School Segregation, Educational Disparities, and Impacts on Haitian Youth in South Florida

This paper examines the ways in which the legacy of school segregation in South Florida has affected the education of Haitian students and continues to limit their prospects. The high schools that serve neighborhoods with concentrated Haitian populations achieve shockingly poor academic results, which negatively affect Haitian student academic achievement.

The IRS Collection Division: Contacts and Settlements

In his study -The IRS Collection Division: Contacts and Settlements - by John M. Tarras, Assistant Professor School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management, Michigan State University, Tarras initially states: “The collection division of the internal revenue service is often the point of contact for many hospitality businesses. The author describes how the division operates, what the hospitality firm can expect when contacted by it, and what types of strategies firms might find helpful when negotiating a settlement with the IRS.” The author will have you know that even though most chance meetings with the IRS Collection Division are due to unfortunate tax payment circumstances, there are actually more benign reasons for close encounters of the IRS kind. This does not mean, however, that brushes with the IRS Collection Division will end on an ever friendlier note. “…the Tax Reform Act of 1986 with its added complexity will cause some hospitality firms to inadvertently fail to make proper payments on a timely basis,” Tarras affords in illustrating a perhaps less pugnacious side of IRS relations. Should a hospitality business owner represent himself/herself before the IRS? Never, says Tarras. “Too many taxpayers ruin their chances of a fair settlement by making what to them seem innocent remarks, but ones that turn out to be far different,” warns Professor Tarras. Tarras makes the distinction between IRS the Collection Division, and IRS the Audit Division. “While the Audit Division is interested in how the tax liability arose, the Collection Division is generally only interested in collecting the liability,” he informs you. Either sounds firmly in hostile territory. They don’t bluff. Tarras does want you to know that when the IRS threatens to levy on the assets of a hospitality business, they will do so. Those assets may extend to personal and real property as well, he says. The levy action is generally the final resort in an IRS collection effort. Professor Tarras explains the lien process and the due process attached to that IRS collection tactic. “The IRS can also levy a hospitality firm owner's wages. In this case, it is important to realize that you are allowed to exempt from levy $75 per week, along with $25 per week for each of your dependents (unless your spouse works),” Professor Tarras says with the appropriate citation. What are the options available to the hospitality business owner who finds himself on the wrong side of the IRS Collection Division? Negotiate in good faith says Professor Tarras. “In many cases, a visit to the IRS office will greatly reduce the chances that a simple problem will turn into a major one,” Tarras advises. He dedicates the last pages of the discussion to negotiation strategies.

The Beacon, December 18, 2006

Vol. 19, Issue 36, 12 pages

Motion Correction Algorithm of Lung Tumors for Respiratory Gated PET Images

Respiratory gating in lung PET imaging to compensate for respiratory motion artifacts is a current research issue with broad potential impact on quantitation, diagnosis and clinical management of lung tumors. However, PET images collected at discrete bins can be significantly affected by noise as there are lower activity counts in each gated bin unless the total PET acquisition time is prolonged, so that gating methods should be combined with imaging-based motion correction and registration methods. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a fast and practical solution to the problem of respiratory motion for the detection and accurate quantitation of lung tumors in PET images. This included: (1) developing a computer-assisted algorithm for PET/CT images that automatically segments lung regions in CT images, identifies and localizes lung tumors of PET images; (2) developing and comparing different registration algorithms which processes all the information within the entire respiratory cycle and integrate all the tumor in different gated bins into a single reference bin. Four registration/integration algorithms: Centroid Based, Intensity Based, Rigid Body and Optical Flow registration were compared as well as two registration schemes: Direct Scheme and Successive Scheme. Validation was demonstrated by conducting experiments with the computerized 4D NCAT phantom and with a dynamic lung-chest phantom imaged using a GE PET/CT System. Iterations were conducted on different size simulated tumors and different noise levels. Static tumors without respiratory motion were used as gold standard; quantitative results were compared with respect to tumor activity concentration, cross-correlation coefficient, relative noise level and computation time. Comparing the results of the tumors before and after correction, the tumor activity values and tumor volumes were closer to the static tumors (gold standard). Higher correlation values and lower noise were also achieved after applying the correction algorithms. With this method the compromise between short PET scan time and reduced image noise can be achieved, while quantification and clinical analysis become fast and precise.

