cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assortative mating in soldier beetles (Cantharidae, Chauliognathus ): test of the mate-choice hypothesis

Soldier beetles of 2 species, Chauliognathus basalis and C. deceptus , were examined to test the Crespi hypothesis that positive assortative mating by size is caused by mate choices. Specifically, we tested the prediction that if mate choice involves choosing the largest mate available, then mating individuals will be larger than nonmating individuals. Four samples were taken, at different times during the mating season, from each of 2 sites. Each sample consisted of mating pairs, nonmanting males, and nonmating females. Some of the samples contained beetles of both species; others contained beetles of a single species. For each gender elytron lengths of mating individuals were compared with elytron lengths of nonmating individuals. We found no effect of mating status (mating vs. nonmating) on elytron lengths in samples that exhibited assertive mating (which occurs where 2 species coexist). Surprisingly, we found a consistent effect of mating status on elytron lengths in samples that did not exhibit assortative mating (which occurs where only 1 species exists). Our results do not support the mate-choice hypothesis. Instead, mate choice and assortative mating appear to be alternative mating patterns in which mate choice occurs where a single species exists and assortative mating occurs where 2 species coexist.
Big game hunter preferences for hunting club attributes: A choice experiment

Abstract Big game hunting on private leased forestland is popular in Georgia and other parts of the southern United States. Very often, the leasing arrangement takes the form of a club, wherein a specified number of members pay an annual fee to either a landowner or the club's manager to have a certain bundle of access rights in accordance with other club regulations or attributes. Currently, little is formally known about hunter preferences for club characteristics. The objective of this study was to identify hunter preferences for attributes related to big game hunting clubs and to derive measures of economic value for these attributes. This was accomplished by conducting a choice experiment (CE) via a mail survey in 2012 of licensed big game hunters in Georgia. The CE presented respondents with alternative hunting clubs representing different combinations of attributes including acreage, membership number, harvest regulations, recent forest management activity, and annual club dues. Responses were analyzed with conditional logit and multinomial probit regression models. Consistent with economic theory, hunters preferred more acreage and fewer members. The least preferred harvest regulation was a one buck limit without size restriction while recent clearcutting was the least preferred forest management activity. Results should provide a better understanding of big game hunters' preferences and trade-offs for club attributes and should help landowners and club managers make management decisions that enhance the value of their resources.
Hydrologic regimes as potential drivers of morphologic divergence in fish

Fishes often exhibit phenotypic divergence across gradients of abiotic and biotic selective pressures. In streams, many of the known selective pressures driving phenotypic differentiation are largely influenced by hydrologic regimes. Because flow regimes drive so many attributes of lotic systems, we hypothesized fish exhibit phenotypic divergence among streams with different flow regimes. We used a comparative field study to investigate the morphological divergence of Campostoma anomalom (central stonerollers) among streams characterized by highly variable, intermittent flow regimes and streams characterized by relatively stable, groundwater flow regimes. We also conducted a mesocosm experiment to compare the plastic effects of one component of flow regimes, water velocity, on morphology of fish from different flow regimes. We observed differences in shape between flow regimes likely driven by differences in allometric growth patterns. Although we observed differences in morphology across flow regimes in the field, C. anomalum did not exhibit morphologic plasticity in response to water velocity alone. This study contributes to the understanding of how complex environmental factors drive phenotypic divergence and may provide insight into the evolutionary consequences of disrupting natural hydrologic patterns, which are increasingly threatened by climate change and anthropogenic alterations.
Developing an Algorithm for Optimizing Care of Elderly Patients With Glioblastoma

BACKGROUND Elderly patients with glioblastoma have an especially poor prognosis; optimizing their medical and surgical care remains of paramount importance. OBJECTIVE To investigate patient and treatment characteristics of elderly vs nonelderly patients and develop an algorithm to predict elderly patients' survival. METHODS Retrospective analysis of 554 patients (mean age = 60.8; 42.0% female) undergoing first glioblastoma resection or biopsy at our institution (2005-2011). RESULTS Of the 554 patients, 218 (39%) were elderly (≥65 yr). Compared with nonelderly, elderly patients were more likely to receive biopsy only (26% vs 16%), have ≥1 medical comorbidity (40% vs 20%), and develop postresection morbidity (eg, seizure, delirium; 25% vs 14%), and were less likely to receive temozolomide (TMZ) (78% vs 90%) and gross total resection (31% vs 45%). To predict benefit of resection in elderly patients (n = 161), we identified 5 factors known in the preoperative period that predicted survival in a multivariate analysis. We then assigned points to each (1 point: Charlson comorbidity score >0, subtotal resection, tumor >3 cm; 2 points: preoperative weakness, Charlson comorbidity score >1, tumor >5 cm, age >75 yr; 4 points: age >85 yr). Having 3 to 5 points (n = 78, 56%) was associated with decreased survival compared to 0 to 2 points (n = 41, 29%, 8.5 vs 16.9 mo; P = .001) and increased survival compared to 6 to 9 points (n = 20, 14%, 8.5 vs 4.5 mo; P < .001). Patients with 6 to 9 points did not survive significantly longer than elderly patients receiving biopsy only (n = 57, 4.5 vs 2.7 mo; P = .58). CONCLUSION Further optimization of the medical and surgical care of elderly glioblastoma patients may be achieved by providing more beneficial therapies while avoiding unnecessary resection in those not likely to receive benefit from this intervention.
Determinants of Helix Formation for a Kv1.3 Transmembrane Segment inside the Ribosome Exit Tunnel

