Skills Training Works: Examining the Evidence

In spite of public consensus that education and training lead to economic advancement, recent federal policies have made it harder for low-income Americans to get the education and training they need to succeed in today's economy. A number of recent federal policies, like the 1996 law that established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program, have in different ways adopted a "work first" approach that encourages or requires low-income adults to find employment immediately, rather than allowing them first to develop skills that might lead to better jobs with family-sustaining wages and benefits, and opportunities for steady work and advancement. This policy shift away from skills training and toward work first strategies has come about, in part, from a misconception that "training does not work." Many policymakers have heard that government-sponsored research -- such as the National Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Study, the Greater Avenues to Independence (GAIN) Evaluation and the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS) -- shows that low-income adults who receive training do no better in the job market than people who do not receive such services, or who receive only the less expensive job search assistance typical of many work first strategies. In fact, a more comprehensive look at the existing research reveals the documented effectiveness of skills training

Science, Technology and Medicine in East Asia: Policy, Practice, and Implications in a Global Context

Since the end of World War II, historical and contemporary developments in East Asian science, technology and medicine have received increasing scholarly attention partly due to historian of Japanese science James R. Bartholomew's career-long commitment to the field and his mentorship of a younger generation of scholars. This interdisciplinary conference proposes to examine the ways in which the sciences in East Asia – whether basic or applied, from technology to medicine—have shaped and been shaped historically, and are being transformed in the contemporary world by political, economic, institutional, social, and cultural forces, both regional and global.Association for Asian Studies North East Asia CouncilOhio State University. Office of International AffairsOhio State University. Department of HistoryOhio State University. Institute for Japanese StudiesOhio State University. College of Arts and HumanitiesEastern Kentucky University. Department of HistoryUtica College. Office of Institutional AdvancementOhio State University. Mershon Center for International Security StudiesEvent Web pag

Revealing the distribution of transmembrane currents along the dendritic tree of a neuron from extracellular recordings.

Revealing the current source distribution along the neuronal membrane is a key step on the way to understanding neural computations, however, the experimental and theoretical tools to achieve sufficient spatiotemporal resolution for the estimation remain to be established. Here we address this problem using extracellularly recorded potentials with arbitrarily distributed electrodes for a neuron of known morphology. We use simulations of models with varying complexity to validate the proposed method and to give recommendations for experimental applications. The method is applied to in vitro data from rat hippocampus

Laminar analysis of the slow wave activity in the somatosensory cortex of anesthetized rats.

Rhythmic slow waves characterize brain electrical activity during natural deep sleep and under anesthesia, reflecting the synchronous membrane potential fluctuations of neurons in the thalamocortical network. Strong evidence indicates that the neocortex plays an important role in the generation of slow wave activity (SWA), however, contributions of individual cortical layers to the SWA generation are still unclear. The anatomically correct laminar profiles of SWA were revealed under ketamine/xylazine anesthesia, with combined local field potential recordings, multiple-unit activity (MUA), current source density (CSD) and time-frequency analyses precisely co-registered with histology. The up-state related negative field potential wave showed the largest amplitude in layer IV, the CSD was largest in layers I and III, while MUA was maximal in layer V, suggesting spatially dissociated firing and synaptic/transmembrane processes in the rat somatosensory cortex. Up-state related firing could start in virtually any layers (III-VI) of the cortex, but were most frequently initiated in layer V. However, in a subset of experiments, layer IV was considerably active in initiating up-state related MUA even in the absence of somatosensory stimulation. Somatosensory stimulation further strengthened up-state initiation in layer IV. Our results confirm that cortical layer V firing may have a major contribution to the up-state generation of ketamine/xylazine-induced SWA, however, thalamic influence through the thalamorecipient layer IV can also play an initiating role, even in the absence of sensory stimulation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

The hippocampal CA3 region can generate two distinct types of sharp wave-ripple complexes, in vitro.

