Decision-Making: A Model For Optimization Of Input-Output Relationships In Urban Compensatory Education Programs.

The problem of this study was to develop a model for (1) statistical analysis of arrays of input in urban Compensatory Education programs, and (2) prediction of optimum arrays of such input as an adjunct to decision-making in future program formulation. The ultimate purposes of the research engaged in were: (1) improvement of administrative and curricular strategies in urban education by elimination of effort-duplication and expenditure-duplication; and (2) development of a statistical device with applicability to both decision-oriented and conclusion-oriented research for ongoing program improvement

The Vulcan Photometer: A Dedicated Photometer for Extrasolar Planet Searches

A small CCD photometer dedicated to the detection of extrasolar planets has been developed and put into operation at Mount Hamilton, California. It simultaneously monitors 6000 stars brighter than 13th magnitude in its 49 deg2 field of view. Observations are conducted all night every clear night of the year. A single field is monitored at a cadence of eight images per hour for a period of about 3 months. When the data are folded for the purpose of discovering low-amplitude transits, transit amplitudes of 1% are readily detected. This precision is sufficient to find Jovian-size planets orbiting solar-like stars, which have signal amplitudes from 1% to 2% depending on the inflation of the planet’s atmosphere and the size of the star. An investigation of possible noise sources indicates that neither star field crowding, scintillation noise, nor photon shot noise are the major noise sources for stars brighter than visual magnitude 11.6. Over one hundred variable stars have been found in each star field. About 50 of these stars are eclipsing binary stars, several with transit amplitudes of only a few percent. Three stars that showed only primary transits were examined with high-precision spectroscopy. Two were found to be nearly identical stars in binary pairs orbiting at double the photometric period. Spectroscopic observations showed the third star to be a high mass ratio single-lined binary. On 1999 November 22 the transit of a planet orbiting HD 209458 was observed and the predicted amplitude and immersion times were confirmed. These observations show that the photometer and the data reduction and analysis algorithms have the necessary precision to find companions with the expected area ratio for Jovian-size planets orbiting solar-like stars

An Unusual Transmission Spectrum for the Sub-Saturn KELT-11b Suggestive of a Sub-Solar Water Abundance

We present an optical-to-infrared transmission spectrum of the inflated sub-Saturn KELT-11b measured with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 G141 spectroscopic grism, and the Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) at 3.6 $\mu$m, in addition to a Spitzer 4.5 $\mu$m secondary eclipse. The precise HST transmission spectrum notably reveals a low-amplitude water feature with an unusual shape. Based on free retrieval analyses with varying molecular abundances, we find strong evidence for water absorption. Depending on model assumptions, we also find tentative evidence for other absorbers (HCN, TiO, and AlO). The retrieved water abundance is generally $\lesssim 0.1\times$ solar (0.001--0.7$\times$ solar over a range of model assumptions), several orders of magnitude lower than expected from planet formation models based on the solar system metallicity trend. We also consider chemical equilibrium and self-consistent 1D radiative-convective equilibrium model fits and find they too prefer low metallicities ($[M/H] \lesssim -2$, consistent with the free retrieval results). However, all the retrievals should be interpreted with some caution since they either require additional absorbers that are far out of chemical equilibrium to explain the shape of the spectrum or are simply poor fits to the data. Finally, we find the Spitzer secondary eclipse is indicative of full heat redistribution from KELT-11b's dayside to nightside, assuming a clear dayside. These potentially unusual results for KELT-11b's composition are suggestive of new challenges on the horizon for atmosphere and formation models in the face of increasingly precise measurements of exoplanet spectra.Comment: Accepted to The Astronomical Journal. 31 pages, 20 figures, 7 table

Response of the Great Barrier Reef to sea level and environmental changes over the past 30,000 years

