Expanding the Horizons of Horizontal Inquiry into Rights Consciousness: An Engagement with David Engel

This Comment interprets and reflects on the key features of David Engel\u27s argument about the importance of balancing vertical models of rights diffusion with horizontal ethnographic studies of how rights consciousness develops out of practical experience in everyday social contexts. The primary focus is on endorsing the general argument and amplifying some understated or undeveloped dimensions of Engel\u27s position. In particular, this reflection makes the case for: 1) expanding the range of subjects and contexts subjected to horizontal study, including especially greater attention to haves and elite actors; 2) studying subjects expected to have high rights consciousness as well as those likely to demonstrate low rights consciousness so as to develop more comparative theorizing; 3) adding more refined sociological analysis of context and power to the ethnographic study of subject consciousness, again to advance comparative theorizing about factors that encourage or discourage rights consciousness; and 4) to sharpen attention to variations in the substantive content as well as relative salience of rights consciousness among subjects, which in turn may disrupt assumptions about the assumed automatic identification of rights discourses with neoliberal hegemony. Many examples from sociolegal scholarship are cited to illustrate and support the various analytical points

Groundwater in the Inner Bluegrass Karst Region, Kentucky

The hydrogeology of about 12% of the 5600 km2 Inner Bluegrass Karst Region of central Kentucky was investigated by water tracing and other techniques. Using fluorescent dyes adsorbed on fabric and charcoal detectors, 96 traces (average length 2.7 km, maximum length 15 km) resulted in the identification of 38 groundwater basins (with areas up to 15 km2). Within the basins, subsurface flow is in a dendritic conduit system at depths up to 30 m below the surface, while in the interbasin areas which separate them flow is generally less than 5 m deep. Each groundwater basin discharges at a spring whose median discharge is approximately 20 l/s·km2 of basin area. The largest spring (Royal Spring) in the study area has a median discharge greater than 300 l/s (Meinzer second magnitude). The Ordovician Lexington Limestone which underlies the region is thin bedded with shale partings and argillaceous units. Within groundwater basins, sinkhole drains and other conduits have breached the interbedded shales and descend nearly vertically to a level determined by equilibrium flow in the larger conduits. The general location and flow directions in groundwater basins is probably determined by a potentiometric gradient prior to conduit development, and some basins are localized by a favorably oriented regional joint set or other structural element. Otherwise, lithologic and structural factors have little influence in the occurrence and flow of subsurface water in the region

Разработка и валидация номограммы, позволяющей прогнозировать выживаемость без прогрессирования при терапии пазопанибом по поводу распространенного рака почки

