bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mapping transcriptome‐wide protein‐RNA interactions to elucidate RNA regulatory programs
Authors: Hannigan Molly M. , Zagore Leah L. , Licatalosi Donny D.
Published: July 2018

Background

Our understanding of post‐transcriptional gene regulation has increased exponentially with the development of robust methods to define protein‐RNA interactions across the transcriptome. In this review, we highlight the evolution and successful applications of crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) methods to interrogate protein‐RNA interactions in a transcriptome‐wide manner.

Results

Here, we survey the vast array of in vitro and in vivo approaches used to identify protein‐RNA interactions, including but not limited to electrophoretic mobility shift assays, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), and RIP‐seq. We particularly emphasize the advancement of CLIP technologies, and detail protocol improvements and computational tools used to analyze the output data. Importantly, we discuss how profiling protein‐RNA interactions can delineate biological functions including splicing regulation, alternative polyadenylation, cytoplasmic decay substrates, and miRNA targets.

Conclusions

In summary, this review summarizes the benefits of characterizing RNA‐protein networks to further understand the regulation of gene expression and disease pathogenesis. Our review comments on how future CLIP technologies can be adapted to address outstanding questions related to many aspects of RNA metabolism and further advance our understanding of RNA biology.
Symmetry properties for solutions of nonlocal equations involving nonlinear operators
Authors: Fazly Mostafa , Sire Yannick
Published: July 2018

We pursue the study of one-dimensional symmetry of solutions to nonlinear equations involving nonlocal operators. We consider a vast class of nonlinear operators and in a particular case it covers the fractional
p
-Laplacian operator. Just like the classical De Giorgi's conjecture, we establish a Poincaré inequality and a linear Liouville theorem to provide two different proofs of the one-dimensional symmetry results in two dimensions. Both approaches are of independent interests. In addition, we provide certain energy estimates for layer solutions and Liouville theorems for stable solutions. Most of the methods and ideas applied in the current article are applicable to nonlocal operators with general kernels where the famous extension problem, given by Caffarelli and Silvestre, is not necessarily known.
Methoxyflurane for Procedural Analgesia at 4470 m Altitude
Authors: Wilkes Matt , Heath Eleanor C. , Mason Nicholas P.
Published: July 2018

Methoxyflurane is a volatile, fluorinated anesthetic agent with analgesic properties. Although no longer used as an anesthetic due to concerns regarding renal toxicity in high doses, it has enjoyed a resurgence as an inhaled analgesic in prehospital care and in the emergency department. The agent is nonflammable and leads to rapid, titratable analgesia without intravenous access. The Penthrox inhaler device is light, robust, and straightforward to administer. Consequently, it has been proposed as an ideal analgesic for the remote high altitude setting. We report its use for procedural analgesia during suprapubic aspiration for acute urinary retention at a remote rescue post at night, in cold winter conditions, at 4470 m altitude in Machermo, Nepal. We found that methoxyflurane provided rapid, effective analgesia for our patient’s visceral and procedural pain. The inhaler was easy to administer, and the patient remained responsive to voice, with satisfactory oxygen saturation and respiratory rate throughout. We also briefly review the administration, dosing, efficacy, and safety of methoxyflurane and its role in remote medical care.
17 Tailored exercise for survivors with brain tumours: A case series
Authors: Spychka R.A. , Sellar C.M. , Easaw J.C. , Murtha A.D. , Culos-Reed S.N. , McNeely M.L
Published: July 2018

Purpose: Exercise has been shown to be beneficial for the physical and psychological health of cancer survivors, however, little research has been conducted on the effects of exercise in the brain tumour population. Survivors with brain tumours present with unique challenges in terms of mobility and function that may compromise their ability to safety take part in community-based exercise. Methods: Three survivors with primary brain tumours will be profiled in this case series presentation. Participants were screened using a cancer specific intake questionnaire and the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire, and triaged to supervised clinic-based or community-based exercise. All participants completed the 12-week intervention for the Alberta Cancer Exercise (ACE) study. Measurements were taken at baseline, and post-intervention including measures of body composition, aerobic fitness, musculoskeletal fitness, balance and flexibility. Self-reported measures included questionnaires to assess impact on physical functioning, symptoms and quality of life, and to evaluate satisfaction with programming. Results: One participant was referred to supervised clinic-based exercise programming due to a high risk of falls, and two participants were deemed safe and approved for community-based supported exercise programming at a preferred location closer to their home. Preliminary results suggest high program satisfaction, maintenance and/or benefit of physical fitness, balance, and symptom control. Conclusions: Further efforts are needed to better tailor programming to the needs of the survivor and consideration given to the advantages of the supervised clinic-based environment when compared to the survivor preference for a “closer to home” community-based setting.
38 Untangling the NFI-Calpain signaling axis in malignant glioma
Authors: Vo Kevin , Burchett Rebecca , Brun Miranda , Godbout Roseline
Published: July 2018