Previous drilling through submerged fossil coral reefs has greatly improved our understanding of the general pattern of sea-level change since the Last Glacial Maximum, however, how reefs responded to these changes remains uncertain. Here we document the evolution of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the world\u27s largest reef system, to major, abrupt environmental changes over the past 30 thousand years based on comprehensive sedimentological, biological and geochronological records from fossil reef cores. We show that reefs migrated seaward as sea level fell to its lowest level during the most recent glaciation (~20.5-20.7 thousand years ago (ka)), then landward as the shelf flooded and ocean temperatures increased during the subsequent deglacial period (~20-10 ka). Growth was interrupted by five reef-death events caused by subaerial exposure or sea-level rise outpacing reef growth. Around 10 ka, the reef drowned as the sea level continued to rise, flooding more of the shelf and causing a higher sediment flux. The GBR\u27s capacity for rapid lateral migration at rates of 0.2-1.5 m yr−1 (and the ability to recruit locally) suggest that, as an ecosystem, the GBR has been more resilient to past sea-level and temperature fluctuations than previously thought, but it has been highly sensitive to increased sediment input over centennial-millennial timescales

Herbicide Resistance: Toward an Understanding of Resistance Development and the Impact of Herbicide-Resistant Crops

Development of herbicide-resistant crops has resulted in significant changes to agronomic practices, one of which is the adoption of effective, simple, low-risk, crop-production systems with less dependency on tillage and lower energy requirements. Overall, the changes have had a positive environmental effect by reducing soil erosion, the fuel use for tillage, and the number of herbicides with groundwater advisories as well as a slight reduction in the overall environmental impact quotient of herbicide use. However, herbicides exert a high selection pressure on weed populations, and density and diversity of weed communities change over time in response to herbicides and other control practices imposed on them. Repeated and intensive use of herbicides with the same mechanisms of action (MOA; the mechanism in the plant that the herbicide detrimentally affects so that the plant succumbs to the herbicide; e.g., inhibition of an enzyme that is vital to plant growth or the inability of a plant to metabolize the herbicide before it has done damage) can rapidly select for shifts to tolerant, difficult-to-control weeds and the evolution of herbicide-resistant weeds, especially in the absence of the concurrent use of herbicides with different mechanisms of action or the use of mechanical or cultural practices or both.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Weed Science Society of America and can be found at: http://wssajournals.org/loi/wee

A 915 MHz wristwatch-integrated antenna for wireless health monitoring

A compact 915 MHz antenna integrated within a wristwatch wireless sensor device is presented. The antenna is a variant of a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) and uses a dual-resonator configuration. The results of simulation and measurement are shown to be in good agreement with the antenna exhibiting desirable impedance and radiation characteristics together with low Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) performance. The antenna is fabricated using a low cost flexible printed circuit and is fully integrated into the watch device. Measurements on the prototype antenna show a -10 dB impedance bandwidth of 30 MHz, a peak realized gain of -4.9 dBi and a peak radiation efficiency of 15.9% at 915 MHz. The antenna also has a low SAR value of 0.003 W/kg making it suitable for a wide range of wrist-worn wireless applications

A co-clinical approach identifies mechanisms and potential therapies for androgen deprivation resistance in prostate cancer

Here we report an integrated analysis that leverages data from treatment of genetic mouse models of prostate cancer along with clinical data from patients to elucidate new mechanisms of castration resistance. We show that castration counteracts tumor progression in a Pten-loss driven mouse model of prostate cancer through the induction of apoptosis and proliferation block. Conversely, this response is bypassed upon deletion of either Trp53 or Lrf together with Pten, leading to the development of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Mechanistically, the integrated acquisition of data from mouse models and patients identifies the expression patterns of XAF1-XIAP/SRD5A1 as a predictive and actionable signature for CRPC. Importantly, we show that combined inhibition of XIAP, SRD5A1, and AR pathways overcomes castration resistance. Thus, our co-clinical approach facilitates stratification of patients and the development of tailored and innovative therapeutic treatments