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We solve non-Markovian optimal switching problems in discrete time on an infinite horizon, when the decision-maker is risk-aware and the filtration is general, and establish existence and uniqueness of solutions for the associated reflected backward stochastic difference equations. An example application to hydropower planning is provided.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Diabetes is related to risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and COVID-19. It is exacerbated by built/social environment issues, e.g., food insecurity, access to healthy foods and health care, and other poverty-related factors. Our goal is to assess the efficacy of an integrated care model for patients with poorly controlled diabetes. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We utilize an integrated, team-based approach to diabetes treatment. In a traditional care model, too little focus is on social determinants and their impacts on health and well-being. Our project involves enrollment of patients with diabetes in an intervention whereby their medical care is integrated with intensive diabetes education and provision of social and other health services, including diet and nutrition, exercise, provision of foods and nutritional supplements, and other support services as needed to achieve optimal health and to reduce morbidity and unnecessary hospitalization and emergency room visits. Subjects are underserved patients treated through our non-profit community clinic partners. We track metrics including individual outcomes, organizational outcomes, and collective impact. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We anticipate that patients enrolled in this study will demonstrate significant improvements in diabetes control and management. Clinical improvements will include better glycemic control, improved hypertension and dyslipidemia management, reduced complications, and increased preventive measures including foot, eye and oral health exams and monitoring of microalbuminuria. Overall, we anticipate decreased frequency of hospitalizations and readmissions as well as decreased frequency of emergency care visits for treatment of diabetes-related issues. We expect patients to experience enhanced self-efficacy, increased physical activity, and improved quality of life. Their outcomes will be compared to controls receiving the standard medical regimen, matched on age, race, gender, and time of onset. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These activities will improve understanding of factors influencing diabetes outcomes at individual and upstream levels. It will inform food distribution and models of care for improved patient outcomes, including social determinants of health and will establish new protocols for community-based provision of health care to our most vulnerable.
Sudden onset severe headache is usually caused by a primary headache disorder but may be secondary to a more serious problem, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Very few patients who present to hospital with headache have suffered a SAH, but early identification is important to improve patient outcomes. A systematic review was undertaken to assess the clinical effectiveness of different care pathways for the management of headache, suspicious for SAH, in the Emergency Department. Capturing the perspective of patients was an important part of the research.
Methods
The project team included a patient collaborator with experience of presenting to the Emergency Department with sudden onset severe headache. Three additional patients were recruited to our advisory group. The patient's perspective was collected at various points through the project including at team meetings, during protocol development and when interpreting the results of the systematic review and drawing conclusions.
Results
Patients were reassured by the very high diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography (CT) for detecting SAH. Patients and clinicians emphasized the importance of shared decision making about whether to undergo additional tests to rule out SAH, after a negative CT result. When lumbar puncture was necessary, patients expressed a preference to have it on an ambulatory basis; further research on the safety and acceptability of ambulatory lumbar puncture was recommended.
Conclusions
Patient input at the protocol development stage helped researchers understand the patient experience and highlighted important outcomes for assessment. Patient involvement added context to the review findings and highlighted the preferences of patients regarding the management of headache.
Sudden onset severe headache is usually caused by a primary headache disorder but occasionally is secondary to a more serious problem, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Guidelines recommend non-contrast brain computed tomography (CT) followed by lumbar puncture (LP) to exclude SAH. However, guidelines pre-date the introduction of more sensitive modern CT scanners. A systematic review was undertaken to assess the clinical effectiveness of different care pathways for the management of headache in the Emergency Department.
Methods
Eighteen databases (including MEDLINE and Embase) were searched to February 2020. Studies were quality assessed using criteria relevant to the study design; most studies were assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool for diagnostic accuracy studies. Where sufficient information was reported, diagnostic accuracy data were extracted into 2 × 2 tables to calculate sensitivity, specificity, false-positive and false-negative rates. Where possible, hierarchical bivariate meta-analysis was used to synthesize results, otherwise studies were synthesized narratively.
Results
Fifty-one studies were included in the review. Eight studies assessing the accuracy of the Ottawa SAH clinical decision rule were pooled; sensitivity was 99.5 percent, specificity was 23.7 percent. The high false positive rate suggests that 76.3 percent SAH-negative patients would undergo further investigation unnecessarily. Four studies assessing the accuracy of CT within six hours of headache onset were pooled; sensitivity was 98.7 percent, specificity was 100 percent. CT sensitivity beyond six hours was considerably lower (≤90%; 2 studies). Three studies assessing LP following negative CT were pooled; sensitivity was 100 percent, specificity was 95.2 percent. LP-related adverse events were reported in 5.3–9.5 percent of patients.
