cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The value of otolaryngologists' services in America: a national survey.

Objective. To evaluate the perceived monetary value of physician services within the general population and to foster academic discussion about the finances of clinical practice in the setting of recent health care reform.Study Design, Subjects, and Methods. National survey of 409 members of the general population and review of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.Results. The perceived monetary values of office visits were comparable to the actual physician reimbursements. However, the average perceived value associated with surgical treatments was significantly higher than the true Medicare reimbursement amount. For example, survey participants said that a reasonable price for a doctor to be paid for performing a tonsillectomy is $955.58, whereas the national average Medicare reimbursement is $257.74. Furthermore, 59% of respondents also believe that insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid pay doctors more than the respondent’s perceived value for each service.Conclusion. The current patterns of Cen...
Managing resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder that affects 5000 new patients per year in the United States. Prior to 10 years ago, durable remission was rare and patients often underwent bone marrow transplantation with substantial morbidity and mortality. Fortunately, CML has been the epicenter of exciting advances in cancer therapy with the discovery of the Bcr-Abl gene fusion and the subsequent development of imatinib mesylate, a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, to target the kinase activity of the bcr-abl protein product. Despite unprecedented durability for complete hematologic, cytogenetic, and molecular responses seen with front-line imatinib therapy, many patients require alternative therapy because of drug intolerance, suboptimal response, primary resistance, secondary resistance, or progression to advanced phase disease. Further, up to 5% of patients present with advanced disease that does not sustain a durable response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Thus, up to one third of CML patients require alternate therapy. Chronic myeloid leukemia has become an exemplary model system for understanding molecular targeting and overcoming mechanisms of drug resistance. This review will discuss potential mechanisms of resistance and ongoing research into novel targets and agents for CML resistant to standard of care.
Matrix isolation photolysis study of tetrazolo[1,5-b]pyridazine

Photolysis (254 nm) of tetrazolo[1,5-b]pyridazine (TP) in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran at 7 K does not produce electron spin resonance absorptions that are usually characteristic of a triplet nitrene. The UV-vis spectrum formed upon photolysis of TP in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran at 77 K is also consistent with the lack of formation of triplet 3-pyridazylnitrene. Photolysis (254 nm) of tetrazolo[1,5-b]pyridazine (TP), i.e., 3-azidopyridazine in an Ar matrix at 16 K produces an infrared spectrum consistent with the formation of Z-cis-1-cyano-3-diazopropene, 1,3,7-triazacyclohepta-1,2,4,6-tetraene, and 3-cyanocyclopropene whose spectra were adequately simulated by density functional theory with a 6-31G* basis set. There is no spectral evidence to support the formation of triplet 3-pyridazylnitrene. Cyclization of the singlet pyridazylnitrene is observed in minute amounts to ultimately produce the ring-expanded 1,3,7-triazacyclohepta-1,2,4,6-tetraene (νNCN=1981 cm−1). This observation indicates that the earlier vibrational assignment to 1,3,7-triazacyclohepta-1,2,4,6-tetraene in the 2-pyrimidylnitrene system (νNCN=2045 cm−1) is in error, and should be attributed to the 1972 cm−1 vibrational absorption in the previously recorded spectrum.
Carotid Sinus Reflex in the Chicken

Abstract THE area in the chicken homologous to the mammalian carotid sinus is not found at the bifurcation of the internal and external carotid arteries but is located at the entrance to the thoracic cavity along the common carotid artery distal to the subclavian artery and proximal to the vertebral artery (Adams, 1958). The region of the sinus homologue is not dilated and consequently is not detectable macroscopically; however, adequate histological evidence of its presence has been found (Chowdhary, 1953). The primary source of nervous innervation for this area was reported to be the vagus nerve (Chowdhary, 1953). Although the anatomy of the carotid sinus homologue in the chicken has been described, little work has been reported concerning the physiology of this structure. Durfee (1964) reported that he was unable to find any pressure reflexogenic areas associated with the carotid arteries in the chicken. The work reported herein was undertaken to …
Semantics and constraint parsing of word graphs

