Grappling the Monster Case: The Next Frontier in ADR

Not so long ago, ADR was just one more term in a legal jargon already filled with too many acronyms. While we concede that ADR might not rival CPR as a vital necessity, its use is extremely important to the practice of law today. Since the promulgation of Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice, nearly 80 percent of Minnesota attorneys report that they are using ADR to help resolve their civil cases filed in state trial courts.\u27 Their reasons? ADR processes can cut litigation costs, reduce clients\u27 expenses, save attorneys\u27 and clients\u27 time, and generate earlier settlements. National research also consistently shows that ADR increases clients\u27 satisfaction with the resolution of their cases. But most attorneys think of ADR only in relatively standard, two-party cases. It probably would surprise many attorneys that ADR also is being used to help settle huge, complicated class actions or mass torts. One dramatic - and instructive - example of this use of ADR has occurred in the federal court in Minnesota. In this article, we will describe this use of ADR - and share a few of the lessons learned in this experience

Studies on the solubilisation and fractionation of some starches

Starch granules were isolated from cereal and legume cultivars known to differ in their cooking properties. The isolated granules were examined for the extent of contamination with non-starch material and to determine whether or not they were typical for their species. Chemical and microscopic investigations showed that they contained traces of non-starch material but were representative of the granule types and granule size distributions normally encountered for each type. The granules were characterised by their gel temperature as estimated by loss of birefringence and for apparent amylose content as determined by potentiometric titration. There was no relationship between the gelatinisation temperature of a sample and its apparent amylose content. The possibility of determining the amylose; amylopectin ratio of the samples using concanavalin A immobilised on an insoluble matrix of Sepharose was investigated by a column chromatographic procedure. It was found that the essentially unbranched fraction was not bound and hence readily collected for further analysis. By comparison, the branched fraction was firmly bound to the immobilised lectin. Attempts to fully recover the branched material by washing of the column were not successful, probably due the tenacity of binding between the lectin and the glucan, as well as the possibility of precipitation of the amylopectin on the column. The development of other techniques to allow full recovery of the branched fraction may be possible. Samples of granules isolated from each of the starches were heated at constant temperature in excess quantities of water. The temperature at which solubilisation of the cereal starches commenced was related to the gelatinisat ion temperature but the legume starch commenced solubilisation at a temperature well below its gelatinisation temperature. The quantities of material solubilised at each temperature and the absorbance spectra of the glucan-iodine complexes were determined. The amount of material solubilised was related to the amylose content but not to the gelatinisation temperature. The quantity of soluble material leached from the granules at any given temperature appeared to reach a maximum after 30 minutes heating. The absorbance spectra indicated the soluble material to be amylose—like in structure, i.e. to have a low level of branching. The material solubilised at 80° and 90° was freeze-dried prior to fractionation by gel permeation chromatography on Sepharose 2B-CL. The fractions obtained from native starch granules indicated that the cultivars differed in the molecular sizes and structures of the components. The material solubilised from the granules indicated that the cultivars differed in the molecular types leached at each temperature. This observation was supported by the fractions obtained from material solubilised at 90° when it was fractionated on Fractogel TSK HW-50 (S) before and after debranching with isoamylase. The pasting curves of starch-water slurries were determined with the Brabender Visco-Amylograph. The characteristics of the curves were shown to differ between species and also between cultivars of the same species

Enhanced microarray performance using low complexity representations of the transcriptome

Low abundance mRNAs are more difficult to examine using microarrays than high abundance mRNAs due to the effect of concentration on hybridization kinetics and signal-to-noise ratios. This report describes the use of low complexity representations (LCRs) of mRNA as the targets for cDNA microarrays. Individual sequences in LCRs are more highly represented than in the mRNA populations from which they are derived, leading to favorable hybridization kinetics. LCR targets permit the measurement of abundance changes that are difficult to measure using oligo(dT) priming for target synthesis. An oligo(dT)-primed target and three LCRs detect twice as many differentially regulated genes as could be detected by the oligo(dT)-primed target alone, in an experiment in which serum-starved fibroblasts responded to the reintroduction of serum. Thus, this target preparation strategy considerably increases the sensitivity of cDNA microarrays

The Role of Vitamin D and Vitamin D Receptor in Immunity to Leishmania major Infection

