cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alcohol and the Alveolar Macrophage

Compared to nonalcoholics, patients with a history of alcohol-use disorders have increased susceptibility to lung infections, leading to sepsis and in a disproportionately high percentage of cases the development of the acute respiratory distress syndrome. A primary cause for increased risk of respiratory infections in alcoholics is impaired immune function of the alveolar macrophage. Macrophages are key components of innate immunity in various tissues and serve as a first line of defense against invading pathogens by generating pro-inflammatory responses to kill microbes and facilitate the clearance of foreign debris from tissues. Macrophages can be characterized into three phenotypes based on their mechanism of activation and functional characteristics: classical activation (pro-inflammatory), alternative activation, and deactivation (the latter two are anti-inflammatory). Alcohol induces an alternatively activated phenotype in alveolar macrophages, which is characterized by increased oxidative stress, via up-regulation of transforming growth factor beta and NADPH oxidases and phagocytic dysfunction. A range of treatments that increase glutathione and zinc bioavailability, granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor signaling, or activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 for the attenuation of alcohol-induced oxidative stress have been identified as strategies that can restore alveolar macrophage immune function in the alcoholic lung.
The road connecting obesity and coronary vasomotor function: straight line or U-turn?

Obesity as reached epidemic proportions globally, with approximately one-half billion people (12% of the world's population) considered obese ([1][1]). In the United States alone, the prevalence of obesity has increased by ∼50% in the past 30 years to where now ∼70% of all adults are classified
Justice and Sustainability

This chapter explores the relationships between justice and sustainability theory and argues that despite being entwined, practical and theoretical challenges prevent an easy or complete integration of these two concepts. Specifically, we examine how the multiscalar, multigenerational, and multidimensional characteristics of sustainability interact with ideas of just processes or just outcomes. Using insights from justice theory, sustainability science, and the social psychology of justice, we suggest we ask questions like: what would a just multiscalar and multigenerational sustainability process look like? If social context changes how people use or understand ideas of justice, what should justice look like in complex sustainability challenges that extend across traditional boundaries? We suggest that although these issues present persistent theoretical challenges, past and ongoing efforts – such as environmental justice work or international climate negotiations – provide some lessons and guidance about strategies for assisting this integration in practice. Overall this chapter suggests that although fully integrating justice and sustainability may not be entirely possible, sustainability without a consideration of justice would be nonsensical from a normative perspective and difficult to achieve strategically. This leaves us with a strong rationale to insist on the centrality of justice in any sustainability effort, but with an awareness of the complexities of doing so.
Shell and Genital Morphology Fails to Separate Ancotrema hybridum (Ancey, 1888) and A. sportella (Gould, 1846) (Gastropoda: Haplotrematidae)

ABSTRACT The obsolescence of radial sculpture on the last whorl of the land snail Ancotrema hybridum (Ancey, 1888) has been used to separate it from A. sportella (Gould, 1846), but shells are sometimes difficult to assign to one species or the other, prompting questions about their species status. Factor analysis of shell characters of 311 specimens of Ancotrema Baker, 1931, including characters of surface sculpture strength, shell size and rib density, revealed continuous variation of these characters without bimodality. Radial sculpture begins obsolescing at about whorl five, so shells that stopped growing near whorl five have A. sportella-like morphology, while those that continued growing after whorl five have A. hybridum-like morphology. We saw no meaningful differences in the genital anatomy that would suggest different species. The obsolescence of sculpture beginning about whorl five regardless of ultimate whorl number, lack of bimodality of shell characters, and lack of anatomical differences lead...
Why (Not) World Literature

Increasing attention to the enduring processes of cosmopolitanism, globalization, and transnationalism, together with growing frustration with the geographic, linguistic, and conceptual limitations of many fields of literature, has led in the past two decades to burgeoning interest in the discipline of world literature. Institutes, conferences, articles, volumes, and journals on various aspects of world literature are proliferating around the world as never before. But the challenges facing world literature remain significant. One of the largest is the field’s continuing biases, and in particular its tendency—despite its name—to privilege literature that not only has been embraced by Western readers but also conforms to the expectations of Western scholars. Just as important is the failure of world literature to integrate the study of literature more comprehensively with urgent matters of global significance. The pages below elaborate on the first challenge and address the second, identifying several opportunities going forward.
Gamma Endonuclease of Micrococcus luteus: Action on Irradiated DNA

Gamma endonuclease is a Mg2+-independent enzyme of Micrococcus luteus that recognizes and cleaves DNA at a variety of altered pyrimidines produced by ionizing radiation. The production of enzyme-recognizable sites (ERS) by ionizing radiation under different irradiation conditions was measured. Ionizing radiation produced the greatest number of ERS when irradiations were performed under anoxic conditions in the presence of the free radical scavenger KI. Since dihydrothymine is a major pyrimidine lesion produced in DNA during anoxic irradiation, the ability of gamma endonuclease to excise this lesion was assessed. Dihydrothymine was released from DNA irradiated under anoxic conditions in a radiation dose-dependent manner, consistent with gamma endonuclease's known DNA glycosylase activity. Gamma endonuclease was also shown to cleave heavily uv-irradiated DNA. When the sequence specificity of gamma-endonuclease cleavage was studied using uv-irradiated DNA, cleavage was seen specifically at cytosines. The identity of this enzyme-recognizable cytosine photoproduct is not known.
Quasiperiodic moiré plasmonic crystals.