Proteins begin to fold in the ribosome, and misfolding has pathological consequences. Among the earliest folding events in biogenesis is the formation of a helix, an elementary structure that is ubiquitously present and required for correct protein folding in all proteomes. The determinants underlying helix formation in the confined space of the ribosome exit tunnel are relatively unknown. We chose the second transmembrane segment, S2, of a voltage-gated potassium channel, Kv1.3, as a model to probe this issue. Since the N terminus of S2 is initially in an extended conformation in the folding vestibule of the ribosome yet ultimately emerges at the exit port as a helix, S2 is ideally suited for delineating sequential events and folding determinants of helix formation inside the ribosome. We show that S2's extended N terminus inside the tunnel is converted into a helix by a single, distant mutation in the nascent peptide. This transition depends on nascent peptide sequence at specific tunnel locations. Co-translational secondary folding of nascent chains inside the ribosome has profound physiological consequences that bear on correct membrane insertion, tertiary folding, oligomerization, and biochemical modification of the newborn protein during biogenesis.
Simulations Test Impact Of Education, Employment, And Income Improvements On Minority Patients With Mental Illness.

Social determinants of health, such as poverty and minority background, severely disadvantage many people with mental disorders. A variety of innovative federal, state, and local programs have combined social services with mental health interventions. To explore the potential effects of such supports for addressing poverty and disadvantage on mental health outcomes, we simulated improvements in three social determinants—education, employment, and income. We used two large data sets: one from the National Institute of Mental Health that contained information about people with common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, and another from the Social Security Administration that contained information about people who were disabled due to severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Our simulations showed that increasing employment was significantly correlated with improvements in mental health outcomes, while increasing education and income produced weak or nonsignificant cor...
Self-consolidating concrete using recycled concrete aggregate and high volume of fly ash, and slag

Abstract This paper studies the effect of using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) on the properties of self-consolidating concrete (SCC). Twenty concrete mixtures with different mixtures of fly ash (FA), slag (S) and RCA were developed and tested. The mixtures were sorted into five categories, with constant water to cementitious materials (w/c) ratio of 0.38, based on their RCA content: 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) replaced by RCA. The results showed that as the percentage of RCA (0–100%) has increased in the mixes replacing NCA; the compressive strengths of the concrete mixes has decreased at 3, 14, and 28 days, and the tensile strengths decreased at 28 days. Moreover, the partial replacement of cement by (SCMs) had an adverse effect on the 28-days-compressive strength; however, it increased the resistance to chloride permeability. Moreover, several mixes have met the minimum Illinois Department of Transportation compressive strength requirements.
Detection of Differential Abundance Intervals in Longitudinal Metagenomic Data Using Negative Binomial Smoothing Spline ANOVA

Metagenomic longitudinal studies have become a widely-used study design to investigate the dynamics of the microbial ecological systems and their temporal effects. One of the important questions to be addressed in longitudinal studies is the identification of time intervals when microbial features show changes in their abundance. We propose a statistical method that is based on a semi-parametric Smoothing Spline ANOVA and negative binomial distribution to model the time-course of the features between two phenotypes. We demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed method compared to the two currently existing methods using simulated data. We present the analysis results of our proposed method in an analysis of a longitudinal dataset that investigates the association between the development of type 1 diabetes in infants and the gut microbiome. The identified significant species and their specific time intervals reveal new information that can be used in improving intervention or treatment plans.
Sensor Signal Normalization

Conditioning the signal of a sensor or physical measurement device may require a variety of scalar and dimensioned transformations. A few sensor signal conditioners are used to illustrate some of the principles involved.
High versus Low Intensity Summer Treatment for ADHD Delivered at Secondary School Transitions.

