Health Disparities in Kidney Transplantation: An Equity Analysis

The growing incidence of end stage renal disease along with advances of the past 40 years that have improved the success rate of kidney transplantation have created an unprecedented demand for kidney transplant. Yet, certain racial and ethnic groups and women consistently have longer waiting times and lower rates of transplantation which makes a review of the kidney procurement and transplantation system in view of its equity imperative. Reasons given for these disparities have varied from cultural attitudes and beliefs on the part of patients and health care providers, socioeconomic status, rates of organ donation, and geographic location. The equity conceptual framework has proven itself to be a useful guide in identifying the symptoms of disparities in the procurement and organ allocation system but further studies are needed to identify the etiology of these disparities and target effective interventions and policies

The Female Librarian in Film: Has the Image Changed in 60 Years?

The stereotypical image of the female librarian as an uptight spinster has prevailed in popular culture. This paper examines the portrayal of the librarian stereotype in movies from two different eras: the 1940s/1950s and the 2000s. The historical antecedents, social and economic status of women are examined, and the influence of computers and technology in the library is considered. Common traits that typify the film librarian, along with the inclusions of computers in the library, are identified and analyzed. Approaches to combatting the stereotypes are discussed and applied to the movies in order to discover any progression of the image in 60 years. It is concluded that while there has been some progress in the characterization of librarians in movies, overall there has been little change in 60 years

Choose Your Laws Carefully: Executive Authority to Unilaterally Withdraw the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition

Congress enacted the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to both exert federal jurisdiction over the submerged lands of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and establish the legal framework for America’s offshore energy production regime. Section 12(a) of OCSLA is a short yet potent provision that grants a president the authority to withdraw unleased offshore lands from leasing disposition, effectively banning any form of energy exploration or production. In recent decades, presidents have embraced section 12(a) not only to ban offshore energy production, but also to protect the marine environment itself. Presidents have also utilized a different federal law, the Antiquities Act of 1906 (Antiquities Act), to create marine national monuments, providing general protection for areas of rich biodiversity, scientific interest, and cultural heritage. Interestingly, both OCSLA and the Antiquities Act achieve the same end results: offshore energy production is prohibited and the marine environment is protected. The crucial distinction between the two laws, though, is the ability to provide permanent protection. A close study of these laws reveals that only one indeed provides the intended lasting protection that presidents have sought: the Antiquities Act. This Note probes the theory of executive authority to unilaterally remove America’s submerged lands from leasing disposition. Specifically, it centers on President Barack Obama’s twin December 2017 offshore withdrawals in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. President Obama utilized OCSLA to ban offshore energy production, but he framed the withdrawals as a way to permanently protect each area’s unique marine biodiversity, scientific value, and cultural significance to indigenous inhabitants. This Note concludes that a president seeking such lasting protection must use the Antiquities Act in lieu of OCSLA. The Note examines the relevant statutory histories, judicial inquiries, and precedential usage of these laws and argues that OCSLA’s protection falls incredibly short. This Note is particularly relevant given the Trump administration’s effort to roll back the Obama administration’s bans on offshore energy production. President Donald Trump’s recent executive actions will surely test the conclusions of this Note

Hated on Both Sides of the Aisle: Overcoming the Tension between Christian Foundation and Present-day Social Advocacy

Heeding the imperative of recent social movements calling for racial justice, university educators are faced with the challenge of developing curriculum that eliminates cultural stereotypes and mobilizes students toward social action. There is an imperative (Smith, 2015) to increase Anti-Racist Pedagogy (ARP) (Ladson- Billings, 2005) and refine Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) (Gay, 2000) in our education systems, leaving university faculty and administration with the daunting task of designing curriculum that reflects both an understanding of and respect for all students’ identities. The author shares how she blends the social justice research she conducts, the education courses she teaches, and her Christian faith in order to forego her passive nature for the greater urgency of eradicating prejudices that are rampant in our society. How she has done this has not been easy, but the results have exceeded expectations

Discontinuous modelling of crack propagation in a gradient-enhanced continuum

A numerical model for the description of the combined continuous/discontinuous failure in a regularised strain-softening continuum is proposed. The continuum is regularised through the introduction of gradient terms into the constitutive equations. At the transition to discrete failure, the problem fields are enhanced through a discontinuous interpolation based on the partition of unity concept. The discretisation procedure is described in detail and numerical examples illustrate the performance of the combined continuous/discontinuous approach

An interface element based on the partition of unity

An alternative interface finite element is developed. By using the partition of unity property of finite element shape functions, discontinuous shape functions are added to the standard finite element basis. The interface behaviour is described by extra degrees of freedom at existing nodes, avoiding the need for ‘doubled nodes’. The element is kinematically equivalent to a conventional interface element but is more flexible because it allows the inclusion of interface surfaces within solid elements. In describing interface phenomena, the methodology proposed here makes possible the use of coarser meshes and it is completely insensitive to mesh topology. The new formulation is analysed throughly and comparisons are drawn with the conventional formulation

A novel technique for modelling interfaces in reinforced brittle materials

A novel numerical technique for the modelling of interfaces is introduced for the analysis of reinforced brittle materials. The method exploits the partition of unity property of finite element shape functions. By considering finite element shape functions as partitions of unity, extra degrees of freedom are added to the nodes at the interface between the matrix and reinforcement. A gradient-enhanced damage model is used to simulate the continuum response. Numerical results for a three-point bending test and a pull-out test are presented. The numerical procedure proposed here is suitable for a great variety of applications ranging from discrete cracking and steel-concrete interaction in concrete to delamination processes in composite materials