cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract A76: MicroRNA mediated negative regulation of caveolin 1 as a biological mechanism driving breast cancer disparities

In South Carolina, mortality differences between African American (AA) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) women breast cancer patients are amongst the highest in the country. Evidence suggests that the observed racial disparity exists independent of socioeconomic and standard of care issues, suggesting a potential biological factor may be involved. The loss of Caveolin-1 (Cav1) in the tumor stromal compartment has emerged as a novel biomarker for predicting poor clinical outcome in all of the most common subtypes of breast cancer, however the mechanism of Cav1 loss is unknown. We identified miR-510 as a novel oncomir and propose that its elevated expression in breast tumors results in stromal Cav1 loss and a subsequent worse outcome. In this study we used luciferase, western blot and quantitative PCR analysis to study Caveolin-1 as a direct target of miR-510. We used a co-culture system to assess crosstalk between epithelial and stromal compartments in vitro and a mouse model to assess this in vivo. Our research shows that Cav1 is a direct target of miR-510 and that overexpression of miR-510 leads to downregulation of Cav1 protein expression, specifically in the stromal compartment. This may be racially significant as our studies also show that miR-510 levels are elevated and Cav1 levels are reduced in AA breast cancer patients compared to their NHW counterparts. Data from our in vivo studies shows that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) isolated from miR-510 expressing epithelial derived tumors lead to more aggressive tumor growth when co-injected with breast tumor epithelial cells when compared to scrambled control CAF co-injections and breast tumor epithelial cells alone. Our results suggest that elevated miR-510 expression in breast epithelial cells leads to stromal Cav1 loss and is a mechanism driving racial disparity in breast cancer. Citation Format: David P. Turner, Brooke King, Qi Guo, Bobbie Blake, Lourdes M. Nogueira, amanda c. larue, judith d. salley, marvella e. ford, ashley evans-knowell, Victoria J. Findlay. MicroRNA mediated megative regulation of caveolin 1 as a biological mechanism driving breast cancer disparities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr C32.
Medical Students' Attitudes Toward Pain and the Use of Opioid Analgesics: Implications for Changing Medical School Curriculum

Background. Barriers to pain management include physicians' lack of knowledge and attitudes. Our aim was to investigate future physicians' knowledge and attitudes toward pain and the use of opioid analgesics. Methods. We tested a medical school class during their freshman and senior years. Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the personal traits that predicted opiophobia. Results. The professionalization process of medical training may reinforce negative attitudes. Psychologic characteristics were associated with reluctance to prescribe opioids, and fears of patient addiction and drug regulatory agency sanctions. Conclusions. Consistent attitudes were found in senior medical students with preferences for certain specialty areas and the practitioners of their future specialties, suggesting a preselection effect. Higher scores on reliance on high technology, external locus of control, and intolerance of clinical uncertainty were associated with higher scores on one or more of the three dimensions of opiophobia. Implications for medical education are discussed.
Increased 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity and cholesterol biosynthesis in freshly isolated hairy cell leukemia cells.

Freshly isolated hairy cells from the peripheral blood of patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) synthesize 3–5-fold greater amounts of cholesterol, lanosterol, and squalene from [1–14C]-acetate than do normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells under basal conditions of culture (i.e., in the presence of low-density lipoprotein). HCL cells also exhibit an eightfold increase in the activity of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase. These changes cannot be ascribed to increased rates of cellular proliferation in the HCL cells, nor are they a consequence of an increased rate of loss of newly synthesized cholesterol into the culture medium. The increased rate of cholesterol biosynthesis in HCL cells may result in an increase in their total cellular cholesterol content, as well as in an increase in their plasma membrane cholesterol:phospholipid molar ratio. These changes, in turn, are probably responsible for some of the clinical manifestations of this disease.
Exploring Pedagogical and Emotional Response in Higher Education Classrooms During the Boston Marathon Bombing Crisis

Using qualitative interviews, the study explored pedagogy and emotional responses of undergraduate and graduate teaching faculty during and after the Boston Marathon bombing crisis. The study interviewed nine undergraduate and graduate faculty members who were teaching across six Boston area universities and colleges when the Boston Marathon crisis occurred. Results found instructors felt a responsibility to emotionally respond to students during the crisis by acknowledging the crisis and highlighting resources in the classroom. The study further found that instructors often maintain curricular structure and invoke the crisis as a teaching tool to manage the classroom dynamic post-crisis. Limitations, directions for future research, and practical applications are discussed.
Getting Started with Java and LibGDX

This chapter will explain how to set up a Java development environment and configure it to run with the LibGDX game development framework. You’ll see a simple example of a “Hello, World!” program and explore it in enough detail to understand the different parts. Finally, you’ll learn some of the advantages to be gained by working with the LibGDX library.
Characterization and detection of physiologic lung changes before and after placement of bronchial valves using hyperpolarized helium-3 MR imaging: preliminary study.