This paper describes the properties of silver plasmonic crystals with quasiperiodic rotational symmetries. Compared to periodic plasmonic crystals, quasiperiodic moire structures exhibited an increased number of surface plasmon polariton modes, especially at high angles of excitation. In addition, plasmonic band gaps were often formed at the intersections of these new modes. To identify the origin and predict the location of the band gaps, we developed a Bragg-based indexing system using the reciprocal lattice vectors of the moire plasmonic crystals. We showed that even more complicated quasiperiodic geometries could also be described by this indexing model. We anticipate that these quasiperiodic lattices will be useful for applications that require the concentration and manipulation of light over a broadband spectrum.
Distinguishing Literary Ideas and Expressions with Elements of Alternate Worlds

ions where they are no longer protected, since otherwise the playwright could prevent the use of his ‘ideas,’ to which, apart from their expression, his property is never extended. Nobody has ever been able to fix that boundary, and nobody ever can.21 The court understood that at various levels of generalities, stories inevitably start to resemble one another and at some point, these similarities reach a level of abstraction where they fall into the category of ideas and are thus no longer protected.22 To do so would be to invite a monopolization of ideas which would stifle creativity, not promote it.23 However, courts have never properly articulated where on this spectrum of ideas and expressions this change falls for similar works of literary fiction. Even between independently produced works, the line is vague, and with derivative works like fanfiction that openly take elements of preexisting works while altering many others, the lack of guidance makes the confusion even worse. C. EXISTING LAW DOES NOT HELP WITH LITERARY WORKS, ESPECIALLY
Studies on the Poets and their Lyrics in the Song and Yuan Dynasties

The author engages in a textual research of three poets and their lyrics in the Song and Yuan Dynasties:CHEN Jingguo and one of his lyrics;CHENG Gai and one of his lyrics;CHEN Can-zheng and one of his lyrics:The author also corrects some mistakes in the previous studies by other scholars on these poets and their lyrics.
Synthesis and use of p-nitrophenyl-2-O-(α-l-fucopyranosyl)-β-d-galactopyranoside for the rapid detection of substrate-specific α-l-fucosidases

Abstract A novel synthetic chromogenic substrate, Fuc α 1 → 2Gal β 1 → OC 6 H 4 NO 2 ( p ), was used for the rapid assay of α- l -fucosidases which hydrolyze the glycosidic linkage, Fuc α1 → 2Gal. The procedure is based on the sequential action of α- l -fucosidase and an exogenously added exo-β- d -galactosidase to release the easily measurable p -nitrophenol moiety. This method detected α- l -fucosidases from Aspergillus niger, Clostridium perfringens , and almond which are known to hydrolyze the α1 → 2 linkage specifically. The advantages of this procedure over procedures previously used for the detection of substrate-specific α- l -fucosidases are discussed.
Spatial organization shapes the turnover of a bacterial transcriptome

Spatial organization of the transcriptome has emerged as a powerful means for regulating the post-transcriptional fate of RNA in eukaryotes; however, whether prokaryotes use RNA spatial organization as a mechanism for post-transcriptional regulation remains unclear. Here we used super-resolution microscopy to image the E. coli transcriptome and observed a genome-wide spatial organization of RNA: mRNAs encoding inner-membrane proteins are enriched at the membrane, whereas mRNAs encoding outer-membrane, cytoplasmic and periplasmic proteins are distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Membrane enrichment is caused by co-translational insertion of signal peptides recognized by the signal-recognition particle. Time-resolved RNA-sequencing revealed that degradation rates of inner-membrane-protein mRNAs are on average greater that those of the other mRNAs and that this selective destabilization of inner-membrane-protein mRNAs is abolished by dissociating the RNA degradosome from the membrane. Together, these results demonstrate that the bacterial transcriptome is spatially organized and suggest that this organization shapes the post-transcriptional dynamics of mRNAs.
OBAA++: an agent architecture for participating in multiple groups

Organization-based agents dynamically create, manage, and participate in groups governed by common goals. In complex applications, agents may participate simultaneously in multiple organizations, requiring agents to manage their associations and assignments in a consistent, unambiguous way. The Organization-Based Agent Architecture(OBAA++) explicitly supports multigroup agents and is being used to evaluate a holonic MAS for power quality control.
In vitro erythrophagocytosis in acquired hemolytic anemia.

