White discrimination in provision of black education: plantations and towns

We present a model of public provision of education for blacks in two discriminatory regimes, white plantation controlled, and white town controlled. We show that the ability to migrate to a non-discriminating district constrains the ability of both types of whites to discriminate. The model produces time series of educational outcomes for whites and blacks that mimic the behavior seen in Post Reconstruction South Carolina to the onset of the Civil Rights Act. It also fits the Post World War II black-white income differentials.discriminatory education provision; black-white education differences

Rebels with a Cause: VCU Student Emergency Fund

The project’s mission is to establish a VCU Student Emergency Fund to support the well-being of students who face financial emergencies and to increase student retention and academic success. The fund will provide financial relief to students facing sudden and unexpected financial hardships that can impact their financial stability, academic success, and ability to remain enrolled at VCU. The project will support the work of student support services personnel administering the fund by providing a campus outreach plan to those who can recognize students in financial crises and refer them to the fund\u27s administrators. The project will also support the work of development personnel who will raise money for the fund by providing a donor outreach plan

Older Age Is Associated with Peripheral Blood Expansion of Naïve B Cells in HIV-Infected Subjects on Antiretroviral Therapy

Older HIV infected subjects were previously found to have significant B cell expansion during initial antiretroviral therapy in a prospective age-differentiated cohort of older and younger (≥45 vs. ≤30 years) HIV-infected subjects initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) through the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Here to further describe this expansion, using a subset of subjects from the same cohort, we characterized B cell phenotypes at baseline and after 192 weeks of ART in both older and younger HIV-infected groups and compared them to uninfected age-matched controls. We also examined whether phenotypes at baseline associated with response to tetanus and hepatitis A vaccine at 12 weeks. Forty six subjects were analyzed in the HIV infected group (21 older, 25 younger) and 30 in the control group (15 per age group). We observed naïve B cells to normalize in younger subjects after 192 weeks of ART, while in older subjects naïve B cells increased to greater levels than those of controls (p = 0.045). Absolute resting memory (RM) cell count was significantly lower in the older HIV infected group at baseline compared to controls and numbers normalized after 192 weeks of ART (p<0.001). Baseline RM cell count positively correlated with week 12 increase in antibody to tetanus vaccine among both younger and older HIV-infected subjects combined (p = 0.01), but not in controls. The age-associated naïve B cell expansion is a novel finding and we discuss several possible explanations for this observation. Relationship between RM cells at baseline and tetanus responses may lead to insights about the effects of HIV infection on B cell memory function and vaccine responses

NRG Oncology-Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Study 1014: 1-Year Toxicity Report From a Phase 2 Study of Repeat Breast-Preserving Surgery and 3-Dimensional Conformal Partial-Breast Reirradiation for In-Breast Recurrence.

PURPOSE: To determine the associated toxicity, tolerance, and safety of partial-breast reirradiation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eligibility criteria included in-breast recurrence occurring \u3e1 year after whole-breast irradiation, \u3c3 \u3ecm, unifocal, and resected with negative margins. Partial-breast reirradiation was targeted to the surgical cavity plus 1.5 cm; a prescription dose of 45 Gy in 1.5 Gy twice daily for 30 treatments was used. The primary objective was to evaluate the rate of grade ≥3 treatment-related skin, fibrosis, and/or breast pain adverse events (AEs), occurring ≤1 year from re-treatment completion. A rate of ≥13% for these AEs in a cohort of 55 patients was determined to be unacceptable (86% power, 1-sided α = 0.07). RESULTS: Between 2010 and 2013, 65 patients were accrued, and the first 55 eligible and with 1 year follow-up were analyzed. Median age was 68 years. Twenty-two patients had ductal carcinoma in situ, and 33 had invasive disease: 19 ≤1 cm, 13 \u3e1 to ≤2 cm, and 1 \u3e2 cm. All patients were clinically node negative. Systemic therapy was delivered in 51%. All treatment plans underwent quality review for contouring accuracy and dosimetric compliance. All treatment plans scored acceptable for tumor volume contouring and tumor volume dose-volume analysis. Only 4 (7%) scored unacceptable for organs at risk contouring and organs at risk dose-volume analysis. Treatment-related skin, fibrosis, and/or breast pain AEs were recorded as grade 1 in 64% and grade 2 in 7%, with only 1 ( CONCLUSION: Partial-breast reirradiation with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy after second lumpectomy for patients experiencing in-breast failures after whole-breast irradiation is safe and feasible, with acceptable treatment quality achieved. Skin, fibrosis, and breast pain toxicity was acceptable, and grade 3 toxicity was rare