Conclusions
The evidence suggests that the Ottawa SAH Rule is not sufficiently accurate for ruling out SAH and does little to aid clinical decision making. Modern CT within six hours of headache onset (with images assessed by a neuroradiologist) is highly accurate, but sensitivity reduces considerably over time. The CT-LP pathway is highly sensitive for detecting SAH, although LP resulted in some false-positives and adverse events.
Ecosystem modeling, a pillar of the systems ecology paradigm (SEP), addresses questions such as, how much carbon and nitrogen are cycled within ecological sites, landscapes, or indeed the earth system? Or how are human activities modifying these flows? Modeling, when coupled with field and laboratory studies, represents the essence of the SEP in that they embody accumulated knowledge and generate hypotheses to test understanding of ecosystem processes and behavior. Initially, ecosystem models were primarily used to improve our understanding about how biophysical aspects of ecosystems operate. However, current ecosystem models are widely used to make accurate predictions about how large-scale phenomena such as climate change and management practices impact ecosystem dynamics and assess potential effects of these changes on economic activity and policy making. In sum, ecosystem models embedded in the SEP remain our best mechanism to integrate diverse types of knowledge regarding how the earth system functions and to make quantitative predictions that can be confronted with observations of reality. Modeling efforts discussed are the Century ecosystem model, DayCent ecosystem model, Grassland Ecosystem Model ELM, food web models, Savanna model, agent-based and coupled systems modeling, and Bayesian modeling.
The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) has observed the entire southern sky (Declination,
$\delta< 30^{\circ}$
) at low radio frequencies, over the range 72–231MHz. These observations constitute the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA (GLEAM) Survey, and we use the extragalactic catalogue (EGC) (Galactic latitude,
$|b| >10^{\circ}$
) to define the GLEAM 4-Jy (G4Jy) Sample. This is a complete sample of the ‘brightest’ radio sources (
$S_{\textrm{151\,MHz}}>4\,\text{Jy}$
), the majority of which are active galactic nuclei with powerful radio jets. Crucially, low-frequency observations allow the selection of such sources in an orientation-independent way (i.e. minimising the bias caused by Doppler boosting, inherent in high-frequency surveys). We then use higher-resolution radio images, and information at other wavelengths, to morphologically classify the brightest components in GLEAM. We also conduct cross-checks against the literature and perform internal matching, in order to improve sample completeness (which is estimated to be
$>95.5$
%). This results in a catalogue of 1863 sources, making the G4Jy Sample over 10 times larger than that of the revised Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio Sources (3CRR;
$S_{\textrm{178\,MHz}}>10.9\,\text{Jy}$
). Of these G4Jy sources, 78 are resolved by the MWA (Phase-I) synthesised beam (
$\sim2$
arcmin at 200MHz), and we label 67% of the sample as ‘single’, 26% as ‘double’, 4% as ‘triple’, and 3% as having ‘complex’ morphology at
$\sim1\,\text{GHz}$
(45 arcsec resolution). We characterise the spectral behaviour of these objects in the radio and find that the median spectral index is
$\alpha=-0.740 \pm 0.012$
between 151 and 843MHz, and
$\alpha=-0.786 \pm 0.006$
between 151MHz and 1400MHz (assuming a power-law description,
$S_{\nu} \propto \nu^{\alpha}$
), compared to
$\alpha=-0.829 \pm 0.006$
within the GLEAM band. Alongside this, our value-added catalogue provides mid-infrared source associations (subject to 6” resolution at 3.4
$\mu$
m) for the radio emission, as identified through visual inspection and thorough checks against the literature. As such, the G4Jy Sample can be used as a reliable training set for cross-identification via machine-learning algorithms. We also estimate the angular size of the sources, based on their associated components at
$\sim1\,\text{GHz}$
, and perform a flux density comparison for 67 G4Jy sources that overlap with 3CRR. Analysis of multi-wavelength data, and spectral curvature between 72MHz and 20GHz, will be presented in subsequent papers, and details for accessing all G4Jy overlays are provided at https://github.com/svw26/G4Jy.
