bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Postnatal development of mice with combined genetic depletions of lamin A/C, emerin and lamina-associated polypeptide 1
Authors: Wang Yuexia , Shin Ji-Yeon , Nakanishi Koki , Homma Shunichi , Kim Grace J , Tanji Kurenai , Joseph Leroy C , Morrow John P , Stewart Colin L , Dauer Willian T , Worman Howard J
Published: April 2019

Mutations in LMNA encoding lamin A/C and EMD encoding emerin cause cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy. Lmna null mice develop these disorders and have a lifespan of 7–8 weeks. Emd null mice show no overt pathology and have normal skeletal muscle but with regeneration defects. We generated mice with germline deletions of both Lmna and Emd to determine the effects of combined loss of the encoded proteins. Mice without lamin A/C and emerin are born at the expected Mendelian ratio, are grossly normal at birth but have shorter lifespans than those lacking only lamin A/C. However, there are no major differences between these mice with regards to left ventricular function, heart ultrastructure or electrocardiographic parameters except for slower heart rates in the mice lacking both lamin A/C and emerin. Skeletal muscle is similarly affected in both of these mice. Lmna+/− mice also lacking emerin live to at least 1 year and have no significant differences in growth, heart or skeletal muscle compared to Lmna+/− mice. Deletion of the mouse gene encoding lamina-associated protein 1 leads to prenatal death; however, mice with heterozygous deletion of this gene lacking both lamin A/C and emerin are born at the expected Mendelian ratio but had a shorter lifespan than those only lacking lamin A/C and emerin. These results show that mice with combined deficiencies of three interacting nuclear envelope proteins have normal embryonic development and that early postnatal defects are primarily driven by loss of lamin A/C or lamina-associated polypeptide 1 rather than emerin.
Bivalent Vaccine Effectiveness Against Anal Human Papillomavirus Positivity Among Female Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinic Visitors in the Netherlands
Authors: Woestenberg Petra J , King Audrey J , Van Benthem Birgit H B , Leussink Suzan , Van der Sande Marianne A B , Hoebe Christian J P A , Bogaards Johannes A ,   Medical Microbiological Laboratories and the Public Health Services
Published: April 2019

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are indicated for anal cancer prevention, but evidence for vaccine effectiveness (VE) against anal HPV infections among women is limited. We estimated the VE (≥1 dose) against anal HPV positivity of the bivalent vaccine, whose target types HPV-16/18 are associated with approximately 90% of HPV-related anal cancers. Among 548 female STI clinic visitors 16–24 years old who provided an anal swab sample as part of a repeated cross-sectional survey, VE against HPV-16/18 was 89.9% (95% confidence interval, 63.0%–97.2%). Type-specific VE correlated well with VE against cervicovaginal HPV (Spearman ρ = 0.76), suggesting comparable effectiveness of HPV-16/18 vaccination against genital and anal infections.
Access and Adoption of Hybrid Seeds: Evidence from Uganda
Authors: Axmann Nikolaus , Fischer Torben , Keller Kevin , Leiby Kevin , Stein Daniel , Wang Paul
Published: April 2019

Adoption of hybrid seeds remains low in many low-income countries. We conduct a field-experiment designed to measure the effect of offering hybrid maize seeds for purchase during a time when potential customers have high liquidity. Working with a large buyer of agricultural commodities in Northern Uganda, we randomly offer smallholder farmers the opportunity to purchase certified hybrid maize seeds at the same time as they visit the buyers’ stores to sell crops from a previous harvest. 16% of those offered purchase hybrid seeds, and average adoption of hybrid maize among those offered increases by 8 percentage points compared to a control group who does not receive the offer. Among those who accept the offer, we see an increase in the propensity to plant hybrid maize of 50 percentage points. This effect is more pronounced for female farmers than for their male counterparts. Our findings suggest that providing access to certified agricultural inputs at the place and time of post-harvest sales is a promising strategy to increase input usage.
Understanding the Current Procedural Terminology Process
Authors: Smetherman Dana H
Published: April 2019

This article describes the method by which U.S. health care services are valued and reimbursed, and the essential role practicing physicians, including breast imaging radiologists, and medical specialty societies play in this process. The American Medical Association has described the method for developing new and revised Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes as a 3-legged stool, with patient care as the seat supported by its legs: the CPT process (where the work is described), the Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) process (where the work is valued), and coverage by Medicare (where the work is paid). Although the future direction of health care payment policy in the USA is uncertain and difficult to predict, CPT codes remain the foundation for the reimbursement of physician services. A working knowledge of the CPT process can be valuable to breast imaging radiologists, both for managing their practices at the current time and preparing them for future changes in payment policy.
Characterizing wing tears in common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus): investigating tear distribution, wing strength, and possible causes
Authors: Khayat Rana Osama S , Shaw Kirsty J , Dougill Gary , Melling Louise M , Ferris Glenn R , Cooper Glen , Grant Robyn A
Published: April 2019