Rationale and Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of hyperpolarized 3He (HHe) ventilation and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) HHe magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting changes in lung function and microstructure in emphysematous lung after bronchial valve (BV) placement. Materials and Methods One patient diagnosed with emphysema had nine BVs placed in upper lobe bronchi. Imaging was performed before and 6 months after BV placement. Coronal HHe ventilation MRI was used to assess volume changes in the ventilated portions of the lung. Coronal ADC HHe MRI, acquired with b value pairs of 0 and 1.6 s/cm2 during a second 10-second breath-hold, was used to compute ADC values. Results HHe ventilation MRI revealed decreased ventilation in the treated segments of the upper lobes after BV placement. Increased ventilation in the lower lobes and two untreated segments of the left upper lobes were also observed, with an upward shift of the major fissure of the right lung. Whole-lung mean ADC decreased by 6.3% from baseline, from 0.48 ± 0.196 to 0.45 ± 0.176 cm2/s (toward healthier values) following BV placement. Conclusions HHe ventilation MRI detected an increase in whole-lung volume and an interlobar fissure shift indicative of increased ventilation of lower relative to upper lobes. Reduced ADC values suggest increased ventilation to healthy lower lobes at the expense of more diseased, expanded alveolar spaces in the upper lobes distal to BV placement. These results suggest that this ionizing radiation–free method of examining the lungs may offer functional and structural information useful in BV intervention planning.
Creating Courses with No Textbook -- Pros and Cons: Panel Discussion

One of the high costs for students includes buying textbooks and other materials for courses. According to the Institute for College Access and Success (2015) project on the student debt report, Georgia ranked 24th in the nation with $26,518 average debt per student in 2014. [1] Since then, the average debt per student in Georgia increased 73 percent from $15,354. College affordability is determined by several factors, including textbook cost. The textbook price index has been tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) since 2001 (base period with index=100), rose from 115 in 2004 to 210 in 2014. [2]
Management of Pouch-Vaginal Fistulas

Since the initial description of restorative proctocolectomy in 1978 by Parks and Nicholls [1], the stapled ileal-pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) has evolved into the mainstay surgical treatment for most patients who require surgery for ulcerative colitis (UC) and many others with familial adenomatouspolyposis (FAP) [2–5]. Pouch vaginal fistula (PVF) is a specific complication after IPAA, first reported by Wong et al. in 1985 [6]. Though not a common problem, with reported incidence rates ranging from 2.9 to 16.7 % [7–19], PVF is a source of considerable morbidity for the patient and a technical challenge for the surgeon. The majority of PVF present in the first year after surgery; however, a late presentation might occur even after 10 years from surgery. The optimal management of PVF is not yet determined due to the relative paucity of published data. Most authors agree that the management depends on four basic etiologic/clinical factors: surgery related, sepsis related, disease related, and the location of the fistula.
GATA Factor Switching during Erythroid Differentiation Is Facilitated By FBW7 Mediated Clearance of GATA2

Erythroid differentiation is controlled by the dynamic exchange of GATA family transcription factors. During early erythroid maturation, high GATA2 levels activate progenitor genes such as c-kit-, c-myc, and GATA2 itself. In contrast, GATA1 levels are low in early progenitor cells, but rise during terminal maturation. During this process GATA1 turns off GATA2 controlled early progenitor genes and activates terminal maturation genes, such as globin genes, heme biosynthesis enzymes, and iron transporters. This involves the exchange of GATA1 for GATA2 at key chromatin sites, the so-called "GATA factor switch". GATA factor switching is facilitated by the much shorter half-life of GATA2 (~30-60 min) compared to GATA1 (>4-6 hrs). We and others recently demonstrated that the E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor protein FBW7 contributes to GATA29s relative instability. This prompted us to dissect the role of FBW7 during GATA switching and erythroid differentiation. We deleted the Fbw7 gene using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in the inducible G1-ER murine erythroid cell line. This resulted in the delayed clearance of GATA2 during differentiation. RNA-seq analysis at an early time points (7 hr) demonstrated impaired repression of GATA2 regulated genes and reduced activation of GATA1 target genes. Globally, altered gene expression was enriched for GATA factor switch genes. This ultimately resulted in delayed erythroid maturation. We also found that Fbw7 mRNA transcript levels increase during erythroid maturation in wild type cells. We identified a site ~40kb upstream of the Fbw7 gene transcriptional start site, which is itself a GATA factor switch site. We propose that FBW7 facilitates GATA factor switching by promoting the clearance of GATA2 from GATA factor switch sites. Moreover, we suggest that GATA factor switching at the Fbw7 locus itself reinforces the commitment of erythroid cells to terminal maturation, by enhancing the clearance of GATA2 and other Fbw7 progenitor target gene proteins such as c-Myc and c-Myb. As Fbw7 recognition of GATA2 requires phosphorylation of GATA29s degron motif, this suggests that signaling pathways, acting through Fbw7, may modulate erythroid maturation kinetics. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Chiwara: The African Antelope Speaks

