Adorno and Reconciliation

In this thesis I examine the concept of reconciliation between human beings and nature in the philosophy of Theodor Adorno. I argue that for Adorno, reconciliation would neither be a return to a state prior to our species opposing itself to nature, nor would it be a continuation of our current, destructive relationship to nature. Instead, Adorno conceives of reconciliation as a state in which human beings and nature would be free to communicate their differences without each dominating the other. In response to Jürgen Habermas, who claims that Adorno makes the impossible demand that human beings enter into a communicative relationship with nature, I argue that while Adorno does allude to the possibility of a freer intercourse between our species and the natural world, his notion of communication encompasses more than just speech-relations

Modeling the Abrasion and Transport of Mud Aggregates in the James River, Virginia

Recent research has found that dredged material placed in rivers and estuaries tends to erode as aggregated particles as opposed to individual particles. These aggregated particles, or mud aggregates, are then observed to undergo abrasion during bedload transport. Testing of these mud aggregates in an aggregate tumbler and a flume suggested that the aggregates could only travel a few kilometers before losing over approximately 90% of their effective diameter due to abrasion (Perkey et al., 2019). Current sediment transport models do not simulate the process of abrasion. An aggregate abrasion routine was derived from existing research and then added to a one-dimensional (1-D) sediment transport model developed during this research and to an existing three-dimensional (3-D) sediment transport model. The abrasion routine was developed to simulate the abrasion of mud aggregates that were being transported as bedload. Instead of changing the diameter of the aggregate as it is transported and undergoes abrasion, abrasion was simulated by transferring mass from aggregates moving as bedload to the next smallest aggregate size class as well as to a 20 µm aggregate size class representing the byproduct of abrasion. As the 1-D and 3-D sediment transport models use a Eulerian grid, transferring mass between size classes allowed the abrasion routine to be used in a Eulerian grid, as opposed to using a Lagrangian time frame where the diameter of each individual aggregate would decrease while being transported as bedload. Using the 1-D sediment transport model, the simulations involving the abrasion routine increased the total mass of suspended load of the mud aggregates by 0.5% to 1% and decreased the total bedload mass of the aggregates by 0.25% to 0.5% over an hourlong simulation in a closed system. Using a 3-D sediment transport model of the James River, the inclusion of the abrasion routine to the simulation resulted in the bedload concentrations of the two largest mud aggregate size classes, analyzed at 1.2 km and 2.2 km away from the center of area of the placement site, to be less than 5% of the bedload concentrations given by the model simulation without abrasion when compared at each time step during a 15-day simulation. This indicated that the mud aggregates in bedload were losing over 95% of their mass within the first few kilometers of transport due to abrasion, which was expected based on prior research by Perkey et al. (2019). In the portions of the navigation channel that were analyzed, all within 11 km of the placement site, the inclusion of the abrasion routine to the simulation resulted in approximately a 55% to 75% decrease in total mass of mud aggregates in the sediment bed compared to the simulation without abrasion when using a 15-day, 3-D sediment transport model of the James River. This was due to the abrasion routine transferring mass from larger mud aggregates in bedload to smaller mud aggregates, primarily in suspension, that were less likely to deposit

Adorno’s Animal Philosophy

This thesis explores the theme of animals in Adorno’s philosophy through an examination of his critique of Kant

Risk factors for UK Plasmodium falciparum cases

Background An increasing proportion of malaria cases diagnosed in UK residents with a history of travel to malaria endemic areas are due to Plasmodium falciparum. Methods In order to identify travellers at most risk of acquiring malaria a proportional hazards model was used to estimate the risk of acquiring malaria stratified by purpose of travel and age whilst adjusting for entomological inoculation rate (EIR) and duration of stay in endemic countries. Results Travellers visiting friends and relatives and business travellers were found to have significantly higher hazard of acquiring malaria (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) relative to that of holiday makers 7.4, 95% CI 6. 4-8. 5, p < 0. 0001 and HR 3.4, 95% CI 2.9-3.8, p < 0. 0001, respectively). All age-groups were at lower risk than children aged 0-15 years. Conclusions These estimates of the increased risk for these groups accounting for exposure should be used to inform programmes to improve awareness of the risks of malaria when travelling

