Examining Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State

After criminal offenders are convicted of a crime, they must return to the court where a judge will determine their sentence. Sentencing often includes jail time, but it always includes monetary penalties, or Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs). There are many reasons these penalties are given, from restitution for the victims of criminal offenses, to providing government revenue and funding the court, to punishment for the offender. However, these fines, and the interest rates that come with them, often leave offenders with an enormous amount of debt. There are a lot of interests at stake when it comes to LFO sentencing and collection. Courts need to be funded, defendants want to be able to get on with their lives after interacting with the criminal justice system, and people deserve to have a criminal justice system that works for the benefit of society. This paper will demonstrate why the current system of LFO sentencing does an inadequate job at satisfying these interests, and what can be done about it

Obstacles on the path: An exposition of the experience of car-free living

The contemporary focus by local and central government on the promotion of sustainable transport options has highlighted the need for commuting to move away from the current dependence on private cars to more public and active (walking and cycling) modes of transport. Given the prominence of the motor car in personal transport options however, choosing to live car-free in this car dependent culture appears at first glance to be an irrational choice. This research explores the lived experiences of a group of Hamilton residents who have made such a choice. Using a grounded theory approach, the thesis presents the results of interviews with nine car-free Hamilton residents who shared their personal transport stories, which include their childhood experiences, but focus on their current everyday practices and experiences. Through semi-structured interviews, the costs and benefits of a car-free lifestyle are articulated and analysed. Their motivations for choosing to forgo cars and their solutions for overcoming potential barriers to car-free living are also reported and explored. The collected data generated a range of themes which are presented in three chapters, each covering a specific aspect of the participants’ stories. The first group of themes relate to the public sphere, the second to the private realm and the final group emanates from specific elements of car-free living that the thesis sought to clarify through the participants’ stories. The key finding is that living car-free within Hamilton City is viewed by the participants as a well reasoned and eminently sensible choice, which produces multiple benefits. In addition to their reduced environmental footprints, the participants value the social interaction associated with active and public transport. Their consensus is that they are healthier, wealthier and more involved members of the community. The most problematic areas of living without a car were associated with recreational and social activities, which often do not coincide with public transport schedules or involve distances too great for active transport. The benefits far outweigh any disadvantages however, and ultimately, this thesis concludes that a motor car is not necessary for the everyday activities of urban living in Hamilton and any associated inconveniences are not as insurmountable as generally imagined

Interleukin-3 promotes susceptibility in a mouse model of Cutaneous leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, is one of the most important neglected infectious diseases worldwide. Currently, 10 million people in 82 (mostly developing) countries are infected. Those infected develop ulcerative skin lesions on exposed parts of the body, causing serious disability and permanent scarring. All mice are susceptible to infection with Leishmania major, however, the outcome of infection is different depending on the mouse strain. For example, resistant C57BL/6 mice develop lesions, which like in humans, ultimately heal. In contrast, lesions in susceptible BALB/c mice progressively worsen, ultimately resulting in mortality. Resistance or susceptibility to Leishmania parasites is largely dependent on whether the host’s CD4+ T cells develop into Th1 or Th2 effector cells, respectively. Resistant Th1 responses are typically driven by cytokines like interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon-which promotes healing and parasite clearance. In contrast, susceptible Th2 responses are marked by elevated IL-4 production which inactivates the mechanisms of effective parasite clearance and promotes disease progression through an ineffective, antibody-dominated humoral response. IL-3 is a cytokine which promotes hematopoiesis and has the ability to act on numerous cell lineages. In particular, IL-3 appears to have specialized functions in regards to the activation of basophils. For example, IL-3 has been shown to be indispensable for increases in basophil numbers in response to certain infections. Moreover, IL-3 has been shown to increase the functional ability of basophils as IL-3-stimulated basophils are shown to secrete higher levels of IL-4. IL-3 is primarily secreted by activated CD4+ effector T cells, the same cells which are so influential in determining resistance and susceptibility to CL. However, the role of IL 3 during the response to CL remains largely unknown. In the present study we show that infected mice genetically deficient in IL-3 (IL-3 -/- mice) develop smaller lesions, have a lower parasite burdens, and express lower levels of B cells in draining lymph nodes as compared to infected IL-3 +/+ mice. These data suggest IL-3 promotes susceptibility to Leishmania infection and may play an important role in the development of a Th2 immune response characteristic of susceptible BALB/c mice

Case analysis studies of diffusion models on E-commerce transaction data

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (p. 50).As online merchants compete in the growing e-commerce markets for customers, attention to data generated from merchant and customer website interactions continues to drive ongoing online analytical innovation. However, successful online sales forecasting arising from historical transaction data still proves elusive for many online retailers. Although there are numerous software and statistical models used in online retail, not many practitioners claim success creating accurate online inventory management or marketing effectiveness forecast models. Thus, online retailers with both online and offline strategies express frustration that although they are able to predict sales in their offline properties, even with substantial online data, they are not as successful with their online-stores. This paper attempts to test two analytical approaches to determine whether reliable forecasting can be developed using already established statistical models. Firstly, we use the original Bass Model of Diffusion and modify it for analysis of online retail data. Then, we test the model's forecasting effectiveness to extrapolate expected sales in the following year. As a second method, we use statistical cluster analysis to categorize groups of products into distinct product performance groups. We then analyze those groups for distinct characteristics and then test whether we can forecast new product performance based on the identified group characteristics.(cont.) We partnered with a medium-sized online retail e-commerce firm with both online and offline retail channels to provide us with online transaction data. Using a modified Bass Diffusion Model, we were able to fit a sales forecast curve to a sample of products. We then used k-means cluster analysis to partition products into similar groups of sales transaction-behavior, over the period of 1 year. For each group, we tried to identify characteristics which we could use to forecast new product launch behavior. However, lack of accurate, characteristic mapping of products made it difficult to establish confidence in cluster forecasting for some groups with similar curves. With more accurate characteristic mapping of products, we're hopeful that cluster analysis can reasonably forecast new product performance in online retail catalogs.by Taariq Lewis [and] Bryan Long.M.B.A

Real-World Use of Do-It-Yourself Artificial Pancreas Systems in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Online Survey and Analysis of Self-Reported Clinical Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Patient-driven initiatives have made uptake of Do-it-Yourself Artificial Pancreas Systems (DIYAPS) increasingly popular among people with diabetes of all ages. Observational studies have shown improvements in glycemic control and quality of life among adults with diabetes. However, there is a lack of research examining outcomes of children and adolescents with DIYAPS in everyday life and their social context. OBJECTIVE: This survey assesses the self-reported clinical outcomes of a pediatric population using DIYAPS in the real world. METHODS: An online survey was distributed to caregivers to assess the hemoglobin A1c levels and time in range (TIR) before and after DIYAPS initiation and problems during DIYAPS use. RESULTS: A total of 209 caregivers of children from 21 countries responded to the survey. Of the children, 47.4% were female, with a median age of 10 years, and 99.4% had type 1 diabetes, with a median duration of 4.3 years (SD 3.9). The median duration of DIYAPS use was 7.5 (SD 10.0) months. Clinical outcomes improved significantly, including the hemoglobin A1c levels (from 6.91% [SD 0.88%] to 6.27% [SD 0.67]; P<.001) and TIR (from 64.2% [SD 15.94] to 80.68% [SD 9.26]; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Improved glycemic outcomes were found across all pediatric age groups, including adolescents and very young children. These findings are in line with clinical trial results from commercially developed closed-loop systems

By The Zuyder Zee

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