Fulcrum of the Union: The Border South and the Secession Crisis, 1859-1861

The Border South states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri spurned secession in 1860-61, which has led scholars to conclude that these four slaveholding states were safely ensconced in the Union column from the beginning of the crisis that drew the other slaveholding states into the Confederacy. Historians have often simplified the secession crisis in the Border South, minimizing the likelihood that these states with smaller concentrations of enslaved persons and a more diversified economy and society than the Upper and Lower South would ever leave the Union. This work seeks to add contingency to the story of the Border South during the breakup of the Union and demonstrates that many of the region’s inhabitants actually considered secession a viable option. The Border South remained in the Union not because the region’s white citizenry shared an inherent attachment to the republic, but because conservatives exhaustively labored to beat back the disunionists in their midst and prevent the four states from joining in the secession experiment. This study chronicles the Unionist offensive that neutralized, offset, and frustrated Border South secessionists and by the beginning of 1862 placed the region on solid Union ground. It demonstrates that keeping the Border South in the Union was by no means a facile task or a foregone conclusion. The Unionist offensive centered on protecting slavery, holding out hope that a compromise settlement might avert war, and on maintaining an intersectional conservative collaboration to counteract northern and southern radicals. This dissertation shows that although in terms of raw numbers the institution of slavery had experienced a slow decline in the Border South throughout the antebellum period, the region’s commitment to slavery’s perpetuity remained robust in 1860-61. Moderates pointed to the Constitution and the Fugitive Slave Law to convince their neighbors that only by remaining in the Union could they preserve slavery. The protection of the peculiar institution proved the most influential component of the Unionist offensive in the Border South, which demonstrates that even on the brink of the Civil War the region was no less committed to slavery than the eleven slaveholding states that seceded

Comportamento reológico de suspensões de misturas de pós cerâmicos

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica

Does bladder wall thickness decrease when obstruction is resolved?

Introduction and hypothesis: The aim of the current study was to determine if sonographic bladder wall thickness diminishes after symptomatic obstruction is resolved in female patients after stress incontinence surgery. Methods: Between December 2008 and December 2010, 62 female patients with symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction, as defined by Blaivas, who had undergone prior surgery for urinary stress incontinence were included in the study. The patients' history was taken and symptoms were noted. Patients underwent gynaecological examination, and multichannel urodynamic assessment was performed. Vaginal sonographic assessment of the bladder wall thickness (BWT) was performed before and after urethrolysis. Results: 62 patients were included in this study, 55 of whom had undergone suburethral sling insertion and seven had Burch colposuspension. Postoperatively, BWT decreased significantly from 9.1mm ± 2.1 to 7.6mm ± 2.2 (p < 0.0001). In seven patients, obstruction was still unresolved postoperatively; of these, two had undergone a retropubic sling insertion and two had a Burch colposuspension. An ROC curve analysis showed a significant positive association between residual urine and persistent obstruction before surgery (AUC 0.76, 95%CI 0.58-0.94; p < 0.05). Conclusions: If obstruction is resolved, bladder wall thickness decreases. Preoperatively elevated residual urine may increase the risk of persistent obstruction after urethrolysi

Return of the quantum cosmic censor

The influential theorems of Hawking and Penrose demonstrate that spacetime singularities are ubiquitous features of general relativity, Einstein's theory of gravity. The utility of classical general relativity in describing gravitational phenomena is maintained by the cosmic censorship principle. This conjecture, whose validity is still one of the most important open questions in general relativity, asserts that the undesirable spacetime singularities are always hidden inside of black holes. In this Letter we reanalyze extreme situations which have been considered as counterexamples to the cosmic censorship hypothesis. In particular, we consider the absorption of fermion particles by a spinning black hole. Ignoring quantum effects may lead one to conclude that an incident fermion wave may over spin the black hole, thereby exposing its inner singularity to distant observers. However, we show that when quantum effects are properly taken into account, the integrity of the black-hole event horizon is irrefutable. This observation suggests that the cosmic censorship principle is intrinsically a quantum phenomena.Comment: 5 page

Methodology to investigate interference using off-the-shelf LiDARs

With the increase of assisted and automated functions provided on new vehicles and some automotive manufacturers starting to equip high end vehicles with LiDARs, there is a need to consider and analyse the effects of having LiDAR sensors on different vehicles interacting with each other in close proximity (e.g. cities, highways, crossroads, etc.). This paper investigates interference between 360 degree scanning LiDARs, which are one of the common typologies of automotive LiDARs. One LiDAR was selected as the victim, and 5 different LiDARs were used one by one as offenders. The victim and offending LiDARs were placed in a controlled environment to reduce sources of noise, and several sets of measurements were carried out and repeated at least four times. When the attacker and victim LiDARs were turned on at the same time some variations in the signals were observed, however the statistical variation was too low to be able to identify interference. As a result, this work highlights that there is no obvious effect of interference witnessed between the selected off-the-shelf 360 degree LiDAR sensors; this lack of interference can be attributed to the working principle of this type of LiDAR and low probability of having directly interfering beams, and also to the focusing and filtering optical circuits that the LiDARs have by design. The presented results confirm that mechanical scanning LiDAR can be used safely for assisted and automated driving even in situations with multiple LiDARs

Providing immediate neonatal care and resuscitation at birth beside the mother: clinicians' views, a qualitative study

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess clinicians’ views and experiences of providing immediate neonatal care at birth beside the mother, and of using a mobile trolley designed to facilitate this bedside care. Design: Qualitative interview study with semistructured interviews. Results: The results were analysed using thematic analysis. Setting: A large UK maternity unit. Participants: Clinicians (n=20) from a range of disciplines who were present when the trolley was used to provide neonatal care at birth at the bedside. Five clinicians provided/observed advanced resuscitation by the bedside. Results: Five themes were identified: (1) Parents’ involvement, which included ‘Contact and involvement’, ‘Positive emotions for parents’ and ‘Staff communication’; (2) Reservations about neonatal care at birth beside the mother, which included ‘Impact on clinicians’ and ‘Impact on parents’; (3) Practical challenges in providing neonatal care at the bedside, which included ‘Cord length’ and ‘Caesarean section’; (4) Comparison of the trolley with usual resuscitation equipment and (5) Training and integration of bedside care into clinical routine, which included ‘Teething problems’ and ‘Training’. Conclusions: Overall, most clinicians were positive about providing immediate neonatal care at the maternal bedside, particularly in terms of the clinicians’ perceptions of the parents’ experience. Clinicians also perceived that their close proximity to parents improved communication. However, there was some concern about performing more intensive interventions in front of parents. Providing immediate neonatal care and resuscitation at the bedside requires staff training and support

How Is Physical Literacy Defined? A Contemporary Update

Physical literacy continues to gain global momentum, yet the definition and underlying concept of physical literacy remain contested in both research and practice. This lack of clarity has the potential to undermine the operationalization of physical literacy. This paper considers the various definitions of physical literacy that are currently adopted internationally. Physical literacy experts identified seven leading groups that have established physical literacy initiatives. Although each group is unified in using the term physical literacy, there are contrasting definitions and interpretations of the concept. Common themes were identified, including the (a) influence of physical literacy philosophy, (b) core elements of physical literacy, (c) lifelong nature of physical literacy, and (d) the need to scientifically pursue a robust operationalization of the concept. We conclude by recommending that programs relating to physical literacy should provide a definition, a clear philosophical approach, and transparency with how their actions align with this approach