Publications

2018
Human Anatomy and Physiology II (Second Semester)
Lerner KL, Lerner BW, Rennie EL ed. Human Anatomy and Physiology II (Second Semester). Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. 2018. Publisher's VersionAbstract

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for Human Anatomy and Physiology intended for Pre-Meds, Biology majors, and students concentrating in health sciences. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Human Anatomy and Physiology II (Second Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: The Endocrine System, Blood, The Heart, Blood Vessels and Circulation, The Lymphatic and Immune System, The Respiratory System, The Digestive System, Metabolism and Nutrition, The Urinary System, Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance, The Reproductive System, Development and Inheritance, Useful Information and Resources.

Human Anatomy and Physiology I (First Semester)
Lerner KL, Lerner BW, Rennie EL ed. Human Anatomy and Physiology I (First Semester). Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. 2018. Publisher's VersionAbstract

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for Human Anatomy and Physiology intended for Pre-Meds, Biology majors, and students concentrating in health sciences. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Human Anatomy and Physiology I (First Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: An Introduction to the Human Body, The Chemical Level of Organization, The Cellular Level of Organization, The Tissue Level of Organization, The Integumentary System, Bone Tissue and the Skeletal System, Axial Skeleton, The Appendicular Skeleton, Joints, Muscle Tissue, The Muscular System, The Nervous System and Nervous Tissue, Anatomy of the Nervous System, The Somatic Nervous System, The Autonomic Nervous System, The Neurological Exam

American Government
Lerner AW, Lerner KL, Lerner BW, Rennie E, Hyder JP ed. American Government. Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. 2018. Publisher's VersionAbstract

A college-level undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource (including extensive primary source material) providing an overview of the history, structure, and function of American government. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, American Government is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: American Government and Civic Engagement, The Constitution and Its Origins, American Federalism,Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, The Politics of Public Opinion, Voting and Elections, The Media, Political Parties, Interest Groups and Lobbying, Congress, The Presidency, The Courts, State and Local Government, The Bureaucracy, Domestic Policy, Foreign Policy. 

2017
Patriots Proved on Inauguration Day
Lerner KL. Patriots Proved on Inauguration Day. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2017.Abstract

Inauguration Day for the next President of the United States is a time when patriots are separated from the merely partisan. Once every four years, patriots set aside their partisan differences to celebrate a peaceful transition of the Presidency in the world's most powerful nation. We are called to show respect for the office, if not for the office holder. In so doing, we show respect for America, we embrace our Constitution, and our best hopes. We show respect for our fellow citizens and ourselves. (more)

The Bear Gets a BOGO: The ICA on Russian Meddling in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
Lerner KL. The Bear Gets a BOGO: The ICA on Russian Meddling in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. . Taking Bearings. LMG (Lodon, Paris, Cambridge). 2017.Abstract

For those of you wondering why I recently took an impassioned interest in defending the Electoral College, the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA)  from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Russian meddling in the recent U.S. elections explains my combative stance. 

Whether intending to elect or defeat a foreign candidate or cause, influencing elections is an old game played globally by both Russian and U.S. intelligence agencies. Destabilizing institutions and reducing confidence in government are often key components. The ICA acknowledges that "Russia, like its Soviet predecessor, has a history of conducting covert influence campaigns focused on U.S. presidential elections" and that recent efforts, including "press placements to disparage candidates perceived as hostile to the Kremlin" were an escalated use of existing techniques.

For many us familiar with Russian tradecraft, the Bear's paw prints were abundant and easily visible months before the election.

Omitting classified supporting evidence that would reveal methods and sources, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA) cooperated to draft the ICA. Their joint conclusion -- based on evidence known by 29 December 2016 and offered with generally high confidence  -- was that Russian hacking, along with propaganda and disinformation efforts (including the creation and dissemination of fake news), were undertaken with the direct knowledge and approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials. The Russian effort, initially designed to "denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency" and eventually included efforts to "help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him" (about this last assertion, the NSA offered only moderate versus high confidence).

The Russian effort was part of a continuing and "longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order" by undermining "public faith in the U.S. democratic process."  (continued... (more)

Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevail
Lerner KL. Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevail. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25. 2017.Abstract

Auburn, Alabama — The most recent political football propelled a playful piece I wrote a few years back about about the differences between college and pro ball into the top 1% in terms of Academia readership within the last 30 days. 

Yet again, President Trump is able to manipulate media coverage and lead the unwashed about using division and diversion. Normally I'd just be amused, but we have fellow citizens in real peril in Puerto Rico, brave men and women in our Armed Forces poised on the brink of war with North Korea (fault for which spreads across administrations and decades), and there still no bipartisan effort to fix costs and coverage problems with health care. 