Spikes in symptom severity are noted for adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at the transitions to middle and high school that are attributed to developmental maladjust...
Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Robotic Servicer Mission Design

The problem of mission design for a robotic servicing satellite in geosynchronous Earth orbit was investigated. A representative set of potential client satellites was selected, and operational nee...
Influence of Various Endogenous Factors on CBG Activity in the Rat

Soon after the discovery of CBG in the human blood, it was observed that the plasma of the rat also contains macromolecules capable of binding cortisol with high affinity; the binding capacity was found to be higher than that of human plasma (Daughaday, 1958 a; Slaunwhite and Sandberg, 1959). Rat CBG activity, which can also be demonstrated in serum, was found to be stable at 37° for at least 72 hrs (Westphal, 1961) or 96 hrs (Westphal et al., 1962), resembling human CBG in that respect (Daughaday et al., 1959). These basic observations on a high-affinity binding system for corticosteroids in the rat, similar to transcortin in the human, made possible the general investigation of the corticosteroid-binding protein by experimental approaches, in a thoroughly studied laboratory animal (Westphal, 1961). The general characteristics of the corticosteroid-binding protein in rat serum have been discussed in Chapter VIII. 4 in connection with the properties of human CBG.
Acoustic Response of YBa2Cu3Ox Films

Since the discovery of high temperature oxide superconductors many different experiments have been conducted to find some clues to the understanding of the basic mechanism. Acoustic attenuation measurement was one of the techniques applied to the conventional metal superconductors to verify the existence of a superconducting gap (Morse and Bohm, 1957). It would be natural to apply the standard acoustic echo technique to the oxide superconductors. However, unlike the conventional metal superconductors, large single crystals of the oxide superconductors suitable for the bulk acoustic measurement is still not available. Therefore most reported acoustic measurements were done using ceramic samples (Horie et al., 1987; Bhattacharya et al., 1988; Xu et al., 1989). Unfortunately, the reported data on ceramic samples showed subtantial variations from samples to samples. It is not surprising because the porosity and the process-dependent intergrain materials of the ceramic sample can cause a large scattering background as well as sample-to-sample variations. Nevertheless several broad peaks of the acoutic attenuation as a function of temperature have been observed more than once by different groups. There have been two reported acoustic measurements on single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7 (Saint-Paul et al., 1988; Shi et al., 1989). Saint Paul et al. used a conventional echo technique with a quartz rod buffer between the transducer and a small single crystal. They reported a gradual reduction of attenuation with decreasing temperature without any broad peaks often seen in ceramic samples. On the other hand, Shi et.al. reported such peaks of a single crystal sample using a vibrating reed technique. None of the experiments on either ceramics or single crystals have indicated a super­conducting gap below the superconducting transition temperature.
The Crisis in Education: Practical, Cost-Effective Solutions

Evidence is mounting that the United States is losing its edge as a world leader when it comes to educating its citizens. It now ranks 13th in college graduation rates. In a recent 24-country Survey of Adult Skills, the U.S. ranked 16th in literary proficiency and 21st in numeracy proficiency. Without an intervention, the United States will continue to lose its ability to compete in the global knowledge economy. The authors offer some practical, cost-effective solutions that include expanding early childhood education programs, changing the school calendar, and online learning.
The Value in Artificial Intelligence

Past 5 years have seen burgeoning applications of machine learning (ML) in diverse radiological domains including thoracic radiology, neuroimaging, abdominal imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, and breast imaging. Deep learning technologies have been applied to improve image resolution at ultralow radiation dose. Publications abound on ML in chest CT have focused on detection and characterization of pulmonary nodules, as well as for rib and spine straightening and labeling, vessel segmentation, and estimation of CT fractional flow reserve. ML has also been applied for detecting lines, tubes, pneumothorax, pleural effusions, cardiomegaly, and pneumonia, on chest radiographs. Applications of ML in cerebral hemorrhage detection and prediction of stroke outcomes, appendicitis and renal colic prediction, hand bone age calculation or rib unfolding for fracture detection, and characterization of breast macro-calcifications and masses are also shown. We review fundamentals, applications, and limitations of machine learning in thoracic radiology, neuroimaging, abdominal imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, and breast imaging.
Philanthropy in the Millennial Age: Trends Toward Polycentric Personalized Philanthropy

In the digital age dominated by social media, neither non-profits nor traditional for profit firms can rely on traditional promotional activities. Rather, promotion and word-of-mouth are generated through an organic and polycentric process of commons-based peer production over social media. This type of co-production appeals to the millennial market values of localtarian, social entrepreneurial, and personalized experiences. As the millennial generation comes of age they are now the largest generational cohort in both population and buying power and their preferences are increasingly dominating trends in the marketplace. The nonprofits that are most adept at harnessing the millennial desire for co-production will be those that succeed at attracting the increasingly important millennial donor base. Because of this, we see a future nonprofit arena characterized by polycentric commons-based peer production.
The loss of innocence: Confronting class differences in the practice of psychotherapy

A young woman sought psychotherapy for complaints that initially framed her as quite troubled, presenting as an individual with a borderline personality disorder. Over the course of therapy, it became clear that she more accurately suffered from a form of status anxiety. In working with people from different class backgrounds, it is very important for the clinician to differentiate psychological problems that arise from the stressors associated with class status from those that emerge from more internal disturbance.
Dynamic Spatiotemporal Pattern Identification and Analysis Using a Fingertip-based Electro-Tactile Display Array

