cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Balancing Incentives and Professionalism in Health Care Payment Reform

Through the frame of medical professionalism, the author discusses the reform of oncology practice in terms of protecting patients and society at large from financial harm caused by high medical costs.
A Structuring Repeat for Peptide Design: Long Beta Ribbons.

Beta sheets are inherently length-limited; adding residues to the ends of model β-sheets does not necessarily grow the β-sheet. Here, we present a method for extending β-sheets to any length with a stabilizing repeat unit containing cross-strand Trp residues. Beta ribbons as long as 35 residues (approaching 100 A in length) are reported and characterized.
Beta-glucuronidase in leukocytes, plasma, and urine of patients with nephrosis undergoing treatment with ACTH.

Summary and Conclusions1. Observations on the effects of activation of the adrenal cortex by ACTH on the B-glucuronidase activity of plasma, leukocytes, and urine are reported. 2. ACTH administration evokes a marked rise in plasma and white cell glucuronidase activity. Plasma glucuronidase activity correlates well with the total corticosteroid level elicited by the ACTH in that it increases during administration and decreases following administration although the day-to-day parallel is variable. 3. Urinary glucuronidase activity fails to indicate significant correlations either with plasma and white cell glucuronidase or with the corticosteroids.
Abstract 202: Tocopherols inhibit the dietary carcinogen PhIP-induced prostate carcinogenesis in a CYP1A-humanized mouse model.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC γ-TmT, a tocopherol mixture that is rich in γ-tocopherol (γ-T), containing 56.8% γ-T, 24.3% δ-T, 13.0% α-T and 1.5% β-T, has been shown to inhibit colon, lung, mammary and prostate tumorigenesis in our previous studies, whereas α-T was ineffective. The present work investigated the inhibition of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP)-induced prostate carcinogenesis in CYP1A-humanized (hCYP1A) mice by γ-TmT. Male hCYP1A mice, maintained on the AIN93M diet or the same diet supplemented with 0.3% γ-TmT, were treated with a dose of PhIP (200 mg/kg, i.g.). At week 40 after PhIP treatment, all mice developed high-grade prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (hgPIN) in the dorso-lateral glands. The hgPIN was associated with elevated levels of 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG), DNMT1, COX-2 and p-AKT, as well as with loss of expression of the tumor suppressor PTEN, E-cadherin, GSTP1 and Nrf2 in the dorso-lateral glands. In the γ-TmT group, the number of glands with hgPIN (per 100 glands) was significantly lower than the control group (14.6 ± 4.87 vs. 34.81 ± 3.87, p < 0.01). The γ-TmT treatment also prevented the elevation of 8-oxo-dG, COX-2 and p-AKT and the loss of PTEN and Nrf2. The γ-TmT treatment significantly increased the plasma levels of γ-T and δ-T (to 1.7 and 0.8 μM, respectively) as well as their side-chain degradation metabolites, carboxyethyl hydroxychromans and carboxymethylbutyl hydroxychromans (to 2.6-4.0 μM, higher than their parent tocopherols). In a short-term experiment, PhIP-treatment elevated levels of 8-oxo-dG, γH2AX and DNMT1, and caused gene expression changes in several p53-associated genes, including p53bp1, p21WAF1/CIP1, cyclin D1, Bax, Igf1 and cyclinG1 at 1 and/or 3 days after PhIP treatment. Dietary γ-TmT treatment partially prevented the elevation of 8-oxo-dG, γH2AX and DNMT1. This action may contribute to the prostate cancer preventive effect of tocopherols. The presently observed inhibitory activities of γ-TmT against prostate carcinogenesis are hypothesized to be due to the decrease of oxidative stress and inhibition of AKT phosphorylation by γ- and δ-tocopherols, and this hypothesis remains to be tested further (supported by NIH grants CA159361 & CA133021). Citation Format: Guangxun Li, Hong Wang, Anna B. Liu, Jayson X. Chen, Mao-Jung Lee, Chung S. Yang. Tocopherols inhibit the dietary carcinogen PhIP-induced prostate carcinogenesis in a CYP1A-humanized mouse model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 202. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-202
Influence of systematic health guidance on treatment compliance of children with epilepsy

