The Irish Carnegie Community Engagement Classification Pilot: A critical analysis on culture and context from a community of practice approach

This article provides a reflective critique of the process undertaken to pilot the Carnegie Community Engagement Framework in Ireland between 2015 and 2016. Of particular interest to the authors is the cultural specificity of employing a US-centric self-assessment data capturing tool in a heterogeneous Irish context. Taking the reader through from conception of the idea to its execution and post-pilot reflections, we examine the cultural appropriateness and translatability of the tool to Irish higher education. To frame the discussion of the process, we employ the concept of a community of practice, as defined by Wenger (1998). This was adopted to promote a culture of collaboration in an ever-growing neoliberal system that promotes competition between institutions, rather than facilitating their co-construction of knowledge. In the analysis, we demonstrate how forming this community of practice allowed for a cohesive assessment of the challenges and opportunities that arose through the pilot process. This was particularly important since each participating institution had different motivations for engaging with the pilot. Reflecting with some distance, we consider the value that comes from operating as a community of practice, as well as some shortcomings that we identified as specific to this pilot

Conference on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Panel 3: The Allocation of Discretion Under the Guidelines

The guidelines have shifted the locus of discretion from the judge to the prosecutor. This transfer has drastically changed sentencing because the prosecutor\u27s role is very different from the judge\u27s role. Before the guidelines, the prosecutor\u27s role in sentencing was minimal. The prosecutor could put a cap on the sentence by accepting a plea to a charge with a low maximum, but there was virtually no instance in which the charge would put a floor under the judge\u27s sentence. The judge, on the other hand, could sentence however he liked. Not only was the judge\u27s decision correct because it was final – there was no appellate review of sentences within the statutory maximum – it was correct because there was no law by which it could be called incorrect. Absent a few factors that were statutorily excluded from consideration, the judge could take into account any factor he thought relevant, and weigh it to whatever degree he thought it counted. The judge could be harsh or lenient, a retributivist or a utilitarian, a believer in deterrence or rehabilitation

Missing Gamma-ray Halos and the Need for New Physics in the Gamma-ray Sky

An intergalactic magnetic field stronger than $3\times10^{-13}$~G would explain the lack of a bright, extended degree-scale, GeV-energy inverse Compton component in the gamma-ray spectra of TeV-blazars. A robustly predicted consequence of the presence of such a field is the existence of degree-scale GeV-energy gamma-ray halos -- gamma-ray bow ties -- about TeV-bright active galactic nuclei, corresponding to more than half of all radio galaxies. However, the emitting regions of these halos are confined to and aligned with the direction of the relativistic jets associated with gamma-ray sources. Based on the orientation of radio jets, we align and stack corresponding degree-scale gamma-ray images of isolated Fanaroff-Riley class I and II objects and exclude the existence of these halos at overwhelming confidence, limiting the intergalactic field strength to $<10^{-15}$~G for large-scale fields and progressively larger in the diffusive regime when the correlation length of the field becomes small in comparison to 1 Mpc. When combined with prior limits on the strength of the intergalactic magnetic field, this excludes a purely magnetic explanation for the absence of halos. Thus, it requires the existence of novel physical processes that preempt the creation of halos, e.g., the presence of beam-plasma instabilities in the intergalactic medium or a drastic cutoff of the very high energy spectrum of these sources.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 20 pages, 15 figure

Non-Insertive Acupuncture and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Case Series from an Inner City Safety Net Hospital

OBJECTIVE: We report on the safety of non-insertive acupuncture (NIA) in 54 newborns diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) in a busy inner city hospital. METHODS: For this case series, a retrospective chart review was conducted. Data on participant demographics, number of NIA treatments, provider referrals, and outcomes of interest (sleeping, feeding, and adverse events) were collected. RESULTS: Of the 54 newborns receiving NIA, 86% were non-Hispanic White; 87% were on Medicaid, and gestational age ranged from 33.2 to 42.1 weeks. Out of 54 chart reviews, a total of 92 NIA sessions were documented ranging from 1 to 6 sessions per infant. Of the total number of treatments (n = 92), 73% were requested by a physician. Chart reviews reported restless infants calmed down during NIA, babies slept through or fell asleep immediately following NIA, and better feeding was noted following NIA. There were no adverse events noted in the medical records. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective chart review shows potential for the use of NIA as an adjunctive treatment in newborns with NAS symptoms during hospitalization. More research is necessary to study whether the incorporation of NIA can result in positive outcomes in newborns withdrawing from narcotics