It has been found that marked erythrophagocytosis occurred when the buffy coats of 3 patients with idiopathic acquired hemolytic anemia were incubated at 37 C. for one hour. It is suggested that this technic may be used as another in vitro method of demonstrating abnormalities of the red cells in patients with acquired hemolytic anemia, as well as other conditions in which there is damage or alteration of the red cells.
The Interpretation of Laboratory Tests

The usefulness of a laboratory test in clinical medicine depends on thorough knowledge of the characteristics of the test, awareness of its limitations, and timely ordering of the test in the appropriate clinical setting. Limitations inherent to testing, risks of testing, and suggested guidelines for ordering tests are discussed.
Noninvasive Monitoring of Blood Gases in the Newborn

The authors review the function, reliability, risks, and clinical applications of skin surface blood gas monitoring that have become evident during the first decade of its clinical use. Also discussed is the problem of data expression and the recent developments in this area.
Thinking through race: white racial identity, motivated cognition and the unconscious maintenance of white supremacy

ABSTRACTRecent research in political science has demonstrated the effects of implicit racism on whites’ political preferences and judgments. One startling finding from this research is that even white people who think of themselves as racially egalitarian can be influenced by implicit racism without intention or awareness. While this research has been useful for identifying the ways in which whites’ unconscious biases influence political decision-making, it leaves open the questions of how and why unconscious, yet racially motivated political cognition takes place. In this paper, I offer a theoretical model of white racial reasoning, during which whites think through their racial identity, interpreting and evaluating phenomena in the social environment in ways that allow them to protect a positive sense of self and racial group. I argue that well-meaning whites’ identity investments, and not antipathy toward outgroup members, drives cognitive processing and the political judgments that result. I conclude ...
Gain- and Coulomb-correlated electron–hole pairs in blue-green quantum-well diode lasers

Progress toward the demonstration of room- temperature continuous wave (cw) operation of the blue-green II-Vl semiconductor diode lasers has been rapid, especially after the introduction of the ZnMgSSe quaternary system in the separate-confinement-hetero structure (SCH) laser design.1,2
Initial tamper tests of novel tamper-indicating optical physical unclonable functions.

Optical physical unclonable functions (O-PUFs) are materials containing a large number of randomly distributed degrees of freedom that can be probed optically. We develop tamper-indicating O-PUF seals using polyurethane adhesives with dispersed nanoparticles, where authentication is performed by use of wavefront-shaping controlled reflection. We test the material’s and authentication method’s tamper-indicating ability using tampering attacks including: mechanical, thermal, and chemical attacks, with the results demonstrating the material/method’s robust tamper-indicating ability. Additionally, we demonstrate that authentication depends strongly on the microscopic distribution of nanoparticles within the polymer, which is unfeasibly difficult to clone. These results are the first demonstration of the validity of this technique for use as tamper-indicating seals.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Use and Condomless Anal Sex: Evidence of Risk Compensation in a Cohort of Young Men Who Have Sex with Men.

Background:Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective at preventing HIV acquisition. It remains unclear if PrEP use increases rates of condomless sex (ie, risk compensation), which may increase risk of infection
A High-Resolution Digital DNA Melting Platform for Robust Sequence Profiling and Enhanced Genotype Discrimination.

DNA melting analysis provides a rapid method for genotyping a target amplicon directly after PCR amplification. To transform melt genotyping into a broad-based profiling approach for heterogeneous ...
High levels of melatonin in the seeds of edible plants: Possible function in germ tissue protection

The seeds of plants represent the anlage of the next generation and are vital to their existence. Melatonin has been identified in the leaves and flowers of plants but not in seeds. In this study, we examined the seeds of 15 edible plants for the presence of melatonin which was extracted using cold ethanol. Melatonin was initially identified by radioimmunoassay and subsequently quantified and confirmed using high performance liquid chromatography. The physiological concentrations of melatonin in the 15 seeds studied ranged from 2 to 200 ng/g dry weight. The highest concentrations of melatonin were observed in white and black mustard seeds. This level of melatonin is much higher than the known physiological concentrations in the blood of many vertebrates. Since the seed, particularly its germ tissue, is highly vulnerable to oxidative stress and damage, we surmise that melatonin, a free radical scavenger, might be present as an important component of its antioxidant defense system. Thus, melatonin in seeds may be essential in protecting germ and reproductive tissues of plants from oxidative damage due to ultraviolet light, drought, extremes in temperature, and environmental chemical pollutants.
On the Potential of Monte Carlo Methods for Simulating Macromolecular Assemblies

A wide variety of Monte Carlo techniques are described to argue that the methodology has a large untapped potential to solve sampling problems for complex systems.
Back to the rough ground: working in international HIV prevention as ethical debates continue.

are in a period of ethical uncertainty regarding the design and conduct of biomedical and public health research in developing countries.1,2 While some of the assumptions and practices associated with this research warrant questioning, doing so has resulted in some conflicting guidance and opinion about when and how this research is appropriate. At the same time, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has surged, especially among populations in the developing world, making even more urgent the need for proven methods of prevention and treatment of the disease.3 The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) constitutes one of the major U.S.-based sponsors of HIV prevention research in both the U.S. and international settings (see www.hptn.org). To accomplish its mission, the HPTN must navigate a morally defensible path between ethical uncertainty about research and the public health imperative of halting a global epidemic. Tasked with addressing this need, the HPTN Ethics Working Group commissioned the authors to draft an ethics guidance document that would be responsive to the complexity of the network and the types of research it conducts. Here we describe the process we are using to perform this task.
Dementia Reported Missing: Use of an Online Search Engine to Track Outcomes in Persons With Dementia Reported Missing.

