Hacking the Narrative: How a Philadelphia Hackerspace Uses Storytelling to Explore the Gender Gap in Technology

The Hacktory, a technology education and creative space in Philadelphia, has developed an interactive workshop, “Hacking the Gender Gap.” Attendees are asked to write stories of their positive and negative experiences with technology and post them on a physical timeline. The resulting clusters of experiences at key ages provide visual data, highlight patterns, and provide insight into how people engage with technology now and in recent history. We have run this activity with women-only and mixed gendered crowds, each time with interesting results. The stories and patterns help communicate the pervasive nature of this problem, and give form to the underlying cultural bias at work, which current academic research on the gender gap doesn’t cover sufficiently. We see these narratives as living data, both personal expositions that provide an accessible human angle, and information that can be mapped. We would like to share our experience, how the workshop discussions tend to take shape, and how mixed-gender discussions have differed from women-only. The Hacktory plans to transform the data into an online app in early 2013, which will be a compelling instance of a digital humanities project. We aim to gather data from around the globe and share it freely

Understanding Effective Instruction: The Role of Content in First Grade Reading Instruction.

The present study focused on a currently central issue in educational science, namely how to conceptualize and measure effective classroom instruction. Although several observational methods, which capture aspects of the classroom related to students’ cognitive development, are available for researchers and school personnel to implement in studies of instructional quality, this study explored relations between two established classroom observation measures (CLASS and Pathways/ISI), that have a strong evidence base on growth of reading skills in first-grade students. Further, the study expanded the focus to include an additional component (content difficulty) of instruction that has been separately linked to students’ development. The 233 students enrolled in this study came from 17 different first grade classrooms across six schools. Results of models using the amount of time spent in each of two Pathways/ISI domains (teacher-managed code-focused instruction and child-managed meaning-focused instruction) showed that the more time children spent in each of those two domains was significantly related to decoding and comprehension skills. However, comparing the distance from recommendation of naturally occurring instruction in these same domains found no significant links. Comparing across classroom observation measures, correlational evidence indicated that the Pathways/ISI observation codes and the CLASS scores for each classroom were unrelated, which provides support for the hypothesis that these two measures are independent. The addition of CLASS scores into these models showed that CLASS scores were significantly predictive of students’ outcome scores in decoding and comprehension. In general, the difficulty or readability of texts students interacted with was not linked with their reading outcomes when added to a model of classroom instruction; however, interacting with books was a significant predictor of higher reading achievement. The alignment between book difficulty level and students’ reading achievement showed a significant linear relation in the spring, but not in the fall. At both time points students were, on average, interacting with books within half a grade level of their current reading skills. A greater degree of challenge (e.g., students who read books leveled above their current reading ability) was significantly related to greater gains in student achievement over the school year.PHDEducation & PsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102460/1/stephjg_1.pd

The benefits of energy appliances in the off-grid energy sector based on seven off-grid initiatives in rural Uganda

The aim of this paper is to build on the existing knowledge of the benefits of energy appliances for the off-grid energy market. Rural electrification schemes often focus on generating power for electric lighting and, more recently, phone charging. The purpose of this study, however, is to identify the benefits of an array of energy appliances (other than lighting) that rural electrification initiatives rarely take into account. From the literature review, and the user-perceived benefits identified through a ‘User-Perceived Value Game’ conducted in 119 interview settings, it is found that the top-ranked benefits pertaining to energy appliances are business opportunity, elimination of labour intensive tasks, preservation of health, protection from people posing a threat (personal security), operational expenditure, ability to acquire knowledge, feeling comfortable, food security, information access, time savings and productivity improvement. Of these, the benefits pertaining to energy appliances, as perceived by the beneficiaries whose values are often overlooked by the project implementers, are identified and include comfort, security and food security. Furthermore, the study gives a brief account of the user-perceived benefits of modern energy sources (e.g. solar home systems, solar lanterns and generators). Where possible, reference is made to the traditional energy alternatives (e.g. candles), revealing the reasons why villagers sometimes preferred traditional energy sources to more modern ones.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (Grant No. EP/K503009/1) and Qualcomm European Research Studentships in Technology (Grant No. 1068)

Peripheral Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Transplantation of Hematological Diseases from Related, Haploidentical Donors after Reduced-Intensity Conditioning

AbstractIn a multicenter collaboration, we carried out T cell–replete, peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantations from related, HLA-haploidentical donors with reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) and post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (Cy) as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis in 55 patients with high-risk hematologic disorders. Patients received 2 doses of Cy 50 mg/kg i.v. on days 3 and 4 after infusion of PBSC (mean, 6.4 × 106/kg CD34+ cells; mean, 2.0 × 108/kg CD3+ cells). The median times to neutrophil (500/μL) and platelet (>20,000/μL) recovery were 17 and 21 days respectively. All but 2 of the patients achieved full engraftment. The 1-year cumulative incidences of grade II and grade III acute GVHD were 53% and 8%, respectively. There were no cases of grade IV GVHD. The 2-year cumulative incidence of chronic GHVD was 18%. With a median follow-up of 509 days, overall survival and event-free survival at 2 years were 48% and 51%, respectively. The 2-year cumulative incidences of nonrelapse mortality and relapse were 23% and 28%, respectively. Our results suggest that PBSC can be substituted safely and effectively for bone marrow as the graft source for haploidentical transplantation after RIC

