Narrative inquiry into (re)imagining alternative schools: a case study of Kevin Gonzales.

Although there are many alternative schools that strive for the successful education for their students, negative images of alternative schools persist. While some alternative schools are viewed as “idealistic havens,” many are viewed as “dumping grounds,” or “juvenile detention centers.” Employing narrative inquiry, this article interrogates how a student, Kevin Gonzales, experiences his alternative education and raises questions about the role of alternative schools. Kevin Gonzales’s story is presented in a literary form of biographical journal to provide a “metaphoric loft” that helps us imagine other students like Kevin. This, in turn, provokes us to examine our current educational practice, and to (re)imagine ways in which alternative education can provide the best possible educational experiences for disenfranchised students who are increasingly underserved by the public education system

Neurological recovery after occipitocervical fixation.

Journal of orthopaedic surgery (Hong Kong)153323-32

Carbon-nanotube-modified electrodes for highly efficient acute neural recording

Microelectrodes are widely used for monitoring neural activities in various neurobiological studies. The size of the neural electrode is an important factor in determining the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of recorded neural signals and, thereby, the recording sensitivity. Here, it is demonstrated that commercial tungsten microelectrodes can be modified with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), resulting in a highly sensitive recording ability. The impedance with the respect to surface area of the CNT-modified electrodes (CNEs) is much less than that of tungsten microelectrodes because of their large electrochemical surface area (ESA). In addition, the noise level of neural signals recorded by CNEs is significantly less. Thus, the SNR is greater than that obtained using tungsten microelectrodes. Importantly, when applied in a mouse brain in vivo, the CNEs can detect action potentials five times more efficiently than tungsten microelectrodes. This technique provides a significant advance in the recording of neural signals, especially in brain regions with sparse neuronal densities. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.11091sciescopu

Phase patterning for ohmic homojunction contact in MoTe2

In physiological fluids and seawater, adhesion of synthetic polymers to solid surfaces is severely limited by high salt, pH, and hydration, yet these conditions have not deterred the evolution of effective adhesion bymussels. Mussel foot proteins provide insights about adhesive adaptations: Notably, the abundance and proximity of catecholic Dopa (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) and lysine residues hint at a synergistic interplay in adhesion. Certain siderophores-bacterial iron chelators-consist of paired catechol and lysine functionalities, thereby providing a convenient experimental platform to explore molecular synergies in bioadhesion. These siderophores and synthetic analogs exhibit robust adhesion energies (E-ad >= -15 millijoules per square meter) to mica in saline pH 3.5 to 7.5 and resist oxidation. The adjacent catechol-lysine placement provides a "one-two punch," whereby lysine evicts hydrated cations from the mineral surface, allowing catechol binding to underlying oxides12092091sciescopu