Destabilizing the American Racial Order

Are racial disparities in the United States just as deep-rooted as they were before the 2008 presidential election, largely eliminated, or persistent but on the decline? One can easily find all of these pronouncements; rather than trying to adjudicate among them, this essay seeks to identify what is changing in the American racial order, what persists or is becoming even more entrenched, and what is likely to affect the balance between change and continuity. The authors focus on young American adults, who were raised in a distinctive racial context and who think about and practice race differently than their older counterparts. For many young Americans, racial attitudes are converging across groups and social networks are becoming more intertwined. Most important, although group-based hierarchy has not disappeared, race or ethnicity does less to predict a young adult's life chances than ever before in American history.African and African American StudiesGovernmen

Mempelajari Sifat Fisika Sol Karet Cetak Dengan Filler Cangkang Telur Ayam

Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk menpelajari sifat fisika sol karet cetak dengan filler cangkang telur ayam. Sifat fisika yang dipelajari meliputi kekerasan, tegangan putus, ketahanan sobek dan ketahanan kikis. Penelitian dilakukan dengan 4 tahap yaitu pembuatan filler cangkang telur ayam, pembuatan sol karet cetak, pengujian sifat fisika dan penilaian secara visual. Perlakuan terdiri dari penggunaan cangkang telur ayam menggantikan filer karbon hitam meliputi perlakuan tanpa penggunaan cangkang telur ayam (A1), penggunaan filler cangkang telur ayam 15 Phr (B1), penggunaan filer cangkang telur ayam 30 Phr (C1) dan penggunaan filler cangkang telur ayam 45 Phr (D1). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa cangkang telur ayam dapat digunakan sebagai filler pada pembuatan sol karet cetak. Penggunaan filler cangkang telur ayam yang semakin meningkat menghasilkan sol karet cetak dengan kekerasan yang cenderung semakin menurun, tegangan putus yang semakin menurun, ketahanan sobek yang semakin menurun dan ketahanan kikis yang semakin meningkat. Secara fisual sol karet cetak yang dihasilkan dari filler cangkang telur ayam menghasilkan sol karet cetak yang baik (tidak cacat berupa sobek, lubang, lepuh, retak dan goresan)

Altered Gut Microbiome in a Mouse Model of Gulf War Illness Causes Neuroinflammation and Intestinal Injury via Leaky Gut and TLR4 Activation

Many of the symptoms of Gulf War Illness (GWI) that include neurological abnormalities, neuroinflammation, chronic fatigue and gastrointestinal disturbances have been traced to Gulf War chemical exposure. Though the association and subsequent evidences are strong, the mechanisms that connect exposure to intestinal and neurological abnormalities remain unclear. Using an established rodent model of Gulf War Illness, we show that chemical exposure caused significant dysbiosis in the gut that included increased abundance of phylum Firmicutes and Tenericutes, and decreased abundance of Bacteroidetes. Several gram negative bacterial genera were enriched in the GWI-model that included Allobaculum sp. Altered microbiome caused significant decrease in tight junction protein Occludin with a concomitant increase in Claudin-2, a signature of a leaky gut. Resultant leaching of gut caused portal endotoxemia that led to upregulation of toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation in the small intestine and the brain. TLR4 knock out mice and mice that had gut decontamination showed significant decrease in tyrosine nitration and inflammatory mediators IL1β and MCP-1 in both the small intestine and frontal cortex. These events signified that gut dysbiosis with simultaneous leaky gut and systemic endotoxemia-induced TLR4 activation contributes to GW chemical-induced neuroinflammation and gastrointestinal disturbances