Malignant gliomas (MG) are highly infiltrative tumours with a poor prognosis. Nuclear factor I (NFI) is a family of 4 transcription factors (NFIA, B, C and X) implicated in the regulation of genes involved in MG cell migration and infiltration, particularly the neural stem cell marker, brain fatty acid binding protein (B-FABP). NFI activity is regulated by its phosphorylation status, with hypophosphorylated NFI being the active form. Our results indicate that the phosphatase calcineurin is able to dephosphorylate NFI. In turn, calcineurin is cleaved and activated by calpain proteases. We have identified CAST, a gene that encodes calpain inhibitor, calpastatin, as a putative target of NFI based on chromatin immunoprecipitation. Putative NFI binding elements are located in intron 3 of the CAST gene. To determine whether there is a bona fide alternative promoter within intron 3 of CAST, we carried out gel shifts as well as luciferase reporter gene assays using both the canonical and alternative promoters of CAST. These assays confirmed CAST alternative promoter usage in MG cells. Knockdown of individual NFIs revealed a role for NFIC and NFIX in the repression of CAST gene expression, specifically in cells expressing the hypophosphorylated (active) form of NFI. NFI depletion also altered the subcellular localization of both calpain and calineurin protein. Our results suggest a feedback loop for the NFI –calcineurin – calpain – calpastatin pathway in MG cells which may regulate cell migration.
41 Does exercise improve progression free survival (PFS) and quality of life (QOL) in patients with glioblastoma? A trial in progress
Authors: Edelstein Kim , Campbell Kristin , Bernstein Lori , Lax Ilyse , Backhouse Felicity , Pond Gregory , Laperriere Normand , Millar Barbara Ann , Shultz David , Berlin Alejandro , Maurice Catherine , Zadeh Gelareh , Mason Warren
Published: July 2018

Background: Glioblastoma is the most common adult malignant glioma, with poor prognosis and adverse neurological sequelae. Physical activity improves outcomes in patients with other cancers, but has not been evaluated in GBM. This prospective, single-arm intervention trial examines feasibility and preliminary efficacy of exercise on PFS, cognition and QOL in newly diagnosed GBM patients. Method: Participants are English-speaking GBM patients scheduled for concurrent chemoradiation at PMH, 18-65 years old, ECOG ≤ 2. The 3-month home-based exercise program includes aerobic and resistance training, tailored to prior fitness level, current physical status, and individual interests. Assessments of physical and neurocognitive functions, mood, fatigue, sleep, and QOL, occur within 2 weeks of starting chemoradiation, and approximately 3, 6, 12, and 18 months later, or until tumor progression. Feasibility will be assessed by accrual, retention, and adherence rates. Outcomes include PFS (RANO criteria), change in cognition (reliable change index method), physical activity and sleep (actigraphy, self-report questionnaires). Time-to-event outcomes will be estimated (Kaplan-Meier), and mixed modelling will explore individual and disease variables that contribute to outcomes. Results: During the first five months of recruitment, 13 of 19 eligible patients consented. Nine completed the exercise program. One patient died after the intervention and none of the others progressed. No exercise-related serious adverse events occurred. Preliminary results will be presented at the meeting. Discussion: Exercise appears feasible for GBM patients. Effects on survival, performance status, cognition, sleep, mood, and QOL are ongoing. Results may guide physical activity recommendations in GBM and generate avenues for translational research.
07 Identifying and prognosticating malignant brain tumors non-invasively using unique metabolomic signatures derived from patient serum and urine samples
Authors: Yusuf D , Singh AD , Shaykhutdinov R , Wen J , Forsyth P , Vogel HJ , Cairncross JG , Weljie AM , Easaw JC
Published: July 2018

BACKGROUND: Metabolomics technology has the potential to revolutionize how we screen, diagnose, and treat cancer, as well as improve upon existing cancer molecular tests that may not sufficiently capture the complexity of most malignancies. In this study, we explore the clinical potential of metabolomics analysis in the diagnosis and risk-stratification of brain tumors. METHODS: To test the hypothesis that brain tumor type and survival could be predicted with metabolomics, we analyzed the pre-operative serum and urine samples of patients with glioblastoma (GBM), oligoastrocytoma (OA2), meningioma (M1) and compared them to healthy controls. (HC). Sera from immune-deficient NOD-SCID mice xenografted with human GBM brain tumor initiating cells were also studied. RESULTS: Metabolomics analysis of patient samples was able to accurately differentiate GBM, OA2, M1 and HC (p = 2.3 x 10-26). Subsequently, a prediction model developed and validated internally was able to diagnose GBM with a sensitivity of 86.7% and specificity of 93.8%, and distinguish whether a GBM patient possess O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation (p = 7.4 x 10-10). Within the MGMT methylated group, the model was able to predict longevity (p = 3.25 x 10-4). The model was also able to predict survival irrespective of MGMT methylation status (p = 2.9 x 10-6). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we demonstrate that metabolomic analysis of patient biofluids can identify brain tumors, distinguish brain tumor subtypes, and independently predict MGMT status as well as longevity among GBM patients. Metabolomics analysis may facilitate non-invasive diagnosis of aggressive brain tumours.
59 Microglia and macrophages display heterogeneous phenotypes in IDH-mutant and -wildtype glioblastomas
Authors: Poon Candice C. , Yang Runze , Sheikh Tanveer , Liu Katherine , Sarkar Susobhan , Yong V. Wee , Kelly John J.
Published: July 2018