Цель исследования – разработка и валидация номограммы, позволяющей прогнозировать 12-месячную выживаемость без прогрессирования (ВБП) у пациентов, получающих пазопаниб в качестве первой линии терапии распространенного рака почки.Материалы и методы. Проведено статистическое моделирование данных 557 пациентов, получавших пазопаниб, в исследовании III фазы COMPARZ. Известные прогностические факторы были внесены в мультивариантную модель по Cox. Рассмотренные параметры включали уровень нейтрофилов, содержание альбумина и щелочной фосфатазы в сыворотке, время между постановкой диагноза и началом лечения, а также наличие костных метастазов. Для валидации были использованы данные по группе участников плацебоконтролируемого исследования III фазы, получавших пазопаниб.Результаты. Данная модель включала 10 прогностических факторов, представленных в виде номограммы, позволяющей прогнозировать 12-месячную ВБП. Сопоставления, проведенные с целью калибровки разработанной модели, позволяют предполагать достаточное соответствие расчетных вероятностей ВБП ее фактическим показателям. Индекс конкордантности для 12-месячной ВБП составил 0,625. Отмечена достоверная взаимосвязь (p < 0,05) между ВБП и наличием костных метастазов, интервалом времени между постановкой диагноза и началом лечения, а также уровнями альбумина и щелочной фосфатазы. Прогностическая роль последних 2 параметров оказалась весьма существенной.Выводы. Номограмма позволяет с достаточной точностью прогнозировать ВБП у пациентов с распространенным раком почки, получающих пазопаниб, в зависимости от исходных клинических характеристик.Цель исследования – разработка и валидация номограммы, позволяющей прогнозировать 12-месячную выживаемость без прогрессирования (ВБП) у пациентов, получающих пазопаниб в качестве первой линии терапии распространенного рака почки.Материалы и методы. Проведено статистическое моделирование данных 557 пациентов, получавших пазопаниб, в исследовании III фазы COMPARZ. Известные прогностические факторы были внесены в мультивариантную модель по Cox. Рассмотренные параметры включали уровень нейтрофилов, содержание альбумина и щелочной фосфатазы в сыворотке, время между постановкой диагноза и началом лечения, а также наличие костных метастазов. Для валидации были использованы данные по группе участников плацебоконтролируемого исследования III фазы, получавших пазопаниб.Результаты. Данная модель включала 10 прогностических факторов, представленных в виде номограммы, позволяющей прогнозировать 12-месячную ВБП. Сопоставления, проведенные с целью калибровки разработанной модели, позволяют предполагать достаточное соответствие расчетных вероятностей ВБП ее фактическим показателям. Индекс конкордантности для 12-месячной ВБП составил 0,625. Отмечена достоверная взаимосвязь (p < 0,05) между ВБП и наличием костных метастазов, интервалом времени между постановкой диагноза и началом лечения, а также уровнями альбумина и щелочной фосфатазы. Прогностическая роль последних 2 параметров оказалась весьма существенной.Выводы. Номограмма позволяет с достаточной точностью прогнозировать ВБП у пациентов с распространенным раком почки, получающих пазопаниб, в зависимости от исходных клинических характеристик

Seasonal increases in fish trophic niche plasticity within a flood-pulse river ecosystem (Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia)

Species' responses to seasonal environmental variation can influence trophic interactions and food web structure within an ecosystem. However, our ability to predict how species' interactions will vary spatially and temporally in response to seasonal variation unfortunately remains inadequate within most ecosystems. Fish assemblages in the Tonle Sap Lake (TSL) of Cambodia-a dynamic flood-pulse ecosystem-were studied for five years (2010-2014) using stable isotope and Bayesian statistical approaches to explore both within-and among-species isotopic niche variation associated with seasonal flooding. Roughly 600 individual fish specimens were collected during 19 sampling events within the lake. We found that fishes within the same species tended to have a broader isotopic niche during the wet season, likely reflecting assimilation of resources from either a wider range of isotopically distinct prey items or a variety of habitats, or both. Furthermore, among-species isotopic niches tended to overlap and range more broadly during the wet season, suggesting that floodplain inundation promotes exploitation of more diverse and similar resources by different species in the fish community. Our study highlights that the flood-pulse dynamic that is typical of tropical aquatic ecosystems may be an essential element supporting freshwater fish community structure and the fish diversity that underpins the TSL food web. This flow regime is currently threatened by regional dam development, which may in turn impact the natural function and structure of the fishery food web

High-Precision Inversion of Dynamic Radiography Using Hydrodynamic Features

Radiography is often used to probe complex, evolving density fields in dynamic systems and in so doing gain insight into the underlying physics. This technique has been used in numerous fields including materials science, shock physics, inertial confinement fusion, and other national security applications. In many of these applications, however, complications resulting from noise, scatter, complex beam dynamics, etc. prevent the reconstruction of density from being accurate enough to identify the underlying physics with sufficient confidence. As such, density reconstruction from static/dynamic radiography has typically been limited to identifying discontinuous features such as cracks and voids in a number of these applications. In this work, we propose a fundamentally new approach to reconstructing density from a temporal sequence of radiographic images. Using only the robust features identifiable in radiographs, we combine them with the underlying hydrodynamic equations of motion using a machine learning approach, namely, conditional generative adversarial networks (cGAN), to determine the density fields from a dynamic sequence of radiographs. Next, we seek to further enhance the hydrodynamic consistency of the ML-based density reconstruction through a process of parameter estimation and projection onto a hydrodynamic manifold. In this context, we note that the distance from the hydrodynamic manifold given by the training data to the test data in the parameter space considered both serves as a diagnostic of the robustness of the predictions and serves to augment the training database, with the expectation that the latter will further reduce future density reconstruction errors. Finally, we demonstrate the ability of this method to outperform a traditional radiographic reconstruction in capturing allowable hydrodynamic paths even when relatively small amounts of scatter are present.Comment: Submitted to Optics Expres

