Gun control and suicide: The impact of state firearm regulations, 1995-2004

Suicide is a major cause of preventable death. Restricting access to lethal means has been identified as an effective approach to suicide prevention, and firearms regulations are one way to reduce gun availability. This study examines the relationship between state firearms regulations and suicide among males, using negative binomial regression and state panel data for the years 1995–2004. Results suggest that firearms regulations which function to reduce overall gun availability have a significant deterrent effect on suicide, while prohibited persons categories have less of an effect. Overall, the results suggest that gun control measures such as permit and licensing requirements might have public health benefits.suicide; guns; panel data; state regulations

Space-time modeling of soil moisture: Stochastic rainfall forcing with heterogeneous vegetation

The present paper complements that of Isham et al. (2005), who introduced a space-time soil moisture model driven by stochastic space-time rainfall forcing with homogeneous vegetation and in the absence of topographical landscape effects. However, the spatial variability of vegetation may significantly modify the soil moisture dynamics with important implications for hydrological modeling. In the present paper, vegetation heterogeneity is incorporated through a two dimensional Poisson process representing the coexistence of two functionally different types of plants (e.g., trees and grasses). The space-time statistical structure of relative soil moisture is characterized through its covariance function which depends on soil, vegetation, and rainfall patterns. The statistical properties of the soil moisture process averaged in space and time are also investigated. These properties are especially important for any modeling that aggregates soil moisture characteristics over a range of spatial and temporal scales. It is found that particularly at small scales, vegetation heterogeneity has a significant impact on the averaged process as compared with the uniform vegetation case. Also, averaging in space considerably smoothes the soil moisture process, but in contrast, averaging in time up to 1 week leads to little change in the variance of the averaged process

Timeliness of Clinic Attendance is a good predictor of Virological Response and Resistance to Antiretroviral drugs in HIV-infected patients

Ensuring long-term adherence to therapy is essential for the success of HIV treatment. As access to viral load monitoring and genotyping is poor in resource-limited settings, a simple tool to monitor adherence is needed. We assessed the relationship between an indicator based on timeliness of clinic attendance and virological response and HIV drug resistance

Student Engagement and Motivation in Post-Pandemic Higher Education Mathematics: A Concept Paper

During the past three years mathematics educators have had to adjust to the online education system and develop new approaches strategies and practices to keep students engaged and motivated Student engagement and motivation have been established in existing research as vital aspects of education To promote engagement and motivation during the pandemic mathematics educators have focused on positive working relationships with students highlighting values such as care and empathy Mathematics educators have also adopted various technological tools to enhance student engagement and motivation As institutions have begun to reintroduce face-to-face classes in the post-pandemic era there is a need to re-examine these approaches and how they may be sustained or improved A significant gap that has remained unexplored in the literature is how mathematics educators maintain or enhance student engagement and motivation upon transitioning to face-to-face or hybrid classes in the post- pandemic era This concept paper is centered on this research gap with recommendations for theory and practice based on current knowledge regarding higher education students motivation and engagement in mathematic

Postsecondary Mathematics during the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

The Coronavirus 2019 pandemic has brought about the need for prompt and dynamic changes in the educational system including the use of e-Learning Mathematics is a particularly abstract field of study that may be difficult to teach through e-Learning Psychosocial factors pandemic may further challenge educators and students in mathematics e-Learning during the pandemic This systematic review aims to explore the transitional experiences of postsecondary educators and students in mathematics e-Learning during the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic Nine articles met the criteria and were included for synthesis Findings revealed that the most utilized and preferred technologies were Google Classroom Moodle and WhatsApp Changes in educators practices included increased hours spent on teaching preparation and tasks reduced use of gestures sending notes prior to lessons and reduced student interactions Advantages of mathematics e-Learning perceived by educators included improvements in student involvement lesson planning teaching style and comfort in technologies Major challenges perceived by educators were reduced student interactions lack of special software for mathematics difficulty monitoring student progress and difficulty with testin

