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Full Issue: Volume 4, Issue 1
No full textThe fourth issue of #CritEdPol, Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies at Swarthmore College
An Un-Austronesian Austronesian Language: Proto-Western Yapen And Its Lexicon
No full textAny language will inherit some proportion of its vocabulary from the proto-language at the root of its family tree, while the remainder of forms are introduced in the intervening years through invention, derivation, and borrowing, providing important information about the language’s past. Here we explore the history of the Western Yapen languages of the South Halmahera-West New Guinea branch of Austronesian. We find that less than 15% of reconstructable Proto-Western Yapen roots can be traced back to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian and nearly 60% are not found outside Proto-Western Yapen itself. We therefore posit a swift eastwards migration, with heavy contact leading to lexical replacement since speakers’ arrival in NW New Guinea, particularly since Western Yapen split off from its sister groups. The lexical and grammatical foundations of Western Yapen may be Austronesian, but the bulk of its linguistic edifice no longer is
Building Capacity For Born-Digital Archives Through Accessioning Workflows At The Friends Historical Library
No full textLarge archival institutions have contended with the challenges presented by born-digital materials for much longer than smaller institutions, with the latter only recently beginning their own attempts to manage these items. This case study details the process of starting a born-digital archival accessioning program and iteratively designing workflows scalable for a small institution. We review our approach to acquiring storage space and assessing our existing born-digital holdings and needs, lay out our initial accessioning workflow, discuss our processes of documentation and iteration, and reflect on tensions with archival education and best practices. By sharing this case study, we aim to outline a practical approach to initiating a born-digital archiving program using robust and extensible accessioning practices. Further, we emphasize that a focus on iteration and a willingness to weigh best practices against contextual limitations can provide a crucial path forward for under-resourced institutions struggling to wrangle born-digital records
Baseline Testosterone Levels Peak During The Inactive Period In Male Degus (\u3cem\u3eOctodon degus\u3c/em\u3e)
No full textThe steroid hormone testosterone is important for stimulating male reproductive processes including territory acquisition, mating displays, and spermatogenesis. When examining the relative effects of testosterone on reproductive processes, it is most reasonable to focus on peak baseline testosterone levels, especially for reproductive processes that may occur during specific times of day, such as mating and spermatogenesis. However, some studies have not found consistent positive relationships between circulating testosterone levels and reproductive variables. These nonsignificant relationships could be driven by methodology, as most studies in wild, free-living animals collect blood samples during an animals\u27 active period, yet many species show peak baseline testosterone levels during their inactive period. This may be the case for the common degu (Octodon degus), as field and laboratory studies have exclusively sampled these diurnal rodents during their active period and have found little correlation between testosterone levels and reproductive success. In this study, we measured testosterone levels in captive male degus every 4 h across a 24-h cycle to test the hypothesis that male degus demonstrate diel variation in their baseline testosterone levels. We saw significant variation in male degu baseline testosterone levels over a 24-h period, and our prediction that baseline testosterone levels would be higher during nighttime (inactive period) timepoints compared to daytime (active period) timepoints was supported. However, nighttime baseline testosterone levels were still several magnitudes lower than testosterone levels after a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) injection. While GnRH injections significantly increased circulating plasma testosterone levels during any daytime time period, we found no significant correlation between nighttime baseline testosterone levels and post-GnRH testosterone levels, which suggests GnRH-challenges during the daytime cannot be used to approximate or estimate nighttime baseline testosterone levels. These findings expand our knowledge surrounding testosterone dynamics and suggest that future studies should take into account the time of day when sampling testosterone and other hormone levels
The Impact Of Imputation Timing On Model Performance Estimation
