From Soup to Nuts - The Efficiency of Non-Profits: Evidence from U.S. Food Banks

Nonprofits are a growing part of America’s economy and play an import role in fulfilling the needs of society in addition to private firms and government agencies. Economists haven’t researched nonprofits as much as other firms in the past, but this is starting to change. This project looks at the efficiency of 20 food banks in the United States using Data Envelopment Analysis. The results show that American Food Banks appear to be using their funds efficiently, but others could learn to use their inputs and outputs in a more efficient manner. As more data becomes available, this area of research will hopefully continue to grow

Recovery of Forest Floor Diversity After Removal of the Nonnative, Invasive Plant Euonymus fortunei

The vine Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. is invading forests of the eastern United States; as a result, removal of E. fortunei has become a priority of resource managers. This study examined the effectiveness of five techniques for eliminating E. fortunei, restoring plant species richness, and enhancing recolonization by woody species. In 2003, the following five treatments were applied: burn with a propane torch, light exclusion by plastic tarp, burn and glyphosate application, cut (simulated grazing) and glyphosate application, mow and glyphosate application, plus an untreated control. Each treatment was replicated four times in a randomized block design located in a heavily E. fortunei–invaded forest remnant in Lexington, KY. Vegetation was surveyed in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2013. Across years, most treatments were associated with reduced E. fortunei cover and increased total species richness. Over time, E. fortunei cover increased across treatments, such that by 2013, no difference in E. fortunei cover was detectible among treatments. Some differences in total and native species richness among treatments were still perceptible by 2013. Increased E. fortunei cover was correlated with decreased ground-layer species richness, native species richness, sapling richness, and sapling density. Light exclusion by plastic tarp, a method absent from many management recommendations, was unique in its long-term reduction of E. fortunei cover and its association with increased total species richness, but use of plastic tarps may have drawbacks. This study quantified the long-term community effects of removing an established invasive species from a mature, urban forest. Removal allowed native plants, notably woody species, to reestablish. Because richness continues to decline as E. fortunei reinhabits plots, land managers seeking to conserve biodiversity under conditions similar to those within our study site should maintain proactive E. fortunei removal plans

Transdisciplinary and arts-centred approaches to stewardship and sustainability of urban nature.

This paper explores case studies of how artists working with scientists and land managers affiliated with the Urban Field Station Collaborative Arts Program (UFS Arts) are fostering new relations of care with urban nature and thereby informing landscape decisions. The 'wicked' problems related to sustainability demand novel, holistic approaches to transformation that engage multiple ways of knowing. We present 4 examples from UFS Arts by triangulating data across programmatic documentation, evaluation, and ethnographic materials from 2016-present. Matthew López-Jensen's Tree Love and Nikki Lindt’s Underground Sound Project sensitise us to the capacities of trees and forests through image and sound. Mary Mattingly’s Swale is a floating food forest that enacts new forms of community stewardship. The exhibition Who Takes Care of New York? maps the stories and practices of civic environmental groups. Three themes in these works suggest opportunities for transformation throughout the knowledge production cycle: posing novel questions, engaging multiple methodologies, and communicating ideas with the public. Through these transdisciplinary works, we learn things we could not have learned via traditional disciplinary or interdisciplinary work and assert that stewardship offers a pathway towards sustainability transforming management practices and landscape decisions by reshaping our relationships to community and the land

Differential Expression of GADD45\u3ci\u3eβ\u3c/i\u3e in Normal and Osteoarthritic Cartilage: Potential Role in Homeostasis of Articular Chondrocytes

