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The socioeconomic gap in the development of Korean adolescents’ occupational aspirations while approaching the post-secondary transition
No full textThis study longitudinally investigates the socioeconomic differentials in South Korean adolescents’ occupational aspiration development while they approach the post-secondary transition. It also takes into account the dynamic interplay between socioeconomic status and academic performance in shaping occupational aspirations. Using the Korean Education and Employment Panel (KEEP), the study documents two main results. First, there exists a significant socioeconomic gap in Korean adolescents’ occupational aspirations which is neither widened nor narrowed over the transition period. Second, the relationship between socioeconomic status and academic performance is not limited to the mediating effect but demonstrates a significant interaction in developing occupational aspirations
Coping with gender-critical voices from within : a sociocognitive approach to Sussex’s Twitter (X) responses
Get PDFDrawing on critical discourse studies (CDS), this article foregrounds how British higher education institutions respond to gender-critical controversies sparked by their staff members. Adopting Teun van Dijk’s sociocognitive approach, we analyse the University of Sussex’s crisis responses on Twitter (known as X today) concerning de-platforming campaigns against Kathleen Stock. The analysis unpacks how Sussex employs various discursive strategies to validate its institutional stance in the Stock incident. Sussex’s communicative actions aim to mitigate reputation damage caused by the incident. However, such discursive practices simultaneously indicate the university’s attempt to evade its institutional responsibility for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) advocacy, neither do they address the reputation crisis caused by fellow Twitter users’ counter-narratives. The analysis points towards the need for a sociocognitive analysis of crisis responses to hold higher education institutions accountable for their core mission, amid trans-rights debates unfolding in wider society
Terrorist violence and the fuzzy frontier : national and supranational identities in Britain
No full textWe explore the effect of terrorism on individuals’ perceptions about national identity in the context of Great Britain, where national and supranational identities overlap. We find that exposure to terrorist attacks strengthens identification with Britain but has no effect on identification with its constituent nations. The estimated effects last for about 45 days, but subside over time as the threat fades away. We also find that exposure to terrorism leads to more positive attitudes toward the European Union, providing further support for the emergence of a supranational-unity effect. Overall, our results differ from numerous previous studies on how violence reinforces “hardline beliefs,” exacerbating nativism and “narrow” forms of solidarity
Routine use of cell salvage during cesarean section : a practice evaluation
Get PDFIntroduction: Intraoperative cell salvage is a well‐documented alternative to donor blood transfusion given the scarcity of donor blood pools and the incumbent risk of allogenic blood transfusion. Its use in obstetrics has been limited by concern over fetal alloimmunization due to the risk of fetomaternal hemorrhage. However, there are a paucity of studies reporting on outcome. The aim of this study was to report on a four‐year experience of routine use of intraoperative cell salvage and the impact on subsequent pregnancy outcomes. Material and methods: This was a tertiary center retrospective service evaluation cohort study and included all women undergoing cesarean section between December 2014 and November 2018 in a tertiary obstetric unit, identifying women who had reinfusion of intraoperative cell salvage. Data regarding index pregnancy as well as subsequent pregnancies at the hospital were extracted from hospital electronic records. Subsequent pregnancy outcome and maternal antibody status in that pregnancy were collected up until November 2022. Results: During the study period, 6656 cesarean sections were performed, with 436 (6.6%) receiving reinfusion of salvaged blood. The mean volume of reinfused blood was 396 mL. A total of 49 (0.7%) women received donor blood transfusion. Of those who received reinfusion of salvaged blood, 79 (18.1%) women had subsequent pregnancies over the eight‐year follow‐up period. There was one case (0.23%) of fetal cell alloimmunization demonstrated by the presence of anti‐D antibodies on the subsequent pregnancy booking bloods. Conclusions: Routine intraoperative cell salvage may be used to reduce the need for blood transfusion during cesarean section. The risk of fetal cell alloimmunization in a future pregnancy following reinfusion of intraoperative cell salvage is one in 436. Given an apparent small risk of fetal cell alloimmunization, further work is required to establish the safety profile of intraoperative cell salvage in pregnancy
