Charles S. Wainwright: The Development of Loyal Dissent from 1861-1865

Charles S Wainwright had participated in all three days of battle at Gettysburg. He witnessed his close friend and compatriot General Reynolds struck down on the first day. On July 5th, 1863, Wainwright traveled to what would later be known as Pickett’s Charge. Upon seeing the battlefield scattered with the bodies of the dead and smelling the stench of bloat, he lamented: “There was about an acre or so of ground here where you could not walk without stepping over the bodies, and I saw perhaps a dozen cases where they were heaped [sic] one on top of the other”. Two months after the Battle of Gettysburg, Wainwright reflected on those fateful days in July and the causes of this “vile” war. Sitting in his tent near the Culpeper Courthouse on the Rappahannock, Wainwright attempted to understand how abolition had come to dominate the Union war aims and why so many men had perished for the freedom of blacks. The radicals of Congress, Wainwright wrote, “did not want to see the Union restored without the abolition of slavery”. He believed that abolition was a stance taken by a select few “who had negro on the brain”. Wainwright was bitter that his men and others had died for those he believed to be inferior to the white race. He was positive that President Lincoln had been heavily influenced by the Radical abolitionists. This was, according to Wainwright, a calculated plan to win over the masses of the Union and coerce them into favoring emancipation. Tirades against African Americans and the Lincoln Administration came to dominate his thought. Believing that Lincoln was no longer waging war just for the Union, Wainwright became conflicted. His representation of racial stereotypes and changing purpose of his diary revealed a simmering anger towards the Lincoln Administration and African Americans, yet he continued to fight for the Union. Forced into continued service by the cultural paradigms of Victorianism, Wainwright put his life in peril for a cause that no longer aligned with his political values. Wainwright clung to battle because resigning was not a choice. Cowardice and desertion were unforgiveable offenses that hurt not only the man but his family as well. Apart from this, Wainwright’s attachment to his duty and role as a head of household necessitated his continued participation in the war. Yet, despite his anger with the war, Wainwright fought valiantly. [excerpt

PCR-correction strategies for malaria drug trials: Updates and Clarifications

Malaria drug trials conducted in endemic areas face a major challenge in their analysis because it is difficult to establish whether parasitaemia in blood samples collected after treatment indicate drug failure or a new infection acquired after treatment. It is therefore vital to reliably distinguish drug failures from new infections in order to obtain accurate estimates of drug failure rates. This distinction can be achieved for Plasmodium falciparum by comparing parasite genotypes obtained at the time of treatment (the baseline) and on the day of recurring parasitaemia. Such PCR correction is required to obtain accurate failure rates, even for new effective drugs. Despite the routine use of PCR correction in surveillance of drug resistance and in clinical drug trials, limitations inherent to the molecular genotyping methods have led some researchers to question the validity of current PCR correction strategies. Here we describe and discuss recent developments in these genotyping approaches, with a particular focus on method validation and limitations of the genotyping strategies. Our aim is to update scientists from public and private bodies who are working on the development, deployment, and surveillance of new malaria drugs. We aim to promote discussion around these issues and argue for the adoption of improved standardised PCR correction methodologies

Flow curves of colloidal dispersions close to the glass transition: Asymptotic scaling laws in a schematic model of mode coupling theory

The flow curves, viz. the curves of stationary stress under steady shearing, are obtained close to the glass transition in dense colloidal dispersions using asymptotic expansions in a schematic model of mode coupling theory. The shear thinning of the viscosity in fluid states and the yielding of glassy states is discussed. At the transition between fluid and shear-molten glass, simple and generalized Herschel-Bulkley laws are derived with power law exponents that can be computed for different particle interactions from the equilibrium structure factor.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, Eur. Phys. J. E (submitted

CRT: A numerical tool for propagating ultra-high energy cosmic rays through Galactic magnetic field models

Deflection of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) by the Galactic magnetic field (GMF) may be sufficiently strong to hinder identification of the UHECR source distribution. A common method for determining the effect of GMF models on source identification efforts is backtracking cosmic rays. We present the public numerical tool CRT for propagating charged particles through Galactic magnetic field models by numerically integrating the relativistic equation of motion. It is capable of both forward- and back-tracking particles with varying compositions through pre-defined and custom user-created magnetic fields. These particles are injected from various types of sources specified and distributed according to the user. Here, we present a description of some source and magnetic field model implementations, as well as validation of the integration routines.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Multi-parameter generalization of nonextensive statistical mechanics

