Economies of Scale within State Prisons

This paper analyzes the cost of state prisons as a function of state prison populations across U.S. states. Historically and intuitively, a given state\u27s prison expenditures have risen as more inmates enter the prison system. Through panel regression analysis, a detailed understanding is obtained of how state prisons experience economies of scale as inmate populations rise over time. Our model consists of a single function. The equation is quadratic in nature and uses a cost function to see if there are economies of scale within the state prison systems. Our results indicate that as prison populations increase over time, the cost per-prisoner decreases at a decreasing rate. We find that state prison systems are experiencing economies of scale

Demographic Understanding of Volunteerism

A large sample of volunteers from a midwestern city chapter of the American Red Cross were studied to identify demographic correlates of the reasons given for volunteering. The findings suggest that the reasons people give for doing volunteer work are conditioned by their age, sex, and marital status. Implications for volunteer programs and future research are discussed

Two-year visual field outcomes of the treatment for advanced glaucoma study (TAGS)

PURPOSE: to compare visual field (VF) progression between the two arms of the Treatment of Advanced Glaucoma Study (TAGS) DESIGN: post-hoc analysis of VF data from a two-arm multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial METHODS: 453 patients with newly diagnosed advanced open-angle glaucoma in at least one eye from 27 centers in the United Kingdom were randomized to either trabeculectomy (N = 227) or medications in their index eye (N = 226) and followed-up for two years with two 24-2 VF tests at baseline, 4, 12 and 24 months. We analyzed data for participants with a reliable VF (False positive rate < 15%) at baseline and at least two other time-points. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Average difference in rate of progression (RoP) was analyzed using a hierarchical Bayesian model. Time for each eye to progress from baseline beyond specific cut-offs (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 dB) was compared using survival analysis. RESULTS: 211 eyes in the trabeculectomy-first arm and 203 eyes in the medications-first arm were analyzed. The average RoPs (Estimate [95% Credible Intervals]) were -0.59 [-0.88, -0.31] dB/year in the medications-first arm and -0.40 [-0.67, -0.13] dB/year in the trabeculectomy-first arm. The difference was not significant (Bayesian p-value = 0.353). More eyes progressed in the medications-first arm: ≥0.5 dB (p = 0.001), ≥1dB (p = 0.014), ≥1.5dB (p = 0.071) and ≥2dB (p = 0.061). CONCLUSIONS: there was no significant difference in the average RoP at two years. Initial trabeculectomy significantly reduced the proportion of progressing eyes

DAzLE: The Dark Ages z (redshift) Lyman-alpha Explorer

DAzLE is an near infrared narrowband differential imager being built by the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, in collaboration with the Anglo-Australian observatory. It is a special purpose instrument designed with a sole aim; the detection of redshifted Lyman-alpha emission from star forming galaxies at z>7. DAzLE will use pairs of high resolution (R=1000) narrowband filters to exploit low background `windows' in the near infrared sky emission spectrum. This will enable it to reach sensitivities of ~2E-21 W/m^2, thereby allowing the detection of z>7 galaxies with star formation rates as low as a few solar masses per year. The design of the instrument, and in particular the crucial narrowband filters, are presented. The predicted performance of DAzLE, including the sensitivity, volume coverage and expected number counts, is discussed. The current status of the DAzLE project, and its projected timeline, are also presented.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5492, Ground-based Instrumentation for Astronom

Screening of candidate substrates and coupling ions of transporters by thermostability shift assays

Substrates of most transport proteins have not been identified, limiting our understanding of their role in physiology and disease. Traditional identification methods use transport assays with radioactive compounds, but they are technically challenging and many compounds are unavailable in radioactive form or are prohibitively expensive, precluding large-scale trials. Here, we present a high-throughput screening method that can identify candidate substrates from libraries of unlabeled compounds. The assay is based on the principle that transport proteins recognize substrates through specific interactions, which lead to enhanced stabilization of the transporter population in thermostability shift assays. Representatives of three different transporter (super)families were tested, which differ in structure as well as transport and ion coupling mechanisms. In each case, the substrates were identified correctly from a large set of chemically related compounds, including stereo-isoforms. In some cases, stabilization by substrate binding was enhanced further by ions, providing testable hypotheses on energy coupling mechanisms