Hippocampal sharp wave-ripples (SPW-Rs) occur during slow wave sleep and behavioral immobility and are thought to play an important role in memory formation. We investigated the cellular and network properties of SPW-Rs with simultaneous laminar multielectrode and intracellular recordings in a rat hippocampal slice model, using physiological bathing medium. Spontaneous SPW-Rs were generated in the dentate gyrus (DG), CA3 and CA1 regions. These events were characterized by a local field potential gradient (LFPg) transient, increased fast oscillatory activity and increased multiple unit activity (MUA). Two types of SPW-Rs were distinguished in the CA3 region based on their different LFPg and current source density (CSD) pattern. Type 1 (T1) displayed negative LFPg transient in the pyramidal cell layer, and the associated CSD sink was confined to the proximal dendrites. Type 2 (T2) SPW-Rs were characterized by positive LFPg transient in the cell layer, and showed CSD sinks involving both the apical and basal dendrites. In both types, consistent with the somatic CSD source, only a small subset of CA3 pyramidal cells fired, most pyramidal cells were hyperpolarized, while most interneurons increased firing rate before the LFPg peak. Different neuronal populations, with different proportions of pyramidal cells and distinct subsets of interneurons were activated during T1 and T2 SPW-Rs. Activation of specific inhibitory cell subsets - with the possible leading role of perisomatic interneurons - seems to be crucial to synchronize distinct ensembles of CA3 pyramidal cells finally resulting in the expression of different SPW-R activities. This suggests that the hippocampus can generate dynamic changes in its activity stemming from the same excitatory and inhibitory circuits, and so, might provide the cellular and network basis for an input-specific and activity-dependent information transmission. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Complex Propagation Patterns Characterize Human Cortical Activity during Slow-Wave Sleep

Cortical electrical activity during nonrapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep is dominated by slow-wave activity (SWA). At larger spatial scales (similar to 2-30 cm), investigated by scalp EEG recordings, SWA has been shown to propagate globally over wide cortical regions as traveling waves, which has been proposed to serve as a temporal framework for neural plasticity. However, whether SWA dynamics at finer spatial scales also reflects the orderly propagation has not previously been investigated in humans. To reveal the local, finer spatial scale (similar to 1-6 cm) patterns of SWA propagation during non-REM sleep, electrocorticographic (ECoG) recordings were conducted from subdurally implanted electrode grids and a nonlinear correlation technique [mutual information (MI)] was implemented. MI analysis revealed spatial maps of correlations between cortical areas demonstrating SWA propagation directions, speed, and association strength. Highest correlations, indicating significant coupling, were detected during the initial positive-going deflection of slow waves. SWA propagated predominantly between adjacent cortical areas, albeit spatial noncontinuities were also frequently observed. MI analysis further uncovered significant convergence and divergence patterns. Areas receiving the most convergent activity were similar to those with high divergence rate, while reciprocal and circular propagation of SWA was also frequent. We hypothesize that SWA is characterized by distinct attributes depending on the spatial scale observed. At larger spatial scales, the orderly SWA propagation dominates; at the finer scale of the ECoG recordings, non-REM sleep is characterized by complex SWA propagation patterns

Special multicolor illumination and numerical tilt correction in volumetric digital holographic microscopy

We introduce a color imaging method in our digital holographic microscope system (DHM). This DHM can create color images of freely floating, or moving objects inside a large volume by simultaneously capturing three holograms using three different illumination wavelengths. In this DHM a new light source assembly is applied, where we use single mode fibers according to the corresponding wavelengths that are tightly and randomly arranged into a small array in a single FC/PC connector. This design has significant advantages over the earlier approaches, where all the used illuminations are coupled in the same fiber. It avoids the coupling losses and provides a cost effective, compact solution for multicolor coherent illumination. We explain how to determine and correct the different fiber end positions caused tilt aberration during the hologram reconstruction process. To demonstrate the performance of the device, color hologram reconstructions are presented that can achieve at least 1 μm lateral resolution

Henri Temianka Correspondence; (wittner)

This collection contains material pertaining to the life, career, and activities of Henri Temianka, violin virtuoso, conductor, music teacher, and author. Materials include correspondence, concert programs and flyers, music scores, photographs, and books.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/temianka_correspondence/3045/thumbnail.jp