The Republic cracks under the tectonic tensions created by a right played as puppets by a lout-in-chief and a left devoted to polluting their own well by weakening, defaming, and destroying the best hope to defend and advance progressive enlightenment in a dangerous world. 

A feverish madness is now epidemic across the political spectrum. 
Instead of tackling important issues we have collectively engaged in reality television-like pedestrian spectacle across a number of issues. We continue to do so at peril to valid concerns (of both Left and Right) and the Republic itself. 

For me the solution is clear:  Stand (both literally and physically) beside those who kneel.

Peaceful protest is a fundamental First Amendment right secured with the American blood and treasure since the founding of the Republic. No matter how distasteful the display (whether kneeling or burning flags), patriots do not fear peaceful protest, and in fact protect the right to protest precisely when it is most uncomfortable or incompatible with their views. Protestors can do no injury to the memory or sacrifice of soldiers, but we can squander their sacrifice by seeking to compel behavior deemed as patriotic.  (more)

Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevailLerner, K. Lee. Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevail. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25, 2017
Lerner KL. Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevailLerner, K. Lee. Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevail. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25, 2017. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25. 2017.Abstract

Auburn, Alabama — The most recent political football propelled a playful piece I wrote a few years back about about the differences between college and pro ball into the top 1% in terms of Academia readership within the last 30 days. 

Yet again, President Trump is able to manipulate media coverage and lead the unwashed about using division and diversion. Normally I'd just be amused, but we have fellow citizens in real peril in Puerto Rico, brave men and women in our Armed Forces poised on the brink of war with North Korea (fault for which spreads across administrations and decades), and there still no bipartisan effort to fix costs and coverage problems with health care. 

The Republic cracks under the tectonic tensions created by a right played as puppets by a lout-in-chief and a left devoted to polluting their own well by weakening, defaming, and destroying the best hope to defend and advance progressive enlightenment in a dangerous world. 

A feverish madness is now epidemic across the political spectrum. 
Instead of tackling important issues we have collectively engaged in reality television-like pedestrian spectacle across a number of issues. We continue to do so at peril to valid concerns (of both Left and Right) and the Republic itself. 

For me the solution is clear:  Stand (both literally and physically) beside those who kneel.  (more)

Cambridge, Mass. — Harvard President Defends and Demands Free Speech
Lerner KL. Cambridge, Mass. — Harvard President Defends and Demands Free Speech. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2017;(May).Abstract

It was grey, raining, and cool in Cambridge yesterday during Harvard's 366th Commencement, but Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust was on fire. Her Annual Report to the Alumni Association turned into a brave, brilliant, soaring -- and I hope game changing — defense of free speech and the role of the universities in both protecting and nurturing free speech on campus. 

Once again, Harvard sets the standard, and those who have shown intellectual cowardice on this issue should feel great shame. (more)

2016
Smallpox Eradication and Storage of Infectious Agents
Lerner KL. Smallpox Eradication and Storage of Infectious Agents. (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World Heath And Global issues . Cengage | Worldmark. 2016.Abstract

The eradication of smallpox is considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century. Specimens of smallpox virus are, however, still officially held in the United States and Russia.

 

Samples of variola DNA may also be recoverable from old medical samples, such as the century-old smallpox scabs discovered in an envelope tucked in a 19th century medical textbook in a New Mexico library in 2004. In 2014, U.S. official found more smallpox samples in a storage room on the National Institutes for Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared smallpox eradicated in 1980. The last confirmed naturally occurring smallpox case was in 1977/ Ali Maow Maalin, a hospital employee in Merca, Somalia, survived his bout with smallpox.

 

Following eradication, the World Health Organization requested that all laboratories in the world either destroy their smallpox virus stocks or transfer them to one of two reference laboratories, the Institute of Viral Preparations in Moscow or the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. The stocks of the Institute of Viral Preparations were transferred in 1994 to the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology of the Russian Federation in Siberia, now the WHO Collaborating Centre for Orthopoxvirus Diagnostics. (download to read more)

Lerner KL. SARS, MERS, and the emergence of corona viruses. (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World Heath And Global issues . Cengage | Worldmark. 2016.Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first viral highly transmissible emergent disease to appear among humans during the twenty-first century. Caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV), SARS is far more lethal than the pandemic 2009 H1N1 flu (caused by a Type A H1N1 influenza virus). Although less lethal than the H5N1 avian flu virus, the SARS virus is more transmissible among humans than the H5N1 virus. In 2012, a novel human coronavirus, now called Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), emerged in the Middle East to cause fatal human infections. MERS-CoV human infection is similar to SARS-CoV in having a high fatality rate and the ability to spread from person to person which resulted in secondary cases among close contacts including healthcare workers without travel history to the Middle East. Both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV viruses also have close genetic and physiological relationships with known bat coronaviruses. (download to read moe)
Washington — Is "American exceptionalism" now hubris? [February 2016]
Lerner KL. Washington — Is "American exceptionalism" now hubris? [February 2016]. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2016.Abstract

Washington --- Is "American exceptionalism" now hubris?