This study is designed to validate the feasibility of generating identifiable moving patterns using electro-tactile stimulation. An electro-tactile display is built using an array of 16 contacts to deliver the electrical signal to the fingertip skin. This signal can have varying voltages, frequencies or duty cycles to form the most comfortable sensation.Moving patterns can be generated by individually or collectively switching on or off the contacts on the display. This is done to stimulate a moving pattern. In this case, a moving pattern is comparable to a group of frame-by-frame pictures constructing a movie. Similarly, by toggling the contacts in a specific order, a moving pattern can be achieved.A program on a single-board computer (Raspberry Pi) was used to control and generate 6 different patterns. These patterns are delivered to the display and consequently to the fingertip skin of the participants. A total of 8 subjects participated in this study. They filled a questionnaire to indicate the corresponding movement.The results of these experiments were analyzed and a conclusion regarding the direction of the movement was drawn. It became clear that the direction of the movement had a significant impact on the recognition of the patterns.
Association of Nondiscrimination Policies With Mental Health Among Gender Minority Individuals.

Importance In the past decade, many states have implemented policies prohibiting private health insurers from discriminating based on gender identity. Policies banning discrimination have the potential to improve access to care and health outcomes among gender minority (ie, transgender and gender diverse) populations. Objective To evaluate whether state-level nondiscrimination policies are associated with suicidality and inpatient mental health hospitalizations among privately insured gender minority individuals. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cohort study, difference-in-differences analysis comparing changes in mental health outcomes among gender minority enrollees before and after states implemented nondiscrimination policies in 2009-2017 was conducted. A sample of gender minority children and adults was identified using gender minority–related diagnosis codes obtained from private health insurance claims. The present study was conducted from August 1, 2018, to September 1, 2019. Exposure Living in states that implemented policies banning discrimination based on gender identity in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was suicidality. The secondary outcome was inpatient mental health hospitalization. Results The study population included 28 980 unique gender minority enrollees (mean [SD] age, 26.5 [15] years) from 2009 to 2017. Relative to comparison states, suicidality decreased in the first year after policy implementation in the 2014 policy cohort (odds ratio [OR], 0.72; 95% CI, 0.58-0.90;P = .005), the 2015 policy cohort (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.39-0.64;P Conclusions and Relevance Implementation of a state-level nondiscrimination policy appears to be associated with decreased or no changes in suicidality among gender minority individuals living in states that implemented these policies from 2013 to 2016. Given high rates of suicidality among gender minority individuals in the US, health insurance nondiscrimination policies may offer a mechanism for reducing barriers to care and mitigating discrimination.
Extracellular metabolism of the enteric inhibitory neurotransmitter β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (β-NAD) in the murine colon.