Background: CNS innate immune cells, microglia and macrophages (MMs), are the largest component of the inflammatory infiltrate in glioblastoma (GBM). They initially participate in tumor surveillance, but are subverted by GBM. Immunotherapies have proven incredibly successful in cancers such as melanoma, but not against GBM in part because GBM-associated MMs are not well understood. We hypothesized the content and inflammatory phenotype of MMs in GBM is variable between patients. We suspect MMs in IDH-wildtype and –mutant GBMs display divergent inflammatory phenotypes that helps explain the latter's better prognosis. Understanding GBM-associated MM heterogeneity will allow for better immunotherapy development and selection. Methods: MMs were isolated from untreated human IDH-wildtype and -mutant GBMs using flow cytometry and cultured for collection of conditioned media and analysis of secretory products. Automated segmentation with a high-content analysis system was used to quantitate MM content and inflammatory phenotype in frozen sections. New bioinformatics techniques allowed the comparison of MM profiles in publicly available single-cell RNA-sequencing databases with IDH-wildtype and -mutant GBMs. Results: Surprisingly marked variation in MM content exists between GBMs ranging from ~0-70%. A mixture of pro- and anti-inflammatory MMs are found in each GBM. Interestingly, IDH-mutant GBM-associated MMs were more activated than MMs in IDH-wildtype GBMs. Conclusions: Taken together, the highly variable MM content and phenotype of GBMs suggests the success of immunotherapies hinges on taking a precision medicine approach. MM-rich GBMs would benefit more from therapies that target them. MM activation in IDH-mutant GBMs may contribute to better patient prognoses.
Translation, adaptation, and pilot of a guided self-help intervention to reduce psychological distress in South Sudanese refugees in Uganda
Authors: Tol W. A. , Augustinavicius J. , Carswell K. , Brown F. L. , Adaku A. , Leku M. R. , García-Moreno C. , Ventevogel P. , White R. G. , van Ommeren M.
Published: July 2018

Background.

In this period of unprecedented levels of displacement, scalable interventions are needed to address mental health concerns of forced migrants in low-resource settings. This paper describes the adaptation and piloting of a guided, multi-media, self-help intervention, Self-Help Plus (SH+), which was developed to reduce psychological distress in large groups of people affected by adversity.

Methods.

Using a phased approach that included community consultations, cognitive interviewing, facilitator training, pilot implementation, and a qualitative process evaluation, we adapted SH+ for use among South Sudanese refugees in a refugee settlement in northern Uganda.

Results.

The SH+ materials, including audio-recorded sessions and an accompanying illustrated manual, were translated into Juba Arabic. Cognitive interviewing primarily resulted in adaptations to language with some minor adaptations to content. Facilitator training and supervision led to further suggested changes to delivery methods. An uncontrolled pilot study (n = 65) identified changes in the expected direction on measures of psychological distress, functional impairment, depression, wellbeing, and psychological flexibility. The process evaluation resulted in further adaptations to intervention materials and the decision to focus future effectiveness evaluations of the intervention in its current form on South Sudanese female refugees.

Conclusions.

We found that this potentially scalable, guided self-help intervention could be adapted for and feasibly implemented among female South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda. These findings lay the groundwork for a future rigorous evaluation of SH+ in this context.
The Intensity of Government–Opposition Divide as Measured through Legislative Speeches and What We Can Learn from It: Analyses of Japanese Parliamentary Debates, 1953–2013
Authors: Curini Luigi , Hino Airo , Osaka Atsushi
Published: July 2018

Through the analysis of legislative speeches made by prime ministers and party representatives in parliamentary sessions in Japan from 1953 to 2013, we argue that it is possible to place parties according to a dimension that captures their confrontational nature within a parliamentary democracy and its evolution over time. Using this dimension extracted via a well-known scaling algorithm (Wordfish), we develop an index of the intensity of the government–opposition divide that is directly related to the dynamics of the electoral cycle of Japanese politics. We then show how this new index greatly facilitates the investigation of two important aspects of Japanese legislative politics (the survival rate of governments and the speed of passage of cabinet bills) compared to a situation in which we focus on more traditional measures capturing the ideological position of the parties alone.
A Novel Cellulose-Preparation Method
Authors: Gillespie Richard
Published: July 2018