Objective To investigate the influence of systematic health guidance on the treatment compliance and the disease awareness of the parents of children with epilepsy. Methods Sixty children with epilepsy admitted to the neurology department of our hospital from June 2012 to July 2013 were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups according to the registration order of hospital admission. The odd number was assigned to the experimental group and the even number was assigned to the control group, with 30 patients in each group. The experimental group used whole journey, grading and personalized systematic health guidance mode and the control group used conventional health guidance mode. The differences in the parents' knowledge awareness rate of epilepsy, treatment compliance, drug therapy compliance and epilepsy recurrent rate within 6 months of discharge between the two groups were observed. Results The parents of the two groups of children were different in the knowledge awareness rate of epilepsy, with statistically significant difference(P 0.01), were different in the treatment compliance, with statistically significant difference(P 0.05), and were different in the medication compliance, with statistically significant difference(P0.01). The experimental group was lower than the control group in the epilepsy recurrence rate within 6 months of discharge, with statistically significant difference(P 0.05). Conclusion Systematic health guidance can effectively promote the treatment compliance of the parents of children with epilepsy, reduce the recurrence rate of epilepsy and promote disease recovery.
A High-Speed Algorithm to Remove Mendacious Points of Direction-Finding Cross-Localizaion in Multi-Target Passive Localization of Partial Discharge Source within Power Transformer

Direction-finding cross-localization is a method to obtain location information of partial discharge sources by analyzing partial discharge signals within power transformer. Under the condition of multiple discharge sources a lot of mendacious localizations exist, therefore how to remove the mendacious localization during the direction-finding is the key problem in the localization of discharge sources. Here, a method to remove the mendacious localization is proposed, in which the signals of direction-finding results from two sensor arrays are separated by use of correlation principle of the same signal. In the proposed method, firstly adopting the observation and calculation of multi-local discharge sources by multiple classification (MUSIC) algorithm, the azimuth of each signal source is obtained; then using the directional information of each signal to separate the signals, the correlation operation is applied to these separated signals and according to the correlativity of each signal its own the location matching is conducted, thus the mendacious localization is removed. The proposed method only need the direction-finding information and need not have any other prior knowledge. Simulation results show that the proposed method is effective and practicable.
Ion transport by cultures of human tracheobronchial submucosal glands.

Acini of human tracheobronchial submucosal glands were isolated by enzymatic disaggregation, and, when plated on flasks coated with human placental collagen (HPC) in media containing Ultroser G serum substitute (USG) and a variety of growth factors (GF), they became confluent after 14-20 days. The cells were then isolated by trypsinization and replated in media containing USG and GF at 10(6) cells/cm2 on porous-bottomed inserts coated with HPC. Confluent monolayers formed on day 1 after replating and were studied on day 10. Transepithelial resistance and short-circuit current (Isc) were 578 +/- 89 omega.cm2 and 12.9 +/- 1.9 microA/cm2 (means +/- SE, n = 23 cell sheets). The potency sequence for stimulation of Isc by mediators was methacholine greater than bradykinin greater than isoproterenol approximately or equal to phenylephrine. Amiloride decreased baseline Isc by 42 +/- 9% (n = 6 cell sheets) but had little effect on the Isc response to mediators. Diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid, however, had no effect on baseline Isc but markedly inhibited the Isc response to all mediators. These results show that submucosal gland cells from human trachea can be grown in culture to produce epithelial sheets of high resistance, which secrete Cl in response to bradykinin and alpha- and beta-adrenergic and cholinergic agents.
Benefits of Leapfrogging to Superefficiency and Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants in Room Air Conditioning

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) emitted from uses such as refrigerants and thermal insulating foam, are now the fastest growing greenhouse gases (GHGs), with global warming potentials (GWP) thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide (CO2). Because of the short lifetime of these molecules in the atmosphere,1 mitigating the amount of these short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) provides a faster path to climate change mitigation than control of CO2 alone. This has led to proposals from Africa, Europe, India, Island States, and North America to amend the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) to phase-down high-GWP HFCs. Simultaneously, energy efficiency market transformation programs such as standards, labeling and incentive programs are endeavoring to improve the energy efficiency for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment to provide life cycle cost, energy, GHG, and peak load savings. In this paper we provide an estimate of the magnitude of such GHG and peak electric load savings potential, for room air conditioning, if the refrigerant transition and energy efficiency improvement policies are implemented either separately or in parallel.
Workplace Democracy and Social Change

(1983). Workplace Democracy and Social Change. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 1179-1183.
Carrots and Sticks on Opposite Sides of the Atlantic: Integration Incentives for People With Serious Mental Illness in England

Integrating care pathways between primary and specialist mental health care is seen as integral to improving the health of people with mental illness. Multiple integration initiatives have been implemented, but few have tried to integrate care for people with serious mental illness. This column describes two such initiatives in the United States and in England. The two schemes are compared according to the population they target, payment mechanisms, accountability structures, service delivery, outcomes, and lessons learned.
Contribution of maternal hypertension to autism etiology in a murine model; cerebellar gene expression

