Not Our Fight: The Roots and Forms of Anti-War Electoral Dissent in Civil War Wisconsin, 1860-1865

Although it has been discussed and examined at great length, the history of Civil War-era Wisconsin remains controversial in many ways. Though this state remained a loyal, integral part of the Northern bloc for the duration of this conflict, it was simultaneously divided deeply along political lines--Republican, Democratic, and the extreme wings of both parties--which brought about serious legislative and, at times, physical conflict between the parties and among their constituents over the nature of the state\u27s participation in the Civil War, and the war\u27s intended goals. And for the entirety of the war, there remained serious opposition on the part of many Wisconsin politicians, newspaper editors, and common citizens to the wartime and domestic policies of the Lincoln Administration. The basis for this antagonism lay in the growing comprehension of the Civil War\u27s societal impact, exemplified by the measures taken by Lincoln and the Republicans to conduct it, and prepare for its long-term aftermath. As emancipation, conscription, and increased executive control of monetary and constitutional policy became law, a significant number of Wisconsin voters--both immigrant and native-born--came to regard these shifts as infringements upon their livelihoods, rights, and race, reversing their prior favorable views of the Republican Party\u27s economic and racial stances. Combined with newspaper reports of corruption in the army and Washington, and of appalling losses for little gain on the battlefields, these sentiments became the anchor for domestic dissent against the Republican Party in Wisconsin, and a recurring base of electoral support for the Democratic opposition for the duration of the war. In the end, Union success on the battlefield, and the continuous use of propaganda by the Republicans labeling their Democratic and grassroots opponents as traitors, became the deciding factors in maintaining the Republican dominance of Wisconsin offices and policies. The key primary sources for examining this area of Wisconsin history are best found in the pronouncements from the Legislature and Governor\u27s office, official tallies of state referenda and elections, and the archives of the state\u27s markedly pro-Democrat and -Republican papers. Respectively, these reveal the efforts of the Republican-dominated state leadership to maintain their wartime preeminence in the face of ever-present criticism, illustrate the effect of these opinions upon the democratic process, and provide an excellent gauge of public and editorial opinion of state and national policy. Though in the end unable to remove the ruling party and agenda of its time, the collective antiwar sentiments and actions of the Badger State\u27s citizenry proved a potent influence on state and national policy. This thesis is a narrative of one of the most contentious periods in Wisconsin history, and a telling example of the power of dissent in all its forms in Civil War America

Lack of an effect of transspinal and transcranial direct current stimulation on performance, perception of effort, and physiologic function in humans

Introduction: For nearly two decades, direct current stimulation has been used to attempt to alter cognitive function, particularly in individuals who exhibit symptoms of mental illness. More recently, human performance enhancement has been a target of direct current stimulation. Direct current stimulation may be administered through non-invasive cutaneous transcranial or transspinal stimulation. Where altered motor cortex excitability or altered cortical activity are potential targets of transcranial stimulation, transspinal stimulation may affect spinal and supraspinal neuron function. However, the body of research related to the effects of transcranial and transspinal direct current stimulation on human performance is small and the mechanisms that may explain the effects are debated or unclear. Methods: One transcranial and two transspinal direct current studies were completed. The first study investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of the temporal lobe on high intensity work capacity and heart rate variability. The second project analyzed the potential modulatory effects of transspinal direct current stimulation on motor unit function and perception of effort. The third study quantified the effects of transspinal direct current stimulation on cycling time to exhaustion and perception of effort. Conclusions: In all studies, there was no effect of direct current stimulation condition, anodal or cathodal, on any measure of human performance, perceived exercise intensity, or physiologic function. Therefore, more research is required to determine how to maximize the efficacy of direct current stimulation with respect to acute modulation of human performance

\u3cb\u3eFeature Essays:\u3c/b\u3e Getting There: An Integrative Vision of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Excerpt: Over the last two decades, the scholarship of teaching and learning has made important strides. There are now many more teachers engaged in the study of their students\u27 learning, more outlets (like this journal) for what they discover, and a growing demand for what those outlets make available. Campus policies are evolving to create space and rewards for such work, disciplinary and professional fields have promoted it, and notions of inquiry and evidence are..

