Whose Art Museum? Immersive Gaming as Irruption

This paper introduces Mantles in the Museum, an immersive game that helps ameliorate student discomfort in art museums and to support discourse in, through, and around art museums. Within the game the students take on the roles of critics who use one of five interpretive frameworks, often differing from the student’s own, to select works from a real museum to go to an international exhibition. Assuming these roles empowers students to be in the museum and to assess the works, students are given leave to engage in a vigorous critique process and to examine the art-world from a new perspective

The Dependence of Growth-Model Results on Proficiency Cut Scores

States participating in the Growth Model Pilot Program reference individual student growth against “proficiency” cut scores that conform with the original No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Although achievement results from conventional NCLB models are also cut-score dependent, the functional relationships between cut-score location and growth results are more complex and are not currently well described. We apply cut-score scenarios to longitudinal data to demonstrate the dependence of state- and school-level growth results on cut-score choice. This dependence is examined along three dimensions: 1) rigor, as states set cut scores largely at their discretion, 2) across-grade articulation, as the rigor of proficiency standards may vary across grades, and 3) the time horizon chosen for growth to proficiency. Results show that the selection of plausible alternative cut scores within a growth model can change the percentage of students “on track to proficiency” by more than 20 percentage points and reverse accountability decisions for more than 40% of schools. We contribute a framework for predicting these dependencies, and we argue that the cut-score dependence of large-scale growth statistics must be made transparent, particularly for comparisons of growth results across states

Chronic TREM2 activation exacerbates Aβ-associated tau seeding and spreading

Variants in the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) gene are associated with increased risk for late-onset AD. Genetic loss of or decreased TREM2 function impairs the microglial response to amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, resulting in more diffuse Aβ plaques and increased peri-plaque neuritic dystrophy and AD-tau seeding. Thus, microglia and TREM2 are at a critical intersection of Aβ and tau pathologies in AD. Since genetically decreasing TREM2 function increases Aβ-induced tau seeding, we hypothesized that chronically increasing TREM2 signaling would decrease amyloid-induced tau-seeding and spreading. Using a mouse model of amyloidosis in which AD-tau is injected into the brain to induce Aβ-dependent tau seeding/spreading, we found that chronic administration of an activating TREM2 antibody increases peri-plaque microglial activation but surprisingly increases peri-plaque NP-tau pathology and neuritic dystrophy, without altering Aβ plaque burden. Our data suggest that sustained microglial activation through TREM2 that does not result in strong amyloid removal may exacerbate Aβ-induced tau pathology, which may have important clinical implications

An imaging neutron/gamma-ray spectrometer

We present the test results of a neutron/gamma-ray imaging spectrometer for the identification and location of radioactive and special nuclear materials. Radioactive materials that could be fashioned into a radiation dispersal device typically emit gamma rays, while fissile materials such as uranium and plutonium emit both neutrons and gamma rays via spontaneous or induced fission. The simultaneous detection of neutrons and gamma rays is a clear indication of the presence of fissile material. The instrument works as a double-scatter telescope, requiring a neutron or gamma ray to undergo an interaction in two detectors to be considered a valid event. While this requirement reduces the detector efficiency, it yields information about the direction and energy of the incident particle, which is then used to reconstruct an image of the emitting source. Because of this imaging capability background events can be rejected, decreasing the number of events required for high confidence detection and thereby greatly improving its sensitivity. The instrument is optimized for the detection of neutrons with energies from 1-20 MeV and gamma rays from 0.4 to 10 MeV. Images and energy spectra for neutron and gamma rays are reported for several sources including depleted uranium and plutonium. In addition, the effect of neutron source shielding is investigated

Silver Engineered Nanomaterials and Ions Elicit Species-Specific O\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Consumption Responses in Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

Metal containing engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are now commonly used in various industrial and commercial applications. Many of these materials can be transformed during waste water treatment and ultimately enter terrestrial ecosystems via agriculturally applied biosolids. It is unclear how agriculturally important soil microbes will be affected by exposure to environmentally relevant, sublethal concentrations of ENMs and their transformation products (i.e., ions, aggregates, etc.). A method was developed, which puts O2 consumption responses in terms of viability, and tested by examining the toxic effects of Ag+, Zn2+, and Ni2+ ions on the plant growth promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) Bacillus amyloliquefaciens GB03. The method was then used to examine the toxicity of Ag+, as-synthesized polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated silver ENM (PVP-AgENMs), and 100% sulfidized AgENM on B. amyloliquefaciens GB03, and two additional PGPRs Sinorhizobium meliloti 2011, and Pseudomonas putida UW4. S. meliloti was found to have the highest LC50 for Ag+ and PVP-AgENMs (6.6 and 207 μM, respectively), while B. amyloliquefaciens and P. putida exhibited LC50\u27s for Ag+ and PVP-AgENMs roughly half those observed for S. meliloti. The authors observed species-specific O2 consumption responses to ENM and ion exposure. PVP-AgENMs were less toxic than ions on a molar basis, and abiotic dissolution likely explains a significant portion of the observed toxic responses. Our results suggest microbes may exhibit distinct metabolic responses to metal and ENM exposure, even when similar LC50\u27s are observed. These findings together illustrate the importance of understanding species-specific toxic responses and the utility of examining O2 consumption for doing so

