cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cospeciation and Horizontal Transmission of Avian Sarcoma and Leukosis Virus gag Genes in Galliform Birds

In a study of the evolution and distribution of avian retroviruses, we found avian sarcoma and leukosis virus (ASLV) gag genes in 26 species of galliform birds from North America, Central America, eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Nineteen of the 26 host species from whom ASLVs were sequenced were not previously known to contain ASLVs. We assessed congruence between ASLV phylogenies based on a total of 110 gag gene sequences and ASLV-host phylogenies based on mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA and ND2 sequences to infer coevolutionary history for ASLVs and their hosts. Widespread distribution of ASLVs among diverse, endemic galliform host species suggests an ancient association. Congruent ASLV and host phylogenies for two species of Perdix, two species of Gallus, and Lagopus lagopus and L. mutus also indicate an old association with vertical transmission and cospeciation for these ASLVs and hosts. An inference of horizontal transmission of ASLVs among some members of the Tetraoninae subfamily (grouse and ptarmigan) is supported by ASLV monophyletic groups reflecting geographic distribution and proximity of hosts rather than host species phylogeny. We provide a preliminary phylogenetic taxonomy for the new ASLVs, in which named taxa denote monophyletic groups.
Affinitätsbestimmung durch kompetitive Bindung mit Fluor‐19‐hyperpolarisierten Liganden

Fluor-19-NMR-Spektroskopie und -Hyperpolarisierung bilden eine leistungsfahige Kombination fur die Suche nach pharmakologischen Wirkstoffen. Im kompetitiven Gleichgewicht mit einem ausgewahlten fluorierten Reporterliganden ist die Dissoziationskonstante (KD) eines gewunschten Liganden durch einen einzelnen Scan eines Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill(CPMG)-Experimentes messbar, ohne dass eine Titration notwendig ist. Diese Methode wird durch die Charakterisierung der Bindung dreier Liganden mit unterschiedlichen Affinitaten zur Serinprotease Trypsin demonstriert. Monte-Carlo-Simulationen zeigen, dass die groste Genauigkeit erreicht wird, wenn ungefahr die Halfte des gebundenen Reporterliganden verdrangt wird. Diese Bedingung kann uber einen grosen Bereich von Affinitaten erreicht werden und ermoglicht die Untersuchung der Bindung nichtfluorierter Liganden in rascher Folge, wenn ein einzelner fluorierter Ligand fur die gewunschte Bindungsstelle bekannt ist.
A preliminary magnetic resonance imaging study of ECT-treated depressed patients.

We report a prospective investigation of possible ECT-related structural brain changes using serial MRI
Neurotrophic Factor Deprivation‐induced Death

Deprivation of sympathetic neurons of their physiological neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor (NGF), leads to degeneration of soma and neurites, followed by loss of viability. The progression of degeneration and death are dependent upon macromolecular synthesis indicating an active participation of neuronal metabolism. Loss of viability begins only after a considerable delay after onset of NGF deprivation suggesting the presence of a sequence of degenerative events that triggers death. Such a sequence of degenerative events predicts that the activity of neuroprotective agents functioning by different mechanisms will be restricted to particular windows in time. The time-course of commitment to die as measured by the ability of NGF-deprived neurons to respond to NGF with long-term survival precedes the time-course of loss of viability by only a few hours, demonstrating that NGF displays neuroprotective properties for most of the time between onset of deprivation and death. Furthermore, NGF repairs and reverses the degenerative changes caused by prolonged periods of NGF deprivation. Because of these two aspects of NGF action, NGF demonstrates superior properties as a neuroprotective agents. NGF deprivation initiates DNA fragmentation of the neuronal genome into oligonucleosomal fragments in close temporal association with the onset of commitment to die. This is consistent with the idea that DNA fragmentation may be instrumental in causing the commitment to die. Thus, DNA fragmentation may serve as a marker of the physiologically most relevant critical step occurring during degeneration and may indicate the end of the period during which trophic factors are useful as neuroprotective agents. These results may be transferable to neurodegenerative diseases or sequelae of neuronal injury because of similarities in the phenomenology of degeneration and death.
Development and Validation of the Home Musical Environment Scale for Use at the Early Elementary Level

This study was designed to develop and validate the Home Musical Environment Scale (HOMES), a 15-item parent sell- reporting measure to assess the home musical environment. The initial contents (content validity) of the HOMES represented a variety of aspects of parental musical attitudes and efforts in pro- viding a nurturing musical environment as identified in the litera- ture and present in available measures. After a panel of experts revised the instrument, it was tested with 157 second-grade children and their parents. The analysis revealed an alpha relia- bility of *86 and the factor analysis uncovered four factors (scales) with eigen values over 1-0, which accounted for 63 per cent of the variance. Concurrent validity was established by comparing the scores on the HOMES with the music teacher's perception of the subjects' home musical environment. Results showed that three of the four scales were significantly related to the teacher's per- ception. These results suggest that the HOMES may be used b...
Radiopharmaceuticals: When and how to use them to treat metastatic bone pain

