Urban School Districts & Mass Incarceration of Young Black Males

The lack of quality education provided to minorities in urban school districts has had devastating outcomes for young black boys. The school to prison pipeline is a recognized problem in this nation that has allowed our prison population to disproportionately represent African-American males. The research examines the relationship between academic experience and life outcomes in relation to correctional control of young black males in Northern California. Through quantitative measures the researcher examines the opinion of survey participants on their primary and secondary educational experience. Along with interviews to provide personal testimonies about the life outcomes in relation to their educational experience. Non parametrical test revealed that students of color are suspended more often and although data was not strong enough to reject that staff-student relationships were equal among minority and majority students,descriptive statistics did reveal on average the experience with staff was more negative. The findings of this study highlight the nationally recognized issues in urban education of underachievement, zero-tolerance policies and an overall negative experience all of which attribute to the mass incarceration of young black males

Depositional record of historic lahars in the Whangaehu Gorge, Mt. Ruapehu

Mt. Ruapehu is one of the most lahar prone volcanoes in the world, having both a crater lake and six small glaciers upon its 2797 m summit. The major outlet for the crater lake, the Whangaehu Gorge, has hosted over 46 historic lahars. However, the low preservation of debris flow deposits, as a result of frequent remobilisation on steep slopes, allows for the detailed description of only 9 lahar events over the last 150 years. Field investigation, historic aerial photos, two airborne LiDAR surveys and direct measurements have been utilised to describe the sedimentology, geomorphology and distribution of historic lahar deposits in the first 11 km of the Whangaehu Gorge. Inundation maps have been created for 1945, 1953, 1975, September 1995, October 1995, March 2007 and September 2007. Grain size distribution, componentry and geomorphology of the 1861, 1975, September 1995, October 1995, 1999 and 2007 lahar deposits have been compared. The lahar deposits are massive, very poorly sorted, silty gravels that form a series of unconsolidated terraces. The limited sediment sources in the steep sided Whangaehu Gorge, including minor historic eruption products, results in significant recycling of lahar deposits. However, the deposits can be differentiated by proportions of lithological components and in some cases anthropogenic debris. The abundance of hydrothermally altered material reflects the role of Crater Lake in lahar formation, although, some of these materials (gypsum, sulphur and snow) are only temporary. Non-cohesive debris flows and occasional snow slurry lahars have been formed by a range of triggering mechanisms associated with and independent of eruptions. Lahars have been formed in the Whangaehu Valley as the result of ejected crater lake water and associated snow melt (1975, September 1995 and September 2007), as well as the progressive displacement of lake water as a result of lava dome growth (1945) and uplift of the lake floor (1968). Inter-eruption lahars occur as a result of Crater Lake outburst floods (1861, 1953 and March 2007) and remobilisation by precipitation and the collapse of tephra laden snow (October 1995 and 1999). The comparison of historic lahars also reflects the range of lahar magnitudes experienced historically on Ruapehu. The most recent Crater Lake outburst of March 2007, with a peak discharge of 1700-2500 m3/s is the second largest recorded lahar, behind only the eruption-generated lahar of April 1975 with a peak discharge of 5000-7500 m3/s. Lahar mitigation can subsequently be based on lahar generation and incorporation of the vast amounts of data collected before and after the 2007 outburst flood. Recent remobilisation and phreatic activity suggest the significant under-representation of small volume events like rain-generated and snow slurry lahars in the geologic record