The radiocarbon (14C) dating of contaminated old wood has been seen as a challenge requiring many lengthy procedures, often using strong alkali extractions and carbon-containing solvents. Introduced here is a novel protocol called 2chlorOx, a twice-repeated sequence of alkaline hypochlorite and acidic chlorite oxidations, which is shown to work well for 14C and 13C measurements on both <5000 BP and >50,000 BP wood samples, producing results superior to those from conventional acidic chlorite or acidic dichromate oxidations. The 2chlorOx method employs only inorganic reagents, many samples can be completed in less than one day under normal laboratory conditions, and cellulose prepared in this way is usually paper-white in color.
Kinetics of trans-10, cis-12-conjugated linoleic acid transfer to plasma and milk following an abomasal bolus in lactating dairy cows
Authors: Urrutia Natalie L. , Toledo Monica , Baldin Michel , Ford Jennifer L. , Green Michael H. , Harvatine Kevin J.
Published: July 2018

Trans-10, cis-12-conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a potent bioactive fatty acids (FA) that causes milk fat depression in lactating animals. FA are transferred to milk directly through chylomicrons and indirectly by recycling through other tissues. The objective of this study was to characterise the kinetics of trans-10, cis-12 CLA transfer to plasma and milk after a single bolus infusion. Five multiparous mid-lactation cows received a single abomasal bolus infusion of an enriched CLA mixture providing 15 g of trans-10, cis-12 CLA and 15 g of cis-9, trans-11 CLA over a 30-min period. Plasma concentration of trans-10, cis-12 and cis-9, trans-11 CLA peaked 2 h post-bolus, reaching 0·29 and 0·38 % of total plasma FA, respectively, and returned to pre-bolus values at 72 h post-infusion. Milk trans-10, cis-12 CLA yield and concentration peaked 14 h post-bolus (0·25 g/h) and was not detectable in milk after 86 h. Total apparent transfer of trans-10, cis-12 CLA to milk was 41 %, with 73 % transferred to milk through the direct pool (chylomicrons) and the remaining 27 % transferred through the indirect pool (tissue recycling). Compartmental modelling revealed the existence of a transient unavailable pool of trans-10, cis-12 CLA in extravascular tissues represented primarily by the mammary gland, which slowly exchanges with an available pool for secretion in milk fat and transfer to milk. In conclusion, trans-10, cis-12 CLA is predominantly transferred to milk through the direct pathway; however, how this CLA isomer is processed within the mammary gland requires further investigation.
Canada's Member-to-Member Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment in the House of Commons: Progress or Regress?
Authors: Collier Cheryl N. , Raney Tracey
Published: July 2018

In 2015, the Canadian House of Commons passed a new code of conduct governing non-criminal sexual harassment between members of Parliament becoming the first of its kind in any Westminster system in the world. Using a feminist institutional and violence-against-women-in-politics approach, we assess how the code challenges, legitimizes and upholds traditionally gendered norms and institutionalized sexism within Canada's parliamentary system including parliamentary privilege, party cohesion and party discipline. Despite its novelty, we argue this code fails to enact positive gender-friendly institutional change and may do more harm than good in its efforts to curb sexual harassment.
Clock-Watching: Melodrama, Realism, and the Dialectics of Time
Authors: Biers Katherine
Published: July 2018

As the conventions of theatre design would have it, a clock onstage is a distraction for the audience. This has not always been true. Late nineteenth-century popular plays were alive with the sights and sounds of working clocks, their pointing hands, swinging pendulums, and striking bells announcing the time of significant events and actions in the fictional stage world. Visible on the mantelpiece, or audible in the town square, stage clocks in this era lent verisimilitude while heightening suspense, mirroring the broader aesthetic conventions of popular fin-de-siècle productions, in which highly realistic and detailed settings coexisted with the suspenseful plots and broad character types familiar from older melodramas.
If we accept that poor replication rates are mainstream
Authors: Alexander David M. , Moors Pieter
Published: July 2018

We agree with the authors' arguments to make replication mainstream but contend that the poor replication record is symptomatic of a pre-paradigmatic science. Reliable replication in psychology requires abandoning group-level p-value testing in favor of real-time predictions of behaviors, mental and brain events. We argue for an approach based on analysis of boundary conditions where measurement is closely motivated by theory.
Three strong moves to improve research and replications alike
Authors: Giner-Sorolla Roger , Amodio David M. , van Kleef Gerben A.
Published: July 2018

We suggest three additional improvements to replication practices. First, original research should include concrete checks on validity, encouraged by editorial standards. Second, the reasons for replicating a particular study should be more transparent and balance systematic positive reasons with selective negative ones. Third, methodological validity should also be factored into evaluating replications, with methodologically inconclusive replications not counted as non-replications.
Introducing a replication-first rule for Ph.D. projects
Authors: Kochari Arnold R. , Ostarek Markus
Published: July 2018

Zwaan et al. mention that young researchers should conduct replications as a small part of their portfolio. We extend this proposal and suggest that conducting and reporting replications should become an integral part of Ph.D. projects and be taken into account in their assessment. We discuss how this would help not only scientific advancement, but also Ph.D. candidates' careers.
What have we learned? What can we learn?
Authors: Strack Fritz , Stroebe Wolfgang
Published: July 2018