Reimmunization increases contraceptive effectiveness of gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine (GonaCon-Equine) in freeranging horses (\u3ci\u3eEquus caballus\u3c/i\u3e): Limitations and side effects

Wildlife and humans are increasingly competing for resources worldwide, and a diverse, innovative, and effective set of management tools is needed. Controlling abundance of wildlife species that are simultaneously protected, abundant, competitive for resources, and in conflict with some stakeholders but beloved by others, is a daunting challenge. Free-ranging horses (Equus caballus) present such a conundrum and managers struggle for effective tools for regulating their abundance. Controlling reproduction of female horses presents a potential alternative. During 2009±2017, we determined the long-term effectiveness of GnRH vaccine (GonaCon-Equine) both as a single immunization and subsequent reimmunization on reproduction and side effects in free-ranging horses. At a scheduled management roundup in 2009, we randomly assigned 57 adult mares to either a GonaCon-Equine treatment group (n = 29) or a saline control group (n = 28). In a second roundup in 2013, we administered a booster vaccination to these same mares. We used annual ground observations to estimate foaling proportions, social behaviors, body condition, and injection site reactions. We found this vaccine to be safe for pregnant females and neonates, with no overt deleterious behavioral side effects during the breeding season. The proportion of treated mares that foaled following a single vaccination was lower than that for control mares for the second (P = 0.03) and third (P = 0.08) post-treatment foaling seasons but was similar (P = 0.67) to untreated mares for the fourth season, demonstrating reversibility of the primary vaccine treatment. After two vaccinations, however, the proportion of females giving birth was lower (

The beginning of time? Evidence for catastrophic drought in Baringo in the early nineteenth century

New developments in the collection of palaeo-data over the past two decades have transformed our understanding of climate and environmental history in eastern Africa. This article utilises instrumental and proxy evidence of historical lake-level fluctuations from Baringo and Bogoria, along with other Rift Valley lakes, to document the timing and magnitude of hydroclimate variability at decadal to century time scales since 1750. These data allow us to construct a record of past climate variation not only for the Baringo basin proper, but also across a sizable portion of central and northern Kenya. This record is then set alongside historical evidence, from oral histories gathered amongst the peoples of northern Kenya and the Rift Valley and from contemporary observations recorded by travellers through the region, to offer a reinterpretation of human activity and its relationship to environmental history in the nineteenth century. The results reveal strong evidence of a catastrophic drought in the early nineteenth century, the effects of which radically alters our historical understanding of the character of settlement, mobility and identity within the Baringo–Bogoria basin

"Women's rights, the European Court and Supranational Constitutionalism"

This analysis examines supranational constitutionalism in the European Union. In particular, the study focuses on the role of the European Court of Justice in the creation of women’s rights. I examine the interaction between the Court and member state governments in legal integration, and also the integral role that women’s advocates – both individual activists and groups – have played in the development of EU social provisions. The findings suggest that this litigation dynamic can have the effect of fueling the integration process by creating new rights that may empower social actors and EU organizations, with the ultimate effect of diminishing member state government control over the scope and direction of EU law. This study focuses specifically on gender equality law, yet provides a general framework for examining the case law in subsequent legal domains, with the purpose of providing a more nuanced understanding of supranational governance and constitutionalism