At the conclusion of his reflections on “The Origin of the Work of Art,” Martin Heidegger says, “the reflections are concerned with the riddle of art, the riddle that art itself is. They are far from claiming to solve the riddle. The task is to see the riddle.”62 I propose that we open ourselves to what Heidegger claims in preparation for what Chiwara presents to us, and in preparation for how we are presented by Chiwara. What is at stake here is the riddle of seeing—seeing that both speaks and listens. The seeing that is operative in the work of art is animated by the riddle. Let us not try to solve the riddle. The attempt can only lead to the withdrawal of Chiwara. I suspect that much of what Heidegger has in mind has something to do with the Greek sense of the oracle. This is not a farfetched suspicion. Those who are familiar with his thinking know that, for him, what truly matters has already been noted more fundamentally by the Greeks. A part of Heidegger’s problem is that the Greeks he had in mind are his Greeks, not Greek Greeks, and clearly not African Greeks. Had he a correct view of the Greek Greeks, he would have known that the waters that wash the Greek shores or the Greek islands are the same waters that wash the African coasts. These waters do not wash German coasts. The Greek oracularity has much in common with African oracularity. Accordingly, let us take the African antelope speaking as an oracle—an oracle to be interpreted in a way that this speaking does not cease to be so. Chinua Achebe, a well-known African writer, reminds us that in Africa, proverbs are the palm wine with which words are eaten.63 In Africa, what is proverbial is oracular in an African way, but a way that is inherently open to other ways.
A Tutorial on the Economics of Payday Lending: Loan Sharking or Risky Lending

The typical payday loan is for less than $500, has a maturity of two weeks, is secured by the borrower’s post-dated check or debit authorization, and carries a compound annual rate of interest that can easily exceed 10,000 percent. If you imagined the terms of illegal loan sharking you may not envision rates this high, and these loans are legal in 35 states! The objective of this brief tutorial is to describe the little understood world of payday lending. Specifically, we explain the nature of payday lending, reveal the true cost of payday loans from the borrowers perspective and contrast this with the expected return the lender anticipates given the very high default rates on this type of loan, provide context regarding the significance of payday loans as a source of financing for individuals, and describe the public policy issues surrounding their use.
GaAs(100) Surface Passivation with Sulfide and Fluoride Ions

Interaction of GaAs with sulfur can be immensely beneficial in reducing the deleterious effect of surface states on recombination attributes. Bonding of sulfur on GaAs is also important for developing novel molecular devices and sensors, where a molecular channel can be connected to GaAs surface via thiol functional group. However, the primary challenge lies in increasing the stability and effectiveness of the sulfur passivated GaAs. We have investigated the effect of single and double step surface passivation of n-GaAs(100) by using the sulfide and fluoride ions. Our single-step passivation involved the use of sulfide and fluoride ions individually. However, the two kinds of double-step passivations were performed by treating the n-GaAs surface. In the first approach GaAs surface was firstly treated with sulfide ions and secondly with fluoride ions, respectively. In the second double step approach GaAs surface was first treated with fluoride ions followed by sulfide ions, respectively. Sulfidation was conducted using the nonaqueous solution of sodium sulfide salt. Whereas the passivation steps with fluoride ion was performed with the aqueous solution of ammonium fluoride. Both sulfidation and fluoridation steps were performed either by dipping the GaAs sample in the desired ionic solution or electrochemically. Photoluminescence was conducted to characterize the relative changes in surface recombination velocity due to the single and double step surface passivation. Photoluminescence study showed that the double-step chemical treatment where GaAs was first treated with fluoride ions followed by the sulfide ions yielded the highest improvement. The time vs. photoluminescence study showed that this double-step passivation exhibited lower degradation rate as compared to widely discussed sulfide ion passivated GaAs surface. We also conducted surface elemental analysis using Rutherford Back Scattering to decipher the near surface chemical changes due to the four passivation methodologies we adopted. The double-step passivations affected the shallower region near GaAs surface as compared to the single step passivations.
Ancient Glacial-Marine Deposits: Their Spatial and Temporal Distribution

A number of different criteria for recognizing glacial-marine deposits and for distinguishing them from other glacial and nonglacial deposits exist. These are outlined in this paper. Unfortunately, most investigations of inferred glacial-marine sequences have relied on only a few of these criteria, and the criteria used vary with different investigators. Also, some major misconceptions about glacial-marine sedimentation exist; these are the result of our poor understanding of modern glacial-marine environments. As a result, there is dispute over the origin of many diamictite- and/or lonestone-bearing sequences.
Implications for Psychiatry of a Thermodynamic Model of Brain Operating Far from Equilibrium