We advocate that replications should be an integral part of the scientific discourse and provide insights about the conditions under which an effect occurs. By themselves, mere nonreplications are not informative about the “truth” of an effect. As a consequence, the mechanistic continuation of multilab replications should be replaced by diagnostic studies providing insights about the underlying causes and mechanisms.
Median and injective metric spaces
Authors: BOWDITCH BRIAN H.
Published: July 2018

We describe a construction which associates to any median metric space a pseudometric satisfying the binary intersection property for closed balls. Under certain conditions, this implies that the resulting space is, in fact, an injective metric space, bilipschitz equivalent to the original metric. In the course of doing this, we derive a few other facts about median metrics, and the geometry of CAT(0) cube complexes. One motivation for the study of such metrics is that they arise as asymptotic cones of certain naturally occurring spaces.
RACE, GRIEVANCE SYSTEMS, AND PRISONERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF JUSTICE IN THREE CALIFORNIA PRISONS
Authors: Calavita Kitty , Jenness Valerie
Published: July 2018

A large body of social science consistently documents race differences in the U.S. criminal justice system and in related perceptions of justice. It is now beyond dispute that the criminal justice system is racialized in a plethora of ways that have consequences for how people perceive justice. Another vast body of literature documents the importance of perceptions of procedural justice in people’s satisfaction with dispute management and outcomes. Informed by these two well-established literatures, we draw on original quantitative and qualitative data, including a random sample of interviews with 120 men in three California prisons, to present an empirical analysis of prisoners’ experiences with the prisoner grievance system, their level of satisfaction with the process and outcomes of that system, and their perceptions of fairness. We find an absence of race effects regarding how fairly they say they have been treated in the past by the criminal justice system and in how they assess justice in the prisoner grievance system in particular. Specifically, we find that: 1) male prisoners’ perceptions of whether the overall criminal justice system has been fair to them in the past does not vary by race in statistically significant ways; and 2) the dominance of substantive grievance outcomes over procedural elements in prisoners’ satisfaction holds regardless of racial self-identification. We explain these findings by arguing that prison may perversely level the attitudinal gap among those who are subject to this profound experience of state power.
THE ACADEMIC SWOON OVER IMPLICIT RACIAL BIAS
Authors: Russell-Brown Katheryn
Published: July 2018

In recent years, there has been a surge of discussion, debate, and research on the topic of implicit bias. Implicit bias has become the go-to form of racial bias that many academics, practitioners, and policy makers have identified as important and timely to study (Eberhardt et al., 2004; Levinson and Smith, 2017). Interventions to address implicit racial bias in policing have been particularly popular (Fridell 2008). Arguably, combatting implicit racial bias presents itself as a tool for protecting civil rights. This essay examines the emergence of the implicit bias paradigm as a way to address racial bias in justice system outcomes. The first part provides an overview of implicit bias, including how it is defined, how it is measured, and how it impacts the justice system. The second part examines the term “implicit bias.” This section assesses implicit bias as a social problem and considers whether the label illuminates or obscures the reality of racial bias in the criminal justice system. The discussion considers whether “implicit bias” is viewed as a more appealing approach for dealing with racial bias because it does not assign racial blame. The third part considers the contours of the relationship between implicit bias and explicit bias. The discussion highlights the interconnectedness between the two forms of racial bias. Is the implicit bias approach a signal of racial retrenchment? The final section considers how elementary and secondary education could be used as a proactive strategy for addressing implicit racial bias.
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT, THE RACIALIZATION OF LEGAL STATUS, AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE POLICE
Authors: Menjívar Cecilia , Simmons William Paul , Alvord Daniel , Salerno Valdez Elizabeth
Published: July 2018

The immigration enforcement system today affects different subgroups of Latinos; it reaches beyond the undocumented to immigrants who hold legal statuses and even to the U.S.-born. States have enacted their own enforcement collaboration agreements with federal authorities and thus Latinos may have dissimilar experiences based on where they live. This article examines the effects of enforcement schemes on Latinos’ likelihood of reporting crimes to police and views of law enforcement. It includes documented and U.S-born Latinos to capture the spillover beyond the undocumented, and it is based on four metropolitan areas—Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, and Chicago—to comparatively assess the effects of various enforcement contexts. Empirically, it relies on data from a random sample survey of over 2000 Latinos conducted in 2012 in these four cities. Results show that spillover effects vary by context and legal/citizenship status: Latino immigrants with legal status are less inclined to report to the police as compared to U.S.-born Latinos in Houston, Los Angeles, and Phoenix but not in Chicago. At the other end, the spillover effect in Phoenix is so strong that it almost reaches to U.S.-born Latinos. The spillover effect identified is possible due to the close association between being Latino or Mexican and being undocumented, underscoring the racialization of legal status and of immigration enforcement today.
LIVING HISTORIES OF WHITE SUPREMACIST POLICING
Authors: Ward Geoff
Published: July 2018