A constraint-based parser capable of processing a word graph containing multiple sentence hypotheses has been developed. When syntactic constraints are applied to a word graph, this parse is able to prune the graph of many ungrammatical sentence hypotheses and limit the possible parses of the remaining sentences. However, in many cases syntactic information alone is insufficient for selecting a single sentence hypothesis from a word graph. Hence, semantic constraints have been added to the parser to limit ambiguity further. The authors review the constraint parsing algorithm and then provide a simple example illustrating how syntactic and semantic features can be used to prune word candidates from a word graph and eliminate incorrect parses for the remaining sentences. They also report on the effectiveness of syntactic and semantic constraints for reducing the ambiguity of word networks constructed for N-best sentence hypotheses provided by the ATIS (Air Travel Information System) database. >
Ensuring emergency power for critical municipal services with natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) systems: A cost-benefit analysis of a preemptive strategy

Electric power failures in the aftermath of disasters cripple the delivery of critical emergency services. While emergency generators are available in some facilities, these systems are designed for short-term use and support limited functions. The substantial investment required to ensure emergency power for all critical services is difficult to justify because of the uncertainty associated with the likelihood and magnitude of future disasters. Investment evaluations change when a new source of emergency power is considered. This study evaluates the costs and benefits of a program to preemptively install new building-sited electric combined heat and power (CHP) generation technologies to ensure reliable long-term power for critical municipal services in hurricane-prone regions of the US. Three municipalities are selected for this analysis: Houston, Texas; Miami, Florida; and Charleston, South Carolina. Analysis indicates that costs of such a program can, in some cases, provide net energy bill savings regardless of the occurrence of a disaster.
Good cooperation demands good coordination: coordinated cooperative communications [Message from the Editor in Chief]

Dear Readers, In my message in the last issue, I listed a few interesting areas of wireless technologies: wireless health (mobile health or m-Health), mobile social networks, and smart environments. Another important area of paramount importance is the power grid or energy networks, which have been attracting significant attention in the past few years as you can see from the column from the industrial perspective in this issue. Although these few areas are indeed interesting, we have often been asked where the research or innovations are as an engineer or a researcher. It seems that we already have the technologies to address all the problems we could face in these important areas. The problem is that we have too many problems when we apply the current technologies to address those problems.
Electrostatic Control of Bioactivity

The power of independence: When exhibited on the surface of self-assembling peptide-amphiphile nanofibers, the hydrophobic laminin-derived IKVAV epitope induced nanofiber bundling through interdigitation with neighboring fibers and thus decreased the bioactivity of the resulting materials. The inclusion of charged amino acids in the peptide amphiphiles disrupted the tendency to bundle and led to significantly enhanced neurite outgrowth.
Threshold variability in fibers with field stimulation of excitable membranes

The central focus of this report is the evolution of transmembrane potentials following initiation of a point-source field stimulus, particularly when the stimulus is short and the stimulating electrode is close to the fiber. The transmembrane voltage threshold in response to a point-source field stimulus was determined in a numerical model of a single unmyelinated fiber. Both nerve (Hodgkin-Huxley [1952]) and cardiac (Ebihara-Johnson [1980]) models of the fiber membrane were evaluated. A central question is whether it is possible to know in advance whether a stimulus of specific magnitude, duration, and location will result in a subsequent action potential. Such determination can be based on the membrane's "voltage threshold". In contrast to the commonly held view, the voltage threshold was found to vary markedly depending on the duration and location of the field stimulus. Voltage thresholds ranged from about 8 mV above baseline to more than 100 mV above baseline, the higher thresholds occurring with shorter stimuli and electrode locations closer to the membrane. A related question is whether the passive membrane response can be used as a tool in determining whether a subsequent action potential is elicited. If the answer is affirmative, this finding can be very useful, since passive properties are linear and thereby much simpler to evaluate than active ones. The results show that the passive response tracks active responses long enough to be a good estimator of subsequent action potential development. Examples show that the evaluation of V/sub m/ at 0.2-0.5 msec after stimulus initiation, times chosen on the basis of membrane characteristics, was a better predictor of subsequent excitation than was either initial transmembrane current or V/sub m/ at the time when the stimulus ends. Most of the circumstances analyzed here with electric field stimulation also appear likely to be valid with magnetic field stimulation.
Ventilatory effects of impaired glial function in a brain stem chemoreceptor region in the conscious rat.

