Transformative Role of Epigenetics in Child Development Research: Commentary on the Special Section

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116923/1/cdev12488.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116923/2/cdev12488_am.pd

Trajectories of educational aspirations through high school and beyond: A gendered phenomenon?

Growth curve modeling was utilized to examine change in the educational aspirations of adolescents from early high school through to three years beyond high school, as a function of gender and other adolescent characteristics. Significant gender effects were found for level of education aspired to, rate of growth, and degree of acceleration: boys’ aspirations were lower in early high school, accelerated at a faster pace to peak above girls’ aspirations by the end of high school, and dropped more steeply so that, by the post-high school period, educational aspirations were equivalent across genders. Gender also interacted with Grade 9 achievement in determining educational trajectories. Finally, the perception that one faces barriers in educational attainment was found to significantly influence rate of growth and acceleration, indicating that change in aspirations over time differs between people who see barriers to their education and people who do not, independently of gender. Implications of these results for promoting students’ educational aspirations are discussed.Keywords: Gender, high school, educational aspirationsLa modélisation des courbes de croissance a été utilisée pour examiner les changements dans les ambitions scolaires des adolescents à l'école secondaire et jusqu'à trois ans au-delà de l'école secondaire, en fonction du sexe et d'autres caractéristiques des adolescents. D'importantes différences selon le sexe ont été observées concernant le niveau d'éducation auquel les adolescents aspiraient, le taux de croissance, et le degré d'accélération: la courbe représentant les ambitions des garçons était plus basse au début de l'école secondaire, augmentait ensuite à un rythme plus rapide jusqu'à atteindre un pic au-dessus de la courbe des filles pour la période de la fin de l'école secondaire, et chutait enfin plus fortement de telle sorte que les deux courbes se retrouvaient au même niveau dans la période post-secondaire. Le genre a également interagi avec la réussite en neuvième année en déterminant des trajectoires éducatives. Enfin, la perception d'être confronté à des barrières entravant la réussite scolaire s'est révélée être un facteur qui influence de manière significative le taux de croissance et d'accélération, ce qui indique que le changement dans les ambitions scolaires au fil du temps diffère entre ceux qui perçoivent des obstacles au cours de leur scolarité et ceux qui n'en perçoivent pas, indépendamment de leur sexe. Les implications de ces résultats pour promouvoir les ambitions scolaires des élèves sont discutées.Mots-clés: Genre, école secondaire, aspirations scolaire

An Intensity Mapping Detection of Aggregate CO Line Emission at 3 mm

We present a detection of molecular gas emission at $z\sim1-5$ using the technique of line intensity mapping. We make use of a pair of 3 mm interferometric data sets, the first from the ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (ASPECS), and the second from a series of Atacama Compact Array (ACA) observations conducted between 2016 and 2018, targeting the COSMOS field. At 100 GHz, we measure non-zero power at 97.8% and 99.9% confidence in the ACA and ALMA data sets, respectively. In the joint result, we reject the zero-power hypothesis at 99.99% confidence, finding $\tilde{I}^{2}_{s}(\nu)=770\pm210\ \mu\textrm{K}^2\ \textrm{Hz}\ \textrm{sr}$. After accounting for sample variance effects, the estimated spectral shot power is $\tilde{I}^{2}_{s}(\nu)=1010_{-390}^{+550}\ \mu\textrm{K}^2\ \textrm{Hz}\ \textrm{sr}$. We derive a model for the various line species our measurement is expected to be sensitive to, and estimate the shot power to be$120_{-40}^{+80}\ \mu\textrm{K}^2\ h^{-3}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{3}$,$200^{+120}_{-70}\ \mu\textrm{K}^2\ h^{-3}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{3}$, and$90^{+70}_{-40}\ \mu\textrm{K}^2\ h^{-3}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{3}$for CO(2-1) at$z=1.3$, CO(3-2) at$z=2.5$, and CO(4-3) at$z=3.6$, respectively. Using line ratios appropriate for high-redshift galaxies, we find these results to be in good agreement with those from the CO Power Spectrum Survey (COPSS). Adopting$\alpha_{\rm CO}=3.6\ M_{\odot}\ (\textrm{K}\ \textrm{km}\ \textrm{s}^{-1}\ \textrm{pc}^{2})^{-1}$, we estimate a cosmic molecular gas density of$\rho_{\textrm{H}_2}(z)\sim 10^{8}\ M_{\odot}\ \textrm{Mpc}^{-3}$between$z=1-3$.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables, 2 appendices. Accepted for publication in Ap