Prominent U.S. police officials have advocated greater acknowledgement of the role of law enforcement in historical racial injustice, including violence, in hopes of transforming police community relations. While an encouraging development, these calls for transformative justice understate the scope of this historical and contemporary problem, neglecting the often extralegal nature of police involved violence and injustice, its array of spectacular and more subtle forms, and the layered roles of state and non-state actors in perpetrating and sanctioning White supremacist violence. Drawing on historical records of racist violence implicating police, this paper analyzes overlapping aspects of White supremacy in policing, including racist ideologies and political acts of law enforcement officers and officials, and more routine underpolicing of White supremacism by legal authorities. This backdrop of normative racist violence - physical, cultural, and structural – must inform a contemporary transformative justice agenda, including demands for explicit and robust protection from White supremacism in policing.
THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN REDUCING RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
Authors: Rodriguez Nancy
Published: July 2018

In recent years, we have witnessed various efforts by the federal government to advance our justice system and improve public safety. Collaborations across justice and service agencies and research on what works in criminal justice policy have been central in criminal justice reform activities. Within the juvenile justice arena, reducing rates of victimization and delinquency, as well as implementing strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities remain priorities. In this essay, I discuss how research on neuroscience and brain development, and racial and ethnic disparities in justice system outcomes has informed juvenile justice policy and procedural protections for youth. I also review how school policies and practices can perpetuate racial and ethnic disparities in justice outcomes. Throughout the essay, I discuss the federal government’s role in supporting research to advance policies and practices designed to reduce these harms. I highlight the implications of these activities and ways in which data and research can continue to play a key role in realizing equal opportunity and justice for all youth, especially as they are the most vulnerable members of society.
What Explains Low Female Political Representation? Evidence from Survey Experiments in Japan
Authors: Kage Rieko , Rosenbluth Frances M. , Tanaka Seiki
Published: July 2018

Few democratic countries have lower rates of female political representation than Japan, making it an excellent place to seek clues for female underrepresentation. We were surprised to find, based on three experimental surveys, that Japanese voters do not harbor particularly negative attitudes toward female politicians. The problem instead appears to be that women are reluctant to run for office because of socially mandated family roles. An implication of our study is that gender equality in political representation will likely founder in countries with electoral systems that require around-the-clock constituency service and legislative work, at least until citizens no longer have gendered expectations about time-consuming family obligations.
The Scientific Gaze in American Transgender Politics: Contesting the Meanings of Sex, Gender, and Gender Identity in the Bathroom Rights Cases
Authors: Wuest Jo
Published: July 2018

In this article, I examine how conflicts over transgender bathroom rights have ignited debates concerning the fundamental nature of transgender identity. Through an institutional and discursive analysis of North Carolina's House Bill 2 or “bathroom bill,” the Title IX case in Gloucester County School Board v. G. G., and similar federal court cases, I explore how and why forces both on the right and in the LGBTQ movement have come to rely on scientific expertise to legitimate their conceptions. As conservatives have marshaled evidence to challenge notions that transgender identity is innate, LGBTQ and transgender organizations as well as the American Civil Liberties Union have crafted a “born this way” biopolitical construction of transgender identity. I find that at their core, these conflicts are over the meanings of gender and sex in relation to transgender identity. Conservatives posit sex as biologically rooted and gender as a psychological phenomenon, whereas transgender advocates subsume gender identity into the definition of sex in arguing that constitutional and federal civil rights law must recognize gender identity as a biologically constitutive element of sex. I conclude by noting the limits of a liberal assimilationist and litigation-centric transgender politics and by exploring alternatives to this biopolitical form of transgender political identity.
Program design, implementation and performance: the case of social health insurance in India
Authors: Maurya Dayashankar , Ramesh M.
Published: July 2018

Published works on health insurance tend to focus on program design and its impact, neglecting the implementation process that links the two and affects outcomes. This paper examines the National Health Insurance [Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)] in India with the objective of assessing the role of implementation structures and processes in shaping performance. The central question that the paper addresses is: why does the performance of RSBY vary across states despite similar program design? Using a comparative case study approach analyzing the program’s functioning in three states, it finds the answer in the differences in governance of implementation. The unavoidable gaps in design of health care program allow abundant scope for opportunistic behavior on the part of different stakeholders. The study finds that the performance of the program, as a result, depends on the extent to which the governance mechanism is able to contain and channel opportunistic behavior during implementation. By opening up the black box of implementation, the paper contributes to improving the performance of national health insurance in India and elsewhere.
News Coverage of Suicidal Behavior in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland
Authors: Marzano Lisa , Fraser Lorna , Scally Mia , Farley Stuart , Hawton Keith
Published: July 2018