Phenomenologists hold that perception works by the creation of meaning through chaotic dynamics that forms hypotheses about the environment, and that adapts through learning. Experimental evidence for creative thermodynamics in brains is briefly sketched. The explanation is offered that brains, being finite systems, work this way in order to cope with the infinite complexity of the world. All that brains can know is the hypotheses they construct and the results of testing them by acting into the environment, and learning by assimilation from the sensory consequences of their actions. The process is intentionality, using the action-perception cycle. The cost is the progressive isolation of individuals. Socialization and the acquisition of shared knowledge require emergence of new personality structure by self-organization through chaotic dissolution of existing structure. Dissolution is most clearly seen in crisis situations as regression to earlier stages of development. A thermodynamic model of this unlearning is proposed.
Influence of body composition on energy requirements of beef cows during winter.

Twenty Angus-Hereford and 20 Angus-Holstein cows were individually fed 12.9 or 18.0 Mcal metabolizable energy (ME)/head daily from November 28, 1979 through February 21, 1980. Energy retentions for the winter feeding period were calculated by determining body composition at the initiation and at the termination of the feeding period. After the experimental period, all cows were managed the same through weaning. Maintenance energy requirements (Kcal/d) estimated from linear regressions of energy retentions on ME intakes per unit body weight (BW).75 were 127.6 and 140.3 kcal/BW.75 for Angus-Hereford and Angus-Holstein cows, respectively. Estimates of maintenance energy requirements for thin and fat cows within each breed type indicated that fatter cows of Angus-Hereford breeding had 6.1% lower energy requirements than thinner cows. Opposite trends occurred with Angus-Holstein cows, where fat cows had 2.7% higher maintenance requirements. Estimated maintenance energy requirements were higher (P less than .01) for protein than fat tissue. Maintenance energy requirements of fat was -1.55 kcal ME/kg for Angus-Hereford cows, indicating that for cows of the same lean body mass, cows with more fat have a lower daily energy requirement during winter. Angus-Holstein cows had an estimated maintenance energy requirement of fat of 51.11 kcal ME/kg. Because cattle of Holstein breeding have less subcutaneous fat than cattle of the beef breeds, and less subcutaneous fat would provide less insulation, the estimated maintenance requirements of fat in Angus-Holstein cows may be an estimate of the true maintenance requirement of fat. Estimates of the partial efficiency of ME use for tissue gain and the ME sparing effect of body tissue loss were 78.8% and .70, respectively, for Angus-Hereford cows and 53.8% and .46, respectively, for Angus-Holstein cows. Regression of retained energy on cow BW.75, body fat and body protein calculated for Angus-Hereford and Angus-Holstein cows from within energy level indicated that BW.75 accounted for less variation in retained energy than weight of empty body fat or protein. Multiple regressions that contained all three variables accounted for 75% and 32% of the variation for Angus-Hereford and Angus-Holstein cows, respectively. Subsequent performance of the cow and calf was not affected by winter energy levels fed, body composition of cows before calving or body energy changes of cows during the winter.
A sub-nW Wake-up Receiver for Human Body Communication

Human Body Communication (HBC) has recently emerged as an alternative to wireless radio wave communication for connecting resource constrained devices around the body. HBC utilizes the human body as the communication medium between the devices and provides higher energy efficiency and enhanced security enabling applications such as remote health monitoring, biometric authentication etc. As these applications require data transfer in small bursts, it is not necessary to keep the higher power consuming main receiver awake all the time. This paper carries out architectural and circuit level analysis considering HBC channel characteristics to find the optimum wake-up receiver architecture. This leads to the proposal of a narrowband HBC wake-up receiver which operates at sub-nW power. Design trade-offs for choosing the architecture (narrowband vs broadband) and system level parameters (frequency of operation, modulation technique) has been discussed by utilizing the appropriate human body channel models. Simulation results using TSMC 65nm technology shows 694 pW operation even under channel loss conditions as high as 80dB, potentially enabling applications with energy harvesting,
Substitution Reactions on Iodine and Bromine: Mechanisms for Facile Halogenations of Heterocycles

Gas-phase techniques were used to examine the halogenation of deprotonated heterocycles by perfluoroaryl and perfluoroalkyl halides. The results indicate that SN2@Br and SN2@I reactions can be very facile and are effective means of halogenating heterocycles. 2-Iodoheptafluoropropane is exceptionally selective for SN2@I reactions with yields upward of 90%. The results also provide evidence counter to the recent suggestion that t-butoxide-induced halogenations of heterocycles proceed via a radical mechanism.
Sounding Out the Progymnasmata

