Teacher Retention in American Schools in the East Asia Region: Salary and Leadership Are Key

The purpose of this study was (a) to track teacher turnover in the East Asian Region Consortium of Schools (EARCOS) and (b) to create a model to explain teacher turnover. We received responses from 32 school heads and 744 teachers in EARCOS schools. The average turnover rate was 32% from 2009 to 2010. The most important correlates of turnover were satisfaction with salary and the perception of a supportive principal. Teachers’ age was also a significant predictor of turnover. Characteristics that defined teachers’ perceptions of supportive leadership were consistent with definitions of transformational and distributed leadership

The Metagalactic Ionizing Radiation Field at Low Redshift

We compute the ionizing radiation field at low redshift, arising from Seyferts, QSOs, and starburst galaxies. This calculation combines recent Seyfert luminosity functions, extrapolated ultraviolet fluxes from our IUE-AGN database, and a new intergalactic opacity model based on Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Ly-alpha absorber surveys. At z = 0 for AGN only, our best estimate for the specific intensity at 1 Ryd is I_0 = 1.3 (+0.8/-0.5) x 10^-23 ergs/cm^2/s/Hz/sr, independent of H_0, Omega_0, and Lambda. The one-sided ionizing photon flux is Phi_ion = 3400 (+2100/-1300) photons/cm^2/s, and the H I photoionization rate is Gamma_HI = 3.2 (+2.0/-1.2) x 10^-14 s^-1 for alpha_s = 1.8. We also derive Gamma_ HI for z = 0 - 4. These error ranges reflect uncertainties in the spectral indexes for the ionizing EUV (alpha_s = 1.8 +/- 0.3) and the optical/UV (alpha_UV = 0.86 +/- 0.05), the IGM opacity model, the range of Seyfert luminosities (0.001 - 100 L*) and the completeness of the luminosity functions. Our estimate is a factor of three lower than the most stringent upper limits on the ionizing background (Phi_ion < 10^4 photons/cm^2/s) obtained from H-alpha observations in external clouds, and it lies within the range implied by other indirect measures. Starburst galaxies with a sufficiently large Lyman continuum escape fraction, f_ esc > 0.05, may provide a comparable background to AGN, I_0 (z=0) = 1.1 (+1.5/-0.7) x 10^{-23). An additional component of the ionizing background of this magnitude would violate neither upper limits from H-alpha observations nor the acceptable range from other measurements.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, accepted for Astronomical J. (Oct. 1999

Estimating PMTCT's Impact on Heterosexual HIV Transmission: A Mathematical Modeling Analysis

Introduction Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) strategies include combined short-course antiretrovirals during pregnancy (Option A), triple-drug antiretroviral treament (ART) during pregnancy and breastfeeding (Option B), or lifelong ART (Option B+). The WHO also recommends ART for HIV treatment and prevention of sexual transmission of HIV. The impact of PMTCT strategies on prevention of sexual HIV transmission of HIV is not known. We estimated the population-level impact of PMTCT interventions on heterosexual HIV transmission in southwestern Uganda and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, two regions with different HIV prevalence and fertility rates. Materials and Methods We constructed and validated dynamic, stochastic, network-based HIV transmission models for each region. PMTCT Options A, B, and B+ were simulated over ten years under three scenarios: 1) current ART and PMTCT coverage, 2) current ART and high PMTCT coverage, and 3) high ART and PMTCT coverage. We compared adult HIV incidence after ten years of each intervention to Option A (and current ART) at current coverage. Results At current coverage, Options B and B+ reduced heterosexual HIV incidence by about 5% and 15%, respectively, in both countries. With current ART and high PMTCT coverage, Option B+ reduced HIV incidence by 35% in Uganda and 19% in South Africa, while Option B had smaller, but meaningful, reductions. The greatest reductions in HIV incidence were achieved with high ART and PMTCT coverage. In this scenario, all PMTCT strategies yielded similar results. Discussion Implementation of Options B/B+ reduces adult HIV incidence, with greater effect (relative to Option A at current levels) in Uganda than South Africa. These results are likely driven by Uganda’s higher fertility rates

Baker Center Journal of Applied Public Policy - Vol. IV, No.II

This special edition includes articles from speakers at a 2010 conference - Howard H. Baker, Jr: A Life in Public Service and a special addendum including photographs and cartoons from Sen. Baker\u27s career

Maxwell-Chern-Simons Vortices and Holographic Superconductors

We investigate probe limit vortex solutions of a charged scalar field in Einstein-Maxwell theory in 3+1 dimensions, for an asymptotically AdS Schwarzschild black hole metric with the addition of an axionic coupling to the Maxwell field. We show that the inclusion of such a term, together with a suitable potential for the axion field, can induce an effective Chern-Simons term on the 2+1 dimensional boundary. We obtain numerical solutions of the equations of motion and find Maxwell-Chern-Simons like magnetic vortex configurations, where the magnetic field profile varies with the size of the effective Chern-Simons coupling. The axion field has a non-trivial profile inside the AdS bulk but does not condense at spatial infinity.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, version accepted for publication in JHE

