Secure and Verifiable Electronic Voting in Practice: the use of vVote in the Victorian State Election

The November 2014 Australian State of Victoria election was the first statutory political election worldwide at State level which deployed an end-to-end verifiable electronic voting system in polling places. This was the first time blind voters have been able to cast a fully secret ballot in a verifiable way, and the first time a verifiable voting system has been used to collect remote votes in a political election. The code is open source, and the output from the election is verifiable. The system took 1121 votes from these particular groups, an increase on 2010 and with fewer polling places

The Growth in Applications for Social Security Disability Insurance: A Spillover Effect from Workers’ Compensation

We investigate the determinants of application for Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) benefits in approxi­mately 45 jurisdictions between 1981 and 1999. We reproduce findings of previous studies of the determinants of DI application then test the additional influence of changes to workers’ compensation program benefits and rules on DI application rates. Our findings indicate that the programs are interrelated: When workers’ compensation benefits declined and eligibility rules tightened in the 1990s, the DI application rate increased

Fire and vegetation dynamics in the Cross Timbers forests of South-Central North America

Natural Resource Ecology & Mgm

Large-area, wide-angle, spectrally selective plasmonic absorber

A simple metamaterial-based wide-angle plasmonic absorber is introduced, fabricated, and experimentally characterized using angle-resolved infrared spectroscopy. The metamaterials are prepared by nano-imprint lithography, an attractive low-cost technology for making large-area samples. The matching of the metamaterial's impedance to that of vacuum is responsible for the observed spectrally selective "perfect" absorption of infrared light. The impedance is theoretically calculated in the single-resonance approximation, and the responsible resonance is identified as a short-range surface plasmon. The spectral position of the absorption peak (which is as high as 95%) is experimentally shown to be controlled by the metamaterial's dimensions. The persistence of "perfect" absorption with variable metamaterial parameters is theoretically explained. The wide-angle nature of the absorber can be utilized for sub-diffraction-scale infrared pixels exhibiting spectrally selective absorption/emissivity.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Psychosocial Variables as Prospective Predictors of Violent Events Among Adolescents

Violent events are main causes of mortality among children and include intentional (e.g., homicide) and unintentional (e.g., accidents) circumstances. This study investigated the prediction of the self-reported occurrence of 14 violent events among eighth-grade youth from psychosocial variables measured in these same youth in seventh grade. Psychosocial variables ineluded tobacco and alcohol use, demographic variables, interpersonal variables such as family conflict, and intrapersonal variables such as risk taking. An iterative procedure, involving selection of a set of predictors and a test of the correlation of the set of predictors to the set of events, provided support for an extension of problem behavior theory to violent events

Identification of Which High Risk Youth Smoke Cigarettes Regularly

This study investigated which variables distinguish high school-aged adolescents who identify themselves as members of a high-risk group and, among them, those who report regular (weekly) vs. light levels of cigarette smoking. Youth who identified with a high-risk group were most likely to report problem-prone characteristics, such as a preference to take risks and smoke cigarettes. Yet, only half of them reported regular levels of smoking. Two variables delineated light smoking among these youth: not having a close friend who smoked and placing an importance on health as a value. Development of new tobacco-use prevention strategies to impart health values is suggested

Individual, sexual and temporal variation in the winter home range sizes of GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata

Capsule: Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata were faithful to foraging and roosting areas on their coastal wintering grounds, including a habitat creation site. Home range sizes were greater at night than during the day, and showed high inter-individual variability which was not related to sex. Aims: To examine factors affecting variation in the winter home range size of the largest European wader species: the near-threatened Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata. Methods: We examined individual, sexual and temporal (day/night, seasonal and annual) variation in the size of the home ranges of 18 GPS tagged Curlews captured at two sites on the Humber Estuary, UK. Results: Home ranges were small (mean ± SD = 555.5 ± 557.9 ha) and varied slightly in size through the non-breeding season (September–March). We found some annual differences in home range size, and there was some evidence that home range size was greater at night compared to daytime. There was strong inter-individual variation in home range size, which was not related to the species’ sexual size dimorphism and thus potential differences in resource use. Conclusions: Our results highlight that wintering Curlews on the Humber Estuary maintain small home ranges which vary strongly between individuals. Knowledge of the home range size of wintering waders is vital to inform management responses to the potential impacts of environmental changes such as sea-level rise and improving the efficacy of compensatory habitats

Pan-Arctic Fisheries and their Assessment

Pan-Arctic fisheries are highly diverse in their purpose, species biology, productivity, economic and strategic importance as well as in how they are prosecuted. They range from full industrial fisheries to community-based artisanal, sport and subsistence fisheries. The nature of Arctic ecosystems in the region varies from extremely productive to relatively barren in terms of fisheries production. Gear types vary, but offshore trawl fisheries and inshore and freshwater gillnet fisheries are the most common. Rights-based fisheries (e.g., for indigenous inhabitants) are more prominent in the Canadian and American Arctic than in European jurisdictions. The principal harvested species in freshwater environments tend to be from few taxa mainly Salvelinus spp. and from the family Coregonidae, while the marine taxa are more diverse. Compared to north temperate fisheries, Arctic fisheries have impressive variation across longitudes; some jurisdictions support only small-scale subsistence fisheries, whereas others contain some of the largest yields among industrial fisheries. Approaches to scientific assessment are also highly diverse with a range from catch-based indicators to sophisticated fully age-structured population models

How to Better Understand the Influence of Host Genetics on Developing an Effective Immune Response to Thoracic Cancers

Thoracic cancers pose a significant global health burden. Immune checkpoint blockade therapies have improved treatment outcomes, but durable responses remain limited. Understanding how the host immune system interacts with a developing tumor is essential for the rational development of improved treatments for thoracic malignancies. Recent technical advances have improved our understanding of the mutational burden of cancer cells and changes in cancer-specific gene expression, providing a detailed understanding of the complex biology underpinning tumor-host interactions. While there has been much focus on the genetic alterations associated with cancer cells and how they may impact treatment outcomes, how host genetics affects cancer development is also critical and will greatly determine treatment response. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants associated with cancer predisposition. This approach has successfully identified host genetic risk factors associated with common thoracic cancers like lung cancer, but is less effective for rare cancers like malignant mesothelioma. To assess how host genetics impacts rare thoracic cancers, we used the Collaborative Cross (CC); a powerful murine genetic resource designed to maximize genetic diversity and rapidly identify genes associated with any biological trait. We are using the CC in conjunction with our asbestos-induced MexTAg mouse model, to identify host genes associated with mesothelioma development. Once genes that moderate tumor development and progression are known, human homologues can be identified and human datasets interrogated to validate their association with disease outcome. Furthermore, our CC−MexTAg animal model enables in-depth study of the tumor microenvironment, allowing the correlation of immune cell infiltration and gene expression signatures with disease development. This strategy provides a detailed picture of the underlying biological pathways associated with mesothelioma susceptibility and progression; knowledge that is crucial for the rational development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Here we discuss the influence of host genetics on developing an effective immune response to thoracic cancers. We highlight current knowledge gaps, and with a focus on mesothelioma, describe the development and application of the CC-MexTAg to overcome limitations and illustrate how the knowledge gained from this unique study will inform the rational design of future treatments of mesothelioma