We show that the stochastic interpretation of Tsallis' thermostatistics given recently by Beck [Phys. Rev. Lett {\bf 87}, 180601 (2001)] leads naturally to a multi-parameter generalization. The resulting class of distributions is able to fit experimental results which cannot be reproduced within the Boltzmann's or Tsallis' formalism.Comment: ReVTex 4.0, 4 eps figure

Stochastic Resonance in Ion Channels Characterized by Information Theory

We identify a unifying measure for stochastic resonance (SR) in voltage dependent ion channels which comprises periodic (conventional), aperiodic and nonstationary SR. Within a simplest setting, the gating dynamics is governed by two-state conductance fluctuations, which switch at random time points between two values. The corresponding continuous time point process is analyzed by virtue of information theory. In pursuing this goal we evaluate for our dynamics the tau-information, the mutual information and the rate of information gain. As a main result we find an analytical formula for the rate of information gain that solely involves the probability of the two channel states and their noise averaged rates. For small voltage signals it simplifies to a handy expression. Our findings are applied to study SR in a potassium channel. We find that SR occurs only when the closed state is predominantly dwelled. Upon increasing the probability for the open channel state the application of an extra dose of noise monotonically deteriorates the rate of information gain, i.e., no SR behavior occurs.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Superconducting properties of the attractive Hubbard model

A self-consistent set of equations for the one-electron self-energy in the ladder approximation is derived for the attractive Hubbard model in the superconducting state. The equations provide an extension of a T-matrix formalism recently used to study the effect of electron correlations on normal-state properties. An approximation to the set of equations is solved numerically in the intermediate coupling regime, and the one-particle spectral functions are found to have four peaks. This feature is traced back to a peak in the self-energy, which is related to the formation of real-space bound states. For comparison we extend the moment approach to the superconducting state and discuss the crossover from the weak (BCS) to the intermediate coupling regime from the perspective of single-particle spectral densities.Comment: RevTeX format, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Z.Phys.

Giant Shapiro steps for two-dimensional Josephson-junction arrays with time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau dynamics

Two-dimensional Josephson junction arrays at zero temperature are investigated numerically within the resistively shunted junction (RSJ) model and the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) model with global conservation of current implemented through the fluctuating twist boundary condition (FTBC). Fractional giant Shapiro steps are found for {\em both} the RSJ and TDGL cases. This implies that the local current conservation, on which the RSJ model is based, can be relaxed to the TDGL dynamics with only global current conservation, without changing the sequence of Shapiro steps. However, when the maximum widths of the steps are compared for the two models some qualitative differences are found at higher frequencies. The critical current is also calculated and comparisons with earlier results are made. It is found that the FTBC is a more adequate boundary condition than the conventional uniform current injection method because it minimizes the influence of the boundary.Comment: 6 pages including 4 figures in two columns, final versio

Inmate Recidivism as a Measure of Private Prison Performance

The growth of the private corrections industry has elicited interest in the comparative performance of state and private prisons. One way to measure the service quality of private prisons is to examine inmates' postrelease performance. Current empirical evidence is limited to four studies, all conducted in Florida. This analysis replicates and adds to the Florida measures in a different state and enhances previous methods. It uses data for a large cohort of Oklahoma state prison inmates released between 1997 and 2001. Controlling for known covariates, multivariate survival analysis revealed comparative rates of reincarceration for inmates in multiple exposure and comparison groups. These results are unique among prior studies on this topic; private prison inmates had a greater hazard of recidivism in all eight models tested, six of which were statistically significant. Finding no empirical support for claims of superior service from private corrections, the authors discuss policy implications and prospects for future research.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Factors related to tinnitus and hyperacusis handicap in older people.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to assess factors related to tinnitus and hyperacusis handicap in older people. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional. STUDY SAMPLE: Data were gathered for 184 patients with an average age of 69 years. RESULTS: Tinnitus handicap as measured via the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) was significantly predicted by tinnitus annoyance as measured via the visual analogue scale (VAS) (regression coefficient, b = 2.9, p < 0.001) and the effect of tinnitus on the patient's life as measured via the VAS (b = 3.9, p < 0.001). Hyperacusis handicap as measured via the Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HQ) was significantly predicted by the score on the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (b = 0.8, p < 0.001) and to a small extent by the THI score (b = 0.07, p = 0.048). Insomnia scores as measured via the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were significantly predicted by scores on the depression subscale of the HADS (b = 0.46, p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Since tinnitus annoyance significantly predicts tinnitus handicap, it is important to explore factors associated with annoyance that may be useful in designing appropriate rehabilitative interventions aimed at reducing tinnitus handicap in older people. Future studies should explore whether hyperacusis and insomnia in older people with tinnitus need to be managed in conjunction with treatment for depression