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

The Rts1 Regulatory Subunit of Protein Phosphatase 2A Is Required for Control of G1 Cyclin Transcription and Nutrient Modulation of Cell Size

The key molecular event that marks entry into the cell cycle is transcription of G1 cyclins, which bind and activate cyclin-dependent kinases. In yeast cells, initiation of G1 cyclin transcription is linked to achievement of a critical cell size, which contributes to cell-size homeostasis. The critical cell size is modulated by nutrients, such that cells growing in poor nutrients are smaller than cells growing in rich nutrients. Nutrient modulation of cell size does not work through known critical regulators of G1 cyclin transcription and is therefore thought to work through a distinct pathway. Here, we report that Rts1, a highly conserved regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), is required for normal control of G1 cyclin transcription. Loss of Rts1 caused delayed initiation of bud growth and delayed and reduced accumulation of G1 cyclins. Expression of the G1 cyclin CLN2 from an inducible promoter rescued the delayed bud growth in rts1Δ cells, indicating that Rts1 acts at the level of transcription. Moreover, loss of Rts1 caused altered regulation of Swi6, a key component of the SBF transcription factor that controls G1 cyclin transcription. Epistasis analysis revealed that Rts1 does not work solely through several known critical upstream regulators of G1 cyclin transcription. Cells lacking Rts1 failed to undergo nutrient modulation of cell size. Together, these observations demonstrate that Rts1 is a key player in pathways that link nutrient availability, cell size, and G1 cyclin transcription. Since Rts1 is highly conserved, it may function in similar pathways in vertebrates

Social status strategy in early adolescent girls: Testosterone and value-based decision making

There has been strong interest, spanning several disciplines, in understanding adolescence as a developmental period of increased risk-taking behavior. Our goals focus on one line of investigation within this larger developmental risk framework. Specifically, we examined levels of pubertal hormones in girls in relation to their willingness to take greater financial risks to gain social status. To this end, we tested the hypothesis that higher levels of testosterone during the ages of pubertal maturation are associated with a greater willingness to sacrifice money for social admiration. Sixty-three girls ages 10-14 (Mage=12.74) participated in laboratory measures and completed at-home saliva sample collection. The Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) and basal hormone levels (testosterone, estradiol, DHEA) measured pubertal maturation. We made use of a developmentally appropriate version of an Auction Task in which adolescents could take financial risks in order to gain socially motivated outcomes (social status). PDS and testosterone were each associated with overall levels of financial risk taking over the course of the Auction Task. In hierarchical models, PDS and testosterone were predictors of the slope of overbidding over the course of the task. Results provide evidence for the role of testosterone and pubertal maturation in girls' motivations to engage in costly decision making in order to gain social status. Findings contribute to our understanding of the developmental underpinnings of some interesting aspects of adolescent risk behavior

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage (RESTART): a randomised, open-label trial

Background: Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events for people with occlusive vascular disease, although it might increase the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. Patients surviving the commonest subtype of intracranial haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, are at risk of both haemorrhagic and occlusive vascular events, but whether antiplatelet therapy can be used safely is unclear. We aimed to estimate the relative and absolute effects of antiplatelet therapy on recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage and whether this risk might exceed any reduction of occlusive vascular events. Methods: The REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART) was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel-group trial at 122 hospitals in the UK. We recruited adults (≥18 years) who were taking antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage, discontinued antithrombotic therapy, and survived for 24 h. Computerised randomisation incorporating minimisation allocated participants (1:1) to start or avoid antiplatelet therapy. We followed participants for the primary outcome (recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage) for up to 5 years. We analysed data from all randomised participants using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for minimisation covariates. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (number ISRCTN71907627). Findings: Between May 22, 2013, and May 31, 2018, 537 participants were recruited a median of 76 days (IQR 29–146) after intracerebral haemorrhage onset: 268 were assigned to start and 269 (one withdrew) to avoid antiplatelet therapy. Participants were followed for a median of 2·0 years (IQR [1·0– 3·0]; completeness 99·3%). 12 (4%) of 268 participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had recurrence of intracerebral haemorrhage compared with 23 (9%) of 268 participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0·51 [95% CI 0·25–1·03]; p=0·060). 18 (7%) participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy experienced major haemorrhagic events compared with 25 (9%) participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (0·71 [0·39–1·30]; p=0·27), and 39 [15%] participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had major occlusive vascular events compared with 38 [14%] allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (1·02 [0·65–1·60]; p=0·92). Interpretation: These results exclude all but a very modest increase in the risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage with antiplatelet therapy for patients on antithrombotic therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage. The risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage is probably too small to exceed the established benefits of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention