Knights, Puritans, and Jesus: Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, and the archetypes of American masculinity

I interpret Civil War romanticism by looking at well-known archetypal characters such as the knight, the Puritan, and the Christ figure. I argue that sectional reunion occurred, in part, because Americans shared a common celebration of the Christian/chivalrous hero expressed through stories about the lives and personalities of leading figures of the Civil War. Western traditions like Christianity and its medieval warrior code, chivalry, conditioned Americans to seek heroes who conformed to a certain pattern that resembled the knightly ideal. Chivalry did not crowd-out other forms of masculine behavior, but during the nineteenth century, the British century, Americans had not yet created a man in their own image. That would come later with the twentieth century’s most favored man: the cowboy. Americans created Robert E. Lee as a knight figure resembling Western heroes such as King Arthur. Unlike the more controversial Confederate notables Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis, the Lee figure offered Americans the genteel, Christ-like, hero who could be made to represent all of white America. Davis was too defiantly unreconstructed to ever affect much sectional agreement, and Jackson simply could not be made to fit the chivalrous pattern. Thus, Lee allowed southerners to identify themselves as uniquely chivalrous and honorable compared to the modern North. At the same time, the Lee figure provided northerners the opportunity to romanticize a charming, orderly, Old South while rejecting the violent, narrow-minded, states\u27 rights South best symbolized by Davis. I prefer to interpret commentary about the Civil War as storytelling and do not use terms such as the Lost Cause or Civil War memory. High-ranking officers, the common solider, and those who never participated in the Civil War each told stories about it. Due to the large number of stories told, certain common themes became evident in American interpretations of the Civil War era. Common stories include: Lee at Appomattox, Jackson\u27s unmerciful marches against Union forces, and Davis (almost) eluding capture dressed as a woman. Taken together the sub-stories reveal much about the grand narrative of the Civil War, and how Americans, though succeeding to a great extent, failed to completely reunite

The High Arctic in Extreme Winters: Vortex, Temperature, and MLS and ACE-FTS Trace Gas Evolution

The first three Canadian Arctic Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) Validation Campaigns at Eureka (80° N, 86° W) were during two extremes of Arctic winter variability: Stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs) in 2004 and 2006 were among the strongest, most prolonged on record; 2005 was a record cold winter. New satellite measurements from ACE-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS), Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry, and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), with meteorological analyses and Eureka lidar and radiosonde temperatures, are used to detail the meteorology in these winters, to demonstrate its influence on transport and chemistry, and to provide a context for interpretation of campaign observations. During the 2004 and 2006 SSWs, the vortex broke down throughout the stratosphere, reformed quickly in the upper stratosphere, and remained weak in the middle and lower stratosphere. The stratopause reformed at very high altitude, above where it could be accurately represented in the meteorological analyses. The 2004 and 2006 Eureka campaigns were during the recovery from the SSWs, with the redeveloping vortex over Eureka. 2005 was the coldest winter on record in the lower stratosphere, but with an early final warming in mid-March. The vortex was over Eureka at the start of the 2005 campaign, but moved away as it broke up. Disparate temperature profile structure and vortex evolution resulted in much lower (higher) temperatures in the upper (lower) stratosphere in 2004 and 2006 than in 2005. Satellite temperatures agree well with Eureka radiosondes, and with lidar data up to 50–60 km. Consistent with a strong, cold upper stratospheric vortex and enhanced radiative cooling after the SSWs, MLS and ACE-FTS trace gas measurements show strongly enhanced descent in the upper stratospheric vortex during the 2004 and 2006 Eureka campaigns compared to that in 2005

Ground-based remote sensing of an elevated forest fire aerosol layer at Whistler, BC: implications for interpretation of mountaintop chemistry