With socioeconomic indicators regarding quality-of-life issues portraying America as far from first, with America's civil discourse corrupted by the shameful shouting exhibitions in the Republican primaries, with Americans —both left and right -- increasingly drawn toward polarizing populist movements, and with American exceptionalism increasingly scorned globally --or cast in a negative light as an implicitly interventionist creed--a number of pieces recently published in the BBC and elsewhere have essentially asked, "is 'American exceptionalism' hubris?"   [more]

Daesh (aka, Islamic State, ISIS, and/or ISIL) Use of Chemical Weapons in Iraq Raises Questions About Source
Lerner KL. Daesh (aka, Islamic State, ISIS, and/or ISIL) Use of Chemical Weapons in Iraq Raises Questions About Source. 2016.Abstract

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently confirmed that laboratory tests of samples taken following Daesh attacks on Kurdish forces southwest of Erbil in August 2015 tested positive for sulphur mustard. (see Reuters dispatch by Anthony Deutsch, "Exclusive: Samples confirm Islamic State used mustard gas in Iraq - diplomat" < http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0VO1IC >)

Reuters reported that a OPCCW representative "speaking on condition of anonymity because the findings have not yet been released, said the result confirmed that chemical weapons had been used by Islamic State fighters."
This is the second documented use by Daesh/ISIS forces following tests that confirmed use of mustard gas by Daesh/ISIS forces in Syria.

As the Reuters dispatch also points out, the precursors and technology to make these weapons are easy enough to find or create in oil producing regions, and so it is possible ISIS is developing them de novo. More ominous would be if new weapons are be created from remnants of Syria’s former stockpile because it would mean faulty accounting for the weapons supposedly dismantled under international supervision back in 2014.

The Syrian stockpile was allegedly dismantled under international supervision as part of a deal to avoid potential US/UN intervention following the use of Sarin nerve gas by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against a rebellious area near Damascus in 2013. Assad denied he authorized use of chemical weapons. (more)

Monroeville, Alabama — Go Set a Watchman
Lerner KL. Monroeville, Alabama — Go Set a Watchman. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2016.Abstract

Monroeville, Alabama -- I have many doubts and concerns over the formulation and publication of "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee, but the release could not come at a better time. 

If we are to accept that the Atticus Finch found in "Go Set a Watchman" is not a discarded draft never intended for publication, but rather a deeper look into a more complex character, then the evolved 

I have many doubts and concerns over the formulation and publication of "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee, but the release could not come at a better time. 

If we are to accept that the Atticus Finch found in "Go Set a Watchman" is not a discarded draft never intended for publication, but rather a deeper look into a
more complex character, then the evolved.

Atticus Finch, formerly a respected paragon of virtue (especially as played by Gregory Peck in the movie version), is by contemporary standards deeply flawed by racism. 

Are we now forced to reevaluate Ms. Lee's fictional hero just as we have collectively undergone a spasm of reevaluation of reevaluate symbols and causes related to the Confederacy?

Was Atticus Finch a racist who should be condemned and stricken from study, or do we continue to laud him for overcoming ignorance, and at least during the events of Mockingbird — in a crucible of fire — for overcoming his own flaws to act honorably? 

Do we view him in the context of his times, or retroactively reinterpret him only by modern standards of enlightenment? 

I have always believed there is great value in studying the flaws of mankind and men —even fictional characters. All of us are flawed. All of us are diminished in some form by prejudice and bias. If a fictional character is to be realistic, he must struggle with imperfections and weaknesses.  (more)

Lee Lerner
Lerner KL. Radiation Exposure. Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds., Worldmark Global Health and Medicine Issues. Cengage. 2016.Abstract

Radiation exposure occurs any time that electromagnetic rays or fast-moving particles interacts with living tissue. Ionizing radiation is particularly damaging to tissue; examples include x rays, gamma radiation, and fast-moving subatomic particles such as neutrons. Biological damage caused by exposure to ionizing ranges from mild tissue burns to cancer, genetic damage, and ultimately, death.