Aim: To study the contribution of maternal hypertension to autism spectrum disorders’ (ASD) phenotype, and gene expression, in a murine model. Materials & methods: To examine the effects of maternal hypertension, we used a well-described transgenic mouse model lacking functional endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS or NOS3). Behavioral testing was performed on male offspring between 8 and 10 weeks of age. Cerebella underwent shotgun transcriptome RNA sequencing. Differentially expressed genes were examined for Gene Ontology enrichment. 2-way-RM-ANOVA, 1-way-ANOVA and Student's t-test were used for statistical analysis. Results & conclusion: Our findings revealed that a deficit in social behavior, the hallmark of ASD, is differentially present in offspring born to hypertensive mothers. Novel ASD-related genes were differentially expressed in the cerebellum, implicating its possible role in ASD etiology. Condensation: Altered uterine environment resulting from maternal hypertension contributes to ASD phe...
Implicit Bias and Hate Crimes: A Psychological Framework and Critical Race Theory Analysis

On August 19, 1991, ongoing tensions between African Americans and Lubavitch Jews in Crown Heights, Brooklyn erupted into widespread rioting and violence after a Jewish driver killed a 7-year-old African American boy and seriously injured his cousin. The African American community was enraged by allegations that the police and ambulances gave preferential treatment to the Lubavitchers at the scene of the accident. During the riots, calls were made to “Kill the Jews.” Subsequently, a Hasidic man, Yankel Rosenbaum, was surrounded by a group of African American men and stabbed to death by Lemrick Nelson. At trial, Nelson testified that he acted without premeditation and that he was drunk at the time of the stabbing (Conaway, 1996; Streissguth, 2003). Another such incident occurred on December 19, 1986, when three African American men—Timothy Grimes, Michael Griffith, and Cedric Sandiford— stopped in the predominantly White neighborhood of Howard Beach, Queens after their car broke down. They were confronted by a group of White neighborhood youth who used racial epithets and told them to leave the area. Later that evening, Grimes, Griffith, and Sandiford were exiting a pizzeria when the youth returned, armed with baseball bats. They severely beat the three men and attempted to chase them away, shouting statements such as, “There’s niggers in the boulevard. Let’s kill ‘em” (Levin & McDevitt, 1993, p. 5). While trying to escape his attackers, Michael Griffith ran onto a parkway and was killed by oncoming traffic (Perry, 2001; Streissguth, 2003). The Crown Heights and Howard Beach incidents—which are similar in many ways, but very different in others—are only two of the thousands of racially motivated violent acts that have occurred in the United States (for reviews, see, e.g., Levin & McDevitt, 1993; Perry, 2001; Streissguth, 2003). Although racially motivated aggression has occurred since European settlers first arrived in the Americas, it was not until the late 1970s that such acts were given the label of “hate crimes” and treated as distinct entities (Streissguth, 2003). Since that time, hate crimes have been legally defined as criminal acts influenced by the victims’ group membership and/or racial prejudice (Mennenger, 2005). The majority of
Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Stratification, and Natural History of Pulmonary Embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common and potentially fatal form of venous thromboembolism that can be challenging to diagnose and manage. PE occurs when there is obstruction of the pulmonary vasculature and is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. A combination of acquired and inherited factors may contribute to the development of this disease and should be considered, since they have implications for both susceptibility to PE and treatment. Patients with suspected PE should be evaluated efficiently to diagnose and administer therapy as soon as possible, but the presentation of PE is variable and nonspecific so diagnosis is challenging. PE can range from small, asymptomatic blood clots to large emboli that can occlude the pulmonary arteries causing sudden cardiovascular collapse and death. Thus, risk stratification is critical to both the prognosis and management of acute PE. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, and natural history of PE and deep vein thrombosis.
Consuming the café colonial: German Ethnicity and Tourist Migrant Marketplaces in Southern Brazil

The cultural tourism industry in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil has as one of its main attractions the so-called cafe colonial, an afternoon meal of German-inspired delicacies. This article traces the r...
Volumetric Imaging of Neural Activity employing an Overdrive Spatial Light Modulator

We report an overdrive liquid crystal spatial light modulator based two-photon fluorescence microscope, capable of recording neural activity from a volume of 500 μms × 500 μms × 200 μms at ~5 Hz.
pH as a Primary Control in Environmental Microbiology: 1. Thermodynamic Perspective

pH influences the occurrence and distribution of microorganisms. Microbes typically live over a range of 3 to 4 pH units and are described as acidophiles, neutrophiles, and alkaliphiles, depending on the optimal pH for growth. Their growth rates vary with pH along bell- or triangle-shaped curve, which reflects pH limits of cell structure integrity and the interference of pH with cell metabolism. We propose that pH can also affect the thermodynamics and kinetics of microbial respiration, which then help shape the composition and function of microbial communities. Here we use geochemical reaction modeling to examine how environmental pH controls the energy yields of common redox reactions in anoxic environments, including syntrophic oxidation, iron reduction, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis. The results reveal that environmental pH changes the energy yields both directly and indirectly. The direct change applies to the reactions that consume or produce protons whereas the indirect effect, which applies to all redox reactions, comes from the regulation of chemical speciation by pH. The results also show that the energy yields respond strongly to pH variation, which may modulate microbial interactions and help give rise to the pH limits of microbial metabolisms. These results underscore the importance of pH as a control on microbial metabolisms and provide insight into potential impacts of pH variation on the composition and activity of microbial communities. In a companion paper, we continue to explore how the kinetics of microbial metabolisms responds to pH variations, and how these responses control the outcome of microbial interactions, including the activity and membership of microbial consortia.
Imaginary Biography of Graham Greene

