UNCOVERING THE EFFECTS OF THE FREEDMAN\u27S BANK FAILURE ON PERSONAL PROPERTY: AN ANALYSIS OF NEWLY OBTAINED DATA FROM KENTUCKY AND GEORGIA

The Freedman\u27s Savings and Trust Company (the Freedman’s Bank), collapsed in 1874, resulting in the loss of savings for many African American depositors. This study uses a difference-in-difference analysis to investigate the impact of the closure of the Freedman\u27s Bank on the economic well-being of African American taxpayers in Georgia and Kentucky during the Reconstruction era. The analysis did not identify a statistically significant treatment effect; however, it highlights the potential of previously unused archival data sources for future research. The study also draws attention to the need for more comprehensive and rigorous research in this area, in order to better understand the complexities of the Freedman\u27s Bank and its impact on its depositors

The Human-UX/UI Relation

This project takes an interdisciplinary approach between phenomenology and human-computer interaction to demonstrate how mediation theory establishes a process from which we can obtain a more comprehensive qualitative analysis of a technology’s UX/UI. Such an analysis overcomes the objective criticism normally imposed on the notion of subjective experiences. Our perceptions of UX/UI evoke a technology experience, through which emerges an interdependent relation between user and technology, such that each has some governance over the other. Building our understanding of human-technology relationships, and UX/UI’s role in them, allows us to better situate within the world a technology’s influence on our perception of societal virtues, which ultimately motivate the movement of society’s progress. This paper specifically analyzes Youtube and Facebook/Instagram as case studies, and their involvement in redefining the societal virtues of community and success, respectively. With these examples, I present a method to recognize UX/UI’s ability to affect our achievement in developing good character, and argue that analyzing UX/UI in such a way can make us more aware of how we should design and how we should conduct ourselves in using technology

The Human-UX/UI Relation

This project takes an interdisciplinary approach between phenomenology and human-computer interaction to demonstrate how mediation theory establishes a process from which we can obtain a more comprehensive qualitative analysis of a technology’s UX/UI. Such an analysis overcomes the objective criticism normally imposed on the notion of subjective experiences. Our perceptions of UX/UI evoke a technology experience, through which emerges an interdependent relation between user and technology, such that each has some governance over the other. Building our understanding of human-technology relationships, and UX/UI’s role in them, allows us to better situate within the world a technology’s influence on our perception of societal virtues, which ultimately motivate the movement of society’s progress. This paper specifically analyzes Youtube and Facebook/Instagram as case studies, and their involvement in redefining the societal virtues of community and success, respectively. With these examples, I present a method to recognize UX/UI’s ability to affect our achievement in developing good character, and argue that analyzing UX/UI in such a way can make us more aware of how we should design and how we should conduct ourselves in using technology

Characteristics and co-admissions of mothers and babies admitted to residential parenting services in the year following birth in NSW:a linked population data study (2000-2012)

BACKGROUND: There is a tiered healthcare system in Australia to support maternal and child health, including, non-psychiatric day stay and residential parenting services (RPS) such as Tresillian and Karitane (in New South Wales [NSW]). RPS are unique to Australia, and currently there is limited information regarding the healthcare trajectory of women accessing RPS and if they are more likely to have admissions to other health facilities within the first-year post-birth. This study aimed to examine differences in hospital co-admissions for women and babies admitted to RPS in NSW in the year following birth compared to non-RPS admitted women. METHODS: A linked population data study of all women giving birth in NSW 2000-2012. Statistical differences were calculated using chi-square and student t-tests. RESULTS: Over the 12-year timeframe, 32,071 women and 33,035 babies were admitted to RPS, with 5191 of these women also having one or more hospital admissions (7607 admissions). The comparator group comprised of 99,242 women not admitted to RPS but having hospital admissions over the same timeframe (136,771 admissions). Statistically significant differences between cohorts were observed for the following parameters (p ≤ .001). Based upon calculated percentages, women who were admitted to RPS were more often older, Australian born, socially advantaged, private patients, and having their first baby. RPS admitted women also had more multiple births and labour and birth interventions (induction, instrumental birth, caesarean section, epidural, episiotomy). Their infants were also more often male and admitted to Special Care Nursery/Neonatal Intensive Care. Additionally, RPS admitted women had more admissions for mental health and behavioural disorders, which appeared to increase over time. There was no statistical difference between cohorts regarding the number of women admitted to a psychiatric facility; however, women attending RPS were more likely to have mood affective, or behavioural and personality disorder diagnoses. CONCLUSION: Women accessing RPS in the year post-birth were more socially advantaged, had higher birth intervention and more co-admissions and treatment for mental health disorders than those not accessing RPS. More research is needed into the impact of birth intervention and mental health issues on subsequent parenting difficulties

