204 research outputs found
Measuring the Justice Gap: Flaws in the Interstate Allocation of Civil Legal Services Funding and a Proposed Remedy
With the supply of legal services not particularly responsive to demand, we conclude that the justice gap could be narrowed simply by reforming the way in which policymakers distribute legal services funds while holding constant the total amount of funds distributed.
In reaching this conclusion, we proceed in two parts. First, drawing largely from Access Across America and LSC data, we analyze the supply of legal services funding across states. Since eligibility for Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funds is principally determined by income (only individuals in households with income at or below 125% of the federal poverty level are LSC eligible),8 variations in legal services funding among states are strongly correlated with LSC eligibility levels. However, LSC funding likely accounts for well under forty-three percent (43%) of overall legal services funding, with the remainder (“non-LSC funding”) generated by, inter alia, state and local grants, filing fees, interest on lawyer trust accounts (“IOLTA”), and private grants. Because the precise magnitude of non-LSC funding is unclear, we estimate it with three different measures. Using each of these measures, we then analyze its disparity among states. In every case, after explaining Access Across America’s finding that non-LSC funding is not proportional to population, we conclude that it also has no statistically significant relationship to key economic indicators, such as LSC eligibility, median household income, or unemployment. In fact, of the variables we tested, only the number of lawyers in a state relates significantly to any of our measures of non-LSC funding, and of these three measures, the only one for which the number of lawyers has statistical significance is non-LSC funding received by organizations that also receive LSC funding.
After examining how legal services funds are supplied across states, we then analyze how they are demanded. Measuring demand is quite challenging, particularly on the state level, because it requires assessing not the amount of legal services that low-income individuals do use, but rather the amount that they want to use, which is an unobservable variable. The LSC has attempted to measure such demand through a survey of individuals seeking assistance from LSC-funded programs, but, as the LSC concedes, this approach comes with inherent limitations that likely under-represent unmet needs. We therefore take a different approach: after assuming that the overall frequency with which civil legal services are delivered reflects the relative demand for these services across states, we estimate demand within each state through proxies for the most significant categories of services. Because, according to LSC data, nearly eighty-five percent (85%) of LSC-eligible cases arise from just four types of disputes (consumer finance, family, housing, and income), we can reasonably project state-level demand for legal services by estimating the frequency of these disputes within each state. Upon doing so, we find that there is no clear connection between state-level demand and supply, particularly with respect to LSC funding. In other words, states with the greatest need for LSC funding (because their residents encounter legal problems the most based on our estimates) do not necessarily have more funding than states with lower funding needs.
Though we recognize that fixing this imbalance will not be easy, we conclude by offering a proposal that attempts to do so. In this regard, we recommend that the LSC move away from complete reliance on an income-based test toward a needs-based test. Such a framework would allow the LSC to more effectively serve unmet demand for civil legal services and thus, help realize Justice Powell’s ideal
Simultaneous computation of dynamical and equilibrium information using a weighted ensemble of trajectories
Equilibrium formally can be represented as an ensemble of uncoupled systems
undergoing unbiased dynamics in which detailed balance is maintained. Many
non-equilibrium processes can be described by suitable subsets of the
equilibrium ensemble. Here, we employ the "weighted ensemble" (WE) simulation
protocol [Huber and Kim, Biophys. J., 1996] to generate equilibrium trajectory
ensembles and extract non-equilibrium subsets for computing kinetic quantities.