BACKGROUND Persons with dementia (PWD) reported missing are known to be at high risk for mortality. Analysis of online search engines' reports of missing PWD may show patterns in the data of this relatively common event and the broad patterns relevant to mortality risk factors. METHODS We searched Google news for PWD reported missing for 2015. Demographics, personal details, and outcomes were recorded. RESULTS Of 673 cases, 67 were found deceased, 525 alive, and the remainder had unknown outcomes. Mortality did not differ significantly by race/ethnicity for cases with known outcomes, but cases with unknown outcomes were significantly overrepresented among non-Caucasians (P<0.001; analysis of variance). Duration missing predicted mortality (P<0.001; χ(2)), and mortality was lower if a photograph was provided (P<0.05; χ(2)). Five states had no reports and some appeared to have fewer reports that would be expected based on estimates of dementia prevalence. CONCLUSIONS Duration missing was the strongest predictor of mortality. Likelihood of mortality was not predicted by use of missing person alerts, and this may be a consequence of inconsistent reporting and follow-up of cases across states. Prevalence and mortality may likewise be underestimated because of the variability in usage and reporting of relevant search terms and definitions. Online resources and social media can provide information about trends and outcomes related to missing persons with dementia, but greater consistency is needed in definitions, searching, and reporting.
New Approaches to the Genetics of Schizophrenia: Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Studies of Nonpsychotic First Degree Relatives of People with Schizophrenia

Psychiatry, with the rest of medicine, has entered the age of molecular genetics, but we are far from the stage of molecular diagnosis or treatment. Some disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease or Huntington’s Disease are yielding relatively quickly to technological advances in molecular genetics, whereas others like schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely to have a complex inheritance. These latter disorders do not appear to be explained by classic Mendelian models of inheritance. An alternative is polygenic models which assume that genes found at more than one locus are responsible for the familial patterns of such disorders. In such models, genes at a range of loci may have small additive effects on the individual’s predisposition to an illness, such as schizophrenia. It is also possible that some forms of schizophrenia may result from simpler combinations of genes or even of a single gene.
Bladder reinnervation by somatic nerve transfer to pelvic nerve vesical branches does not reinnervate the urethra.

AIMS We sought to determine whether somatic lumbar nerve transfer to the pelvic nerve's anterior vesical branch after sacral decentralization for detrusor muscle reinnervation also leads to aberrant innervation of the bladder outlet. METHODS Twenty-six female mongrel hound dogs underwent transection of sacral dorsal and ventral spinal roots (ie, sacral decentralization). Immediately afterward, 12 received genitofemoral nerve transfer and 9 received femoral nerve branch transfer. Five were left sacrally decentralized. Controls included 3 sham-operated and 6 unoperated. Eight months postsurgery, the bladder and urethra were injected with retrograde tracing dyes cystoscopically. After 3 weeks, detrusor and urethral pressures were assayed electrophysiologically immediately before euthanasia and characterization of neural reinnervation. RESULTS Electrical stimulation of spinal cords or roots did not lead to increased urethral sphincter pressure in nerve transfer animals, compared with decentralized animals, confirming a lack of functional reinnervation of the bladder outlet. In contrast, mean detrusor pressure increased after lumbar cord/root stimulation. In sham/unoperated animals, urethral and bladder dye injections resulted in labeled neurons in sacral level neural structures (dorsal root ganglia [DRG], sympathetic trunk ganglia [STG], and spinal cord ventral horns); labeling absent in decentralized animals. Urethral dye injections did not result in labeling in lumbar or sacral level neural structures in either nerve transfer group while bladder dye injections lead to increased labeled neurons in lumbar level DRG, STG, and ventral horns, compared to sacrally decentralized animals. CONCLUSION Pelvic nerve transfer for bladder reinnervation does not impact urethral sphincter innervation.
Skp1 isoforms are differentially modified by a dual function prolyl 4-hydroxylase/N-acety lglucosaminyltransferase in a plant pathogen