the one who demanded that you learn to play the guitar, the one who made you recite whenever she came to visit, the one who recommended vitamins, the one who gave you her home-made biscuits. You ought to use a poem to say horrible things about your friends: the one with a dried up soul, the other who got fat and had two illegitimate children who'll someday inherit his name, the one who sleeps with the woman you want, or the one who calls you up at midnight, the other who has bad taste and is also a moralist.
Social Banking and Social Finance

This small volume provides a concise introduction to contemporary social banking and social finance. Written in a short and easily understandable manner, it explains the history, the philosophy, the current state, and the perspectives of social banking and social finance. It describes their place within the global economy and the visions of their “global alliances” for the years to come. The focus is on the basic mindset that gave birth to social banks about a century ago, and that still constitutes their main driving force in the age of globalization, and on the comparison of the current state of social banking in the United States and Europe. Since most social banks are found on both sides of the Atlantic, their interplay can be considered as instructive also regarding the worldwide development of social finance.
Income-Related Differences in Natural Increase: Bearing on Growth and Distribution of Income

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a feature of demographic growth widely observed in both developed and less-developed countries—the marked differences between the higher rate of natural increase in the lower income groups and the lower rate in the upper income groups. The negative association between rates of natural increase and initial secular income levels poses a major problem if wider inequality in the size distribution of income is to be avoided. This is because lower income levels of parents mean proportionately lower investment in quality of the descendants and, hence, possibly lower growth rates in the per-capita income of the lower income groups and their descendants. The magnitude of the problem and of the necessary compensating offsets is clearly a function of the differential spread in the rates of natural increase and of the initial differences in income levels of parents. If no offsets are provided, all other conditions being equal, the negative association between rates of natural increase and initial income levels would result both in the widening of income inequality and the probable keeping down of the growth rate of aggregate income per unit.
EFFECTS OF ISONIAZID METABOLITES ON THE RATE OF HEPATIC MICROSOMAL DEFLUORINATION OF VOLATILE FLUORINATED ETHER ANESTHETICS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the effects of isoniazid metabolites on the rate of hepatic microsomal defluorination of volatile fluorinated ether anesthetics. Administration of isoniazid—isonicotinic acid hydrazide—to Fischer 344 rats increases the in vitro metabolism of several substrates of the hepatic mixed function oxidase system. The pattern of catalytic activities differs from that associated with either phenobarital or B-naphthoflavone treatment. The volatile inhalation anesthetics methoxyflurane, enflurane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane are biotransformed to several possible toxic metabolites including inorganic fluoride (F−). High serum concentrations of F− result in vasopressin-resistant polyuric renal insufficiency in rats and man. Enhanced defluorination of these anesthetics is of potential clinical importance. Until recent studies with isoniazid, no drug has been demonstrated to increase the metabolism of the fluorinated ether anesthetics to a significant degree. The chapter describes a study that determines the isoniazid metabolites that are responsible for enhanced anesthetic metabolism in Fischer 344 rats. The rates of hepatic microsomal defluorination were determined for each of the four anesthetic agents following the administration of isonicotinic acid (INA), acetylhydrazine (AcH), hydrazine (H), or saline (S).
EFFECT OF NEUROHUMORS DURING SHUTDOWN OF ELECTROGENIC SODIUM PUMPING IN A MOLLUSCAN MUSCLE

Publisher Summary An electrogenic sodium pump may contribute to the resting potential of molluscan myocardial cells. The effects of superfusion with K-free solution are quite different in radular protractor muscle from the two species, Busycon canaliculatum and Rapana thomasiana. The radular protractor muscle of Busycon canaliculatum begins to hyperpolarize in K-free ASW, but the developing hyper-polarization is soon slowed or reversed and a variable degree of depolarization ensues. Upon the readmission of K, there is a transient after-hyperpolarization. The transient after-hyper-polarization is probably an evidence of stimulation of an electrogenic sodium pump by an elevated [Na+] i during depolarization. The extra-hyper-polarization is dependent on concentration of K during exposure to low K, time in K-free ASW, and [Na + ] O and is abolished by cardiac glycosides. Acetylcholine (Ach), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT), tryptamine, or phenylalanyl-methionyl-arginyl-phenylalanine amide (FMRFamide) transform the response to K-free ASW to a predominating depolarization with accompanying force. The transformation is blocked by Na-free solution or by cardiac glycosides.
Impact of transient truck and train traffic on ambient air and noise levels in underserved communities

