PREVIEW; Nunez v. Watchtower\u3cem\u3e: The Constitutional Implications of Montana\u27s Statutory Cap on Punitive Damages and Negligence Per Se Under Montana\u27s Child Abuse Reporting Statute\u3c/em\u3e

This case presents the Court with two significant issues. The core issue before the Court is whether Montana’s statutory cap of $10 million on punitive damages comports with Montana’s Constitution. The second issue before the Court is whether Petitioners Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. and The Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses are liable to Respondent Alexis Nunez, a congregant at Petitioner Montana’s Thompson Falls Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses for failure to report sexual abuse under Montana’s child abuse reporting statute

Length-dependent changes in contractile dynamics are blunted due to cardiac myosin binding protein-C ablation

Enhanced cardiac contractile function with increased sarcomere length (SL) is, in part, mediated by a decrease in the radial distance between myosin heads and actin. The radial disposition of myosin heads relative to actin is modulated by cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C), suggesting that cMyBP-C contributes to the length-dependent activation (LDA) in the myocardium. However, the precise roles of cMyBP-C in modulating cardiac LDA are unclear. To determine the impact of cMyBP-C on LDA, we measured isometric force, myofilament Ca2+-sensitivity (pCa50) and length-dependent changes in kinetic parameters of cross-bridge (XB) relaxation (krel), and recruitment (kdf) due to rapid stretch, as well as the rate of force redevelopment (ktr) in response to a large slack-restretch maneuver in skinned ventricular multicellular preparations isolated from the hearts of wild-type (WT) and cMyBP-C knockout (KO) mice, at SL’s 1.9µm or 2.1µm. Our results show that maximal force was not significantly different between KO and WT preparations but length-dependent increase in pCa50 was attenuated in the KO preparations. pCa50 was not significantly different between WT and KO preparations at long SL (5.82±0.02 in WT vs. 5.87±0.02 in KO), whereas pCa50 was significantly different between WT and KO preparations at short SL (5.71±0.02 in WT vs. 5.80±0.01 in KO; p<0.05). The ktr, measured at half-maximal Ca2+-activation, was significantly accelerated at short SL in WT preparations (8.74±0.56s-1at 1.9µm vs. 5.71±0.40s-1at 2.1µm, p<0.05). Furthermore, krel and kdf were accelerated by 32% and 50%, respectively at short SL in WT preparations. In contrast, ktr was not altered by changes in SL in KO preparations (8.03±0.54s-1at 1.9µm vs. 8.90±0.37s-1at 2.1µm). Similarly, KO preparations did not exhibit length-dependent changes in krel and kdf. Collectively, our data implicate cMyBP-C is an important regulator of LDA via its impact on dynamic XB behavior due to changes in SL

Brain Trust: Students for Students: VCU to RPS Mentorship Program

As a public, urban research institution, Virginia Commonwealth University embraces the importance of developing university-community partnerships that generate innovative solutions to societal challenges and prepare engaged citizens of tomorrow. The Students for Students: VCU to RPS Mentorship Program provides a model that will connect current VCU students to current Richmond Public Schools (RPS) students through a formal, multi-year mentorship. The ultimate goal of this program is to support and positively influence RPS students, while providing current VCU students with an opportunity to give back to the community while developing their mentorship skills. The mentoring relationship will seek to motivate RPS sophomores, juniors and seniors to improve school performance, graduate on time, and craft a post-high school path

A solid-reagent dispenser for use in the azocoll protease assay (and other insoluble substrate analyses).

A solid-reagent dispenser for use in the azocoll protease assay (and other insoluble substrate analyses)

Second NASA Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM): Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS) Technology Tool Box (TTB)

The Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS), a spreadsheet analysis tool suite, applies parametric equations for sizing and lifecycle cost estimation. Performance, operation, and programmatic data used by the equations come from a Technology Tool Box (TTB) database. In this second TTB Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM), technologists, system model developers, and architecture analysts discussed methods for modeling technology decisions in spreadsheet models, identified specific technology parameters, and defined detailed development requirements. This Conference Publication captures the consensus of the discussions and provides narrative explanations of the tool suite, the database, and applications of ATLAS within NASA s changing environment

A principal component meta-analysis on multiple anthropometric traits identifies novel loci for body shape

Large consortia have revealed hundreds of genetic loci associated with anthropometric traits, one trait at a time. We examined whether genetic variants affect body shape as a composite phenotype that is represented by a combination of anthropometric traits. We developed an approach that calculates averaged PCs (AvPCs) representing body shape derived from six anthropometric traits (body mass index, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio). The first four AvPCs explain \u3e99% of the variability, are heritable, and associate with cardiometabolic outcomes. We performed genome-wide association analyses for each body shape composite phenotype across 65 studies and meta-analysed summary statistics. We identify six novel loci: LEMD2 and CD47 for AvPC1, RPS6KA5/C14orf159 and GANAB for AvPC3, and ARL15 and ANP32 for AvPC4. Our findings highlight the value of using multiple traits to define complex phenotypes for discovery, which are not captured by single-trait analyses, and may shed light onto new pathways

Cumulative and Differential Effects of Early Child Care and Middle Childhood Out-of-School Time on Adolescent Functioning.

Effects associated with early child care and out-of-school time (OST) during middle childhood were examined in a large sample of U.S. adolescents (N&nbsp;=&nbsp;958). Both higher quality early child care AND more epochs of organized activities (afterschool programs and extracurricular activities) during middle childhood were linked to higher academic achievement at age 15. Differential associations were found in the behavioral domain. Higher quality early child care was associated with fewer externalizing problems, whereas more hours of early child care was linked to greater impulsivity. More epochs of organized activities was associated with greater social confidence. Relations between early child care and adolescent outcomes were not mediated or moderated by OST arrangements in middle childhood, consistent with independent, additive relations of these nonfamilial settings

Top A_FB at the Tevatron vs. charge asymmetry at the LHC in chiral U(1) flavor models with flavored Higgs doublets

We consider the top forward-backward (FB) asymmetry at the Tevatron and top charge asymmetry at the LHC within chiral U(1)^\prime models with flavor-dependent U(1)^\prime charges and flavored Higgs fields, which were introduced in the ref. [65]. The models could enhance not only the top forward-backward asymmetry at Tevatron, but also the top charge asymmetry at LHC, without too large same-sign top pair production rates. We identify parameter spaces for the U(1)^\prime gauge boson and (pseudo)scalar Higgs bosons where all the experimental data could be accommodated, including the case with about 125 GeV Higgs boson, as suggested recently by ATLAS and CMS.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, figures and discussion adde

Footnotes to Disciples History

From the mid 1950s through the 1990s, DCHS printed short publications to remind its readers about the importance of the past. The series included reprints as well as new historical studies. Footnotes to Disciples History collects this wide-ranging series into one volume. ⁃ Rice Haggard\u27s An Address to the Different Religious Societies, on the sacred import of the Christian Name (1804) ⁃ John M. Imbler\u27s Beyond Buffalo: Alexander Campbell on Education for Ministry (1992) ⁃ Report of the Proceedings of a General Meeting of Messengers from Thirteen Congregations (J.T. McVay and Alexander Campbell, 1834) ⁃ William A. Gerrards\u27s Christian Unity, Our Heritage (1986) ⁃ Alexander Campbell\u27s Lunenburg Letter (1837) ⁃ Eva Jean Wrather\u27s Alexander Campbell and His Relevance for Today (1959) ⁃ Perry Gresham\u27s The Broncho That Would Not Be Broken (1986)https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/acu_library_books/1011/thumbnail.jp