No full textHandling missing data is a critical challenge in applying machine learning, as most algorithms assume complete data. Imputation, the process of replacing missing values with estimates from available data, is a common solution. This study investigates the impact of imputation timing (before vs. after train-test split) on machine learning classifier performance estimates, particularly focusing on the biases introduced by different imputation strategies. We evaluate the effects of imputation before train-test split (IBS) and imputation after train-test split (IAS) across multiple datasets and imputation methods, including Random Forest (RF), KNN, and Mean Imputation. Our findings reveal that IBS consistently overestimates generalization performance, with severity worsening as the proportion of missing data increases, while IAS underestimates performance, again worsening as missing data fractions grow. These discrepancies highlight the potential for bias and instability in performance estimates, emphasizing the need for careful handling of imputation techniques to avoid misleading conclusions about model robustness. Our results further underscore the influence of missing data rates and dataset characteristics on classifier performance, suggesting that no single imputation method is universally appropriate
Digital Preservation Expertise And Labour Throughout The Project Lifecycle
No full textInstitutional power imbalances result in a devaluation of the labour and expertise of digital preservation professionals, including librarians, archivists, information technology staff, developers, and data stewards who work towards the long-term storage of and access to digital products. There are significant roadblocks to a successful digital project, especially in the long term, that are well-known to digital preservation professionals. By failing to recognise and include these experts in project planning from the beginning, digital scholars risk more than their research outputs; in a research landscape that validates publication quality through longevity, better sustainability and preservation practices are crucial to both practitioner and scholar. This chapter discusses strategies for mitigating this risk and collaborating more fruitfully with digital preservation professionals
Interaction Of N-Methylmesoporphyrin IX With A Hybrid Left-/Right-Handed G-Quadruplex Motif From The Promoter Of The SLC2A1 Gene
Get PDFLeft-handed G-quadruplexes (LHG4s) belong to a class of recently discovered noncanonical DNA structures under the larger umbrella of G-quadruplex DNAs (G4s). The biological relevance of these structures and their ability to be targeted with classical G4 ligands is underexplored. Here, we explore whether the putative LHG4 DNA sequence from the SLC2A1 oncogene promoter maintains its left-handed characteristics upon addition of nucleotides in the 5′- and 3′-direction from its genomic context. We also investigate whether this sequence interacts with a well-established G4 binder, N-methylmesoporphyrin IX (NMM). We employed biophysical and X-ray structural studies to address these questions. Our results indicate that the sequence d[G(TGG)₃TGA(TGG)₄] (termed here as SLC) adopts a two-subunit, four-tetrad hybrid left-/right-handed G4 (LH/RHG4) topology. Addition of 5′-G or 5′-GG abolishes the left-handed fold in one subunit, while the addition of 3′-C or 3′-CA maintains the original fold. X-ray crystal structure analyses show that SLC maintains the same hybrid LH/RHG4 fold in the solid state and that NMM stacks onto the right-handed subunit of SLC. NMM binds to SLC with a 1:1 stoichiometry and a moderate-to-tight binding constant of 15 μM⁻¹. This work deepens our understanding of LHG4 structures and their binding with traditional G4 ligands
The Interallied Commission For The Delimitation Of The Boundary Between Austria And Hungary, And The New International Order In Austria
No full textIs Abortion Policy The Next Catalyst For Ideological Migration? \u3cem\u3eDobbs v. Jackson\u3c/em\u3e And Migration Intentions Across The United States
No full textThe overturning of federal abortion protections by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u27s Health Organization has shifted abortion regulation to state legislatures. This study investigates whether impending changes in state-level abortion policies could trigger ideological migration across the country, where individuals relocate to align with states that match their political and moral beliefs. We surveyed a sample of Americans (N = 743) two weeks after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision to investigate whether pro-choice and pro-life advocates experienced a diminished sense of belonging and stronger intentions to migrate when their state\u27s anticipated abortion policy conflicted with their beliefs. The results provided support for the ideological migration hypothesis, showing that those in states expected to implement abortion laws contrary to their beliefs reported lower belonging and a heightened desire to relocate. They were also more likely to consider relocating to a state with abortion policies that better aligned with their ideological views. Our findings highlight how state-level abortion policy changes could amplify political polarization and contribute to increased regional ideological sorting
Election Reflections—And What Comes Next
No full textA curated collection of essays tracking the pulse of American democracy as the second Trump Administration comes into power, this special section considers the campaigns that were waged and previews the battles yet to come