Vitamin D signaling modulates a variety of immune responses. Here, we assessed the role of vitamin D in immunity to experimental leishmaniasis infection in vitamin D receptor-deficient mice (VDRKO). We observed that VDRKO mice on a genetically resistant background have decreased Leishmania major-induced lesion development compared to wild-type (WT) mice; additionally, parasite loads in infected dermis were significantly lower at the height of infection. Enzymatic depletion of the active form of vitamin D mimics the ablation of VDR resulting in an increased resistance to L. major. Conversely, VDRKO or vitamin D-deficient mice on the susceptible Th2-biased background had no change in susceptibility. These studies indicate vitamin D deficiency, either through the ablation of VDR or elimination of its ligand, 1,25D3, leads to an increase resistance to L. major infection but only in a host that is predisposed for Th-1 immune responses

An Evaluation of Student Interest, Influence and Motivation in Science and Science Related Courses and Their Relevance to Student Performance, Course Selection and Long-Term Interest in Science

Committee names: Susan Damme (Chair), James Geams. This item has been modified from the original to redact the signatures present.This study investigates and evaluates the ages that students are most interested in science. Understanding the factors that affect and influences this interest, will allow educators to have a better knowledge of conditions that could motivate school age students to take higher-level science courses. This in turn could promote a society with greater science literacy, and one that is better prepared to meet the future demands of a highly technical workforce and environmentally sensitive world. A survey was given to students who attended a three state science symposium and students from two urban middle schools and two urban high schools. In addition to demographic and background information, students were asked to identify the age and grade they first became interested in science, who or what most influenced their science interest, and then rate an interest level of the various science disciplines. The researchers assume that students will have some interest level in science, and that there is an age when students are more likely to discover their inclination towards science. The study determined that there is a peak interest age for students in the fields of science inquiry and that the factors affecting this interest vary between male and female respondents.University of Minnesota, Duluth. College of Education and Human Service Professions

Genetic Determinants of UV-Susceptibility in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

A milieu of cytokines and signaling molecules are involved in the induction of UV-induced immune suppression and thus the etiology of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Targeting the UV-induced immunosuppression pathway, and using a large population based study of NMSC, we have investigated the risk associated with functional variants in 10 genes (IL10, IL4, IL4R, TNF, TNFR2, HTR2A, HRH2, IL12B, PTGS2, and HAL). The most prominent single genetic effect was observed for IL10. There was increasing risk for both basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with increasing number of variant IL10 haplotypes (BCC: ptrend = 0.0048; SCC: ptrend = 0.031). Having two IL10 GC haplotypes was associated with increased odds ratios of BCC and SCC (ORBCC = 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–1.9; ORSCC = 1.4, 95% CI 1.0–1.9), and these associations were largely confined to women (ORBCC = 2.2, 95% CI 1.4–3.4; SCC: ORSCC = 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–3.0). To examine how combinations of these variants contribute to risk of BCC and SCC, we used multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) and classification and regression trees (CART). Results from both of these methods found that in men, a combination of skin type, burns, IL10, IL4R, and possibly TNFR2 were important in both BCC and SCC. In women, skin type, burns, and IL10 were the most critical risk factors in SCC, with risk of BCC involving these same factors plus genetic variants in HTR2A, IL12B and IL4R. These data suggest differential genetic susceptibility to UV-induced immune suppression and skin cancer risk by gender

Do in-service training materials for midwifery care providers in sub-Saharan Africa meet international competency standards? A scoping review 2000-2020