High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation

Understanding the effects of cash crop expansion on natural forest is of fundamental importance. However, for most crops there are no remotely sensed global maps1, and global deforestation impacts are estimated using models and extrapolations. Natural rubber is an example of a principal commodity for which deforestation impacts have been highly uncertain, with estimates differing more than fivefold1,2,3,4. Here we harnessed Earth observation satellite data and cloud computing5 to produce high-resolution maps of rubber (10 m pixel size) and associated deforestation (30 m pixel size) for Southeast Asia. Our maps indicate that rubber-related forest loss has been substantially underestimated in policy, by the public and in recent reports6,7,8. Our direct remotely sensed observations show that deforestation for rubber is at least twofold to threefold higher than suggested by figures now widely used for setting policy4. With more than 4 million hectares of forest loss for rubber since 1993 (at least 2 million hectares since 2000) and more than 1 million hectares of rubber plantations established in Key Biodiversity Areas, the effects of rubber on biodiversity and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia could be extensive. Thus, rubber deserves more attention in domestic policy, within trade agreements and in incoming due-diligence legislation

Future of Leadership in Healthcare: Enabling Complexity Dynamics Across Levels

Healthcare is one of the world\u27s fastest-growing industries with over $10 trillion in projected spending by 2022 (Deloitte, 2019). Despite this growth, the industry faces several challenges including rising costs, care delivery outside urban areas and to marginalized populations, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance. To navigate these challenges and capitalize on growth opportunities, leaders must build and manage complex dynamics occurring in the space between the organization and a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. In this symposium, we address this issue by assembling a group of scholars trained in healthcare management, strategy, leadership, and organizational theory to discuss the role of leaders in the future of healthcare. Through a series of presentations, we will illustrate how leaders in healthcare enable complexity dynamics across organizational levels to drive desired outcomes. In doing so, we bring to the forefront the multilevel and complex nature of healthcare leadership and invite innovative thinking about leadership for the future of healthcare. Building Extra-Organizational Adaptive Networks: Complexity Leadership in Healthcare Presenter: Erin Bass; U. of Nebraska, Omaha Presenter: Ivana Milosevic; College of Charleston Physician CEOs & Patient Safety Presenter: Geoffrey Silvera; Auburn U. Presenter: Timothy J. Vogus; Vanderbilt U. Presenter: Jonathan Clark; U. of Texas At San Antonio Management Practices of Under-Resourced Nursing Homes Presenter: Justin Lord; Louisiana State U. Shreveport Stitching Ties: Team Performance in the Connected Organization Presenter: John Hollingsworth; U. of Michigan Presenter: Jason Owen-Smith; U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor Presenter: Dennie Kim; U. of Virginia Darden School of Business Presenter: Marlon DeMarcie Twyman; U. of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Identifying Healthcare\u27s Future Leaders: Development of a Leadership Potential Model for Healthcare Presenter: Kevin S. Groves; Pepperdine U. Presenter: Ann E. Feyerherm; Pepperdine Graziadio Business Schoo

Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data: dominant markers and null alleles

Dominant markers such as amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) provide an economical way of surveying variation at many loci. However, the uncertainty about the underlying genotypes presents a problem for statistical analysis. Similarly, the presence of null alleles and the limitations of genotype calling in polyploids mean that many conventional analysis methods are invalid for many organisms. Here we present a simple approach for accounting for genotypic ambiguity in studies of population structure and apply it to AFLP data from whitefish. The approach is implemented in the program structure version 2.2, which is available from http://pritch.bsd.uchicago.edu/structure.html

Transmission of monkeypox/mpox virus: A narrative review of environmental, viral, host, and population factors in relation to the 2022 international outbreak

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) has spread globally. Emerging studies have now provided evidence regarding MPXV transmission, that can inform rational evidence-based policies and reduce misinformation on this topic. We aimed to review the evidence on transmission of the virus. Real-world studies have isolated viable viruses from high-touch surfaces for as long as 15 days. Strong evidence suggests that the current circulating monkeypox (mpox) has evolved from previous outbreaks outside of Africa, but it is yet unknown whether these mutations may lead to an inherently increased infectivity of the virus. Strong evidence also suggests that the main route of current MPXV transmission is sexual; through either close contact or directly, with detection of culturable virus in saliva, nasopharynx, and sperm for prolonged periods and the presence of rashes mainly in genital areas. The milder clinical presentations and the potential presence of presymptomatic transmission in the current circulating variant compared to previous clades, as well as the dominance of spread amongst men who have sex with men (MSMs) suggests that mpox has a developed distinct clinical phenotype that has increased its transmissibility. Increased public awareness of MPXV transmission modalities may lead to earlier detection of the spillover of new cases into other groups

A Six-Gene Signature Predicts Survival of Patients with Localized Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Jen Jen Yeh and colleagues developed and validated a six-gene signature in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma that may be used to better stage the disease in these patients and assist in treatment decisions