On 30 August 2009, intense forest fires in interior British Columbia (BC) coupled with winds from the east and northeast resulted in transport of a broad forest fire plume across southwestern BC. The physico-chemical and optical characteristics of the plume as observed from Saturna Island (AERONET), CORALNet-UBC and the Whistler Mountain air chemistry facility were consistent with forest fire plumes that have been observed elsewhere in continental North America. However, the importance of three-dimensional transport in relation to the interpretation of mountaintop chemistry observations is highlighted on the basis of deployment of both a <i>CL31</i> ceilometer and a single particle mass spectrometer (SPMS) in a mountainous setting. The SPMS is used to identify the biomass plume based on levoglucosan and potassium markers. Data from the SPMS are also used to show that the biomass plume was correlated with nitrate, but not correlated with sulphate or sodium. This study not only provides baseline measurements of biomass burning plume physico-chemical characteristics in western Canada, but also highlights the importance of lidar remote sensing methods in the interpretation of mountaintop chemistry measurements

Static Scaling Behavior of High-Molecular-Weight Polymers in Dilute Solution: A Reexamination

Previous theories of dilute polymer solutions have failed to distinguish clearly between two very different ways of taking the long-chain limit: (I) $N \to\infty$ at fixed temperature $T$, and (II) $N \to\infty$, $T \to T_\theta$ with $x \equiv N^\phi (T-T_\theta)$ fixed. I argue that the modern two-parameter theory (continuum Edwards model) applies to case II --- not case I --- and in fact gives exactly the crossover scaling functions for $x \ge 0$ modulo two nonuniversal scale factors. A Wilson-type renormalization group clarifies the connection between crossover scaling functions and continuum field theories. [Also contains a general discussion of the connection between the Wilson and field-theoretic renormalization groups. Comments solicited.]Comment: 10 pages including 1 figure, 181159 bytes Postscript (NYU-TH-93/05/01

Characterizing Short-Wave Infrared Fluorescence of Conventional Near-Infrared Fluorophores

The observed behavior of short-wave infrared (SWIR) light in tissue, characterized by relatively low scatter and subdiffuse photon transport, has generated considerable interest for the potential of SWIR imaging to produce high-resolution, subsurface images of fluorescence activity in vivo. These properties have important implications for fluorescence-guided surgery and preclinical biomedical research. Until recently, translational efforts have been impeded by the conventional understanding that fluorescence molecular imaging in the SWIR regime requires custom molecular probes that do not yet have proven safety profiles in humans. However, recent studies have shown that two readily available near-infrared (NIR-I) fluorophores produce measurable SWIR fluorescence, implying that other conventional fluorophores produce detectable fluorescence in the SWIR window. Using SWIR spectroscopy and wide-field SWIR imaging with tissue-simulating phantoms, we characterize and compare the SWIR emission properties of eight commercially available red/NIR-I fluorophores commonly used in preclinical and clinical research, in addition to a SWIR-specific fluorophore. All fluorophores produce measurable fluorescence emission in the SWIR, including shorter wavelength dyes such as Alexa Fluor 633 and methylene blue. This study is the first to report SWIR fluorescence from six of the eight conventional fluorophores and establishes an important comparative reference for developing and evaluating SWIR imaging strategies for biomedical applications

An electronic family health history tool to identify and manage patients at increased risk for colorectal cancer: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundColorectal cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. Approximately 3-10% of the population has an increased risk for colorectal cancer due to family history and warrants more frequent or intensive screening. Yet, &lt; 50% of that high-risk population receives guideline-concordant care. Systematic collection of family health history and decision support may improve guideline-concordant screening for patients at increased risk of colorectal cancer. We seek to test the effectiveness of a web-based, systematic family health history collection tool and decision support platform (MeTree) to improve risk assessment and appropriate management of colorectal cancer risk among patients in the Department of Veterans Affairs primary care practices.MethodsIn this ongoing randomized controlled trial, primary care providers at the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System and the Madison VA Medical Center are randomized to immediate intervention or wait-list control. Veterans are eligible if assigned to enrolled providers, have an upcoming primary care appointment, and have no conditions that would place them at increased risk for colorectal cancer (such as personal history, adenomatous polyps, or inflammatory bowel disease). Those with a recent lower endoscopy (e.g. colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy) are excluded. Immediate intervention patients put their family health history information into a web-based platform, MeTree, which provides both patient- and provider-facing decision support reports. Wait-list control patients access MeTree 12 months post-consent. The primary outcome is the risk-concordant colorectal cancer screening referral rate obtained via chart review. Secondary outcomes include patient completion of risk management recommendations (e.g. colonoscopy) and referral for genetic consultation. We will also conduct an economic analysis and an assessment of providers' experience with MeTree clinical decision support recommendations to inform future implementation efforts if the intervention is found to be effective.DiscussionThis trial will assess the feasibility and effectiveness of patient-collected family health history linked to decision support to promote risk-appropriate screening in a large healthcare system such as the Department of Veterans Affairs.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02247336 . Registered on 25 September 2014

