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Creators/Authors contains: "Shaw, A"

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  1. While people may be reluctant to explicitly state social stereotypes, their underlying beliefs may nonetheless leak out in subtler conversational cues, such as surprisal reactions that convey information about expectations. Across 3 experiments with adults and children (ages 4-9), we compare permissive responses ("Sure, you can have that one") that vary the presence of surprisal cues (interjections "oh!" and disfluencies "um"). In Experiment 1 (n = 120), children by 6-to-7 use surprisal reactions to infer that a boy more likely made a counter-stereotypical choice. In Experiment 2, we demonstrate that these cues are sufficient for children (n = 120) and adults (n = 80) to learn a novel expectation about a group of aliens. In Experiment 3, adults (n = 150) use the distribution of surprisal information to infer whether a novel behavior is gender-stereotyped. Across these experiments, we see emerging evidence that conversational feedback may provide a crucial and unappreciated avenue for the transmission of social beliefs. 
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  2. This paper aims to introduce a new paradigm for mathematics literacy. By integrating computational thinking and coding into curricular units from The Algebra Project, we engaged middle school students in creativity, imagination, and self-expression in the mathematics classroom. We refined instruments to measure the development of student voice, agency, and belongingness. In the context of the mathematics classroom, there is potential for an earned insurgency to arise when these attributes of mathematical identity are amplified, leading students to engage in a learning community that rejects the repressive logic of the current racialized, classed, and otherwise oppressive mathematics education 
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  3. Abstract PremiseSphagnum magellanicum(Sphagnaceae, Bryophyta) has been considered to be a single semi‐cosmopolitan species, but recent molecular analyses have shown that it comprises a complex of at least seven reciprocally monophyletic groups, that are difficult or impossible to distinguish morphologically. MethodsNewly developed barcode markers and RADseq analyses were used to identify species among 808 samples from 119 sites. Molecular approaches were used to assess the geographic ranges of four North American species, the frequency at which they occur sympatrically, and ecological differentiation among them. Microhabitats were classified with regard to hydrology and shade. Hierarchical modelling of species communities was used to assess climate variation among the species. Climate niches were projected back to 22,000 years BP to assess the likelihood that the North American species had sympatric ranges during the late Pleistocene. ResultsThe species exhibited parallel morphological variation, making them extremely difficult to distinguish phenotypically. Two to three species frequently co‐occurred within peatlands. They had broadly overlapping microhabitat and climate niches. Barcode‐ versus RADseq‐based identifications were in conflict for 6% of the samples and always involvedS. diabolicumvs.S. magniae. ConclusionsThese species co‐occur within peatlands at scales that could permit interbreeding, yet they remain largely distinct genetically and phylogenetically. The four cryptic species exhibited distinct geographic and ecological patterns. Conflicting identifications from barcode vs. RADseq analyses forS. diabolicumversusS. magniaecould reflect incomplete speciation or hybridization. They comprise a valuable study system for additional work on climate adaptation. 
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  4. The redshifted 21 cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) directly probes the ionization and thermal states of the intergalactic medium during that period. In particular, the distribution of the ionized regions around the radiating sources during EoR introduces scale-dependent features in the spherically averaged EoR 21 cm signal power spectrum. Aims. The goal is to study these scale-dependent features at different stages of reionization using numerical simulations and to build a source model-independent framework to probe the properties of the intergalactic medium using EoR 21 cm signal power spectrum measurements. Methods. Under the assumption of high spin temperature, we modeled the redshift evolution of the ratio of the EoR 21 cm brightness temperature power spectrum to the corresponding density power spectrum using an ansatz consisting of a set of redshift and scale-independent parameters. This set of eight parameters probes the redshift evolution of the average ionization fraction and the quantities related to the morphology of the ionized regions. Results. We tested this ansatz on different reionization scenarios generated using different simulation algorithms and found that it is able to recover the redshift evolution of the average neutral fraction within an absolute deviation ≲0.1. Conclusions. Our framework allows us to interpret 21 cm signal power spectra in terms of parameters related to the state of the IGM. This source model-independent framework is able to efficiently constrain reionization scenarios using multi-redshift power spectrum measurements with ongoing and future radio telescopes such as LOFAR, MWA, HERA, and SKA. This will add independent information regarding the EoR IGM properties. 
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  5. Current optical atomic clocks do not utilize their resources optimally. In particular, an exponential gain in sensitivity could be achieved if multiple atomic ensembles were to be controlled or read out individually, even without entanglement. However, controlling optical transitions locally remains an outstanding challenge for neutral-atom-based clocks and quantum computing platforms. Here we show arbitrary, single-site addressing for an optical transition via sub-wavelength controlled moves of atoms trapped in tweezers. The scheme is highly robust as it relies only on the relative position changes of tweezers and requires no additional addressing beams. Using this technique, we implement single-shot, dual-quadrature readout of Ramsey interferometry using two atomic ensembles simultaneously, and show an enhancement of the usable interrogation time at a given phase-slip error probability. Finally, we program a sequence that performs local dynamical decoupling during Ramsey evolution to evolve three ensembles with variable phase sensitivities, a key ingredient of optimal clock interrogation. Our results demonstrate the potential of fully programmable quantum optical clocks even without entanglement and could be combined with metrologically useful entangled states in the future. 