Key points β-Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (β-NAD) is a key inhibitory neurotransmitter in the colon. The neuroeffector junction in the gut consists of enteric motor neurons and SIP syncytium, including smooth muscle cells (SMCs), interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), and cells expressing platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRα+ cells). Measuring metabolism of 1,N6 -etheno-NAD (eNAD) in colonic tunica muscularis and in SMCs, ICC and PDGFRα+ cells with HPLC-FLD, we report that (1) in tissues, eNAD is degraded to eADP-ribose, eAMP and e-adenosine (eADO) by CD38, ENPP1 and NT5E, (2) with SMCs and PDGFRα+ cells, eNAD is metabolized to eADO by ENPP1 and NT5E, (3) eNAD is not metabolized by ICC, (4) NT5E is expressed chiefly by SMCs and moderately by PDGFRα+ cells, (5) SIP cells are not the primary location of CD38. These data argue that the duration and strength of purinergic neurotransmission can be modulated by targeting multiple enzymes with specialized cellular distribution in the colon. Abstract Prior studies suggest that β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (β-NAD) is an important inhibitory motor neurotransmitter in the enteric nervous system. Metabolism of β-NAD at the neuroeffector junction (NEJ) is likely to be necessary for terminating inhibitory neurotransmission and may also produce bioactive metabolites. The enteric NEJ consists of enteric neurons and postjunctional cells of the SIP syncytium, including smooth muscle cells (SMCs), interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), and cells expressing platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRα+ cells). We examined possible specialized functions of the NEJ in β-NAD metabolism by determining the degradation of 1,N6 -etheno-NAD (eNAD) in colonic tunica muscularis of wild-type, Cd38-/- , Nt5e-/- , Enpp1-/- and Cd38-/- /Nt5e-/- mice and in SIP cells from mice expressing cell-specific fluorescent reporters purified by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). We measured eNAD and its metabolites eADP-ribose (eADPR), eAMP and e-adenosine (eADO) from tissues and sorted SIP cells using liquid chromatography. eNAD exposed to colonic muscularis of wild-type mice produced eADPR, eAMP and eADO. CD38 mediated the conversion of eNAD to eADPR, whereas ENPP1 mediated degradation of eNAD and eADPR to eAMP. NT5E (aka CD73) was the primary enzyme forming eADO from eAMP. PDGFRα+ cells and SMCs were involved in production of eADO from eNAD, and ICC were not involved in extracellular metabolism of eNAD. CD38 mediated the eNAD metabolism in whole tissues, but CD38 did not appear to be functionally expressed by SMCs or ICC. NT5E was expressed in SMCs > PDGFRα+ cells. Our data show that extracellular metabolism of β-NAD in the colon is mediated by multiple enzymes with cell-specific expression.
Characterization of a novel AraC/XylS-regulated family of N-acyltransferases in pathogens of the order Enterobacterales.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is a diarrheagenic pathotype associated with traveler’s diarrhea, foodborne outbreaks and sporadic diarrhea in industrialized and developing countries. Regulation of virulence in EAEC is mediated by AggR and its negative regulator Aar. Together, they control the expression of at least 210 genes. On the other hand, we observed that about one third of Aar-regulated genes are related to metabolism and transport. In this study we show the AggR/Aar duo controls the metabolism of lipids. Accordingly, we show that AatD, encoded in the AggR-regulated aat operon (aatPABCD) is an N-acyltransferase structurally similar to the essential Apolipoprotein N-acyltransferase Lnt and is required for the acylation of Aap (anti-aggregation protein). Deletion of aatD impairs post-translational modification of Aap and causes its accumulation in the bacterial periplasm. trans-complementation of 042aatD mutant with the AatD homolog of ETEC or with the N-acyltransferase Lnt reestablished translocation of Aap. Site-directed mutagenesis of the E207 residue in the putative acyltransferase catalytic triad disrupted the activity of AatD and caused accumulation of Aap in the periplasm due to reduced translocation of Aap at the bacterial surface. Furthermore, Mass spectroscopy revealed that Aap is acylated in a putative lipobox at the N-terminal of the mature protein, implying that Aap is a lipoprotein. Lastly, deletion of aatD impairs bacterial colonization of the streptomycin-treated mouse model. Our findings unveiled a novel N-acyltransferase family associated with bacterial virulence, and that is tightly regulated by AraC/XylS regulators in the order Enterobacterales.
Adjacent terrestrial landscapes impact the biogeographical pattern of soil Escherichia coli in produce fields by modifying the importance of environmental selection and dispersal

High-quality habitats for wildlife (e.g., forest) provide essential ecosystem services while increasing species diversity and habitat connectivity. Unfortunately, presence of such habitats adjacent to produce fields may increase risk for contamination of fruits and vegetables by enteric bacteria, including Escherichia coli. E. coli survives in extra-host environments (e.g., soil) and could disperse across landscapes by wildlife. Understanding how terrestrial landscapes impact the distribution of soil E. coli is of importance in assessing the contamination risk of agricultural products. Here, using multi-locus sequence typing, we characterized 938 E. coli soil isolates collected from two watersheds with different landscape patterns in New York state, USA, and compared the distribution of E. coli and the influence of two ecological forces (environmental selection and dispersal) on the distribution between these two watersheds. Results showed that for the watershed with widespread produce fields, sparse forests, and limited interaction between the two land-use types, E. coli composition was significantly different between produce field sites and forest sites; this distribution was shaped by relatively strong environmental selection likely from soil phosphorus and slight dispersal limitation. For the watershed with more forested areas and stronger interaction between produce field sites and forest sites, E. coli composition between these two land-use types was relatively homogeneous; this distribution appeared to a consequence of wildlife-driven dispersal, inferred by competing models. Collectively, our results suggest that terrestrial landscape attributes could impact the biogeographic pattern of enteric bacteria by adjusting the importance of environmental selection and dispersal.
Salvaging adulthood at youth work: Dignity, social disrespect, and the micro-politics of recognition in a polarized world:

Grounded in an ethnographic study of a US fast food chain, this paper explores how the rising employment polarization under neoliberalism may pose a threat to dignity via the predicament of adults ...
Graduate speech-language pathology students' perceptions of practicing mindfulness

Introduction: The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory study was to examine graduate speech-language pathology students’ perceptions of practicing mindfulness, including their perceived barriers to using mindfulness techniques after participating in an 8-week mindfulness program. Methods: A convenience sample of 31 second-year, graduate speech-language pathology students participated in eight weekly mindfulness sessions, which included guided meditation, yoga stretching, and breathwork. At the end of the eight weeks, participants completed a six-question survey. Four questions that generated data about their perceptions of mindfulness and barriers to practicing mindfulness were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis procedures. Results: The majority of participants indicated that their perception of meditation changed, they recognized the benefits of mindfulness practice, and that they intended to continue practicing on their own. Thematic analysis revealed that participants viewed thoughts, time, and breathing techniques as barriers to their practice. Conclusion: Findings from this study have implications for considerations in the implementation and development of a mindfulness program for speech-language pathology students with an emphasis on potential barriers and how they can be addressed. Future research could investigate how students’ mindfulness practice impacts interactions with their clients and subsequent clinical outcomes.
Faith as a Mechanism for Health Promotion among Rural African American Prostate Cancer Survivors: A Qualitative Examination.

