Managing Ethnic Conflict in Darfur: An Analysis of Third-Party Interventions

Persistent ethnic conflict in Darfur has been met by third-party interventions with varying degrees of success. This paper seeks to isolate different methods of intervention in order to understand what types are effective in reducing the number of people affected by violence caused by ethnic conflict. Each intervention is separated into three categories based on their nature: humanitarian, militaristic, and diplomatic. These actions are then juxtaposed with data from medical journals that describe the effects of violence, including death by violence, death by disease, and child mortality rates. The success of an intervention is measured by its ability to reduce the number of people negatively affected by the violence. This analysis suggests that diplomatic intervention has a positive effect on reducing the death toll in Darfur, while humanitarian and diplomatic interventions produce ambiguous results. The results are significant in their ability to shed light on effective methods by which to alleviate one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century

Three-dimensional cultured glioma cell lines

Three-dimensional glioma spheroids were produced in vitro with size and histological differentiation previously unattained. The spheroids were grown in liquid media suspension in a Johnson Space Center (JSC) Rotating Wall Bioreactor without using support matrices such as microcarrier beads. Spheroid volumes of greater than 3.5 cu mm and diameters of 2.5 mm were achieved with a viable external layer or rim of proliferating cells, a transitional layer beneath the external layer with histological differentiation, and a degenerative central region with a hypoxic necrotic core. Cell debris was evident in the degenerative central region. The necrotics centers of some of the spheroids had hyaline droplets. Granular bodies were detected predominantly in the necrotic center

Model Bond albedos of extrasolar giant planets

The atmospheres of extrasolar giant planets are modeled with various effective temperatures and gravities, with and without clouds. Bond albedos are computed by calculating the ratio of the flux reflected by a planet (integrated over wavelength) to the total stellar flux incident on the planet. This quantity is useful for estimating the effective temperature and evolution of a planet. We find it is sensitive to the stellar type of the primary. For a 5 M_Jup planet the Bond albedo varies from 0.4 to 0.3 to 0.06 as the primary star varies from A5V to G2V to M2V in spectral type. It is relatively insensitive to the effective temperature and gravity for cloud--free planets. Water clouds increase the reflectivity of the planet in the red, which increases the Bond albedo. The Bond albedo increases by an order of magnitude for a 13 M_Jup planet with an M2V primary when water clouds are present. Silicate clouds, on the other hand, can either increase or decrease the Bond albedo, depending on whether there are many small grains (the former) or few large grains (the latter).Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, uses egs.cls and epsfig.sty, submitted to Physics and Chemistry of the Earth (proceedings of the April 1998 EGS meeting in Nice, France

Characterization of a set of abdominal neuroendocrine cells that regulate stress physiology using colocalized diuretic peptides in Drosophila

Multiple neuropeptides are known to regulate water and ion balance in Drosophila melanogaster. Several of these peptides also have other functions in physiology and behavior. Examples are corticotropin-releasing factor-like diuretic hormone (diuretic hormone 44; DH44) and leucokinin (LK), both of which induce fluid secretion by Malpighian tubules (MTs), but also regulate stress responses, feeding, circadian activity and other behaviors. Here, we investigated the functional relations between the LK and DH44 signaling systems. DH44 and LK peptides are only colocalized in a set of abdominal neurosecretory cells (ABLKs). Targeted knockdown of each of these peptides in ABLKs leads to increased resistance to desiccation, starvation and ionic stress. Food ingestion is diminished by knockdown of DH44, but not LK, and water retention is increased by LK knockdown only. Thus, the two colocalized peptides display similar systemic actions, but differ with respect to regulation of feeding and body water retention. We also demonstrated that DH44 and LK have additive effects on fluid secretion by MTs. It is likely that the colocalized peptides are coreleased from ABLKs into the circulation and act on the tubules where they target different cell types and signaling systems to regulate diuresis and stress tolerance. Additional targets seem to be specific for each of the two peptides and subserve regulation of feeding and water retention. Our data suggest that the ABLKs and hormonal actions are sufficient for many of the known DH44 and LK functions, and that the remaining neurons in the CNS play other functional roles

Rehabilitation through Communication, Neuropsychology, Counseling, and Training (ReCoNeCT): Connecting students and student veterans impacted by mTBI with holistic interventions, skills, and support.

The Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Counselor Education, and Educational Leadership programs together with the Neural Injury Center at the University of Montana are collaborating to implement an intensive interdisciplinary program for Montana University System (MUS) students and student veterans who have had a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and/or concussion. Academia can be exceptionally challenging for these individuals as a result of unsolved cognitive issues associated with mTBI such as attention, recall, reasoning and executive functioning, which includes skills such as planning, organization, time management, and problem solving (Krug & Turkstra, 2015). The ReCoNeCT program will include two weeks of individualized treatment along with pre- and post- treatment assessment, debriefing, home programming, referrals, recommendations, and orientation to campus-based and community-based services and resources. Pre- and post-treatment assessment will include a semi-structured interview and standardized assessment spanning neuropsychology, speech-language pathology, and counseling domains. Collectively, the team will also assess academic areas of strength and concern. Following assessment, the interdisciplinary team will provide individualized treatment in-person on the University of Montana campus two days per week and via telehealth and online modules two days per week for two weeks. The purpose of the proposed study is to assess the feasibility of implementing a short, yet intensively-delivered, interdisciplinary intervention and education program designed to increase academic success, cognitive-communication skills, mental health and wellness, and quality of life for individuals with mTBI who are pursuing higher education in the Montana University System (MUS). Participants will be recruited and screened during the spring and summer months and treatment will begin during the fall 2016 semester. This poster presentation will review the literature and provide details about the proposed program

Commentary on the History of Public Archaeology at Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

This commentary reflects on the ways Strawbery Banke Museum archaeology was affected by, and in turn, influenced the field of historical archaeology. It can be argued that in the late 1960s urban historical archaeology got its start in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The stories and narrative histories told in these articles are essential to the success of the Strawbery Banke archaeology program, as they reach to the heart of the importance the Portsmouth community attaches to this place. The process of community building has always been at work in Portsmouth and has been what makes Strawbery Banke the museum that it is today. The story of public archaeology and its development at Strawbery Banke discussed in these articles has been a key part of its institutional history

Robin Hood Politics: An Analysis of Wealth Redistributive Policies and the Impact of Political Donations

Both Democrats and Republicans have taken strong positions on wealth redistribution. But is there variance within the parties? I hypothesize that while moderate non-donors and moderate donors will favor increases in federal spending for such policies at similar rates, both liberal and conservative donors will be less likely to favor spending due to attachment to their personal wealth. This paper analyzes the differences in support for increasing the budgets of five wealth redistributive policies while controlling for political donations: public schools, welfare, aid to the poor, childcare, and Social Security. The research finds that moderates and moderate donors support do not differ. Liberal non-donors are more likely to favor increases in spending for public school and Social Security, while their donor counterparts favor childcare. Conservative donors are consistently less likely than non-donors to favor increases in spending on wealth redistributive policies. These findings expose a clear class split amongst conservatives and indicates a concerning divide between the Republican political elite and the constituents they are supposed to represent