Bats have large, thin wings that are particularly susceptible to tearing. Anatomical specializations, such as fiber reinforcement, strengthen the wing and increase its resistance to puncture, and an extensive vasculature system across the wing also promotes healing. We investigated whether tear positioning is associated with anatomy in common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). Wing anatomy was described using histological techniques, imaging, and material testing. Tear information, including type, position, time in rehabilitation, and possible causes, was collected from rehabilitators of injured bats across the United Kingdom. Results suggest that the position of the plagiopatagium (the most proximal wing section to the body), rather than its anatomy, influenced the number, location, and orientation of wing tears. While material testing did not identify the plagiopatagium as being significantly weaker than the chiropatagium (the more distal sections of the wing), the plagiopatagium tended to have the most tears. The position of the tears, close to the body and toward the trailing edge, suggests that they are caused by predator attacks, such as from a cat (Felis catus), rather than collisions. Consistent with this, 38% of P. pipistrellus individuals had confirmed wing tears caused by cats, with an additional 38% identified by rehabilitators as due to suspected cat attacks. The plagiopatagium had the lowest number of blood vessels and highest amounts of elastin fibers, suggesting that healing may take longer in this section. Further investigations into the causes of tears, and their effect on flight capabilities, will help to improve bat rehabilitation.
Association between air travel and importation of chikungunya into the USA
Authors: Nasserie Tahmina , Brent Shannon E , Tuite Ashleigh R , Moineddin Rahim , Yong Jean H E , Miniota Jennifer , Bogoch Isaac I , Watts Alexander G , Khan Kamran
Published: April 2019

Background: During infectious disease outbreaks with pandemic potential, the number of air passengers travelling from the outbreak source to international destinations has been used as a proxy for disease importation risk to new locations. However, evaluations of the validity of this approach are limited. We sought to quantify the association between international air travel and disease importation using the 2014–2016 chikungunya outbreak in the Americas as a case study.

Methods: We used country-level chikungunya case data to define a time period of epidemic activity for each of the 45 countries and territories in the Americas reporting outbreaks between 2014 and 2016. For each country, we identified airports within or proximate to areas considered suitable for chikungunya transmission and summed the number of commercial air passengers departing from these airports during the epidemic period to each US state. We used negative binomial models to quantify the association between the number of incoming air passengers from countries experiencing chikungunya epidemics and the annual rate of chikungunya importation into the USA at the state level.

Results: We found a statistically significant positive association between passenger flows via airline travel from countries experiencing chikungunya epidemics and the number of imported cases in the USA at the state level (P < 0.0001). Additionally, we found that as the number of arriving airline passengers increased by 10%, the estimated number of imported cases increased by 5.2% (95% CI: 3.0–7.6).

Conclusion: This validation study demonstrated that air travel was strongly associated with observed importation of chikungunya cases in the USA and can be a useful proxy for identifying areas at increased risk for disease importation. This approach may be useful for understanding exportation risk of other arboviruses.
The impact of photometric redshift errors on lensing statistics in ray-tracing simulations
Authors: Abruzzo Matthew W , Haiman Zoltán
Published: April 2019

Weak lensing surveys are reaching sensitivities at which uncertainties in the galaxy redshift distributions n(z) from photo-z errors degrade cosmological constraints. We use ray-tracing simulations and a simple treatment of photo-z errors to assess cosmological parameter biases from uncertainties in n(z) in an LSST-like survey. We use lensing peak counts and the power spectrum to infer cosmological parameters, and find that the latter is somewhat more resilient to photo-z errors. We place conservative lower limits on the survey size at which different types of photo-z errors significantly degrade (${\sim }50{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) ΛCDM (cold dark matter, wCDM) parameter constraints. A residual constant photo-z bias of |δz| < 0.003(1 + z), the current LSST requirement, does not significantly degrade surveys smaller than ≈1300 (≈490) deg2 using peaks and ≈6500 (≈4900) deg2 using the power spectrum. Surveys smaller than ≈920 (≈450) deg2 and ≈4600 (≈4000) deg2 avoid 25 per cent degradation. Adopting a recent prediction for LSST’s full photo-z probability distribution function (PDF), we find that simply approximating n(z) with the photo-z galaxy distribution computed from this PDF significantly degrades surveys as small as ≈60 (≈65) deg2 using peaks or the power spectrum. If the centroid bias in each tomographic bin is removed from the photo-z galaxy distribution, using peaks or the power spectrum still significantly degrades surveys larger than ≈200 (≈255) or ≈248 (≈315) deg2; 25 per cent degradations occur at survey sizes of ≈140 (≈180) deg2 or ≈165 (≈210) deg2. These results imply that the expected broad photo-z PDF significantly biases parameters, which must be further mitigated using more sophisticated photo-z treatments.
AT 2017fvz: a nova in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822
Authors: Healy M W , Darnley M J , Copperwheat C M , Filippenko A V , Henze M , Hestenes J C , James P A , Page K L , Williams S C , Zheng W
Published: April 2019