Abstract. Background: Media reporting of suicide has been associated with imitative acts. Internationally, this has led to the development of guidelines to promote responsible reporting of suicide. Aims: To examine the nature and quality of news coverage of suicidal behavior in the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI). Method: UK and ROI press clippings relating to suicide over 12 months (N = 8,101) were coded for content and assessed for quality against existing guidelines. We examined variability in relation to key characteristics (e.g., type of publication) and compared newspaper portrayal of suicide against official statistics. Results: Reports were biased toward young, female, and relatively unusual suicides (including those involving a celebrity, more than one individual, and violent methods). Almost a third of reports had inappropriate headlines, but only a minority were of poor overall quality, and editors appear to be responsive to feedback. There was considerable variability in the quality of reports for different suicide methods. Limitations: This work cannot account for the impact of reporting on suicidal behavior. The speed of change in media trends also limits its conclusions. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the need for sustained efforts to promote responsible reporting of suicide.
New Seismic Evidence for Continental Collision During the Assembly of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt
Authors: Zhang Hongshuang , Li Qiusheng , Ye Zhuo , Gong Chen , Wang Xiaoran
Published: July 2018

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) was formed during the termination of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean in the Paleozoic. However, the mechanism and process of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean closure and CAOB formation remain controversial. This study presents a seismic image from the northern North China Craton to southern Mongolia derived from P and S receiver function analyses of the teleseismic records from a dense array. Our observations reveal a thicker lithosphere in the southern CAOB than in the Bohai Bay basin, which suggests that this Paleozoic orogen was less affected by the lithosphere reactivation in the eastern North China Craton during the Late Mesozoic. The imaged lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary of the southern CAOB deepens southward and reaches a greatest depth of approximately 130 km beneath the Xilinhot fault, the northern boundary of the Solonker suture zone. The Moho displays a local uplift of approximately 5 km beneath the Linxi fault, the southern boundary of the Solonker suture zone. These features imply that the Solonker suture zone is the most plausible site of the lithosphere collision between the opposing continental margins. Additionally, a southward dipping intracrustal interface, whose depth extends from ~16 km beneath the Baolidao belt to ~20 km beneath the Linxi fault, is interpreted to be associated with the subduction of the Paleo‐Asian Oceanic slab. Additionally, the absence of lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary phases beneath the Bainaimiao arc is inferred to be caused by the upwelling of hot mantle material after assembly of the CAOB.
A Global Analysis of Future Water Deficit Based On Different Allocation Mechanisms
Authors: Bijl David L. , Biemans Hester , Bogaart Patrick W. , Dekker Stefan C. , Doelman Jonathan C. , Stehfest Elke , van Vuuren Detlef P.
Published: July 2018

Freshwater scarcity is already an urgent problem in some areas but may increase significantly in the future. To assess future developments, we need to understand how future population growth, agricultural production patterns, energy use, economic development, and climate change may impact the global freshwater cycle. Integrated models provide opportunities for quantitative assessment. In this paper, we further integrate models of hydrology and economics, using the models IMAGE and LPJmL, with explicit accounting for (1) electricity, industry, and municipal and irrigation water use; (2) intersectoral water allocation rules at the 0.5° × 0.5°grid scale; and (3) withdrawal, consumption, and return flows. With the integration between hydrology and economy we are able to understand competition dynamics between the different freshwater users at the basin and grid scale. We run model projections for three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), more efficient water use, and no expansion of irrigated areas to understand the competition dynamics of these different allocation mechanisms. We conclude that (1) global water withdrawal is projected to increase by 12% in SSP‐1, 26% in SSP‐2, and 29% in SSP‐3 during 2010–2050; (2) water deficits (demand minus allocated water) for nonagricultural uses are small in 2010 but become significant around 2050; (3) interannual variability of precipitation results in variability of water deficits; (4) water use efficiency improvements reduce water withdrawal but have little impact on water deficits; and (5) priority rules at the local level have a large effect on water deficits, whereas limiting the expansion of irrigation has virtually no effect.
HyMaTZ: A Python Program for Modeling Seismic Velocities in Hydrous Regions of the Mantle Transition Zone
Authors: Wang Fei , Barklage Mitchell , Lou Xiaoting , van der Lee Suzan , Bina Craig R. , Jacobsen Steven D.
Published: July 2018

Mapping the spatial distribution of water in the mantle transition zone (MTZ, 410‐ to 660‐km depth) may be approached by combining thermodynamic and experimental mineral physics data with regional studies of seismic velocity and seismic discontinuity structure. HyMaTZ (Hydrous Mantle Transition Zone) is a Python program with graphical user interface, which calculates and displays seismic velocities for different scenarios of hydration in the MTZ for comparison to global or regional seismic‐velocity models. The influence of water is applied through a regression to experimental data on how H2O influences the thermoelastic properties of (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 polymorphs: olivine, wadsleyite, and ringwoodite. Adiabatic temperature profiles are internally consistent with dry phase proportion models; however, modeling hydration in HyMaTZ affects only velocities and not phase proportions or discontinuity structure. For wadsleyite, adding 1.65 wt% H2O or increasing the iron content by 7 mol% leads to roughly equivalent reductions in VS as raising the temperature by 160 K with a pyrolite model in the upper part of the MTZ. The eastern U.S. low‐velocity anomaly, which has been interpreted as the result of dehydration of the Farallon slab in the top of the lower mantle, is consistent with hydration of wadsleyite to about 20% of its water storage capacity in the upper MTZ. Velocity gradients with depth in absolute shear velocity models are steeper in all seismic models than all mineralogical models, suggesting that the seismic velocity gradients should be lowered or varied with depth and/or an alternative compositional model is required.
A Method for Multiscale Interpretation of Fracture Processes in Carrara Marble Specimen Containing a Single Flaw Under Uniaxial Compression
Authors: Wong Louis Ngai Yuen , Xiong Qiquan
Published: July 2018