The entire southern sky (Declination,
$\delta< 30^{\circ}$
) has been observed using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), which provides radio imaging of
$\sim$
2 arcmin resolution at low frequencies (72–231 MHz). This is the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA (GLEAM) Survey, and we have previously used a combination of visual inspection, cross-checks against the literature, and internal matching to identify the ‘brightest’ radio-sources (
$S_{\mathrm{151\,MHz}}>4$
Jy) in the extragalactic catalogue (Galactic latitude,
$|b| >10^{\circ}$
). We refer to these 1 863 sources as the GLEAM 4-Jy (G4Jy) Sample, and use radio images (of
${\leq}45$
arcsec resolution), and multi-wavelength information, to assess their morphology and identify the galaxy that is hosting the radio emission (where appropriate). Details of how to access all of the overlays used for this work are available at https://github.com/svw26/G4Jy. Alongside this we conduct further checks against the literature, which we document here for individual sources. Whilst the vast majority of the G4Jy Sample are active galactic nuclei with powerful radio-jets, we highlight that it also contains a nebula, two nearby, star-forming galaxies, a cluster relic, and a cluster halo. There are also three extended sources for which we are unable to infer the mechanism that gives rise to the low-frequency emission. In the G4Jy catalogue we provide mid-infrared identifications for 86% of the sources, and flag the remainder as: having an uncertain identification (129 sources), having a faint/uncharacterised mid-infrared host (126 sources), or it being inappropriate to specify a host (2 sources). For the subset of 129 sources, there is ambiguity concerning candidate host-galaxies, and this includes four sources (B0424–728, B0703–451, 3C 198, and 3C 403.1) where we question the existing identification.
Despite clear evidence of a sharp income gradient in voting participation, it remains unclear whether income truly causes voting. In this article, we investigate how exogenous increases in unearned income affect voting in U.S. elections for two generations (parents and children) from the same household. In contrast to predictions made by current models of voting, we find the income shock had no effect on parents’ voting behaviors. However, we also find that increasing household income has heterogeneous effects on the civic participation of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. It increases children’s voting propensity among those raised in initially poorer families—resulting in substantially narrowed participatory gaps. Our results are consistent with a more nuanced view of how individual resources affect patterns of voting than the dominant theoretical framework of voting—the resource model—allows. Voting is fundamentally shaped by the human capital accrued long before citizens are eligible to vote.
We demonstrate an application evaluating carbon sequestration benefits from federal policy alternatives. Using detailed forest inventory data, we projected carbon sequestration outcomes in the coterminous 48 states for a baseline scenario and three policy scenarios through 2050. Alternatives included (1) reducing deforestation from development, (2) afforestation in the eastern United States and reforestation in the western United States, and (3) reducing stand-replacing wildfires. We used social cost of carbon estimates to evaluate the present value of carbon sequestration benefits gained with each policy. Results suggest that afforestation and reforestation would provide the greatest marginal increase in carbon benefit, far exceeding policy cost.
In several recently published phylogenetic analyses, two Lower Devonian taxa, Doliodus and Pucapampella, both fall on the chondrichthyan stem, very close to the base of ‘conventionally defined chondrichthyans’ (i.e., forms possessing tessellated mineralization of the cartilaginous endoskeleton). These two taxa nevertheless exhibit strongly discordant morphologies from each other. A summary of the anatomical data concerning these taxa is presented here, including new, as well as previously published, findings. A new family Pucapampellidae is erected, containing Pucapampella and a newly recognized genus from South Africa. Morphological evidence is summarized for the monophyly of crown elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), holocephalans (chimaeras) and other chondrichthyans. Based on these data, Doliodus and pucapampellids both fall outside the chondrichthyan crown, but their relative phylogenetic positions on the chondrichthyan stem are unclear. Pucapampellid interrelationships are particularly hard to assess because little is known beyond their cranial and visceral arch morphology and also because pucapampellids possess a suite of ontogenetically primitive (and thus potentially neotenic) features. By contrast, the phylogenetic position of Doliodus seems less elusive; it possessed an ‘acanthodian-like’ complex of dermal spines, including pectoral fin spines, prepectoral, admedian, and prepelvic spines, and possibly dorsal and pelvic fin spines, in conjunction with numerous ‘chondrichthyan-like’ endoskeletal features and a heterodont ‘sharklike’ dentition. Doliodus can be viewed as a quintessential component of the evolutionary transition between ‘acanthodians’ and ‘conventionally defined chondrichthyans’, leaving little doubt that the chondrichthyan total group includes ‘acanthodians’ (now widely perceived to be a paraphyletic group, populating the basal part of the chondrichthyan stem). Although Doliodus has been resolved as a basal member of the ‘conventionally defined chondrichthyans’, it could occupy a more basal position on the chondrichthyan stem.
