Lincoln Park Passerelle: Rainbow Bridge

As seen by approaching motorists on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive, the “Rainbow Bridge” appears as if it’s crossing the 6–lane roadway with a graceful leap worthy of a ballet dancer. To people crossing the bridge, its gentle rise provides comfortable access to a popular beach and recreational parkland at edge of Lake Michigan

Is Enrichment Always Enriching and How Would You Know? Unintended Consequences and the Importance of Formal Assessment of Enrichment Programs in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are viewed as a highly intelligent species capable of complex behaviors. This requires marine parks to maintain dynamic environmental enrichment programs in order to ensure dolphins’ optimal psychological and physiological well-being while in human care. In this study, two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different forms of enrichment on the behavior of four bottlenose dolphins. In Experiment 1, multiple forms of novel enrichment resulted in a shift away from individual swim patterns – a change that is associated with increased behavioral diversity and so often considered an improvement in animal welfare – but also resulted in avoidance behavior and initially resulted in a decrease in affiliative behavior. In Experiment 2, introducing choice of enrichments resulted in unintended social consequences, such as agonistic behaviors. These two experiments together demonstrated that interpreting the results of enrichment programs may not be as straightforward as often presumed. The results suggest that unique forms of enrichment and variable schedules might be particularly effective but also that consistent evaluation continues to be necessary to minimize unintended behavioral consequences

Systematic review: Safety of surgical male circumcision in context of HIV prevention public health programmes [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Since the recommendation of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) to reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV, a number of adolescent boys and men in 15 priority countries in Africa have been circumcised. Our primary goal was to identify the incidence of adverse events (AEs) associated with VMMC and to assess the safety profile among adolescent boys 10 – 14 years. Methods: We searched the databases MEDLINE and Embase, WHO, and conference abstracts from 2005 to 2019. The incidence of AEs was estimated by type of AE, size of study and age. Results: We retained 40 studies. Severe and moderate AEs overall were estimated at 0.30 per 100 VMMC clients with wide variability per study type. A higher rate was noted in small and moderate scale programmes and device method research studies compared with larger scale programmes. There was a limited number of studies reporting AEs among younger adolescent boys and they had higher infection-related AEs than those aged 20 years and older. Case studies noted rare AEs such as necrotizing fasciitis, tetanus, and glans injury. Conclusions: AE rates were comparable to those from the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that led to recommendations and implementation of VMMC in high HIV burden countries, despite being implemented in low resource settings. Clients over time have increasingly included adolescents under the age of 15 years. Studies suggest potentially higher risks in this age group. As VMMC services are sustained, patient safety surveillance systems and promoting a patient safety culture are crucial to identify and mitigate potential harms from medical male circumcision

Re:Chicago

https://via.library.depaul.edu/museum-publications/1012/thumbnail.jp

Brief of Amici Curiae 56 Professors of Law and Economics in Support of Petition of Writ of Certiorari

28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) provides that a defendant in a patent case may be sued where the defendant is incorporated or has a regular and established place of business and has infringed the patent. This Court made clear in Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Prods. Corp., 353 U.S. 222, 223 (1957), that those were the only permissible venues for a patent case. But the Federal Circuit has rejected Fourco and the plain meaning of § 1400(b), instead permitting a patent plaintiff to file suit against a defendant anywhere there is personal jurisdiction over that defendant. The result has been rampant forum shopping, particularly by patent trolls. 44% of 2015 patent lawsuits were filed in a single district: the Eastern District of Texas, a forum with plaintiff-friendly rules and practices, and where few of the defendants are incorporated or have established places of business. And an estimated 86% of 2015 patent cases were filed somewhere other than the jurisdictions specified in the statute. Colleen V. Chien & Michael Risch, Recalibrating Patent Venue, Santa Clara Univ. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-1 (Sept. 1, 2016), Table 3. This Court should grant certiorari to review the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) because the Federal Circuit’s dubious interpretation of the statute plays an outsized and detrimental role, both legally and economically, in the patent system

Brief of Amici Curiae 56 Professors of Law and Economics in Support of Petition of Writ of Certiorari

