Although she is little known today, sculptor Edmonia Lewis is an important figure in American art. Born in New York in the mid-1800s, (1) Lewis's training took place in Boston; she crafted clay and plaster medallions of abolitionist leaders. The sale of these extremely popular works enabled her, along with other expatriate American artists, to establish a studio in Rome. It was in Rome that Lewis undertook (2) its most ambitious projects: large marble sculptures in the neoclassical style, which emphasizes symmetry, harmony, and idealism. Lewis's use of this popular style to make political statements and depict unconventional subjects (3) had a profound impact on nineteenth-century audiences. 

The 1867 sculpture Forever (4) Free, meanwhile, was inspired by Lewis's African American heritage and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation four years prior. Taking its title from the text of that (5) document, Forever Free depicts a man and woman. Reacting to the news of the abolition of slavery. (6) In the statue, a woman kneels in (7) prayer; a man stands beside her, one uplifted arm in chains, the other free of its manacle and resting on the shoulder of the woman. Lewis suggests a sense of optimism by depicting each member of the couple with an uplifted gaze, a conventional neoclassical pose; however, by simultaneously depicting tangible remnants of slavery, she also suggests that much remained to be accomplished. In its evocation of emancipation and of the triumphs and struggles of the subsequent years, Forever free “tell [s] in the very poetry of stone the story of the last ten years," wrote a reporter who attended the highly publicized 1869 (8) divulging of the statue in Boston. 

Forever Free was acclaimed by audiences in the United States, yet the 1876 sculpture The Death of Cleopatra was perhaps Lewis's most famous artwork. The ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra was a popular subject for neoclassical artists, but Lewis, unlike her contemporaries, represented Cleopatra at the moment of her death. Though many features of the sculpture (such as the symmetry of the queen's throne) (9) reflects neoclassical principles, the queen's disheveled appearance-slumped on her throne with her robes askew-disrupts this harmony. (10) With its frank portrayal of death, the sculpture shocked and riveted audiences when it was first exhibited in Philadelphia in 1876.

While Lewis is thought to have produced between sixty and eighty sculptures during her lifetime, only about thirty-including Forever Free and The Death of Cleopatra-have been located. The pieces that have (11) made it are an enduring testament to the achievement of an artist who adapted neoclassical style for distinctly modern ends.

Data from research are usually depicted visually in graphs and charts, but they can also be rendered in audio form in a process called sonification. Because we can perceive several aspects of sound simultaneously and hearing is more sensitive to minute changes than vision is, researchers can sometimes better evaluate data points by listening to them rather than by seeing them. Sonification, which enables the detection of small fluctuations in a stream of measurements, is especially helpful for interpreting data involving multiple interacting variables. (12)  Seismologists, scientists who study Earth's internal structure, deserve much of the credit for pioneering the practice in the 1960s.

One simple (13) example of sonification is: the heart rate monitor, which translates the electrical activity of the heart into data represented as a series of tones. A faster or slower tempo indicates changes in the heart’s rhythm. (14) More complex data can he sonified by using specialized synthesis techniques that convert numerical values to tones; interpretation consists of identifying patterns and variations in the resulting audio.

While there is not yet consensus among researchers on an established set of practices for sonifying data, the method already boasts a variety of current applications that demonstrate its potential. One application, for instance, is identifying and preventing network system failures. Sonification researcher David Worrall of the Australian National University analyzed computer network use at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated (15) Circuits. By converting network metadata to sound that rises and falls in pitch in relation to time intervals between network events. By listening to the patterns, (16)  one of his findings was that malfunctions like a printer driver failure were preceded by a  predictable series of sounds. If sonification can be used to monitor a network in real time, the telltale pattern (17) leading so as to a malfunction could be recognized and acted on to avert the failure. Airlines, online sales companies, and banks rely on consistently functioning networks, so it is (18) easy to see how sonification could serve (19) this industry.  

In addition to its (20) ability to rival computer graphics technology, there are ways for sonification to effect positive change on a larger scale. For example, the International Community for Auditory Display believes that sonification could transform education, teaching young students more holistically, using sound as well as vision. (21) Next, the efficacy of sonification in representing a wide array of data reinforces its utility as a research (22) method. This research method can be used to draw out findings that had previously been lost in the noise. 

The close bond between humans and dogs is known to be ancient, but the timing and location of canine domestication remain in dispute. Now, scientists have found evidence that dogs were likely (23) domesticated not, as was previously thought, once. Instead, it was twice. 