Skp1 is hydroxylated by an O2-dependent prolyl hydroxylase (PhyA) that contributes to O2-sensing in the social amoeba Dictyostelium and the mammalian pathogen Toxoplasma gondii. HO-Skp1 is subject to glycosylation and the resulting pentasaccharide affects Skp1 conformation in a way that influences association of Skp1 with F-box proteins, and potentially the assembly of E3(SCF) ubiquitin ligase complexes that mediate the polyubiquitination of target proteins that are degraded in the 26S-proteasome. To investigate the conservation and specificity of these modifications, we analyzed proteins from the oomycete Pythium ultimum, an important crop plant pathogen. Putative coding sequences for Pythium's predicted PhyA and first glycosyltransferase in the predicted five-enzyme pathway, a GlcNAc-transferase (Gnt1), predict a bifunctional enzyme (Phgt) that, when expressed in Dictyostelium, rescued a knockout of phyA but not gnt1. Though recombinant Phgt was also unable to glycosylate Dictyostelium HO-Skp1, it could hydrolyze UDP-GlcNAc and modify a synthetic hydroxypeptide from Dictyostelium Skp1. Pythium encodes two highly similar Skp1 isoforms, but only Skp1A was efficiently hydroxylated and glycosylated in vitro. While kinetic analysis revealed no evidence for processive processing of Skp1, the physical linkage of the two activities implies dedication to Skp1 in vivo. These findings indicate a widespread occurrence of the Skp1 modification pathway across protist phylogeny, suggest that both Gnt1 and PhyA are specific for Skp1 and indicate that the second Skp1 provides a bypass mechanism for O2-regulation in Pythium and other protists that conserve this gene.
„Sie scheint auch mehr zu donnern und zu blitzen, als zu reden.“ Zur Meteorologisierung der Sprache im Drama der 1770er Jahre

This article offers an account of wettern (weathering) in German drama of the 1770s, with focus on works by Goethe, Klinger, Lenz, and Herder. Extant scholarship on this period tends to stress the ...
All is of God: Joy, Suffering, and the Interplay of Contrasts

This essay elaborates a constructive, comparative, nondual theodicy for the Christian tradition based on the Hindu Vaiṣṇava tradition. According to the Indologist Henrich Zimmer, in Vaiṣṇavism everything is an emanation of Viṣṇu, therefore everything is of Viṣṇu. All apparent opposites are inherently divine and implicitly complementary. Good and bad, joy and suffering, pain and pleasure are not conflicting dualities; they are interdependent qualities that increase one another’s being. The Hindu myth of Samudra Manthan, or the Churning of the Ocean, exemplifies Vaiṣṇava nondualism. In that story, gods and demons—seeming opposites—cooperate in order to extract the nectar of immortality from an ocean of milk. If “opposites” are interdependent, hence complementary, then they are not “opposites” but mutually amplifying contrasts. Given this phenomenology, and applying it to the Christian tradition, a benevolent God who desires full vitality for her creatures would have to create pain, suffering, darkness, and death in order to intensify their correlates. Love would demand their creation, because love would want abundant life for all. In this aesthetic theodicy, the interplay of all contrasts results from the love of a life-giving God.
The role of endothelin A receptors in peripheral vascular control at rest and during exercise in patients with hypertension

KEY POINTS Exercise in patients with hypertension can be accompanied by an abnormal cardiovascular response that includes attenuated blood flow and an augmented pressor response. Endothelin-1, a very potent vasoconstrictor, is a key modulator of blood flow and pressure during in health and has been implicated as a potential cause of the dysfunction in hypertension. We assessed the role of endothelin-1, acting through endothelin A (ETA ) receptors, in modulating the central and peripheral cardiovascular responses to exercise in patients with hypertension via local antagonism of these receptors during exercise. ETA receptor antagonism markedly increased leg blood flow, vascular conductance, oxygen delivery, and oxygen consumption during exercise; interestingly, these changes occurred in the presence of reduced leg perfusion pressure, indicating that these augmentations were driven by changes in vascular resistance. These data indicate that ETA receptor antagonism could be a viable therapeutic approach to improve blood flow during exercise in hypertension. ABSTRACT Patients with hypertension can exhibit impaired muscle blood flow and exaggerated increases in blood pressure during exercise. While endothelin (ET)-1 plays a role in regulating blood flow and pressure during exercise in health, little is known about the role of ET-1 in the cardiovascular response to exercise in hypertension. Therefore, eight volunteers diagnosed with hypertension were studied during exercise with either saline or BQ-123 (ETA receptor antagonist) infusion following a 2-week withdrawal of anti-hypertensive medications. The common femoral artery and vein were catheterized for drug infusion, blood collection and blood pressure measurements, and leg blood flow was measured by Doppler ultrasound. Patients exercised at both absolute (0, 5, 10, 15 W) and relative (40, 60, 80% peak power) intensities. BQ-123 increased blood flow at rest (79 ± 87 ml/min; P = 0.03) and augmented the exercise-induced hyperaemia at most intensities (80% saline: Δ3818±1222 vs. BQ-123: Δ4812±1469 ml/min; P = 0.001). BQ-123 reduced leg MAP at rest (-8 ± 4 mmHg; P < 0.001) and lower intensities (0-10 W; P < 0.05). Systemic diastolic blood pressure was reduced (0 W, 40%; P < 0.05), but systemic MAP was defended by an increased cardiac output. The exercise pressor response (ΔMAP) did not differ between conditions (80% saline: 25 ± 10, BQ-123: 30 ± 7 mmHg; P = 0.17). Thus, ET-1, acting through the ETA receptors, contributes to the control of blood pressure at rest and lower intensity exercise in these patients. Furthermore, the finding that ET-1 constrains the blood flow response to exercise suggests that ETA receptor antagonism could be a therapeutic approach to improve blood flow during exercise in hypertension.
Variable-rate frequency sweeps and their application to the measurement of otoacoustic emissions