The Great Gatsby and its 1925 Contemporaries

ABSTRACT This study focuses on twenty-one particular texts published in 1925 as contemporaries of The Great Gatsby. The manuscript is divided into four categories—The Impressionists, The Experimentalists, The Realists, and The Independents. Among The Impressionists are F. Scott Fitzgerald himself, Willa Cather (The Professor’s House), Sherwood Anderson (Dark Laughter), William Carlos Williams (In the American Grain), Elinor Wylie (The Venetian Glass Nephew), John Dos Passos (Manhattan Transfer), and William Faulkner (New Orleans Sketches). The Experimentalists are Gertrude Stein (The Making of Americans), E. E. Cummings (& aka “Poems 48-96”), Ezra Pound (A Draft of XVI Cantos), T. S. Eliot (“The Hollow Men”), Laura Riding (“Summary for Alastor”), and John Erskine (The Private Life of Helen of Troy). The Realists are Theodore Dreiser (An American Tragedy), Edith Wharton (The Mother’s Recompense), Upton Sinclair (Mammonart), Ellen Glasgow (Barren Ground), Sinclair Lewis (Arrowsmith), James Boyd (Drums), and Ernest Hemingway (In Our Time). The Independents are Archibald MacLeish (The Pot of Earth) and Robert Penn Warren (“To a Face in a Crowd”). Although these twenty-two texts may in some cases represent literary fragmentations, each in its own way also represents a coherent response to the spirit of the times that is in one way or another cognate to The Great Gatsby. The fact that all these works appeared the same year is special because the authors, if not already famous, would become famous, and their works were or would come to represent classic American literature around the world. The twenty-two authors either knew each other personally or knew each other’s works. Naturally, they were also influenced by writings of international authors and philosophers. The greatest common elements among the poets and fiction writers are their uninhibited interest in sex, an absorbing cynicism about life, and the frequent portrayal of disintegration of the family, a trope for what had happened to the countries and to the “family of nations” that experienced the Great War. In 1925, it would seem, Fitzgerald and many of his writing peers—some even considered his betters—channeled a major spirit of the times, and Fitzgerald did it more successfully than almost anyone

Mechanical and Microstructural Features of Plasma Cut Edges in a 15 mm Thick S460M Steel Plate

In general, the thermal cutting processes of steel plates are considered to have an influence on microstructures and residual stress distribution, which determines the mechanical properties and performance of cut edges. They also affect the quality of the surface cut edges, which further complicates the problem, because in most cases the surface is subjected to the largest stresses. This paper studies the influence of plasma cutting processes on the mechanical behavior of the cut edges of steel and presents the characterization results of straight plasma arc cut edges of steel plate grade S460M, 15 mm thick. The cutting conditions used are the standard ones for industrial plasma cutting. The metallography of CHAZ (Cut Heat Affected Zones) and hardness profiles versus distance from plasma cut edge surface are tested; the mechanical behavior of different CHAZ layers under the cut edge surface were obtained by testing of instrumented mini-tensile 300 µm thick specimens. Also, the residual stress distribution in the CHAZ was measured by X-ray diffraction. The results for the mechanical properties, microstructure, hardness, and residual stresses are finally compared and discussed. This work concludes that the CHAZ resulting from the plasma cutting process is narrow (about 700 µm) and homogeneous in plate thickness.The authors of this work would like to express their gratitude to the European Union for the financial support of the project HIPERCUT: “High Performance Cut Edges in Structural Steel Plates for Demanding Applications” (RSFR-CT-2012-00027), on the results of which this paper is based

Preliminary characterization of IL32 in basal-like/triple negative compared to other types of breast cell lines and tissues

BACKGROUND: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and often basal-like cancers are defined as negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and Her2 gene expression. Over the past few years an incredible amount of data has been generated defining the molecular characteristics of both cancers. The aim of these studies is to better understand the cancers and identify genes and molecular pathways that might be useful as targeted therapies. In an attempt to contribute to the understanding of basal-like/TNBC, we examined the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public datasets in search of genes that might define basal-like/TNBC. The Il32 gene was identified as a candidate. FINDINGS: Analysis of several GEO datasets showed differential expression of IL32 in patient samples previously designated as basal and/or TNBC compared to normal and luminal breast samples. As validation of the GEO results, RNA and protein expression levels were examined using MCF7 and MDA MB231 cell lines and tissue microarrays (TMAs). IL32 gene expression levels were higher in MDA MB231 compared to MCF7. Analysis of TMAs showed 42% of TNBC tissues and 25% of the non-TNBC were positive for IL32, while non-malignant patient samples and all but one hyperplastic tissue sample demonstrated lower levels of IL32 protein expression. CONCLUSION: Data obtained from several publically available GEO datasets showed overexpression of IL32 gene in basal-like/TNBC samples compared to normal and luminal samples. In support of these data, analysis of TMA clinical samples demonstrated a particular pattern of IL32 differential expression. Considered together, these data suggest IL32 is a candidate suitable for further study