Bone pain due to skeletal metastases constitutes the most common type of cancer-related pain. The management of bone pain remains challenging and is not standardized. In patients with multifocal osteoblastic metastases, systemic radiopharmaceuticals should be the preferred adjunctive therapy for pain palliation. The lack of general knowledge about radiopharmaceuticals, their clinical utility and safety profiles, constitutes the major cause for their underutilization. Our goal is to review the indications, selection criteria, efficacy, and toxicities of two approved radiopharmaceuticals for bone pain palliation: strontium-89 and samarium-153. Finally, a brief review of the data on combination therapy with bisphosphonates or chemotherapy is included.
The accuracy of integrated PET-CT compared with dedicated pet alone for the staging of patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer

Abstract Background The treatment of patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is determined by the stage. We evaluated the accuracy of staging using integrated positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) and compared it with dedicated PET visually correlated with CT scan. Methods A prospective blinded trial was performed on a consecutive series of patients with NSCLC. Patients underwent integrated PET-CT scanning with 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG-18). A radiologist assigned the T, N and M status. No sooner than 2 weeks the same radiologist read the dedicated PET alone, without the integrated CT images and a T, N and M status was assigned again. The most recent CT scan was available and visually correlated with both studies. All patients underwent biopsies of suspicious N2 or N3 lymph node or distant metastases and if negative, pulmonary resection with lymphadenectomy was performed. Results There were 129 patients. Integrated PET-CT is a better predictor than PET for all stages of cancer and achieved statistical significance for stage I (52% versus 33%, p = 0.03) and for stage II (70% versus 36%, p = 0.04). It also is a better overall predictor for T status (70% versus 47%, p = 0.001) and the N status (78% versus 56%, p = 0.008). Nodal analysis shows that integrated PET-CT was more accurate for the total N2 nodes (96% versus 93%, p = 0.01) and for the total N1 nodes (90% versus 80%, p = 0.001). It was also more sensitive, specific, and had a higher positive predictive value for both N2 and N1 nodes ( p Conclusions Integrated PET-CT using FDG-18 better predicts stage I and II disease as well as the T and N status of patients with NSCLC when compared with dedicated PET alone. It is more accurate at some nodal stations but still only achieves an accuracy of 96% and 90% for the N2 and N1 nodes, respectively.
A geographical perspective on poverty- environment interactions

This paper examines prevailing wisdoms on the topic of poverty–environmental interactions, problematizes some standard assumptions and interrogates the geographical literature on the subject. Dominant development discourse has tended to blame the poor for environmental degradation, ignoring the role of other processes and actors at various scales in causing environmental degradation. We examine how definitions of poverty, institutional arrangements, conventional economic models and assumed feedback loops may influence our understanding of poverty–environment interactions. The article gives particular attention to the political ecology approach as a lens through which this dynamic may be understood. Recent work in political ecology has broadened views of poverty–environment interactions by focusing on issues of power, scale and discourse in influencing outcomes and policies.
Rapamycin and Glucose-Target of Rapamycin (TOR) Protein Signaling in Plants * □

Target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is an evolutionarily conserved master regulator that integrates energy, nutrients, growth factors, and stress signals to promote survival and growth in all eukaryotes. The reported land plant resistance to rapamycin and the embryo lethality of the Arabidopsis tor mutants have hindered functional dissection of TOR signaling in plants. We developed sensitive cellular and seedling assays to monitor endogenous Arabidopsis TOR activity based on its conserved S6 kinase (S6K) phosphorylation. Surprisingly, rapamycin effectively inhibits Arabidopsis TOR-S6K1 signaling and retards glucose-mediated root and leaf growth, mimicking estradiol-inducible tor mutants. Rapamycin inhibition is relieved in transgenic plants deficient in Arabidopsis FK506-binding protein 12 (FKP12), whereas FKP12 overexpression dramatically enhances rapamycin sensitivity. The role of Arabidopsis FKP12 is highly specific as overexpression of seven closely related FKP proteins fails to increase rapamycin sensitivity. Rapamycin exerts TOR inhibition by inducing direct interaction between the TOR-FRB (FKP-rapamycin binding) domain and FKP12 in plant cells. We suggest that variable endogenous FKP12 protein levels may underlie the molecular explanation for longstanding enigmatic observations on inconsistent rapamycin resistance in plants and in various mammalian cell lines or diverse animal cell types. Integrative analyses with rapamycin and conditional tor and fkp12 mutants also reveal a central role of glucose-TOR signaling in root hair formation. Our studies demonstrate the power of chemical genetic approaches in the discovery of previously unknown and pivotal functions of glucose-TOR signaling in governing the growth of cotyledons, true leaves, petioles, and primary and secondary roots and root hairs.
Diminished Ca2+ Sensitivity of Skinned Cardiac Muscle Contractility Coincident With Troponin T–Band Shifts in the Diabetic Rat