Methodological Differences in the Interpretation of Fatigue Data from Repeated Maximal Effort Knee Extensions

Background: Isokinetic fatigue protocols are commonly used in both research as well as in kinesiology education. However, fatigue quantification methods vary between studies. Objective: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine how fatigue quantification methods affect data interpretation and which methods may be most appropriate. Method: In this study, we quantified fatigue from a repeated maximal effort isokinetic knee extension test using different methods, as seen in published research. Nine healthy males and nine healthy females performed 50 concentric knee extensions at 180°•s-1. For each repetition, torque was quantified as either peak torque (PT), torque at the mid-point of the range of motion, and torque integrated over the full, middle 30° range of motion, and isokinetic range of motion. Fatigue Index was quantified using either the first and last three or five repetitions or the peak and last three or five repetitions. Torque slopes were quantified using all repetitions or repetitions that occurred at and beyond the repetition at which the greatest torque value occurred. Results: There was a significant inverse relationship between angle at PT and repetition number. Measures of fatigue were overestimated when torque integral over the isokinetic range of motion was utilized. When the first three or first five repetitions were utilized for Fatigue Index calculations, fatigue was underestimated. Conclusion: Results suggest that torque integral over the full range of motion is likely the best representation of strength or work. Also, researchers should omit the first few repetitions from their quantification of Fatigue Index or torque slope

Examining Stroke Volume Changes During Exercise in Healthy Young Adults

Cardiac output is determined by the combination of heart rate and stroke volume. While heart rate is primarily influenced by cardiac autonomic input, stroke volume\u27s behavior is more intricate due to the interplay between myocardial response to stretch (Frank-Starling law) and adrenergic changes in contractility. No consensus exist on its behavior during exercise despite extensive data. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess how normalized stroke volume scores (SV) change in young, healthy adult males during a graded exercise test to exhaustion (GXT). METHODS: Participants (n=20; age=22.9±2.4; BMI=23.7±2.4) were instructed to abstain from engaging in vigorous exercise for a period of 24 hours before the study, ensure they were adequately hydrated, and maintain a fasting state. Participants completed a graded exercise test to exhaustion in the morning on an electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer. SV was recorded using trans-thoracic bioimpedance device and results were averaged and normalized into five epochs. To determine the effect of GXT epochs on SV score, SV was normalized to percentage of within- subject maximum SV, and mean SV was quantified across 10 equally spaced epochs (10% of trial duration each). A mixed model was used to compare epochs. Assumptions of residual normality and homoscedasticity were visually verified using q-q plots and model predicted scores vs. residuals plots, respectively. SV score was modeled using participant as a random effect, and GXT epochs as fixed effects. Follow-up pairwise comparisons utilized Holm sequential corrections. Alpha was set at 0.05. RESULTS: There were no significant differences (p\u3e.05) between epochs 1 (85.2%±5.7) and 2 (86.6%±5.4), epochs 2 and 3 (88.8%±4.1), or among epochs 3 through 10 (91.4%±3.5). There were significant differences (p\u3c0.01) between epochs 1 and 3-10. There were significant differences between epochs 2 and 4-10. CONCLUSION: SV exhibited a general increase throught the first 30% of test duration. However, beyond this point, there was no statistically significant increase in stroke volume, indicating a relatively stable pattern after the first 30% of the test. These results in agreement with previous data that have reported a plateau in stroke volume during progressive exercise to exhaustion

The home-court advantage in NCAA Division-I men’s basketball

The purpose of the present study was to examine the differences in game-related statistics between home and away games at the NCAA Division-I level of men’s basketball competition. The data scraping technique was used to obtain publicly available box scores during the 2018-19 competitive season. Throughout this period, 2181 home and 2205 away box scores were randomly selected across 353 teams, regardless of the winning or losing game outcome. The findings of the present study revealed that the game-related statistics influenced by the game location, listed in descending order of magnitude, were: assists (AS), personal fouls (PF), field-goal percentage (FG%), free-throw attempts (FTA), blocks (BL), defensive rebounds (DRB), turnovers (TO), steals (ST), and three-point shooting percentage (3P%). During home games, the teams tended to display better decision-making processes (i.e., more AS and ST, and less TO), defensive performance (i.e., more DRB and BL), shooting efficiency (i.e., greater FT% and 3P%), and minimize tactical errors (i.e., less PF and more FTA). Overall, these findings suggest that playing on a home-court provides a significant advantage in securing the desired game outcome and provides insight into what game-related statistics contribute most to this effect

Velocity-Specific Relationships Among Eccentric and Concentric Force Velocity Profiles and Jumping Performance