Conserved ZZ/ZW Sex Chromosomes in Caribbean Croaking Geckos (\u3cem\u3eAristelliger\u3c/em\u3e: Sphaerodactylidae)

Current understanding of sex chromosome evolution is largely dependent on species with highly degenerated, heteromorphic sex chromosomes, but by studying species with recently evolved or morphologically indistinct sex chromosomes we can greatly increase our understanding of sex chromosome origins, degeneration and turnover. Here, we examine sex chromosome evolution and stability in the gecko genus Aristelliger. We used RADseq to identify sex‐specific markers and show that four Aristelliger species, spanning the phylogenetic breadth of the genus, share a conserved ZZ/ZW system syntenic with avian chromosome 2. These conserved sex chromosomes contrast with many other gecko sex chromosome systems by showing a degree of stability among a group known for its dynamic sex‐determining mechanisms. Cytogenetic data from A. expectatus revealed homomorphic sex chromosomes with an accumulation of repetitive elements on the W chromosome. Taken together, the large number of female‐specific A. praesignis RAD markers and the accumulation of repetitive DNA on the A. expectatus W karyotype suggest that the Z and W chromosomes are highly differentiated despite their overall morphological similarity. We discuss this paradoxical situation and suggest that it may, in fact, be common in many animal species

DACOTA: The dense array for cosmological transitions

The Epoch of Reionization (EoR) heralded the advent of the Universe we recognize today, containing stars, galaxies and super-massive black holes. A number of experiments to detect the red-shifted hydrogen signature of the atomic component of the intergalactic medium (IGM) are on-going (e.g. PAPER, MWA, LOFAR). Due to the faintness of the signal, the bright foregrounds, and the challenge of instrumental systematics, multiple techniques are essential to create a more robust detection and to provide the complete picture on the evolution of early galaxies

Differential antitumor immunity mediated by NKT cell subsets in vivo

We showed previously that NKT cell–deficient TCR Jα18(−/−) mice are more susceptible to methylcholanthrene (MCA)-induced sarcomas, and that normal tumor surveillance can be restored by adoptive transfer of WT liver-derived NKT cells. Liver-derived NKT cells were used in these studies because of their relative abundance in this organ, and it was assumed that they were representative of NKT cells from other sites. We compared NKT cells from liver, thymus, and spleen for their ability to mediate rejection of the sarcoma cell line (MCA-1) in vivo, and found that this was a specialized function of liver-derived NKT cells. Furthermore, when CD4(+) and CD4(−) liver-derived NKT cells were administered separately, MCA-1 rejection was mediated primarily by the CD4(−) fraction. Very similar results were achieved using the B16F10 melanoma metastasis model, which requires NKT cell stimulation with α-galactosylceramide. The impaired ability of thymus-derived NKT cells was due, in part, to their production of IL-4, because tumor immunity was clearly enhanced after transfer of IL-4–deficient thymus-derived NKT cells. This is the first study to demonstrate the existence of functionally distinct NKT cell subsets in vivo and may shed light on the long-appreciated paradox that NKT cells function as immunosuppressive cells in some disease models, whereas they promote cell-mediated immunity in others

All-sky convolution for polarimetry experiments

We discuss all-sky convolution of the instrument beam with the sky signal in polarimetry experiments, such as the Planck mission which will map the temperature anisotropy and polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). To account properly for stray light (from e.g. the galaxy, sun, and planets) in the far side-lobes of such an experiment, it is necessary to perform the beam convolution over the full sky. We discuss this process in multipole space for an arbitrary beam response, fully including the effects of beam asymmetry and cross-polarization. The form of the convolution in multipole space is such that the Wandelt-Gorski fast technique for all-sky convolution of scalar signals (e.g. temperature) can be applied with little modification. We further show that for the special case of a pure co-polarized, axisymmetric beam the effect of the convolution can be described by spin-weighted window functions. In the limits of a small angle beam and large Legendre multipoles, the spin-weight 2 window function for the linear polarization reduces to the usual scalar window function used in previous analyses of beam effects in CMB polarimetry experiments. While we focus on the example of polarimetry experiments in the context of CMB studies, we emphasise that the formalism we develop is applicable to anisotropic filtering of arbitrary tensor fields on the sphere.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; Minor changes to match version accepted by Phys. Rev.