GeneMill: A 21st century platform for innovation

GeneMill officially launched on 4th February 2016 and is an open access academic facility located at The University of Liverpool that has been established for the high-throughput construction and testing of synthetic DNA constructs. GeneMill provides end-to-end design, construction and phenotypic characterization of small to large gene constructs or genetic circuits/pathways for academic and industrial applications. Thus, GeneMill is equipping the scientific community with easy access to the validated tools required to explore the possibilities of Synthetic Biology

Manganese tricarbonyl complexes with asymmetric 2 2‑iminopyridine ligands: toward decoupling steric and electronic 3 factors in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction

Manganese tricarbonyl bromide complexes incorporating IP (2-(phenylimino)pyridine) derivatives, [MnBr(CO)3(IP)], are demonstrated as a new group of catalysts for CO2 reduction, which represent the first example of utilization of (phenylimino)pyridine ligands on manganese centers for this purpose. The key feature is the asymmetric structure of the redox-noninnocent ligand that permits independent tuning of its steric and electronic properties. The α-diimine ligands and five new Mn(I) compounds have been synthesized, isolated in high yields, and fully characterized, including X-ray crystallography. Their electrochemical and electrocatalytic behavior was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and UV−vis−IR spectroelectrochemistry within an OTTLE cell. Mechanistic investigations under an inert atmosphere have revealed differences in the nature of the reduction products as a function of steric bulk of the ligand. The direct ECE (electrochemical−chemical−electrochemical) formation of a five-coordinate anion [Mn(CO)3(IP)]−, a product of two-electron reduction of the parent complex, is observed in the case of the bulky DIPIMP (2-[((2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino)methyl]pyridine), TBIMP (2-[((2-tert-butylphenyl)imino)methyl]-pyridine), and TBIEP (2-[((2-tert-butylphenyl)imino)ethyl]pyridine) derivatives. This process is replaced for the least sterically demanding IP ligand in [MnBr(CO)3(IMP)] (2-[(phenylimino)methyl]pyridine) by the stepwise formation of such a monoanion via an ECEC(E) mechanism involving also the intermediate Mn−Mn dimer [Mn(CO)3(IMP)]2. The complex [MnBr(CO)3(IPIMP)] (2-[((2-diisopropylphenyl)imino)methyl]pyridine), which carries a moderately electron donating, moderately bulky IP ligand, shows an intermediate behavior where both the five-coordinate anion and its dimeric precursor are jointly detected on the time scale of the spectroelectrochemical experiments. Under an atmosphere of CO2 the studied complexes, except for the DIPIMP derivative, rapidly coordinate CO2, forming stable bicarbonate intermediates, with no dimer being observed. Such behavior indicates that the CO2 binding is outcompeting another pathway: viz., the dimerization reaction between the five-coordinate anion and the neutral parent complex. The bicarbonate intermediate species undergo reduction at more negative potentials (ca. −2.2 V vs Fc/Fc+ ), recovering [Mn(CO)3(IP)]− and triggering the catalytic production of CO

Developing observational methods to drive future hydrological science: can we make a start as a community?

Hydrology is still, and for good reasons, an inexact science, even if evolving hydrological understanding has provided a basis for improved water management for at least the last three millennia. The limitations of that understanding have, however, become much more apparent and important in the last century as the pressures of increasing populations, and the anthropogenic impacts on catchment forcing and responses, have intensified. At the same time, the sophistication of hydrological analyses and models has been developing rapidly, often driven more by the availability of computational power and geographical data sets than any real increases in understanding of hydrological processes. This sophistication has created an illusion of real progress but a case can be made that we are still rather muddling along, limited by the significant uncertainties in hydrological observations, knowledge of catchment characteristics and related gaps in conceptual understanding, particularly of the sub-surface. These knowledge gaps are illustrated by the fact that for many catchments we cannot close the water balance without significant uncertainty, uncertainty that is often neglected in evaluating models for practical applications

