Defining the knowledge base of our profession: a look at agricultural and extension education in the 21st century

The profession of agricultural and extension education has increased in complexity in response to the demands of the changing field of agriculture and the need for educators who are responsive to those demands. A standardization of the knowledge base of the profession is seen as necessary in light of geographic mobility, the nationwide emphasis on assessment, and the need for a public relations tool that clearly articulates the concepts forming the framework of agricultural and extension education. In this study a panel of experts consisting of agricultural and extension education leaders nationwide, responded to open-ended and Likert-type surveys online as part of a Delphi technique to establish the knowledge base for agricultural and extension education. Three rounds of the Delphi technique were used. A minimum of 13 of the 24 panel members were required to respond to each round. Ninety-five statements were initially generated by 16 panel members in response to an open-ended statement in Round I which asked the participants ??What are the articulated understandings, skills, and judgments that serve as the foundation of knowledge (??the body??) for professionals in agricultural and extension education??? These statements were presented to the panel members in Round II. Two-thirds of the panelists had to ??Strongly Agree?? or ??Agree?? with each item for it to be retained for Round III. Based on the responses of 14 panelists in Round II, 67 items were retained for Round III, and one item was added based on panel input. After Round III, three items were eliminated due to lack of twothirds achievement of ??Strongly Agree?? and ??Agree?? ratings by 17 respondents. Thus, 65 statements established the knowledge base of agricultural and extension education in this study. Among the knowledge base are concepts related to traits of effective educators; management issues; environmental impacts on instruction; curriculum development; learner-based contextual, applied pedagogical strategies; leadership development; communications; assessment strategies; community and collegial connections; integration of technology; critical thinking and problem solving; and teaching as a changing process grounded in sound theory

Fine-mapping, novel loci identification, and SNP association transferability in a genome-wide association study of QRS duration in African Americans

The electrocardiographic QRS duration, a measure of ventricular depolarization and conduction, is associated with cardiovascular mortality. While single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with QRS duration have been identified at 22 loci in populations of European descent, the genetic architecture of QRS duration in non-European populations is largely unknown. We therefore performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of QRS duration in 13,031 African Americans from ten cohorts and a transethnic GWAS meta-analysis with additional results from populations of European descent. In the African American GWAS, a single genome-wide significant SNP association was identified (rs3922844, P = 4 × 10−14) in intron 16 of SCN5A, a voltage-gated cardiac sodium channel gene. The QRS-prolonging rs3922844 C allele was also associated with decreased SCN5A RNA expression in human atrial tissue (P = 1.1 × 10−4). High density genotyping revealed that the SCN5A association region in African Americans was confined to intron 16. Transethnic GWAS meta-analysis identified novel SNP associations on chromosome 18 in MYL12A (rs1662342, P = 4.9 × 10−8) and chromosome 1 near CD1E and SPTA1 (rs7547997, P = 7.9 × 10−9). The 22 QRS loci previously identified in populations of European descent were enriched for significant SNP associations with QRS duration in African Americans (P = 9.9 × 10−7), and index SNP associations in or near SCN5A, SCN10A, CDKN1A, NFIA, HAND1, TBX5 and SETBP1 replicated in African Americans. In summary, rs3922844 was associated with QRS duration and SCN5A expression, two novel QRS loci were identified using transethnic meta-analysis, and a significant proportion of QRS–SNP associations discovered in populations of European descent were transferable to African Americans when adequate power was achieved

Genetic variants in RBFOX3 are associated with sleep latency

Time to fall asleep (sleep latency) is a major determinant of sleep quality. Chronic, long sleep latency is a major characteristic of sleep-onset insomnia and/or delayed sleep phase syndrome. In this study we aimed to discover common polymorphisms that contribute to the genetics of sleep latency. We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) including 2 572 737 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) established in seven European cohorts including 4242 individuals. We found a cluster of three highly correlated variants (rs9900428, rs9907432 and rs7211029) in the RNA-binding protein fox-1 homolog 3 gene (RBFOX3) associated with sleep latency (P-values=5.77 × 10-08, 6.59 × 10- 08 and 9.17 × 10- 08). These SNPs were replicated in up to 12 independent populations including 30 377 individuals (P-values=1.5 × 10- 02, 7.0 × 10- 03 and 2.5 × 10- 03; combined meta-analysis P-values=5.5 × 10-07, 5.4 × 10-07 and 1.0 × 10-07). A functional prediction of RBFOX3 based on co-expression with other genes shows that this gene is predominantly expressed in brain (P-value=1.4 × 10-316) and the central nervous system (P-value=7.5 × 10- 321). The predicted function of RBFOX3 based on co-expression analysis with other genes shows that this gene is significantly involved in the release cycle of neurotransmitte

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Search for Physics beyond the Standard Model in Events with Overlapping Photons and Jets

Results are reported from a search for new particles that decay into a photon and two gluons, in events with jets. Novel jet substructure techniques are developed that allow photons to be identified in an environment densely populated with hadrons. The analyzed proton-proton collision data were collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in 2016 at root s = 13 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The spectra of total transverse hadronic energy of candidate events are examined for deviations from the standard model predictions. No statistically significant excess is observed over the expected background. The first cross section limits on new physics processes resulting in such events are set. The results are interpreted as upper limits on the rate of gluino pair production, utilizing a simplified stealth supersymmetry model. The excluded gluino masses extend up to 1.7 TeV, for a neutralino mass of 200 GeV and exceed previous mass constraints set by analyses targeting events with isolated photons.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| < 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Calibration of the CMS hadron calorimeters using proton-proton collision data at root s=13 TeV

Methods are presented for calibrating the hadron calorimeter system of theCMSetector at the LHC. The hadron calorimeters of the CMS experiment are sampling calorimeters of brass and scintillator, and are in the form of one central detector and two endcaps. These calorimeters cover pseudorapidities vertical bar eta vertical bar ee data. The energy scale of the outer calorimeters has been determined with test beam data and is confirmed through data with high transverse momentum jets. In this paper, we present the details of the calibration methods and accuracy.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the Jet Mass Distribution and Top Quark Mass in Hadronic Decays of Boosted Top Quarks in pp Collisions at root s=13 TeV

A measurement is reported of the jet mass distribution in hadronic decays of boosted top quarks produced in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The measurement is performed in the lepton + jets channel of t (t) over bar events, where the lepton is an electron or muon. The products of the hadronic top quark decay t -> bW -> bq (q) over bar' are reconstructed as a single jet with transverse momentum larger than 400 GeV. The t (t) over bar cross section as a function of the jet mass is unfolded at the particle level and used to extract a value of the top quark mass of 172.6 +/- 2.5 GeV. A novel jet reconstruction technique is used for the first time at the LHC, which improves the precision by a factor of 3 relative to an earlier measurement. This highlights the potential of measurements using boosted top quarks, where the new technique will enable future precision measurements.Peer reviewe

Search for top squark pair production in a final state with two tau leptons in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, the top squark, in proton-proton collision events at s = 13 TeV is presented in a final state containing hadronically decaying tau leptons and large missing transverse momentum. This final state is highly sensitive to high-tan beta or higgsino-like scenarios in which decays of electroweak gauginos to tau leptons are dominant. The search uses a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 77.2 fb(-1), which was recorded with the CMS detector during 2016 and 2017. No significant excess is observed with respect to the background prediction. Exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are presented in the top squark and lightest neutralino mass plane within the framework of simplified models, in which top squark masses up to 1100 GeV are excluded for a nearly massless neutralino.Peer reviewe