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Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) is a statewide college-preparatory policy that applies to the high school graduating class of 2011 and later. Using detailed Michigan high school transcript data, this article examines the effect of the MMC on various students' course-taking and achievement outcomes. Our analyses suggest that (a) post-MMC cohorts took and passed approximately 0.2 additional years' of math courses, and students at low socioeconomic status (SES) schools drove nearly all of these effects; (b) post-policy students also completed higher-level courses, with the largest increase among the least prepared students; (c) we did not find strong evidence on students' ACT math scores; and (d) we found an increase in college enrollment rates for post-MMC cohorts, and the increase is mostly driven by well-prepared students.

Studies on the cyclicality of higher education examine the relationship between variations in labor market conditions and changes in enrollment. While the majority of the existing literature implicitly assumes an elastic supply of enrollment, this study identifies institutions with supply constraints and investigates how those constraints have affected institutions' decisions on enrollment and how such effects vary across institution types. Findings indicate that, in the short run, capacity-constrained institutions experienced no changes in enrollment or academic qualifications for incoming students in response to increases in admission applications, whereas institutions without constraints responded by accepting more students, with lower SAT scores.

A single‐panel complex holographic display with a three‐phase covalent macropixel featuring ultralow noise and high‐efficiency 3D image generation is proposed. The essential feature of the proposed three‐phase covalent macropixel is the point‐symmetric covalent concatenation of sub‐pixels and an adaptive computer‐generated hologram encoding algorithm. The proposed single‐panel holographic display exhibits three times signal efficiency enhancement, 1/38 reduction of DC noise, and 1/50 reduction of conjugate noise compared to conventional holographic displays in the generation of full‐color computer‐generated hologram images. This noise reduction leads to three times the optical efficiency enhancement of holographic displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Chronic stroke can impair cardiopulmonary function, mobility, and daily activities. This study assessed the impact of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) on such impairments. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of robot-assisted gait training on cardiopulmonary function, walking ability, lower extremity function and strength, activities of daily living (ADLs), and blood test results among individuals with chronic stroke. METHODS: A multicenter, prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial with 22 chronic stroke participants compared RAGT against a control exercise regimen. RAGT involved three days weekly sessions of high-intensity interval training for 8 weeks (24 sessions) with a Morning Walk® device. The control group also performed home exercises. (24 sessions) Measures included VO2max, Functional Ambulatory Category, 2-minute walk test, 10-meter walk test, Motricity Index-Lower, Korean version of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale, Modified Barthel Index, Berg Balance Scale, muscle strength, InBody body composition, and blood tests (cholesterol, lipid, glucose). RESULTS: RAGT significantly improved VO2max, gait, balance, and lower limb strength compared with controls, with significant improvements in 2-minute walk test, 10-meter walk test, Motricity Index-Lower, and Fugl-Meyer Assessment outcomes. No changes were seen in muscle mass or blood markers. CONCLUSION: RAGT enhances cardiopulmonary function and ambulatory capacity in chronic stroke patients, underscoring its potential in stroke rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The W/Cu binary system is characterized by its mutual insolubility and excellent wettability, making W/Cu composite materials ideal for managing thermal and electrical properties in electronic components. To optimize material properties, control over the microstructure is crucial, and nanocomposites with uniform dispersion offer significant advantages. In this study, W/Cu composite nanoparticles were synthesized by feeding a blended feedstock of tungsten trioxide (WO3) micro-powder and cupric oxide (CuO) micro-powder into a reactive radio frequency (RF) argon–hydrogen thermal plasma system. Cu-coated W nanocomposite particles were obtained through the vaporization, reduction, and condensation processes. The resulting nanocomposite particles were composed of body-centered cubic (BCC) α-W, A15 β-W, and face-centered cubic (FCC) Cu phases, with a chemical composition closely matching theoretical calculations. The phase evolution and morphological changes of the synthesized particles were analyzed as a function of heat treatment temperatures up to 1000 °C in a reducing atmosphere. Up to 600 °C, the phase composition and morphology remained stable. At 800 °C, localized diffusion and coalescence of Cu led to the formation of particulate Cu, and a significant phase transformation from metastable β-W to α-W was observed. Additionally, extensive Cu segregation due to long-range diffusion resulted in distinct Cu-rich and Cu-depleted regions. In these regions, notable sintering of W particles and the complete disappearance of β-W occurred. The results showed that the temperature-dependent redistribution of Cu plays a crucial role in the phase transformation of W and the morphology of W/Cu composite particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, this article examines the relationship between adolescents' educational and occupational expectations, and how they correspond to their subsequent labor market outcomes in adulthood. We show that over-aligned adolescents, those who expect to obtain more education than is necessary for their desired occupation, are predicted to have hourly wages 30% higher than under-aligned adolescents, whose educational expectations are lower than their occupational expectations. The misalignment of educational and occupational expectations is not related to the probability of being employed through individuals' early twenties to late forties. However, over-aligned individuals are predicted to have more prestigious occupations than under-aligned individuals, suggesting that those in the over-aligned group sorted into better jobs over their careers. We also show that the effects of misaligned expectations on labor market outcomes change over the years, indicating that having high and aligned expectations are even more important for labor market outcomes than previously estimated.