28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) provides that a defendant in a patent case may be sued where the defendant is incorporated or has a regular and established place of business and has infringed the patent. This Court made clear in Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Prods. Corp., 353 U.S. 222, 223 (1957), that those were the only permissible venues for a patent case. But the Federal Circuit has rejected Fourco and the plain meaning of § 1400(b), instead permitting a patent plaintiff to file suit against a defendant anywhere there is personal jurisdiction over that defendant. The result has been rampant forum shopping, particularly by patent trolls. 44% of 2015 patent lawsuits were filed in a single district: the Eastern District of Texas, a forum with plaintiff-friendly rules and practices, and where few of the defendants are incorporated or have established places of business. And an estimated 86% of 2015 patent cases were filed somewhere other than the jurisdictions specified in the statute. Colleen V. Chien & Michael Risch, Recalibrating Patent Venue, Santa Clara Univ. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-1 (Sept. 1, 2016), Table 3. This Court should grant certiorari to review the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) because the Federal Circuit’s dubious interpretation of the statute plays an outsized and detrimental role, both legally and economically, in the patent system

Challenging Conformity: A Case for Diversity * Willemien Kets †

Abstract Why do diverse groups outperform homogeneous groups in some settings, but not in others? We show that while diverse groups experience more frictions than homogeneous ones, they are also less conformist. Homogeneous groups minimize the risk of miscoordination, but they may get stuck in an inefficient equilibrium. Diverse groups may fail to coordinate, but if they do, they tend to attain efficiency. This fundamental tradeoff determines how the optimal level of diversity varies with social and economic factors. When it is vitally important to avoid miscoordination, homogeneous groups are optimal. However, when it is critical to implement new and efficient practices, diverse groups perform better. * Part of the material incorporated here was previously in a paper entitled "A belief-based theory of homophily" by the same authors (Kets and Sandroni, 2015a). We thank David Ahn, Larbi Alaoui, Sandeep Baliga, Vincent Crawford, Vessela Daskalova, Georgy Egorov, Tim Feddersen, Matthew Jackson, Wouter Kager, Rachel Kranton, George Mailath, Niko Matouschek, Friederike Mengel, Rosemarie Nagel, Alessandro Pavan, Antonio Penta, Nicola Persico, Debraj Ray, Yuval Salant, Larry Samuelson, Paola Sapienza, Rajiv Sethi, Eran Shmaya, Andy Skrzypacz, Jakub Steiner, Colin Stewart, Jeroen Swinkels, and numerous seminar audiences and conference participants for helpful comments and stimulating discussions

Diagnosis and management of venereal campylobacteriosis in beef cattle

BACKGROUND: Bovine venereal campylobacteriosis is caused by Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis and its glycerine-tolerant variant Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis biovars intermedius. The disease can be economically important when present in cattle herds, causing poor reproductive performance, embryo mortality and abortion. Sensitive and specific diagnostic tests are required in the diagnosis of infection and to inform and monitor disease control. Current tests include bacterial culture and fluorescent antibody testing of preputial sheath washings and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an agglutination test on vaginal mucus, although the predictive values of these tests can be inadequate in field investigations. Artificial insemination is often considered as a simple control method for bovine venereal campylobacteriosis, but is impractical for many beef suckler herds where breeding takes place at pasture. Commercial vaccines are unavailable in the UK, while the efficacy of autogenous vaccines using a bacterial isolate from infected animals on a specific farm is at best unproven. Hence, for some infected herds, the development of an alternative control strategy based on segregation of potentially infected and uninfected animals in combination with culling or treatment would be desirable. This approach requires meticulous records and herd health management. CASE PRESENTATION: In this paper we highlight difficulties in diagnosing bovine venereal campylobacteriosis and demonstrate the benefits of good record keeping when investigating poor reproductive performance in a beef suckler herd and establishing a herd-specific approach to bio-containment of the infectious cause. CONCLUSIONS: Bovine venereal campylobacteriosis is an economically important disease that should be considered in investigations of suckler herd subfertility problems. Control of the disease based on segregation of potentially infected and uninfected animals in combination with extensive culling can be achieved without the use of artificial insemination or vaccination, but requires meticulous records and strict adherence to herd biosecurity practices