This article positions the progymnasmata, an ancient sequence of rhetorical exercises, as a rich resource for contemporary scholarship on rhetoric and sound. Drawing on work at the intersection of ...
Long Run Feedback in the Broker Call Money Market

I unravel the basic long run dynamics of the broker call money market, which is the pile of cash that funds margin loans to retail clients (read: continuous time Kelly gamblers). Call money is assumed to supply itself perfectly inelastically, and to continuously reinvest all principal and interest. I show that the relative size of the money market (that is, relative to the Kelly bankroll) is a martingale that nonetheless converges in probability to zero. The margin loan interest rate is a submartingale that converges in mean square to the choke price $r_\infty:=\nu-\sigma^2/2$, where $\nu$ is the asymptotic compound growth rate of the stock market and $\sigma$ is its annual volatility. In this environment, the gambler no longer beats the market asymptotically a.s. by an exponential factor (as he would under perfectly elastic supply). Rather, he beats the market asymptotically with very high probability (think 98%) by a factor (say 1.87, or 87% more final wealth) whose mean cannot exceed what the leverage ratio was at the start of the model (say, $2:1$). Although the ratio of the gambler's wealth to that of an equivalent buy-and-hold investor is a submartingale (always expected to increase), his realized compound growth rate converges in mean square to $\nu$. This happens because the equilibrium leverage ratio converges to $1:1$ in lockstep with the gradual rise of margin loan interest rates.
Noncontact noninvasive monitoring of small laboratory animal's vital sign activities using a 60-GHz radar

The use of radar technologies for biomedical research has potential benefits due to their effectiveness for noninvasively monitoring physiological responses and more humane treatments of living animals. It provides a useful tool for a more rapid, efficacious, and cost-effective extraction of animal's physiological data with great potential for clinical animal research, such as studying behavioral science (feeding rate or licking rate), monitoring the onset and progression of disease, and assessment of physiological responses to new treatments or drugs in a stress-free manner.
Foundation: What Were the Rules of Saturday Morning Before the Japanese Imports?

O’Melia begins her in-depth analysis of the transformation of the conventions within the programs on Saturday Morning by establishing a baseline for comparison. In this foundational chapter, she analyzes Looney Tunes, Garfield and Friends, The Real Ghostbusters, and Saved by the Bell, observing how their narratives are constructed and presented, as well as the ideological assumptions underpinning the tropes and conventions used in them. Then, despite the diverse genres of all four programs, she highlights the commonalities that united the series together and the narrative culture that had developed on Saturday Morning before the Japanese imports that began with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993.
Developing and Validating a Definition of Impulsive/Reactive Aggression in Youth

The goal of this study is to develop a rational data-driven definition of impulsive/reactive aggression and establish distinctions between impulsive/reactive aggression and other common childhood problems. This is a secondary analysis of data from Assessing Bipolar: A Community Academic Blend (ABACAB; N = 636, ages 5-18), Stanley Medical Research Institute N = 392, ages 5-17), and the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms (LAMS; N = 679, ages 6-12) studies, which recruited youths seeking outpatient mental health services in academic medical centers and community clinics. Following Jensen et al.'s (2007) procedure, 3 judges independently rated items from several widely used scales in terms of assessing impulsive/reactive aggression. Principal components analyses (PCA) modeled structure of the selected items supplemented by items related to mood symptoms, rule-breaking behavior, and hyperactivity/impulsivity to better define the boundaries between impulsive/reactive aggression and other common childhood symptoms. In the rational item selection process, there was good agreement among the 3 experts who rated items as characterizing impulsive/reactive aggression or not. PCA favored 5 dimension solutions in all 3 samples. Across all samples, PCA resulted in rule-breaking behavior, aggression-impulsive/reactive (AIR), mania, and depression dimensions; there was an additional hyperactive/impulsive dimension in the LAMS sample and a self-harm dimension in ABACAB and Stanley samples. The dimensions demonstrated good internal consistency; criterion validity coefficients also showed consistency across samples. This study is a step toward developing an empirically derived nosology of impulsive aggression/AIR. Findings support the validity of the AIR construct, which can be distinguished from manic and depressive symptoms as well as rule-breaking behavior.
Formation of HETE-EAs and dihydroxy derivatives in mouse kidney tissue and analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Abstract The kidneys play an important role in the long-term regulation of blood pressure by control of salt and water balance in the body through various systems including the endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system consists of the two major cannabinoid receptor agonists, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), their hydrolyzing enzymes, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), and the cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2. AEA can be converted into 12- and 15(S)-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid ethanolamides by 12-LOX and 15-LOX, respectively and can form epoxyeicosatrienoic acid- (EET-EAs) (5,6-, 8,9-, 11,12-, 14,15-) and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid- (HETE) ethanolamides. Furthermore, the EET-EAs produce a secondary metabolism by microsomal epoxide hydrolase to form the corresponding dihydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid-EAs (DiHETE-EA). Reference material was not available for DiHETE-EA. These metabolites were synthesized by incubation of the corresponding EET-EAs with mouse liver cytosol containing epoxide hydrolases. Presented is a solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) for the extraction and quantitation of AEA, 2-AG, their metabolites, oleoylethanolamide (OEA), and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), and the in vivo formation of the DiHETE-EAs in kidney after a single intravenous bolus administration of 20 mg/kg of anandamide in C57BL/6 J and FAAH KO mice.
Endotracheal cuff pressures in the PICU: Incidence of underinflation and overinflation.