Parameterized absorptive electron scattering factors
No full textIn electron diffraction, thermal atomic motion produces incoherent scattering over a relatively wide angular range, which appears as a diffuse background that is usually subtracted from measurements of Bragg spot intensities in structure solution methods. The transfer of electron flux from Bragg spots to diffuse scatter is modelled using complex scattering factors f + if′ in the Bloch wave methodology. In a two-beam Einstein model the imaginary `absorptive' scattering factor f′ can be obtained by the evaluation of an integral containing f over all possible scattering angles. While more sophisticated models of diffuse scatter are widely used in the electron microscopy community, it is argued in this paper that this simple model is appropriate for current structure solution and refinement methods. The two-beam model is a straightforward numerical calculation, but even this simplistic approach can become time consuming for simulations of materials with large numbers of atoms in the unit cell and/or many incident beam orientations. Here, a parameterized form of f′ is provided for 103 elements as neutral, spherical atoms that reduces calculation time considerably
Simultaneous measurement of orthogonal terahertz fields via an emission multiplexing scheme
Get PDFWe propose a polarization sensitive terahertz time-domain spectrometer that can record orthogonally polarized terahertz fields simultaneously, using fibre-coupled photoconductive antennas and a scheme that modulated the emitter’s polarization. The s and p channels of the multi-pixel terahertz emitter were modulated at different frequencies, thereby allowing orthogonal waveforms to be demultiplexed from the recorded signal in post-processing. The performance of the multi-pixel emitter used in this multiplexing scheme was comparable to that of a commercial single-polarization H-dipole antenna. The approach allowed two orthogonally polarized terahertz pulses to be recorded with good signal to noise (>1000:1) within half a second. We verified the capability of the spectrometer by characterizing a birefringent crystal and by imaging a polarization-sensitive metamaterial. This work has significant potential to improve the speed of terahertz polarization sensitive applications, such as ellipsometry and imaging
T7 phage-assisted evolution of riboswitches using error-prone replication and dual selection
Get PDFLeveraging riboswitches, non-coding mRNA fragments pivotal to gene regulation, poses a challenge in effectively selecting and enriching these functional genetic sensors, which can toggle between ON and OFF states in response to their cognate inducers. Here, we show our engineered phage T7, enabling the evolution of a theophylline riboswitch. We have replaced T7’s DNA polymerase with a transcription factor controlled by a theophylline riboswitch and have created two types of host environments to propagate the engineered phage. Both types host an error-prone T7 DNA polymerase regulated by a T7 promoter along with another critical gene—either cmk or pifA, depending on the host type. The cmk gene is necessary for T7 replication and is used in the first host type for selection in the riboswitch's ON state. Conversely, the second host type incorporates the pifA gene, leading to abortive T7 infections and used for selection in the riboswitch’s OFF state. This dual-selection system, termed T7AE, was then applied to a library of 65,536 engineered T7 phages, each carrying randomized riboswitch variants. Through successive passage in both host types with and without theophylline, we observed an enrichment of phages encoding functional riboswitches that conferred a fitness advantage to the phage in both hosts. The T7AE technique thereby opens new pathways for the evolution and advancement of gene switches, including non-coding RNA-based switches, setting the stage for significant strides in synthetic biology
Classroom as crucible in the Humboldtian university : Reply to Collin
No full textThis reply to Finn Collin’s critically sympathetic review of my Back to the University’s Future: The Second Coming of Humboldt, addresses some of the tensions involved in realizing “Humboldt 2.0” in today’s higher education environment. Its focus is largely on the academic’s sense of researcher as being one of learner. In other words, the Humboldtian sees research as the necessary complement to teaching, not something radically distinct from it