Race, Income and College in 25 Years: The Continuing Legacy of Segregation and Discrimination

The rate at which racial gaps in pre-collegiate academic achievement can plausibly be expected to erode is a matter of great interest and much uncertainty. In her opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger, Supreme Court Justice O’Connor took a firm stand: “We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary . . .” We evaluate the plausibility of Justice O’Connor’s forecast, by projecting the racial composition and SAT distribution of the elite college applicant pool 25 years from now. We focus on two important margins: First, changes in the black-white relative distribution of income, and second, narrowing of the test score gap between black and white students within family income groups. Other things equal, progress on each margin can be expected to reduce the racial gap in qualifications among students pursuing admission to the most selective colleges. Under plausible assumptions, however, projected economic progress will not yield nearly as much racial diversity as is currently obtained with race-sensitive admissions. Simulations that assume additional increases in black students’ test scores, beyond those deriving from changes in family income, yield more optimistic estimates. In this scenario, race-blind rules approach the black representation among admitted students seen today at moderately selective institutions, but continue to fall short at the most selective schools. Maintaining a critical mass of African American students at the most selective institutions would require policies at the elementary and secondary levels or changes in parenting practices that deliver unprecedented success in narrowing the test score gap in the next quarter century.

Race, Income, and College in 25 Years: The Continuing Legacy of Segregation and Discrimination

The rate at which racial gaps in pre-collegiate academic achievement can plausibly be expected to erode is a matter of great interest and much uncertainty. In her opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger, Supreme Court Justice O'Connor took a firm stand: "We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary . . ." We evaluate the plausibility of Justice O'Connor's forecast, by projecting the racial composition and SAT distribution of the elite college applicant pool 25 years from now. We focus on two important margins: First, changes in the black-white relative distribution of income, and second, narrowing of the test score gap between black and white students within family income groups. Other things equal, progress on each margin can be expected to reduce the racial gap in qualifications among students pursuing admission to the most selective colleges. Under plausible assumptions, however, projected economic progress will not yield nearly as much racial diversity as is currently obtained with race-sensitive admissions. Simulations that assume additional increases in black students' test scores, beyond those deriving from changes in family income, yield more optimistic estimates. In this scenario, race-blind rules approach the black representation among admitted students seen today at moderately selective institutions, but continue to fall short at the most selective schools. Maintaining a critical mass of African American students at the most selective institutions would require policies at the elementary and secondary levels or changes in parenting practices that deliver unprecedented success in narrowing the test score gap in the next quarter century.

Cellulose Nanoparticles are a Biodegradable Photoacoustic Contrast Agent for Use in Living Mice.

Molecular imaging with photoacoustic ultrasound is an emerging field that combines the spatial and temporal resolution of ultrasound with the contrast of optical imaging. However, there are few imaging agents that offer both high signal intensity and biodegradation into small molecules. Here we describe a cellulose-based nanoparticle with peak photoacoustic signal at 700 nm and an in vitro limit of detection of 6 pM (0.02 mg/mL). Doses down to 0.35 nM (1.2 mg/mL) were used to image mouse models of ovarian cancer. Most importantly, the nanoparticles were shown to biodegrade in the presence of cellulase both through a glucose assay and electron microscopy

Don’t forget the countryside: rural communities and Brexit

The relationship between rural areas and Brexit has been neglected in a preoccupation with the urban geographies of the ‘left behind’ and the political arguments about culture wars. How might the patterns of the 2016 referendum vote be interrogated to provide insights about social and economic changes in rural places and wider shifts in rural populations, ask Sarah Neal, Anna Gawlewicz, Jesse Heley, and Rhys Dafydd Jones

Agricultural Investments under International Investment Law

International investment law, based primarily on international investment treaties, plays an important role in the governance of investment in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. The obligations established by these treaties, and enforced by means of investor–state arbitration, can present challenges for policy-makers and others seeking to ensure that investments are sustainable, including by affecting the ways in which the costs and benefits of investments are distributed among different actors. CCSI partnered with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to produce a briefing note on agricultural investments under international investment law. The briefing note provides an overview of the following issues: Who and what do international investment treaties protect, and how are they enforced? Why does international investment law matter for the governance of sustainable, responsible investment in agriculture? How can investment treaties and investor-state arbitration impact laws, policies, and other actions or measures taken by states concerning investment in agriculture? What impact does international investment law have on local perspectives, responsible governance of tenure, and responsible business conduct? And how can policy-makers address challenges posed by investment treaties and investor-state arbitration