Abstract Traffic-related air and noise pollution on or near major roadways have been examined but these pollutants have not been extensively investigated away from major roadways in residential communities, especially in the United States. To evaluate the impact of trucks and trains passing nearby on air and noise pollution in residential areas during non-rush hours, we simultaneously measured concentrations of size-resolved airborne particulate matter (PM) and sound pressure levels as A-weighted equivalent (dBA) with frequencies in three underserved communities adjacent to industrial facilities in Houston, TX. We found that median concentrations for PM1 (particle size ≤ 1 µm) and PM10 (particle size ≤ 10 µm) were highest when trucks passed by at sampling locations, followed by periods when trains passed by. PM1 and PM10 concentrations were lowest at background (defined when there was no truck or train traffic near the monitoring location). Median PM2.5 (particle size ≤ 2.5 µm) mass concentrations were 19.8 µg/m3 (trains), 16.5 µg/m3 (trucks), and 13.9 µg/m3 (background). Short-term increases in noise were attributed to trains and trucks passing nearby as well. The median noise levels were the highest when trains passed by (66.7 dBA) followed by periods when trucks were in the vicinity of the monitoring locations (62.5 dBA); background levels were 58.2 dBA. The overall Spearman correlation coefficients between air and noise pollution were between 0.09 and 0.46. Hence, we recommend that both air pollutant and noise levels be concurrently evaluated for accurate exposure assessment related to traffic sources in residential communities.
Leading positive change in higher education through appreciative inquiry: a phenomenological exploration of the strategic planning process

This study explored the application and impact of using appreciative inquiry in the strategic planning process at a Canadian institution. Appreciative inquiry is a strength-based organisational dev...
Automated layer segmentation of bladder OCT images for enhanced detection of transitional cell carcinoma

Optical coherence tomography(OCT) imaging of bladder is gaining recognization due to the capability of noninvasive cross-sectional imaging of the bladder at the micron-level resolution and a relatively large field of view. Previous studies have shown the potential of OCT image to enhance detection of bladder transitional cell carcinoma(TCC). However, quantitative OCT image analysis for affirmative identification of bladder tumor remains a challenge[1]. Here, we report a novel method to enhance detection of TCC based on OCT images by analyzing anatomical and textural alteration of bladder. Specifically, OCT images are first processed with Dual Tree Complex Wavelet Transform denoising algorithms to reduce image speckle noise. Then, the layer segmentation method that mainly based on a dual path graph searching algorithm is performed on the denoised images to delineate three layers of bladder. The segmentation results show improved effectiveness and robustness in comparison to conventional graph theory based method. With layer segmentation, multiple measurements including layer thickness and texture can be quantified. The significant difference in quantified metrics between TCC and normal bladder indicate the potential use of those metrics for TCC identification. The proposed method provides valuable insights into TCC and has the potential to enhance the detection of tumor in the clinic.
A Flexible Hybrid BCH Decoder for Modern NAND Flash Memories Using General Purpose Graphical Processing Units (GPGPUs).

Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem (BCH) codes are broadly used to correct errors in flash memory systems and digital communications. These codes are cyclic block codes and have their arithmetic fixed over the splitting field of their generator polynomial. There are many solutions proposed using CPUs, hardware, and Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) for the BCH decoders. The performance of these BCH decoders is of ultimate importance for systems involving flash memory. However, it is essential to have a flexible solution to correct multiple bit errors over the different finite fields (GF(2 m )). In this paper, we propose a pragmatic approach to decode BCH codes over the different finite fields using hardware circuits and GPUs in tandem. We propose to employ hardware design for a modified syndrome generator and GPUs for a key-equation solver and an error corrector. Using the above partition, we have shown the ability to support multiple bit errors across different BCH block codes without compromising on the performance. Furthermore, the proposed method to generate modified syndrome has zero latency for scenarios where there are no errors. When there is an error detected, the GPUs are deployed to correct the errors using the iBM and Chien search algorithm. The results have shown that using the modified syndrome approach, we can support different multiple finite fields with high throughput.
Research Ethics and Human Subjects: A Reflexive Openness Approach