Comparison of Care Patterns and Rehospitalizations for Mechanically Ventilated Patients in New York and Ontario

Rationale: Mechanically ventilated patients require complex care and are at high risk for rehospitalization, but different systems of care may result in different hospital discharge practices and rates of rehospitalization. Objectives: To compare lengths of hospitalization, discharge patterns, and rehospitalization rates in New York (NY) in the US and Ontario (ON) in Canada. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of mechanically ventilated patients who survived an acute care hospitalization in NY or ON from 2010-2012, using linkable administrative healthcare data. Measurements and Main Results: The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of first rehospitalization within 30 days of discharge, accounting for the competing risk of death. Of 71,063 mechanically ventilated patients in NY, and 41,875 in ON who survived to hospital discharge, median length of initial hospital stay was similar in NY versus ON (15 days, Interquartile range (IQR) 8-28 vs 16 (9-30)), but was systematically shorter in NY when stratified by patient subgroups of different illness severity. Fewer patients in NY were discharged directly home (53.6% versus 71.4%). Of patients in NY, 15,527 (cumulative incidence 21.9%) had a first rehospitalization within 30 days versus 5,531 (cumulative incidence 13.2%) in Ontario, p<0.001. Incidence of rehospitalization was higher in NY across all subgroups assessed, with the greatest differences among patients with a tracheostomy (29.8% versus 13.3%, p<0.001), those who received dialysis during the hospitalization (31.9% versus 17.0%, p<0.001), and for patients not discharged directly home (27.6% versus 13.1% p<0.001). Conclusions: Mechanically ventilated patients who survive to hospital discharge in NY have shorter hospital stays, with higher rehospitalization rates within 30 days compared with ON

Asthma diagnosis: a comparison of established diagnostic guidelines in adults with respiratory symptoms

BackgroundConsiderable variability exists between asthma diagnostic guidelines. We tested the performance characteristics of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines for the diagnosis of asthma in adults.MethodsIn this prospective observational study (ISRCTN—11676160, May 2019–June 2022), participants referred from primary care with clinician-suspected asthma underwent comprehensive investigation including: spirometry, bronchodilator reversibility, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, peak expiratory flow variability, bronchial challenge testing with methacholine and mannitol, and responsiveness to inhaled corticosteroid therapy. Results were reviewed by a panel of asthma specialists to determine asthma diagnosis (reference standard) and compared to each diagnostic test and the ERS, NICE and GINA diagnostic algorithms (index tests). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values were calculated.FindingsOne hundred and forty adults were enrolled and 118 given a definitive diagnostic outcome [75 female; mean (SD) age 36 (12) years; 70 (59%) with asthma] and included in the analysis. Sensitivity of individual tests was poor (15–62%), but they provided good specificity at the most stringent thresholds (range: 88–100%). The sensitivity/specificity of ERS, NICE and GINA was 81/85%, 41/100% and 47/100%, respectively. Concordance between guidelines was only moderate (Cohen’s Kappa 0.45–0.51).InterpretationCurrent guidelines for the diagnosis of asthma in adults provide either excellent specificity but low sensitivity (GINA and NICE) or only reasonable sensitivity and specificity (ERS). All guidelines therefore have limitations with regards to their clinical application; new guidelines are needed but should be tested prospectively before roll out

Graduate Student Reflections on Mentorship in a Training and Outreach Program for Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Undergraduate (n = 19) and graduate students (n = 8) participated in a two semester training program focused on learning about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how to create individualized communication supports for families of children with ASD. The focus of this paper is on the graduate students’ training and mentoring experiences. Graduate students’ philosophies of mentoring undergraduate students and their final reflections of the experience were analyzed for themes and subthemes. Mentoring philosophies yielded four major themes: role of the mentor, mentoring goals, the mentor-mentee relationship, and learning. Graduate student reflections on their skills gained, what they learned about themselves, their leadership, and the challenges they faced were also categorized into themes. Analyses revealed undergraduate student ratings and qualitative comments regarding graduate student support. Implications and future directions for the development of hands-on training programs allowing graduate students in Communication Sciences and Disorders to assume mentorship roles will be discussed