Baltimore Law Clubs: A Tradition Promoting the Integrity of the Bar Through Scholarship and Congeniality

Since before the civil war, lawyers and judges in Baltimore have had a tendency to organize informal, intimate, and exclusive clubs for the purpose of promoting congeniality and scholarship.1 Although this Anglo-American tradition traces back to as early as the sixteenth century,2 the institution of law clubs in the United States appears to have been a unique, local phenomenon until the 1960s and 1970s.3 Today, this tradition continues in Baltimore City, which currently plays host to no fewer than eight individual law clubs, with many more existing throughout the state. These law clubs offer their members the opportunity to pursue scholarly endeavors while also providing a social outlet for members of the bench and bar alike. While the members of these organizations certainly realize the intrinsic benefits attendant to membership, Baltimore’s law clubs also benefit the legal profession by promoting scholarship and congeniality

Doubly Robust Inference when Combining Probability and Non-probability Samples with High-dimensional Data

Non-probability samples become increasingly popular in survey statistics but may suffer from selection biases that limit the generalizability of results to the target population. We consider integrating a non-probability sample with a probability sample which provides high-dimensional representative covariate information of the target population. We propose a two-step approach for variable selection and finite population inference. In the first step, we use penalized estimating equations with folded-concave penalties to select important variables for the sampling score of selection into the non-probability sample and the outcome model. We show that the penalized estimating equation approach enjoys the selection consistency property for general probability samples. The major technical hurdle is due to the possible dependence of the sample under the finite population framework. To overcome this challenge, we construct martingales which enable us to apply Bernstein concentration inequality for martingales. In the second step, we focus on a doubly robust estimator of the finite population mean and re-estimate the nuisance model parameters by minimizing the asymptotic squared bias of the doubly robust estimator. This estimating strategy mitigates the possible first-step selection error and renders the doubly robust estimator root-n consistent if either the sampling probability or the outcome model is correctly specified

Inhibition of protein geranylgeranylation induces apoptosis in synovial fibroblasts

Statins, competitive inhibitors of hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase, have recently been shown to have a therapeutic effect in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In RA, synovial fibroblasts in the synovial lining, are believed to be particularly important in the pathogenesis of disease because they recruit leukocytes into the synovium and secrete angiogenesis-promoting molecules and proteases that degrade extracellular matrix. In this study, we show a marked reduction in RA synovial fibroblast survival through the induction of apoptosis when the cells were cultured with statins. Simvastatin was more effective in RA synovial fibroblasts than atorvastatin, and both statins were more potent on tumor necrosis factor-α-induced cells. In contrast, in osteoarthritis synovial fibroblasts, neither the statin nor the activation state of the cell contributed to the efficacy of apoptosis induction. Viability of statin-treated cells could be rescued by geranylgeraniol but not by farnesol, suggesting a requirement for a geranylgeranylated protein for synovial fibroblast survival. Phase partitioning experiments confirmed that in the presence of statin, geranylgeranylated proteins are redistributed to the cytoplasm. siRNA experiments demonstrated a role for Rac1 in synovial fibroblast survival. Western blotting showed that the activated phosphorylated form of Akt, a protein previously implicated in RA synovial fibroblast survival, was decreased by about 75%. The results presented in this study lend further support to the importance of elevated pAkt levels to RA synovial fibroblast survival and suggest that statins might have a beneficial role in reducing the aberrant pAkt levels in patients with RA. The results may also partly explain the therapeutic effect of atorvastatin in patients with RA

Sepsis biomarkers in unselected patients on admission to intensive or high-dependency care

Although many sepsis biomarkers have shown promise in selected patient groups, only C-reactive protein and procalcitonin (PCT) have entered clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate three promising novel sepsis biomarkers in unselected patients at admission to intensive care. We assessed the performance of pancreatic stone protein (PSP), soluble CD25 (sCD25) and heparin binding protein (HBP) in distinguishing patients with sepsis from those with a non-infective systemic inflammatory response and the ability of these markers to indicate severity of illness. METHODS: Plasma levels of the biomarkers, PCT and selected inflammatory cytokines were measured in samples taken from 219 patients during the first six hours of admission to intensive or high dependency care. Patients with a systemic inflammatory response were categorized as having sepsis or a non-infective aetiology, with or without markers of severity, using standard diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: Both PSP and sCD25 performed well as biomarkers of sepsis irrespective of severity of illness. For both markers the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) was greater than 0.9; PSP 0.927 (0.887 to 0.968) and sCD25 0.902 (0.854 to 0.949). Procalcitonin and IL6 also performed well as markers of sepsis whilst in this intensive care unit (ICU) population, HBP did not: PCT 0.840 (0.778 to 0.901), IL6 0.805 (0.739 to 0.870) and HBP 0.607 (0.519 to 0.694). Levels of both PSP and PCT reflected severity of illness and both markers performed well in differentiating patients with severe sepsis from severely ill patients with a non-infective systemic inflammatory response: AUCs 0.955 (0.909 to 1) and 0.837 (0.732 to 0.941) respectively. Although levels of sCD25 did not correlate with severity, the addition of sCD25 to either PCT or PSP in a multivariate model improved the diagnostic accuracy of either marker alone. CONCLUSIONS: PSP and sCD25 perform well as sepsis biomarkers in patients with suspected sepsis at the time of admission to intensive or high dependency care. These markers warrant further assessment of their prognostic value. Whereas previously published data indicate HBP has clinical utility in the emergency department, it did not perform well in an intensive-care population

