The Impact of Polarization on the Political Engagement of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers and Their Teaching

This instrumental case study of Generation Z preservice teachers enrolled in elementary teaching methods courses in social studies and literacy explores the impact of polarization on their political engagement and teaching. Using the 2020 presidential election as a teachable moment, participants developed and taught literacy-infused civics units in order to bring to light their understandings of their role in preparing elementary students as political actors. This study has important implications for how teacher educators can better facilitate elementary preservice teachers’ own political engagement, thereby ensuring equitable democratic learning opportunities for students

Desejo de democracia: Perspectivas dos pais impactadas em 2013 fechamentos escolares de Chicago

In this article, we discuss the historical shifts in the purposes of public education and examine how neoliberal education policies, like Chicago’s school closings, attempt to limit the purpose of public education to be in service to and at the whim of the market. We juxtapose this dominant neoliberal narrative of public education with the voices of the parents from closed schools, whose deep involvement with and beliefs about public schools counter neoliberalism’s shallow concept of the public purpose of public education. Drawing upon a 2014 qualitative study of parents and caregivers who were impacted by school closures and actions, as well as publically available data, we find that parents believe school closings cause great harm to students, families and communities, aim to reduce citizens to consumers in an educational marketplace, and seek to further undermine democracy in education toward a “thin democracy” (Gandin Apple, 2002) of marketized education. However, we argue that there is an alternative to the neoliberal narrative reflected both in the ongoing historical struggle about the purposes of schooling and in the wisdom, experiences, and desires of parents most directly impacted by neoliberal education policies.En este artículo, discutimos los cambios históricos en los propósitos de la educación pública y examinamos cómo las políticas educativas neoliberales, como el cierre de las escuelas de Chicago, intentan limitar el propósito de la educación pública para el servicio y el capricho del mercado. Nosotros yuxtaponemos esa narrativa neoliberal dominante de educación pública con las voces de los padres de escuelas cerradas, cuya profunda implicación y creencias sobre escuelas públicas cuestionan el concepto superficial del neoliberalismo del propósito público de la educación pública. En base a un estudio cualitativo de 2014 sobre padres y cuidadores que se vieron afectados por cierres y acciones escolares, así como datos públicamente disponibles, creemos que los padres creen que el cierre de las escuelas causa grandes daños a los estudiantes, familias y comunidades, Ciudadanos a los consumidores Un mercado educativo, y tratan de minar aún más la democracia en la educación para una "democracia delgada" (Gandin Apple, 2002) de educación comercializada. Sin embargo, argumentamos que existe una alternativa a la narrativa neoliberal reflejada tanto en la lucha histórica en curso sobre los propósitos de la escolaridad como en la sabiduría, experiencias y deseos de los padres más directamente impactados por las políticas de educación neoliberales.Neste artigo, discutimos as mudanças históricas nos propósitos da educação pública e examinamos como as políticas educacionais neoliberais, como o encerramento das escolas de Chicago, tentam limitar o propósito da educação pública para o serviço e ao capricho do mercado. Nós justaponemos essa narrativa neoliberal dominante de educação pública com as vozes dos pais de escolas fechadas, cujo profundo envolvimento e crenças sobre escolas públicas contestam o conceito superficial do neoliberalismo do propósito público da educação pública. Com base em um estudo qualitativo de 2014 sobre pais e cuidadores que foram afetados por fechamentos e ações escolares, bem como dados publicamente disponíveis, achamos que os pais acreditam que o encerramento das escolas causa grandes danos aos estudantes, famílias e comunidades, visam reduzir os cidadãos aos consumidores Um mercado educacional, e procuram minar ainda mais a democracia na educação para uma "democracia delgada" (Gandin Apple, 2002) de educação comercializada. No entanto, argumentamos que existe uma alternativa à narrativa neoliberal refletida tanto na luta histórica em curso sobre os propósitos da escolaridade quanto na sabedoria, experiências e desejos dos pais mais diretamente impactados pelas políticas de educação neoliberais

Discovery of a Similar to 5 Day Characteristic Timescale in the Kepler Power Spectrum of Zw 229-15

We present time series analyses of the full Kepler dataset of Zw 229 15. This Kepler light curve- with a baseline greater than three years, composed of virtually continuous, evenly sampled 30-minute measurements - is unprecedented in its quality and precision. We utilize two methods of power spectral analysis to investigate the optical variability and search for evidence of a bend frequency associated with a characteristic optical variability timescale. Each method yields similar results. The first interpolates across data gaps to use the standard Fourier periodogram. The second, using the CARMA-based time-domain modeling technique of Kelly et al., does not need evenly-sampled data. Both methods find excess power at high frequencies that may be due to Kepler instrumental effects. More importantly both also show strong bends (delta alpha is approx. 2) at timescales of approx. 5 days, a feature similar to those seen in the X-ray PSDs of AGN but never before in the optical. This observed approx. 5 day timescale may be associated with one of several physical processes potentially responsible for the variability. A plausible association could be made with light -crossing, dynamical or thermal timescales, depending on the assumed value of the accretion disk size and on unobserved disk parameters such as alpha and HR. This timescale is not consistent with the viscous timescale, which would be years in a approx. 10(exp7) solar mass AGN such as Zw 229 15. However there must be a second bend on long (& 1 year) timescales, and that feature could be associated with the viscous timescale

Mutual optical injection in coupled DBR laser pairs

We report an experimental study of nonlinear effects, characteristic of mutual optical coupling, in an ultra-short coupling regime observed in a distributed Bragg reflector laser pair fabricated on the same chip. Optical feedback is amplified via a double pass through a common onchip optical amplifier, which introduces further nonlinear phenomena. Optical coupling has been introduced via back reflection from a cleaveended fibre. The coupling may be varied in strength by varying the distance of the fibre from the output of the chip, without significantly affecting the coupling time. © 2008 Optical. Society of America

