Bistability in Differential Equation Model of Oyster Population and Sediment Volume

The Chesapeake May oyster has been the focus of more than a century of heavy harvesting and now several decades of restoration attempts. Concerted efforts to rebuild the native oyster population and reef structure have yielded similar results. Recent success in the Great Wicomico River suggests that initial reef height combats growth retarding sedimentation resulting in multiple stable states of reefs. We use a system of three differential equations to model volumes of live oysters, dead oysters, and sediment. We show that multiple nonnegative equilibria exist for an ecologically reasonable range of parameters and the initial height of oyster reefs determines which equilibrium is reached

Entrepreneurship in Manufacturing in Kenya: Characteristics, Problems and Sources of Finance

This article examines entrepreneurship and small business manufacturer's characteristics in Kenya. Much literature on small business development in developing world countries assume informal sector activities as homogeneous in their characteristics (Morris and Pitt, 1995; Bewayo, 1995; Ekpenyong and Nyong, 1992). Thereby policy recommendations are blanket and not of great assistance. The article investigates a sample of 320 manufacturers, from three industries. The objectives are to evaluate characteristics of small-scale manufacturers that make it difficult to be profitable and the problems faced  which contribute to poor performanc

Commentaries on the Laws of England : in Four Books

From Editor\u27s Preface, Volume I: “The Commentaries of Mr. Justice Blackstone have now for more than a century been the wonder and delight of persons whose curiosity or interest have led them to investigate the constitution and laws of Great Britain, the condition of things from which they grew, and the reasons upon which they rest…. “In preparation of the present edition it has not been thought unimportant to call attention from time to time to the differences which exist between the constitutions of Great Britain and of the United States. Some of those differences, however, are too subtle to be put upon paper, and spring from differences in society which are sensibly felt but difficult of description…. “What is new in this edition has been added in the same spirit that has governed the selections from the English notes. As students make more use of this work than practicing lawyers, their information and benefit have been kept mainly in view but references have been made to judicial decisions on many practical questions, and it is hoped they will be found not without their convenience to the profession generally.” --Thomas M. Cooley, Ann Arbor, … 1870https://repository.law.umich.edu/books/1103/thumbnail.jp

Commentaries on the Laws of England : in Four Books

“The Commentaries of Mr. Justice Blackstone have now for more than a century been the wonder and delight of persons whose curiosity or interest have led them to investigate the constitution and laws of Great Britain, the condition of things from which they grew, and the reasons upon which they rest…. “In preparation of the present edition it has not been thought unimportant to call attention from time to time to the differences which exist between the constitutions of Great Britain and of the United States. Some of those differences, however, are too subtle to be put upon paper, and spring from differences in society which are sensibly felt but difficult of description…. “What is new in this edition has been added in the same spirit that has governed the selections from the English notes. As students make more use of this work than practicing lawyers, their information and benefit have been kept mainly in view but references have been made to judicial decisions on many practical questions, and it is hoped they will be found not without their convenience to the profession generally.” --Thomas M. Cooley, Ann Arbor, … 1870https://repository.law.umich.edu/books/1102/thumbnail.jp

Commentaries on the Laws of England : in Four Books

“The main purpose in giving to the public a new edition of the Commentaries of Blackstone, was to present the changes in the law which had taken place since the last preceding edition appeared, that the reader, while informing himself concerning the law of England of a century since, might not be misled in respect to its present condition. With this object before him, while avoiding the detail which might be useful to the English practitioner, but which would merely cumber the pages for American use, the editor has sought to indicate the statutory changes sufficiently to give a general idea of the advancement made in the English law since our commentator’s time, and also to enable the American student to compare the law of his own country with the system from which it was derived, as modified by the experience of another land enjoying free institutions under circumstances and with a state of society considerably differing from our own….” --Author’s Preface to the First Edition reprinted in 2nd Ed. “A new edition of this work having become necessary, the editor has made some changes and additions, but not such as will call for special notice here. They consist in the main of references to new cases, though some new notes have been added which may prove of practical value.” --Authors Preface in 2nd Ed.https://repository.law.umich.edu/books/1097/thumbnail.jp

Fostering Intercultural Inquiry in Subject‐ Area Curriculum Courses

This study investigates the infusion of intercultural inquiry into subject‐area curricu‐ lum courses in a teacher education program. Drawing from data that include ques‐ tionnaires, student assignments, and interviews, the research focuses on how student teachers responded to critical explorations of diversity within curriculum courses in second language education, early childhood education, and art education. The find‐ ings indicate that most student teachers had limited prior experiences with diversity, leading to anxiety and uncertainty about their preparedness to work in diverse class‐ rooms. Although many were receptive to intercultural inquiry and perceived its value, some resisted efforts to critically challenge social inequality and privilege. Key words: teacher education, diversity, multicultural education, intercultural inquiry Cet article porte sur l’intégration de la recherche interculturelle dans un programme de formation à l’enseignement. Puisant dans des données tirées entre autres de questionnai‐ res, de travaux d’étudiants et d’entrevues, les auteurs cherchent essentiellement à examiner comment des étudiants‐maîtres réagissent aux explorations critiques de la diversité dans des cours en enseignement d’une langue seconde, en éducation préscolaire et en éducation artistique. D’après les résultats obtenus, la plupart des étudiants‐maîtres avaient au départ peu d’expérience de la diversité ; ils se sentaient donc anxieux et peu sûrs d’eux par rap‐ port à la perspective de travailler dans des classes hétérogènes. Si certains voyaient d’un bon œil la recherche interculturelle et étaient conscients de sa valeur, d’autres se mon‐ traient réticents à défier de façon critique des inégalités et des privilèges sociaux. Mots clés : formation à l’enseignement, diversité, éducation multiculturelle, recherche interculturelle

Investigating the observed sensitivities of air-quality extremes to meteorological drivers via quantile regression

Air pollution variability is strongly dependent on meteorology. However, quantifying the impacts of changes in regional climatology on pollution extremes can be difficult due to the many non-linear and competing meteorological influences on the production, transport, and removal of pollutant species. Furthermore, observed pollutant levels at many sites show sensitivities at the extremes that differ from those of the overall mean, indicating relationships that would be poorly characterized by simple linear regressions. To address this challenge, we apply quantile regression to observed daily ozone (O[subscript 3]) and fine particulate matter (PM[subscript 2.5]) levels and reanalysis meteorological fields in the USA over the past decade to specifically identify the meteorological sensitivities of higher pollutant levels. From an initial set of over 1700 possible meteorological indicators (including 28 meteorological variables with 63 different temporal options), we generate reduced sets of O[subscript 3] and PM[subscript 2.5] indicators for both summer and winter months, analyzing pollutant sensitivities to each for response quantiles ranging from 2 to 98 %. Primary covariates connected to high-quantile O[subscript 3] levels include temperature and relative humidity in the summer, while winter O[subscript 3] levels are most commonly associated with incoming radiation flux. Covariates associated with summer PM[subscript 2.5] include temperature, wind speed, and tropospheric stability at many locations, while stability, humidity, and planetary boundary layer height are the key covariates most frequently associated with winter PM[subscript 2.5]. We find key differences in covariate sensitivities across regions and quantiles. For example, we find nationally averaged sensitivities of 95th percentile summer O[subscript 3] to changes in maximum daily temperature of approximately 0.9 ppb °C[superscript −1], while the sensitivity of 50th percentile summer O[subscript 3] (the annual median) is only 0.6 ppb °C[superscript −1]. This gap points to differing sensitivities within various percentiles of the pollutant distribution, highlighting the need for statistical tools capable of identifying meteorological impacts across the entire response spectrum.United States. Environmental Protection Agency (Grant/Cooperative Agreement RD-83522801

An Ontology for Designing Models of Epidemics

Models of epidemics allow decision makers to explore the consequences of different interventions. The Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) project has been collecting studies, models, data supporting the models, and publications providing historical evidence about epidemics.
An ontology has been developed for MIDAS to support the collection, documentation, and dissemination of models. It uses relations to link taxonomies (including a subset of the infectious disease ontology) that define the scope of its models and supporting documentation.
The ontology is used to aid in the navigation process that is part of the user interface for identifying which studies and publications are available in the MIDAS repository (MREP) that are consistent with the many parameters associated with a particular study. 
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Cover title.Includes bibliographical references