Quasiequilibrium sequences of black-hole--neutron-star binaries in general relativity

We construct quasiequilibrium sequences of black hole-neutron star binaries for arbitrary mass ratios by solving the constraint equations of general relativity in the conformal thin-sandwich decomposition. We model the neutron star as a stationary polytrope satisfying the relativistic equations of hydrodynamics, and account for the black hole by imposing equilibrium boundary conditions on the surface of an excised sphere (the apparent horizon). In this paper we focus on irrotational configurations, meaning that both the neutron star and the black hole are approximately nonspinning in an inertial frame. We present results for a binary with polytropic index n=1, mass ratio M_{irr}^{BH}/M_{B}^{NS}=5 and neutron star compaction M_{ADM,0}^{NS}/R_0=0.0879, where M_{irr}^{BH} is the irreducible mass of the black hole, M_{B}^{NS} the neutron star baryon rest-mass, and M_{ADM,0}^{NS} and R_0 the neutron star Arnowitt-Deser-Misner mass and areal radius in isolation, respectively. Our models represent valid solutions to Einstein's constraint equations and may therefore be employed as initial data for dynamical simulations of black hole-neutron star binaries.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, revtex4, published in Phys.Rev.

An Ultracool Star's Candidate Planet

We report here the discovery of the first planet around an ultracool dwarf star. It is also the first extrasolar giant planet (EGP) astrometrically discovered around a main-sequence star. The statistical significance of the detection is shown in two ways. First, there is a 2 x 10^-8 probability that the astrometric motion fits a parallax-and-proper-motion-only model. Second, periodogram analysis shows a false alarm probability of 3 x 10^-5 that the discovered period is randomly generated. The planetary mass is M2 = 6.4 (+2.6,-3.1) Jupiter-masses (MJ), and the orbital period is P = 0.744 (+0.013,-0.008) yr in the most likely model. In less likely models, companion masses that are higher than the 13 MJ planetary mass limit are ruled out by past radial velocity measurements unless the system radial velocity is more than twice the current upper limits and the near-periastron orbital phase was never observed. This new planetary system is remarkable, in part, because its star, VB 10, is near the lower mass limit for a star. Our astrometric observations provide a dynamical mass measurement and will in time allow us to confront the theoretical models of formation and evolution of such systems and their members. We thus add to the diversity of planetary systems and to the small number of known M-dwarf planets. Planets such as VB 10b could be the most numerous type of planets because M stars comprise >70% of all stars. To date they have remained hidden since the dominant radial-velocity (RV) planet-discovery technique is relatively insensitive to these dim, red systems.Comment: 1 30 page pdf file, 9 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Conducting Research with Tribal Communities: Sovereignty, Ethics, and Data-Sharing Issues

When conducting research with American Indian tribes, informed consent beyond conventional Institutional Review Board (IRB) review is needed because there may be potential for adverse consequences at a community or governmental level that are unrecognized by academic researchers. This paper reviews sovereignty, research ethics, and data-sharing considerations when doing community-based participatory health-related or natural resource-related research with American Indian nations and presents a model material and data-sharing agreement that meets tribal and university requirements. Only tribal nations themselves can identify potential adverse outcomes, and they can do this only if they understand the assumptions and methods of the proposed research. Tribes much be truly equal partners in study design, data collection, interpretation, and publication. Advances in protection of intellectual property rights are also applicable to IRB reviews, as are principles of sovereignty and indigenous rights, all of which affect data ownership and control. Academic researchers engaged in tribal projects should become familiar with all three areas: sovereignty, ethics and informed consent, and intellectual property rights (IPR). We recommend developing an agreement with tribal partners that reflects both health-related IRB and natural resource-related IPR considerations