Blurred Boundaries: Interpreters as Researchers in Cross-Cultural Settings

This is a study of ambiguities and tensions that occur within the role of the bilingual/bicultural researcher in an ethnographic study. This manuscript presents an analysis of three instances from two interviews in a study on the acculturation of deaf students in deaf kindergarten classrooms in Japan and the US. This is an auto-ethnographic analysis of conflicts found in fluctuating between multiple roles: research assistant, interpreter, cultural mediator, and sociolinguistic consultant. In these examples my bicultural knowledge allowed me to identify “hidden” meanings overlooked by other members of the research team. However, my interpreter role at times made it awkward to contribute my insights to the research team. The findings of this study show that interpreters who are linguistically and culturally in-between the researchers and researched play a crucial but delicate role in cross-cultural studies

“Will you help me with my homework?”: A Case Use of Visual Methodologies in Research with (Deaf) Children

This is an analysis of a qualitative study and the visually compelling methodology that aimed to create child-friendly/child-inclusive research conducted with deaf children. The researcher engaged in one-on-one and focus group interviews with young deaf children, ages 6 to 12 years old, in signing, deaf schools around the United States. The methodology employed a combination of videos, pictures, and modeling to portray the abstract concept of “research” and participation in research as a means to informed consent and to engage children in the task of considering personal reflections compared to others’ experiences. This article reviews techniques applied and the resulting effect, explicit and implicit, on data generation. The resulting discussion from this study of method provides implications and a recommendation on the implementation of visual-verbal assent in future research with children, specifically deaf children

Novel Techniques for Decomposing Diffuse Backgrounds

The total anisotropy of a diffuse background composed of two or more sources, such as the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT)-measured gamma-ray background, is set by the anisotropy of each source population and the contribution of each population to the total intensity. The total anisotropy as a function of energy (the anisotropy energy spectrum) will modulate as the relative contributions of the sources change, implying that the anisotropy energy spectrum also encodes the intensity spectrum of each source class. We develop techniques, applicable to any such diffuse background, for unraveling the intensity spectrum of each component source population given a measurement of the total intensity spectrum and the total anisotropy energy spectrum, without introducing a priori assumptions about the spectra of the source classes. We demonstrate the potential of these methods by applying them to example scenarios for the composition of the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray background consistent with current data and feasible within 10 yr of observation

Twitter: More than Tweets for Undergraduate Student Researchers

During the COVID-19 pandemic, biology educators were forced to think of ways to communicate with their students, engaging them in science and with the scientific community. For educators using course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), the challenge to have students perform real science, analyze their work, and present their results to a larger scientific audience was difficult as the world moved online. Many instructors were able to adapt CUREs utilizing online data analysis and virtual meeting software for class discussions and synchronous learning. However, interaction with the larger scientific community, an integral component of making science relevant for students and allowing them to network with other young scientists and experts in their fields, was still missing. Even before COVID-19, a subset of students would travel to regional or national meetings to present their work, but most did not have these opportunities. With over 300 million active users, Twitter provided a unique platform for students to present their work to a large and varied audience. The Cell Biology Education Consortium hosted an innovative scientific poster session entirely on Twitter to engage undergraduate researchers with one another and with the much broader community. The format for posting on this popular social media platform challenged students to simplify their science and make their points using only a few words and slides. Nineteen institutions and over one hundred students participated in this event. Even though these practices emerged as a necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Twitter presentation strategy shared in this paper can be used widely

The detectability of dark matter annihilation with Fermi using the anisotropy energy spectrum of the gamma-ray background

The energy-dependence of the anisotropy (the anisotropy energy spectrum) of the large-scale diffuse gamma-ray background can reveal the presence of multiple source populations. Annihilating dark matter in the substructure of the Milky Way halo could give rise to a modulation in the anisotropy energy spectrum of the diffuse gamma-ray emission measured by Fermi, enabling the detection of a dark matter signal. We determine the detectability of a dark-matter-induced modulation for scenarios in which unresolved blazars are the primary contributor to the measured emission above ~1 GeV and find that in some scenarios pair-annihilation cross sections of order the value expected for thermal relic dark matter can produce a detectable feature. We anticipate that the sensitivity of this technique to specific dark matter models could be improved by tailored likelihood analysis methods.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; figures updated, other minor revisions, published in Ap

Annihilation vs. Decay: Constraining dark matter properties from a gamma-ray detection