Independent and Interactive Associations of Negative Affect, Restraint, and Impulsivity in Relation to Binge Eating Among Women

There is growing recognition that impulsivity may serve as an underlying risk factor for binge eating. In addition, the association of impulsivity with binge eating may be moderated by other affective and cognitive risk factors. This study examined independent and interactive associations of negative affect, dietary restraint, and facets of impulsivity with binge eating. A diverse sample of 566 undergraduate women completed online questionnaires of study variables. Results revealed a three-way interaction of negative affect, dietary restraint, and attentional impulsivity in relation to binge eating. Women who were high on each of these three variables reported the greatest levels of binge eating. In addition, a two-way interaction was found for negative affect and nonplanning impulsivity in relation to binge eating, such that nonplanning impulsivity strengthened the association between negative affect and binge eating. Attentional and nonplanning facets of impulsivity may function as an underlying trait-level risk factor interacts with affective and/or cognitive risk (e.g., negative affect, dietary restraint) factors to predict elevated binge eating

PET and optical imaging of caveolin-1 in gastric tumors

Previous studies have suggested tumoral caveolin-1 (CAV1) as a predictive biomarker for the response to anti-HER2 antibody drug therapies in gastric tumors. In this study, radiolabeled and fluorescently labeled anti-CAV1 antibodies were developed and tested as an immunoPET or optical imaging agent to detect CAV1 in HER2-positive/CAV1-high NCIN87 gastric tumors. The expression of CAV1 receptors in NCIN87 gastric tumors and nontumor murine organs was determined by Western blot. Binding assays were performed to validate the anti-CAV1 antibody specificity for CAV1-expressing NCIN87 cancer cells. Subcutaneous and orthotopic NCIN87 xenografts were used for PET imaging an

Sleep characteristics modify the association between genetic predisposition to obesity and anthropometric measurements in 119,679 UK Biobank participants

Background - Obesity is a multifactorial condition influenced by genetics, lifestyle and environment. Objective - To investigate whether the association between a validated genetic profile risk score for obesity (GPRS-obesity) with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) was modified by sleep characteristics. Design - This study included cross-sectional data from 119,859 white European adults, aged 37-73 years, participating on the UK Biobank. Interactions between GPRS-obesity, and sleep characteristics (sleep duration, chronotype, day napping, and shift work) in their effects on BMI and WC were investigated. Results - The GPRS-obesity was associated with BMI (β:0.57 kg.m-2 per standard deviation (SD) increase in GPRS, [95%CI:0.55, 0.60]; P=6.3x10-207) and WC (β:1.21 cm, [1.15, 1.28]; P=4.2x10-289). There were significant interactions between GPRS-obesity and a variety of sleep characteristics in their relationship with BMI (P-interaction <0.05). In participants who slept <7 hrs or >9 hrs daily, the effect of GPRS-obesity on BMI was stronger (β:0.60 [0.54, 0.65] and 0.73 [0.49, 0.97] kg.m-2 per SD increase in GPRS, respectively) than in normal length sleepers (7-9 hours; β:0.52 [0.49, 0.55] kg.m-2 per SD). A similar pattern was observed for shiftworkers (β:0.68 [0.59, 0.77] versus 0.54 [0.51, 0.58] kg.m-2 for non-shiftworkers) and for night-shiftworkers (β:0.69 [0.56, 0.82] versus 0.55 [0.51, 0.58] kg.m-2 for non-night- shiftworkers), for those taking naps during the day (β:0.65 [0.52, 0.78] versus 0.51 [0.48, 0.55] kg.m-2 for those who never/rarely had naps) and for those with a self-reported evening chronotype (β:0.72 [0.61, 0.82] versus β:0.52 [0.47, 0.57] kg.m-2 for morning chronotype). Similar findings were obtained using WC as the outcome. Conclusions – This study shows that the association between genetic risk for obesity and phenotypic adiposity measures is exacerbated by adverse sleeping characteristics