficacy and deliberate music practice: Examining string students' musical background characteristics, self-efficacy beliefs and practice behaviors.

This study examined the musical background characteristics, self-efficacy beliefs, and practice behaviors of string students auditioning for an all-region orchestra in one large South-Central district. Purposes of the study were: (1) to describe the musical backgrounds and self-efficacy beliefs of high school string students, (2) to measure the relationship between self-efficacy scores and performance achievement, and (3) to describe the practice behaviors and thoughts of high and low self-efficacy string students. Questionnaires were given to 101 high school string students; 65 competed in all-region orchestra. Descriptive data from the questionnaire revealed information such as how many took private lessons and that those who did tended to have a higher sense of perceived self-efficacy in relation to playing their string instruments. Other descriptive items asked questions such as whether or not students started in public school and how much they practiced outside of orchestra. The relationship of summed self-efficacy scores to a competition ranking was found to be statistically significant and inverse. For all string participants (n=65) Spearman's rho was, rs= -.37, (p=.001) with 14% of the variance explained (r2 =.14). This inverse relationship documents the linear trend for students with better rankings (lower ranking numbers) to also tend to have higher self-efficacy scores. Observation and interview data of 8 higher and 8 lower self-efficacy sub-group students were also analyzed. The higher self-efficacy sub-group students tended to use more cognitive practice strategies, while the lower self-efficacy sub-group tended to use dissimilar and less advanced strategies. Understanding string students' musical background experiences and characteristics and the possible relationship self-efficacy may have with practice and achievement could benefit certain students. Helping these students gain a higher sense of perceived self-efficacy in their musical endeavors, or obtain certain characteristics that successful students share, could possibly enable them to develop and understand more complex practice strategies and compete more confidently

Developing and Refining a Model for Measuring Implementation Fidelity for an Instructionally Embedded Assessment System

We developed a six-step iterative process for developing and evaluating a model of implementation fidelity appropriate for use in an instructionally embedded assessment system. Our work explicitly connects the literature on theories of actions for assessment systems with the implementation fidelity literature originating from the program evaluation field. The steps include (a) developing a logic model identifying critical and optional implementation components; (b) identifying process data and indicators from the assessment system to represent each component; (c) developing hypotheses about expected patterns in the indicators representing different levels of implementation fidelity and identifying criteria for defining implementation levels; (d) conducting analyses to test the hypotheses; (e) using the results to refine the indicators and criteria; and (f) evaluating strength of the evidence and identifying gaps. This process facilitates measuring action mechanisms and making and testing hypotheses about how critical implementation components are related to intended outcomes of an assessment. Studying implementation fidelity for assessment systems can help us better understand how teachers use assessment results and where additional support may be needed. This work can also help evaluate the extent to which instructionally embedded or formative assessments are implemented as intended and that all students are provided with sufficient opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned

Wildlife as Biosamplers: Contaminants in Hair of Elk Harvested Near the Anaconda Smelter Site

The purpose of this research was to test a new way of investigating biological uptake of smelting-related contaminants with a focus on harvested wildlife. Specific objectives were 1) to collect hair samples from elk (Cervus elaphus) harvested in the vicinity of the Anaconda Smelter National Priority List Site in Montana, 2) to analyze the samples using inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and 3) to identify potential elements of concern from the data. Hair samples were collected from 56 elk, and concentration data were processed using a hazard quotient/index approach based on concepts commonly used in fields of ecological and human health risk analyses. Arsenic concentrations in the hair decreased as a function of increasing distance from the Anaconda smelter stack, and 57 % of the elk sampled were identified as animals of concern. For elk harvested within 25 km of the stack, elements of concern were aluminum, arsenic, barium, boron, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, strontium, and vanadium. For elk harvested within 76-101.5 km of the stack, elements of concern were aluminum, barium, boron, lithium, and manganese. Hazard indices for uranium, arsenic, cadmium, and lithium were larger by factors of ~17, 9, 7, and 6, respectively, for elk harvested within 25 km of the stack compared to hazard indices for elk harvested within 76-101.5 km