English Language Arts: Main Idea (TEKS.ELA.9-12.8.D.i) Practice Test

Across rural hospitals, artificial intelligence is being tested as a "second reader" of diagnostic images, not as a replacement for physicians but as a way to reduce preventable error and inequity in access to expertise. A 2023 meta-analysis of 47 radiology trials found AI triage cut critical-read times by 28 percent and reduced false negatives in stroke detection by 9 percent. Yet investigators also reported that stand‑alone deployment increased false positives, signaling the need for clinician oversight. According to a university consortium lead, AI strengthens care "when calibrated to local prevalence and embedded in accountable teams." Reasoning from cost curves suggests that pairing algorithms with generalists can extend specialty-level reviews without recruiting scarce subspecialists. A case study from three critical‑access hospitals showed a 15-month drop in interfacility transfer rates after instituting human-in-the-loop reads and weekly audit conferences. While concerns about bias are real—one audit flagged lower sensitivity for older scanners—those issues were mitigated by dataset updates and cross-site peer review. The controlling question is not whether AI will replace rural clinicians, but how human governance can channel it. The emerging evidence indicates that blended models—algorithmic triage plus accountable clinician judgment—most reliably deliver faster, safer, and more equitable diagnostics.

Texas border communities face a hydrologic portfolio problem: climate variability narrows the Rio Grande's deliveries even as populations rise, making single-source strategies brittle. State data show that since 2000, average municipal demand in the Lower Rio Grande Valley grew 21 percent while river flows trended downward and drought durations lengthened. Policy analysts at a nonpartisan institute argue that resilience comes from diversification—pairing conservation with aquifer storage and recovery, indirect potable reuse, and modular desalination sized for peak deficits. A West Texas city's case study illustrates the logic: by banking surplus winter water underground and blending small-batch brackish desalination during summer spikes, it cut outdoor-use restrictions by half without raising total withdrawals. Statistical modeling indicates that portfolios with three or more supply types maintain service reliability above 99 percent across severe drought scenarios, whereas reservoir-only plans fall below 90 percent. Critics worry about cost, yet lifecycle analyses show diversified systems avoid expensive emergency purchases and litigation. The controlling issue is not choosing a single "silver bullet," but orchestrating complementary sources to smooth volatility. In drought-prone border regions, a diversified water portfolio outperforms monolithic strategies on reliability, affordability, and long-term ecological compliance.