For Us by Us About Us: Constructing Latinx-Centered Higher Education Institutions

Higher education institutions’ organizational identities, cultures, and praxis have neglected to honor the values, culture, and knowledge assets of Latinx communities, making it difficult to gain educational justice and equity, which could be attained through Latinx-centered models of higher education. The Latinx higher education experience needs to be deconstructed and reconstructed by resisting whiteness as normative and including People of Color as “holders and creators of knowledge” (Bernal, 2002). Alternatives to normative higher education institutions are limited in the literature, particularly those that have been founded by Latinx communities. Thus, the purpose of the study was to explore how organizational identity, culture, and praxis at higher education institutions founded by Latinx communities reflected Latinx-centered approaches that built upon, promoted, and centered the assets (knowledge, values, culture, and experiences) of Latinx People. As a counternarrative, FUBU-About Us was considered a concept and approach for the study, informing decisions around literature, design, and centering of research participants (referred to as collaborators) in the findings. Through a qualitative interpretive instrumental multi-case organizational study approach of two U.S. historically Latinx-founded institutions, data collected included 28 individual interviews and five focus groups, document and artifact reviews, and observations. A conceptual framework brought together organizational theories with asset-based concepts from Latinx theorists that helped guide the design of the study, data analysis, and discussion of the findings. Individual college portraits and distinct findings for each case were presented, for example for case 1: ownership as resistance and empowerment, integrated roles as a practical and values-oriented practice, and for case 2: rooting historical activism as central to identity and planning processes speaking to values, among others. In addition, an analysis of shared and nuanced findings across the cases revealed the importance of place; naming strengths in the midst of challenges; arts and culture as staples of institutional identity, culture, and practices; and counterspaces, among others. The study offers a discussion on contributions of the study to the literature, a revised conceptual to real-life framework for FUBU-About Us institutions of higher education, as well as implications for practice, policy, and future research. Abstract (Spanish) Las identidades organizacionales, las culturas y la praxis de las instituciones de educación superior han descuidado honrar los valores, la cultura y los activos de conocimiento de las comunidades Latinx, lo que dificulta obtener justicia y equidad educativas, que podrían lograrse a través de modelos de educación superior centrados en Latinx. La experiencia de educación superior Latinx necesita ser deconstruida y reconstruida resistiendo a la blancura como normativa e incluyendo a las personas de color como “poseedoras y creadoras de conocimiento” (Bernal, 2002). Las alternativas a las instituciones de educación superior normativas están limitadas en la literatura, particularmente aquellas que han sido fundadas por comunidades Latinx. Por lo tanto, el propósito del estudio fue explorar cómo la identidad, la cultura y la praxis organizacionales en las instituciones de educación superior fundadas por comunidades Latins reflejaban enfoques centrados en latinx que construyeron, promovieron, y centraron los activos (conocimiento, valores, cultura y experiencias) de gente Latinx. Como contranarrativa, Para Nosotros Por Nosotros Acerca de Nosotros [FUBU-About Us] se consideró un concepto y un enfoque para el estudio, informando las decisiones sobre la literatura, el diseño y la centralización de los participantes de la investigación (denominados colaboradores) en los hallazgos. A través de un enfoque de estudio organizacional cualitativo interpretativo instrumental de casos múltiples de dos instituciones históricamente fundadas por latinos en los EE. UU., los datos recopilados incluyeron 28 entrevistas individuales y cinco grupos focales, revisiones de documentos y artefactos, y observaciones. Un marco conceptual reunió teorías organizacionales con conceptos basados en activos de teóricos Latinx que ayudaron a guiar el diseño del estudio, el análisis de datos y la discusión de los hallazgos. Se presentaron retratos universitarios individuales y hallazgos distintos para cada caso, por ejemplo para el caso 1: propiedad como resistencia y empoderamiento, roles integrados como una práctica y orientada a valores, y para el caso 2: arraigar el activismo histórico como central para la identidad y procesos de planificación que hablan de valores, entre otros. Además, un análisis de los hallazgos compartidos y matizados en los casos reveló la importancia del lugar; nombrar fortalezas en medio de los desafíos; las artes y la cultura como elementos básicos de la identidad, la cultura y las prácticas institucionales; y contraespacios, entre otros. El estudio ofrece una discusión sobre las contribuciones del estudio a la literatura, un marco conceptual revisado de la vida real para las instituciones de educación superior FUBU-About Us, así como las implicaciones para la práctica, la política, y la investigación futura

