The Parabolic Infinite-Laplace Equation in Carnot groups

By employing a Carnot parabolic maximum principle, we show existence-uniqueness of viscosity solutions to a class of equations modeled on the parabolic infinite Laplace equation in Carnot groups. We show stability of solutions within the class and examine the limit as t goes to infinity

Individual Differences in Cannabis Use Disorder with Implications for Endocannabinoid Modulation in Therapeutics Development

Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is increasingly prevalent in the United States, but there is no effective pharmacological means to treat it. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system has emerged as a candidate therapeutic target demonstrating some evidence of efficacy in treating CUD. However, clinical trials evaluating eCB-modulating therapeutics have historically undervalued individual differences that could contribute to variation in treatment outcome (e.g. sex, comorbid psychiatric illness). To address this gap in the literature, the present set of studies (a) compared plasma eCB tone in groups underrepresented in treatment trials for CUD (females, individuals with comorbid major depressive disorder; MDD/CUD) with males or otherwise healthy people with CUD, (b) examined group differences in behavioral predictors of relapse (withdrawal symptoms, stress response), and (c) related plasma eCB tone to these behavioral predictors. We found that, as hypothesized, women or individuals with MDD/CUD self-reported more severe cannabis withdrawal symptoms compared to men or individuals with CUD alone, respectively. Self-reported withdrawal was moderately positively associated with eCB tone across studies, with the strongest associations observed in women with CUD. In MDD/CUD, however, self-reported withdrawal appeared largely uncoupled from objective withdrawal measures and abstinence from cannabis. With respect to stress, MDD/CUD was associated with a prolonged stress response relative to CUD alone, suggesting individuals with MDD/CUD may be at a greater risk for stress-induced relapse. Individuals with MDD/CUD also presented differently from those with CUD alone in stress-associated eCB levels, raising questions as to the mechanistic role of peripheral eCBs in stress responding. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that exploration into individual differences in the eCB system, particularly in the periphery, is still in its infancy. The utility of eCB-modulating pharmacotherapeutics likely differs significantly across subpopulations of people with CUD. Greater mechanistic understanding of the eCB system across subpopulations is warranted

Moving On From the War: The Factors That Influence Contemporary Perceptions of Former Enemies

Over 30 years have passed since the end of the Vietnam War, yet the memory still lingers for some. Mention of the war in correlation to contemporary politics today in the United States seems to demonstrate that Americans have not effectively put the past behind them. Similarly, the prevalence of Vietnam War-related media, such as films, music, and literature, implies that the war is still remembered strongly in American society. Why, then, do the Vietnamese appear to have put the war behind them? Most Vietnamese seem to avoid discussing the war or its consequences, and appear to revel in these first few decades of peace after endless years of conflict. One would expect that the destruction and lasting legacy of devastation caused by the war would leave wounds fresh and on the surface of daily life in Vietnam. However, it appears that this may not be the case in contemporary Vietnamese society. Of course the average Vietnamese person believes that Vietnam won the war against the United States, which holds deep significance in the degree that each country has come to terms with the conflict. Yet there are also other factors that seem to play a role in why Vietnam no longer appears hostile with the United States. With massive economic reforms opening new doors for the average Vietnamese, and contemporary relations with China tense, it appears that forgiveness of the Americans for the war and its repercussions is surprisingly easy for the Vietnamese. In addition, Buddhism and Confucianism seem to influence the Vietnamese ability to seemingly move on from the war and harbor little resentment toward the United States. Lastly, the Vietnamese media’s depiction of Americans may also contribute to this phenomenon, encouraging a more positive relationship between the two countries after many years of conflict. Indeed, perhaps there is something the United States can learn from Vietnam about the value of forgiveness and not dwelling on mistakes and periods of hardship

Measuring Job Satisfaction For Rural Mental Health Providers: A Social Cognitive Career Theory Approach

The current study employed online collection of self-report demographic data as well self-report aspects of job satisfaction such as: positive affectivity, self-efficacy, work-related goal progress, work-related goal support, and work conditions. Each consenting participant completed the same set of online questionnaires. Several participants chose to expand upon some of the unique stressors they experience as rural mental health providers in follow-up emails. Results of path analysis did not find the expected fit of observed data to the proposed structural model. Multiple regression analyses provided data about the importance of positive affectivity, work conditions, work-related goal support, and work-related goal progress to job satisfaction as reported by the rural mental health providers sampled. Implications for theory, research, and clinical practice are presented

Understanding Caesar’s Ethnography: A Contextual Approach to Protohistory

The Celts of western and central Europe1 flourished during the height of Greek and Roman civilization, and yet there is a methodological schism between the study of the Mediterranean world and that of the “peripheral” Europeans. Our appreciation of classical society stems primarily from the plentiful written texts – texts that provide us with minute details of society, religion, and politics from the words of the people who actively participated in that culture. The study of the Celts, on the other hand, is more oblique: our primary source is archaeology, and what little textual evidence we do have derives from Mediterranean historians and geographers. In anthropological terms, classicists study sources written from an emic perspective, while archaeologists study sources written from the etic. The European Iron Age is unusual because it requires a methodology that bridges the familiar divisions between historian and archaeologist. In early investigations of the Celts, archaeological excavation was seen as a tool used to give physical illustration to classical accounts of Celtic life. The ancient texts were thought to hold the real truth of Celtic society – a truth that was archaeology’s job to unearth. In the past two decades, however, this perception has changed dramatically, and archaeologists use Greek and Roman texts rarely, if at all. This is in part a reaction to criticisms of the reliability of ancient sources and a realization of how these texts have been used to distort our perceptions of the archaeological record. Much ink has been spilled on this topic, with the result that many archaeologists now choose to gloss over or simply ignore documentary evidence. This is not a result of ignorance but rather a result of methodology having failed to keep pace with theory. I would like to try to redress this imbalance and begin a debate on how to use the ancient texts correctly, so that they are a help rather than a hindrance to the archaeologist