This paper presents a method for continuous multiscale observation of uniaxial compressive tests of Carrara marble specimens containing a single preexisting artificially created flaw. The experiments aim at analyzing the associated mesoscale‐macroscale phenomena in the fracture process of the specimens. In the macroscale, the crack types are observed and characterized by optical observation using a camcorder and a high‐speed camera. In the mesoscale, the crack types are analyzed and characterized by the moment tensor inversion of acoustic emission. For the experimental investigation on the fracture process on specimens containing a single preexisting flaw, it is the first time quantitative and continuous interpretation and comparison of the mesoscale‐macroscale fracture process have become available. The present findings provide substantial improvement on our understanding of the mesoscale‐macroscale fracture process in rock specimens containing a single preexisting flaw. In addition, the experimental results provide insightful information about the laboratory scale fault extension and propagation and laboratory scale acoustic emission moment‐frequency distribution. The findings are helpful for establishing the link between the laboratory scale tests and the tectonic scale seismic activities.
Improvements in the Monthly Gravity Field Solutions Through Modeling the Colored Noise in the GRACE Data
Authors: Guo Xiang , Zhao Qile , Ditmar Pavel , Sun Yu , Liu Jingnan
Published: July 2018

The Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission has achieved a quantum leap in knowledge of the Earth's gravity field. However, current gravity field solutions still cannot reach the prelaunch baseline accuracy. One of the reasons for that is the presence of colored noise in GRACE data, which is typically ignored in the classical dynamic approach to gravity field modeling. In this research, we propose to account for colored noise in the classical dynamic approach by applying the frequency‐dependent data weighting (FDDW) scheme, so that enhanced estimates of gravity field solutions are produced. The monthly solutions are compared with those produced using the standard least squares adjustment without a data weighting scheme. The comparison is performed in both spectral and spatial domains, showing the positive effect of the FDDW scheme in all considered cases. For instance, the cumulative geoid height errors up to degree 96 are reduced by 18%. In the spatial domain, the FDDW scheme lowers noise level in mass changes over the oceans, Mississippi river basin, and Greenland by 20, 38, and 23%, respectively, when compared to the without a data weighting scheme. In addition, the consistency of mass changes over the Mississippi and Congo river basins with those inferred from the state‐of‐the‐art hydrology model WaterGAP is substantially improved when the FDDW scheme is applied. These results indicate that modeling colored noise in the GRACE data allows to significantly improve the recovered monthly solutions. This finding is likely applicable also to the GRACE Follow‐On mission.
Reply to Comment by Y. Kovalyshen on “Ultrasonic Monitoring of Spontaneous Imbibition Experiments: Precursory Moisture Diffusion Effects Ahead of Water Front”
Authors: David Christian , Barnes Christophe , Sarout Joël , Dautriat Jérémie , Pimienta Lucas
Published: July 2018

We tested on a data set including 12 different rocks the assumption that, during water imbibition experiments, the interaction between direct P waves and reflected P waves on the imbibition front could explain the early P wave amplitude variation occurring before any velocity variation. Our calculations show that (i) the observed distance between the water front and the ultrasonic sensors is always larger than the estimated critical distance below which the first peak amplitude is impacted by the reflected P wave, (ii) the magnitude of the coefficients of reflection is generally very small, and (iii) using simulations of composite waveforms, an impact on the first peak amplitude is expected only in 25% of the tested samples. P wave interaction is definitively a mechanism which can lead to amplitude variations, but it is very likely that such a mechanism is not responsible for the early amplitude variation detected in most of the tested rocks. Moisture diffusion is still a very relevant mechanism to account for our observations on P wave amplitude variations during capillary rise.
NAA10-related syndrome
Authors: Wu Yiyang , Lyon Gholson J.
Published: July 2018

NAA10-related syndrome is an X-linked condition with a broad spectrum of findings ranging from a severe phenotype in males with p.Ser37Pro in NAA10, originally described as Ogden syndrome, to the milder NAA10-related intellectual disability found with different variants in both males and females. Although developmental impairments/intellectual disability may be the presenting feature (and in some cases the only finding), many individuals have additional cardiovascular, growth, and dysmorphic findings that vary in type and severity. Therefore, this set of disorders has substantial phenotypic variability and, as such, should be referred to more broadly as NAA10-related syndrome. NAA10 encodes an enzyme NAA10 that is certainly involved in the amino-terminal acetylation of proteins, alongside other proposed functions for this same protein. The mechanistic basis for how variants in NAA10 lead to the various phenotypes in humans is an active area of investigation, some of which will be reviewed herein.