A transient in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822 (Barnard’s Galaxy) was discovered on 2017 August 2 and is only the second classical nova discovered in that galaxy. We conducted optical, near-ultraviolet, and X-ray follow-up observations of the eruption, the results of which we present here. This ‘very fast’ nova had a peak V-band magnitude in the range −7.41 > MV > −8.33 mag, with decline times of t2,V = 8.1 ± 0.2 d and t3,V = 15.2 ± 0.3 d. The early- and late-time spectra are consistent with an Fe ii spectral class. The H α emission line initially has a full width at half-maximum intensity of ∼2400 km s−1 – a moderately fast ejecta velocity for the class. The H α line then narrows monotonically to ∼1800 km s−1 by 70 d post-eruption. The lack of a pre-eruption coincident source in archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging implies that the donor is a main-sequence, or possibly subgiant, star. The relatively low-peak luminosity and rapid decline hint that AT 2017fvz may be a ‘faint and fast’ nova.
Return to the Sea, Get Huge, Beat Cancer: An Analysis of Cetacean Genomes Including an Assembly for the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Authors: Tollis Marc , Robbins Jooke , Webb Andrew E , Kuderna Lukas F K , Caulin Aleah F , Garcia Jacinda D , Bèrubè Martine , Pourmand Nader , Marques-Bonet Tomas , O’Connell Mary J , Palsbøll Per J , Maley Carlo C
Published: April 2019

Cetaceans are a clade of highly specialized aquatic mammals that include the largest animals that have ever lived. The largest whales can have ∼1,000× more cells than a human, with long lifespans, leaving them theoretically susceptible to cancer. However, large-bodied and long-lived animals do not suffer higher risks of cancer mortality than humans—an observation known as Peto’s Paradox. To investigate the genomic bases of gigantism and other cetacean adaptations, we generated a de novo genome assembly for the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and incorporated the genomes of ten cetacean species in a comparative analysis. We found further evidence that rorquals (family Balaenopteridae) radiated during the Miocene or earlier, and inferred that perturbations in abundance and/or the interocean connectivity of North Atlantic humpback whale populations likely occurred throughout the Pleistocene. Our comparative genomic results suggest that the evolution of cetacean gigantism was accompanied by strong selection on pathways that are directly linked to cancer. Large segmental duplications in whale genomes contained genes controlling the apoptotic pathway, and genes inferred to be under accelerated evolution and positive selection in cetaceans were enriched for biological processes such as cell cycle checkpoint, cell signaling, and proliferation. We also inferred positive selection on genes controlling the mammalian appendicular and cranial skeletal elements in the cetacean lineage, which are relevant to extensive anatomical changes during cetacean evolution. Genomic analyses shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying cetacean traits, including gigantism, and will contribute to the development of future targets for human cancer therapies.
Social Parasitism in the Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Is Not Controlled by a Single SNP
Authors: Christmas Matthew J , Smith Nicholas M A , Oldroyd Benjamin P , Webster Matthew T
Published: April 2019

The Cape bee (Apis mellifera capensis) is a subspecies of the honeybee, in which workers commonly lay diploid unfertilized eggs via a process known as thelytoky. A recent study aimed to map the genetic basis of this trait in the progeny of a single capensis queen where workers laid either diploid (thelytokous) or haploid (arrhenotokous) eggs. A nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in a gene of unknown function was reported to be strongly associated with thelytoky in this colony. Here, we analyze genome sequences from a global sample of A. mellifera and identify populations where the proposed thelytoky allele at this SNP is common but thelytoky is absent. We also analyze genome sequences of three capensis queens produced by thelytoky and find that, contrary to predictions, they do not carry the proposed thelytoky allele. The proposed SNP is therefore neither sufficient nor required to produce thelytoky in A. mellifera.
antiSMASH 5.0: updates to the secondary metabolite genome mining pipeline
Authors: Blin Kai , Shaw Simon , Steinke Kat , Villebro Rasmus , Ziemert Nadine , Lee Sang Yup , Medema Marnix H , Weber Tilmann
Published: April 2019

Secondary metabolites produced by bacteria and fungi are an important source of antimicrobials and other bioactive compounds. In recent years, genome mining has seen broad applications in identifying and characterizing new compounds as well as in metabolic engineering. Since 2011, the ‘antibiotics and secondary metabolite analysis shell—antiSMASH’ (https://antismash.secondarymetabolites.org) has assisted researchers in this, both as a web server and a standalone tool. It has established itself as the most widely used tool for identifying and analysing biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in bacterial and fungal genome sequences. Here, we present an entirely redesigned and extended version 5 of antiSMASH. antiSMASH 5 adds detection rules for clusters encoding the biosynthesis of acyl-amino acids, β-lactones, fungal RiPPs, RaS-RiPPs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, C-nucleosides, PPY-like ketones and lipolanthines. For type II polyketide synthase-encoding gene clusters, antiSMASH 5 now offers more detailed predictions. The HTML output visualization has been redesigned to improve the navigation and visual representation of annotations. We have again improved the runtime of analysis steps, making it possible to deliver comprehensive annotations for bacterial genomes within a few minutes. A new output file in the standard JavaScript object notation (JSON) format is aimed at downstream tools that process antiSMASH results programmatically.
Radiosurgical Management of Patients With Persistent or Recurrent Cushing Disease After Prior Transsphenoidal Surgery: A Management Algorithm Based on a 25-Year Experience
Authors: Hughes Joshua D , Young William F , Chang Alice Y , Link Michael J , Garces Yolanda I , Laack Nadia N , Thompson Geoffrey B , Pollock Bruce E
Published: April 2019

BACKGROUND

Patients with persistent or recurrent Cushing disease (CD) after prior transsphenoidal surgery require further treatment to reduce the disease's metabolic consequences.