Real-time in vivo Cherenkoscopy Imaging During External Beam Radiation Therapy

Cherenkov radiation is induced when charged particles travel through dielectric media (such as biological tissue) faster than the speed of light through that medium. Detection of this radiation or excited luminescence during megavoltage external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) can allow emergence of a new approach to superficial dose estimation, functional imaging, and quality assurance for radiation therapy dosimetry. In this letter, the first in vivo Cherenkov images of a real-time Cherenkoscopy during EBRT are presented. The imaging system consisted of a time-gated intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) coupled with a commercial lens. The ICCD was synchronized to the linear accelerator to detect Cherenkov photons only during the 3.25-μs radiation bursts. Images of a tissue phantom under irradiation show that the intensity of Cherenkov emission is directly proportional to radiation dose, and images can be acquired at 4.7  frames/s with SNR\u3c30 . Cherenkoscopy was obtained from the superficial regions of a canine oral tumor during planned, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved, conventional (therapeutically appropriate) EBRT irradiation. Coregistration between photography and Cherenkoscopy validated that Cherenkov photons were detected from the planned treatment region. Real-time images correctly monitored the beam field changes corresponding to the planned dynamic wedge movement, with accurate extent of overall beam field, and expected cold and hot regions

Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites (BORTAS) experiment: design, execution and science overview

We describe the design and execution of the BORTAS (Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites) experiment, which has the overarching objective of understanding the chemical aging of air masses that contain the emission products from seasonal boreal wildfires and how these air masses subsequently impact downwind atmospheric composition. The central focus of the experiment was a two-week deployment of the UK BAe-146-301 Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) over eastern Canada, based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Atmospheric ground-based and sonde measurements over Canada and the Azores associated with the planned July 2010 deployment of the ARA, which was postponed by 12 months due to UK-based flights related to the dispersal of material emitted by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, went ahead and constituted phase A of the experiment. Phase B of BORTAS in July 2011 involved the same atmospheric measurements, but included the ARA, special satellite observations and a more comprehensive ground-based measurement suite. The high-frequency aircraft data provided a comprehensive chemical snapshot of pyrogenic plumes from wildfires, corresponding to photochemical (and physical) ages ranging from 45 sr 10 days, largely by virtue of widespread fires over Northwestern Ontario. Airborne measurements reported a large number of emitted gases including semi-volatile species, some of which have not been been previously reported in pyrogenic plumes, with the corresponding emission ratios agreeing with previous work for common gases. Analysis of the NOy data shows evidence of net ozone production in pyrogenic plumes, controlled by aerosol abundance, which increases as a function of photochemical age. The coordinated ground-based and sonde data provided detailed but spatially limited information that put the aircraft data into context of the longer burning season in the boundary layer. Ground-based measurements of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) over Halifax show that forest fires can on an episodic basis represent a substantial contribution to total surface PM2.5

The Oncology Care Model: Perspectives From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Participating Oncology Practices in Academia and the Community

Cancer care delivery in the United States is often fragmented and inefficient, imposing substantial burdens on patients. Costs of cancer care are rising more rapidly than other specialties, with substantial regional differences in quality and cost. The Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center (CMMIS) recently launched the Oncology Care Model (OCM), which uses payment incentives and practice redesign requirements toward the goal of improving quality while controlling costs. As of March 2017, 190 practices were participating, with approximately 3,200 oncologists providing care for approximately 150,000 unique beneficiaries per year (approximately 20% of the Medicare Fee-for-Service population receiving chemotherapy for cancer). This article provides an overview of the program from the CMS perspective, as well as perspectives from two practices implementing OCM: an academic health system (Yale Cancer Center) and a community practice (Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York). Requirements of OCM, as well as implementation successes, challenges, financial implications, impact on quality, and future visions, are provided from each perspective