States do not need to be chosen in advance. The procedure formally allows
estimation of kinetic rates between arbitrary states chosen after the
simulation, along with their equilibrium populations. We also describe a
related history-dependent matrix procedure for estimating equilibrium and
non-equilibrium observables when phase space has been divided into arbitrary
non-Markovian regions, whether in WE or ordinary simulation. In this
proof-of-principle study, these methods are successfully applied and validated
on two molecular systems: explicitly solvated methane association and the
implicitly solvated Ala4 peptide. We comment on challenges remaining in WE
calculations
Simulations of the Alternating Access Mechanism of the Sodium Symporter Mhp1
AbstractSodium coupled cotransporters of the five-helix inverted repeat (5HIR) superfamily use an alternating access mechanism to transport a myriad of small molecules across the cell membrane. One of the primary steps in this mechanism is the conformational transition from a state poised to bind extracellular substrates to a state that is competent to deliver substrate to the cytoplasm. Here, we construct a coarse-grained model of the 5HIR benzylhydantoin transporter Mhp1 that incorporates experimental structures of the outward- and inward-open states to investigate the mechanism of this conformational change. Using the weighted ensemble path-sampling method, we rigorously sample the outward- to inward-facing transition path ensemble. The transition path ensemble reveals a heterogeneous set of pathways connecting the two states and identifies two modes of transport: one consistent with a strict alternating access mechanism and another where decoupling of the inner and outer gates causes the transient formation of a continuous permeation pathway through the transporter. We also show that the conformational switch between the outward- and inward-open states results from rigid body motions of the hash motif relative to the substrate bundle, supporting the rocking bundle hypothesis. Finally, our methodology provides the groundwork for more chemically detailed investigations of the alternating mechanism
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Prepregnancy body mass index and risk of preterm birth: association heterogeneity by preterm subgroups
Background: To evaluate the association between prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) is associated with early vs. late and medically-induced vs. spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) subtypes. Methods: Using data from the Boston Birth Cohort, we examined associations of prepregnancy BMI with 189 early (<34 completed weeks) and 277 late (34–36 completed weeks) medically-induced PTBs and 320 early and 610 late spontaneous PTBs vs. 3281 term births (37–44 weeks) in multinomial regression. To assess for mediation by important pregnancy complications, we performed sequential models with and without hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, chorioamnionitis, and gestational diabetes. Results: Prevalence of prepregnancy obesity (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m2) was 28% among mothers with medically-induced PTBs, 18% among mothers with spontaneous PTBs, and 18% among mothers with term births (p = <0.001). After adjustment for demographic and known risk factors for PTB, prepregnancy obesity was associated with higher odds of both early [OR 1.78 (1.19, 2.66)] and late [OR 1.49 (1.09, 2.04)] medically-induced PTB. These effect estimates were attenuated with inclusion of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes. For spontaneous deliveries, prepregnancy obesity was associated with decreased odds of PTB (0.76 [0.58, 0.98]) and underweight was nearly associated with increased odds of PTB (1.46 [0.99, 2.16]). Conclusion: Prepregnancy obesity is associated with higher risk of medically-induced, but not spontaneous PTB. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes appear to partially explain the association between prepregnancy obesity and early and late medically-induced PTB
Transiting Disintegrating Planetary Debris around WD 1145+017
More than a decade after astronomers realized that disrupted planetary
material likely pollutes the surfaces of many white dwarf stars, the discovery
of transiting debris orbiting the white dwarf WD 1145+017 has opened the door
to new explorations of this process. We describe the observational evidence for
transiting planetary material and the current theoretical understanding (and in
some cases lack thereof) of the phenomenon.Comment: Invited review chapter. Accepted March 23, 2017 and published October
7, 2017 in the Handbook of Exoplanets. 15 pages, 10 figure
The Radial Velocity TATOOINE Search for Circumbinary Planets: Planet Detection Limits for a Sample of Double-lined Binary Stars - Initial Results from Keck I/Hires, Shane/CAT/Hamspec and TNG/Sarg Observations
We present preliminary results of the first and on-going radial velocity
survey for circumbinary planets. With a novel radial velocity technique
employing an iodine absorption cell we achieve an unprecedented RV precision of
