The Contours of Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in Drug Smuggling Cases

This note examines the contours of U.S. jurisdiction over drug smugglers on the high seas. After a brief discussion of the two principal U.S. drug statutes, the note considers the territorial and protective principles of jurisdiction as defined by U.S. courts. Controversy currently centers around whether U.S. drug laws apply to foreign ships, carrying controlled substances on the high seas, where there has been no showing of an intent to import the drugs into the United States

The Role of Faculty Mentoring in Improving Retention and Completion Rates for Historically Underrepresented STEM Students

There is a growing recognition of the need for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers who provide diverse perspectives enabling companies to keep up with the demands of the 21st -century workforce. Creating a diverse workforce requires improving access to STEM education for historically underrepresented students, including low-income students and first-generation students. However, significant challenges and barriers exist. The purpose of this paper is to showcase an innovative approach to mentoring historically underrepresented STEM students which integrates photovoice and photo-elicitation. This new approach in mentoring takes student participation one step further by asking students to document and share their lived experiences through photographs (e.g., photovoice). Then, photo-elicitation is used to further engage students in discussing what led to their subsequent empowerment in leveraging successes or overcoming barriers. The study was conducted with 19 participants who were primarily American Indian students attending a small college in Wisconsin, USA. The findings suggest students benefited from the mentoring program and perceived it as an enriching learning experience which aided in goal development, accountability, and an opportunity to learn more about strategies for student success. The implementation of this new approach and the results gathered from this study are important as they may inform educational leaders and postsecondary institutions serving historically underrepresented STEM students on supports and strategies that could be carried out on their campuses

Predicting Romantic Relationship Formation with Targets of Initial Attraction

The current research explored potential predictors of romantic relationship formation with a particular target of romantic interest. Possible predictors were derived from a variety of close relationship theories, including Social Penetration Theory, the Investment Model, and the Risk Regulation System. In the main study, single participants who were romantically interested in someone reported on their experiences with the target of interest and were followed-up with for 6 months to determine if they formed a relationship with the target. A factor analysis of the possible predictors yielded three factors – a Closeness/Low Risk factor that included reciprocal liking, mutual self-disclosure, and feeling comfortable with the target; a Target’s Positive Traits factor that included perception of the target’s similarity to the participant, how intellectually engaging they were, and how desirable their personality was; and an Alternatives factor that included the participant’s and target’s interest in alternative partners as well as the interest of other people in the participant and the target. The Closeness/Low Risk factor was positively related to relationship formation, while the Alternatives factor was negatively related. Self-esteem was also positively related to relationship formation, and this was fully mediated by the Closeness/Low Risk factor. These findings are in keeping with previous research on self-esteem and the Risk Regulation System. Overall, this research is some of the first to be done on predictors of whether an attraction to a particular potential partner will turn into a romantic relationship. | The current research explored potential predictors of romantic relationship formation with a particular target of romantic interest. Possible predictors were derived from a variety of close relationship theories, including Social Penetration Theory, the Investment Model, and the Risk Regulation System. In the main study, single participants who were romantically interested in someone reported on their experiences with the target of interest and were followed-up with for 6 months to determine if they formed a relationship with the target. A factor analysis of the possible predictors yielded three factors – a Closeness/Low Risk factor that included reciprocal liking, mutual self-disclosure, and feeling comfortable with the target; a Target’s Positive Traits factor that included perception of the target’s similarity to the participant, how intellectually engaging they were, and how desirable their personality was; and an Alternatives factor that included the participant’s and target’s interest in alternative partners as well as the interest of other people in the participant and the target. The Closeness/Low Risk factor was positively related to relationship formation, while the Alternatives factor was negatively related. Self-esteem was also positively related to relationship formation, and this was fully mediated by the Closeness/Low Risk factor. These findings are in keeping with previous research on self-esteem and the Risk Regulation System. Overall, this research is some of the first to be done on predictors of whether an attraction to a particular potential partner will turn into a romantic relationship. | 126 page

Culturally safe eHealth:what is ‘best practice’ and who determines it?

Background/Objective: Evidence for the relevance, effectiveness, and sociocultural benefits of eHealth interventions with First Nations peoples is growing. In Australia, a research program is preparing a best practice framework (BPF) for eHealth with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people [1]. The 7 phases aim to establish the themes and characteristics of culturally safe eHealth, as voiced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Methods: A systematic literature review and scoping review were conducted (Phases 1 and (ii) what guidelines or best practice evidence should inform eHealth interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. PROSPERO and Open Science Framework protocols were registered. Search strategies incorporated variations of ‘eHealth’; ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health’; ‘guidelines, ethics’. Database searches included WebofScience, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, plus grey literature. Screening, data extraction and quality assessments were conducted by 3 authors, with narrative analysis to generate themes (Phase 3). Modified Delphi processes will confirm final themes and principles of the BPF (Phases 4-6). Delphi participants will include stakeholders of eHealth feasibility trials, subject matter experts, and community-controlled partners with expertise in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Results: The BPF scientific protocol was published in June 2022 [1]. Phases 1&amp;2 commenced November 2022 with findings on-track for release in early 2023. In December 2022, qualitative data collection was completed for several eHealth feasibility trials with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Key findings from stakeholders will contribute to subsequent Delphi processes scheduled for May 2023. Dissemination of the foundational BPF is expected December 2023 (Phase 7). This presentation will highlight key findings from completed research phases. Conclusions: A BPF will contribute to rigorous eHealth innovations that promote genuine co-design, ensure cultural safety and clinical effectiveness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.</p