Background While uncuffed endotracheal tubes have been traditionally used in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) population, evidence suggests cuffed endotracheal tubes (ETTs) are also safe to use within this population. Nevertheless, risks related to the use of cuffed ETTs increase when guidelines for safe and appropriate use are not followed. The primary goal of this study was to measure the cuff pressure (CP) using a cuff pressure manometer in a group of intubated pediatric subjects and determine the rate of cuff underinflation ( 30 cm H20). The secondary aim was to determine whether CP was associated to gender, age, ETT size, and PICU length of stay prior to CP measurement. Methods This was a prospective observational study conducted in an urban PICU. Pediatric subjects intubated with cuffed ETTs from 1 April 2017 to 1 May 2017 were included in the study. ETT CPs were measured daily to determine degree of inflation and compared according to gender, age, ETT size, and number of days intubated prior to CP measurement. Descriptive data are expressed as means and standard deviations. A two-sample t test was used to compare groups according to age, gender, and number of days present. And significance was considered with a P < 0.05. Pearson chi test was used to evaluate correlation between CPs and size of the ETT, number of days intubated prior to CP measurement, gender, and age. Results Twenty pediatric subjects admitted during the study period were included for analysis. Eleven cuff measurements were found to be within normal limits, while 9 cuff measurements were found to be underinflated. No cases of overinflation were found. There were no significant associations between CP and size of the ETT (r = -0.08), number of days intubated prior to CP measurement (r = 0.19), gender (r = 0.09), and age (r = 0.12). Conclusions Our study suggests that endotracheal cuff underinflation occurs often in the PICU population. Strategies to ensure appropriate ETT CPs are maintained are essential in the intubated pediatric population. Additional studies are necessary to develop interventions and training focused on the use of a cuff pressure manometer to measure CPs in the PICU by respiratory therapists and ensure consistent measurement using inter rater evaluation processes are needed.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of outcomes of anatomic repair in congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of outcomes of anatomic repair in congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries
Functional contexts of adipose and gluteal muscle tissue gene co-expression networks in the domestic horse

A gene's response to an environment is tightly bound to the underlying genetic variation present in an individual's genome and varies greatly depending on the tissue it is being expressed in. Gene co-expression networks provide a mechanism to understand and interpret the collective transcriptional responses of genes. Here, we use the Camoco co-expression network framework to characterize the transcriptional landscape of adipose and gluteal muscle tissue in 83 domestic horses (Equus caballus) representing 5 different breeds. In each tissue, gene expression profiles, capturing transcriptional response due to variation across individuals, were used to build two separate, tissue-focused, genotypically-diverse gene co-expression networks. The aim of our study was to identify significantly co-expressed clusters of genes in each tissue, then compare the clusters across networks to quantify the extent that clusters were found in both networks as well as to identify clusters found in a single network. The known and unknown functions for each network were quantified using complementary, supervised and unsupervised approaches. First, supervised ontological enrichment was utilized to quantify biological functions represented by each network. Curated ontologies (GO and KEGG) were used to measure the known biological functions present in each tissue. Overall, a large percentage of terms (40.3% of GO and 41% of KEGG) were co-expressed in at least one tissue. Many terms were co-expressed in both tissues, however a small proportion of terms exhibited single tissue co-expression suggesting functional differentiation based on curated, functional annotation. To complement this, an unsupervised approach not relying on ontologies was employed. Strongly co-expressed sets of genes defined by Markov clustering identified sets of unannotated genes showing similar patterns of co-expression within a tissue. We compared gene sets across tissues and identified clusters of genes the either segregate in co-expression by tissue or exhibit high levels of co-expression in both tissues. Clusters were also integrated with GO and KEGG ontologies to identify gene sets containing previously curated annotations versus unannotated gene sets indicating potentially novel biological function. Coupling together these transcriptional datasets, we mapped the transcriptional landscape of muscle and adipose setting up a generalizable framework for interpreting gene function for additional tissues in the horse and other species.
Afro-Diasporic women navigating the black ceiling: Individual, relational, and organizational strategies