Blood as a Binding Agent in Cormac McCarthy\u27s _The Crossing_

In Cormac McCarthy\u27s The Crossing, one of the most important aspects of blood is the way it connects Billy Parham to his family and the world around him. Billy\u27s actions are driven largely by his desire to maintain his moral code and his connections to nature and his maternal grandmother. His link to nature begins with an encounter with a wolf pack and continues with an attempt to return a she-wolf to her homeland. The connection to his grandmother provides him with the means to do so when he crosses the border from New Mexico into Mexico. Billy\u27s ability to speak Spanish is a result of his relationship with his grandmother, and it allows him to make three individual journeys into Mexico. In addition to language, Billy also understands enough of the culture to be able to interact with many of the people he meets, and he hears many stories that he would not know if he did not speak Spanish. Part of Billy\u27s reason for going into Mexico is an effort to keep true to his promises, and the final two trips into Mexico are the result of trying to regain some element of his family, whether through his search for the family horses or the quest to retrieve his brother\u27s body. Despite repeated failures, he remains faithful to his code, much in the same way that Plato tells the myth of Er, in which the only option once actions have been made is to stay true to oneself

Measuring Prosocial Behavior Through the Implementation of a Violence Prevention Intervention

Childhood aggression is the best-known behavioral predictor of future social adjustment difficulties. Children with early onset aggression are likely to engage in aggressive behavior throughout the life course (Hester, Baltodano, Gable, & Tonelson, 2003). Early aggressive behavior is also strongly associated with later criminal behavior and deviant peer relations, poor school achievement, school dropout, and unemployment (Haemaelaeinen & Pulkinnen, 1996; Hay & Pawlby, 2003; Kokko, Tremblay, Lacourse, Nagin, & Vitaro, 2006; Scourfield, John, Martin, & McGuffin, 2004). Recently, researchers have focused on determining the positive behaviors that could potentially stop aggressive situations from progressing. These helping behaviors are defined broadly as prosocial behaviors (Cashwell, Skinner, & Smith, 2001; Greener, 2000; Goldstein, Carr, Davidson II, & Wehr, 1981; Leffler & Snow, 2001). The Be a Safety Kid curriculum provides direct instruction to children in Kindergarten through eighth grade by differentiating appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, teaching individual prosocial behaviors and identifying age-appropriate methods for reporting safety concerns in an effort to decrease violent incidents in the school environment. This school-wide curriculum is based on the ideals of Responsible Reporting or appropriate telling of information when a dangerous situation is apparent or known to students. This paper will review and elaborate upon the history, development, and recent research of prosocial behaviors. The effectiveness of this school-wide curriculum will be measured using a pre-test/post-test instrument, termed S.T.A.R., on seventh and eighth grade students in a school environment. Children are evaluated in terms of increased knowledge and their actual ability to act. Comparison of subjects and treatment utility are also collected to determine the impact of the curriculum on the school environment. The results indicated the Be a Safety Kid curriculum did not significantly produce improvement in knowledge or hypothetical ability to demonstrate prosocial behavior. The conclusions will add to the growing amount of literature to establish more evidence-based practices in the reduction of violence in the school environment

Trends in Grave Marker Attributes in Greenwood Cemetery: Orlando, Florida

Grave markers represent a significant amount of highly important information related to the cultural patterns of a society, as well as how these patterns have changed over time. Although, cemetery studies are popular in other regions of the United States, few studies regarding grave marker attributes have been conducted in Florida. The purpose of this research was to analyze and interpret temporal and demographic changes in grave marker attributes in Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando, Florida. Another aspect of this research focused on the possible correlation between the age and inferred sex of the deceased individual in relation to the type of epitaph and iconography chosen to represent them in their mortuary context. Data was collected from 925 headstones within Greenwood Cemetery; these headstones further represent 1,102 individuals. Attributes analyzed include marker material, marker type, iconographic images, epitaph, memorial photographs, footstones and curbs. These attributes will be analyzed and compared to trends noted within a similar study conducted by Meyers and Schultz (2016), to allow for better interpretation of trends in grave marker attributes across a range of Florida cemeteries. Results indicate multiple trends. The popularity of marble headstones decreased greatly from 51% in Pre-1900 to only 8% from 2000 to 2017. Furthermore, the prevalence of epitaph and iconography categories vary greatly on both a temporal and demographic basis. Male infants are more likely than any other demographic group to be represented by a genealogical epitaph, at 41% representation. Ultimately, these trends illustrate important aspects of cultural changes related to mortuary practice and individual mortuary contexts within Orlando, Florida