A New Rhesus Macaque Assembly and Annotation for Next-Generation Sequencing Analyses

BACKGROUND: The rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) is a key species for advancing biomedical research. Like all draft mammalian genomes, the draft rhesus assembly (rheMac2) has gaps, sequencing errors and misassemblies that have prevented automated annotation pipelines from functioning correctly. Another rhesus macaque assembly, CR_1.0, is also available but is substantially more fragmented than rheMac2 with smaller contigs and scaffolds. Annotations for these two assemblies are limited in completeness and accuracy. High quality assembly and annotation files are required for a wide range of studies including expression, genetic and evolutionary analyses. RESULTS: We report a new de novo assembly of the rhesus macaque genome (MacaM) that incorporates both the original Sanger sequences used to assemble rheMac2 and new Illumina sequences from the same animal. MacaM has a weighted average (N50) contig size of 64 kilobases, more than twice the size of the rheMac2 assembly and almost five times the size of the CR_1.0 assembly. The MacaM chromosome assembly incorporates information from previously unutilized mapping data and preliminary annotation of scaffolds. Independent assessment of the assemblies using Ion Torrent read alignments indicates that MacaM is more complete and accurate than rheMac2 and CR_1.0. We assembled messenger RNA sequences from several rhesus tissues into transcripts which allowed us to identify a total of 11,712 complete proteins representing 9,524 distinct genes. Using a combination of our assembled rhesus macaque transcripts and human transcripts, we annotated 18,757 transcripts and 16,050 genes with complete coding sequences in the MacaM assembly. Further, we demonstrate that the new annotations provide greatly improved accuracy as compared to the current annotations of rheMac2. Finally, we show that the MacaM genome provides an accurate resource for alignment of reads produced by RNA sequence expression studies. CONCLUSIONS: The MacaM assembly and annotation files provide a substantially more complete and accurate representation of the rhesus macaque genome than rheMac2 or CR_1.0 and will serve as an important resource for investigators conducting next-generation sequencing studies with nonhuman primates. REVIEWERS: This article was reviewed by Dr. Lutz Walter, Dr. Soojin Yi and Dr. Kateryna Makova

Real-Time Ventilation Measurements from Mechanically Ventilated Livestock Buildings for Emission Rate Estimations

A six-state USDA-IFAFS funded research project (Aerial Pollutant Emissions from Confined Animal Buildings, APECAB) was conducted with the purpose of determining hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, PM10, and odor emission rates from selected swine and poultry housing systems. An important aspect of emission studies is to be able to measure the mass flow rate of air through the housing system. For this research project, the decision was made to study only fan ventilated buildings due to the difficulty in estimating mass flow rates through naturally ventilated buildings. This paper highlights the various techniques used throughout the study to determine mass flow rate through fan ventilated swine and poultry housing systems

The Future of High Energy Physics Software and Computing

Software and Computing (S&C) are essential to all High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments and many theoretical studies. The size and complexity of S&C are now commensurate with that of experimental instruments, playing a critical role in experimental design, data acquisition/instrumental control, reconstruction, and analysis. Furthermore, S&C often plays a leading role in driving the precision of theoretical calculations and simulations. Within this central role in HEP, S&C has been immensely successful over the last decade. This report looks forward to the next decade and beyond, in the context of the 2021 Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise ("Snowmass") organized by the Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) of the American Physical Society.Comment: Computational Frontier Report Contribution to Snowmass 2021; 41 pages, 1 figure. v2: missing ref and added missing topical group conveners. v3: fixed typo

CMV infection of liver transplant recipients: comparison of antigenemia and molecular biology assays

BACKGROUND: CMV is a major clinical problem in transplant recipients. Thus, it is important to use sensitive and specific diagnostic techniques to rapidly and accurately detect CMV infection and identify patients at risk of developing CMV disease. In the present study, CMV infection after liver transplantation was monitored retrospectively by two molecular biology assays - a quantitative PCR assay and a qualitative NASBA assay. The results were compared with those obtained by prospective pp65 antigenemia determinations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 87 consecutive samples from 10 liver transplanted patients were tested for CMV by pp65 antigenemia, and CMV monitor and NASBA pp67 mRNA assay. RESULTS: CMV infection was detected in all patients by antigenemia and CMV monitor, whereas NASBA assay identified only 8/10 patients with viremia. Furthermore, CMV infection was never detected earlier by molecular biology assays than by antigenemia. Only 5/10 patients with CMV infection developed CMV disease. Using a cut off value of 8 cells/50,000, antigenemia was found to be the assay that better identified patients at risk of developing CMV disease. However, the kinetics of the onset of infection detected by NASBA and CMV monitor seemed to have better identified patients at risk of developing CMV disease. Furthermore, before onset of disease, CMV pp67 mRNA was found to have similar or better negative and positive predictive values for the development of CMV disease. CONCLUSIONS: The present data, suggests that the concomitant use of antigenemia and pp67 mRNA assay gives the best identification of patients at risk of developing CMV disease