Enhanced Starting Track Real-time Stream for IceCube

IceCube real-time alerts allow for rapid follow-up observations of likely astrophysical neutrino events, enabling searches for multi-messenger counterparts. The Enhanced Starting Track Real-time Stream (ESTReS) is a real-time extension of the Enhanced Starting Track Event Selection (ESTES), a high astrophysical purity muon-neutrino sample recently used by IceCube to measure the astrophysical diffuse flux. A set of computationally cheap cuts allows us to run a fast filter in seconds. This online filter selects about 100 events per day to be sent to Madison, WI via satellite where the full ESTES event selection is applied within minutes. Events that pass the final set of cuts (ESTReS + ESTES) will be sent out as real-time alerts to the broader astrophysical community. ESTReS's unique contribution to the current real-time alerts will be events in the southern sky in the 5 TeV - 100 TeV range. We expect about 10.3 events per year which average 50% astrophysical purity. In this talk I will report the status of the ESTReS alert stream in the context of the IceCube real-time program.Comment: Presented at the 38th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2023). See arXiv:2307.13047 for all IceCube contribution

Chronic Hepatitis B Reactivation: Deadly, But Preventable

Chronic Hepatitis B Reactivation: Deadly, But Preventable Sarah Xie, DO Providence Portland Medical Center – Portland, OR Additional Authors: Andrea Roast, MD, FACP; Jesse Powell, MD A 51-year-old Vietnamese male with chronic hepatitis B presents with symptoms of acute hepatitis. 2 months prior, his PCP had discontinued Tenofovir, for which he had been taking for the past decade, based on an undetectable viral load and a negative HBeAg. 1 month later, his viral load soared to 796 million so Tenofovir was restarted. On admission a few days later, the patient had scleral icterus and jaundiced skin. He had severe transaminitis, coagulopathy, and a total bilirubin of 7.7. His CT showed hepatitis, but no cirrhosis. With other etiologies ruled out, he was diagnosed with acute on chronic hepatitis B reactivation due to discontinuation of Tenofovir. He was discharged once his LFTs improved though his total bilirubin continued to rise. The liver transplant team followed the patient post discharge and one month later, he represented with decompensated liver cirrhosis which progressed to fulminant hepatic failure requiring a liver transplant. An estimated 350 million people in the US live with chronic hepatitis B, though only a third are aware of their diagnosis. Untreated hep B accounts for over 600,000 deaths per year from HCC and end stage liver disease. There is no cure because hep B virus remains in hepatocytes by integrating its DNA into our own and by turning its DNA into stable mini-chromosomes. Tenofovir AF, the 1st line treatment, works only by inhibiting viral replication outside the nucleus, but does not eradicate viral DNA (point). A negative viral load, as seen in our patient, indicates only medication adherence and not a cure. Only 1% of patients achieve “seroclearance of HBsAg,” constituting a functional cure and can discontinue medications at that point, but 99% of patient require indefinite treatment. Our patient did not have labs consistent with a functional cure. Tenofovir has a black box warning that if discontinued, can cause hepatitis B reactivation leading to severe hepatic injury and even fulminant hepatic failure. It took only one month of discontinued Tenofovir to set in motion our patient’s path for a liver transplant. Fortunately, he is doing well now. The take home points are that, unlike Hepatitis C, 99% of hep B patients require indefinite treatment to minimize the risk of premature death. Physicians should recognize that only seroclearance of HBsAg suggests a functional cure. Undetectable viral loads indicate successful treatment adherence. Discontinuation of treatment can result in hepatitis B reactivation and even fulminant hepatic failure. From a broader perspective, clinicians need to be vigilant of undiagnosed chronic hepatitis B carriers, especially in patients immigrating from countries with high prevalence or patient with high risk behaviors. These patients are at risk for reactivation with any immunosuppressive therapy such as steroids or cancer therapies.https://digitalcommons.psjhealth.org/ppmc_internal/1015/thumbnail.jp

Rorty’s Social Theory and the Narrative of U.S. History Curriculum

This paper explores the implications for creating a U.S. history narrative from a Rortyan perspective. First, we review Rorty’s social theory. Second, we discuss implications of his ideas regarding the creation of a U.S. history narrative based upon his ideas. Finally, we examine two concerns that would likely emerge if a Rortyan U.S. history curriculum was taught in our public schools