Altered pancreas remodeling following glucose intolerance in pregnancy in mice

Gestational diabetes mellitus increases the risk of dysglycemia postpartum, in part, due to pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. However, no histological evidence exists comparing endocrine pancreas after healthy and glucose-intolerant pregnancies. This study sought to address this knowledge gap, in addition to exploring the contribution of an inflammatory environment to changes in endocrine pancreas after parturition. We used a previously established mouse model of gestational glucose intolerance induced by dietary low protein insult from conception until weaning. Pancreas and adipose samples were collected at 7, 30 and 90 days postpartum for histomorphometric and cytokine analyses, respectively. Glucose tolerance tests were performed prior to euthanasia and blood was collected via cardiac puncture. Pregnant female mice born to dams fed a low protein diet previously shown to develop glucose intolerance at late gestation relative to controls continued to be glucose intolerant until 1 month postpartum. However, glucose tolerance normalized by 3 months postpartum. Glucose intolerance at 7 days postpartum was associated with lower beta- and alpha-cell fractional areas and higher adipose levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-6. By 3 months postpartum, a compensatory increase in the number of small islets and a higher insulin to glucagon ratio likely enabled euglycemia to be attained in the previously glucose-intolerant mice. The results show that impairments in endocrine pancreas compensation in hyperglycemic pregnancy persist after parturition and contribute to prolonged glucose intolerance. These impairments may increase the susceptibility to development of future type 2 diabetes

Bridging the gap – student understanding and the chemistry bridging course

Students commencing university study come from a diverse range of backgrounds. Some students have substantial prior knowledge in areas they intend to study; others may have essentially no prior knowledge of some of their subjects. Universities may partially resolve this problem with streaming in units where cohorts are large. Nevertheless, it remains inevitable that some students will need to undertake preparatory work if they are to be ready to commence university study, and bridging courses are intended to help students to ‘bridge the gap’. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that bridging courses can effectively help students to address a knowledge deficit, and to explore some of the ways in which such assistance is best provided, by taking the University of Sydney chemistry bridging course as an example. The University of Sydney chemistry bridging course is a seven-day intensive course that covers basic chemical concepts. It consists of thirteen one-hour lectures each followed by a two-hour tutorial session, giving students the opportunity to apply the principles covered in the preceding lecture. The efficacy of this bridging course has been briefly mentioned in previous work (Read, George, Masters, and King 2004). That work showed that the percentage of students who failed the end-of-semester exam (based on raw marks) was three-fold lower for students with weak background knowledge of chemistry (which includes bridging course students), compared with students with no prior knowledge of chemistry. However, that work did not elaborate on this finding. This paper expands upon that previous report, providing additional results from the 2003 student cohort, and extending the work to the 2005 cohort. The aims of this study are two-fold: firstly, to confirm that bridging course participants do perform better in the end-of-semester exam than do students with no prior knowledge who do not participate in the bridging course, and secondly, to explore the reasons for any differences observed

Live-streaming: will football fans continue to be more law abiding than music fans?

The compact disc was launched in 1982 and heralded a golden age of music industry profitability before extensions of the same digital revolution, in the form of file-sharing, began, in 1999, to undermine the very foundations of commercial mediation in recorded music. The parallels in English football run one decade behind, with subscription-based digital broadcasting of live matches kicking off in 1992. Much has been made of the successes and corruptions associated with the vast influx of revenues that have supposedly transformed English ‘elite’ football, but such discussions are premature at best. Ten years on from the advent of file-sharing in music, parallel technologies are emerging for the free transmission of live sporting events. This article suggests that the cultural differences that might have inhibited the uptake of such services amongst football fans, relative to music fans, have been eroded by the very hyper-commercialization of sport which digital media once helped to facilitate but which now threatens or promises to undermine

Biological control of invasive climbing plants in South Africa

Vines and other climbing plants typically invest their resources into growth at the expense of accumulating self-supporting biomass. Adaptive traits that have arisen because of the life history needs of climbing species, such as rapid and extensive growth, as well as resilience to physical damage, make these plants highly competitive. Introduced climbing species therefore have the potential to be particularly damaging in novel ranges where they escape pressure from natural enemies. In South Africa, invasive climbing species negatively influence biodiversity and plant-community structure, and as conventional management is often difficult, biological control (biocontrol) is viewed as the only viable long-term control method. This paper consolidates the work done on biocontrol programmes against climbing species in South Africa, including Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis (Basellaceae), Cardiospermum grandiflorum Sw. (Sapindaceae), Dolichandra unguis-cati (L.) L.G.Lohmann (Bignoniaceae) and Pereskia aculeata Miller (Cactaceae). To date, these programmes have investigated some 27 potential biocontrol agents, of which nine have been approved for release in the country. Since 2010, three new agents have been introduced, and considerable progress made with post-release evaluations of all the introduced agents. Some positive results have been achieved, most notably the successful reduction in seed set of C. grandiflorum due to Cissanthonomus tuberculipennis Hustache (Curculionidae), but considerable variation in efficacy over time and between infestations has been recorded for many of the other agents. Further work may help explain the factors limiting success, leading to improved control, but in some cases, such as for A. cordifolia, new biocontrol agents should be considered