Beyond the Numbers: Data Use for Continuous Improvement of Programs Serving Disconnected Youth

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) conducted a series of in-depth case studies to examine how three programs which serve a disconnected youth population are utilizing data as a tool for continuous program improvement and ongoing accountability. The resulting publication, Beyond the Numbers: Data Use for Continuous Improvement of Programs Serving Disconnected Youth, describes data collection and use at three successful programs, and distills the key lessons learned and issues to consider both for practitioners and policymakers aiming to improve outcomes for the disconnected youth population

Hot wheels, cool cars, and an aesthetics of simulation

This article considers Mattel’s miniature cars, Hot Wheels, and the aesthetic meanings of the word “cool”. It addresses the material object (the toy cars), the graphic art, and film representations in order to trace four specific aesthetic relationships: first, the relationship between shine, reflection, and transparency as necessary components for the assessment of “cool”; second, the ways in which these attributes also function as visual coding for Baudrillard's “hyperreal”; third, the ways in which this coding forges associative links between fantasy and simulation; and, lastly, the coincidence of this coding with evolutionary instincts. Following the development of the toy cars in the 1960s through to the 2000s, a development which has culminated in a media network that includes graphic art and animated feature films, as well as the toys and accessories, this article argues that the car, the act of driving, and the aestheticisation of reflective surfaces not only help to define the word “cool” but have also become defining symbols of technological postmodernity.peer-reviewe

Protective Factors Among Postsecondary Students Enrolled in a First-Generation Program

For generations, researchers have examined attributes that contribute to the adaptability of low socioeconomic youth. Attributes that help one become resilient are known as protective factors. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the protective factor(s) that contributed to the enrollment of first-generation, low-socioeconomic status (SES) students at a southern land-grant university. The population consisted of postsecondary students in a First Scholars program during the 2015-2016 academic year. The authors examine the existing literature on the effects of low SES on postsecondary education in order to explore what assists these students in maintaining a steadfast behavior. Recommendations are made for the recruitment of students who display a higher resiliency to be successful at the postsecondary level and for the First Scholars program on how to further enhance the program

The Circuit Partition Polynomial with Applications and Relation to the Tutte and Interlace Polynomials

This paper examines several polynomials related to the field of graph theory including the circuit partition polynomial, Tutte polynomial, and the interlace polynomial. We begin by explaining terminology and concepts that will be needed to understand the major results of the paper. Next, we focus on the circuit partition polynomial and its equivalent, the Martin polynomial. We examine the results of these polynomials and their application to the reconstruction of DNA sequences. Then we introduce the Tutte polynomial and its relation to the circuit partition polynomial. Finally, we discuss the interlace polynomial and its relationship to the Tutte and circuit partition polynomials

Gene Drive: Evolved and Synthetic

Drive is a process of accelerated inheritance from one generation to the next that allows some genes to spread rapidly through populations even if they do not contribute to-or indeed even if they detract from-organismal survival and reproduction. Genetic elements that can spread by drive include gametic and zygotic killers, meiotic drivers, homing endonuclease genes, B chromosomes, and transposable elements. The fact that gene drive can lead to the spread of fitness-reducing traits (including lethality and sterility) makes it an attractive process to consider exploiting to control disease vectors and other pests. There are a number of efforts to develop synthetic gene drive systems, particularly focused on the mosquito-borne diseases that continue to plague us

LETM1-Mediated K+ and Na+ Homeostasis Regulates Mitochondrial Ca2+ Efflux

HIGHLIGHTS \u2022 Monovalent cation homeostasis is dysregulated upon LETM1 depletion \u2022 K+/H+ exchange activity is decreased in LETM1 knockdown cells \u2022 LETM1 depletion results in K+ accumulation in the mitochondrial matrix \u2022 LETM1 knockdown does not affect expression of major mitochondrial Ca2+ transport modulators \u2022 LETM1-regulated mitochondrial Ca2+ fluxes are dependent on Na+ Ca2+ transport across the inner membrane of mitochondria (IMM) is of major importance for their functions in bioenergetics, cell death and signaling. It is therefore tightly regulated. It has been recently proposed that LETM1\u2014an IMM protein with a crucial role in mitochondrial K+/H+ exchange and volume homeostasis\u2014also acts as a Ca2+/H+ exchanger. Here we show for the first time that lowering LETM1 gene expression by shRNA hampers mitochondrial K+/H+ and Na+/H+ exchange. Decreased exchange activity resulted in matrix K+ accumulation in these mitochondria. Furthermore, LETM1 depletion selectively decreased Na+/Ca2+ exchange mediated by NCLX, as observed in the presence of ruthenium red, a blocker of the Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uniporter (MCU). These data confirm a key role of LETM1 in monovalent cation homeostasis, and suggest that the effects of its modulation on mitochondrial transmembrane Ca2+ fluxes may reflect those on Na+/H+ exchange activity

Potomac River pound-net survey, summers 1996-1997 : 1998 final report

The pound net (Fig 1) is a fixed fishing structure that intercepts fish as they migrate up- or down-river. Fish weirs made of stakes were first used by the Native Americans along the east coast of the English Colonies and were the model for the later development of the pound net. Pound nets were first used in New England around 1850; and were subsequently introduced to Long Island in 1855. A Captain Henry Fitzgerald is reported to have erected the first Chesapeake Bay pound net in 1858, but it failed due to its poor construction. No further attempts were made to use this gear until 1870. At this time two New Jersey fishermen successfully fished a pound net in the James River. A second net was erected in 1875 in the Mob jack Bay, and was so successful that the local fishermen destroyed it. The design of the net was passed around among the fishermen and by 1876 there were 12 nets. So great was the profit that by 1880 there were 162 nets in Virginia (Reid 1955, Austin 1987). The design of the gear has changed little over the years; and during the period between the World Wars the number of nets in the Chesapeake Bay exceeded 2,000. Since the mid-1950\u27s the numbers have declined. June (1956) cited competition with the otter trawl after the mid-1950\u27s as one reason for a general decline in pound nets in the Mid-Atlantic Bight states. (...

Transition Zone Design Final Report

The purpose of this report is to document the activities of the research effort and present the findings of the work accomplished. Transition zone is the area in which it is communicated to drivers that the roadway environment is changing (i.e., from rural to built-up) and that their speed should change as well. This study evaluated treatments that could advise drivers to this. Based on the study findings, it is recommended to add additional speed warning sites to such transition zones