Planktic foraminiferal and sea surface temperature record during the last 1 Myr across the Subtropical Front, Southwest Pacific

Planktic foraminiferal faunas and modern analogue technique estimates of sea surface temperature (SST) for the last 1 million years (Myr) are compared between core sites to the north (ODP 1125, 178 faunas) and south (DSDP 594, 374 faunas) of the present location of the Subtropical Front (STF), east of New Zealand. Faunas beneath cool subtropical water (STW) north of the STF are dominated by dextral Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, Globorotalia inflata, and Globigerina bulloides, whereas faunas to the south are strongly dominated by sinistral N. pachyderma (80-95% in glacials), with increased G. bulloides (20-50%) and dextral N. pachyderma (15-50%) in interglacials (beneath Subantarctic Water, or SAW). Canonical correspondence analysis indicates that at both sites, SST and related factors were the most important environmental influences on faunal composition. Greater climate-related faunal fluctuations occur in the south. Significant faunal changes occur through time at both sites, particularly towards the end of the mid-Pleistocene climate transition, MIS18-15 (e.g., decline of Globorotalia crassula in STW, disappearance of Globorotalia puncticulata in SAW), and during MIS8-5. Interglacial SST estimates in the north are similar to the present day throughout the last 1 Myr. To the south, interglacial SSTs are more variable with peaks 4-7 °C cooler than present through much of the early and middle Pleistocene, but in MIS11, MIS5.5, and early MIS1, peaks are estimated to have been 2-4 °C warmer than present. These high temperatures are attributed to southward spread of the STF across the submarine Chatham Rise, along which the STF appears to have been dynamically positioned throughout most of the last 1 Myr. For much of the last 1 Myr, glacial SST estimates in the north were only 1-2 °C cooler than the present interglacial, except in MIS16, MIS8, MIS6, and MIS4-2 when estimates are 4-7 °C cooler. These cooler temperatures are attributed to jetting of SAW through the Mernoo Saddle (across the Chatham Rise) and/or waning of the STW current. To the south, glacial SST estimates were consistently 10-11 °C cooler than present, similar to temperatures and faunas currently found in the vicinity of the Polar Front. One interpretation is that these cold temperatures reflect thermocline changes and increased Circumpolar Surface Water spinning off the Subantarctic Front as an enhanced Bounty Gyre along the south side of the Chatham Rise. For most of the last 1 Myr, the temperature gradient across the STF has been considerably greater than the present 4 °C. During glacial episodes, the STF in this region did not migrate northwards, but instead there was an intensification of the temperature gradient across it (interglacials 4-11 °C; glacials 8-14 °C).

Fungicidas protetores no manejo da ferrugem da soja, processos fisiológicos e produtividade da cultura

Currently, the management recommendations for asian soybean rust (ASR) has been based on the application of protective fungicides mixed with triazoles and stronilurins. Thus, this study aimed at assessing whether the increased productivity provided by the application of protective fungicides is due solely to the fungicidal action of the product or some physiological changes in the plant and which the latter would be. The experiment was conducted from March to July 2015 at the experimental station of Udi Research and Development in Uberlândia-MG, with the cultivar 97Y07 RR. The experimental design chosen for this study was comprised of a randomized block with four replications and 16 treatments: check, fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin (116.55 + 58.45 g ha-1), azoxystrobin + benzovindiflupir (90 + 45 g ha-1), trifloxystrobin + prothioconazole (60 + 70 g ha-1), tebuconazole + picoxystrobin (100 + 60 g ha-1), picoxystrobin + cyproconazole (60 + 24 g ha-1), mancozeb (1125 g ha-1), azoxistrobina + tebuconazole + difenoconazole (60 + 75 + 120 g ha-1), azoxystrobin + tebuconazole + difenoconazole + chlorothalonil ( 60 + 120 + 75 + 1440 g ha-1), and mistures fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin + mancozeb, azoxystrobin + benzovindiflupir + mancozeb, trifloxystrobin + prothioconazole + mancozeb, tebuconazole + picoxystrobin + mancozeb, picoxystrobin + cyproconazole + mancozeb, azoxystrobin + tebuconazole + difenoconazole + mancozeb, and azoxystrobin + benzovindiflupir + chlorothalonil, from the aforesaid doses. The first application of the treatments occurred in R1, in the absence of symptoms. The number of applications, intervals and the use of adjuvants were performed according to the recommendations by manufacturers. The variables analyzed were: disease severity, concentration of chlorophylls and carotenoids, photosynthetic rate (A), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), internal carbon concentration (Ci), instantaneous efficiency in water use (A/E), intrinsic water use efficiency (A/gs), and carboxylation efficiency (A/C). With these data collected, this study set to date the progress curve of each variable (AUPC). At the end of the crop cycle, the average of pods per plant was quantified, grain per pod, productivity and weight of 1,000 grains. It was concluded that: the addition of mancozeb to fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin, azoxystrobin + benzovindiflupir, trifloxystrobin + prothioconazole and tebuconazole + picoxystrobin potentiated the ASR control; adding mancozebe to the mixture azoxystrobin + benzovindiflupir provided better control of the disease compared to the addition of chlorothalonil; mancozeb amounts to AUPC concentration of photosynthetic pigments and when added to axozystrobin + tebuconazole + difenoconazole, increases the AUPC for total chlorophyll concentration, as well as when chlorothalonil was added; mancozeb added to the mix fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin raised the AUPC for A/Ci and A/gs, increasing the W1,000G and crop productivity; the addition of protectors similarly reflected on the productivity of culture.