Abstract We have measured the apparent Ca2+ sensitivities of force development in skinned cardiac trabeculae at different sarcomere lengths together with shifts in troponin (Tn) T subunits on specimens from the same hearts and drawn insights into the pathogenesis of myocardial dysfunction in the diabetic rat. The Ca2+-force relations were measured at a long (2.4-μm) and a short (1.9-μm) sarcomere length. In disease, compared with the control condition, the apparent Ca2+ sensitivity was greatly diminished at a sarcomere length of 1.9 μm but not affected at all at the long length (2.4 μm). We also examined the alterations in contractile regulatory proteins TnT and TnI by both sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blots. The TnI band was largely unperturbed, but major changes were discerned in TnT. The normal rat heart indicated two major bands (TnT1 and TnT2) and a faint third band (TnT3); in the diabetic rat heart, there was a significant shift in intensity from TnT1 to TnT3...
Evolution of the thyroid: Anterior–posterior regionalization of the Oikopleura endostyle revealed by Otx, Pax2/5/8, and Hox1 expression

The thyroid in vertebrates and its homolog, the endostyle in nonvertebrate chordates, share a molecular code for dorsoventral patterning. Little is yet known, however, about mechanisms that pattern the endostyle's anterior-posterior (AP) axis. To extend our understanding of thyroid development and evolution, we studied Oikopleura dioica, a larvacean urochordate that retains a chordate body plan as adults. Transcription factor expression domains revealed AP regionalization of the endostyle, with expression of Otx rostrally, Hox1 caudally, and two Pax2/5/8 paralogs centrally. Comparative analysis suggested that the endostyle of stem chordates expressed orthologs of these genes and that ancestral subfunctions partitioned differentially among lineages. Because the ordered expression of Otx, Pax2/5/8, and Hox1 displays patterning in both the endodermally derived endostyle and the ectodermally derived central nervous system, we propose that this gene set belonged to the developmental genetic toolkit of stem bilaterians and repeatedly provided AP positional information in various developmental situations.
The oxidation of retinene (vitamin A1 aldehyde) to vitamin A acid by mammalian steroid-sensitive aldehyde dehydrogenase

Abstract Retinene is oxidized irreversibly to vitamin A acid by a pyridine nucleotide-linked aldehyde dehydrogenase present in liver, kidney and small intestine of rabbits. Diethylstilbestrol, dehydroisoandrosterone, estrone and cortisone stimulate the reaction rate at optimal substrate levels; diethylstilbestrol also inhibits when sub-substrate is below 3·10−6 M. Progesterone, deoxycorticosterone, testosterone and androsterone inhibit at all substrate levels. The Km for retinene is 1.4·10−6 M. Diethylstilbestrol increases the Km to 7.1·10−6 M. This hormone increases the Vmax a variable amount depending upon the age of the enzyme preparation. Progesterone has little effect on the Km (2.4·10−6 M) and lowers the Vmax. The Km for DPN is approx. 10−5 m and is not affected by these steroids or diethylstilbestrol. The energy of activation for retinene is 14.6 kcal/mole and is decreased to 11.9 by stilbestrol and increased to 20 by progesterone. The stimulation produced by diethylstilbestrol is dependent upon the presence of sulfhydryl groups and is reversed by dialyzing away the hormone. The physiological significance of this reaction and its possible hormonal control are discussed.
Quantifying Individual Fruit Fly Consumption with Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae)

We needed a technique to compare the consumption of baits by individual Carribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew). By improving consumption and determining individual dose, we could lower pesticide concentration while retaining bait/pesticide efficacy and potentially reduce the environmental impact of fruit fly bait/pesticide eradication methods. We report here a precise dye-based technique for the quantification of consumption by individual adult A. suspensa fruit flies. Fluorescein, measured at 491 nm, and cresol red, measured at 573 nm, were efficiently extracted with 0.1 M NaOH and quantified with a spectrophotometer. The lower limit for this method with 0.1% dye concentration is 300 nl consumed by an individual fly. Dye movement to the hindgut and possible defecation occurred in ≈4 h; maximum ingestion occurred in ≈1 h. Maximum experimental time is limited to 4 h. Flies preferred feeding upside down compared with right side up when given a choice; consumption was equal when flies were given no choice of feeding position. Thus, maximum bait/pesticide efficacy might be achieved with an upside-down presentation. Regurgitation led to a 100% overestimation of actual consumption with the J-tube presentation of food. Our individual fly consumption technique will be useful in comparing consumption in phagostimulant studies, estimating dose in oral toxicity tests, differentiating behavioral and physiological resistance in toxicant studies, ultimately leading to improved bait/pesticide methods and reduced environmental impact of area wide fruit fly eradication programs. This technique could be applied to studies of tephritid consumption, to the consumption of other insects, and to regurgitation studies.
XAFS investigation of polyamidoxime-bound uranyl contests the paradigm from small molecule studies