XOR gate response in a mesoscopic ring with embedded quantum dots

We address XOR gate response in a mesoscopic ring threaded by a magnetic flux $\phi$. The ring, composed of identical quantum dots, is symmetrically attached to two semi-infinite one-dimensional metallic electrodes and two gate voltages, viz, $V_a$ and $V_b$, are applied, respectively, in each arm of the ring which are treated as the two inputs of the XOR gate. The calculations are based on the tight-binding model and the Green's function method, which numerically compute the conductance-energy and current-voltage characteristics as functions of the ring-electrodes coupling strengths, magnetic flux and gate voltages. Quite interestingly it is observed that, for $\phi=\phi_0/2$ ($\phi_0=ch/e$, the elementary flux-quantum) a high output current (1) (in the logical sense) appears if one, and only one, of the inputs to the gate is high (1), while if both inputs are low (0) or both are high (1), a low output current (0) appears. It clearly demonstrates the XOR behavior and this aspect may be utilized in designing the electronic logic gate.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

NOR gate response in a double quantum ring: An exact result

NOR gate response in a double quantum ring, where each ring is threaded by a magnetic flux $\phi$, is investigated. The double quantum ring is sandwiched symmetrically between two semi-infinite one-dimensional metallic electrodes and two gate voltages, namely, $V_a$ and $V_b$, are applied, respectively, in lower arms of the two rings those are treated as the two inputs of the NOR gate. A simple tight-binding model is used to describe the system and all the calculations are done through the Green's function formalism. Here we exactly calculate the conductance-energy and current-voltage characteristics as functions of the ring-to-electrode coupling strengths, magnetic flux and gate voltages. Our numerical study predicts that, for a typical value of the magnetic flux $\phi=\phi_0/2$ ($\phi_0=ch/e$, the elementary flux-quantum), a high output current (1) (in the logical sense) appears if both the inputs to the gate are low (0), while if one or both are high (1), a low output current (0) results. It clearly demonstrates the NOR gate behavior and this aspect may be utilized in designing an electronic logic gate.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Anitmicrobial Effects of Chemically Modified Essential Oils

Undergraduate Basi

Electron transport in a double quantum ring: Evidence of an AND gate

We explore AND gate response in a double quantum ring where each ring is threaded by a magnetic flux $\phi$. The double quantum ring is attached symmetrically to two semi-infinite one-dimensional metallic electrodes and two gate voltages, namely, $V_a$ and $V_b$, are applied, respectively, in the lower arms of the two rings which are treated as two inputs of the AND gate. The system is described in the tight-binding framework and the calculations are done using the Green's function formalism. Here we numerically compute the conductance-energy and current-voltage characteristics as functions of the ring-to-electrode coupling strengths, magnetic flux and gate voltages. Our study suggests that, for a typical value of the magnetic flux $\phi=\phi_0/2$ ($\phi_0=ch/e$, the elementary flux-quantum) a high output current (1) (in the logical sense) appears only if both the two inputs to the gate are high (1), while if neither or only one input to the gate is high (1), a low output current (0) results. It clearly demonstrates the AND gate behavior and this aspect may be utilized in designing an electronic logic gate.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

A mesoscopic ring as a XNOR gate: An exact result

We describe XNOR gate response in a mesoscopic ring threaded by a magnetic flux $\phi$. The ring is attached symmetrically to two semi-infinite one-dimensional metallic electrodes and two gate voltages, viz, $V_a$ and $V_b$, are applied in one arm of the ring which are treated as the inputs of the XNOR gate. The calculations are based on the tight-binding model and the Green's function method, which numerically compute the conductance-energy and current-voltage characteristics as functions of the ring-to-electrode coupling strength, magnetic flux and gate voltages. Our theoretical study shows that, for a particular value of $\phi$ ($=\phi_0/2$) ($\phi_0=ch/e$, the elementary flux-quantum), a high output current (1) (in the logical sense) appears if both the two inputs to the gate are the same, while if one but not both inputs are high (1), a low output current (0) results. It clearly exhibits the XNOR gate behavior and this aspect may be utilized in designing an electronic logic gate.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Follow-up monitoring in a cat with leishmaniosis and coinfections with Hepatozoon felis and ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’

