Lessons from the Use of Ranked Choice Voting in American Presidential Primaries

Grounded in experience in 2020, both major political parties have reasons to expand use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in their 2024 presidential primaries. RCV may offer a ‘win-win’ solution benefiting both the parties and their voters. RCV would build on both the pre-1968 American tradition of parties determining a coalitional presidential nominee through multiple ballots at party conventions and the modern practice of allowing voters to effectively choose their nominees in primaries. Increasingly used by parties around the world in picking their leaders, RCV may allow voters to crowd-source a coalitional nominee. Most published research about RCV focuses on state and local elections. In contrast, this article analyzes the impact on voters, candidates, and parties from five state Democratic parties using RCV in party-run presidential nomination contests in 2020. First, it uses polls and results to examine how more widespread use of RCV might have affected the trajectory of contests for the 2016 Republican nomination. Second, it contrasts how more than three million voters in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries backed withdrawn candidates with the low rate of such wasted votes for withdrawn candidates in the states with RCV ballots. Finally, it concludes with an examination of how RCV might best interact with the parties’ current rules and potential changes to those rules

DIFFERENCES IN PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AMONG SUBSTANCE USERS IN RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT RELATED TO HIV STATUS

HIV-positive individuals engage in substance use at higher rates than the general population and are more likely to also suffer from concurrent psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders. Despite this, little is known about the unique clinical concerns of HIV-positive individuals entering substance use treatment. This study examined the clinical characteristics of clients (N=1712) entering residential substance use treatment as a function of self-reported HIV status (8.65% HIV-positive). Results showed higher levels of concurrent substance use and psychiatric disorders for HIV-positive individuals, who were also significantly more likely to meet criteria for bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. Past diagnoses of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and social phobia were also significantly more common. Study findings indicate a need to provide more intensive care for HIV-positive individuals, including resources targeted at concurrent psychiatric problems, to ensure positive treatment outcomes following residential substance use treatment discharge

Single Proton Knock-Out Reactions from 24,25,26F

The cross sections of the single proton knock-out reactions from 24F, 25F, and 26F on a 12C target were measured at energies of about 50 MeV/nucleon. Ground state populations of 6.6+-.9 mb, 3.8+-0.6 mb for the reactions 12C(24F,23O) and 12C(25F,24O) were extracted, respectively. The data were compared to calculations based on the many-body shell model and the eikonal theory. In the reaction 12C(26F,25O) the particle instability of 25O was confirmed

The interacting effect of depressive symptoms, gender, and distress tolerance on substance use problems among residential treatment-seeking substance users

Depression is associated with substance use problems; however, the specific individual characteristics influencing this association are not well identified. Empirical evidence and theory suggest that gender and distress tolerance—defined behaviorally as an individual’s ability to persist in goal-directed behavior while experiencing negative affective states—are important underlying factors in this relationship. Hence, the purpose of the current study was to examine whether gender and distress tolerance moderate the relationship between depressive symptoms and substance use problems

Measuring Lensing Magnification of Quasars by Large Scale Structure using the Variability-Luminosity Relation

We introduce a technique to measure gravitational lensing magnification using the variability of type I quasars. Quasars' variability amplitudes and luminosities are tightly correlated, on average. Magnification due to gravitational lensing increases the quasars' apparent luminosity, while leaving the variability amplitude unchanged. Therefore, the mean magnification of an ensemble of quasars can be measured through the mean shift in the variability-luminosity relation. As a proof of principle, we use this technique to measure the magnification of quasars spectroscopically identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, due to gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters in the SDSS MaxBCG catalog. The Palomar-QUEST Variability Survey, reduced using the DeepSky pipeline, provides variability data for the sources. We measure the average quasar magnification as a function of scaled distance (r/R200) from the nearest cluster; our measurements are consistent with expectations assuming NFW cluster profiles, particularly after accounting for the known uncertainty in the clusters' centers. Variability-based lensing measurements are a valuable complement to shape-based techniques because their systematic errors are very different, and also because the variability measurements are amenable to photometric errors of a few percent and to depths seen in current wide-field surveys. Given the data volume expected from current and upcoming surveys, this new technique has the potential to be competitive with weak lensing shear measurements of large scale structure.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

microRNAs and the evolution of complex multicellularity:Identification of a large, diverse complement of microRNAs in the brown alga Ectocarpus

There is currently convincing evidence that microRNAs have evolved independently in at least six different eukaryotic lineages: animals, land plants, chlorophyte green algae, demosponges, slime molds and brown algae. MicroRNAs from different lineages are not homologous but some structural features are strongly conserved across the eukaryotic tree allowing the application of stringent criteria to identify novel microRNA loci. A large set of 63 microRNA families was identified in the brown alga Ectocarpus based on mapping of RNA-seq data and nine microRNAs were confirmed by northern blotting. The Ectocarpus microRNAs are highly diverse at the sequence level with few multi-gene families, and do not tend to occur in clusters but exhibit some highly conserved structural features such as the presence of a uracil at the first residue. No homologues of Ectocarpus microRNAs were found in other stramenopile genomes indicating that they emerged late in stramenopile evolution and are perhaps specific to the brown algae. The large number of microRNA loci in Ectocarpus is consistent with the developmental complexity of many brown algal species and supports a proposed link between the emergence and expansion of microRNA regulatory systems and the evolution of complex multicellularity