Limited resource availability and population growth have motivated interest in harvesting valuable metals from unconventional reserves, but developing selective adsorbents for this task requires structural knowledge of metal binding environments. Amidoxime polymers have been identified as the most promising platform for large-scale extraction of uranium from seawater. However, despite more than 30 years of research, the uranyl coordination environment on these adsorbents has not been positively identified. We report the first XAFS investigation of polyamidoxime-bound uranyl, with EXAFS fits suggesting a cooperative chelating model, rather than the tridentate or η2 motifs proposed by small molecule and computational studies. Samples exposed to environmental seawater also display a feature consistent with a μ2-oxo-bridged transition metal in the uranyl coordination sphere, suggesting in situ formation of a specific binding site or mineralization of uranium on the polymer surface. These unexpected findings challenge several long-held assumptions and have significant implications for development of polymer adsorbents with high selectivity.
Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections Due to Bacterial Persistence or Reinfection in Women—Does This Factor Impact Upper Tract Imaging Findings?

Purpose: We compared the rates of upper tract imaging abnormalities of recurrent urinary tract infections due to bacterial persistence or reinfection.Materials and Methods: Following institutional review board approval we reviewed a prospectively maintained database of women with documented recurrent urinary tract infections (3 or more per year) and trigonitis. We searched for demographic data, urine culture findings and findings on radiology interpreted upper tract imaging, including renal ultrasound, computerized tomography or excretory urogram. Patients with irretrievable images, absent or incomplete urine culture results for review, no imaging performed, an obvious source of recurrent urinary tract infections or a history of pyelonephritis were excluded from analysis.Results: Of 289 women from 2006 to 2014 with symptomatic recurrent urinary tract infections 116 met study inclusion criteria. Mean ± SD age was 65.0 ± 14.4 years. Of the women 95% were white and 81% were postmenopausal. Almost a third wer...
A computational framework for unsupervised analysis of everyday human activities

In order to make computers proactive and assistive, we must enable them to perceive, learn, and predict what is happening in their surroundings. This presents us with the challenge of formalizing computational models of everyday human activities. For a majority of environments, the structure of the in situ activities is generally not known a priori . This thesis therefore investigates knowledge representations and manipulation techniques that can facilitate learning of such everyday human activities in a minimally supervised manner. A key step towards this end is finding appropriate representations for human activities. We posit that if we chose to describe activities as finite sequences of an appropriate set of events, then the global structure of these activities can be uniquely encoded using their local event sub-sequences. With this perspective at hand, we particularly investigate representations that characterize activities in terms of their fixed and variable length event subsequences. We comparatively analyze these representations in terms of their representational scope, feature cardinality and noise sensitivity. Exploiting such representations, we propose a computational framework to discover the various activity-classes taking place in an environment. We model these activity-classes as maximally similar activity-cliques in a completely connected graph of activities, and describe how to discover them efficiently. Moreover, we propose methods for finding concise characterizations of these discovered activity-classes, both from a holistic as well as a by-parts perspective. Using such characterizations, we present an incremental method to classify a new activity instance to one of the discovered activity-classes, and to automatically detect if it is anomalous with respect to the general characteristics of its membership class. Our results show the efficacy of our framework in a variety of everyday environments.
Effect of Morphine Sulfate on Serum Choline-Esterase

Summary and Conclusions1. Morphine sulfate added to blood in vitro produces no consistent change in choline-esterase activity. 2. Serum choline-esterase activity in the dog is consistently lowered following the injection of morphine sulfate. 3. The in vivo effect of morphine on serum choline-esterase furnishes another indication that morphine acts through a cholinergic mechanism.
Dislocation Nucleation in Nickel-Graphene Nanocomposites Under Mode I Loading

Graphene has superior mechanical properties, and previous studies have shown that it can be used as a fiber laminate in metal-graphene nanocomposites. Our research outlines the advantages and disadvantages of different Ni-graphene nanocomposite laminates. Using molecular dynamics, Ni-graphene nanocomposites are studied under mode I loading normal to the graphene laminate plane. The stress intensity factor (\(K_{\text{I}}\)) is predicted for the nanocomposite at varying distances between a simulated crack and the graphene sheet(s) in the Ni-matrix. We find that \(K_{\text{I}}\) of the Ni-matrix is reduced with the addition of graphene sheet. However, for a single graphene sheet in the Ni-matrix, \(K_{\text{I}}\) increases with increased spacing between the crack and the graphene sheet. This is due to the change in the crack-generated stress field in the region between the Ni-matrix containing the crack and the graphene sheet, which leads to the lower stress values at which dislocation nucleation occurs compared to single-crystal Ni. For multiple layers of graphene sheets in the Ni-matrix, we find that failure occurs exclusively by delamination at a lower stress than the one-layer case. This research concludes that fabricated Ni-graphene nanocomposites can be tuned for optimal fracture strength by the structural arrangement of graphene sheets within the Ni-matrix.
High performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of diethylstilbestrol in chicken