While radiation in the form of heat, visible light, and even ultraviolet light is essential to life, the word "radiation" is often used to refer only to those emissions which can damage or kill living things. Such harm is specifically attributed to radioactive particles as well as the electromagnetic rays with frequencies higher than visible light (ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays). Harmful electromagnetic radiation is also known as ionizing radiation because it strips atoms of one or more of their electrons, leaving highly reactive ions called free radicals which can damage tissue or genetic material. (more)

 
Lee Lerner
Lerner KL. Saint Amant, La. — Louisiana Floods: Bridging stereotype and stigma. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2016;(August).Abstract

Saint Amant, La. — A slow-moving tropical system dumped record rains across southeast Louisiana, with some places reporting more than two feet of rain over a three-day period in mid-August 2016. Cresting floodwaters from several rivers eclipsed previous records. Federal disaster officials characterized the rainfall as "historic," and President Obama declared a "major disaster."

Water rose so fast in some areas that emergency services and shelters also needed quick evacuation. Rescue helicopters plucked people from rooftops and dropped water during the day to stranded motorists cut off by floodwaters as a ragtag fleet of volunteers with small fishing boats, airboats, and hunting canoes joined state and federal rescue efforts to save neighbors from fast-rising waters. (more)

2015
Fort Davis, Texas — Dark skies help bind us to the cosmos
Lerner KL. Fort Davis, Texas — Dark skies help bind us to the cosmos. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2015;((Aoril).Abstract

The Cosmos reveals

a canvas of past starlight

under dark night skies,

Prometheus stole fire

now we obscure divine light

 

Fort Davis, Texas -- More than 80 percent of Americans and 60 percent of Europeans are no longer able to see the Milky Way at night. According to the recently published World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, about one third of all people in the world cannot see the diffuse light of the Milky Way in the night sky due to obscuring atmospheric pollution -- including light pollution -- that creates sky glow. (download to read more)

Paris — French Police Raid Daesh Cell in Saint Denis Alleged Jihadi and Planner of Terror Attacks in Paris Dead
Lerner KL. Paris — French Police Raid Daesh Cell in Saint Denis Alleged Jihadi and Planner of Terror Attacks in Paris Dead. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). 2015.Abstract

Paris — A few hours before dawn, local French anti-terrorist police barricaded Place Jean Jaurès and streets located near the Basilica Saint Denis. They raided a suspected terrorist hideout located on Rue du Corbillon. Police met armed resistance. Initially there were two waves of gunfire and explosions spaced at about 15 minute intervals, then a long pause. Heavy firing resumed about three hours later. Just before dawn there were large explosions and multiple bursts of gunfire. (more)

Who sees with the eyes of hatred? Hate crimes and the murders in Charleston, June 2015.
Lerner KL. Who sees with the eyes of hatred? Hate crimes and the murders in Charleston, June 2015. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2015;(June).Abstract

Suffering stunned sorrow and anguish, it is tempting to try to understand the unspeakably vile murder of innocent worshipers in a Charleston church in terms of ready-made labels. Most of America, and the world at large, will be tempted to see this as white-on-black hate crime, and in terms of lingering racial hatreds in the South. If so, the analysis is already scripted.

Regardless the deranged murder's motives, close examination of his muddy justifications will be -- as hate often is -- ultimately unfathomable. The only suspect is Dylan Roof, a 21-year-old white male, his Facebook page has a photo of him sporting the flags of Rhodesia and apartheid-era South Africa, a period in history that ended just as the alleged killer was born. His young eyes seem filled with old hatreds. With a shooter so young, we are forced to collectively ask, "Who creates these monsters?"  <more>

2014
Cambridge, Mass -- Harvard's Texas Ranger
Lerner KL. Cambridge, Mass -- Harvard's Texas Ranger. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2014;((June).Abstract

Cambridge, Mass. — The earliest Texas Rangers were hard men in a hard land. They saw the world in black and white, the word "alleged" having little meaning with regard to dispensing frontier justice -- which often consisted of a mere formality of trial before hanging. Among these rugged men rode one Ranger, Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry (1825-1903, with a more scholarly disposition and ties to Harvard. <more

Content ©LMG™ Photo Credit: Harper’s Weekly, February 9, 1861, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine — Revolution And Rebellion In Ukraine
Lerner KL. Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine — Revolution And Rebellion In Ukraine. Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2014;(May).Abstract

Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine — In civil conflicts, even the terminology over who is rebel, traitor, or terrorist becomes contentious. Ultimately history, shaped by the victorious, will decide.

The West assumes the parties in this crisis are sharply polarized. Akin to the Spanish Civil War, while neighbors may differ with intense and lethal passions, the factions, fidelity, and goals are, at least at the outset, deeply nuanced. 

Several clocks count down toward renewed unrest. As in other revolutions or rebellions, the patience of the people who deposed the prior Ukrainian government is not endless. They seek tangible improvements in their daily lives from the interim government (and any subsequently elected government). 

History has shown us that once rebellion is in the blood, it becomes easier to take a second drink. (more)

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