Disentangling Race and Politics: Racial Gerrymandering in South Carolina\u27s First Congressional District

After the 2020 Census, South Carolina\u27s Republican-controlled legislature redrew the boundaries for Congressional District 1, historically anchored in Charleston County. After thirty-thousand African American voters were moved out of District 1 and into District 6, the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP challenged the new map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. A three-judge district court panel agreed, finding that race predominated above other factors in the map redraw. On appeal, the question remains not only whether the state legislature used race above other factors in its map design, but also how plaintiffs are expected to prove these claims in an era where gerrymandering for partisan purposes is allowed. Based on the deferential clear error standard of review, the Court should affirm the district court\u27s finding that race was the predominant factor. A reversal could significantly hinder plaintiffs\u27 ability to use statistical evidence to prove racial gerrymandering cases in the future

Formation of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) on ZnO at room temperature: Implications for the fundamental model of EPFR generation.

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) have significant environmental and public health impacts. In this study, we demonstrate that EPFRs formed on ZnO nanoparticles provide two significant surprises. First, EPR spectroscopy shows that phenoxy radicals form readily on ZnO nanoparticles at room temperature, yielding EPR signals similar to those previously measured after 250°C exposures. Vibrational spectroscopy supports the conclusion that phenoxy-derived species chemisorb to ZnO nanoparticles under both exposure temperatures. Second, DFT calculations indicate that electrons are transferred from ZnO to the adsorbed organic (oxidizing the Zn), the opposite direction proposed by previous descriptions of EPFR formation on metal oxides

Action Imagery and Observation in Neurorehabilitation for Parkinson’s Disease (ACTION-PD): Development of a User-Informed Home Training Intervention to Improve Functional Hand Movements

From Hindawi via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: publication-year 2021, received 2021-05-01, rev-recd 2021-06-28, accepted 2021-07-12, pub-print 2021-07-23, archival-date 2021-07-23Publication status: PublishedFunder: Economic and Social Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000269; Grant(s): ES/K013564/1Funder: Wellcome Trust; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100004440; Grant(s): 209741/Z/17/ZFunder: Medical Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000265Funder: University Of Manchester; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000770Funder: Manchester Metropolitan University; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010014Background. Parkinson’s disease (PD) causes difficulties with hand movements, which few studies have addressed therapeutically. Training with action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI) improves performance in healthy individuals, particularly when the techniques are applied simultaneously (AO + MI). Both AO and MI have shown promising effects in people with PD, but previous studies have only used these separately. Objective. This article describes the development and pilot testing of an intervention combining AO + MI and physical practice to improve functional manual actions in people with PD. Methods. The home-based intervention, delivered using a tablet computer app, was iteratively designed by an interdisciplinary team, including people with PD, and further developed through focus groups and initial field testing. Preliminary data on feasibility were obtained via a six-week pilot randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN 11184024) of 10 participants with mild to moderate PD (6 intervention; 4 treatment as usual). Usage and adherence data were recorded during training, and semistructured interviews were conducted with participants. Exploratory outcome measures included dexterity and timed action performance. Results. Usage and qualitative data provided preliminary evidence of acceptability and usability. Exploratory outcomes also suggested that subjective and objective performance of manual actions should be tested in a larger trial. The importance of personalisation, choice, and motivation was highlighted, as well as the need to facilitate engagement in motor imagery. Conclusions. The results indicate that a larger RCT is warranted, and the findings also have broader relevance for the feasibility and development of AO + MI interventions for PD and other conditions

Action Imagery and Observation in Neurorehabilitation for Parkinson’s Disease (ACTION-PD):Development of a User-Informed Home Training Intervention to Improve Functional Hand Movements

Parkinson’s disease (PD) causes difficulties with hand movements, which few studies have 48 addressed therapeutically. Training with action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI) improves performance in healthy individuals, particularly when the techniques are applied 50 simultaneously (AO+MI). Both AO and MI have shown promising effects in people with PD, but previous studies have only used these separately. Objective: This article describes the development and pilot testing of an intervention combining AO+MI and physical practice to improve functional manual actions in people with PD. Methods: The home-based intervention, delivered using a tablet computer app, was iteratively designed by an interdisciplinary team including people with PD, and further developed through focus groups and initial field testing. Preliminary data on feasibility was obtained via a six-week pilot randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN 11184024) of 10 participants with mild to moderate PD (6 intervention; 4 treatment as usual). Usage and adherence data were recorded during training, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants. Exploratory outcome measures including dexterity and timed action performance were tested. Results: Usage and qualitative data provided preliminary evidence of acceptability and usability. Exploratory outcomes also suggested that subjective and objective performance of manual actions should be tested in a larger trial. The importance of personalisation, choice, and motivation was highlighted, as well as the need to facilitate engagement in motor imagery. Conclusions: The results indicate that a larger RCT is warranted, and have broader relevance 69 for the feasibility and development of AO+MI interventions for people with PD and in other populations

Process Intensification of the Continuous Synthesis of Bio-Derived Monomers for Sustainable Coatings Using a Taylor Vortex Flow Reactor

We describe the optimization and scale-up of two consecutive reaction steps in the synthesis of bio-derived alkoxybutenolide monomers that have been reported as potential replacements for acrylate-based coatings ( Sci. Adv. 2020, 6, eabe0026). These monomers are synthesized by (i) oxidation of furfural with photogenerated singlet oxygen followed by (ii) thermal condensation of the desired 5-hydroxyfuranone intermediate product with an alcohol, a step which until now has involved a lengthy batch reaction. The two steps have been successfully telescoped into a single kilogram-scale process without any need to isolate the 5-hydroxyfuranone between the steps. Our process development involved FTIR reaction monitoring, FTIR data analysis via 2D visualization, and two different photoreactors: (i) a semicontinuous photoreactor based on a modified rotary evaporator, where FTIR and 2D correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) revealed the loss of the methyl formate coproduct, and (ii) our fully continuous Taylor Vortex photoreactor, which enhanced the mass transfer and permitted the use of near-stoichiometric equivalents of O2. The use of in-line FTIR monitoring and modeling greatly accelerated process optimization in the Vortex reactor. This led to scale-up of the photo-oxidation in 85% yield with a projected productivity of 1.3 kg day–1 and a space-time yield of 0.06 mol day–1 mL–1. Higher productivities could be achieved while sacrificing yield (e.g., 4 kg day–1 at 40% yield). The use of superheated methanol at 200 °C in a pressurized thermal flow reactor accelerated the second step, the thermal condensation of 5-hydroxyfuranone, from a 20 h batch reflux reaction (0.5 L, 85 g) to a space time of 700 g day–1. Proof of concept for telescoping the two steps was established with an overall two-step yield of 67%, producing a process with a projected productivity of 1.1 kg day–1 for the methoxybutenolide monomer without any purification of the 5-hydroxyfuranone intermediate

Disentangling Race and Politics: Racial Gerrymandering in South Carolina\u27s First Congressional District

After the 2020 Census, South Carolina\u27s Republican-controlled legislature redrew the boundaries for Congressional District 1, historically anchored in Charleston County. After thirty-thousand African American voters were moved out of District 1 and into District 6, the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP challenged the new map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. A three-judge district court panel agreed, finding that race predominated above other factors in the map redraw. On appeal, the question remains not only whether the state legislature used race above other factors in its map design, but also how plaintiffs are expected to prove these claims in an era where gerrymandering for partisan purposes is allowed. Based on the deferential clear error standard of review, the Court should affirm the district court\u27s finding that race was the predominant factor. A reversal could significantly hinder plaintiffs\u27 ability to use statistical evidence to prove racial gerrymandering cases in the future