C-SALT: CONVERSATIONAL STYLE ATTRIBUTION GIVEN LEGISLATIVE TRANSCRIPTIONS

Common authorship attribution is well described by various authors summed up in Jacques Savoy’s work. Namely, authorship attribution is the process “whereby the author of a given text must be determined based on text samples written by known authors [48].” The field of authorship attribution has been explored in various contexts. Most of these works have been done on the authors written text. This work seeks to approach a similar field to authorship attribution. We seek to attribute not a given author to a work based on style, but a style itself that is used by a group of people. Our work classifies an author into a category based off the spoken dialogue they have said, not text they have written down. Using this system, we differentiate California State Legislators from other entities in a hearing. This is done using audio transcripts of the hearing in question. As this is not Authorship Attribution, the work can better be described as ”Conversational Style Attribution”. Used as a tool in speaker identification classifiers, we were able to increase the accuracy of audio recognition by 50.9%, and facial recognition by 51.6%. These results show that our research into Conversational Style Attribution provides a significant benefit to the speaker identification process

Cowbird Control: Management Issues, Controversies and Perceptions, and the Future

Brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) have been implicated as a cause of songbird population declines. Cowbirds can have particularly severe negative impacts on already endangered hosts. Removal of cowbirds by trapping has become a popular management action to benefit hosts. Cowbird trapping often decreases parasitism frequency and can help to increase the reproductive success of hosts. However, its role in the recovery of host populations is equivocal. Based on our experience at Fort Hood Military Reservation, Texas, the site of a long-term, landscape-scale trapping program, we discuss factors that we believe are important for the success of a trapping program (e.g., timing of trapping). Although cowbird removal is generally accepted as a songbird conservation tool, its use is not without controversy. So, we also review some of the economic, ethical, legal, and scientific issues associated with cowbird trapping. Ultimately, our continued ability to remove cowbirds as a tool for songbird conservation may depend on the resolution of these controversies. Although cowbird removal may not be a viable long-term solution to songbird population declines in of itself, it can be an integral part of integrated songbird management strategies

What Do Economists Know About Crime?

In this paper we evaluate what economists have learned over the past 40 years about the determinants of crime. We base our evaluation on two kinds of evidence: an examination of aggregate data over long time periods and across countries, and a critical review of the literature. We argue that economists know little about the empirically relevant determinants of crime. Even hypotheses that find some support in U.S. data for recent decades are inconsistent with data over longer horizons or across countries. This conclusion applies both to policy variables like arrest rates or capital punishment and to less conventional factors such as abortion or gun laws. The hypothesis that drug prohibition generates violence, however, is generally consistent with the long times-series and cross-country facts. This analysis is also consistent with a broader perspective in which government policies that affect the nature and amount of dispute resolution play an important role in determining violence.

Lomustine Nanoparticles Enable Both Bone Marrow Sparing and High Brain Drug Levels – A Strategy for Brain Cancer Treatments

Purpose The blood brain barrier compromises glioblastoma chemotherapy. However high blood concentrations of lipophilic, alkylating drugs result in brain uptake, but cause myelosuppression. We hypothesised that nanoparticles could achieve therapeutic brain concentrations without dose-limiting myelosuppression. Methods Mice were dosed with either intravenous lomustine Molecular Envelope Technology (MET) nanoparticles (13 mg kg-1) or ethanolic lomustine (6.5 mg kg-1) and tissues analysed. Efficacy was assessed in an orthotopic U-87 MG glioblastoma model, following intravenous MET lomustine (daily 13 mg kg-1) or ethanolic lomustine (daily 1.2 mg kg-1 - the highest repeated dose possible). Myelosuppression and MET particle macrophage uptake were also investigated. Results The MET formulation resulted in modest brain targeting (brain/ bone AUC0-4h ratios for MET and ethanolic lomustine = 0.90 and 0.53 respectively and brain/ liver AUC0-4h ratios for MET and ethanolic lomustine = 0.24 and 0.15 respectively). The MET formulation significantly increased mice (U-87 MG tumours) survival times; with MET lomustine, ethanolic lomustine and untreated mean survival times of 33.2, 22.5 and 21.3 days respectively and there were no material treatment-related differences in blood and femoral cell counts. Macrophage uptake is slower for MET nanoparticles than for liposomes. Conclusions Particulate drug formulations improved brain tumour therapy without major bone marrow toxicity

Following the Science: the role of the academic medical center in the COVID-19 pandemic

This article reviews the experience and role of an academic medical center in a response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Assessing older adult physical activity levels in clinical settings: The modified PAVS for older adults.

Participating in recommended levels of physical activity (PA) is critical for preventing functional decline, falls, and frailty, making it essential to identify older adults not meeting national PA guidelines. However, guidance on assessing older adult PA levels, particularly in clinical settings, is lacking. This article presents an overview of clinically feasible PA assessment tools for older adults, identifies gaps in current tools, and provides recommendations on addressing these gaps. We conducted a literature review on clinically feasible PA assessment tools, suggested modifications to an existing PA assessment for older adult patients, and highlighted opportunities for integrating the modified PA assessment tool in clinical settings. We identified 16 PA assessment tools used in clinical settings. The most widely used tool is the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS), which has been successfully integrated into several electronic health records (EHR) and clinical practices. Most tools, including the PAVS, primarily focus on aerobic activities, with limited consideration for strength and balance. We recommend the use of a Modified PAVS for Older Adults that includes items on muscle-strengthening and balance activities to better align with national PA guidelines. We then identified several existing opportunities for broad implementation of the Modified PAVS for Older Adults within clinical settings. Widespread integration of the Modified PAVS for Older Adults will better support healthcare providers in identifying individuals not meeting national PA recommendations, assisting them in prescribing tailored PA prescriptions and better connecting their patients to appropriate resources and professionals for further support. [Abstract copyright: © 2024 The American Geriatrics Society.