Nef does not contribute to replication differences between R5 pre-AIDS and AIDS HIV-1 clones from patient ACH142

AIDS-associated, CCR5-tropic (R5) HIV-1 clones, isolated from a patient that never developed CXCR4-tropic HIV-1, replicate to a greater extent and cause greater cytopathic effects than R5 HIV-1 clones isolated before the onset of AIDS. Previously, we showed that HIV-1 Env substantially contributed to the enhanced replication of an AIDS clone. In order to determine if Nef makes a similar contribution, we cloned and phenotypically analyzed nef genes from a series of patient ACH142 derived R5 HIV-1 clones. The AIDS-associated Nef contains a series of residues found in Nef proteins from progressors [1]. In contrast to other reports [1-3], this AIDS-associated Nef downmodulated MHC-I to a greater extent and CD4 less than pre-AIDS Nef proteins. Additionally, all Nef proteins enhanced infectivity similarly in a single round of replication. Combined with our previous study, these data show that evolution of the HIV-1 env gene, but not the nef gene, within patient ACH142 significantly contributed to the enhanced replication and cytopathic effects of the AIDS-associated R5 HIV-1 clone

Missing Gamma-Ray Halos and the Need for New Physics in the Gamma-Ray Sky

An intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) stronger than 3 × 10^(−13) G would explain the lack of a bright, extended degree-scale, GeV-energy inverse Compton component in the gamma-ray spectra of TeV blazars. A robustly predicted consequence of the presence of such a field is the existence of degree-scale GeV-energy gamma-ray halos (gamma-ray bow ties) about TeV-bright active galactic nuclei, corresponding to more than half of all radio galaxies. However, the emitting regions of these halos are confined to and aligned with the direction of the relativistic jets associated with gamma-ray sources. Based on the orientation of radio jets, we align and stack corresponding degree-scale gamma-ray images of isolated Fanaroff–Riley class I and II objects and exclude the existence of these halos at overwhelming confidence, limiting the intergalactic field strength to <10^(−15) G for large-scale fields and progressively larger in the diffusive regime when the correlation length of the field becomes small in comparison to 1 Mpc. When combined with prior limits on the strength of the IGMF, this excludes a purely magnetic explanation for the absence of halos. Thus, it requires the existence of novel physical processes that preempt the creation of halos, e.g., the presence of beam-plasma instabilities in the intergalactic medium or a drastic cutoff of the very high-energy spectrum of these sources

Optical properties of metamorphic type-I InAs1-xSbx/AlyIn1-yAs quantum wells grown on GaAs for the mid-infrared spectral range

We analyse the optical properties of InAs1-xSbx/AlyIn1-yAs quantum wells (QWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy on relaxed AlyIn1-yAs metamorphic buffer layers (MBLs) using GaAs substrates. The use of AlyIn1-yAs MBLs allows for the growth of QWs having large type-I band offsets, and emission wavelengths > 3 µm. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements for QWs having Sb compositions up to x = 10% demonstrate strong room temperature emission up to 3.4 µm, as well as enhancement of the PL intensity with increasing wavelength. To quantify the trends in the measured PL we calculate the QW spontaneous emission, using a theoretical model based on an 8- band k٠p Hamiltonian. The theoretical calculations, which are in good agreement with experiment, identify that the observed enhancement in PL intensity with increasing wavelength is associated with the impact of compressive strain on the QW valence band structure, which reduces the band edge density of states making more carriers available to undergo radiative recombination at fixed carrier density. Our results highlight the potential of type-I InAs1-xSbx/AlyIn1-yAs metamorphic QWs to address several limitations associated with existing heterostructures operating in the mid-infrared, establishing these novel heterostructures as a suitable platform for the development of light-emitting diodes and diode lasers

Direct aperture optimization as a means of reducing the complexity of intensity modulated radiation therapy plans

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a means of delivering radiation therapy where the intensity of the beam is varied within the treatment field. This is done by dividing a large beam into many small beamlets. Dose constraints are assigned to both the target and sensitive structures and computerised inverse optimization is performed to find the individual weights of this large number of beamlets. The computer adjusts the intensities of these beamlets according to the required planning dose objectives. The optimized intensity patterns are then decomposed into a series of deliverable multi leaf collimator (MLC) shapes in the sequencing step