Swept tones allow the efficient measurement of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) with fine frequency resolution. Although previous studies have explored the influence of different sweep parameters on the measured OAE, none have directly considered their effects on the measurement noise floor. The present study demonstrates that parameters such as sweep type (e.g., linear or logarithmic), sweep rate, and analysis bandwidth affect the measurement noise and can be manipulated to control the noise floor in individual subjects. Although responses to discrete-tone stimuli can be averaged until the uncertainty of the measurement meets a specified criterion at each frequency, linear or logarithmic sweeps offer no such flexibility. However, measurements of the power spectral density of the ambient noise can be used to construct variable-rate sweeps that yield a prescribed (e.g., constant) noise floor across frequency; in effect, they implement a form of frequency-dependent averaging. The use of noise-compensating frequency sweeps is illustrated by the measurement of distortion-product OAEs at low frequencies, where the ear-canal noise is known to vary significantly.
Tau deposition in the spinal cord is not specific for CTE-ALS.

Previous studies have reported neuropathologic findings from autopsy cases in which patients had clinical diagnoses of both chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).1,2 Not surprisingly, these cases demonstrated coexisting pathologic findings of both CTE and ALS. A recent study by Moszczynski et al.1 found abnormal pThr175 tau staining in the spinal cords from 3/5 CTE cases, 3/5 cases with both CTE and ALS, and 0/5 control cases with no known neurologic disease. Although this study did not examine any cases of sporadic ALS without coexisting CTE, the authors concluded that “the absence of tau deposition in the spinal cords of patients with sporadic ALS suggests that the spinal motor neuron tauopathy of CTE-ALS is not an incidental finding or secondary to the primary neuronal injury of ALS.1” When this assertion was challenged in a reader response,3 the author reply urged the respondents “to assemble their case experience and submit it for peer review as it would be an important contribution to the literature.4”
Seeing the Visual in Argumentation: A Rhetorical Analysis of UNICEF Belgium's Smurf Public Service Announcement

This paper applies J. Anthony Blair's theorizing about visual argumentation to the 2005 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Smurf public service announcement, which challenges our traditional u...
Patients' and Physicians' Knowledge of Radiation Exposure Related to Spine Surgery.

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. OBJECTIVE Examine patients' and physicians' estimates of radiation exposure related to spine surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Patients are commonly exposed to radiation when undergoing spine surgery. Previous studies suggest that patients and physicians have limited knowledge about radiation exposure in the outpatient setting. This has not been assessed for intraoperative imaging. METHODS A questionnaire was developed to assess awareness/knowledge of radiation exposure in outpatient and intraoperative spine care settings. Patients and surgeons estimated chest radiograph (CXR) equivalent radiation from: cervical and lumbar radiographs (anterior-posterior [AP] and lateral), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), intraoperative fluoroscopy, and intraoperative CT (O-arm). Results were compared to literature-reported radiation doses. RESULTS Overall, 100 patients and 26 providers completed the survey. Only 31% of patients were informed about outpatient radiation exposure, and only 23% of those who had undergone spine surgery had been informed about intraoperative radiation exposure. For lumbar radiographs, patients and surgeons underestimated CXR-equivalent radiation exposures: AP by five-fold (P < 0.0001) and seven-fold (P < 0.0001), respectively, and lateral by three-fold (P < 0.0001) and four-fold (P = 0.0002), respectively. For cervical CT imaging, patients and surgeons underestimated radiation exposure by 18-fold (P < 0.0001) and two-fold (P = 0.0339), respectively. For lumbar CT imaging, patients and surgeons underestimated radiation exposure by 31-fold (P < 0.0001) and three-fold (P = 0.0001), respectively. For intraoperative specific cervical and lumbar imaging, patients underestimated radiation exposure for O-arm by 11-fold (P < 0.0001) and 22-fold (P = 0.0002), respectively. Surgeons underestimated radiation exposure of lumbar O-arm by three-fold (P = 0.0227). CONCLUSION This study evaluated patient and physician knowledge of radiation exposure related to spine procedures. Underestimation of radiation exposure in the outpatient setting was consistent with prior study findings. The significant underestimation of intraoperative cross-sectional imaging (O-arm) is notable and needs attention in the era of increased use of such technology for imaging, navigation, and robotic spine surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Management of Knee Injuries in Adolescent Basketball Players