Sharon Ewe sampling seedling regeneration in a forest gap, Shark River Slough

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. This image is made available for non-commercial or educational use only.

Determinación de las porciones y recetas de los alimentos complementarios consumidos por niños menores de 2 años en la población de Cuenca y Nabón

En el presente trabajo de tesis se realizó un estudio comparativo de los alimentos consumidos por niños menores de dos años de los cantones de Cuenca y Nabón, a partir de datos obtenidos por medio de encuestas de consumo (recordatorios de 24 horas) en el año 2008 por el proyecto de investigación.Alimentación, Nutrición y Salud VLIR-IUC & Universidad de Cuenca. La información de las encuestas fue tabulada, clasificada, procesada y homologada con el fin de obtener recetas promedio para la estimación de su contenido nutricional. Además, las recetas más comúnmente elaboradas por los cuidadores de infantes menores de 2 años fueron preparadas para determinar su consistencia, contenido energético y densidad energética, y estos parámetros fueron comparados con las directrices de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) para la alimentación de niños amamantados. La información de las encuestas fue tabulada, clasificada, procesada y homologada con el fin de obtener recetas promedio para la estimación de su contenido nutricional. Además, las recetas más comúnmente elaboradas por los cuidadores de infantes menores de 2 años fueron preparadas para determinar su consistencia, contenido energético y densidad energética, y estos parámetros fueron comparados con las directrices de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) para la alimentación de niños amamantados. Entre los resultados obtenidos, se observó que la consistencia de las recetas de Cuenca fue mayor que las de Nabon. En cuanto a las directrices de la OMS, del total de recetas preparadas se encontró que 17 recetas (77%) fueron energéticamente adecuadas; sin embargo, desde el punto de vista nutricional, la diversidad de ingredientes a incluir en estas preparaciones no fue la adecuada.

Plan estratégico de gestión humana en STRACON GyM S.A.

El presente trabajo tiene como alcance la elaboración de un plan estratégico de recursos humanos para ser implementado en la empresa STRACON GyM durante el periodo comprendido entre los años 2015 y 2019. Como base metodológica no se contempla la recolección de muestras desde la perspectiva del enfoque cuantitativo, pues se carece de dichos elementos de medición para formular las hipótesis del planeamiento. En ese sentido, es conveniente utilizar la metodología cualitativa para entregar un documento de tipo consultoría que aborde una problemática inicial (necesidad de cumplir los objetivos estratégicos de la empresa) desde la gestión de personas, y que proponga, con suficiente base teórica, las estrategias de recursos humanos apropiadas para la consecución de las metas del negocio. Se complementará este enfoque utilizando el método Delphi, que permitirá predecir de manera sistemática los efectos de la implementación del plan de recursos humanos propuesto. De esta manera, los cuestionarios formulados a los expertos en identificación de las necesidades del negocio al interno de la organización, volverán a ser consultados por estos mismos para establecer una conceptualización firme sobre la problemática a abordar en la gestión de personas dentro de STRACON GyM, y de esa manera sustentar, sobre la base de los modelos teóricos consultados, las mejores propuestas que compondrán el plan referido. Para una mejor precisión conceptual, se utilizará el término Gestión Humana en lugar de Recursos Humanos, puesto que considera que las personas que contribuyen al logro de los éxitos empresariales no son meramente recursos y mucho menos gastos, sino seres humanos con talentos, a los que hay que dirigir en el ámbito laboral, de acuerdo con estrategias y tácticas de gestión de personas para aprovechar al máximo sus capacidades y desarrollar sus potencialidades, ya que son ellos los que generan y sostienen el valor en una organización.