Evolution of structural diversity of trichothecenes, a family of toxins produced by plant pathogenic and entomopathogenic fungi

[EN] Trichothecenes are a family of terpenoid toxins produced by multiple genera of fungi, including plant and insect pathogens. Some trichothecenes produced by the fungus Fusarium are among the mycotoxins of greatest concern to food and feed safety because of their toxicity and frequent occurrence in cereal crops, and trichothecene production contributes to pathogenesis of some Fusarium species on plants. Collectively, fungi produce over 150 trichothecene analogs: i.e., molecules that share the same core structure but differ in patterns of substituents attached to the core structure. Here, we carried out genomic, phylogenetic, gene-function, and analytical chemistry studies of strains from nine fungal genera to identify genetic variation responsible for trichothecene structural diversity and to gain insight into evolutionary processes that have contributed to the variation. The results indicate that structural diversity has resulted from gain, loss, and functional changes of trichothecene biosynthetic (TRI) genes. The results also indicate that the presence of some substituents has arisen independently in different fungi by gain of different genes with the same function. Variation in TRI gene duplication and number of TRI loci was also observed among the fungi examined, but there was no evidence that such genetic differences have contributed to trichothecene structural variation. We also inferred ancestral states of the TRI cluster and trichothecene biosynthetic pathway, and proposed scenarios for changes in trichothecene structures during divergence of TRI cluster homologs. Together, our findings provide insight into evolutionary processes responsible for structural diversification of toxins produced by pathogenic fungiSISG received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant number MINECO-AGL2015-70671-C2-2-R). TL received funding from the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration (grant number PJ00843203). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

Cytokinesis in bloodstream stage Trypanosoma brucei requires a family of katanins and spastin

Microtubule severing enzymes regulate microtubule dynamics in a wide range of organisms and are implicated in important cell cycle processes such as mitotic spindle assembly and disassembly, chromosome movement and cytokinesis. Here we explore the function of several microtubule severing enzyme homologues, the katanins (KAT80, KAT60a, KAT60b and KAT60c), spastin (SPA) and fidgetin (FID) in the bloodstream stage of the African trypanosome parasite, Trypanosoma brucei. The trypanosome cytoskeleton is microtubule based and remains assembled throughout the cell cycle, necessitating its remodelling during cytokinesis. Using RNA interference to deplete individual proteins, we show that the trypanosome katanin and spastin homologues are non-redundant and essential for bloodstream form proliferation. Further, cell cycle analysis revealed that these proteins play essential but discrete roles in cytokinesis. The KAT60 proteins each appear to be important during the early stages of cytokinesis, while downregulation of KAT80 specifically inhibited furrow ingression and SPA depletion prevented completion of abscission. In contrast, RNA interference of FID did not result in any discernible effects. We propose that the stable microtubule cytoskeleton of T. brucei necessitates the coordinated action of a family of katanins and spastin to bring about the cytoskeletal remodelling necessary to complete cell divisio

Role of AMP-activated protein kinase in adipose tissue metabolism and inflammation

AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is a key regulator of cellular and whole-body energy balance. AMPK phosphorylates and regulates many proteins concerned with nutrient metabolism, largely acting to suppress anabolic ATP-consuming pathways while stimulating catabolic ATP-generating pathways. This has led to considerable interest in AMPK as a therapeutic target for the metabolic dysfunction observed in obesity and insulin resistance. The role of AMPK in skeletal muscle and the liver has been extensively studied, such that AMPK has been demonstrated to inhibit synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol and isoprenoids, hepatic gluconeogenesis and translation while increasing fatty acid oxidation, muscle glucose transport, mitochondrial biogenesis and caloric intake. The role of AMPK in the other principal metabolic and insulin-sensitive tissue, adipose, remains poorly characterized in comparison, yet increasing evidence supports an important role for AMPK in adipose tissue function. Obesity is characterized by hypertrophy of adipocytes and the development of a chronic sub-clinical pro-inflammatory environment in adipose tissue, leading to increased infiltration of immune cells. This combination of dysfunctional hypertrophic adipocytes and a pro-inflammatory environment contributes to insulin resistance and the development of Type 2 diabetes. Exciting recent studies indicate that AMPK may not only influence metabolism in adipocytes, but also act to suppress this pro-inflammatory environment, such that targeting AMPK in adipose tissue may be desirable to normalize adipose dysfunction and inflammation. In the present review, we discuss the role of AMPK in adipose tissue, focussing on the regulation of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, adipogenesis and pro-inflammatory pathways in physiological and pathophysiological conditions

Search for New Physics with Jets and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new physics is presented based on an event signature of at least three jets accompanied by large missing transverse momentum, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events is observed above the expected standard model backgrounds, which are all estimated from the data. Exclusion limits are presented for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Cross section limits are also presented using simplified models with new particles decaying to an undetected particle and one or two jets

Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay

We reconstruct the rare decays $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$, $B^0 \to K^{*}(892)^0\mu^+\mu^-$, and $B^0_s \to \phi(1020)\mu^+\mu^-$ in a data sample corresponding to $4.4 {\rm fb^{-1}}$ collected in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96 {\rm TeV}$ by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Using $121 \pm 16$ $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$ and $101 \pm 12$ $B^0 \to K^{*0}\mu^+\mu^-$ decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon forward-backward asymmetry in the $B^+$ and $B^0$ decay modes, and the $K^{*0}$ longitudinal polarization in the $B^0$ decay mode with respect to the squared dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the $B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^- decay and measure its branching ratio${\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}$using$27 \pm 6$signal events. This is currently the most rare$B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty