Defining Duty in the Civil War: Personal Choice, Popular Culture, and the Union Home Front

Review of: "Defining Duty in the Civil War: Personal Choice, Popular Culture, and the Union Home Front," by J. Matthew Gallman

The Most Complete Political Machine Ever Known: The North\u27s Union Leagues and the American Civil Wa

Review of: “The Most Complete Political Machine Ever Known”: The North’s Union Leagues and the American Civil War, by Paul Taylo

The Symbolic and Mathematical Influence of Diophantus\u27s Arithmetica

Though it was written in Greek in a center of ancient Greek learning, Diophantus\u27s Arithmetica is a curious synthesis of Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian mathematics. It was not only one of the first purely number-theoretic and algebraic texts, but the first to use the blend of rhetorical and symbolic exposition known as syncopated mathematics. The text was influential in the development of Arabic algebra and European number theory and notation, and its development of the theory of indeterminate, or Diophantine, equations inspired modern work in both abstract algebra and computer science. We present, in this article, a selection of problems from the Arithmetica, which have been rewritten for ease of reading, and consider Diophantus\u27s advancements in mathematics and mathematical notation in the context of ancient Greek mathematics. In particular, we examine Diophantus\u27s use of syncopated mathematics, most notably his use of generic solutions that present an algorithm for solving an entire class of equations through the application of that algorithm to a single representational example, and how these techniques suggest a more extensive use of concrete examples when approaching modern mathematics

Defining Duty in the Civil War: Personal Choice, Popular Culture, and the Union Home Front

Review of: "Defining Duty in the Civil War: Personal Choice, Popular Culture, and the Union Home Front," by J. Matthew Gallman

The assessment and appraisal of regenerative medicines and cell therapy products : an exploration of methods for review, economic evaluation and appraisal

BACKGROUND: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) commissioned a 'mock technology appraisal' to assess whether changes to its methods and processes are needed. This report presents the findings of independent research commissioned to inform this appraisal and the deliberations of a panel convened by NICE to evaluate the mock appraisal. METHODS: Our research included reviews to identify issues, analysis methods and conceptual differences and the relevance of alternative decision frameworks, alongside the development of an exemplar case study of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for treating acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. RESULTS: An assessment of previous evaluations of regenerative medicines found that, although there were a number of evidential challenges, none was unique to regenerative medicines or was beyond the scope of existing methods used to conceptualise decision uncertainty. Regarding the clinical evidence for regenerative medicines, the issues were those associated with a limited evidence base but were not unique to regenerative medicines: small non-randomised studies, high variation in response and the intervention subject to continuing development. The relative treatment effects generated from single-arm trials are likely to be optimistic unless it is certain that the historical data have accurately estimated the efficacy of the control agent. Pivotal trials may use surrogate end points, which, on average, overestimate treatment effects. To reduce overall uncertainty, multivariate meta-analysis of all available data should be considered. Incorporating indirectly relevant but more reliable (more mature) data into the analysis can also be considered; such data may become available as a result of the evolving regulatory pathways being developed by the European Medicines Agency. For the exemplar case of CAR T-cell therapy, target product profiles (TPPs) were developed, which considered the 'curative' and 'bridging to stem-cell transplantation' treatment approaches separately. Within each TPP, three 'hypothetical' evidence sets (minimum, intermediate and mature) were generated to simulate the impact of alternative levels of precision and maturity in the clinical evidence. Subsequent assessments of cost-effectiveness were undertaken, employing the existing NICE reference case alongside additional analyses suggested within alternative frameworks. The additional exploratory analyses were undertaken to demonstrate how assessments of cost-effectiveness and uncertainty could be impacted by alternative managed entry agreements (MEAs), including price discounts, performance-related schemes and technology leasing. The panel deliberated on the range of TPPs, evidence sets and MEAs, commenting on the likely recommendations for each scenario. The panel discussed the challenges associated with the exemplar and regenerative medicines more broadly, focusing on the need for a robust quantification of the level of uncertainty in the cost-effective estimates and the potential value of MEAs in limiting the exposure of the NHS to high upfront costs and loss associated with a wrong decision. CONCLUSIONS: It is to be expected that there will be a significant level of uncertainty in determining the clinical effectiveness of regenerative medicines and their long-term costs and benefits, but the existing methods available to estimate the implications of this uncertainty are sufficient. The use of risk sharing and MEAs between the NHS and manufacturers of regenerative medicines should be investigated further. FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme

The Death of Reconstruction: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901

Review of: The Death of Reconstruction: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901. Richardson, Heather Cox

Civil War Writing: New Perspectives on Iconic Texts

In Civil War Writing, editors Gary Gallagher and Stephen Cushman bring together commentary on a wide-ranging group of memoirs, autobiographies, and other personal narratives of the war. Although the book is lacking in a unified thematic emphasis, it rests on something equally important. The editors have assembled an all-star lineup of contributors who produce a book with many quality contributions. The editors modestly, perhaps too modestly, state that this book fails to adequately represent the diversity of voices produced by the war. While this volume may over-represent stories from soldiers, the editors promised that more essays, focusing on a wide variety of topics, are on the way

Gathering to Save a Nation: Lincoln and the Union\u27s War Governors

Review of: Gathering to Save a Nation: Lincoln and the Union\u27s War Governors, by Stephen D. Engle

The American Civil War: A Hands-On History

Teaching the Civil War A Hands-On Approach When I began teaching the Civil War and Reconstruction, I vowed never to use a textbook. Surely, I reasoned, students should prefer a combination of primary sources and cutting-edge scholarship that can analyze or explain a few key issu...