Conceptualized using critical race theory as a theoretical underpinning, this study analyzed the lived experiences of older, rural, African American male prostate cancer (hereafter referenced as PrCA) survivors’ faith and health promotion practices within Northeast Louisiana. Qualitative data from journaling, observations, and semi-structured interviews were obtained from ten older, African American male PrCA survivors residing in four rural parishes of Louisiana. The data analysis employed a two-stage approach known as Polkinghorne’s analysis of narratives and narrative analysis using an art-based methodological approach. Framed as composite character counterstories, survivors’ narratives revealed how survivors made sense of and gave meaning to their PrCA diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and survivorship. Specifically, their counterstories indicate that centering and honoring the unique and often taken-for-granted perspectives of older, rural, African American male PrCA survivors offered a deeper understanding of the multiple factors influencing their quality of life, as well as the sociostructural mechanisms impacting their survivorship care. Faith was examined as both a secular and sacred source of support that these men viewed as central to the acceptance of their diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and survivorship.
Defining and describing treatment heterogeneity in new-onset idiopathic lower back and extremity pain through reconstruction of longitudinal care sequences

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Despite established guidelines, long-term management of surgically-treated low back pain (LBP) and lower extremity pain (LEP) remains heterogeneous. Understanding care heterogeneity could inform future approaches for standardization of practices. PURPOSE To describe treatment heterogeneity in surgically-managed LBP and LEP. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING Retrospective study of a nationwide commercial database spanning inpatient and outpatient encounters for enrollees of eligible employer-supplied healthcare plans (2007-2016). PATIENT SAMPLE A population-based sample of opioid-naive adult patients with newly-diagnosed LBP or LEP were identified. Inclusion required at least 12-months of pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis continuous follow-up. EXPOSURE Included treatments/evaluations include conservative management (chiropractic manipulative therapy, physical therapy, epidural steroid injections), imaging (x-ray, MRI, CT), pharmaceuticals (opioids, benzodiazepines), and spine surgery (decompression, fusion). OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcomes-of-interest were 12-month net healthcare expenditures (inpatient and outpatient) and 12-month opioid usage. METHODS Analyses include interrogation of care sequence heterogeneity and temporal trends in sequence-initiating services. Comparisons were conducted in the framework of sequence-specific treatment sequences, which reflect the personalized order of healthcare services pursued by each patient. Outlier sequences characterized by high opioid use and costs were identified from frequently observed surgical treatment sequences using Mahalanobis distance. RESULTS A total of 2,496,908 opioid-naive adult patients with newly-diagnosed LBP or LEP were included (29,519 surgical). In the matched setting, increased care sequence heterogeneity was observed in surgical patients (0.51 vs. 0.12 previously-unused interventions/studies pursued per month). Early opioid and MRI use has decreased between 2008 and 2015 but is matched by increases in early benzodiazepine and x-ray use. Outlier sequences, characterized by increased opioid use and costs, were found in 5.8% of surgical patients. Use of imaging prior to conservative management was common in patients pursuing outlier sequences compared to non-outlier sequences (96.5% vs. 63.8%, p<.001). Non-outlier sequences were more frequently characterized by early conservative interventions (31.9% vs. 7.4%, p<.001). CONCLUSIONS Surgically-managed LBP and LEP care sequences demonstrate high heterogeneity despite established practice guidelines. Outlier sequences associated with high opioid usage and costs can be identified and are characterized by increased early imaging and decreased early conservative management. Elements that may portend suboptimal longitudinal management could provide opportunities for standardization of patient care.
Psychometric Properties and Sex Differences on the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory Participation Subscale (M2PI) in Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the structural validity of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory Participation Index (M2PI) in a sample of veterans and to assess whether the tool functioned similarly for male and female veterans. Design Rasch analysis of M2PI records from the National Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Health Registry database from 2012-2018. Setting National VA Polytrauma System of Care outpatient settings. Participants Veterans with a clinically confirmed history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) (N=6065; 94% male). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures M2PI, a 5-point Likert-type scale with 8 items. For this analysis, the 2 employment items were treated individually for a total of 9 items. Results The employment items misfit the Rasch Measurement model (paid employment mean square [MnSq]=1.40; other employment MnSq=1.34) and were removed from subsequent iterations. The final model had eigenvalue 1.87 on the first contrast, suggesting unidimensionality of the remaining 7 items. Item order from least to most participation restriction was transportation, self-care, residence management, financial management, initiation, leisure, and social contact. Wright's person separation reliability for nonnormal distributions was 0.93, indicating appropriateness of M2PI for making individual-level treatment decisions. Mean person measure was −0.92±1.34 logits, suggesting that participants did not report restrictions on most items (item mean=0 logits). A total of 3.8% of the sample had the minimum score (no impairment on all items), and 0.2% had the maximum score. Four items had different item calibrations (≥0.25 logits) for female compared with male veterans, but the hierarchy of items was unchanged when the female sample was examined separately. Conclusions These findings suggest that, although employment is a poor indicator of participation restrictions among veterans with TBI, the M2PI is unidimensional. Because of subtle differences in scale function between male and female participants, M2PI should be part of a more thorough clinical interview about participation strengths and restrictions.
EMOTIONAL AWARENESS IN TIME OF DISRUPTION: THE IMPACT OF TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY, WORRY, PERCEIVED STRESS, HELPFUL COMMUNICATION, AND PAST EXPERIENCE ON STUDENT SATISFACTION