up to 2 m/s for double-lined binary stars. The high resolution spectra
collected with the Keck I/Hires, TNG/Sarg and Shane/CAT/Hamspec
telescopes/spectrographs over the years 2003-2008 allow us to derive RVs and
compute planet detection limits for ten double-lined binary stars. For this
initial sample of targets, we can rule out planets on dynamically stable orbits
with masses as small as ~0.3 to 3 MJup for the orbital periods of up to ~5.3
years. Even though the presented sample of stars is too small to make any
strong conclusions, it is clear that the search for circumbinary planets is now
technique-wise possible and eventually will provide new constraints for the
planet formation theories.Comment: to appear in Ap
First Light LBT AO Images of HR 8799 bcde at 1.65 and 3.3 Microns: New Discrepancies between Young Planets and Old Brown Dwarfs
As the only directly imaged multiple planet system, HR 8799 provides a unique
opportunity to study the physical properties of several planets in parallel. In
this paper, we image all four of the HR 8799 planets at H-band and 3.3 microns
with the new LBT adaptive optics system, PISCES, and LBTI/LMIRCam. Our images
offer an unprecedented view of the system, allowing us to obtain H and 3.3$
micron photometry of the innermost planet (for the first time) and put strong
upper-limits on the presence of a hypothetical fifth companion. We find that
all four planets are unexpectedly bright at 3.3 microns compared to the
equilibrium chemistry models used for field brown dwarfs, which predict that
planets should be faint at 3.3 microns due to CH4 opacity. We attempt to model
the planets with thick-cloudy, non-equilibrium chemistry atmospheres, but find
that removing CH4 to fit the 3.3 micron photometry increases the predicted L'
(3.8 microns) flux enough that it is inconsistent with observations. In an
effort to fit the SED of the HR 8799 planets, we construct mixtures of cloudy
atmospheres, which are intended to represent planets covered by clouds of
varying opacity. In this scenario, regions with low opacity look hot and
bright, while regions with high opacity look faint, similar to the patchy cloud
structures on Jupiter and L/T transition brown-dwarfs. Our mixed cloud models
reproduce all of the available data, but self-consistent models are still
necessary to demonstrate their viability.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Refinement of Saliva MicroRNA Biomarkers for Sports-Related Concussion
Purpose
Recognizing sport-related concussion (SRC) is challenging and relies heavily on subjective symptom reports. An objective, biological marker could improve recognition and understanding of SRC. There is emerging evidence that salivary micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) may serve as biomarkers of concussion; however, it remains unclear whether concussion-related miRNAs are impacted by exercise. We sought to determine whether 40 miRNAs previously implicated in concussion pathophysiology were affected by participation in a variety of contact and non-contact sports. Our goal was to refine a miRNA-based tool capable of identifying athletes with SRC without the confounding effects of exercise.
Methods
This case-control study harmonized data from concussed and non-concussed athletes recruited across 10 sites. Levels of salivary miRNAs within 455 samples from 314 individuals were measured with RNA sequencing. Within-subjects testing was used to identify and exclude miRNAs that changed with either: (a) a single episode of exercise (166 samples from 83 individuals) or (b) season-long participation in contact sports (212 samples from 106 individuals). The miRNAs that were not impacted by exercise were interrogated for SRC diagnostic utility using logistic regression (172 samples from 75 concussed and 97 non-concussed individuals).
Results
Two miRNAs (miR-532-5p, miR-182-5p) decreased (adjusted p \u3c 0.05) after a single episode of exercise, and 1 miRNA (miR-4510) increased only after contact sports participation. Twenty-three miRNAs changed at the end of a contact sports season. Two of these miRNAs (miR-26b-3p, miR-29c-3p) were associated (R \u3e 0.5; adjusted p \u3c 0.05) with the number of head impacts sustained in a single football practice. Among the 15 miRNAs not confounded by exercise or season-long contact sports participation, 11 demonstrated a significant difference (adjusted p \u3c 0.05) between concussed and non-concussed participants, and 6 displayed moderate ability (AUC \u3e 0.70) to identify concussion. A single ratio (miR-27a-5p/miR-30a-3p) displayed the highest accuracy (AUC = 0.810, sensitivity = 82.4%, specificity = 73.3%) for differentiating concussed and non-concussed participants. Accuracy did not differ between participants with SRC and non-SRC (z = 0.5, p = 0.60).
Conclusion
Salivary miRNA levels may accurately identify SRC when not confounded by exercise. Refinement of this approach in a large cohort of athletes could eventually lead to a non-invasive, sideline adjunct for SRC assessment
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