This Research Communication describes an investigation of the nutritional depletion of total mixed rations (TMR) by pest birds. We hypothesized that species-specific bird depredation of TMR can alter the nutritional composition of the ration and that these changes can negatively impact the performance of dairy cows. Blackbirds selected the high energy fraction of the TMR (i.e., flaked corn) and reduced starch, crude fat and total digestible nutrients during controlled feeding experiments. For Holsteins producing 37·1 kg of milk/d, dairy production modeling illustrated that total required net energy intake (NEI) was 35·8 Mcal/d. For the reference TMR unexposed to blackbirds and the blackbird-consumed TMR, NEI supplied was 41·2 and 37·8 Mcal/d, and the resulting energy balance was 5·4 and 2·0 Mcal/d, respectively. Thus, Holsteins fed the reference and blackbird-consumed TMR were estimated to gain one body condition score in 96 and 254 d, and experience daily weight change due to reserves of 1·1 and 0·4 kg/d, respectively. We discuss these results in context of an integrated pest management program for mitigating the depredation caused by pest birds at commercial dairies.
Field experiments were conducted in Louisiana and Mississippi from 2011 through 2013 to evaluate crop injury, weed control, and yield in field corn following pyroxasulfone applied PRE and POST. Pyroxasulfone PRE or POST did not injure corn at any evaluation. Barnyardgrass control was not improved with the addition of any POST treatment to pyroxasulfone alone or atrazine plus pyroxasulfone PRE; however, all POST treatments increased barnyardgrass control to at least 95% at all evaluations following atrazine PRE. All treatments that contained a PRE followed by POST application controlled browntop millet ≥90% at all evaluations. All POST treatments increased ivyleaf morningglory control to ≥92% following atrazine or pyroxasulfone alone PRE. However, control with atrazine plus pyroxasulfone PRE was similar or greater 28 d after POST than all treatments that received a POST application. In the absence of a POST treatment, pyroxasulfone or atrazine plus pyroxasulfone PRE controlled Palmer amaranth 93 to 96% at all evaluations, but atrazine alone PRE provided 84, 82, and 66% control 7, 14, and 28 d after POST, respectively. All programs that contained a PRE followed by POST herbicide treatment controlled Palmer amaranth >90% at all evaluations. Corn yield following all treatments except atrazine alone PRE and the nontreated were similar and ranged from 10990 to 12330 kg ha−1. This research demonstrated that pyroxasulfone can be a valuable tool for weed management in a corn weed management program.
Regulatory impact analyses (RIAs) weigh the benefits of regulations against the burdens they impose and are invaluable tools for informing decision makers. We offer 10 tips for nonspecialist policymakers and interested stakeholders who will be reading RIAs as consumers.
1. Core problem: Determine whether the RIA identifies the core problem (compelling public need) the regulation is intended to address.
2. Alternatives: Look for an objective, policy-neutral evaluation of the relative merits of reasonable alternatives.
3. Baseline: Check whether the RIA presents a reasonable “counterfactual” against which benefits and costs are measured.
4. Increments: Evaluate whether totals and averages obscure relevant distinctions and trade-offs.
5. Uncertainty: Recognize that all estimates involve uncertainty, and ask what effect key assumptions, data, and models have on those estimates.
6. Transparency: Look for transparency and objectivity of analytical inputs.
7. Benefits: Examine how projected benefits relate to stated objectives.
8. Costs: Understand what costs are included.
9. Distribution: Consider how benefits and costs are distributed.
10. Symmetrical treatment: Ensure that benefits and costs are presented symmetrically.
Weed-free field experiments were conducted to evaluate soybean injury, growth, and yield following PRE or POST pyroxasulfone application. Soybean was injured 1 and 15% following pyroxasulfone PRE and POST application, respectively, 7 d after treatment (DAT). Injury following PRE and POST application was observed as delayed emergence and leaf necrosis and crinkling, respectively. Injury ranged from 0 to 6% following both application timings 14 and 28 DAT. Soybean was injured 5% or less following 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 g ha−1 of pyroxasulfone. Soybean plant population, height, and yield were not affected by pyroxasulfone application timing. Only 300 g ha−1 of pyroxasulfone reduced soybean plant population to 90% of the nontreated 30 d after PRE. Pyroxasulfone rate did not influence soybean heights and yield. Data indicates that pyroxasulfone can safely be applied to soybean without a detrimental effect on plant growth or yield.