Glia are thought to regulate ion homeostasis, including extracellular pH; however, their role in modulating central CO2 chemosensitivity is unclear. Using a push-pull cannula in chronically instrum...
In Vivo Noninvasive Temperature Measurement by B-Mode Ultrasound Imaging

Objective. This study investigated the use of ultrasound image analysis in quantifying temperature changes in tissue, both ex vivo and in vivo, undergoing local hyperthermia. Methods. Temperature estimation is based on the thermal dependence of the acoustic speed in a heated medium. Because standard beam-forming algorithms on clinical ultrasound scanners assume a constant acoustic speed, temperature-induced changes in acoustic speed produce apparent scatterer displacements in B-mode images. A cross-correlation algorithm computes axial speckle pattern displacement in B-mode images of heated tissue, and a theoretically derived temperature-displacement relationship is used to generate maps of temperature changes within the tissue. Validation experiments were performed on excised tissue and in murine subjects, wherein low-intensity ultrasound was used to thermally treat tissue for several minutes. Diagnostic temperature estimation was performed using a linear array ultrasound transducer, while a fine-wire thermocouple invasively measured the temperature change. Results. Pearson correlations ± SDs between the image-derived and thermocouple-measured temperature changes were R 2 = 0.923 ± 0.066 for 4 thermal treatments of excised bovine muscle tissue and R 2 = 0.917 ± 0.036 for 4 treatments of in vivo murine tumor tissue. The average differences between the two temperature measurements were 0.87°C ± 0.72°C for ex vivo studies and 0.97°C ± 0.55°C for in vivo studies. Maps of the temperature change distribution in tissue were generated for each experiment. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that velocimetric measurement on B-mode images has potential to assess temperature changes noninvasively in clinical applications.
Chapter 5: The Specific Heat of High-TC Superconductors

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the information that has been obtained from specific heat measurements on conventional superconductors. An example of the zero-field specific heat of YBa2Cu3O7–δ (YBCO) sample is given. The principal features are compared with those of conventional superconductors, and the experimental problems and complications in the analysis of the data are summarized. The contributions to the specific heat of high- Tc superconductors (HTSC) and their temperature and magnetic field dependences are discussed. Most analyses of the specific heat into its component contributions have been made at low temperatures or in the vicinity of Tc, and the general methods employed in those analyses are outlined. The general features of the lattice heat capacity and the nature of analyses of the data at intermediate and high temperatures are described in the chapter. The feature of the specific heat of HTSC that has received the most attention is the “linear” term—a term proportional to temperature— that occurs in the zero-field specific heat.
GodunovSPH with shear viscosity: implementation and tests

The acceleration and energy dissipation terms due to the shear viscosity have been implemented and tested in GodunovSPH. The double summation method has been employed to avoid the well known numerical noise of the second derivative in particle based codes. The plane Couette flow with various initial and boundary conditions have been used as tests, and the numerical and analytical results show a good agreement. Not only the viscosity--only calculation, but the full hydrodynamics simulations have been performed, and they show expected results as well. The very low kinematic viscosity simulations show a turbulent pattern when the Reynolds number exceeds $\sim$$10^2$. The critical value of the Reynolds number at the transition point of the laminar and turbulent flows coincides with the previous works approximately. A smoothed dynamic viscosity has been suggested to describe the individual kinematic viscosity of particles. The infinitely extended Couette flow which has two layers of different viscosities has been simulated to check the smoothed dynamic viscosity, and the result agrees well with the analytic solution. In order to compare the standard SPH and GodunovSPH, the two layers test has been performed again with a density contrast. GodunovSPH shows less dispersion than the standard SPH, but there is no significant difference in the results. The results of the viscous ring evolution has also been presented as well, and the numerical results agrees with the analytic solution.
Drug discrimination assessment of agonist-antagonist opioids in humans: a three-choice saline-hydromorphone-butorphanol procedure.

To assess the discriminative stimulus properties of mixed agonist-antagonist opioids in humans, postaddict volunteers were trained in a three-choice drug discrimination procedure to discriminate among the effects of saline (4 ml i.m.), hydromorphone (3 mg i.m.) and butorphanol (6 mg i.m.). Subjects earned monetary reinforcement by correctly identifying the training drugs by letter code. Other subjective, behavioral and physiological measures were concurrently collected. After training, generalization curves for hydromorphone, butorphanol, pentazocine, nalbuphine and buprenorphine were determined. In generalization testing, both hydromorphone and butorphanol produced dose-related increases in hydromorphone-appropriate and butorphanol-appropriate responses, respectively, and other characteristic subjective effect measures. Nalbuphine produced dose-related increases in discrimination as butorphanol and in those subjective effect measures increased by butorphanol. Buprenorphine produced dose-related increases in discrimination as hydromorphone and in those subjective effect measures increased by hydromorphone. Pentazocine was not consistently discriminated as either butorphanol or hydromorphone. These results differ from those of previous discrimination studies using similar methods but different training drugs. Compared to a previous study in which pentazocine served as the kappa-like training drug, the use as a training drug of the more pharmacologically specific kappa-like drug butorphanol permitted greater differentiation among test drugs and yielded discrimination results more consistent with other pharmacological evidence (buprenorphine being mu-like and nalbuphine being kappa-like). There was a close relationship between results of the discrimination measures and the subjective effect measures.
Dispersion and Sequential Sampling of Green Cloverworm Eggs in Soybeans