Abstract In this article, we describe how the black ceiling—upheld by the powerful institutional logics of patriarchy and white supremacy, inordinately challenging and interlocking systemic barriers to leadership advancement—leads to the dearth of Afro-Diasporic women in senior corporate leadership positions and pathologizes Afro-Diasporic women as multiple outsiders. As a result, Afro-Diasporic women’s well-being in the workplace is compromised and many adopt coping and survival strategies to navigate a myriad of relational and environmental phenomena, such as spirit murder, emotional taxation, social closure, white privilege, and white fragility. To navigate and ameliorate these dynamics, we advance several individual, relational, and organizational strategies that support Afro-Diasporic women thriving in the workplace.
IR dynamics of d = 2, = (4,4) gauge theories and DLCQ of "little string theories"

We analyze the superconformal theories (SCFTs) which arise in the low-energy limit of = (4,4) supersymmetric gauge theories in two dimensions, primarily the Higgs branch SCFT. By a direct field theory analysis we find a continuum of ``throat''-like states localized near the singularities of the Higgs branch. The ``throat'' is similar to the ``throat'' found in the Coulomb branch of the same theories, but the full superconformal field theories of the two branches are different. A particular example is the SCFT of the 4/2 sigma model with zero theta angle. In the application of the Higgs branch SCFTs to the DLCQ description of ``little string theories'' (LSTs), the ``throat'' continuum is identified with the continuum of ``throat'' states in the holographic description of the LSTs. We also match the descriptions of the string interactions (in the ``throat'' region) in the DLCQ and holographic descriptions of the = (2,0) LSTs.
Economic Freedom and the Economic Consequences of the 1918 Pandemic

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 constituted a strong exogenous shock on economic activity that compounded that of the First World War. In this paper, we condition the economic importance of these shocks on the level of economic freedom measured by the HIEL project (Prados de la Escosura 2016) to test whether freer economies fared better. Our argument is that higher levels of economic freedom meant a greater ability to adjust to the shocks by reducing frictions in the reallocation of resources and the reorganization of economic activity. We find that countries with higher levels of economic freedom suffered less from the pandemic. We link this finding with the literature on economic freedom and crises.
Association of attention and memory biases for negative stimuli with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms

Abstract Cognitive models have highlighted the role of attentional and memory biases towards negatively-valenced emotional stimuli in the maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, previous research has focused mainly on attentional biases towards distracting (task-irrelevant) negative stimuli. Furthermore, attentional and memory biases have been examined in isolation and the links between them remain underexplored. We manipulated attention during encoding of trauma-unrelated negative and neutral words and examined the differential relationship of their encoding and recall with PTSD symptoms. Responders to the World Trade Center disaster (N=392) performed tasks in which they read negative and neutral words and reported the color of another set of such words. Subsequently, participants used word stems to aid retrieval of words shown earlier. PTSD symptoms were associated with slower response times for negative versus neutral words in the word-reading task (r=0.170) but not color-naming task. Furthermore, greater PTSD symptom severity was associated with more accurate recall of negative versus neutral words, irrespective of whether words were encoded during word-reading or color-naming tasks (F=4.11, p=0.044, ηp2=0.018). Our results show that PTSD symptoms in a trauma-exposed population are related to encoding of trauma-unrelated negative versus neutral stimuli only when attention was voluntarily directed towards the emotional aspects of the stimuli and to subsequent recall of negative stimuli, irrespective of attention during encoding.
Playful learning in the twenty-first century: Motivational variables, interest assessment, and games

The motivational terms of engagement, interest, and motivation are usually used interchangeably across disciplines. This trend is problematic because each construct has unique characteristics that either differ or overlap each other, and as a result, empirical works that are unclear about which construct is being measured attributes to muddling the overall quality of the research area on interest development. The issue of interest measurement is further complicated by the increased use of technology and games for learning. The purpose of this literature review is to first provide definitions of engagement, interest, and motivation as well as their relationship to each other in learning. Then, I inspect previous methods used to assess interest and report on the recent assessments of interest development using analog and digital games for learning. Empirical works selected for this literature review directly measuring interest and were recent publications (< 5 years), and a total of seven studies in out-of-school K-12 learning settings were examined in detail. Findings from the literature review show that interest assessment has traditionally relied on self-report measures over a brief period of time, whereas ideally a more accurate representation of interest tracking pairs’ self-report measures with fieldwork across an individual’s lifespan. A common occurrence found in interest assessment studies include small sample groups and an inconsistency in measurements of interest. Further research is needed to develop an instrument or methodology that can measure interest in isolation from other motivational variables and for adaption across disciplines.
Determinants of Income Inequality in the Early Twenty-First Century: A Cross-National Study

