Residential Mobility During Adolescence: Even Upward Moves Predict High School Dropout

Racial and economic segregation have long endured as systemic challenges in U.S. metropolitan areas. To combat the inequalities of segregation, two broad policy approaches have emerged: (1) preservation stresses investment in low-income neighborhoods, and (2) mobility stresses moving households in low-income areas to more affluent areas. Our recent study reveals some possible unintended consequences of the latter approach, particularly for adolescents. We find that moving during adolescence is associated with decreased odds of graduating from high school, even when moving to significantly higher income neighborhoods

Gender Presentation and Membership Bias in Greek Organizations

The study objective was to explore the possibility of discrimination and bias based on perceived gender presentation. In this study, subjects were female and male undergraduate students of both Greek and non-Greek affiliations at a University in the Southeastern United States. Subjects were asked to rate the probability of extending group membership to others based on perceived visual gender appearance. In the pilot study, 150 University of Central Florida students were polled to assess three categories of visual gender presentation in pictures: average gender presentation (typical female or male), extreme gender presentation (extremely feminine or extremely masculine) and non-traditional gender presentation (masculine females or effeminate males). Three pictures of each gender presentation category were then chosen for the final study. In both studies, The Crowne-Marlowe (1964) Social Desirability Scale (CMDS) was administered. Results indicated no difference in the ratings between Greek and non-Greek participants. However, the results did show a statistically significant bias against individuals of average and non-traditional gender presentation versus individuals who represented extreme gender presentation. Hence, subjects were more likely to extend membership to individuals who appeared to be extremely feminine or extremely masculine. There was also a statistically significant bias favoring average over non-traditional gender presentation individuals. Additionally, social desirability bias played a significant role in how subjects made their selection. The study not only shows significant relationships between gender presentation and discrimination, but also provides evidence that male students prefer hyper-masculine males and female students prefer hyper-feminine females

Intra-urban vulnerability to heat-related mortality in New York City, 1997–2006

AbstractThe health impacts of exposure to summertime heat are a significant problem in New York City (NYC) and for many cities and are expected to increase with a warming climate. Most studies on heat-related mortality have examined risk factors at the municipal or regional scale and may have missed the intra-urban variation of vulnerability that might inform prevention strategies. We evaluated whether place-based characteristics (socioeconomic/demographic and health factors, as well as the built and biophysical environment) may be associated with greater risk of heat-related mortality for seniors during heat events in NYC. As a measure of relative vulnerability to heat, we used the natural cause mortality rate ratio among those aged 65 and over (MRR65+), comparing extremely hot days (maximum heat index 100°F+) to all warm season days, across 1997–2006 for NYC’s 59 Community Districts and 42 United Hospital Fund neighborhoods. Significant positive associations were found between the MRR65+ and neighborhood-level characteristics: poverty, poor housing conditions, lower rates of access to air-conditioning, impervious land cover, surface temperatures aggregated to the area-level, and seniors’ hypertension. Percent Black/African American and household poverty were strong negative predictors of seniors’ air conditioning access in multivariate regression analysis

Global modeling of internal tides within an eddying ocean general circulation model

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91777/1/25-2_arbic_hi.pd

Deposition and characterisation of c-axis oriented AlScN thin films via microwave plasma-assisted reactive HiPIMS

In this work, we demonstrate that highly oriented c-axis aluminium scandium nitride (AlScN) piezoelectric thin films can be deposited via microwave plasma-assisted reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (MAR-HiPIMS), without the necessity of substrate heating. A combination of in situ plasma diagnostics, i.e. time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToF-MS), modified quartz crystal microbalance (m-QCM), and magnetic field measurements allowed to optimise the deposition conditions, in turn maximising the nitrogen supply and ionic flux at the substrate region, while maintaining stable discharge conditions. The AlScN thin films synthesised in this study were deposited as chemically gradient coatings with varying levels of scandium doping, and were characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Obtaining highly textured films was made possible with the addition of microwave plasma to the optimised HiPIMS discharge, where the wurtzite AlScN films (with up to 20 at. % Sc) exhibited a stronger texture in the (0002) orientation compared to films prepared without microwave plasma. Additionally, the use of a microwave plasma led to a significant decrease in oxygen content in the films and increase in nitrogen content, ensuring stoichiometric compositions. Based on the results mentioned above, it is expected that the AlScN thin films fabricated via MAR-HiPIMS would exhibit a strong piezoelectric response

Medicus Adaptabilis – Wenn Fachwissen alleine nicht mehr ausreichend ist

Dieser Beitrag weist auf die zunehmende Bedeutung der Veränderungsfähigkeit in Organisationen allgemein und im Gesundheitswesen im Besonderen hin. Die zu beobachtenden demographischen Entwicklungen, das steigende Gesundheitsbewusstsein sowie die fortschreitende Digitalisierung erfordern eine rasche Anpassungsfähigkeit auf allen Ebenen des Gesundheitswesens. Es wird aufgezeigt, über welche Kompetenzen die Beschäftigten zukünftig verfügen müssen, um den Trends in der Gesundheitsbranche erfolgreich zu begegnen. Darüber hinaus wird diskutiert, welchen Beitrag das Kompetenzmanagement zum Aufbau dieser Kompetenzen leisten kann