BACKGROUND: Levels of maternal and neonatal mortality remain high in sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated 66% of global maternal deaths occurring in this region. Many deaths are linked to poor quality of care, which in turn has been linked to gaps in pre-service training programmes for midwifery care providers. In-service training packages have been developed and implemented across sub-Saharan Africa in an attempt to overcome the shortfalls in pre-service training. This scoping review has aimed to summarize in-service training materials used in sub-Saharan Africa for midwifery care providers between 2000 and 2020 and mapped their content to the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice. METHODS: Searches were conducted for the years 2000-2020 in Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed/MEDLINE, Social Science Citation Index, African Index Medicus and Google Scholar. A manual search of reference lists from identified studies and a search of grey literature from international organizations was also performed. Identified in-service training materials that were accessible freely on-line were mapped to the ICM Essential Competencies for midwifery practice. RESULTS: The database searches identified 1884 articles after removing duplicates. After applying exclusion criteria, 87 articles were identified for data extraction. During data extraction, a further 66 articles were excluded, leaving 21 articles to be included in the review. From these 21 articles, six different training materials were identified. The grey literature yielded 35 training materials, bringing the total number of in-service training materials that were reviewed to 41. Identified in-service training materials mainly focused on emergency obstetric care in a limited number of sub-Saharan Africa countries. Results also indicate that a significant number of in-service training materials are not readily and/or freely accessible. However, the content of in-service training materials largely met the ICM Essential Competencies, with gaps noted in the aspect of woman-centred care and shared decision making. CONCLUSION: To reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality midwifery care providers should have access to evidence-based in-service training materials that include antenatal care and routine intrapartum care, and places women at the centre of their care as shared decision makers

Protocol for a scoping review to identify and map in-service education and training materials for midwifery care in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2020.

INTRODUCTION: Maternal and neonatal mortality are disproportionally high in low-and middle-income countries. In 2017 the global maternal mortality ratio was estimated to be 211 per 100 000 live births. An estimated 66% of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Training programmes that aim to prepare providers of midwifery care vary considerably across sub-Saharan Africa in terms of length, content and quality. To overcome the shortfalls of pre-service training and support the provision of quality care, in-service training packages for providers of midwifery care have been developed and implemented in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We aim to identify what in-service education and training materials have been used for providers of midwifery care between 2000 and 2020 and map their content to the International Confederation of Midwives' Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice (ICM Competencies), and the Lancet Midwifery Series Quality Maternal and Newborn Care (QMNC) framework. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A search will be conducted for the years 2000-2020 in Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed/MEDLINE, Social Sciences Citation Index, African Index Medicus and Google Scholar. A manual search of reference lists from identified studies and a hand search of literature from international partner organisations will be performed. Information retrieved will include study context, providers trained, focus of training and design of training. Original content of identified education and training materials will be obtained and mapped to the ICM Competencies and the Lancet Series QMNC. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: A scoping review is a secondary analysis of published literature and does not require ethical approval. This scoping review will give an overview of the education and training materials used for in-service training for providers of midwifery care in sub-Saharan Africa. Mapping the content of these education and training materials to the ICM Competencies and The Lancet Series QMNC will allow us to assess their appropriateness. Findings from the review will be reflected to stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of such materials. Additionally, findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and used to inform the design and content of an in-service training package for providers of midwifery care as part of the Action Leveraging Evidence to Reduce perinatal morTality and morbidity (ALERT) study, (https://alert.ki.se/) a multi-country study in Benin, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PACTR202006793783148; Post-results

KOI-54: The Kepler Discovery of Tidally Excited Pulsations and Brightenings in a Highly Eccentric Binary

Kepler observations of the star HD 187091 (KIC 8112039, hereafter KOI-54) revealed a remarkable light curve exhibiting sharp periodic brightening events every 41.8 days with a superimposed set of oscillations forming a beating pattern in phase with the brightenings. Spectroscopic observations revealed that this is a binary star with a highly eccentric orbit, e = 0.83. We are able to match the Kepler light curve and radial velocities with a nearly face-on (i = 5 degrees.5) binary star model in which the brightening events are caused by tidal distortion and irradiation of nearly identical A stars during their close periastron passage. The two dominant oscillations in the light curve, responsible for the beating pattern, have frequencies that are the 91st and 90th harmonic of the orbital frequency. The power spectrum of the light curve, after removing the binary star brightening component, reveals a large number of pulsations, 30 of which have a signal-to-noise ratio greater than or similar to 7. Nearly all of these pulsations have frequencies that are either integer multiples of the orbital frequency or are tidally split multiples of the orbital frequency. This pattern of frequencies unambiguously establishes the pulsations as resonances between the dynamic tides at periastron and the free oscillation modes of one or both of the stars. KOI-54 is only the fourth star to show such a phenomenon and is by far the richest in terms of excited modes.NASA, Science Mission DirectorateNASA NNX08AR14GEuropean Research Council under the European Community 227224W.M. Keck FoundationMcDonald Observator