The foremost ethical obligation and therefore the first duty of scholars is the ethical treatment of people affected by our research, particularly its human subjects. Our working group's report discusses the implications of the primacy of the ethical treatment of human participants – our term for "human subjects" – for empirical research in political science. Although research ethics encompasses a broader range of issues (including honesty, integrity, competence, and the respectful treatment of students and colleagues, among others), we focus on the primacy of human participants both because the human costs of violating this obligation are likely much higher than, for example, plagiarism, and because this principle may conflict with evolving norms of transparency in the social sciences. We acknowledge that "transparency" frequently has benefits, but nonetheless focus on the tensions between it and the primary obligation to human subjects and other ethical obligations in a wide range of research contexts, including settings of violence and repression. To support our ethical positions, we advance a broad and distinct approach of "reflexive openness" that incorporates sustained reflection on the ethics of research practices, what ethnographers term "reflexivity." This approach has three important elements. First, it promotes ongoing reflexivity by the author vis-a-vis her research participants. Second, it encourages all scholars to provide a reasoned ethical justification of their research practices, especially when seeking to publish their analysis. Finally, the ethical expectations guiding reflexive openness are universal, and thus the approach is inclusive of researchers regardless of subfield, methodology, topic, and empirical context.
Wearable Iridium Oxide pH Sensors for Sweat pH Measurements

A sensor on ultra-flexible substrate has been developed for skin pH measurements to monitor antimicrobial effects, skin aging and potential disease status. The sensor consists of an iridium oxide working electrode and a silver chloride reference electrode. The sensor is characterized with varying pH values in artificial sweat as control. The sensor is also tested within a cotton pad packaging for wearables and directly on skin, in considerations of hydrostatic effects on the electrochemical sensors. The sensor presents distinguishable outputs in artificial sweat, containing multiple interference ions, and good sensitivity with little hysteresis within the pH range of 5 to 8. The sensor can be used in a bandage-like packaging on skin with calibration since its sensitivity is reduced by the cotton fiber pad due to limits of ion exchanges in hydrostatic conditions.
Ablation of miR-144 increases vimentin expression and atherosclerotic plaque formation

It has been suggested that miR-144 is pro-atherosclerotic via effects on reverse cholesterol transportation targeting the ATP binding cassette protein. This study used proteomic analysis to identify additional cardiovascular targets of miR-144, and subsequently examined the role of a newly identified regulator of atherosclerotic burden in miR-144 knockout mice receiving a high fat diet. To identify affected secretory proteins, miR-144 treated endothelial cell culture medium was subjected to proteomic analysis including two-dimensional gel separation, trypsin digestion, and nanospray liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. We identified 5 gel spots representing 19 proteins that changed consistently across the biological replicates. One of these spots, was identified as vimentin. Atherosclerosis was induced in miR-144 knockout mice by high fat diet and vascular lesions were quantified by Oil Red-O staining of the serial sectioned aortic root and from en-face views of the aortic tree. Unexpectedly, high fat diet induced extensive atherosclerosis in miR-144 knockout mice and was accompanied by severe fatty liver disease compared with wild type littermates. Vimentin levels were reduced by miR-144 and increased by antagomiR-144 in cultured cardiac endothelial cells. Compared with wild type, ablation of the miR-144/451 cluster increased plasma vimentin, while vimentin levels were decreased in control mice injected with synthetic miR-144. Furthermore, increased vimentin expression was prominent in the commissural regions of the aortic root which are highly susceptible to atherosclerotic plaque formation. We conclude that miR-144 maybe a potential regulator of the development of atherosclerosis via changes in vimentin signaling.
A Glimpse into the Sausage Factory: AISEJ Editor Report

ABSTRACT The AIS Educator Journal (AISEJ) is the online, peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the AIS Educator Association. AISEJ has published 59 peer-reviewed scholarly articles dedicated to the te...
Impact of surgical approach on prevalence of positive peritoneal cytology and lymph-vascular invasion in patients with early-stage endometrial carcinoma: a National Cancer Database study

Objective To investigate the prevalence of positive peritoneal cytology and lymph-vascular invasion by surgical approach among patients with early stage endometrioid endometrial carcinoma undergoing hysterectomy. Methods The National Cancer Database was accessed and patients with FIGO stage I endometrioid endometrial carcinoma (with no history of another tumor diagnosed) who underwent simple hysterectomy (open or minimally invasive) between January 2010 and December 2015 and had available data on the presence of lymph-vascular invasion and/or status of peritoneal cytology were selected for further analysis. The impact of a surgical approach on the odds of lymph-vascular invasion and positive peritoneal cytology was calculated after controlling for tumor grade, size, and depth of myometrial invasion. Results A total of 74 732 patients who met the inclusion criteria were identified. The rate of minimally invasive hysterectomy was 75.7%. Data on peritoneal cytology status and lymph-vascular invasion were available for 50 185 and 71 641 patients, respectively. A higher proportion of patients who had minimally invasive hysterectomy had positive peritoneal cytology (4.4% vs 2.3%, p Conclusions Minimally invasive surgery may be associated with a higher incidence of positive peritoneal cytology and lymph-vascular invasion among patients with early stage endometrioid endometrial cancer. There was no difference in overall survival between patients who had laparotomy or minimally invasive surgery.
Reconsidering Englishization: the Japanese government’s Top Global University Project