Objective—Our previous study suggested that growth arrest and DNA damage–inducible protein 45β (GADD45β) prolonged the survival of hypertrophic chondrocytes in the developing mouse embryo. This study was undertaken, therefore, to investigate whether GADD45β plays a role in adult articular cartilage. Methods—Gene expression profiles of cartilage from patients with late-stage osteoarthritis (OA) were compared with those from patients with early OA and normal controls in 2 separate microarray analyses. Histologic features of cartilage were graded using the Mankin scale, and GADD45β was localized by immunohistochemistry. Human chondrocytes were transduced with small interfering RNA (siRNA)–GADD45β or GADD45β-FLAG. GADD45β and COL2A1 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were analyzed by real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction, and promoter activities were analyzed by transient transfection. Cell death was detected by Hoechst 33342 staining of condensed chromatin. Results—GADD45β was expressed at higher levels in cartilage from normal donors and patients with early OA than in cartilage from patients with late-stage OA. All chondrocyte nuclei in normal cartilage immunostained for GADD45β. In early OA cartilage, GADD45β was distributed variably in chondrocyte clusters, in middle and deep zone cells, and in osteophytes. In contrast, COL2A1, other collagen genes, and factors associated with skeletal development were up-regulated in late OA, compared with early OA or normal cartilage. In overexpression and knockdown experiments, GADD45β down-regulated COL2A1 mRNA and promoter activity. NF-κB overexpression increased GADD45β promoter activity, and siRNA-GADD45β decreased cell survival per se and enhanced tumor necrosis factor α–induced cell death in human articular chondrocytes. Conclusion—These observations suggest that GADD45β might play an important role in regulating chondrocyte homeostasis by modulating collagen gene expression and promoting cell survival in normal adult cartilage and in early OA

Augustus Senex: Old Age and the Remaking of the Prinipate

In September ad 1, on the occasion of his birthday, Augustus wrote to Gaius, his adopted son and grandson by Julia and Agrippa, complaining about his age, stating that he had passed the climacteric common to all old men, the sixty-fourth year. And I pray the gods that whatever time is left to me I may pass with you safe and well, with our country in a flourishing condition, while you are playing the man and preparing to succeed to my position. (Gell. NA 15.7

The Ups and Downs in Women's Employment: Shifting Composition or Behavior from 1970 to 2010?

This paper tracks factors contributing to the ups and downs in women’s employment from 1970 to 2010 using regression decompositions focusing on whether changes are due to shifts in the means (composition of women) or due to shifts in coefficients (inclinations of women to work for pay). Compositional shifts in education exerted a positive effect on women’s employment across all decades, while shifts in the composition of other family income, particularly at the highest deciles, depressed married women’s employment over the 1990s contributing to the slowdown in this decade. A positive coefficient effect of education was found in all decades, except the 1990s, when the effect was negative, depressing women’s employment. Further, positive coefficient results for other family income at the highest deciles bolstered married women’s employment over the 1990s. Models are run separately for married and single women demonstrating the varying results of other family income by marital status. This research was supported in part by an Upjohn Institute Early Career Research Award

The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement:208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder

Background: Misconceptions about ADHD stigmatize affected people, reduce credibility of providers, and prevent/delay treatment. To challenge misconceptions, we curated findings with strong evidence base. Methods: We reviewed studies with more than 2000 participants or meta-analyses from five or more studies or 2000 or more participants. We excluded meta-analyses that did not assess publication bias, except for meta-analyses of prevalence. For network meta-analyses we required comparison adjusted funnel plots. We excluded treatment studies with waiting-list or treatment as usual controls. From this literature, we extracted evidence-based assertions about the disorder. Results: We generated 208 empirically supported statements about ADHD. The status of the included statements as empirically supported is approved by 80 authors from 27 countries and 6 continents. The contents of the manuscript are endorsed by 366 people who have read this document and agree with its contents. Conclusions: Many findings in ADHD are supported by meta-analysis. These allow for firm statements about the nature, course, outcome causes, and treatments for disorders that are useful for reducing misconceptions and stigma.</p

Associations of Cumulative Sun Exposure and Phenotypic Characteristics with Histologic Solar Elastosis

Solar elastosis adjacent to melanomas in histologic sections is regarded as an indicator of sun exposure although the associations of ultraviolet (UV) exposure and phenotype with solar elastosis are yet to be fully explored