OBJECTIVE

To assess patient outcomes after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for persistent or recurrent CD from adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenomas and propose a management algorithm.

METHODS

Retrospective review of 38 patients without prior radiation treatment having SRS for ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas from 1990 to 2015. Favorable outcome was defined as biochemical remission and tumor growth control. Patients were evaluated separately if they underwent bilateral adrenalectomy (Adx).

RESULTS

Twenty patients (53%) were treated with Adx and SRS (median margin dose, 25 Gy) and 18 patients (47%) received SRS alone (median margin dose, 22.5 Gy). Median follow-up after SRS was 76 mo. Of patients undergoing Adx, 18/20 (90%) had a favorable outcome. Two patients (10%) had tumor growth requiring additional treatment. A favorable outcome was achieved in 13/18 patients (72%) having SRS alone (median, 14 mo; interquartile range, 8-23). Five patients (28%) required additional treatment due to persistent hypercortisolemia (n = 4) or hypercortisolemia and tumor growth (n = 1). Favorable outcomes were more frequent in the Adx and SRS group at 1 yr (100% vs 33%; P < .001) and 3 yr (100% vs 62%; P < .01), but no different at 5 yr (88% vs 77%; P = .63).

CONCLUSION

SRS was effective for patients with persistent or recurrent CD. Patients with mild to moderate CD can be safely managed with SRS alone; patients with severe CD should be considered for Adx with either concurrent SRS or SRS performed at a later date if tumor growth occurs.
Image-Guided, Linac-Based, Surgical Cavity-Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy in 5 Daily Fractions for Brain Metastases
Authors: Soliman Hany , Myrehaug Sten , Tseng Chia-Lin , Ruschin Mark , Hashmi Ahmed , Mainprize Todd , Spears Julian , Das Sunit , Yang Victor , da Costa Leodante , Maralani Pejman , Heyn Chris , Atenafu Eshetu G , Sahgal Arjun
Published: April 2019

BACKGROUND

Cavity stereotactic radiotherapy has emerged as a standard option following resection of brain metastases. However, the optimal approach with either single-fraction or hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (HSRT) remains a significant question.

OBJECTIVE

To report outcomes for 5-fraction HSRT to the surgical cavity, based on contouring according to a recently reported international consensus guideline.

METHODS

Patients treated with cavity HSRT were identified from a prospective institutional database. Local brain control (LC), distant brain failure (DBF), leptomeningeal disease (LMD), and overall survival rates were determined. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed on potential predictive factors.

RESULTS

One hundred thirty-seven cavities in 122 patients were treated at a median total dose of 30 Gy (range, 25-35 Gy). The median follow-up was 16 mo (range, 1-60 mo). Nonsmall cell lung cancer was the most common histology (44%), followed by breast cancer (21%). In 57% of surgical cavities, the preoperative tumor diameter was >3 cm. One-year LC, DBF, LMD, and overall survival rates were 84%, 45%, 22%, and 62%, respectively. Multivariable analyses identified colorectal (hazard ratio [HR] 4.1, P = .0066) and melanoma (HR 2.4, P = .012) metastases as predictors of local recurrence; preoperative tumor diameter >2 cm (HR 8.9, P = .012) and absence of targeted therapy (HR 4.4, P = .03) as predictors of DBF; and breast cancer histology (HR 2.1, P = .05) and subtotal resection (HR 2.6, P = .009) as predictors of LMD. Symptomatic radiation necrosis was observed in 7 patients (6%).

CONCLUSION

High rates of LC were observed following this 5-fraction HSRT regimen. Superiority as compared to single-fraction SRS requires a randomized trial.
Risk of First Hemorrhage of Brain Arteriovenous Malformations During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors: Davidoff Christopher L , Lo Presti Anna , Rogers Jeffrey M , Simons Mary , Assaad Nazih N A , Stoodley Marcus Andrew , Morgan Michael Kerin
Published: April 2019

BACKGROUND

Recommendations on the management of brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) with respect to pregnancy are based upon conflicting literature.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review the reported risk and annualized rate of first intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) from bAVM during pregnancy and puerperium.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus databases were searched for relevant articles in English published before April 2018. Studies providing a quantitative risk of ICH in bAVM during pregnancy were eligible.