from
PART II
-
SOURCES OF LEGAL SERVICES ASSISTANCE FOR WORKING AMERICANS
By
Maggie Gousman, law firm of Jackson Lewis PC,
John P. Frantz, start of Verizon's pro bono program in 2009,
Randal S. Milch, New York University Law School's Center on Law and Security
Over the past few decades, corporations have joined the ranks of pro bono pioneers, in significant numbers creating their own pro bono programs and leveraging their relatively small in-house counsel resources through partnerships with nonprofits, law firms, and bar associations. Although many corporations predictably help by providing advice on corporate law matters, other areas, like family law, contracts, veterans’ assistance, are also common. This chapter authored by verizon's in-house counsel looks at Verizon's pro bono initiative, which has grown to engage more than 70% of its U.S. attorneys over the past five years in representing domestic violence survivors, veterans, immigrants, and nonprofit groups.
Fifteen years ago, only a small number of corporate legal departments had pro bono programs. Today, legal departments of all sizes across a wide range of industries are participating in pro bono. The majority of Fortune 100 companies and many of the Fortune 500 have created, or are moving to create, formal pro bono programs. To help improve the effectiveness of these efforts, corporate legal departments are working with partners – law firms, legal service organizations, bar associations, and Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Chapters – to provide pro bono services.
There are a number of reasons for this growth. Companies are increasingly focused on social responsibility, and pro bono creates opportunities for the legal department to participate in skills-based volunteer efforts. Many in-house lawyers were introduced to strong pro bono programs in prior law firm jobs and wish to continue participating in similar meaningful work. Finally, the success of in-house programs has created a virtuous circle, as the accomplishments of pioneers in this area have challenged and encouraged other companies to get involved.
OVERVIEW OF IN-HOUSE PRO BONO
Hundreds of companies have developed and implemented formal pro bono programs. Despite a number of challenges facing in-house lawyers – constraints on time and resources, obtaining malpractice insurance, a perceived mismatch of legal experience and client needs, and ethics restrictions – many still participate in a wide range of pro bono efforts.
According to a recent Benchmarking Report published by Pro Bono Institute, legal departments are providing pro bono assistance to a wide range of communities in need.
A scalable approach for synthesis of ultra-thin (<10 nm) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) films on stretchable polymeric materials is presented. Specifically, magnetron sputtering from pure TMD targets, such as MoS2 and WS2, was used for growth of amorphous precursor films at room temperature on polydimethylsiloxane substrates. Stacks of different TMD films were grown upon each other and integrated with optically transparent insulating layers such as boron nitride. These precursor films were subsequently laser annealed to form high quality, few-layer crystalline TMDs. This combination of sputtering and laser annealing is commercially scalable and lends itself well to patterning. Analysis by Raman spectroscopy, scanning probe, optical, and transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirm our assertions and illustrate annealing mechanisms. Electrical properties of simple devices built on flexible substrates are correlated to annealing processes. This new approach is a significant step toward commercial-scale stretchable 2D heterostructured nanoelectronic devices.
Fossils of Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) and pygmy mammoths (Mammuthus exilis) have been reported from Channel Islands National Park, California. Most date to the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 2), but a tusk of M. exilis (or immature M. columbi) was found in the lowest marine terrace of Santa Rosa Island. Uranium-series dating of corals yielded ages from 83.8 ± 0.6 ka to 78.6 ± 0.5 ka, correlating the terrace with MIS 5.1, a time of relatively high sea level. Mammoths likely immigrated to the islands by swimming during the glacial periods MIS 6 (~ 150 ka) or MIS 8 (~ 250 ka), when sea level was low and the island–mainland distance was minimal, as during MIS 2. Earliest mammoth immigration to the islands likely occurred late enough in the Quaternary that uplift of the islands and the mainland decreased the swimming distance to a range that could be accomplished by mammoths. Results challenge the hypothesis that climate change, vegetation change, and decreased land area from sea-level rise were the causes of mammoth extinction at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary on the Channel Islands. Pre-MIS 2 mammoth populations would have experienced similar or even more dramatic changes at the MIS 6/5.5 transition.