Lessons Learned: J. Christopher Flowers

J. Christopher Flowers has been managing director, CEO, and chairman of the private investment firm J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC for many years. During the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007–2009, Flowers was involved with investing in some of the largest banks and financial institutions in the world and advising and consulting with them on possible acquisitions, mergers, and sales as several of these firms began to collapse. In the fall of 2008, Flowers worked closely with the Bank of America (BofA) on proposals to acquire Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, and he developed a plan for private investors to help bail out American International Group (AIG). He negotiated directly with lending banks, federal regulators, and Treasury officials

Beyond Vulnerability: Climate Change And The Moral Authority Of Youth

Young people worldwide demand a voice in climate governance, yet their perspectives remain largely excluded from the moral frameworks that shape climate policy. This exclusion not only marginalizes children’s lived experiences and ethical reasoning but also perpetuates paternalistic norms and dangerous marginalization. To counter this, this thesis study shows that youth are not just passive stakeholders but moral agents whose perspectives yield a more just and comprehensive understanding of climate responsibility. Recognizing their ethical insights is crucial for medicine, especially pediatrics and child psychiatry, given how climate change amplifies health risks like respiratory illnesses, heat-related conditions, and eco-anxiety. Understanding how youth conceptualize climate ethics helps clinicians offer developmentally informed support and advocate for child-centered policies. We divide this thesis into two parts. First, a theoretical argument draws on feminist epistemology and social movement theory to highlight how excluding children’s voices creates knowledge gaps and ethical blind spots (Part 1). It critiques rationalist traditions that dismiss experience-based and relational reasoning, arguing that children’s exclusion from climate governance follows a pattern of epistemic marginalization. Second, an empirical analysis (Part 2) examines how young people develop climate ethics, using a secondary analysis of qualitative data from 115 participants (ages 7 to 18) across the United States, France, and Brazil. Thematic analysis, informed by grounded theory, reveals six moral principles shaping youth climate ethics. Rather than treating responsibility as purely individual, participants view it as relational and role-based, emphasizing intergenerational fairness, government and corporate accountability, and the need to balance personal choices with systemic change. Their reasoning integrates emotion and lived experience with logic, challenging dominant ethics frameworks. Overall, the findings show that young people form sophisticated ethical positions, prioritizing intergenerational fairness, relational responsibility, and structural accountability. To ensure equitable and morally sound climate policy, youth must be included not merely as affected populations but as genuine contributors to the ethical frameworks guiding climate action

Epidemiological Changes In Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli (stec) Pre- And Post-Covid In Connecticut, 2018–2019 And 2023–2024

Background: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) causes over 265,000 infections, 3,600 hospitalizations, and 30 deaths annually in the U.S.. While STEC O157 is the most common serotype, the increased use of culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDT) led to a rise in non-O157 serotypes detected. Nationally, STEC incidence declined during the COVID-19 pandemic but has since surpassed pre-pandemic levels. An analysis was conducted to determine the changes that occurred in STEC infections in Connecticut from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic and to identify differences between culture-confirmed cases and CIDT-only/untyped cases.Methods: A descriptive analysis using STEC surveillance data collected in Connecticut was performed to identify changes in STEC infections, comparing cases reported in 2018–2019 (N = 238) to 2023–2024 (N = 342) by demographic characteristics, testing method, and exposure history. A case-case analysis was conducted among post-pandemic infections to identify differences between serotyped/culture-confirmed cases (N = 126) and CIDT-only/untyped cases (N = 216). Results: The overall incidence of STEC infections increased post-pandemic (RR 1.44, 95% CI 1.22-1.70). Incidence in the Hispanics/Latinos doubled (RR 1.98, 95% CI 1.40-2.79), driven by adults 18-64 years of age, to a rate that was nearly double that of any race/ethnic group. The proportion of culture-confirmed infections halved from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.35-0.63). Among confirmed infections, O157 decreased (26.9% pre-pandemic to 15.1% post-pandemic) while non-O157 increased (71.5% pre-pandemic to 80.2% post-pandemic). Farm animal exposure increased (OR 4.15, 95% CI 1.20-14.34). CIDT-only infections compared to culture-confirmed infections were 27.0% as likely to have bloody diarrhea (27.0% vs 51.3%) but were just as likely to have HUS and to be hospitalized. CIDT-only cases were also more likely (p\u3c0.05) to be ≥65 years old (29.6% vs 14.3%), less likely to have attended or worked at a daycare (3.3% vs 12.1%), and be outbreak-associated (0% vs 17.5%). Conclusions: STEC incidence increased post-pandemic, driven by a rise in non-O157 serotypes and greater use of CIDT methods, with the most substantial increases among Hispanic/Latino adults and older populations. Changes in incidence highlight the need for continued surveillance