Implementing Behavioral Activation and Life-Steps for Depression and HIV Medication Adherence in a Community Health Center

Antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV/AIDS has substantially improved clinical outcomes among patients living with HIV/AIDS, but only in the presence of very consistent adherence. One of the most prevalent and impactful individual-level predictors of poor adherence is depressive symptoms, even at subthreshold levels. Evidence-based cognitive behavioral interventions exist to address improvements in depressive symptoms and adherence in this population, yet these techniques have largely been designed and tested as individual treatments for delivery in mental health settings. This presents a significant challenge when transporting these techniques to medical settings where other formats for delivery may be more appropriate (i.e., groups, less frequent visits) and few hands-on resources exist to guide this process. As such, primary aims of this study were to adapt and implement evidence-based cognitive behavioral techniques for depression (behavioral activation; BA) and HIV medication adherence (Life-Steps) that have potential for dissemination in an outpatient community health center. The intervention incorporated feedback from health center staff and utilized a modular, group format that did not rely on sequential session attendance. Feasibility was examined over 8 weeks (n = 13). Preliminary effects on depression, health-related quality of life, and medication adherence were examined and exit interviews were conducted with a subset of participants (n = 4) to inform future modifications. Treatment descriptions and recommendations for effective clinical implementation based on patient and clinician feedback are provided along with case material of two individual patients and an example group session. Current efforts are an important next step for disseminating evidence-based techniques for depression and HIV medication adherence to community health center or AIDS service organization settings

Scaling Relations and Overabundance of Massive Clusters at z>~1 from Weak-Lensing Studies with HST

We present weak gravitational lensing analysis of 22 high-redshift (z >~1) clusters based on Hubble Space Telescope images. Most clusters in our sample provide significant lensing signals and are well detected in their reconstructed two-dimensional mass maps. Combining the current results and our previous weak-lensing studies of five other high-z clusters, we compare gravitational lensing masses of these clusters with other observables. We revisit the question whether the presence of the most massive clusters in our sample is in tension with the current LambdaCDM structure formation paradigm. We find that the lensing masses are tightly correlated with the gas temperatures and establish, for the first time, the lensing mass-temperature relation at z >~ 1. For the power law slope of the M-TX relation (M propto T^{\alpha}), we obtain \alpha=1.54 +/- 0.23. This is consistent with the theoretical self-similar prediction \alpha=3/2 and with the results previously reported in the literature for much lower redshift samples. However, our normalization is lower than the previous results by 20-30%, indicating that the normalization in the M-TX relation might evolve. After correcting for Eddington bias and updating the discovery area with a more conservative choice, we find that the existence of the most massive clusters in our sample still provides a tension with the current Lambda CDM model. The combined probability of finding the four most massive clusters in this sample after marginalization over current cosmological parameters is less than 1%.Comment: ApJ in press. See http://www.supernova.lbl.gov for additional information pertaining to the HST Cluster SN Surve

Global health and foreign policy.

Health has long been intertwined with the foreign policies of states. In recent years, however, global health issues have risen to the highest levels of international politics and have become accepted as legitimate issues in foreign policy. This elevated political priority is in many ways a welcome development for proponents of global health, and it has resulted in increased funding for and attention to select global health issues. However, there has been less examination of the tensions that characterize the relationship between global health and foreign policy and of the potential effects of linking global health efforts with the foreign-policy interests of states. In this paper, the authors review the relationship between global health and foreign policy by examining the roles of health across 4 major components of foreign policy: aid, trade, diplomacy, and national security. For each of these aspects of foreign policy, the authors review current and historical issues and discuss how foreign-policy interests have aided or impeded global health efforts. The increasing relevance of global health to foreign policy holds both opportunities and dangers for global efforts to improve health

Sometimes you have to take the person and show them how : adapting behavioral activation for peer recovery specialist-delivery to improve methadone treatment retention

BACKGROUND: Despite efficacy of medication for opioid use disorder, low-income, ethno-racial minoritized populations often experience poor opioid use disorder treatment outcomes. Peer recovery specialists, individuals with lived experience of substance use and recovery, are well-positioned to engage hard-to-reach patients in treatment for opioid use disorder. Traditionally, peer recovery specialists have focused on bridging to care rather than delivering interventions. This study builds on research in other low-resource contexts that has explored peer delivery of evidence-based interventions, such as behavioral activation, to expand access to care. METHODS: We sought feedback on the feasibility and acceptability of a peer recovery specialist-delivered behavioral activation intervention supporting retention in methadone treatment by increasing positive reinforcement. We recruited patients and staff at a community-based methadone treatment center and peer recovery specialist working across Baltimore City, Maryland, USA. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups inquired about the feasibility and acceptability of behavioral activation, recommendations for adaptation, and acceptability of working with a peer alongside methadone treatment. RESULTS: Participants (N = 32) shared that peer recovery specialist-delivered behavioral activation could be feasible and acceptable with adaptations. They described common challenges associated with unstructured time, for which behavioral activation could be particularly relevant. Participants provided examples of how a peer-delivered intervention could fit well in the context of methadone treatment, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and specific peer qualities. CONCLUSIONS: Improving medication for opioid use disorder outcomes is a national priority that must be met with cost-effective, sustainable strategies to support individuals in treatment. Findings will guide adaptation of a peer recovery specialist-delivered behavioral activation intervention to improve methadone treatment retention for underserved, ethno-racial minoritized individuals living with opioid use disorder