Modeling volatile organic compound emission from materials used in passenger vehicle interiors

Travel is an everyday necessity for many people, making the environment of a passenger vehicle a place where they spend a significant amount of time. Previous studies have indicated that more than 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present in ambient air within the cabins of new cars, some of which have been found to have adverse health effects. While previous VOC models have been produced, there is still uncertainty in these models with respect to changing variables such as temperature, sunlight, and the presence of multiple VOCs. An accurate and reliable model, capable of determining the concentration of different VOCs in a car cabin as a function of time, is the focus of this research. Using data from VOC determinations in environmental test chambers emitted from polymethylpentene (PMP) films, and previous chamber modeling studies, models for VOC air concentration were produced. These models were programmed using Python, an open-source programming language that can easily be used for scientific studies. Current models give accurate estimations for chambers with and without airflow. An equation to predict the surface temperature, based on incident solar irradiance, of materials was used to adjust the VOC emission models to account for sunlight. This theoretical adjustment, while still needing to be tested, provides a good foundation for accounting for sunlight in the interior of vehicles. Overall, this work builds a better understanding of vehicle indoor air quality (VIAQ) and exposes the difficulties of modeling the complicated interior environments of passenger vehicles

Improving Social and Emotional Learning in Middle School

Research shows that social-emotional learning has a direct impact on the academic and overall success of students in educational environments and beyond. Effective social-emotional programs and strategies implemented with fidelity can improve school climate and culture, positively impacting students, teachers, staff, and families. Without explicit teaching of social-emotional concepts, students are not given the opportunities to reach their full potential to be well-rounded individuals with developed social-emotional skills that support their overall wellness. The findings of a variety of research related to social-emotional learning guided the school improvement plan that was created to successfully implement social-emotional learning practices into schools. The goal of this plan is to improve the overall climate and culture of the schools in which it is implemented by engaging all stakeholders in meaningful social-emotional learning

Invasive Pest Management A Case for Benchmarking the Emergency Response Process

The Plant Health Emergency Response is tasked to the United States Department of Agriculture\u27s Plant Protection and Quarantine program in the event of a newly detected exotic plant pest. The four pronged approach of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery provide the umbrella of crop biosecurity and emergency response. Within the structure of PPQ, the State Plant Health Director (SPHD) has the authority of establishing and executing the operational objectives of managing the response efforts. Working collaboratively with other public and private entities, the SPHD ensures that program efforts are effectively performed to maintain the status of an adequate food supply. Should the response process fail, the economic and environmental impacts of an established pest population would be witnessed in increased pesticide applications, increased food prices and a loss of trade. As a tool in the response efforts, New Pest Response Guidelines (NPRG) are developed by the Emergency and Domestic Programs Emergency Planning Team, for exotic pests that have yet become established in the United States. In the developing stages of an emergency response, the NPRG provides the information needed to adequately respond to a plant health emergency. This study examines the use and implementation of the NPRG by the SPHD as its function in the plant health emergency response and the methods to improve its impact in the response process. The research should demonstrate if the NPRG are being utilized as intended

Collision induced spatial organization of microtubules

The dynamic behavior of microtubules in solution can be strongly modified by interactions with walls or other structures. We examine here a microtubule growth model where the increase in size of the plus-end is perturbed by collisions with other microtubules. We show that such a simple mechanism of constrained growth can induce ordered structures and patterns from an initially isotropic and homogeneous suspension. First, microtubules self-organize locally in randomly oriented domains that grow and compete with each other. By imposing even a weak orientation bias, external forces like gravity or cellular boundaries may bias the domain distribution eventually leading to a macroscopic sample orientation.Comment: Submitted to Biophysical Journa