Teaching Multicultural Texts At The Secondary Level

This project answers the question: What are the best practices for selecting and teaching multicultural literature in secondary schools in order to represent and build empathy for students from traditionally marginalized populations? The focus is two-fold as multicultural literature offers benefits to students in several forms. The research behind the project reviewed the literary canon that is traditionally taught, who holds curricular decision making power, the impacts and best practices for teaching multicultural literature, as well as strategies for building empathy via multicultural literature. The project is designed to serve as a consolidated resource for secondary English teachers who are interested in adding a multicultural literature unit into their curriculum. Taking the format of a website, the project walks teachers through the process of justifying the curricular change, selecting an authentic/appropriate text, best practices for instruction, as well as a sample unit to use as a guide. The overdue need, major leanings, limitations, and strategies for implementing multicultural literature are addressed. The conclusion supports the integration of multicultural literature in the secondary English classroom

Measuring Anisotropies in the Cosmic Neutrino Background

Neutrino capture on tritium has emerged as a promising method for detecting the cosmic neutrino background (CvB). We show that relic neutrinos are captured most readily when their spin vectors are anti-aligned with the polarization axis of the tritium nuclei and when they approach along the direction of polarization. As a result, CvB observatories may measure anisotropies in the cosmic neutrino velocity and spin distributions by polarizing the tritium targets. A small dipole anisotropy in the CvB is expected due to the peculiar velocity of the lab frame with respect to the cosmic frame and due to late-time gravitational effects. The PTOLEMY experiment, a tritium observatory currently under construction, should observe a nearly isotropic background. This would serve as a strong test of the cosmological origin of a potential signal. The polarized-target measurements may also constrain non-standard neutrino interactions that would induce larger anisotropies and help discriminate between Majorana versus Dirac neutrinos.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Augmented Virtual Reality Laboratory

Real time motion tracking hardware has for the most part been cost prohibitive for research to regularly take place until recently. With the release of the Microsoft Kinect in November 2010, researchers now have access to a device that for a few hundred dollars is capable of providing redgreenblue (RGB), depth, and skeleton data. It is also capable of tracking multiple people in real time. For its original intended purposes, i.e. gaming, being used with the Xbox 360 and eventually Xbox One, it performs quite well. However, researchers soon found that although the sensor is versatile, it has limitations in real world applications. I was brought aboard this summer by William Little in the Augmented Virtual Reality (AVR) Lab at Kennedy Space Center to find solutions to these limitations

Time-series transcriptomics from cold, oxic subseafloor crustal fluids reveals a motile, mixotrophic microbial community

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Seyler, L. M., Trembath-Reichert, E., Tully, B. J., & Huber, J. A. Time-series transcriptomics from cold, oxic subseafloor crustal fluids reveals a motile, mixotrophic microbial community. Isme Journal, (2020), doi:10.1038/s41396-020-00843-4.The oceanic crustal aquifer is one of the largest habitable volumes on Earth, and it harbors a reservoir of microbial life that influences global-scale biogeochemical cycles. Here, we use time series metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data from a low-temperature, ridge flank environment representative of the majority of global hydrothermal fluid circulation in the ocean to reconstruct microbial metabolic potential, transcript abundance, and community dynamics. We also present metagenome-assembled genomes from recently collected fluids that are furthest removed from drilling disturbances. Our results suggest that the microbial community in the North Pond aquifer plays an important role in the oxidation of organic carbon within the crust. This community is motile and metabolically flexible, with the ability to use both autotrophic and organotrophic pathways, as well as function under low oxygen conditions by using alternative electron acceptors such as nitrate and thiosulfate. Anaerobic processes are most abundant in subseafloor horizons deepest in the aquifer, furthest from connectivity with the deep ocean, and there was little overlap in the active microbial populations between sampling horizons. This work highlights the heterogeneity of microbial life in the subseafloor aquifer and provides new insights into biogeochemical cycling in ocean crust.The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation sponsored most of the observatory components at North Pond through grant GBMF1609. This work was supported by NSF OCE-1062006, OCE-1745589 and OCE-1635208 to J.A.H. E.T.R. was supported by a NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship with the NASA Astrobiology Institute and a L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship. The Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI OCE-0939564) also supported the participation of J.A.H. and B.T. This is C-DEBI contribution number 548