This article begins with a brief historical overview of Japan’s education reforms, focusing particularly on language policy in higher education. In the Meiji era (1870s), lively discussions took pl...
CeAid: A smartphone application for logging and plotting C. elegans assays

C. elegans is used as a model organism to study a wide range of topics in molecular and cellular biology. Conventional C. elegans assays often require a large sample size with frequent manipulations, rendering them labor-intensive. Automated high-throughput workflows may not be always the best solution to reduce benchwork labor, as they may introduce more complexity. Thus, most assays are carried out manually, where logging and digitizing experimental data can be as time-consuming as picking and scoring worms. Here we report the development of CeAid, C. elegans Application for inputting data, which significantly expedites the data entry process, utilizing swiping gestures and a voice recognition algorithm for logging data using a standard smartphone or Android device. This modular platform can also be adapted for a wide range of assays where recording data is laborious, even beyond worm research.
Trump's War on Terror

Sixteen years into the United States’ “global war on terror,” terrorist groups continue to proliferate in states that are either unwilling or incapable of defeating them. Not only has the threat of terrorism persisted, but it is escalating and intensifying in dangerous ways. The United States needs a comprehensive strategy to combat this threat. Such a strategy must be properly resourced, balancing civilian engagement with military tools and strengthening civilian protection standards. After eight exhausting years fighting terrorist groups, there are important insights from the Obama administration that President Donald Trump would be wise to heed.
Decline of Ideology: A Dissent and an Interpretation*

With increasing frequency and self-assurance, the scientific objectivity of American social science is proclaimed by some of its prominent practitioners. Various explanations are offered for the onset of social science's Golden Age, but central to most of them is the claim that modern social science has managed to resolve Mannheim's Paradox, namely, that in the pursuit of the truth the social scientist himself is handicapped by the narrow focus and distortions implicit in ideological thought. Presumably, the social scientist can now probe any aspect of human organization and behavior as dispassionately as physical scientists observe the structure of the atom or chemical reactions. For this reason, it is claimed by some that the ideologically liberated social scientists—at least in the United States—can expect to be co-opted into the Scientific Culture, or that segment of society that is presumably aloof from and disdainful toward the moralistic speculations and the tender-heartedness of the literary intellectuals.The behaviorial “revolution” in political science may have run its course, but it has left in its wake both obscurantist criticisms of empiricism, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, an unquestioning belief in “science.” Quite often the latter belief is not merely anti-historical and anti-philosophical but also uncritical about the extent to which empirical observations can be colored by the very orientation to values that one seeks to control in rigorous empirical research.The claims of modern social scientists are greatly buttressed by the views of Talcott Parsons.
DECOMPOSITION AND BINDING ACTION OF A POLYSACCHARIDE FROM CHROMOBACTERIUM VIOLACEUM IN SOIL

Martin, J. P. (University of California, Riverside) and S. J. Richards. Decomposition and binding action of a polysaccharide from Chromobacterium violaceum in soil. J. Bacteriol. 85:1288–1294. 1963.—The decomposition rate and binding effect in soil of a polysaccharide from Chromobacterium violaceum was compared with that of a variety of bacterial and plant polysaccharides and more complex organic residues. Most of the polysaccharides tested decomposed more readily than mature plant residues and fungus mycelium. The ease of decomposition varied, however, and polysaccharide from C. violaceum over a period of 1 month was more resistant than corn stalks, Rhodes grass, bean straw, and orange leaves. During the first week, it was as resistant to decay as pine needles. The C. violaceum polysaccharide was more effective in binding or aggregating the soil than all others tested. It also reduced the bulk density of Greenfield sandy loam and increased hydraulic conductivity in neutral soil.
An Examination of Dysfunctional Sport Fans: Method of Classification and Relationships with Problem Behaviors

Past examinations of highly identified sports fans have typically focused on the positive aspects of identification with the team in terms of attitudes, participation, attendance at events, merchan...
Elements of Mathematical Ecology: Two-sex models

