Beyond Whiteness: Revisiting Jews in Ethnic America

The concept of ethnicity, once in vogue, has largely gone out of fashion among twenty-first-century social scientists, now replaced by models of assimilation defined in terms of the construction of whiteness and white supremacy. Beyond Whiteness: Revisiting Jews in Ethnic America explores the benefits of reconfiguring the ethnic concept as a tool to analyze the experiences of twentieth-century American Jews—not only in relation to other “white” groups of European descent, but also African Americans and Asian Americans, among others. The essays presented here, ranging from comparative studies of Jews and Asians as “model minorities” to the examination of postethnic “Jews of color,” demonstrate that expanding ethnicity beyond the traditional Eurocentric frame can yield fresh insights into the character of Jewish life in the modern United States.https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/casden/1014/thumbnail.jp

Can the US Import "Sunlight" from New Zealand? An Assessment of New Zealand's Model for Corporate Financial Disclosure

The New Zealand Companies Office requires businesses to disclose certain details of their operations to the public in order to curb financial abuses and facilitate economic development. In the US the Securities and Exchange Commission operates a similar kind of corporate disclosure program to shine "sunlight" on corporate activity. This report examines several elements of New Zealand's model for corporate financial disclosure and assesses the desirability of adopting those elements in the US regulatory regime.The report outlines major issues facing US disclosure operations and outlines reasons for US policy makers to consider approaches taken by New Zealand. The report then investigates those approaches including (1) a service-oriented organizational design separated in a systematic manner from legal policy work and enforcement work (2) a self-funded financial structure based on the "user pays" principle and (3) an information technology architecture based on principles of design transparency data interoperability code standardization and functional reusability. The report examines these areas in some detail and then assesses certain risks that New Zealand may face with its particular model. Based on this assessment the report then concludes by laying out specific recommendations for improvements in US corporate financial disclosure operations

A Randomized Sublinear Time Parallel GCD Algorithm for the EREW PRAM

We present a randomized parallel algorithm that computes the greatest common divisor of two integers of n bits in length with probability 1-o(1) that takes O(n loglog n / log n) expected time using n^{6+\epsilon} processors on the EREW PRAM parallel model of computation. We believe this to be the first randomized sublinear time algorithm on the EREW PRAM for this problem

Computational prediction of human metabolic pathways from the complete human genome

BACKGROUND: We present a computational pathway analysis of the human genome that assigns enzymes encoded therein to predicted metabolic pathways. Pathway assignments place genes in their larger biological context, and are a necessary first step toward quantitative modeling of metabolism. RESULTS: Our analysis assigns 2,709 human enzymes to 896 bioreactions; 622 of the enzymes are assigned roles in 135 predicted metabolic pathways. The predicted pathways closely match the known nutritional requirements of humans. This analysis identifies probable omissions in the human genome annotation in the form of 203 pathway holes (missing enzymes within the predicted pathways). We have identified putative genes to fill 25 of these holes. The predicted human metabolic map is described by a Pathway/Genome Database called HumanCyc, which is available at . We describe the generation of HumanCyc, and present an analysis of the human metabolic map. For example, we compare the predicted human metabolic pathway complement to the pathways of Escherichia coli and Arabidopsis thaliana and identify 35 pathways that are shared among all three organisms. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis elucidates a significant portion of the human metabolic map, and also indicates probable unidentified genes in the genome. HumanCyc provides a genome-based view of human nutrition that associates the essential dietary requirements of humans with a set of metabolic pathways whose existence is supported by the human genome. The database places many human genes in a pathway context, thereby facilitating analysis of gene expression, proteomics, and metabolomics datasets through a publicly available online tool called the Omics Viewer

Outer Membrane Vesicles of a Human Commensal Mediate Immune Regulation and Disease Protection

Commensal bacteria impact host health and immunity through various mechanisms, including the production of immunomodulatory molecules. Bacteroides fragilis produces a capsular polysaccharide (PSA), which induces regulatory T cells and mucosal tolerance. However, unlike pathogens, which employ secretion systems, the mechanisms by which commensal bacteria deliver molecules to the host remain unknown. We reveal that Bacteroides fragilis releases PSA in outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) that induce immunomodulatory effects and prevent experimental colitis. Dendritic cells (DCs) sense OMV-associated PSA through TLR2, resulting in enhanced regulatory T cells and anti-inflammatory cytokine production. OMV-induced signaling in DCs requires growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein (Gadd45α). DCs treated with PSA-containing OMVs prevent experimental colitis, whereas Gadd45α^(−/−) DCs are unable to promote regulatory T cell responses or suppress proinflammatory cytokine production and host pathology. These findings demonstrate that OMV-mediated delivery of a commensal molecule prevents disease, uncovering a mechanism of interkingdom communication between the microbiota and mammals

Device for the Capture and Extraction of Waste Anesthetic Gas

Background: Leaks occur often throughout the process of delivering inhaled anesthesia prior to and during surgery. Leaks typically occur around the patient’s mouth, nose, and eyes. Potent inhaled anesthetics (PIAs) include halothane, sevoflurane, desflurane, and isoflurane. All PIAs, to one degree or another, pose hazards to human health. PIAs are associated with reproductive toxicity, spontaneous miscarriages in pregnant persons as well as an increased risk of congenital abnormalities in offspring. In other words, PIAs are thought to be both abortifacients as well as teratogens. PIAs are also associated with hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, cognitive impairment, as well as increased incidence of malignancy. Methods: Preliminary interviews with stakeholders were conducted to assess the desirability, viability, and utility of a product to trap and remove waste anesthetic gas (WAG) from the perifacial region before it diffuses into the ambient air. We used wearable detector badges (similar to a dosimeter) from Assay Technology Inc. for qualitative measurements of WAG levels in several operating rooms. We used low-fidelity mockups for early prototyping, FDM and SLA 3D printing techniques, and urethane casts for high-fidelity working prototypes. We also performed real-time simulations using a visible aerosol agent in order to record and study the efficacy of our device. Results: We found dramatically elevated levels of sevoflurane in the operating room, with our highest readings at ~10x NIOSH permissible exposure limits. With our visual simulation we saw a markedly reduced flow of WAG into the surrounding air. Conclusions: Our device adequately addresses a significant and unaddressed issue in healthcare and shows viability from an economic standpoint as well. We are currently designing a study to further evaluate levels of WAG and exploring potential studies with live anesthetic agents

Scavenger of Waste Anesthetic

Waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) are associated with spontaneous miscarriages in pregnant persons, an increased risk of congenital abnormalities, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and cognitive impairment. Through monitoring anesthesiologists we found levels of WAGs to be 5-10x the current standard inside the OR. Currently, no solutions exist for the mitigation of WAG release. Remora is a solution to removing WAGs that fits on top of existing anesthesia masks. A flexible skirt is joined to a rigid ring, which deforms under hand pressure to facilitate effective hand-to-mask placement. The suction system is plugged into an unused suction port to create an area under the anesthesia mask that is depressurized, creating circumferential suction around the mask. The negative pressure gradient between the Remora-mask unit and room air pulls WAGs into the gap between the anesthesia mask and Remora, and then into the anesthesia machine\u27s suction system. From there, WAGs are exhausted into the air handling system which receives other waste gases. Using visible gas we were able to show how much WAGs may be escaping during induction and the amount Remora was able to scavenge. While we were unable to quantify our results, we were able to qualitatively show that the amount of gas was significantly less once Remora was turned on. Our hope is to perform further studies to prove that with the use of Remora the concentration of WAGs will decrease in the OR and decrease the negative side effects associated with WAGs