RESULTS

From 7 initially eligible studies, 3 studies met the criteria for providing quantitative risk of first ICH bAVM during pregnancy. Data from 47 bAVM ICH during pregnancy across 4 cohorts were extracted for analysis. Due to differences in methodology and definitions of exposure period, it was not appropriate to combine the cases. The annualized risk of first ICH during pregnancy for these 4 cohorts was 3.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-5.2%); 3.5% (95% CI: 2.4-4.5%); 8.6% (95% CI: 1.8-25%); and 30% (95% CI: 18-49%). Only the last result from the last cohort could be considered significantly increased in comparison with the nonpregnant period (relative rate 6.8, 95% CI: 3.6-13). The limited number of eligible studies and variability in results highlighted the need for enhanced rigor of future research.

CONCLUSION

There is no conclusive evidence of an increased risk of first hemorrhage during pregnancy from bAVM. Because advice to women with bAVM may influence the management of pregnancy or bAVM with significant consequences, we believe that a retrospective multicenter, case crossover study is urgently required.
Brain Structure, Connectivity, and Cognitive Changes Following Revascularization Surgery in Adult Moyamoya Disease
Authors: Kazumata Ken , Tha Khin Khin , Tokairin Kikutaro , Ito Masaki , Uchino Haruto , Kawabori Masahito , Sugiyama Taku
Published: April 2019

BACKGROUND

The effect of the combined direct/indirect revascularization surgery in Moyamoya disease has not been evaluated sufficiently with regard to cognitive function, brain microstructure, and connectivity.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate structural and functional changes following revascularization surgery in patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) through a combined analysis of brain morphology, microstructure, connectivity, and neurobehavioral data.

METHODS

Neurobehavioral and neuroimaging examinations were performed in 25 adults with MMD prior to and >12 mo after revascularization surgery. Cognitive function was investigated using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III, Trail-Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Continuous Performance Test, Stroop test, and Wechsler Memory Scale. We assessed white matter integrity using diffusion tensor imaging, brain morphometry using magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo sequences, and brain connectivity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

RESULTS

Cognitive examinations revealed significant changes in the full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ), performance IQ (PIQ), perceptual organization (PO), processing speed, and Stroop test scores after surgery (P < .05). Enlargement of the lateral ventricle, volume reductions in the corpus callosum and subcortical nuclei, and cortical thinning in the prefrontal cortex were also observed (P < .05). Fractional anisotropy in the white matter tracts, including the superior longitudinal fasciculus, increased 2 to 4 yr after surgery, relative to that observed in the presurgical state (P < .05). Resting-state brain connectivity was increased predominantly in the fronto-cerebellar circuit and was positively correlated with improvements in PIQ and PO (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

Revascularization surgery may improve processing speed and attention in adult patients with MMD. Further, multimodal MRI may be useful for detecting subtle postsurgical brain structural changes, reorganization of white matter tracts, and brain connectivity alterations.
Optimal taxation with unobservable investment in human capital
Authors: Reis Catarina
Published: April 2019

In a Ramsey model of optimal taxation, if human capital investment can be observed separately from consumption, it is optimal not to distort human or physical capital accumulation in the long run, and only labour income taxes should be used. However, in reality the government can’t always distinguish between investment in human capital and pure consumption, so a tax on labour or consumption will necessarily tax human capital. We find that when investment in human capital is unobservable, the optimal policy is to tax human capital at a positive rate, even in the long run. Whether physical capital should be taxed or not depends on its degree of complementarity with human capital versus labour.
Conferralism about Other Social Categories
Authors: Ásta
Published: April 2019

The conferralist framework is applied to some of the other “usual suspects”, that is, to some of the other categories that are protected classes in various jurisdictions, such as race, religion, and disability. On the author’s view there are a host of institutional race categories, with different sort of base features in different contexts. Likewise there are a host of context-dependent communal race categories, with varying base features. There is also a number of institutional disability categories as well as context-dependent communal ones. Similarly, institutional and communal religion categories exist in various contexts, with varying base properties for the conferral of the social status in the context. A brief comparison is made with the views of Charles Mills on race and Elizabeth Barnes on disability.
Categories We Live By
Authors: Ásta
Published: April 2019

In the book’s conclusion, the question is discussed how the radically contextualist theory of social features of individuals offered in this book can ground claims of solidarity across place and time and account for the systematicity of oppression. How can women in the US ground their claim to solidarity with women in Bangladesh or Syria? How can LGBTQ individuals ground their solidarity with oppressed sexual minorities in a faraway time or place? The author offers two suggestions. The first one is to focus on fact that certain features of individuals, such as genitalia, serve as base features for differential treatment in many, many contexts. The second is to notice similar constraints and enablements across contexts. Both of these, and a combination of them, can ground claims to solidarity and systematicity.
Learning to Fly
Authors: Vang Chia Youyee
Published: April 2019