Open-Label Exposure To Hypoxia Enhances Subsequent Hypoxia Recognition In Divers

Rebreather underwater breathing devices are commonly used for military, scientific and recreational diving. Malfunctions and human errors often manifest through hypoxia, hyperoxia, and/or hypercapnia. Very limited research exists on enhancing the ability of divers to recognize or directly monitor the physiological manifestations of hypoxia. We conducted a two-part study examining whether prior open-label hypoxia exposure enhances a diver’s ability to recognize hypoxia and initiate self-rescue.Forty participants were randomized to receive either an information leaflet or hypoxia prior to a blinded hypoxia testing event during a virtual reality dive. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants who initiated self-rescue before reaching a peripheral oxygen saturation of 70%. Inspired oxygen and time to bailout were recorded. Self-reported symptoms were recorded after each exposure. Ninety percent of divers performed a self-initiated bailout in the hypoxia exposure group, compared to 33% in the information leaflet group (P \u3c .001). Divers in the information leaflet group had lower SpO2 values (73.4% vs 81.4%, mean difference 8% (95%CI = 2.5 to 13.5%, P = 0.005) and lower inhaled oxygen levels (7.6% vs 9.4%, mean difference 1.8% (95%CI = 0.6 to 3.1%, P = 0.005) at bail-out. The two most frequently and most severe reported symptoms were light-headedness and shortness of breath. Seventy percent had a consistent hypoxia symptom profile, which was not related to the ability to bail out. In a controlled laboratory environment self-rescue was three times more likely for divers who had experienced hypoxia compared to an information leaflet. Being immersed, exercising and gas narcosis could all negatively influence the ability to recognise and act on hypoxia symptoms

Scalable Targeting of Social Protection: When Do Algorithms Out-Perform Surveys and Community Knowledge?

Innovations in big data and algorithms are enabling new approaches to target interventions at scale. We compare the accuracy of three different systems for identifying the poor to receive benefit transfers — proxy means-testing, nominations from community members, and an algorithmic approach using machine learning to predict poverty using mobile phone usage behavior — and study how their cost-effectiveness varies with the scale and scope of the program. We collect mobile phone records from all major telecom operators in Bangladesh and conduct community-based wealth rankings and detailed consumption surveys of 5,000 households, to select the 22,000 poorest households for $300 transfers from 106,000 listed households. While proxy-means testing is most accurate, algorithmic targeting becomes more cost-effective for national-scale programs where large numbers of households have to be screened. We explore the external validity of these insights using survey data and mobile phone records data from Togo, and cross-country information on benefit transfer programs from the World Bank

Tracing Transformations: (Digitized) World War II Correspondence Through the Lens of the Records Continuum Model

This paper traces the transformations of a historical archival collection of personal wartime correspondence. Most of the records in this collection were created in the context of the German Occupation of the Netherlands during World War II (1940–1945) and/or the War of Independence in Indonesia (1945-1950). The collection was gathered and curated by the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam from 1945 onwards and was digitised between 2020 and 2023. We navigate the convergence of past and future transformations of the records and illuminate the intricate web of considerations and decisions of historical preservation, archiving, digitisation, research, and (re-)use. We focus on the initial creators of the records, but also on family custodians, professional record-keepers, and the digitisation project team. We address the implications and impacts of their actions, as they present important considerations in the selection, source criticism, and interpretation of such records as sources in historical scholarship. We use a simplified version of the Records Continuum Model (RCM) as an analytical framework to enhance our understanding of this complex collection of varied historical ‘egodocuments’. By doing so, we evaluate the practical implementation of RCM as an analytical instrument in expanding current practices of source criticism in historical scholarship. We show how different dimensions of mutually interacting dynamic processes add new layers to the context and meaning of historical records, and how ‘egodocuments’ such as wartime correspondence are not only a reflection of the experiences, perceptions, and emotions of their initial writers, but are also influenced by contemporary cultural and social conventions and time- and location-specific contexts and various curatorial and record-keeping activities through time. To conclude, this paper emphasizes the value of collaboration between historical scholars and archivists and stresses the importance of accountability and transparency in record-keeping practices, both in the historical archive and the digital realm