During the Spring 2020 semester, university classes abruptly moved online in the wake of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike courses designed and implemented with an online environment in mind, this transition involved a massive and immediate migration involving faculty and students who had not prepared or registered for online course delivery. Many instructors and students were unfamiliar and/or unskilled for online education. The purpose of this research is to explore the role of tolerance for ambiguity, worry, perceived stress, helpful communication, and past online experience on students’ general satisfaction with the sudden transition to online classes and student satisfaction with individual performance during the transition. Our findings suggest that tolerance for ambiguity, perceived stress, and helpful communication all play a role in understanding general and individual performance satisfaction during a time of disruption. Worry also plays a role in understanding individual performance satisfaction. Identifying influential factors that contribute to student satisfaction during teaching disruptions helps marketing educators better care for and meet the educational needs of students. Ultimately, emotional awareness in the classroom should be a new normal for marketing education. © 2021 Society for Marketing Advances.
Who's Afraid of the Common Law? Georgia V. Public.Resource.Org and the Supreme Court's Recent

In Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, the U.S. Supreme Court held that no copyright existed in statutory annotations authored by the State of Georgia and incorporated into the official Georgia state code. Although the result has much to recommend it, the Court reached it in profoundly unsatisfying fashion. In this Article, I argue that the Court’s approach fails to capture, or indeed grapple with, the compelling policy reasons for finding the annotations unprotected, and that this failure is the direct result of a fundamental misunderstanding about the judicial role in copyright cases. Specifically, the Court fails to recognize that, in many areas, the Copyright Act is not a source of definitive answers, but a delegation of authority to find the answers, and that a refusal to fully exercise this authority is not laudable deference to legislative supremacy, but an abdication of judicial responsibility. More broadly, the Court’s decision exemplifies its recent copyright jurisprudence, one characterized by appeals to legislative authority, a reluctance to engage with policy, a curious flattening of complexity, and a misguided desire to find “straightforward” rules where none exist.
Phenomenology of writing with unfamiliar tools in a semi-public environment: A case study

Abstract This case study investigates the phenomenon of graduate students writing with unfamiliar digital tools in semi-public writing environments. The increase in the prevalence of writing with unfamiliar tools in semi-public environments, such as networked computer classrooms and university testing centers, makes it worthy of investigation. We use phenomenological interviews to examine the writing experiences of a group of graduate students writing in a classroom on unfamiliar computers equipped with a tool that tracked their keystrokes and eye movements. Though some of the writers had positive experiences with the tool's output and their reflective conversations about writing it prompted, they all had challenging experiences adjusting to the hardware, the physical requirements of the tool, and overcoming surveillance anxiety prompted by it. Some students who wrote in the semi-public environment using an unfamiliar tool benefitted but all were challenged by situational awareness, new hardware, new haptic interactions, surveillance anxiety, and lack of control. The study indicates a need to explore and address the factors of situation awareness, an adjustment period, and surveillance anxiety in situations where individuals are writing with unfamiliar tools in semi-public environments.
Tunable Amine-Reactive Electrophiles for Selective Profiling of Lysine.

Proteome profiling by activated esters identified >9000 ligandable lysines but they are limited as covalent inhibitors due to poor hydrolytic stability. Here we report our efforts to design and discover a new series of T unable A mine- R eactive E lectrophiles (TAREs) for selective and robust labeling of lysine. The major challenges in developing selective covalent ligands for lysine are the high nucleophilicity of cysteines and poor hydrolytic stability. Our work circumvents these challenges by a unique design of the TAREs that form stable adducts with lysine and on reaction with cysteine generate another reactive electrophiles for lysine. We highlight that TAREs exhibit substantially high hydrolytic stability as compared to the activated esters and are non-cytotoxic thus have the potential to act as covalent ligands. We applied these alternative TAREs for the intracellular labeling of proteins, and for the selective identification of lysines in the human proteome on a global scale.
Reassessing Virginia’s Conflict of Interest Laws