Once selected for pilot training, most participants entered the CIA’s covert Project Water Pump with much excitement, but chapter 3 reveals that they subsequently went through a tumultuous process. Surviving pilots identified internal and external factors that influenced how well they progressed through the aviation program. Academic background helped some to perform well in ground school, especially in learning English. Their narratives, however, suggest that academic abilities alone did not determine who would succeed in learning to fly. Physical and mental health conditions often impacted their training experiences. Surviving pilots describe the obstacles they confronted when interacting with instructors and recall that trainees and instructors generally did not socialize together because of language barriers, as well as a culture of Americans and Lao regarding Hmong as inferior. Instructor pilot narratives unveiled an unorthodox training program that required flexibility from all involved.
Widowhood
Authors: Vang Chia Youyee
Published: April 2019

Chapter 5 reveals that pilots’ salaries greatly improved their families’ livelihoods. Following the death of a pilot, however, his widow and children confronted significant challenges. Widows revealed when they were young women, corrupt military officers and in-laws often denied them full death benefits. The women shared heartfelt memories of their husbands and talked about the moment when they learned about their husbands’ deaths. Some of the pilots were killed in action, whereas others died in aviation accidents of various causes. Regardless of the circumstances by which they had become widows, the wives were filled with conflicting sentiments about the losses and suffering caused by the Secret War. For many, the wounds remain and time has not eased their pain.
Escape
Authors: Vang Chia Youyee
Published: April 2019

Chapter 7 explores the chaotic air evacuation from Long Cheng to Udorn air base in Thailand in early May 1975, in which throngs of Hmong fought to get on planes intended for Hmong military leadership and some selected others. It describes the subsequent flight of thousands more Hmong who were not fortunate enough to gain exit in the airlift; those left behind feared retribution from the communist Pathet Lao regime for having aligned with the United States. The chapter discusses refugee life in Thai camps such as Ban Vinai and the difficult decisions that escapees had to make about resettling elsewhere, since they could not remain in the camps permanently. Some refugees describe the process of finding sponsors for their resettlement in the United States, and a prisoner of war tells how decreased surveillance enabled him to slip away and cross the Mekong River to freedom.
Debunking and Vindicating in Moral Psychology
Authors: Nichols Shaun
Published: April 2019

One way that cognitive science can inform our metaphysical views is by explaining why we have the metaphysical views that we do. Psychological explanations can serve to debunk our intuitive metaphysical commitments when the commitments derive from an epistemically defective process. But psychological explanations can also serve to vindicate our intuitive commitments when they derive from epistemically proper processes. This chapter explores both debunking and vindicating arguments for the belief in moral objectivity. The debunking argument draws on work suggesting that the belief in objectivity is generated from epistemically defective emotional/motivational processes. The vindicatory argument draws on the finding that beliefs about consensus correlate with beliefs about objectivity, and argues that a rational learner would often be right to take consensus information as evidence regarding objectivity.
Solving the Debt Problem Fairly
Authors: Gale William G.
Published: April 2019

Who should pay higher taxes and receive fewer benefits? What’s fair? As explored in Chapter 5, debt, taxes, and spending redistribute resources within and across generations. Addressing the debt problem would help future generations – the nation’s children and grandchildren. It is no longer clear that each generation will be better off than the one before it. This makes it all the more important that each generation controls the debt it leaves to the next generation. The United States used to have high income inequality and significant economic mobility: people who worked hard could ascend the income ladder. In recent years, though, the gap between rich and poor has grown dramatically while rates of mobility haven’t improved. Policymakers should narrow inequalityin ways that are productive and fair, investing more in education, healthcare, nutrition, neighborhoods, and employment programs, and judiciously raising taxes on high-income households.
Reforming Healthcare
Authors: Gale William G.
Published: April 2019

As Chapter 7 documents, healthcare already accounts for a quarter of federal spending and will grow significantly in the future. Almost half of Americans get health insurance through government programs. But Americans spend substantially more of their income on private and public healthcare than citizens of other advanced countries, without always getting good value. Policymakers should expand coverage—which improves people’s health, reduces financial hardship, and saves lives—by penalizing people who do not buy health insurance and incentivizing states to expand Medicaid. Policymakers should control costs—which would raise wages and reduce long-term debt— and improve healthcare quality by paying medical providers based on the quality of care and patient outcomes, not the services they perform. Medicare should use competitive bidding and get the same drug price discounts as other programs. Policymakers should reduce tax subsidies that encourage people to use more healthcare than they need.
Investing in People
Authors: Gale William G.
Published: April 2019

The nation’s most precious asset is its people, but far too many are being left behind. As discussed in Chapter 9, widening income distribution, weak wage growth, and stagnant economic mobility have increased disparities between the rich and poor, made it harder for people to overcome their initial circumstances, and dragged the economy down. Cash-strapped government safety net and education programs are hard-pressed to keep up. Evidence shows that many programs that provide struggling individuals and families with cash, food, healthcare, childcare, education, jobs, and appropriate incentives help beneficiaries and can pay off for society as a whole. To exploit these opportunities, this chapter proposes to increase spending on social policies, focusing on five goals: investing in children, patching holes in the safety net, raising educational attainment, providing jobs and job training to people who need them, and making work pay better.
Taxing People
Authors: Gale William G.
Published: April 2019