Neurologic Relics Of Disease; Epigenetic Scars Of Neurosyphilis

In addition to causing acute illness, infections, even following successful treatment, can both increase risk for developing or cause new, emergent disease, including neurological and psychiatric disease. Despite this understanding, a comprehensive and overarching examination of the relationship between various neurological and psychiatric diseases with infections is missing from the scientific corpus. This thesis aims to enumerate the evidence for the relationship between various neurologic and psychiatric diseases with infection and describe proposed mechanisms for how infections affect risk for developing these diseases. We use this birds-eye framing of post-infectious neurological sequelae to better understand our case-control study on acute neurosyphilis and post-treatment neurosyphilis. Despite neurosyphilis’ long history, its pathogenesis is not well-characterized, especially with regards to how it affects individuals following antibiotic treatment. Therefore, we aim to characterize neurosyphilis (NS) pathogenesis before treatment and assess cellular changes following treatment. We longitudinally analyzed DNA methylation and RNA expression changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 11 participants with laboratory-confirmed NS (CSF VDRL positive) and 11 matched controls with syphilis without NS (non-NS). DNA methylation profiles from CSF and PBMCs of participants with NS significantly differed from those of participants with non-NS. Some genes associated with these differentially methylated sites had corresponding RNA expression changes in the CSF (111/1097, 10.1%), which were enriched in B-cell, cytotoxic-compound, and insulin-response pathways. Despite antibiotic treatment, approximately 80% of CSF methylation changes persisted; suggesting that epigenetic scars accompanying NS may persistently affect immunity following infection. Future studies must examine whether these sequelae are clinically meaningful

Personalized Therapeutic Approaches For Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (ctcl)

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized as a malignancy of T-cells that variably involves the skin, lymph nodes, and blood. Many therapeutic options exist for patients with CTCL, ranging from narrow-band UVB, extracorporeal photopheresis, total skin electron beam therapy, retinoids, histone deacetylase inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Despite the various advances in treatment options, these therapies are non-curative with overall response rates ranging from 30 to 55%, warranting the need for better alternatives that also aim to reduce toxic systemic effects. Project 1: Prior work in a series of publications by the Girardi Lab demonstrated the therapeutic potential for CTCL of novel combinations of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, proteasome inhibitors, B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 protein inhibitors, histone deacetylase inhibitors, and bromodomain and extra-terminal motif inhibitors. Furthermore, other investigators have shown the advantageous potential of proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) in creating a therapeutic approach that more specifically degrades proteins of interest while lessening overall toxicity. Through this work we aimed to determine efficacy of four novel and proprietary JAK-targeting PROTAC agents to selectively destroy malignant CTCL cells derived from Sézary patients. A drug screen was conducted utilizing peripheral blood samples from 8 CTCL patients to determine the efficacy of four novel JAK-targeting PROTAC agents, which were uniquely designed to be undergo hydrolysis upon bloodstream entry, resulting in a therapeutic that could be more skin-specific. All four novel JAK-targeting PROTACs demonstrated efficacy in selective destruction of malignant CTCL cells, when compared to a known JAK-inhibitor control, fedratinib. The success of these novel therapeutics demonstrate hope for a more skin-targeted treatment that would degrade upon entry to the blood, reducing overall toxicity. Project 2: Furthermore, recent work in the Girardi Lab has created an off-the-shelf allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T platform targeting the clone-specific T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ2 chain for malignant T-cell killing while limiting non-malignant cell damage at levels not currently available. Girardi Lab has also produced a humanized anti-Vβ2 IgG1 antibody, with Fc-engineering to enhanced antibody dependent-cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Through this work, we aimed to determine the efficacy of this humanized anti-Vβ2 IgG1 antibody to reduce tumor burden in a preclinical patient derived xenograft (PDX) mouse model of CTCL which was measured using long-term bioluminescence imaging and flow cytometry to determine tumor burden. The bioluminescence imaging results demonstrated reduced tumor burden when used alone and in combination with natural killer cells. Furthermore, flow cytometry demonstrated the bone marrow of treated mice had a reduced absolute tumor cell count. Both of these personalized therapeutic approaches demonstrate promising treatment options that would offer more targeted approaches against malignant cells and therefore would be predicted to reduce overall toxicity. Furthermore, the preclinical assessment of these agents selectively targeting populations of activated T-cells suggests that these therapeutics could one day be utilized for other skin diseases driven by inflammatory T-cells, such as such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, graft vs. host disease, lichen planus, vitiligo, and alopecia areata. Further investigation in additional models beyond patient derived malignant cells and mouse models are warranted to determine generalizability and efficacy

Review of Building Representative Community Archives: Inclusive Strategies in Practice

In Building Representative Community Archives, editor Hannah Leah Crummé sets out to provide a practical guide to building community archives through ten case studies. The volume covers three types of projects: oral history, collection and curation, and reassessment. With some exceptions, community-created and community-maintained archives are sidelined in this collection. The majority of case studies describe academic special collections units embracing community archival principles and practices to meet their own goals, and some chapters do not meaningfully engage with community archives at all. Though many chapters succeed on their own terms, the misleading framing produces a collection that is less than the sum of its parts

Bach against Modernity

A book review is presented for Bach against Modernity, authored by Michael Marissen, by Mark Peters