Microbial populations are shaped by dispersal and recombination in a low biomass subseafloor habitat

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Anderson, R., Graham, E., Huber, J., & Tully, B. Microbial populations are shaped by dispersal and recombination in a low biomass subseafloor habitat. MBio, 13(4), (2022): e0035422, https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00354-22.The subseafloor is a vast habitat that supports microorganisms that have a global scale impact on geochemical cycles. Many of the endemic microbial communities inhabiting the subseafloor consist of small populations under growth-limited conditions. For small populations, stochastic evolutionary events can have large impacts on intraspecific population dynamics and allele frequencies. These conditions are fundamentally different from those experienced by most microorganisms in surface environments, and it is unknown how small population sizes and growth-limiting conditions influence evolution and population structure in the subsurface. Using a 2-year, high-resolution environmental time series, we examine the dynamics of microbial populations from cold, oxic crustal fluids collected from the subseafloor site North Pond, located near the mid-Atlantic ridge. Our results reveal rapid shifts in overall abundance, allele frequency, and strain abundance across the time points observed, with evidence for homologous recombination between coexisting lineages. We show that the subseafloor aquifer is a dynamic habitat that hosts microbial metapopulations that disperse frequently through the crustal fluids, enabling gene flow and recombination between microbial populations. The dynamism and stochasticity of microbial population dynamics in North Pond suggest that these forces are important drivers in the evolution of microbial populations in the vast subseafloor habitat.This work was supported by NSF OCE-1062006, OCE-1745589, and OCE-1635208 to J.A.H. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation sponsored observatory components at North Pond through grant GBMF1609. The Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) (OCE-0939564) supported J.A.H. and B.J.T. This is C-DEBI contribution 598

Combinar la escuela con trabajo a tiempo parcial. Resultados empíricos de Alemania

En el presente artículo se pretende esbozar el estado actual de las investigaciones sobre el empleo a tiempo parcial de estudiantes escolares. Los datos con respecto a Alemania se derivan de la encuesta AID:A con una población de estudiantes de entre 13 y 17 años (N = 2,763). Puesto que el motivo principal por el que los jóvenes deciden trabajar mientras estudian es ganar dinero, se han incluido en este estudio datos sobre su situación económica con y sin trabajo. Aproximadamente un tercio de los estudiantes trabajan. Éstos intervienen simultáneamente en distintos mundos (la escuela, la familia, los grupos de iguales, la cultura juvenil, el ambiente laboral). La proporción de jóvenes escolares que trabajan aumenta notablemente con la edad. Este hecho no afecta a sus compromisos voluntarios ni al rendimiento escolar. Los alumnos de familias con rentas más bajas trabajan con más frecuencia, pero obtienen menos ingresos que los alumnos de familias de rentas más altas. En términos generales, los empleos a tiempo parcial permiten a los jóvenes tener un mayor margen de maniobra en su presupuesto. Esto a su vez facilita su participación en una cultura juvenil basada en el consumo. Este artículo finaliza con una reflexión sobre los déficits en la investigación y lanza un debate sobre el desarrollo previsto en el mercado de trabajo a tiempo parcial.En aquest article es pretén esbossar l'estat actual de les investigacions sobre l'ocupació a temps parcial d'estudiants escolars. Les dades respecte d'Alemanya es deriven de l'enquesta AID:A amb una població d'estudiants d'entre 13 i 17 anys (N = 2,763). Atès que el motiu principal pel qual els joves decideixen treballar mentre estudien és guanyar diners, s'han inclòs en aquest estudi dades sobre la seva situació econòmica amb o sense feina.Aproximadament un terç dels estudiants treballen. Aquests intervenen simultàniament en diferents mons (l'escola, la família, els grups d'iguals, la cultura juvenil, l'ambient laboral). La proporció de joves escolars que treballen augmenta notablement amb l'edat. Aquest fet no afecta els seus compromisos voluntaris ni el rendiment escolar. Els alumnes de famílies amb rendes més baixes treballen amb més freqüència, però obtenen menys ingressos que els alumnes de famílies de rendes més altes. En termes generals, les feines a temps parcial permeten als joves tenir un marge de maniobra més gran en el seu pressupost. Això alhora facilita la seva participació en una cultura juvenil basada en el consum. Aquest article acaba amb una reflexió sobre els dèficits en la investigació i llança un debat sobre el desenvolupament previst en el mercat de treball a temps parcial.This article begins by outlining the current state of research into the issue of part-time work taken by secondary school students. The findings for Germany are based on a childhood and youth survey (AID:A). The survey population comprises school students aged 13 to 17 (N = 2,763). As young people's primary motive for taking a job while at school is to earn income, their financial position with and without jobs is included in the study. About one third of the students have jobs. Thus young people operate simultaneously in parallel worlds (school, family, peer group, youth culture, work environment). The proportion of school students with jobs increases markedly with age. No detriment to voluntary commitments or school achievement results from having a job. Students from lower-income households take jobs more frequently, but earn less income from them than do students from higher-income households. In broad terms, part-time jobs provide appreciable additional freedom of manoeuvre in young people's budgets. This in turn facilitates participation in consumption-based youth culture. The article ends with a reflection on research deficits and a discussion of anticipated developments in the part-time labour market