The income tax is the centerpiece of the federal tax system, as explored in this chapter, raising almost half of all federal revenues and making government policies more progressive. Despite – and in some cases because of – recent changes, the tax is ripe for reform. The proposed reforms would close loopholes, tax income more evenly across various uses, and provide the IRS with the resources to enforce the tax system better. This would raise new revenue, redistribute burdens more fairly, and simplify tax compliance.
Santuario de Chimayó
Authors: Graziano Frank
Published: April 2019

After a summary of the santuario’s history, the Christ of Esquipulas is discussed in relation to the Guatemalan image by the same name and to other Black Christs in the region. The use of holy dirt at the santuario is then considered together with miracles attributed to it. The subsequent section discusses aesthetic and spiritual emotional reactions to the interior of the santuario chapel. Also described and analyzed are Holy Week events at the santuario, including the Penitentes’ participation; pilgrimage and the annual Pilgrimages for Vocations; and the murder in 2000 of two teenage pilgrims to the santuario. The chapter concludes with a visiting guide, including directions to historic churches in the area.
Churches along the Southern Río Grande
Authors: Graziano Frank
Published: April 2019

After a brief survey of the historic churches in Tomé, Socorro, and surrounding areas, the chapter focuses on Our Lady of Purification (Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria) in Doña Ana. The emphasis is on the restoration of the church in the 1990s, and on the training program for at-risk youth that provided restoration workers. Attitudes toward adobe restoration among local parishioners are also treated. As this tour continues southward it encompasses, among other churches, San José in La Mesa, where depopulation combined with Mexican immigration has changed the nature of the congregation. The Mission Trail in El Paso is also briefly mentioned. Visiting information is integrated throughout the chapter.
St. Joseph Apache Mission, Mescalero
Authors: Graziano Frank
Published: April 2019

The chapter opens with discussion of native Catholicism among the Apache, and of the syncretic church imagery epitomized by the Apache Christ behind the altar. The discussion then pursues the “rebuild my church” mandate that St. Francis received in a vision and the application of the same by Franciscans and others who undertook the restoration of the huge stone church and the congregation in Mescalero. The discussion of a trainee program at this and other sites introduces a section regarding the influence of church restoration on the alcoholism and sobriety of one of the workers. The chapter then discusses the difficulties of transition from Franciscan to diocesan pastorship. It concludes with a historical section on the freed Chiricahua prisoners of war who settled at Mescalero, and on Father Albert Braun, whose vision and initiative resulted in the construction of St. Joseph. The chapter includes a visiting guide.
One Nation, Two Realities
Authors: Marietta Morgan , Barker David C.
Published: April 2019

Is climate change real? Does racism still determine who gets ahead? Is sexuality innate? Do immigration and free trade help or hurt the economy? Does gun control reduce violence? Are false convictions common? On these and many other basic questions of fact, Americans are deeply divided. How did this happen? What does it mean? And is there anything we can do about it? Drawing upon several years of original survey data and experiments, Marietta and Barker reach a number of enlightening and provocative conclusions. Among them is that dueling fact perceptions are not so much a result of hyper-partisanship or media propaganda as they are of simple value differences and deepening distrust of authorities. The educated—on both the Left and Right—carry the biggest guns and are the quickest to draw. These duels foster social contempt—even in the workplace—and they warp the electorate. And finally, the remedies that have been proposed don’t seem to holster many weapons; in fact, they add bullets to the chamber in some cases. Marietta and Barker’s pessimistic conclusions will challenge idealistic reformers.
Public Revelation and Private Revelation
Authors: Klimek Daniel Maria
Published: April 2019

Beginning with a study of the Catholic Church’s theology of public revelation and private revelations, the chapter considers what is the theological authority that private revelations (like Marian apparitions) have and what is the relationship that such revelations have to Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition, and the development of doctrine in Roman Catholicism. The official norms that the Catholic Church uses to evaluate the authenticity of visionaries, their apparitions and revelations, are studied, as promulgated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1978. The work of the Catholic scholars Augustin Poulain and Benedict Groeschel is considered to better understand the complexities of discerning true from false revelations. The final section considers which Church authorities can intervene in investigating an apparition site, and what has been the Church response and official status regarding the Medjugorje apparitions.
Conclusion
Authors: Klimek Daniel Maria
Published: April 2019

The concluding section considers the epistemological, hermeneutical, and ontological contributions that the Medjugorje studies make to debates on religious and mystical experiences. Epistemologically, the Medjugorje studies show that it is erroneous to perceive all extraordinary religious experiences through a reductionist interpretation that denigrates such experiences into a natural or pathological understanding. Hermeneutically, the Medjugorje studies show how important it is to have a method that is inductive and constructive-relational in terms of approaching religious experiences. Ontologically, the Medjugorje studies point to the limitations of a metaphysic of naturalism in interpreting reality and to the need to consider other modes of understanding, beyond a narrow materialist or rationalist worldview. The Medjugorje studies bring much-needed reconciliation between the worlds of science and religion, as in Medjugorje immense scientific study has been used to support the integrity of religious visionaries and their extraordinary religious experiences.
Banned Emotions
Authors: Otis Laura
Published: April 2019