Case summary A 6-year-old female neutered domestic shorthair cat from Cyprus was presented with multiple ulcerated skin nodules. Cytology and histopathology of the lesions revealed granulomatous dermatitis with intracytoplasmic organisms, consistent with amastigotes of Leishmania species. Biochemistry identified a mild hyperproteinaemia. Blood extraction and PCR detected Leishmania species, Hepatozoon species and ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ (CMhm) DNA. Subsequent sequencing identified Hepatozoon felis. Additionally, the rRNA internal transcribed spacer 1 locus of Leishmania infantum was partially sequenced and phylogeny showed it to cluster with species derived from dogs in Italy and Uzbekistan, and a human in France. Allopurinol treatment was administered for 6 months. Clinical signs resolved in the second month of treatment with no deterioration 8 months post-treatment cessation. Quantitative PCR and ELISA were used to monitor L infantum blood DNA and antibody levels. The cat had high L infantum DNA levels pretreatment that gradually declined during treatment but increased 8 months post-treatment cessation. Similarly, ELISA revealed high levels of antibodies pretreatment, which gradually declined during treatment and increased slightly 8 months post-treatment cessation. The cat remained PCR positive for CMhm and Hepatozoon species throughout the study. There was no clinical evidence of relapse 24 months post-treatment. Relevance and novel information To our knowledge, this is the first clinical report of a cat with leishmaniosis with H felis and CMhm coinfections. The high L infantum DNA levels post-treatment cessation might indicate that although the lesions had resolved, prolonged or an alternative treatment could have been considere

Electron transport through honeycomb lattice ribbons with armchair edges

We address electron transport in honeycomb lattice ribbons with armchair edges attached to two semi-infinite one-dimensional metallic electrodes within the tight-binding framework. Here we present numerically the conductance-energy and current-voltage characteristics as functions of the length and width of the ribbons. Our theoretical results predict that for a ribbon with much smaller length and width, so-called a nanoribbon, a gap in the conductance spectrum appears across the energy E=0. While, this gap decreases gradually with the increase of the size of the ribbon, and eventually it almost vanishes. This reveals a transformation from the semiconducting to the conducting material, and it becomes much more clearly visible from our presented current-voltage characteristics.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Generalized iterated wreath products of cyclic groups and rooted trees correspondence

Consider the generalized iterated wreath product $\mathbb{Z}_{r_1}\wr \mathbb{Z}_{r_2}\wr \ldots \wr \mathbb{Z}_{r_k}$ where $r_i \in \mathbb{N}$. We prove that the irreducible representations for this class of groups are indexed by a certain type of rooted trees. This provides a Bratteli diagram for the generalized iterated wreath product, a simple recursion formula for the number of irreducible representations, and a strategy to calculate the dimension of each irreducible representation. We calculate explicitly fast Fourier transforms (FFT) for this class of groups, giving literature's fastest FFT upper bound estimate.Comment: 15 pages, to appear in Advances in the Mathematical Science

The influence of alfalfa-switchgrass intercropping on microbial community structure and function

The use of nitrogen fertilizer on bioenergy crops such as switchgrass results in increased costs, nitrogen leaching and emissions of N2O, a potent greenhouse gas. Intercropping with nitrogen-fixing alfalfa has been proposed as an environmentally sustainable alternative, but the effects of synthetic fertilizer versus intercropping on soil microbial community functionality remain uncharacterized. We analysed 24 metagenomes from the upper soil layer of agricultural fields from Prosser, WA over two growing seasons and representing three agricultural practices: unfertilized switchgrass (control), fertilized switchgrass and switchgrass intercropped with alfalfa. The synthetic fertilization and intercropping did not result in major shifts of microbial community taxonomic and functional composition compared with the control plots, but a few significant changes were noted. Most notably, mycorrhizal fungi, ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria increased in abundance with intercropping and fertilization. However, only betaproteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria abundance in fertilized plots significantly correlated to N2O emission and companion qPCR data. Collectively, a short period of intercropping elicits minor but significant changes in the soil microbial community toward nitrogen preservation and that intercropping may be a viable alternative to synthetic fertilization