The ADAMTS (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs) family

The ADAMTS (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs) enzymes are secreted, multi-domain matrix-associated zinc metalloendopeptidases that have diverse roles in tissue morphogenesis and patho-physiological remodeling, in inflammation and in vascular biology. The human family includes 19 members that can be sub-grouped on the basis of their known substrates, namely the aggrecanases or proteoglycanases (ADAMTS1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 15 and 20), the procollagen N-propeptidases (ADAMTS2, 3 and 14), the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein-cleaving enzymes (ADAMTS7 and 12), the von-Willebrand Factor proteinase (ADAMTS13) and a group of orphan enzymes (ADAMTS6, 10, 16, 17, 18 and 19). Control of the structure and function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a central theme of the biology of the ADAMTS, as exemplified by the actions of the procollagen-N-propeptidases in collagen fibril assembly and of the aggrecanases in the cleavage or modification of ECM proteoglycans. Defects in certain family members give rise to inherited genetic disorders, while the aberrant expression or function of others is associated with arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease. In particular, ADAMTS4 and 5 have emerged as therapeutic targets in arthritis. Multiple ADAMTSs from different sub-groupings exert either positive or negative effects on tumorigenesis and metastasis, with both metalloproteinase-dependent and -independent actions known to occur. The basic ADAMTS structure comprises a metalloproteinase catalytic domain and a carboxy-terminal ancillary domain, the latter determining substrate specificity and the localization of the protease and its interaction partners; ancillary domains probably also have independent biological functions. Focusing primarily on the aggrecanases and proteoglycanases, this review provides a perspective on the evolution of the ADAMTS family, their links with developmental and disease mechanisms, and key questions for the future

A doubly stochastic rainfall model with exponentially decaying pulses

We develop a doubly stochastic point process model with exponentially decaying pulses to describe the statistical properties of the rainfall intensity process. Mathematical formulation of the point process model is described along with second-order moment characteristics of the rainfall depth and aggregated processes. The derived second-order properties of the accumulated rainfall at different aggregation levels are used in model assessment. A data analysis using 15 years of sub-hourly rainfall data from England is presented. Models with fixed and variable pulse lifetime are explored. The performance of the model is compared with that of a doubly stochastic rectangular pulse model. The proposed model fits most of the empirical rainfall properties well at sub-hourly, hourly and daily aggregation levels

A new interpretation of total column BrO during Arctic spring

Emission of bromine from sea-salt aerosol, frost flowers, ice leads, and snow results in the nearly complete removal of surface ozone during Arctic spring. Regions of enhanced total column BrO observed by satellites have traditionally been associated with these emissions. However, airborne measurements of BrO and O3 within the convective boundary layer (CBL) during the ARCTAS and ARCPAC field campaigns at times bear little relation to enhanced column BrO. We show that the locations of numerous satellite BrO "hotspots" during Arctic spring are consistent with observations of total column ozone and tropopause height, suggesting a stratospheric origin to these regions of elevated BrO. Tropospheric enhancements of BrO large enough to affect the column abundance are also observed, with important contributions originating from above the CBL. Closure of the budget for total column BrO, albeit with significant uncertainty, is achieved by summing observed tropospheric partial columns with calculated stratospheric partial columns provided that natural, short-lived biogenic bromocarbons supply between 5 and 10 ppt of bromine to the Arctic lowermost stratosphere. Proper understanding of bromine and its effects on atmospheric composition requires accurate treatment of geographic variations in column BrO originating from both the stratosphere and troposphere. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union

Using molecular data for epidemiological inference: assessing the prevalence of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in Tsetse in Serengeti, Tanzania

Background: Measuring the prevalence of transmissible Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in tsetse populations is essential for understanding transmission dynamics, assessing human disease risk and monitoring spatio-temporal trends and the impact of control interventions. Although an important epidemiological variable, identifying flies which carry transmissible infections is difficult, with challenges including low prevalence, presence of other trypanosome species in the same fly, and concurrent detection of immature non-transmissible infections. Diagnostic tests to measure the prevalence of T. b. rhodesiense in tsetse are applied and interpreted inconsistently, and discrepancies between studies suggest this value is not consistently estimated even to within an order of magnitude. Methodology/Principal Findings: Three approaches were used to estimate the prevalence of transmissible Trypanosoma brucei s.l. and T. b. rhodesiense in Glossina swynnertoni and G. pallidipes in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania: (i) dissection/microscopy; (ii) PCR on infected tsetse midguts; and (iii) inference from a mathematical model. Using dissection/microscopy the prevalence of transmissible T. brucei s.l. was 0% (95% CI 0–0.085) for G. swynnertoni and 0% (0–0.18) G. pallidipes; using PCR the prevalence of transmissible T. b. rhodesiense was 0.010% (0–0.054) and 0.0089% (0–0.059) respectively, and by model inference 0.0064% and 0.00085% respectively. Conclusions/Significance: The zero prevalence result by dissection/microscopy (likely really greater than zero given the results of other approaches) is not unusual by this technique, often ascribed to poor sensitivity. The application of additional techniques confirmed the very low prevalence of T. brucei suggesting the zero prevalence result was attributable to insufficient sample size (despite examination of 6000 tsetse). Given the prohibitively high sample sizes required to obtain meaningful results by dissection/microscopy, PCR-based approaches offer the current best option for assessing trypanosome prevalence in tsetse but inconsistencies in relating PCR results to transmissibility highlight the need for a consensus approach to generate meaningful and comparable data