Basketball is one of the most common sports in the world and in the USA, and it is thought to be the most popular team sport for adolescent boys and girls with nearly a million athletes being registered during a given school year. With such a high participation rate, it is not surprising that basketball also represents the most frequent cause of sports-related emergency department visits in pediatric and adolescent patients. Second only to ankle injuries, knee injuries are commonly reported and more likely to be acute and/or severe. However, the diagnoses of “sprain” or “strain” continue to be the most common injuries in basketball with the majority of injuries being minor and time away from sport less than a week. Knee pain also represents one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints in pediatric and adolescent populations in general, with about half of physically active youth having some degree of knee pain each year.
Epitranscriptomic(N6-methyladenosine) Modification of Viral RNA and Virus-Host Interactions.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent and internal modification of eukaryotic mRNA. Multiple m6A methylation sites have been identified in the viral RNA genome and transcripts of DNA viruses in recent years. m6A modification is involved in all the phases of RNA metabolism, including RNA stability, splicing, nuclear exporting, RNA folding, translational modulation, and RNA degradation. Three protein groups, methyltransferases (m6A-writers), demethylases (m6A-erasers), and m6A-binding proteins (m6A-readers) regulate this dynamic reversible process. Here, we have reviewed the role of m6A modification dictating viral replication, morphogenesis, life cycle, and its contribution to disease progression. A better understanding of the m6A methylation process during viral pathogenesis is required to reveal novel approaches to combat the virus-associated diseases.
Understanding Compliance with Bring Your Own Device Policies Utilizing ProtectionMotivation Theory: Bridging the Intention-Behavior Gap

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that determine whether employees follow Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies through the lens of the Protection Motivation Theory. BYOD is rapidly becoming the norm rather than the exception. As a result, firms are establishing BYOD policies to address the risk inherent in allowing individuals to use their own devices to access or store company data. This paper reports the results of a survey of accounting students, non-accounting students, and full-time employees. Results demonstrate that participants’ intentions to comply with a BYOD policy were primarily motivated by Self Efficacy and Response Efficacy. Further, Threat Severity was more salient for accountants than non-accountants, perhaps due to their sensitivity to confidential data. Finally, when actual compliance behavior was considered, costs to comply were much more salient to employees and could be strong deterrents to full compliance. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications.
Use of Great Lakes Recreational Beaches and Human-Waste Sites by Ring-Billed Gulls

Larus delawarensis (Ring-billed Gull) populations have increased >4% annually in the Great Lakes region since 2003. Gull–human interactions and conflicts have similarly increased, particularly concerning human health and safety issues related to gull feces deposited at recreational beaches. During June–August 2013, we conducted a radiotelemetry study of Ring-billed Gulls in a Lake Michigan coastal region to determine patterns of habitat use and movement between recreational beaches and human infrastructure by gulls. Of 14 individuals relocated, we found Ring-billed Gulls selected recreational beaches and landfill sites and avoided agricultural fields. We found 5 of 14 gulls made a minimum of 2 roundtrips between beaches and landfills over the study period. Gulls may serve as transport vectors for bacteria and other pathogens from human-waste sites to areas of probable human contact and concentration, such as public recreational beaches. As such, pathogen distribution and connectivity within a landscape could be established, maintained, and enhanced by gull movements. Managers may need to implement exclusion tools for gulls at both of these sites to maintain human-health standards.
A Primer on EVA for Healthcare Providers

Unlike accounting earnings, economic profit (EVA) is a measure of a company's true earnings because it fully "accounts" for the costs of all forms of financing, including debt and equity. In the EVA view, a company is not truly profitable unless it earns a return on capital that bests the opportunity cost of capital. That being said, the question addressed here is how to measure the economic profit of providers in the health care sector, which is largely comprised of not-for-profit organizations such as clinics, laboratories, and hospitals.
Optimal Sequencing of Presidential Primaries

The American presidential nomination process consists of a series of elections (primaries) in which states vote at di¤erent times. This paper focuses on the problem faced by a political party that wants to choose the optimal temporal structure for its primaries. I consider an environment in which a sequential election may generate voter herding, and address both when and how the party can bene t from social learning to maximize the probability of selecting the highest quality candidate. By choosing whether to have a sequential election and if so the actual sequence in which states vote, the party can control whether momentum e¤ects will be present and guarantee that any voter herding will be ex ante bene cial to the goal of selecting the highest quality candidate. When candidates are expected to have equal partisan support, simultaneous voting outperforms all sequential elections. When one candidate has more partisan support, a sequential election can outperform simultaneous voting; under this condition, voter herding compensates for the partisan imbalance. This result is a novel example of a bene cial information cascade, in contrast with the socially ine¢ cient cascades in the standard herding literature. In a sequential election, it is optimal for the states voting early in the primary season to be those which: (i) are smaller, (ii) have fewer partisans, (iii) have more informed voters, and (iv) display more voter diversity. JEL classi cation: D71, D72, D82, D83. This paper was a chapter of my dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania. I am indebted to Antonio Merlo for his guidance and support. I would also like to thank Andrew Postlewaite, Alvaro Sandroni, Philipp Kircher, Mattias Polborn, Eddie Dekel, Steven Callander, Brian Knight, Rebecca Morton, Matias Iaryczower, Aureo De Paula, Navin Kartik, Alessandra Casella, Larbi Alaoui, Irina Telyukova, Shalini Roy, Eleanor Harvill, Nirav Mehta, Antonio Penta, Ben Lester, Unal Zenginobuz, Leandro de Magalhaes and seminar participants at the University of Pennsylvania, Australian National University, Mannheim University, Bristol University, Koc University, Bilkent University, Sabanc¬ University and Gettysburg College, as well as participants at GAMES, EEA and EPCS conference sessions for helpful comments. All errors are my own. yBo1⁄4 gazici University, Department of Economics, Natuk Birkan, Bebek, · Istanbul, Turkey, TR-34342. email: deniz.selman@boun.edu.tr.
Cryogenic Properties of a New Tough-Strong Iron Alloy