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  6. Abstract The use of species as a concept is an important metric for assessing biological diversity and ecosystem function. However, delimiting species based on morphological characters can be difficult, especially in aquatic plants that exhibit high levels of variation and overlap. The Sphagnum cuspidatum complex, which includes plants that dominate peatland hollows, provides an example of challenges in species delimitation. Microscopic characters that have been used to define taxa and the possibility that these characters may simply be phenoplastic responses to variation in water availability make species delimitation in this group especially difficult. In particular, the use of leaf shape and serration, which have been used to separate species in the complex, have resulted in divergent taxonomic treatments. Using a combination of high-resolution population genomic data (RADseq) and a robust morphological assessment of plants representing the focal species, we provide evidence to evaluate putative species in this complex. Our data support the recognition of S. cuspidatum, S. fitzgeraldii, S. mississippiense, and S. trinitense as genetically distinct species that can be separated morphologically. These results indicate that S. viride does not differ genetically from S. cuspidatum. Our results are broadly relevant to other aquatic groups where leaf shape and marginal teeth are used to distinguish species. 
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  7. Abstract Background and AimsSphagnum (peatmoss) comprises a moss (Bryophyta) clade with ~300–500 species. The genus has unparalleled ecological importance because Sphagnum-dominated peatlands store almost a third of the terrestrial carbon pool and peatmosses engineer the formation and microtopography of peatlands. Genomic resources for Sphagnum are being actively expanded, but many aspects of their biology are still poorly known. Among these are the degree to which Sphagnum species reproduce asexually, and the relative frequencies of male and female gametophytes in these haploid-dominant plants. We assess clonality and gametophyte sex ratios and test hypotheses about the local-scale distribution of clones and sexes in four North American species of the S. magellanicum complex. These four species are difficult to distinguish morphologically and are very closely related. We also assess microbial communities associated with Sphagnum host plant clones and sexes at two sites. MethodsFour hundred and five samples of the four species, representing 57 populations, were subjected to restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq). Analyses of population structure and clonality based on the molecular data utilized both phylogenetic and phenetic approaches. Multi-locus genotypes (genets) were identified using the RADseq data. Sexes of sampled ramets were determined using a molecular approach that utilized coverage of loci on the sex chromosomes after the method was validated using a sample of plants that expressed sex phenotypically. Sex ratios were estimated for each species, and populations within species. Difference in fitness between genets was estimated as the numbers of ramets each genet comprised. Degrees of clonality [numbers of genets/numbers of ramets (samples)] within species, among sites, and between gametophyte sexes were estimated. Sex ratios were estimated for each species, and populations within species. Sphagnum-associated microbial communities were assessed at two sites in relation to Sphagnum clonality and sex. Key ResultsAll four species appear to engage in a mixture of sexual and asexual (clonal) reproduction. A single ramet represents most genets but two to eight ramets were dsumbers ansd text etected for some genets. Only one genet is represented by ramets in multiple populations; all other genets are restricted to a single population. Within populations ramets of individual genets are spatially clustered, suggesting limited dispersal even within peatlands. Sex ratios are male-biased in S. diabolicum but female-biased in the other three species, although significantly so only in S. divinum. Neither species nor males/females differ in levels of clonal propagation. At St Regis Lake (NY) and Franklin Bog (VT), microbial community composition is strongly differentiated between the sites, but differences between species, genets and sexes were not detected. Within S. divinum, however, female gametophytes harboured two to three times the number of microbial taxa as males. ConclusionsThese four Sphagnum species all exhibit similar reproductive patterns that result from a mixture of sexual and asexual reproduction. The spatial patterns of clonally replicated ramets of genets suggest that these species fall between the so-called phalanx patterns, where genets abut one another but do not extensively mix because of limited ramet fragmentation, and the guerrilla patterns, where extensive genet fragmentation and dispersal result in greater mixing of different genets. Although sex ratios in bryophytes are most often female-biased, both male and female biases occur in this complex of closely related species. The association of far greater microbial diversity for female gametophytes in S. divinum, which has a female-biased sex ratio, suggests additional research to determine if levels of microbial diversity are consistently correlated with differing patterns of sex ratio biases. 
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  8. Abstract Climate change is affecting how energy and matter flow through ecosystems, thereby altering global carbon and nutrient cycles. Microorganisms play a fundamental role in carbon and nutrient cycling and are thus an integral link between ecosystems and climate. Here, we highlight a major black box hindering our ability to anticipate ecosystem climate responses: viral infections within complex microbial food webs. We show how understanding and predicting ecosystem responses to warming could be challenging—if not impossible—without accounting for the direct and indirect effects of viral infections on different microbes (bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists) that together perform diverse ecosystem functions. Importantly, understanding how rising temperatures associated with climate change influence viruses and virus-host dynamics is crucial to this task, yet is severely understudied. In this perspective, we (i) synthesize existing knowledge about virus-microbe-temperature interactions and (ii) identify important gaps to guide future investigations regarding how climate change might alter microbial food web effects on ecosystem functioning. To provide real-world context, we consider how these processes may operate in peatlands—globally significant carbon sinks that are threatened by climate change. We stress that understanding how warming affects biogeochemical cycles in any ecosystem hinges on disentangling complex interactions and temperature responses within microbial food webs. 
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  9. The pedagogy of The Algebra Project introduces mathematics concepts to students through experiential activities that students then analytically examine using a combination of both informal and formalized language. In this paper, we identify how cultural forms of orality can be supported within this discursive approach, while also introducing computational thinking activities that are particularly constructive. We argue that when cultural forms of orality are left unacknowledged and unexplored, they can lead to issues that have a negative effect on both student engagement and comprehension. But when explicitly supported in the specific ways that are outlined here, new opportunities arise for student-led creative and pragmatic inquiries that have the potential to deepen the level of student engagement and comprehension. 
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