Galactic star-formation rates gauged by stellar end-products

Young galactic X-ray point sources (XPs) closely trace the ongoing star formation in galaxies. From measured XP number counts we extract the collective 2-10 keV luminosity of young XPs, L_yXP, which we use to gauge the current star-formation rate (SFR) in galaxies. We find that, for a sample of local star-forming galaxies (i.e., normal spirals and mild starbursts), L_yXP correlates linearly with the SFR over three decades in luminosity. A separate, high-SFR sample of starburst ULIRGs can be used to check the calibration of the relation. Using their (presumably SF-related) total 2-10 keV luminosities we find that these sources satisfy the SFR-L_yXP relation, as defined by the weaker sample, and extend it to span about 5 decades in luminosity. The SFR-L_yXP relation is likely to hold also for distant Hubble Deep Field North galaxies, especially so if these high-SFR objects are similar to the (more nearby) ULIRGs. It is argued that the SFR-L_yXP relation provides the most adequate X-ray estimator of instantaneous SFR by the phenomena characterizing massive stars from their birth (FIR emission from placental dust clouds) through their death as compact remnants (emitting X-rays by accreting from a close donor). For local, low/intermediate-SFR galaxies, the simultaneous existence of a correlation of the instantaneous SFR with the total 2-10 keV luminosity, which traces the SFR integrated over (approximately) the last Gyr, suggests that during such epoch the SF in these galaxies has been proceeding at a relatively constant rate.Comment: A&A, in press (15 pages, 8 figures

Concert recording 2022-11-08

[Track 1]. Beau soir / Claude Debussy -- The lass from the Low Countree / John Jacob Niles – [Track 2]. Into the night / Clara Edwards -- [Track 3]. An Silvia / Franz Schubert -- [Track 4]. Se tu m’ami, se sospiri / Alessandro Parisotti -- [Track 5]. Erlafsee / Franz Schubert -- [Track 6]. Vittoria, mio core / Giacomo Carissimi -- [Track 7]. Aufenthalt / Franz Schubert -- [Track 8]. Amarilli, mia bella / Giulio Caccini -- [Track 9]. There’s a Fine, Fine Line, from Avenue Q / Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx -- [Track 10]. Go, lovely rose / Roger Quilter -- [Track 11]. Vagabond / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 12]. Sebben, crudele / Antonio Caldara -- [Track 13]. Love’s philosophy / Roger Quilter (1877–1953) -- [Track 14]. Perla gloria / Giovanni Bononcini -- [Track 15]. Money, O! / Michael Head -- [Track 16]. Lasciate mi morire / Claudio Monteverdi -- Across the western ocean / Arr. Celius Dougherty -- [Track 17]. Perduta ho la Speranza / Stefano Donaudy -- [Track 18]. Lonley House from Street Scene / Kurt Weill -- [Track 19]. Preghiera / Paolo Tosti -- [Track 20]. Allerseelen / Richard Strauss -- [Track 21]. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai / Robert Schumann -- [Track 22]. Una furtiva lagrima from L’elisir d’amore / Gaetano Donizetti -- [Track 23]. V’adoro, pupille, from Giulio Cesare / George Handel -- [Track 24]. Sympathy / Florence Price -- [Track 25]. The German U-boat captain / Gene Scheer -- [Track 26]. Eri tu che macchiavi, from Un Ballo in Maschera / Giuseppe Verdi

Concert recording 2022-11-08

[Track 1]. Beau soir / Claude Debussy -- The lass from the Low Countree / John Jacob Niles – [Track 2]. Into the night / Clara Edwards -- [Track 3]. An Silvia / Franz Schubert -- [Track 4]. Se tu m’ami, se sospiri / Alessandro Parisotti -- [Track 5]. Erlafsee / Franz Schubert -- [Track 6]. Vittoria, mio core / Giacomo Carissimi -- [Track 7]. Aufenthalt / Franz Schubert -- [Track 8]. Amarilli, mia bella / Giulio Caccini -- [Track 9]. There’s a Fine, Fine Line, from Avenue Q / Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx -- [Track 10]. Go, lovely rose / Roger Quilter -- [Track 11]. Vagabond / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 12]. Sebben, crudele / Antonio Caldara -- [Track 13]. Love’s philosophy / Roger Quilter (1877–1953) -- [Track 14]. Perla gloria / Giovanni Bononcini -- [Track 15]. Money, O! / Michael Head -- [Track 16]. Lasciate mi morire / Claudio Monteverdi -- Across the western ocean / Arr. Celius Dougherty -- [Track 17]. Perduta ho la Speranza / Stefano Donaudy -- [Track 18]. Lonley House from Street Scene / Kurt Weill -- [Track 19]. Preghiera / Paolo Tosti -- [Track 20]. Allerseelen / Richard Strauss -- [Track 21]. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai / Robert Schumann -- [Track 22]. Una furtiva lagrima from L’elisir d’amore / Gaetano Donizetti -- [Track 23]. V’adoro, pupille, from Giulio Cesare / George Handel -- [Track 24]. Sympathy / Florence Price -- [Track 25]. The German U-boat captain / Gene Scheer -- [Track 26]. Eri tu che macchiavi, from Un Ballo in Maschera / Giuseppe Verdi