Market forces determine media coverage of death penalty decisions by state high courts

What determines how death penalty cases are covered by the media? In new research, Richard L. Vining, Jr., Teena Wilhelm and Jack D. Collens argue that the press does not treat all cases equally, and that they are more likely to report on cases that will have broad appeal and increase their sales and profits. They find that a newspaper is nearly 60 percent more likely to cover a death penalty case decision if the offender is a woman and about 30 percent more likely if the sentence or conviction is overridden

Efficient search, mapping, and optimization of multi-protein genetic systems in diverse bacteria

Developing predictive models of multi-protein genetic systems to understand and optimize their behavior remains a combinatorial challenge, particularly when measurement throughput is limited. We developed a computational approach to build predictive models and identify optimal sequences and expression levels, while circumventing combinatorial explosion. Maximally informative genetic system variants were first designed by the RBS Library Calculator, an algorithm to design sequences for efficiently searching a multi-protein expression space across a > 10,000-fold range with tailored search parameters and well-predicted translation rates. We validated the algorithm's predictions by characterizing 646 genetic system variants, encoded in plasmids and genomes, expressed in six gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial hosts. We then combined the search algorithm with system-level kinetic modeling, requiring the construction and characterization of 73 variants to build a sequence-expression-activity map (SEAMAP) for a biosynthesis pathway. Using model predictions, we designed and characterized 47 additional pathway variants to navigate its activity space, find optimal expression regions with desired activity response curves, and relieve rate-limiting steps in metabolism. Creating sequence-expression-activity maps accelerates the optimization of many protein systems and allows previous measurements to quantitatively inform future designs

Rhythmogenesis and Bifurcation Analysis of 3-Node Neural Network Kernels

Central pattern generators (CPGs) are small neural circuits of coupled cells stably producing a range of multiphasic coordinated rhythmic activities like locomotion, heartbeat, and respiration. Rhythm generation resulting from synergistic interaction of CPG circuitry and intrinsic cellular properties remains deficiently understood and characterized. Pairing of experimental and computational studies has proven key in unlocking practical insights into operational and dynamical principles of CPGs, underlining growing consensus that the same fundamental circuitry may be shared by invertebrates and vertebrates. We explore the robustness of synchronized oscillatory patterns in small local networks, revealing universal principles of rhythmogenesis and multi-functionality in systems capable of facilitating stability in rhythm formation. Understanding principles leading to functional neural network behavior benefits future study of abnormal neurological diseases that result from perturbations of mechanisms governing normal rhythmic states. Qualitative and quantitative stability analysis of a family of reciprocally coupled neural circuits, constituted of generalized Fitzhugh–Nagumo neurons, explores symmetric and asymmetric connectivity within three-cell motifs, often forming constituent kernels within larger networks. Intrinsic mechanisms of synaptic release, escape, and post-inhibitory rebound lead to differing polyrhythmicity, where a single parameter or perturbation may trigger rhythm switching in otherwise robust networks. Bifurcation analysis and phase reduction methods elucidate qualitative changes in rhythm stability, permitting rapid identification and exploration of pivotal parameters describing biologically plausible network connectivity. Additional rhythm outcomes are elucidated, including phase-varying lags and broader cyclical behaviors, helping to characterize system capability and robustness reproducing experimentally observed outcomes. This work further develops a suite of visualization approaches and computational tools, describing robustness of network rhythmogenesis and disclosing principles for neuroscience applicable to other systems beyond motor-control. A framework for modular organization is introduced, using inhibitory and electrical synapses to couple well-characterized 3-node motifs described in this research as building blocks within larger networks to describe underlying cooperative mechanisms

Julie Zeilinger is “a Big F’ing Deal”: The Young Feminist Leader’s Inspirational Route to the Top

This article is not a biography on Julie Zeilinger. It is, however, a means of using Julie’s leadership trajectory to consider and question the onslaught of ideas about women’s leadership today. Therefore, it focuses on what it means to be a woman leader, and the challenges and barriers women face in the quest for high-power roles. By examining how Julie has paved her own route to leadership, the paper analyzes both the significance of Julie’s role and the techniques she utilized. This essay was written about a young feminist and by a young feminist. Therefore, “our generation” is used to refer to the upcoming, “younger” generation. Ultimately, Zeilinger’s model suggests that there is no single definition of leadership; rather, it is the combination of qualities, ideas, and actions that make a person a noteworthy leader

Transit Equity Planning in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

This portfolio consists of four sections written as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters in Environmental Studies (MES) degree. Section 1 consists of my research and written contributions towards a report co-written with Sean Hertel and Roger Keil entitled Switching Tracks: Towards Transit Equity in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (Hertel et al, 2015). My contribution comprises Parts 3-7, where a definition of transit equity is advanced, how inequity impacts different publics is highlighted, and some solutions used to address transit inequities are explored. The contents of Section 1 sets the stage for each subsequent section. Section 2 is a long abstract and presentation prepared for an academic conference, co-written and presented with Sean Hertel, intended to situate and connect the work conducted in Section 1 within an academic milieu. The presentation in Section 2 closes with questions posed for further research on how to identify symptoms of transit equity and how to situate transit equity objectives within the planning profession. A proposed methodology towards future research was proposed as a launching point for the research project contribution in Section 3. Finally, Section 2 is intended to help continue the dialogue on transit equity sparked by the Greater Toronto Suburban Working Group (GTSWG), co-chaired by Roger Keil and Sean Hertel, presented by The City Institute of York University (CITY) and hosted by Metrolinx, bringing together academics, planners, community activists, representatives from the development industry and non-profit service sector. Section 3 consists of a research project conducted as a contribution towards a report co-written with Sean Hertel and Roger Keil entitled Next Stop: Equity: Routes to Fairer Transit Access in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (Hertel et al, 2016). I used a case study approach anchored by the literature review conducted in Section 1 to explore five specific neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to illustrate how transit inequity manifests in various ways at the neighbourhood scale. Section 4 of the portfolio is an article co-written with Sean Hertel to engage with the planning profession, published in the Ontario Planning Journal. Section 4 presents a synopsis of the work on transit equity in Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3. The article establishes the imperative for planners to be active participants in achieving transit equity. The article advances a working definition of transit equity as it applies to transit planning, why equity in transit planning is important for achieving provincial planning objectives, and how transit equity objectives are situated within the planning regime in Ontario

Cultivating Solidarity: Leonora O\u27Reilly, Working-Class Women, and Middle-Class Allies in the American Woman Suffrage Movement

This thesis examines the process of forming strategic activist alliances, and the complications of maintaining them, by looking at the life of Leonora O’Reilly, a progressive era labor organizer and suffragist. It traces the development of O’Reilly’s understanding of the need for alliances, which began with her early years as a young factory worker coming of age in the midst of the New York City labor movement in late nineteenth-century. The thesis then follows O’Reilly into adulthood, as she turned her attention to the American woman suffrage movement and was met with the task of finding new allies while maintaining her commitment to bettering conditions for working women. It explores in depth her relationships to three individuals in particular: her mother Winifred O’Reilly, Harriot Stanton Blatch, and Rose Schneiderman. Analyzing these relationships highlights the various accomplishments and shortcomings that came with the decision to work across class lines with middle-class women. At the same time, this method also displays both the agency and challenges Leonora O’Reilly and her fellow working women experienced when they chose to instead work amongst themselves, in spite of varying generational and ethnic identities