Nickel-containing steels are frequently selected for use at cryogenic temperatures because of their excellent toughness or strengths. For example, 304 stainless steel containing 8% Ni is characterized by very high toughness at cryogenic temperatures, but has relatively low strength. In contrast, 18% Ni, 200 grade, maraging steel is characterized by very high strengths at cryogenic temperatures, but with a penalty of reduced toughness. Similarly, 9% Ni steel is characterized by good toughness and moderate strength at cryogenic temperatures, while 9Ni-4Co steel has greater strength, but substantially lower toughness in the same temperature range.
Plasma unconjugated estriol values in high-risk pregnancy

The usefulness of plasma estriol concentrations in the management of high-risk pregnancy is controversial. In this study, serial plasma unconjugated estriol (E3) concentrations determined by radioimmunoassay were evaluated in 321 patients with high-risk pregnancy for correlation with fetal and neonatal performance. A plasma E3 concentration of 4 ng. per milliliter or less in late pregnancy correlated significantly with low one-and five-minute Apgar scores and selected neonatal problems in pregnancies complicated by chronic hypertension and intrauterine growth retardation, with a similar trend for pregnancies complicated by moderate and severe pre-eclampsia. Most perinatal deaths in the study were associated with acute problems which began during labor and delivery, or fetal death occurred before early intervention was practical. Therefore, the perinatal mortality rate is not likely to be influenced by the use of E3 values, and the perinatal mortality rate is not a realistic measure of the usefulness of plasma E3 values in management of high-risk pregnancy. Low plasma E3 values were not always ominous, and for this reason it is suggested that clinical indications and the results of other tests for fetal-placental function be considered along with plasma E3 values in the selection of patients for early delivery to reduce the possibility of inappropriate intervention.
Assessment of Parent Orientation towards Autonomy vs. Control in Promoting Children's Healthy Eating and Exercise

Background Self-determination theory has been widely applied to understanding individuals' health-related behaviors such as eating healthy foods and exercising. Different reasons for engagement are associated with varying levels of personal agency or autonomy. Authority figures in the environment can be supportive of autonomy or, in contrast, controlling. Although researchers have assessed individuals' perceptions of the autonomy-support in their environments, studies have not directly examined the authority figures' orientations to autonomy with respect to health contexts. Methods A new scale, Parent Orientations to Health, was created to investigate parent orientation to autonomy and control with respect to healthy eating and exercise in children. One hundred and forty-three parents of elementary school-aged children responded to the scale. Results Scale validation and reliability results indicate that the scale successfully assessed parent orientation towards autonomy for children in health contexts. Furthermore, parent autonomy orientation varied according to child weight status and the healthiness of the child's diet. Conclusions Parent orientation towards autonomy can be evaluated through the use of the Parent Orientations to Health scale. In addition, parent autonomy orientation is associated with both the healthiness of the child's diet (as perceived by the parent) and the child's body mass index.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) promoter polymorphisms are associated with favorable hemodynamic indices in systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension

RATIONALE: Inflammatory mediators are increasingly associated with pathogenesis in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We have previously observed a 3.7-fold increase in serum levels of the pro-inflammatory macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in PAH patients. MIF promoter polymorphisms (-173*C, -794CATT 5-8 ) have been associated with disease susceptibility or phenotype in several inflammatory syndromes. We hypothesized that MIF promoter polymorphisms may influence PAH development or severity. METHODS: Genomic DNA was isolated from 117 European-American PAH patients, including idiopathic (IPAH; N = 35) and systemic sclerosis-associated PAH (SSc-PAH; N = 82), healthy European-American controls (N=264), and SSc patients without PAH (N=343). Allele and genotype frequencies for the MIF -173*C single nucleotide polymorphism and the -794CATT 5-8 variable nucleotide tandem repeat were compared between PAH patients and controls, and were compared with initial hemodynamic indices and survival in PAH patients. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in the frequencies of either MIF promoter polymorphism between controls and PAH patients. SSc-PAH patients with the MIF -173*C polymorphism had higher cardiac output ( P =0.04), cardiac index ( P =0.003), and stroke volume index ( P =0.01) at diagnosis. Neither polymorphism predicted survival in PAH patients. CONCLUSION: The MIF -173*C polymorphism may improve initial hemodynamics in SSc-PAH. However, MIF promoter polymorphisms do not predict PAH susceptibility or survival. These results suggest that MIF may function as a disease-modifying gene in SSc-PAH.
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for the Cohen–Macaulayness of Blowup Algebras

In this paper we provide a complete characterization for when the Rees algebra and the associated graded ring of a perfect Gorenstein ideal of grade three are Cohen–Macaulay. We also treat the case of second analytic deviation one ideals satisfying some mild assumptions. In another set of results we give criteria for an ideal to be of linear type. Finally, we describe the equations defining the Rees algebras of certain Northcott ideals.