Who benefits, and who loses, when emotions are described in particular ways? How can metaphors such as “hold on” and “let go” affect people’s emotional experiences? Banned Emotions draws on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology to challenge popular ideas about emotions that should supposedly be suppressed. This interdisciplinary book breaks taboos by exploring emotions in which people are said to “indulge”: self-pity, prolonged crying, chronic anger, grudge-bearing, bitterness, and spite. By focusing on metaphors for these emotions in classic novels, self-help books, and popular films, Banned Emotions exposes their cultural and religious roots. Examining works by Dante, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Forster, and Woolf in parallel with Bridesmaids, Fatal Attraction, and Who Moved My Cheese?, Banned Emotions reveals patterns in the ways emotions are represented that can make people so ashamed of feelings, they may stifle emotions that they need to work through. By analyzing the ways that physiology and culture combine in emotion metaphors, Banned Emotions shows that emotion regulation is a political as well as a biological issue. Banned Emotions considers the emotions of women abandoned by their partners and asks whether the psychological “attachment” metaphor is the best way to describe human relationships. Recent studies of emotion regulation indicate that reappraisal works better than suppression, which over time can damage a person’s health. Socially discouraged emotions such as self-pity emerge from lived experiences, often the experiences of people who hold less social power. Emotion metaphors like “move on” deflect attention from the social problems that have inspired emotions to the individuals who feel them—people who need to think about their emotions and their causes in the world.
What Academics Really Want
Authors: Brennan Jason , Magness Phillip
Published: April 2019

This chapter discusses the basic incentives that faculty, students, and administrators face, especially at so-called R1 (doctoral-granting with the highest research activity) universities. Different people have somewhat different motivations. Some are more driven by fame and prestige, some by money, some by intellectual curiosity, some by love, and others by a desire to push their ideology. Different institutions also structure their incentives somewhat differently. The university is a political environment where different groups and individuals compete for power and resources. Thus, it is not that the university is full of gremlins or beset by poltergeists, but that individual professors, students, and administrators face incentives that put them in conflict with the core values of the university.
Why Most Academic Advertising Is Immoral Bullshit
Authors: Brennan Jason , Magness Phillip
Published: April 2019

This chapter criticizes how universities and colleges market themselves to potential students. In particular, it examines how they promise (or at least strongly insinuate) that they will transform students, teach them to think, and turn them into leaders. The problem is that very little evidence exists that universities succeed in doing any of these things. Thus, universities engage in, if not quite false advertising, what might instead be called negligent advertising. They are not exactly lying, but selling snake oil. There is no proof that universities deliver, or are capable of making good, on most of their promises. Universities do not just engage in unethical marketing. Rather, they seem to not even do much educating.
On Reading Entrails and Student Evaluations
Authors: Brennan Jason , Magness Phillip
Published: April 2019

In the United States, most universities and colleges ask students to complete course evaluations at the end of each semester. They ask students how much they’ve learned, how much they studied, whether the instructor seemed well-prepared, and how valuable the class was overall. This chapter examines how colleges routinely make faculty hiring, retention, and promotion decisions on the basis of what they ought to know are invalid tests. It argues that student course evaluations do not track teacher effectiveness. Using these as the bases of determining hires, promotions, tenure, or raises for faculty is roughly on par with reading entrails or tea leaves to make such decisions. The chapter also explains why universities continue to use student course evaluations.
Grades: Communication Breakdown
Authors: Brennan Jason , Magness Phillip
Published: April 2019

This chapter assesses how professors grade students. It argues that the practice of grading is replete with problems. Grades are a kind of language. They are meant to be a form of communication. They are sometimes meant to communicate to students how well they’ve mastered a set of material. Most colleges calculate grade point averages (GPAs) and compare students to one another. Grades are also sometimes meant to communicate to outsiders something about how good a student is, and how he or she compares to other students from other universities. However, the grading and GPA systems are such a mess that they largely fail to accomplish these goals. In some cases, the mathematics used to calculate an average final grade in a class are incoherent. In nearly all cases, the mathematics used to calculate students’ GPAs are also incoherent.
The Gen Ed Hustle
Authors: Brennan Jason , Magness Phillip
Published: April 2019

This chapter considers the question of why universities require general education or gen ed. If you ask them, they’ll offer a host of nice, public-spirited reasons. The purpose of gen eds is to ensure that students are well rounded, develop a wide breadth of knowledge and skills, and are exposed to multiple fields so they can make an informed decision about their major. However, the real reason for requiring gen eds is that it represents a way for certain faculty to capture students' tuition dollars. The chapter argues that faculty members exploit students for their own selfish benefit, although they disguise this practice with moralistic arguments.