The ethical blunders of former Governor Robert McDonnell illuminated the need to add some teeth to Virginia’s gift laws. However, the incident failed to address the lax oversight of Virginia’s conflict of interest laws that are fraught with exemptions and flimsy requirements. Despite the implementation of ethics laws that seem to resemble those at the federal level, Virginia has lax oversight rules, weak consumer representation protections, and loopholes that enable government officials to circumvent the enforcement of these provisions. This results in the collusion of political and economic elites and the exploitation of the Commonwealth’s citizenry. States across the country have similar problems, but the majority of state ethics programs are much more effective than the ethics regime in Virginia. Furthermore, a disconnect exists between the enforcement of conflict of interest violations at the federal level and among the states. Unlike Virginia’s ethics laws, the federal ethics laws have teeth that capture and punish the ethical misconduct of government employees. In order to improve Virginia’s ethics laws, the Commonwealth must prosecute cases, institute an independent ethics commission, conduct ethics training, embrace transparency and openness in government, and increase the penalties to a level that will deter potential violators. Virginia will have to do more than change a few gift laws to catch up to other states. If an ethics revolution is going to take place, Virginia's state legislators would be wise to heed the enforcement cultures of other states (particularly New Jersey and California) and the federal laws under the Ethics in Government Act. Virginia has real potential to create a robust ethics program. Perhaps, upon review of its ethical shortcomings, the Commonwealth will take the necessary actions to revamp its ethics laws and pave the way for a more accountable state government for future constituents.
Reigning in regulatory T-cell function

An approach to inhibit the immune-suppressive function of regulatory T cells is demonstrated in a model of graft-versus-host disease.
Patient empowerment in hand hygiene

Patient empowerment is an integral part of the WHO hand hygiene multimodal strategy. In spite of the usage of educational tools and reminder, the participation rate of patients in hand hygiene programs remains very low in wards.
The Homestake Tracking Spectrometer a One-Mile Deep 1400-Ton Liquid Scintillation Nucleon Decay Detector

We describe a proposed nucleon decay detector able to demonstrate the existence of nucleon decay for lifetimes up to 5 × 1032 yr. The proposed instrument is a self-vetoed completely-active 1400-ton liquid scintillation Tracking Spectrometer to be located in the Homestake Mine at a depth of 4200 mwe, where the cosmic ray muon flux is only 1100/m2 /yr, more than 107 times lower than the flux at the earth’s surface. Based on computer simulations and laboratory measurements, the Tracking Spectrometer will have a spatial resolution of ± 15 cm (0.32 radiation lengths); energy resolution of ± 4.2%; and time resolution of ± 1.3 ns. Because liquid scintillator responds to total ionization energy, all neutrinoless nucleon decay modes will produce a sharp (± 4.2%) total energy peak at approximately 938 MeV, thereby allowing clear separation of nucleon decay events from atmospheric neutrino and other backgrounds. The instrument will be about equally sensitive to most nucleon decay modes. It will be able to identify most of the likely decay modes (including \( n \to \nu + \rm{k}_s^o \) as suggested by supersymmetric grand unified theories1), as well as determine the charge of lepton secondaries and the polarization of secondary muons.
Suprascarpal fat pad thickness may predict venous drainage patterns in abdominal wall flaps

Background Abdominal wall flaps are routinely used in reconstructive procedures. In some patients inadequate venous drainage from the deep vein may cause fat necrosis or flap failure. Occasionally the superficial inferior epigastric vessels (SIEV) are of sufficient size to allow for microvascular revascularization. This study looked at the ratio of the sub- and suprascarpal fat layers, the number of deep system perforators, and SIEV diameter to determine any correlation of the fat topography and SIEV. Methods 50 abdominal/pelvic CT angiograms (100 hemiabdomens) were examined in women aged 34–70 years for number of perforators, SIEV diameter, and fat pad thickness above and below Scarpa's fascia. Data was analyzed using multivariate model. Results The average suprascarpal and subscarpal layers were 18.6 ± 11.5 mm and 6.2 ± 7.2 mm thick, respectively. The average SIEV diameter was 2.06 ± 0.81 mm and the average number of perforators was 2.09 ± 1.03 per hemiabdomen. Hemiabdomens with suprascarpal thickness>23 mm had greater SIEV diameter [2.69 mm vs. 1.8 mm (P < 0.0001)] The fat layer thickness did not correlate with the number of perforators. Neither subscarpal fat thickness nor suprascarpal-to-subscarpal fat layer thickness correlated significantly with SIEV caliber or number of perforators in multivariate model. Conclusions Suprascarpal fat pad thicker than 23 mm had larger SIEVs irrespective of the number of deep system perforators. This may indicate a cohort of patients at risk of venous congestion from poor venous drainage if only the deep system is revascularized. We recommend harvesting the SIEV in patients with suprascarpal fat pad >23 mm to aid in superficial drainage. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery, 2015.