Most proposed dark matter candidates are stable and are produced thermally in the early Universe. However, there is also the possibility of unstable (but long-lived) dark matter, produced thermally or otherwise. We propose a strategy to distinguish between dark matter annihilation and/or decay in the case that a clear signal is detected in gamma-ray observations of Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies with gamma-ray experiments. The sole measurement of the energy spectrum of an indirect signal would render the discrimination between these cases impossible. We show that by examining the dependence of the intensity and energy spectrum on the angular distribution of the emission, the origin could be identified as decay, annihilation, or both. In addition, once the type of signal is established, we show how these measurements could help to extract information about the dark matter properties, including mass, annihilation cross section, lifetime, dominant annihilation and decay channels, and the presence of substructure. Although an application of the approach presented here would likely be feasible with current experiments only for very optimistic dark matter scenarios, the improved sensitivity of upcoming experiments could enable this technique to be used to study a wider range of dark matter models.Comment: 29 pp, 8 figs; replaced to match published version (minor changes and some new references

Landscape of coordinated immune responses to H1N1 challenge in humans

Influenza is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Here we show changes in the abundance and activation states of more than 50 immune cell subsets in 35 individuals over 11 time points during human A/California/2009 (H1N1) virus challenge monitored using mass cytometry along with other clinical assessments. Peak change in monocyte, B cell, and T cell subset frequencies coincided with peak virus shedding, followed by marked activation of T and NI< cells. Results led to the identification of C038 as a critical regulator of plasmacytoid dendritic cell function in response to influenza virus. Machine learning using study-derived clinical parameters and single-cell data effectively classified and predicted susceptibility to infection. The coordinated immune cell dynamics defined in this study provide a framework for identifying novel correlates of protection in the evaluation of future influenza therapeutics

Evolution of an Eurasian Avian-like Influenza Virus in Naïve and Vaccinated Pigs

Influenza viruses are characterized by an ability to cross species boundaries and evade host immunity, sometimes with devastating consequences. The 2009 pandemic of H1N1 influenza A virus highlights the importance of pigs in influenza emergence, particularly as intermediate hosts by which avian viruses adapt to mammals before emerging in humans. Although segment reassortment has commonly been associated with influenza emergence, an expanded host-range is also likely to be associated with the accumulation of specific beneficial point mutations. To better understand the mechanisms that shape the genetic diversity of avian-like viruses in pigs, we studied the evolutionary dynamics of an Eurasian Avian-like swine influenza virus (EA-SIV) in naïve and vaccinated pigs linked by natural transmission. We analyzed multiple clones of the hemagglutinin 1 (HA1) gene derived from consecutive daily viral populations. Strikingly, we observed both transient and fixed changes in the consensus sequence along the transmission chain. Hence, the mutational spectrum of intra-host EA-SIV populations is highly dynamic and allele fixation can occur with extreme rapidity. In addition, mutations that could potentially alter host-range and antigenicity were transmitted between animals and mixed infections were commonplace, even in vaccinated pigs. Finally, we repeatedly detected distinct stop codons in virus samples from co-housed pigs, suggesting that they persisted within hosts and were transmitted among them. This implies that mutations that reduce viral fitness in one host, but which could lead to fitness benefits in a novel host, can circulate at low frequencies

Depth refuge and the impacts of SCUBA spearfishing on coral reef fishes

In recent decades, spearfishing with SCUBA has emerged as an efficient method for targeting reef fish in deeper waters. However, deeper waters are increasingly recognised as a potential source of refuge that may help sustain fishery resources. We used a combination of historical catch data over a 20-year time period and fishery-independent surveys to investigate the effects of SCUBA spearfishing on coral reef fish populations in the southern Mariana Islands. Two jurisdictions were studied; Guam, where SCUBA spearfishing is practiced, and the nearby Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), where SCUBA spearfishing has been banned since 2003. Fishery-independent data were collected using baited remote underwater stereo-video systems (stereo-BRUVs) stratified by depth, marine protected area status and jurisdiction. Herbivores (primary consumers) dominated spearfishing catches, with parrotfish (scarines) and surgeonfish/unicornfish (acanthurids) the main groups harvested. However, the large, endangered humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) was the main species by weight landed by SCUBA spearfishers. SCUBA spearfishing was associated with declining size of scarines over time and catches shifting from a dominance of large parrotfishes to a mixed assemblage with increasing proportions of acanthurids. Comparisons between Guam and the nearby CNMI revealed differences in the assemblage of fished species and also greater size of scarines and acanthurids in deep water where SCUBA fishing is banned. These results suggest that SCUBA spearfishing impacts reef fish populations and that the restriction of this fishing method will ensure refuge for fish populations in deeper waters. We recommend a ban on SCUBA spearfishing to preserve or aid the recovery of large, functionally important coral reef species and to improve the sustainability of coral reef fisheries