Seiberg-Witten tau-function on Hurwitz spaces

We provide a proof of the form taken by the Seiberg-Witten tau-function on the Hurwitz space of N-fold ramified covers of the Riemann sphere by a compact Riemann surface of genus g, a result derived in [10] for a special class of monodromy data. To this end we examine the Riemann-Hilbert problem with N×N quasi-permutation monodromies, whose corresponding isomonodromic tau-function contains the Seiberg-Witten tau-function as one of three factors. We present the solution of the Riemann-Hilbert problem following [11]. Along the way we give elementary proofs of variational formulas on Hurwitz spaces, including the Rauch formulas

The Implications of Snyder v. Phelps

Snyder v. Phelps, a recent U.S. Supreme Court Case, appears to have had a vast but infrequently discussed impact on First Amendment law. In particular, the case changed the way Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress claims are decided. Snyder v. Phelps shifted the manner in which speech is analyzed away from the method of analysis present in Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell. Rather than focusing mainly on what the status is of the target of speech, Snyder requires one first, and possibly only, look to the dominant thrust of the speech. If the dominant thrust of speech is on a matter of public concern, the speech receives Constitutional protection regardless of who it was targeted at. This thesis will explore the Court\u27s analysis and the broad implications of the Court\u27s decision

George Washington\u27s Mount Vernon Stable in Context: A Comparative Analysis of Early American Stables

As the Revolutionary War came to a close, George Washington sent orders from Pennsylvania to his Mount Vernon farm in Virginia to construct a new horse stable. Completed in 1782, this substantial brick building survives as one of the best representations between the planter-elite like Washington and the multiple roles horses played in the culture of eighteenth-century America. This thesis applies an investigation of surviving stables on the east coast and historical sources to explore the evolution of stable architecture in eighteenth and nineteenth-century America. Stables, like essentially everything else in early American life, represented the materialism, power, wealth, and education of those who ordered their construction. Extant stables at Mount Airy, Shirley, and Sabine Hall in Virginia, Shepherd\u27s Delight in Maryland, Woodlands in Pennsylvania, and the Aiken-Rhett House and others in Charleston, South Carolina illustrate shared patterns of stable construction and plan. These stables and information drawn from newspaper advertisements, insurance records, plats, paintings, sketches, and tax records reveal how design, materials, finish, and joinery employed in the construction of stables evolved in George Washington\u27s world and how they defined the relationships, architectural and spatial, between dwelling and stable. This thesis argues that stable fittings as expressions of wealth reflected a household\u27s aspirations and perceptions of its place in local and regional culture. Conclusions drawn from this research will support the restoration of the interior of Mount Vernon\u27s stable

Impact of Coagulation and Ozonation Pretreatment on Ceramic Microfiltration

Globally drinking water sources are under pressure. In many places, there is unintended closure of the water cycle. This means that the wastewater treatment plant effluent with all its pollutants ends up in the source of drinking water treatment plants that are not designed to treat this type of water. Impacts on water sources from factors such as climate change and high population density make unintended reuse, indirect reuse, and potable reuse more accepted and explored. Known reuse schemes use high end treatment technologies such as ceramic microfiltration. While ceramic microfiltration is a beneficial treatment option, its effectiveness can be limited due to membrane fouling causing increases in energy consumption, increases in operating costs, and a loss in permeability. Coagulation and ozonation are pretreatment options that can help mitigate membrane fouling. Using a secondary wastewater effluent reuse pilot at RWZI Wervershoof in the Netherlands, this research project evaluated the abilities of coagulation and ozonation pretreatment to improve ceramic microfiltration performance in comparison with control runs without pretreatment. This evaluation was based on performance parameters such as critical flux and sustainable flux based on a transmembrane pressure (TMP) criterion. Critical flux was defined as the flux level at which the detection of membrane fouling initially appeared, and sustainable flux was defined as the flux level directly (25 Lmh) below the critical flux. Water quality samples were analyzed on NOM characteristics to explain ceramic microfiltration fouling Twenty-four-hour constant flux tests were performed to determine the critical and sustainable fluxes for the three treatment options. For the coagulation pretreatment tests, two dosages of ferric chloride, 20 and 6 mg/L as Fe3+, were tested to determine the more appropriate dosage to restrict ceramic microfiltration fouling. Based on the constant flux test results, a ferric chloride dosage of 6 mg/L as Fe3+ was chosen. For the ozonation pretreatment tests, a bench-scale ozone uptake test was conducted to determine the ozone dosage for the constant flux tests. Based on this test, the selected ozone dosage was 8 mg/L as O3. Without pretreatment, the critical flux was 145 Lmh. Coagulation and ozonation pretreatment increased the critical flux to 195 and 270 Lmh, respectively. During coagulation pretreatment, the critical flux increase was based on NOM removal. During ozonation pretreatment, the critical flux increase was based on changing the NOM characteristics. The results illustrated that compared to no pretreatment, coagulation pretreatment improved and ozonation pretreatment strongly improved ceramic microfiltration performance. Overall, coagulation or ozonation pretreatment enables a more economical application of ceramic microfiltration for water reuse