In a 2016 study, researchers attempted to map the genetic family tree of dogs by comparing the genomes of hundreds of modern dogs with DNA samples recovered from ancient dogs, (24) that was including a 4,800-year-old specimen from Ireland. Because certain types of genetic mutations occur at relatively consistent rates across generations, (25) these certain types of mutations across generations, because these certain types of mutations can be used to ascertain when (26) and to what degree different lineages of a species may have diverged from each other? The analysis revealed a major genetic split between modern European and Asian dog breeds.

Further study suggested that this separation began between 14,000 and 6,400 years ago. During this period, there arose a genetic bottleneck-a reduction in genetic diversity often indicative of a small group breaking off from the core population-in the lineage of European dogs. Taken together, these findings would suggest that European dogs are simply descendants of a dog population that had migrated from Asia. (27) Likewise, the discovery of dog remains in Europe from as early as 15,000 years ago (before such a migration could have occurred) (28) makes clear that a population of European dogs predated the arrival of dogs from Asia. Furthermore, both (29) populations showed genetic marker's indicative of domestication. The scientists therefore hypothesized that a dog population in Europe was domesticated from wolves that had inhabited the continent; similarly, a dog population in Asia was domesticated from preexistent Asian wolves. (30) Genetic bottlenecks, the scientists note, have also been observed in human populations.

In support of their hypothesis, the scientists point to the (31) change in prevalence over time of four haplogroups (collections of genes that indicate a particular line of descent) in ancient and modern European dogs. More than (32) 60 percent of the ancient European dog DNA samples that were 3,040- 5,999 vears  old contained haplogroup A, which is associated with interbreeding with Asian dogs. By contrast, the same haplogroup appeared in less than 25 percent of the DNA from the most ancient European dogs and in an even smaller share of other ancient dogs. Scientists say such a drastic genetic alteration would not arise from random mutations. Rather, one domesticated population likely merged with another.

As Greger Larson, one of the authors of the (33) study points out, domestication is a rare event in any species. It is a testament to the bond between dogs and humans that in the case of canines, this process appears to have occurred twice.

[l] Nine-year-old Christine Souffrant's day had a predictable pattern. [2] After school, she would dodge (34) shopper's to make her way to her mothers space in a crowded New York City flea market. [3] As the sun set, Souffrant would help her mother pack the unsold items into bags and haul them back home to Queens. [4] She'd then eat dinner and do her homework. [5] These early experiences as a street (35) vendor both at home in New York and when visiting family in Haiti-influenced her later decision to become an entrepreneur. [6] Souffrant and her mother sold imported wears (such as vibrant clothing, jewelry, and art) from their native Haiti off blankets spread out in Columbus Circle. (36)

Souffrant's ambition was strengthened in 2010, after an earthquake struck Haiti. In the aftermath of the quake, her mother's business, which relied on a steady supply of goods from Haitian artisans, had to close. Her mother and brother ultimately returned to Haiti, while Souffrant remained in the United States to attend college. During a visit to her family, Souffrant was struck by the tenacity of the (37) vendors. It was amazing that they had set up shops on top of the rubble. Vending had enabled her family to prosper in the United States, but it was essential for survival in Haiti; Souffrant suddenly grasped not only how powerful but also how fragile the vendor economy could be. (38) She decided that, after college, she would find a way to combine her entrepreneurial ambition with her desire to help improve the lives of street vendors.

 In the following years, (39) Souffrant graduated, worked in banking, and attended graduate school to study business- specifically, social entrepreneurship. Unlike models of philanthropy that (40) has relied on grants and donations, social entrepreneurship uses self-sustaining businesses to drive (41) a transformative social agenda that would change society. ·with a group of peers, Souffrant formulated a plan to digitize the street vending industry in order to alleviate poverty in developing countries like Haiti. (42) They received several prestigious grants and awards, including a $75,000 award at the 2015 Digital Entertainment World Expo.

Souffrant's business model is simple: Street vendors are given phones so they can upload pictures of their products to an online platform. Tourists and travelers in the surrounding area then (43) use the platform to browse and purchase the handicrafts and have them delivered locally. To ensure that this digital platform was improving the lives of the vendors, Souffrant ran a pilot program with a select group of street vendors in Haiti. (44)  She trained volunteers to work in collaboration with local coordinators and youth in Haiti. This early success lends credence to Souffrant's belief that entrepreneurship can serve society as well as business owners.