Populations are often sexually dimorphic for demographic traits. Caswell (2001) has done a good job of highlighting some of these differences. The life expectancy of women exceeds that of men by about 10%. The life expectancy of female Belding's ground squirrels is about 25% greater than that of males (Sherman and Morton, 1984). Female black widow spiders (Deevey and Deevey, 1945) typically live 170% longer than males. However, I do not want to give the impression that females always outlive males. Males of many species of monogamous birds live longer than females (Darwin, 1871; Breitwisch, 1989), for reasons that vary from differences in natal dispersal (Greenwood and Harvey, 1982) to differences in parental investment. Differences in survivorship frequently manifest themselves as a skewed sex ratio in the population. Some species show sex-based differences in the age of maturity. Female sperm whales attain sexual maturity at 7 to 9 years. Males may become physiologically mature at 19 years, but do not reach social maturity for 25 to 27 years (Nowak, 1991). Most organisms have sex-based differences in fecundity. As a result, life tables and demographic models for males and for females often give different predictions. Kuczynski (1931) calculated the male and female net reproductive rates for France for 1920–1923. The male rate was 1.194 and the female rate was 0.977. If one were to follow these calculations to their logical conclusion, one would now expect France to consist entirely of men ⊨ Kuczynski attributed the difference in the rates to the skew in sex ratio caused by the First World War.
Susceptible stages and abnormal morphogenesis in the developing mouse limb, analysed in organ culture after transplacental exposure to vitamin A (retinoic acid)

The development of form and morphology of cartilage in limbs from control and retinoic acid-treated DBA/2J mice were studied in organ culture. Somite number at explantation (SE) ranged from 29 to 56. All cartilage segments except digits developed in cultures of 29-somite control limb-buds; digits developed well only from limb-buds of SE 45 and older stages. Maternal treatment with retinoic acid specifically inhibited the growth of limbs rather than that of the whole embryo; the percentage reduction in limb length in culture ranged between 20 and 40%, depending on the length of in utero exposure. The teratogenic effects of retinoic acid were expressed in culture even if the limb was explanted after only 1 h of in utero exposure. However, for a complete expression of the teratogenic effects, resulting in phocomelia, 24 h exposure was necessary. Limb-buds of 29 to 32-somite embryos were only mildly responsive to the teratogen. Embryos with 33–38 somites demonstrated the full extent of teratogenic effects. Embryos with more than 40 somites at the time of first exposure to retinoic acid escaped severe limb malformations except digital defects. Correlation between the developmental stage of the limb at the time of treatment and the final limb defect is attempted.
HUMAN BEHAVIOR FEEDBACK AND TRAFFIC SAFETY

A general human behavior feedback formalism is developed in which the actual safety change in traffic systems is related to the intended or expected change through the introduction of a "human behavior feedback parameter," f. This formalism includes earlier approaches to modeling or understanding traffic safety as special cases and in addition includes responses outside the range encompassed by the earlier approaches. It is applied in an essentially symmetric way to changes expected to increase or to reduce safety. Compared with the expected safety change, the actual safety changes found in 26 studies in the literature provide examples of all of the following: change even greater than expected; as expected; smaller than expected; no safety change; and a perverse effect (safety change opposite in sign to expected). It is concluded that human behavior feedback is a pervasive phenomenon in traffic systems, and one that may greatly influence the outcome of safety measures. Language: en
The long-wavelength geoid from three-dimensional spherical models of thermal and thermochemical mantle convection

The Earth's long-wavelength geoid anomalies have long been used to constrain the dynamics and viscosity structure of the mantle in an isochemical, whole mantle convection model. However, there is strong evidence that the seismically observed large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) in the lower mantle underneath the Pacific and Africa are chemically distinct and likely denser than the ambient mantle. In this study, we have formulated dynamically self-consistent 3-D spherical mantle convection models to investigate how chemically distinct and dense piles above the core-mantle boundary may influence the geoid. Our dynamic models with realistic mantle viscosity structure produce dominantly spherical harmonic degree-2 convection, similar to that of the present-day Earth. The models produce two broad geoid and topography highs over two major thermochemical piles in the lower mantle, consistent with the positive geoid anomalies over the Pacific and African LLSVPs. Our geoid analysis showed that the bottom layer with dense chemical piles contributes negatively to the total geoid, while the layer immediately above the chemical piles contributes positively to the geoid, canceling out the effect of the piles. Thus, the bottom part of the mantle, as a compensation layer, has zero net contribution to the total geoid, and the thickness of the compensation layer is ~1000 km or 2 to 3 times as thick as the chemical piles. Our results help constrain and interpret the large-scale thermochemical structure of the mantle using surface observations of the geoid and topography, as well as seismic models of the mantle.
Bringing attention into higher focus within the traumatic brain injury research agenda.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) holds a unique position within children’s health. It has been clear for decades that TBI is the leading cause of death and disability of children (1,2). However, only recently has the impact of TBI on developing brain gained the attention of the public and lay press due to the attention paid toward injuries in sports such as football, boxing and others. Guidelines for caring for children with mild (3-5) and severe (6) injuries have been assiduously developed from the available literature, yet the proven therapies have remained elusive. Recently, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the European Commission and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research have led (and funded) efforts to address the burden of TBI with the International Initiative for Traumatic Brain Injury Research (InTBIR) with the goal of “working together to improve outcomes and lessen the global burden of TBI by 2020” (7).