Specific Cognitive/Behavioral Domains Predict Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Severe Dementia

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) have high prevalence in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD), with nearly 100% of individuals experiencing some type of symptom over the course of dementia (Tschanz et al, 2011). The occurrence of NPS is highly variable and fluctuates in severity (Tschanz et al., 2016). Their occurrence differs by type of dementia and increases over time (Kazui et al., 2016). Although risk factors for NPS in ADRD have been studied (e.g., Steinberg et al., 2014; Treiber et al, 2008), greater understanding of the nature of NPS and their triggers is needed to inform care management strategies (Gauthier et al., 2010). While much research has examined NPS in mild-to-moderate dementia, fewer studies have examined NPS in severe dementia. We investigated the cognitive correlates of NPS in patients with severe dementia in a community-based sample, examining whether impairments in specific cognitive or behavioral domains were more predictive of specific NPS. We hypothesized that poorer cognitive abilities would be associated with more severe NPS (e.g., agitation) and higher cognitive scores with affective symptoms in severe dementia. Methods: Eighty-nine (27%) out of 328 total participants of a longitudinal study of dementia progression (the Cache County Dementia Progression Study) met criteria for severe dementia: Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) score of ≤10 or Clinical Dementia Rating of 3 (severe). Forty-eight (54%) of these individuals completed the Severe Cognitive Impairment Profile (SCIP), which assessed the following domains: Comportment, Attention, Language, Memory, Motor, Conceptualization, Arithmetic, and Visuospatial abilities. NPS were assessed by caregiver report using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). The NPI assesses delusions, hallucinations, depression, anxiety, irritability, apathy, agitation/aggression, judgement, aberrant motor behaviors, euphoria, sleep and appetite. Demographic information, overall health, place of residence (private home, assisted living facility and nursing home), and dementia duration were also assessed. NPI severity scores (intensity x frequency) were summed across domains to yield a total NPI score (Total NPI-12) and domain clusters of psychotic symptoms (hallucinations and delusions), affective symptoms (depression, anxiety, and irritability), apathy, and agitation/aggression were examined. Bivariate correlations between SCIP domain scores and Total NPI-12 and the domain clusters were examined. SCIP domain scores that were significantly correlated with NPI scores in bivariate analyses were entered into multiple regression models. Covariates tested included the age at which severe dementia criteria was met, the duration of dementia from age of onset, gender, place of residence, overall health and years of education. Results: Mean (SD) age and education were 86.23 (6.12) and 13.13 (3.13), respectively. Total NPI-12 scores showed significant correlations with the SCIP sub scores of comportment ( r = -0.36, p = 0.017) and memory (r = - 0.31, p = 0.047). Apathy significantly correlated with comportment (r = -0.38, p = 0.010) while agitation/aggression correlated with conceptualization (r = -0.41, p = 0.007), language (r = -0.36, p = 0.017), memory (r = -0.48, p = 0.001), and visuospatial ability (r = -0.31, p = 0.045). In multiple regression models (with inclusion of significant covariates), total NPI-12 scores were significantly associated with comportment (β = -1.32, SE = 0.56, p = 0.02); apathy was significantly associated with comportment (β = -0.01, SE = 0.02, p = 0.003); and agitation/aggression was significantly associated with memory (β = -0.43, SE = 0.12, p = 0.001). NPI affective and psychotic scores were not associated with any SCIP domains. Conclusion: In this sample of individuals with severe dementia, we found several cognitive or behavioral domains were associated with NPS. Poorer abilities in Comportment, which consisted of responses to social questions (e.g., greetings) were associated with more severe apathy, and poorer abilities in conceptualization, language, memory and visuospatial skills were associated with more severe agitation/aggression. With the latter, multiple regression models found only memory scores to independently predict agitation/aggression, reflecting moderate correlation between cognitive domains. Our results suggest that poor cognitive abilities may increase vulnerability to NPS, possibly as a result of impaired comprehension of activities and events in the environment. Cognitive testing may be useful to identify those at greatest risk for NPS. Furthermore, environmental manipulations that aim to decrease the complexity and therefore degree of stimulation for persons with dementia to a level more appropriate to their level of cognitive function may help reduce the occurrence of NPS in severe dementia