Objective To establish high- performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) for detection of diethylstilbestrol in chicken. Methods Diethylstilbestrol in chicken was extracted with methanol as extraction solvent,cleaned by RP HLB SPE column with acetonitrile- 0. 1% formic acid(70∶30) as mobile phase for gradient elution at the flow rate of 1. 0 ml/min,then separated on RP C18 column,and detected by DAD at the wavelength of 240 nm. Results Diethylstilbestrol was separated well on C18 column. The standard curve showed good linearity,the correlation coefficient was 0. 9996,the detection limit was 0. 1 mg/kg,the recovery was 84. 2% ~ 92. 0%,and the RSD was below 3. 5%. Conclusion The established method is reliable,accurate and high sensitive for determination of diethylstilbestrol in chicken.
Assessing Self-Control and Geosocial Networking App Behavior Among an Online Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men

Geosocial networking phone applications (GSN apps) used to meet sexual partners have become popular in the men who have sex with men (MSM) communities of the USA since 2009. Previous studies have shown greater incidence of gonorrhea and chlamydia and lower testing frequency for HIV testing among GSN app users when compared to non-users. The present study aims to determine the type, number, and frequency of apps used, as well as the association between dispositional self-control and health-related behaviors. Participants (n = 146) were recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk program to respond to a brief GSN app marketing survey. Multivariate regression was used to determine differences in app priorities, length of app use, and number of sexual partners between high self-control and low self-control participants. A majority of the participants reported using Grindr (78 %) followed by Scruff (19 %), Growlr (12 %), and Jack'd (12 %). Most individuals used one app only (58 %), but a significant proportion reported using two apps (28 %) or three or more apps (14 %). Respondents with low self-control were more likely to report a higher number of hours using GSN apps and a higher number of sexual partners, controlling for race/ethnicity, education, employment, and HIV status. Given the popularity of this burgeoning communication medium, these findings have important implications for developing prevention resources for different segments of GSN app users.
A Probabilistic Hierarchical Classification Model for Rating Suppliers

[This abstract is based on the author's abstract.] A probabilistic approach is developed for a hierarchical classification problem in rating suppliers. The problem arises in the context of total quality management. The focus is on one of the prototyp..
Deception Island, Antarctica, harbors a diverse assemblage of wood decay fungi

Very little is known about fungal diversity in Antarctica as compared to other biomes and how these important organisms function in this unusual ecosystem. Perhaps one of the most unusual ecosystems is that of Deception Island; an active volcanic island part of the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here we describe the fungal diversity associated with historic wood from structures on the island, which reveals a diverse fungal assemblage of known wood decay fungi as well as the discovery of undescribed species. The major group of wood decay fungi identified were species of Cadophora and as shown in previous studies in other geographic regions of Antarctica, they caused a soft-rot type of decay in the introduced woods. Additionally, unlike other areas of Antarctica that have been studied, filamentous basidiomycetes (Hypochniciellum spp. and Pholiota spp.) were also identified that have different modes of degradation including brown and white rot. Matches of fungal sequences to known species in temperate regions likely introduced on building materials indicates human influences and volcanic activity have greatly impacted fungal diversity. Lahars (mudslides from volcanic activity) have partially buried many of the structures and the buried environment as well as the moist, warm soils provided conditions conducive for fungal growth that are not found in other regions of Antarctica. The diverse assemblage of decay fungi and different forms of wood decomposition add to the difficulty of conserving wooden structures at these important polar heritage sites.
Using Computers with Curriculum-Based Monitoring: Effects on Teacher Efficiency and Satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using computer software to store, graph, and analyze student performance data on teacher efficiency and satisfaction with curriculum-based pr...
Predicting performance of smoothed particle hydrodynamics codes at large scales

We present performance prediction studies and trade-offs of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) codes that rely on a Hashed OctTree data structure to efficiently respond to neighborhood queries. We use the Performance Prediction Toolkit (PPT) to (i) build a loop-structure model (SPHSim) of an SPH code, where parameters capture the specific physics of the problem and method controls that SPH offers, (ii) validate SPHSim against SPH runs on mid-range clusters, (iii) show strong- and weak-scaling results for SPHSim, which test the underlying discrete simulation engine, and (iv) use SPHSim to run design parameter scans showing trade-offs of interconnect latency and physics computation costs across a wide range of values for physics, method and hardware parameters. SPHSim is intended to be a computational physicist tool to quickly predict the performance of novel algorithmic ideas on novel exascale-style hardware such as GPUs with a focus on extreme parallelism.
The Efficiency-Equity Tradeoff

A cliche of introductory economics courses is the trade-off between efficiency and equity. A market economy, it is said, is efficient: national income is maximized as profit-maximizing businesses and utility-maximizing consumers meet in the marketplace. The resulting market equilibrium may, however, be inequitable (unfair), with an excessive gap in income between the rich and poor. Taxing the rich to give money to the poor can then raise equity (fairness) but at the cost of distorting market incentives (such as incentives for hard work) and thereby lowering national income. The proverbial pie is shared more equally but the pie is smaller.
“Hey Friend, Buy Green”: Social Media Use to Influence Eco-Purchasing Involvement

This study addresses the use of message carriers to convey corporate social responsibility information to promote eco-purchasing involvement. The work tests various media formats transmitted via so...
Endocannabinoid Signaling in Reward and Addiction: From Homeostasis to Pathology