MXenes are a promising class of two‐dimensional transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, widely utilized in diverse fields such as energy storage, electromagnetic shielding, electrocatalysis, and sensing applications. Their potential in chemical sensing is particularly noteworthy, where optimizing surface chemistry for strong interaction with target analytes and increasing surface area for efficient gas adsorption are crucial factors. In this study, a versatile and general self‐assembly method for fabricating nanometer‐scale thin films of surface‐functionalized MXene, enabling high‐performance gas sensors is developed. By dropping MXene dispersed in organic solvents onto nonsolvents, rapid formation of nanometer‐scale films is achieved. This method allows easy adjustment of film properties by using different solvent‐nonsolvent combinations, leading to improved optoelectronic properties compared to conventional techniques. The surface‐functionalized MXenes using ADOPA ligands greatly enhance the gas response and long‐term environmental stability compared to pristine MXenes. Computational methods are also employed to gain insights into the molecular interactions and changes in electronic structure that contribute to the enhanced sensing properties. Furthermore, the environmental stability of MXene sensors is largely enhanced after surface functionalization, which can be attributed to increased surface hydrophobicity. Overall, this innovative technique opens up opportunities for tailoring MXene thin films for specific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisphenol A (BPA), an exogenous endocrine‐disrupting chemical, is widely used to produce polycarbonate plastics. The widely used BPA has been detected in human urine samples, raising public anxiety about the detrimental effects of BPA on the bladder. In this study, we explored regulatory mechanisms for the adverse effects of BPA in human bladder BdFC and T24 cells. BPA induced extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest caused by the ATM‐CHK1/CHK2‐CDC25c‐CDC2 signaling, which ultimately inhibited the growth of human bladder cells. We also found that BPA decreased the binding activity of AP‐1 and NF‐κB transcription factors in human bladder cells, which inhibited migration and invasion through matrix metallopeptidase‐2 and ‐9 inactivation. Phosphorylation of MAPKs was implicated with BPA‐mediated detrimental effects in human bladder cells. Collectively, our results provide a novel explanation for the underlying molecular mechanisms that BPA induces cytotoxicity in human bladder cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a linear regression model for scalar-valued responses and two-way functional (bivariate) predictors. Our motivation stems from the quality evaluation of products based on optical emission spectroscopy data from virtual metrology of semiconductor manufacturing. We focus on multivariate cases where the smoothness and shapes of the data vary significantly across variables. We propose a two-step solution to this problem, consisting of decomposition and prediction. First, we decompose the two-way functional data into pairs of component functions using functional singular value decomposition. Next, we build functional linear models for the decomposed functional variables and obtain the final predictor by averaging the models. Results from numerical studies, including simulation studies and real data analysis, demonstrate the promising empirical properties of the proposed approach, especially when the number of predictors is large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings in modern society tend to gradually expand in size due to technological development and overcrowding, which increases the risk of fire. Therefore, continuous efforts are being made to ensure the evacuation safety of occupants by installing firefighting facilities and using flame retardant building finishing materials. This study aims to present a fire performance evaluation plan for building finishing materials using simulations and identify risks that arise from not using flame retardant building finishing materials in medical facilities with vulnerable occupants. A control group for fire performance evaluation was selected using polyurethane foam, while two types of cellulose-based building finishing materials with different flame retardants were chosen for analysis. The cellulose-based finishing materials included expanded graphite, magnesium hydroxide, montmorillonite, and ammonium polyphosphate. Fire performance was evaluated using FDS and path detector simulations based on NES 713 and ISO 5660-1. The results of the study showed that there was a difference of three people in the prediction of the number of deaths depending on the scope of analysis, and it was confirmed that the toxic gas detected was different depending on the added flame retardant. Additionally, construction finishing materials with flame retardant performance increased ASET by at least 130 s compared to polyurethane foam, and the evacuation safety exceeded 1, confirming the effectiveness of securing evacuation stability for occupants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether and how wage increases are associated with hardships experienced by low-wage workers and their strategies to manage these hardships. Data are drawn from a survey of 166 hospital service, clerical, and technical workers at a large hospital in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Following an initial wage increase, workers experienced fewer hardships and used fewer strategies to make ends meet, such as financial support from family and public benefits programs. Hardships decreased more for workers making above $15 an hour. These results suggest that raising the wages of low-wage workers can help reduce the hardships they experience and the need to use a variety of strategies to make ends meet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]