The effect of machine traffic zones associated with field headlands on soil structure in a survey of 41 tilled fields in a temperate maritime climate

peer-reviewedMachinery traffic imposes a negative effect on soil structure, leading to soil compaction. Studies to date have primarily focused on the influence of applied wheel loads on soil structure. Few studies have assessed the impact of commercial farm operations on soil structure and crop performance, particularly on field headlands in a temperate maritime climate such as Ireland. A survey was conducted on 41 conventionally managed field sites to investigate the effect of field position (field edge, turning, transition and in-field zones) in relation to machinery operations on soil structure. Soil texture classes ranged from sandy loam to clay loam. All sites used plough-based crop establishment. Soil structural condition was assessed visually using the visual evaluation of soil structure method (VESS) for the topsoil (0−250 mm), and Double Spade below plough depth (250−400 mm). Quantitative soil measurements such as shear strength, bulk density and porosity using soil cores post-harvest, and soil cone penetration resistance were taken at two time points in the crop growth cycle. For most measurements of soil structure, the in-field zone of least machinery traffic produced the best scores (Sq 2.81 & DS 2.48), and the turning zone returned the poorest scores in the 0−250 mm soil layer (Sq 3.31 & DS 2.91). The strongest quantitative scores for the in-field and turning zones, respectively, were for trowel penetration resistance in the upper (2.49 & 3.20) and lower (3.41 & 4.05) soil depth layers and for shear vane (38.17 & 53.59 kPa) for the same zones. The visual assessments and some of the quantitative measurements (0−250 mm soil layer) followed the zone order trend of: turning, field edge, transition and in-field, for increasing machinery traffic. The results show that the visual soil indicators used in this study are more sensitive than quantitative soil measurements such as soil bulk density (ρb) or porosity (TP and MP) at detecting soil structural differences between zones, particularly below plough depth (>250 mm soil depth)

Understanding the integration of ecosystem services and natural capital in Scottish policy

Despite the growing body of evidence highlighting how human activity both depends on and keeps deteriorating natural resources, traditional development models have failed to bring about conservation solutions to this contradiction. The twin concepts of ecosystem services and natural capital (ES/NC) have been coined to bridge this cognitive gap, by providing a framework to make the benefits that human societies derive from ecosystems more visible and intelligible for policy- and decision-making. As part as a global effort, European Union institutions have been promoting these notions over the last decade. The effective take-up of the ES/NC framework is therefore crucial to the success or failure of this attempted cognitive shift in influencing public decision outcomes. This article presents an assessment of the integration of ES/NC in Scottish policy, conceptually and operationally. Forestry is used as an exemplar policy sector to illustrate integration dynamics and limitations, but eight other policy areas were analysed: the environment, split up between its air, soil and water components, a broad category including agriculture, rural development and land use, fisheries and coastal matters, climate change, and bioenergy. The analysis of 224 policy documents, strategies and other policy-relevant documents demonstrates how Scotland has become an ‘ES/NC-literate’ polity through a proactive stance regarding global and European norms and requirements for nature conservation and the sustainable use of recourses. The ultimate outcome of these policies requires further analysis given the substantial implementation challenges

Different Poses for Ligand and Chaperone in Inhibitor Bound Hsp90 and GRP94: Implications for Paralog-specific Drug Design

Hsp90 chaperones contain an N-terminal ATP binding site that has been effectively targeted by competitive inhibitors. Despite the myriad of inhibitors, none to date have been designed to bind specifically to just one of the four mammalian hsp90 paralogs, which are cytoplasmic Hsp90α and β, ER GRP94, and mitochondrial Trap-1. Given that each of the hsp90 paralogs is responsible for chaperoning a distinct set of client proteins, specific targeting of one hsp90 paralog may result in higher efficacy and therapeutic control. Specific inhibitors may also help elucidate the biochemical roles of each hsp90 paralog. Here we present side by side comparisons of the structures of yeast Hsp90 and mammalian GRP94, bound to the pan-hsp90 inhibitors Geldanamycin and Radamide. These structures reveal paralog specific differences in the Hsp90 and GRP94 conformations in response to Geldanamycin binding. We also report significant variation in the pose and disparate binding affinities for the Geldanamycin-Radicicol chimera Radamide when bound to the two paralogs, which may be exploited in the design of paralog-specific inhibitors

Easy and Rapid Purification of Highly Active Nisin

Nisin is an antimicrobial peptide produced and secreted by several L. lactis strains and is specifically active against Gram-positive bacteria. In previous studies, nisin was purified via cation exchange chromatography at low pH employing a single-step elution using 1 M NaCl. Here, we describe an optimized purification protocol using a five-step NaCl elution to remove contaminants. The obtained nisin is devoid of impurities and shows high bactericidal activity against the nisin-sensitive L. lactis strain NZ9000. Purified nisin exhibits an IC50 of ~3 nM, which is a tenfold improvement as compared to nisin obtained via the one-step elution procedure