The endogenous cannabinoid system is an important regulatory system involved in physiological homeostasis. Endocannabinoid signaling is known to modulate neural development, immune function, metabolism, synaptic plasticity, and emotional state. Accumulating evidence also implicates brain endocannabinoid signaling in the processing of natural and drug-induced reward states and dysregulated endocannabinoid signaling in the etiology of aberrant reward function and drug addiction. In this chapter, we discuss the influence of endocannabinoid signaling on the rewarding and motivational effects of natural rewards such as food, sex, and social interaction, as well as evidence demonstrating an endocannabinoid influence in the rewarding effects of abused drugs. The effects of long-term drug consumption on endocannabinoid signaling are discussed, along with evidence that the resultant dysregulation of endocannabinoid function contributes to various aspects of drug dependence and addiction including physical symptoms of drug withdrawal, increased stress responsivity, negative affective states, dysregulated synaptic plasticity, dysregulated extinction of drug-related memories, relapse to drug taking, and impaired cognitive function. Lastly, consideration is given to the role for dysregulated endocannabinoid signaling in pathological food reward and eating disorders.
The Perceived Environment and the Psychological Situation

This chapter is an exegesis on the concept of the perceived environment and a test of its role in accounting for variation in adolescent problem behavior. The multiple environments in which an adolescent is simultaneously embedded are ordered along a dimension of explanatory or causal closeness to action from distal to proximal. Most distal is the physical/geographic environment; closer is the demographic environment; still closer is the social structural environment; and closest is the perceived environment, the environment that is experienced and that has meaning for the actor. It is argued that behavior is most invariant with the perceived environment. Data from a local study of over 400 high school youth and from a national sample study of over 13,000 similarly aged youth were presented. Results showed that, while almost no variance in adolescent problem behavior was accounted for by the set of (distal) demographic variables, substantial amounts of variance were accounted for by the (proximal) perceived environment variables. The importance of engaging the perceived environment in behavioral science research is strongly supported.
Leveraging Behavioral and Social Information for Weakly Supervised Collective Classification of Political Discourse on Twitter

Framing is a political strategy in which politicians carefully word their statements in order to control public perception of issues. Previous works exploring political framing typically analyze frame usage in longer texts, such as congressional speeches. We present a collection of weakly supervised models which harness collective classification to predict the frames used in political discourse on the microblogging platform, Twitter. Our global probabilistic models show that by combining both lexical features of tweets and network-based behavioral features of Twitter, we are able to increase the average, unsupervised F1 score by 21.52 points over a lexical baseline alone.
An Investigation of Student Psychological Wellbeing: Honors versus Nonhonors Undergraduate Education.

The purpose of this study was to describe the current state of psychological wellbeing in gifted and nongifted undergraduate student sample populations and identify undergraduate populations experi...
Manifesting a Scholarly Dwelling Place in "RHM"

With joy and gratitude, we present the first double issue of Rhetoric of Health & Medicine ( RHM ), the new scholarly home for the emergent multi-and inter-disciplinary field of the same name. For us, this journal’s manifestation has been a labor of love, borne out of a commitment to advance this field for its pioneers, newcomers, members-to-be, and our various (potential) interlocutors and stakeholders. Although the rhetoric of health and medicine (RHM) has been recognized and named as a field relatively recently (for the most comprehensive accounts of its emergence, see Meloncon & Frost, 2015; Malkowski, Scott, & Keranen, 2016), threads of its scholarship began appearing at least as early as the 1980s (see Reynolds, this volume). Further, the field’s growth has been fueled by the coalescence of community through scholarly meetings (e.g., pre-conferences, conference panels and workshops, RHM Symposium) and special interest groups (e.g., CCCC Medical Rhetoric Standing Group, ARSTM); online forums (e.g., medicalrhetoric.com; Flux Facebook group); and a surprisingly expansive network of scholars and scholarship connected through publication venues (e.g., journal special issues, edited collections, scholarly encyclopedias). RHM is truly a crowd-sourced endeavor, and we are thankful to have been entrusted with it.
Carbohydrate metabolism and pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common disease in dogs and cats and its prevalence is increasing in both species, probably due to an increase in obesity, although only in cats has obesity been clearly identified as a major risk factor for diabetes. While the classification of diabetes in dogs and cats has been modeled after that of humans, many aspects are different. Autoimmune destruction of beta cells, a feature of type 1 DM in people, is common in dogs; however, in contrast to what is seen in people, the disease occurs in older dogs. Diabetes also occurs in older cats but islet pathology in those species is characterized by the presence of amyloid, the hallmark of type 2 DM. Despite being overweight or obese, most naive diabetic cats, contrary to type 2 diabetic humans, present with low insulin concentrations. The physiology of carbohydrate metabolism and pathogenesis of diabetes, including histopathologic findings, in dogs and cats are discussed in this chapter.
Dense Gas Plume Field Measurements at the Nevada Test Site