Cost effectiveness of treatments for wet age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in people aged >= 50 years. Wet AMD in particular has a major impact on patient quality of life and imposes substantial burdens on healthcare systems. This systematic review examined the cost-effectiveness data for current therapeutic options for wet AMD. PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched for all articles reporting original cost-effectiveness analyses of wet AMD treatments. The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and Cochrane Library databases were searched for all wet AMD health technology assessments (HTAs). Overall, 44 publications were evaluated in full and included in this review. A broad range of cost-effectiveness analyses were identified for the most commonly used therapies for wet AMD (pegaptanib, ranibizumab and photodynamic therapy [PDT] with verteporfin). Three studies evaluated the cost effectiveness of bevacizumab in wet AMD. A small number of analyses of other treatments, such as laser photocoagulation and antioxidant vitamins, were also found. Ranibizumab was consistently shown to be cost effective for wet AMD in comparison with all the approved wet AMD therapies (four of the five studies identified showed ranibizumab was cost effective vs usual care, PDT or pegaptanib); however, there was considerable variation in the methodology for cost-effectiveness modelling between studies. Findings from the HTAs supported those from the PubMed and EM BASE searches; of the seven HTAs that included ranibizumab, six (including HTAs for Australia, Canada and the UK) concluded that ranibizumab was cost effective for the treatment of wet AMD; most compared ranibizumab with PDT and/or pegaptanib. By contrast, HTAs at best generally recommended pegaptanib or PDT for restricted use in subsets of patients with wet AMD. In the literature analyses, pegaptanib was found to be cost effective versus usual/best supportive care (including PDT) or no treatment in one of five studies; the other four studies found pegaptanib was of borderline cost effectiveness depending on the stage of disease and time horizon. PDT was shown to be cost effective versus usual/best supportive care or no treatment in five of nine studies; two studies showed that PDT was of borderline cost effectiveness depending on baseline visual acuity, and two showed that PDT was not cost effective. We identified no robust studies that properly evaluated the cost effectiveness of bevacizumab in wet AMD

Moving Beyond Tyrosine Hydroxylase to Define Dopaminergic Neurons for Use in Cell Replacement Therapies for Parkinson\u27s Disease

Cell replacement therapies are an attractive mode of treatment for neurodegenerative disorders as they have the potential to alleviate or modify disease symptoms and restore function. In Parkinson\u27s disease, the cell type requiring replacement is dopamine-producing neurons of the midbrain. The source of replacement cells is contentious, with opinion still evolving. Clinical trials have previously used fetal brain tissue; however, this will likely be superseded by the use of embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells, due to their greater availability and homogeneity. One significant caveat in the use of any cell source for therapy is that cells must first be adequately characterised and purified. The gold standard marker in the identification of dopaminergic neurons is tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate limiting enzyme in dopamine synthesis, catalyzing the conversion of L-tyrosine to L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine. However, there are multiple ways of measuring TH readout, and potential flaws in the fidelity of TH expression. This review will look at the complex regulatory mechanisms that govern different facets of TH expression, including reported differences in TH expression in vitro and in vivo. We will also examine the regulation of the TH gene; assessing the which, the where and the when of TH expression. We will look at how knowledge of regulation of the TH gene can be utilised to enhance research efforts. And, finally we will delve into the transcription factors that govern elements of TH expression, and which may prove more effective for defining appropriate dopaminergic neuron precursor cells

Exploring Differential Opportunity among Inner City Black Men

Poster presentation abstract

Examining the Variability in General Education Placements for Students With Intellectual Disability

Despite the overwhelming body of research suggesting that students with intellectual disability benefit from access to general education placements, students with intellectual disability continue to be educated primarily in segregated settings. Furthermore, the percentage of students with intellectual disability included in general education classrooms varies greatly among and within states across the United States. In an effort to explore such variability in New York State, we examined trends in general education placement rates of students with intellectual disability across districts and possible predictors of placement in regular classes. Results suggest that although descriptive patterns of placement exist, a more definitive explanation of variability requires a deeper analysis of policy and procedure at the district level

Opportunities and challenges in using instrumental variables to study causal effects in nonrandomized stress and trauma research.

OBJECTIVE: Researchers are often interested in assessing the causal effect of an exposure on an outcome when randomization is not ethical or feasible. Estimating causal effects by controlling for confounders can be unconvincing because important potential confounders remain unmeasured. Study designs leveraging instrumental variables (IVs) offer alternatives to confounder-control methods but are rarely used in stress and trauma research. METHOD: We review the conceptual foundations and implementation of IV methods. We discuss strengths and limitations of IV approaches, contrasting with confounder-control methods, and illustrate the relevance of IVs for stress and trauma research. RESULTS: IV approaches leverage an external or exogenous source of variation in the exposure. Instruments are variables that meet three conditions: relevance (variation in the IV is associated with variation in the chance of exposure), exclusion (the IV only affects the outcome through the exposure), and exchangeability (no unmeasured confounding of the IV-outcome relationship). Interpreting estimates from IV analyses requires an additional assumption, such as monotonicity (the instrument does not change the chance of exposure in different directions for any two individuals). Valid IVs circumvent the need to correctly identify, measure, and control for all confounders of the exposure-outcome relationship. The primary challenge is identifying a valid instrument. CONCLUSIONS: IV approaches have strengths and weaknesses compared with confounder-control approaches. IVs offers a promising complementary study design to improve evidence about the causal effects of exposures on outcomes relevant to stress and trauma. Collaboration with scientists who are experienced with identifying and analyzing IVs will support this work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)