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationships among force velocity profiles during eccentric only movements (eFVP), concentric only movements (cFVP), and dynamic performance during a countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), and drop jump (DJ). Nineteen collegiate baseball players (1.85 ± 0.04 m, 86.4 ± 8.2 kg, 21.1 ± 1.8 years) from a single NCAA Division I team performed CMJ, SJ, and DJ, drop landings from varying heights, and hex bar jumps with varying weights. FVPs were created with a linear regression using the drop landings for eFVP and hex bar jumps for cFVP, which were used to calculate slopes and area under the entire FVP and velocity-specific regions. Correlations analyzed the results with bootstrapping for 95% confidence intervals. Area under eFVP correlated with cFVP at r=0.51 (p<0.05), cFVP slope presented strong correlations with CMJ height and DJ height while eFVP slopes did not relate to jumping performance or metrics. Area under the faster regions of cFVP and eFVP produced moderate and strong relationships to jumping performance. The area under the FVP, especially when separated into velocity-specific bands, may be a key metric which can audit or provide insight into velocity-based training program effectiveness and athlete comparisons

Residual active granzyme B in cathepsin C–null lymphocytes is sufficient for perforin-dependent target cell apoptosis

Cathepsin C activates serine proteases expressed in hematopoietic cells by cleaving an N-terminal dipeptide from the proenzyme upon granule packaging. The lymphocytes of cathepsin C–null mice are therefore proposed to totally lack granzyme B activity and perforin-dependent cytotoxicity. Surprisingly, we show, using live cell microscopy and other methodologies, that cells targeted by allogenic CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) raised in cathepsin C–null mice die through perforin-dependent apoptosis indistinguishable from that induced by wild-type CTL. The cathepsin C–null CTL expressed reduced but still appreciable granzyme B activity, but minimal granzyme A activity. Also, in contrast to mice with inactivation of both their granzyme A/B genes, cathepsin C deficiency did not confer susceptibility to ectromelia virus infection in vivo. Overall, our results indicate that although cathepsin C clearly generates the majority of granzyme B activity, some is still generated in its absence, pointing to alternative mechanisms for granzyme B processing and activation. Cathepsin C deficiency also results in considerably milder immune deficiency than perforin or granzyme A/B deficiency

Estimating efficiency spillovers with state level evidence for manufacturing in the US

This is the accepted manuscript version of the paper. The final published version can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2014.01.037Unit specific effects are often used to estimate non-spatial efficiency. We extend such estimators to the case where there is spatial autoregressive dependence and introduce the concept of spillover efficiency. Intuitively, we present an approach to benchmark how successful units are at exporting and importing productive performance to and from other units

Association between convalescent plasma treatment and mortality in COVID-19: a collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Funder: laura and john arnold foundationBACKGROUND: Convalescent plasma has been widely used to treat COVID-19 and is under investigation in numerous randomized clinical trials, but results are publicly available only for a small number of trials. The objective of this study was to assess the benefits of convalescent plasma treatment compared to placebo or no treatment and all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19, using data from all available randomized clinical trials, including unpublished and ongoing trials (Open Science Framework, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GEHFX ). METHODS: In this collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis, clinical trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform), the Cochrane COVID-19 register, the LOVE database, and PubMed were searched until April 8, 2021. Investigators of trials registered by March 1, 2021, without published results were contacted via email. Eligible were ongoing, discontinued and completed randomized clinical trials that compared convalescent plasma with placebo or no treatment in COVID-19 patients, regardless of setting or treatment schedule. Aggregated mortality data were extracted from publications or provided by investigators of unpublished trials and combined using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman random effects model. We investigated the contribution of unpublished trials to the overall evidence. RESULTS: A total of 16,477 patients were included in 33 trials (20 unpublished with 3190 patients, 13 published with 13,287 patients). 32 trials enrolled only hospitalized patients (including 3 with only intensive care unit patients). Risk of bias was low for 29/33 trials. Of 8495 patients who received convalescent plasma, 1997 died (23%), and of 7982 control patients, 1952 died (24%). The combined risk ratio for all-cause mortality was 0.97 (95% confidence interval: 0.92; 1.02) with between-study heterogeneity not beyond chance (I2 = 0%). The RECOVERY trial had 69.8% and the unpublished evidence 25.3% of the weight in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Convalescent plasma treatment of patients with COVID-19 did not reduce all-cause mortality. These results provide strong evidence that convalescent plasma treatment for patients with COVID-19 should not be used outside of randomized trials. Evidence synthesis from collaborations among trial investigators can inform both evidence generation and evidence application in patient care