A series of field experiments on dense gas dispersion under various meteorological and surface conditions was begun at the DOE ’s Spill Test Facility in Nevada in July 1993. Such investigations were authorized under the 1990 Clean Air Act Admendments. Details of planning and the execution of the tests are carried out by the Desert Research Institute2 and the Western Research Institute3. We are presently preparing to return to the site in September 1995 for a second series of EPA-sponsored, continuous CO2 releases targeting low wind speed, stable conditions over smooth desert. In addition, the EPA experiments will be immediately preceded by a series sponsored by the Petroleum Environmental Research Forum (PERF). The PERF experiments will target similar meteorological conditions, but with nearly 40,000 m2 of desert floor covered with artificial roughness, 20-cm high baffles, to make the (scaled up) roughness length (z0) more representative of industrial areas; Z0 ≃ 1.1cm, about 65 times the smooth desert Z0. There also will be a series of PERF experiments with large, 2.4-m high “flaps” added around the source position; these are intended to simulate the dispersive effect of an industrial process complex and create a local Z0 ≃ 20cm.
3D-printed models optimize preoperative planning for pediatric cardiac tumor debulking.

Background: This study reports the first known application of 3-dimensional (3D) printing of cardiac tumors to preoperatively plan debulking in infants. 3D-printed cardiac tumor models were used to identify the spacial relationship between the tumors and coronary arteries as well as understand the depth and infiltration of the tumors. Methods: Physical 3D cardiac tumor models of two children were obtained using medical imaging, image 3D rendering and modeling, and 3D printing. The hearts were 3D-printed in an opaque material while the tumors were made transparent to allow optimal visualization of the cardiovascular anatomy within the tumor. The surgical team used these models to plan exposure of the tumor, as well as, the extent of debulking. Results: Patient 1 had a cardiac tumor arising from the anterior surface of the right ventricle causing significant right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and involving the right and left coronary artery courses. Patient 2 had a cardiac tumor arising from the left ventricle and extending beyond the left atrium compressing the airway preventing extubation, and surrounding the left coronary artery system. In both patients, 3D-printed models were used to maximize debulking and avoid injury to the coronaries. Conclusions: 3D-printed cardiac tumor and anatomic models were effectively used to preoperatively plan two pediatric tumor debulkings. Both patients had tumors that were integrally involved with the coronary arteries. The 3D models helped devise a safe surgical strategy for maximal tumor debulking while protecting the coronary circulation.
Adaptive Fog-Based Output Security for Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) technologies are rapidly being adopted across multiple sectors, but little work has been done to ensure the security of such systems against potentially harmful or distracting visual output produced by malicious or bug-ridden applications. Past research has proposed to incorporate manually specified policies into AR devices to constrain their visual output. However, these policies can be cumbersome to specify and implement, and may not generalize well to complex and unpredictable environmental conditions. We propose a method for generating adaptive policies to secure visual output in AR systems using deep reinforcement learning. This approach utilizes a local fog computing node, which runs training simulations to automatically learn an appropriate policy for filtering potentially malicious or distracting content produced by an application. Through empirical evaluations, we show that these policies are able to intelligently displace AR content to reduce obstruction of real-world objects, while maintaining a favorable user experience.
Independent sets in the discrete hypercube

In this expository note we describe a proof due to A. Sapozhenko that the number of independent sets in the discrete $d$-dimensional hypercube $Q_d$ is asymptotically $2 \sqrt{e} 2^{2^{d-1}}$ as $d$ tends to infinity.
Darboux transformations for the massless Dirac equation with matrix potential: Construction of zero-energy states

We develop a new method for constructing zero-energy states of the massless Dirac equation with a matrix potential. Our method is based on a Darboux transformation for Schrodinger-type equations featuring quadratically energy-dependent potentials.
Simultaneous Pediatric Heart-Kidney Transplant Outcomes in the US: A 25 Year National Cohort Study