Knockdown of autophagy-related protein 5, ATG5, decreases oxidative stress and has an opposing effect on camptothecin-induced cytotoxicity in osteosarcoma cells

BACKGROUND: Autophagy induction can increase or decrease anticancer drug efficacy. Anticancer drug-induced autophagy induction is poorly characterized in osteosarcoma (OS). In this study, we investigated the impact of autophagy inhibition on camptothecin (CPT)-induced cytotoxicity in OS. METHODS: Autophagy-inhibited DLM8 and K7M3 metastatic murine OS cell lines were generated by infection with lentiviral shRNA directed against the essential autophagy protein ATG5. Knockdown of ATG5 protein expression and inhibition of autophagy was confirmed by immunoblot of ATG5 and LC3II proteins, respectively. Metabolic activity was determined by MTT assay and cell viability was determined by trypan blue exclusion. Acridine orange staining and immunoblotting for LC3II protein expression were used to determine autophagy induction. Oxidative stress was assessed by staining cells with HE and DCFH-DA followed by flow cytometry analysis. Mitochondrial membrane potential was determined by staining cells with TMRE followed by flow cytometry analysis. Immunoblotting was used to detect caspase activation, Parp cleavage and p53 phosphorylation. RESULTS: Autophagy inhibition caused a greater deficit in metabolic activity and cell growth in K7M3 cells compared to DLM8 cells. K7M3 cells exhibited higher basal autophagy levels than DLM8 cells and non-transformed murine MCT3 osteoblasts. Autophagy inhibition did not affect CPT-induced DNA damage. Autophagy inhibition decreased CPT-induced cell death in DLM8 cells while increasing CPT-induced cell death in K7M3 cells. Autophagy inhibition reduced CPT-induced mitochondrial damage and CPT-induced caspase activation in DLM8 cells. Buthionine sulfoximine (BSO)-induced cell death was greater in autophagy-competent DLM8 cells and was reversed by antioxidant pretreatment. Camptothecin-induced and BSO-induced autophagy induction was also reversed by antioxidant pretreatment. Significantly, autophagy inhibition not only reduced CPT-induced oxidative stress but also reduced basal oxidative stress. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that autophagy inhibition can have an opposing effect on CPT-induced cytotoxicity within OS. The cytoprotective mechanism of autophagy inhibition observed in DLM8 cells involves reduced CPT-induced oxidative stress and not reduced DNA damage. Our results also reveal the novel finding that knockdown of ATG5 protein reduces both basal oxidative stress and drug-induced oxidative stress

Critical Buckling Loads of the Perfect Hollomon's Power-law Columns

In this work, we present analytic formulas for calculating the critical buckling states of some plastic axial columns of constant cross-sections. The associated critical buckling loads are calculated by Euler-type analytic formulas and the associated deformed shapes are presented in terms of generalized trigonometric functions. The plasticity of the material is defined by the Hollomon's power-law equation. This is an extension of the Euler critical buckling loads of perfect elastic columns to perfect plastic columns. In particular, critical loads for perfect straight plastic columns with circular and rectangular cross-sections are calculated for a list of commonly used metals. Connections and comparisons to the classical result of the Euler-Engesser reduced-modulus loads are also presented.Comment: 15 page