Hidden in plain sight: Women and gendered dementia dynamics in the Australian Aged Care Royal Commission

Dementia is known to unequally affect women, whether as women living with dementia, or women who provide unwaged or paid care, yet dementia and long-term care (‘LTC’) research and policy often ignore gender. Using Australia as a case study and building on critical dementia, critical disability, and feminist scholarship, this discourse analysis study explored representations in the Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (‘ACRC’) Final Report of experiences of women with dementia, and women care partners of people with dementia, using long-term care. This paper argues gender remained an overlooked topic in relation to dementia in the ACRC Final Report. This paper found women and dementia were co-constructed according to normative gendered scripts of passive femininity. In particular, harms experienced by women with dementia in long-term care were overlooked, while the feminised labour of women care partners was taken for granted. In failing to address normative gendered patterns, the ACRC Final Report entrenches rather than unseats marginalisation of women in dementia research and policy and is a missed opportunity to address gendered labour, discrimination and harms in long-term care. Ultimately, the paper highlights the need to recognise long-term care as a key site for critical dementia and feminist scholarly and activist interventions and intersectional approaches in reforms.</p

Clinical ROC Studies of Digital Stereo Mammography

The objective of this study was to explore and document the diagnostic utility of digital stereo mammography for the detection of localized breast cancer in women. In it we character­ized the ability of experienced mammographers, general radiologists, and non-radiologists to detect three types of tumor masses embedded within a heterogeneous background of normal tis­sue elements in numerically simulated digital mammograms. The simulated mammograms were displayed to the subjects on a high resolution video display, both in stereo mode and in mono mode. Half of the mammograms contained a single tumor, ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 cm in maxi­mal diameter. Each reader rated 120 images (60 in stereo and 60 in mono) as to the probability of abnormality on scale of 1-5. Observer responses were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to characterize any difference in diagnostic performance between the two viewing modes. The synthesized mammograms and the digital display were highly rated by the participant radiologists as promising tools for future research. The results of ROC analysis, however, indicated no significant difference in tumor detection when the same readers utilized the stereo mode versus the mono mode (Az mono = 0.833 versus, Az stereo = 0.826). The results were similar for readers of all 3 experience levels--mammographers, general radiolo­gists, and non-radiologists

Thrombospondin mediates migration and potentiates platelet-derived growth factor-dependent migration of calf pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells

A precipitating factor in the development of atherosclerotic lesions is the inappropriate migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) within the intima of the vessel wall. Focusing on the role of extracellular matrix proteins in SMC migration, we have demonstrated that thrombospondin (TSP) itself is a potent modulator of SMC motility and acts to potentiate platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-mediated SMC migration as well. Migration of SMC to TSP was dose dependent. Interestingly, maximal SMC migration to TSP exceeded that to either PDGF or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The distal COOH terminus of TSP was shown to mediate SMC migration as demonstrated by complete inhibition of the response by monoclonal antibody (mAb) C6.7. Nevertheless, proteolytic fragments of TSP were not as potent as intact TSP in mediating SMC migration. Only by combining the heparin-binding domain (HBD) with the 140 kD COOH terminal fragment was SMC migration restored to levels seen with intact TSP. Based on antibody inhibition studies, an Α v -containing integrin receptor, but not Α v Β 1 or Α v Β 3 , appeared to be involved in SMC migration to TSP. The coincidental expression of PDGF and TSP at sites of vascular injury and inflammation led us to evaluate the effect of suboptimal levels of TSP on SMC responsiveness to PDGF. SMC migration in response to PDGF was enhanced nearly 60% in the presence of suboptimal concentrations of TSP. This effect was specific for PDGF and dependent on the concentration of TSP with maximal potentiation obtained between 50–100 nM TSP, concentrations tenfold lower than those necessary for SMC migration to TSP itself. mAb C6.7 completely inhibited enhancement but, as with SMC migration to TSP alone, TSP proteolytic fragments did not possess the effectiveness of the intact molecule. Additional experiments assessing SMC migration to PDGF demonstrated that PDGF stimulated SMC motility indirectly by inducing TSP synthesis. These studies suggested that TSP functions as an autocrine motility factor to modulate SMC migration, which in conjunction with PDGF could serve to aggravate and accelerate development of atherosclerotic lesions at sites of vascular injury or inflammation. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49886/1/1041570104_ftp.pd