De Novo sequences of Haloquadratum walsbyi from Lake Tyrrell, Australia, reveal a aariable genomic landscape

Hypersaline systems near salt saturation levels represent an extreme environment, in which organisms grow and survive near the limits of life. One of the abundant members of the microbial communities in hypersaline systems is the square archaeon, Haloquadratum walsbyi. Utilizing a short-read metagenome from Lake Tyrrell, a hypersaline ecosystem in Victoria, Australia, we performed a comparative genomic analysis of H. walsbyi to better understand the extent of variation between strains/subspecies. Results revealed that previously isolated strains/subspecies do not fully describe the complete repertoire of the genomic landscape present in H. walsbyi. Rearrangements, insertions, and deletions were observed for the Lake Tyrrell derived Haloquadratum genomes and were supported by environmental de novo sequences, including shifts in the dominant genomic landscape of the two most abundant strains. Analysis pertaining to halomucins indicated that homologs for this large protein are not a feature common for all species of Haloquadratum. Further, we analyzed ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC-type transporters) for evidence of niche partitioning between different strains/subspecies. We were able to identify unique and variable transporter subunits from all five genomes analyzed and the de novo environmental sequences, suggesting that differences in nutrient and carbon source acquisition may play a role in maintaining distinct strains/subspecies.Funding for this was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) MCB Award no. 0626526 to J. Banfield, E. Allen, and K. Heidelberg

Calculating evidence-based renal replacement therapy – Introducing an excel-based calculator to improve prescribing and delivery in renal replacement therapy – A before and after study

Background Transferring the theoretical aspect of continuous renal replacement therapy to the bedside and delivering a given “dose” can be difficult. In research, the “dose” of renal replacement therapy is given as effluent flow rate in ml kg−1 h−1. Unfortunately, most machines require other information when they are initiating therapy, including blood flow rate, pre-blood pump flow rate, dialysate flow rate, etc. This can lead to confusion, resulting in patients receiving inappropriate doses of renal replacement therapy. Our aim was to design an excel calculator which would personalise patient's treatment, deliver an effective, evidence-based dose of renal replacement therapy without large variations in practice and prolong filter life. Our calculator prescribes a haemodialfiltration dose of 25 ml kg−1 h−1 whilst limiting the filtration fraction to 15%. MethodsWe compared the episodes of renal replacement therapy received by a historical group of patients, by retrieving their data stored on the haemofiltration machines, to a group where the calculator was used. In the second group, the data were gathered prospectively. ResultsThe median delivered dose reduced from 41.0 ml kg−1 h−1 to 26.8 ml kg−1 h−1 with reduced variability that was significantly closer to the aim of 25 ml kg−1.h−1 (p < 0.0001). The median treatment time increased from 8.5 h to 22.2 h (p = 0.00001). Conclusion Our calculator significantly reduces variation in prescriptions of continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration and provides an evidence-based dose. It is easy to use and provides personal care for patients whilst optimizing continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration delivery and treatment times