Purpose Pediatric simultaneous heart-kidney transplantation (sHKTx) remains uncommon in the US and criteria for sHKTx are unclear. We examined outcomes of pediatric sHKTx compared to pediatric heart transplant alone (PHTx). Our objective was to identify a threshold estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) that justified pediatric sHKTx. Methods Data from the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients heart and kidney databases were used to identify 9245 PHTx, and 63 pediatric sHKTx between 1992 and 2017 (age ≤21 years). Outcomes included patient survival, acute heart and kidney rejection . Results The median age for pediatric sHKTx was 16 (IQR: 12, 19.5) years, and included 31 males (31/63=49%). Over half of sHKTx (36/63 = 57%) were performed in cases where pre-transplant dialysis was initiated. The risk of death in sHKTx recipients was significantly lower than PHTx alone, amongst patients who required pre-transplant dialysis (sHKTx vs. PHTx: HR 0.4, 95% CI [0.2, 0.9], p=0.01) (Figure 1a). There was no improvement in survival between sHKTx and PHTx in those without pre-transplant dialysis (HR 0.5, 95% CI [0.16, 1.51], p=0.2) (Figure 1b). When stratified by eGFR, PHTx alone recipients had worse survival than sHKTx in the group with eGFR ≤35 ml/min/1.73m2 (n = 37, p=0.04). The 1, 3, and 5 year actuarial survival rates in pediatric sHKTx recipients was 87%, 84%, and 83% respectively, and was similar to isolated PHTx (p=0.5). One-year rates of treated heart (11%) and kidney (7.9%) rejection were similar in sHKTx compared to PHTx alone (p =0.7) and pediatric kidney transplant alone ( p=0.5) respectively. Conclusion Pediatric sHKTx should be considered in heart transplant candidates with kidney failure requiring dialysis, whereas the usefulness of sHKTx in cases of kidney failure not requiring dialysis warrants further study. Pediatric sHKTx may be considered for eGFR ≤35 ml/min/1.73m2.
Interference of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor treatments on soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 levels in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective Soluble Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor II (sTNFR2) is used as a biomarker to study cardiovascular disease (CVD) in diverse populations. TNF inhibitors (TNFi's) are a common treatment for inflammatory conditions. The objective of this study was to examine whether TNFi use impacts measured sTNFR2 levels. Methods We studied blood samples from a cohort of RA patients with clinical data and high sensitivity-C-reactive protein (hsCRP) measurements. To assess for interference, we tested the entire cohort for the expected positive correlation between sTNFR2 and TNFi using Pearson correlations. We then performed Pearson correlations between sTNFR2 and TNFi and sequentially removed subjects on adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab; if interference was occurring, no correlation would be observed between hsCRP and sTNFR2, and correlation would be restored by removing subjects on the treatment causing the interference. Results We studied 190 subjects, 84.2% female, 73.4% anti-CCP positive. All subjects with sTNFR2 level exceeding measurable level were on etanercept. The expected positive correlation between hsCRP and sTNFR2 was not observed when assessing the entire cohort, r = 0.05, p = 0.51. However, the expected correlation was restored only after excluding subjects on etanercept, r = 0.46, p < 0.0001, and not adalimumab or infliximab. ELISA for sTNFR2 was performed using etanercept only and demonstrated direct binding to sTNFR2. Conclusions Our data identified interference between etanercept and the TNFR2 assay. Of the TNFi's, only etanercept has a TNF-binding domain modeled after TNFR2. These data should be considered when designing studies using sTNFR2 in populations where etanercept is a treatment option.
Diabetes Prevention Programs in Rural North America: a Systematic Scoping Review

The aims of this systematic scoping review were to characterize the extent to which diabetes prevention programs have focused on rural populations in North America and where possible, identify efficacious program components. The review was guided by the PRISMA statement and five steps for scoping studies. Searches were conducted in August 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. Two teams of three independently screened full texts, excluding prior reviews, systematic reviews, and opinion pieces. Two authors abstracted data, which were reviewed by other team members. Of the 12,840 articles identified, 12 met all criteria. Nine studies were based in the USA and three were Canadian. Demographics reflected high enrollment of underrepresented minorities, adults, and females. Methodological rigor was low; most studies were single-arm interventions evaluated using pre-/post-measures. Weight was measured across all studies, although biological, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes were inconsistently assessed. Eight studies reported significant changes in primary outcomes. Duration and intensity were variable; delivery was led by trained volunteers or health professionals. Seven studies reported recruitment, retention, and adherence data. Surprisingly, few rural diabetes prevention studies have been published. Published programs were notable for lack of youth and/or family involvement, integrated prevention and treatment programs, and heavy reliance on self-reported outcomes.
State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation in Traumatic Brain Injury: What Predictors Are Associated With Employment Outcomes?:

This study identified predictors of employment for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Data from 4,923 individuals with TBI were extracted from the Rehabilitation Services Administration...
Economically Recoverable Water in Texas: An Underappreciated Water Management Strategy?

Conversations about the value or “true cost of water” and the nationwide infrastructure maintenance gap encourage a reconsideration of the value of utility water losses. Water loss audit data for 2014 for two planning regions that are home to almost a third of Texas’ population and include three of the five largest cities are examined to explore the value of economically recoverable water losses from a perspective that better reflects the regional scenarios under which the state water plan is developed. The volume of real and apparent losses is valued per a new regional average composite price to arrive at an estimation for the water that should be feasible to recover. Normalized values of economically recoverable losses are generated to arrive at a statewide estimate of valuation. Industry standard financial and operational performance indicators are also developed and compared to a larger, multi-state data set. Results are presented in the context of state and regional water supply planning in two ways: 1) comparing the volume of economically recoverable water to the volume of supply expected from water loss control strategies, and 2) comparing the newly assessed value of recoverable water to the estimated costs associated with water loss control strategies. Citation: Loftus TT. 2019. Economically recoverable water in Texas: an underappreciated water management strategy? Texas Water Journal. 10(1):60-74. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v10i1.7077.
The Psychobiotic Revolution

The discovery that gut bacteria influence our emotions should make us all happy. Scott Anderson reports