This paper uses Solt’s Standardized World Income Inequality Database and attempts to explain variations in Gini coefficients for net household income across 142 developing, transitional and developed societies. The causal model contains three sets of explanatory variables: (1) economic dualism, (2) educational attainment and educational inequality, and (3) political and state influences on income inequality. The most important cause of inequality is still the Kuznets effect: societies at low and high levels of development have less inequality than those at intermediate levels. Population growth increases inequality. Rising labor productivity in the agricultural relative to that in the non-agricultural sector, and being a former Soviet society reduce inequality. Educational attainment has less effect than educational inequality on income inequality. Government income transfers sometimes reduce inequality, but have no effect when all variables are in the model. Finally, liberal democracy has no net effect on inequality
Recurrent dyspnea following multiple ablations for atrial fibrillation explained by the “stiff left atrial syndrome”

We present the case of a patient who underwent repeated ablations for atrial fibrillation and presented with recurrent dyspnea, elevated left atrial pressure with large V waves in the absence of mitral regurgitation. This case provides an example of "stiff left atrial syndrome" as has been described in patients with mitral valve replacement and only recently in patients with radiofrequency ablations for atrial fibrillation.
Solar waves and oscillations.

Study of the generation and propagation of waves in the solar convection zone and atmosphere began with the realization in the late 1940s that such waves could carry mechanical energy from the turbulent convection zone into the chromosphere and corona. Dissipation of these waves could then produce the observed increase in temperature in the outer atmosphere of the Sun, and could explain much, if not all, of the observed nonthermal broadening of solar spectrum lines. Such propagating waves are difficult to observe, largely because they are transient and of small spatial scale, and one is often reduced to inferring their presence from a combination of indirect observations together with a chain of theoretical arguments. Further difficulties arise in both theory and observation because the waves become highly nonlinear in the chromosphere and corona and experience strong nonadiabatic effects in and just below the photosphere. These effects are extremely difficult to model accurately, hence the waveforms are largely unknown.
PKCs Sweeten Cell Metabolism by Phosphorylation of Glut1

In this issue, Lee et al. (2015) show that PKC directly phosphorylates the glucose transporter Glut1, in order to promote glucose uptake in response to growth factor signaling.
Growth and Water Relations of Kentucky Coffee Tree and Silver Maple Following Transplanting

Abstract Following transplanting we monitored growth and water relations over two years in Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica (L.) C. Koch) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.). Field-grown, well-established trees transplanted in place were compared to nontransplanted control trees. Predawn water potential was measured twice each month for two growing seasons, as well as midday stomatal conductance and water potential. Shoot elongation, leaf size, diameter growth, and total leaf area were determined both years. Less total leaf area as a result of transplanting apparently moderated total tree transpiration in both species. Reduced tree transpiration allowed stomatal conductance and predawn water potential to reach levels equal to non-transplanted trees in both species during periods of high rainfall. During low-rainfall periods water relations of transplanted Kentucky coffee tree (KCT) declined more than silver maple (MAP) relative to the control trees. Compared to non-transplanted trees, transplan...
A study of overflow simulations using MPAS-Ocean: Vertical grids, resolution, and viscosity

Abstract MPAS-Ocean is used to simulate an idealized, density-driven overflow using the dynamics of overflow mixing and entrainment (DOME) setup. Numerical simulations are carried out using three of the vertical coordinate types available in MPAS-Ocean, including z-star with partial bottom cells, z-star with full cells, and sigma coordinates. The results are first benchmarked against other models, including the MITgcm’s z-coordinate model and HIM’s isopycnal coordinate model, which are used to set the base case used for this work. A full parameter study is presented that looks at how sensitive overflow simulations are to vertical grid type, resolution, and viscosity. Horizontal resolutions with 50 km grid cells are under-resolved and produce poor results, regardless of other parameter settings. Vertical grids ranging in thickness from 15 m to 120 m were tested. A horizontal resolution of 10 km and a vertical resolution of 60 m are sufficient to resolve the mesoscale dynamics of the DOME configuration, which mimics real-world overflow parameters. Mixing and final buoyancy are least sensitive to horizontal viscosity, but strongly sensitive to vertical viscosity. This suggests that vertical viscosity could be adjusted in overflow water formation regions to influence mixing and product water characteristics. Lastly, the study shows that sigma coordinates produce much less mixing than z-type coordinates, resulting in heavier plumes that go further down slope. Sigma coordinates are less sensitive to changes in resolution but as sensitive to vertical viscosity compared to z-coordinates.
Vision and oral roentgenology

Abstract The subject of vision as it is related to oral roentgenology has been discussed. The pertinent findings of investigators working in the field of optics are presented to inform the oral diagnostician of this relationship. Attention is drawn to the need for dentists to utilize good viewing techniques when examining roentgenograms. This article also indicates that much information is needed concerning the visual process and its relationship to diagnostic roentgenology.