The microspatial patterns of green cloverworm eggs were studied within and among soybean plants. The upper leaf surface generally contained significantly more eggs than the lower surface. Few eggs (2.8%) were found on stem or pod surfaces. The distribution of eggs by relative nodal position was influenced by the stage of plant growth. The third node from the terminal was selected as the best relative nodal position from which to sample egg-bearing leaves. Among-plant data were expressed on the basis of three sample-unit sizes. Four dispersion indices were calculated for each data set expressed on the basis of each sample-unit size. The majority of data sets exhibited a random dispersion pattern, although the proportion of data sets categorized as random increased with increasing sample-unit size. Taylor's power function also indicated a random dispersion pattern for all sample-unit sizes. The results of Iwao's regression technique were inconclusive. A two-stage sequential sampling plan is described that estimates egg densities with a predetermined precision level. This plan consists of random samples of leaves, for which variance-to-cost relationships indicated that the optimal number of leaves per sample was four. Cost estimates indicate that this plan is suitable for ecological population studies.
Political Forecasting and Strategic Planning

ion from the emerging strategic environment. This is to say that both technical and political elements enter into the strategic equation. Uncertainty as to their future relative weights has been at the heart of strategic insecurity. As Hans Speier (1969: 73) has said, "There exists no doctrine of the peacetime exploitation of military power comparable to military doctrines on the employment of military forces in war. That gap remains to be filled." Once strategy was the servant of politics. Now strategic thinking and forecasting must incorporate the political consequences of strategic designs. The Logic of Forecasting From our survey of the elements of political and strategic forecasting there emerges a conclusion that is also a cardinal criterion: forecasting is an architectonic art. The fundamental elements involved-political, strategic, and technical-are all mutually interrelated and interdependent. By way of conclusion to his historical study of strategic thinking, Michael Howard says (1969: 32): "Perhaps the most significant conclusion to be drawn from this survey is the extent to which the quality of strategic thinking in the nuclear age is related to an understanding of international relations, on the one hand, and of weapons technology on the other. ..." "Increasingly," he goes on to observe (1969: 32), "the three fields overlap." Much the same point is made by Arthur Lee Burns (1968: 66). "Perhaps economics, military studies, politics internal and external, and the study of scientific and technological development will come to be thought of as forming a single constellation concerned with the investigation of rational decision and its implications under conditions of radical uncertainty." A somewhat more substantive, but essentially similar, judgment is that of J. David Singer (1969: 5-6), who This content downloaded from 207.46.13.166 on Mon, 11 Apr 2016 14:48:45 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms [348] INTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY says that "intra-national and inter-national events all impinge on one another in a cyclical and ongoing process within which the self-aggravating propensities usually exceed the self-correcting ones by an unacceptably large amount." Singer is surely right about the past. Systemic compulsions have been fatal to international order. Now we have no excuse not to be on our
45 SPIRONOLACTONE IN THE PREVENTION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE ATROPHY AND BONE LOSS IN RATS WITH ALDOSTERONISM.

Purpose Congestive heart failure (CHF), with its classic signs and symptoms, has its origins rooted in a salt-avid state mediated largely by effector hormones of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). CHF is accompanied by a systemic illness that features oxidative stress and a progressive loss of soft tissues and bone that eventuates in a wasting syndrome termed cardiac cachexia. To simulate the inappropriate (relative to dietary Na+) aldosteronism found in human CHF, rats receive aldosterone (0.75 μg/h), together with 1% NaCl in drinking water (ALDOST). Skeletal muscle wasting and bone loss are found in ALDOST and associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). Herein we hypothesized that these responses could be attenuated by cotreatment with spironolactone (Spiro), an ALDO receptor antagonist. Methods and Results Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats received ALDOST alone for 4 weeks or together with Spiro (150 mg/kg/d by gavage). We monitored: body weight and skeletal muscle morphology, including scarring, a marker of myocyte necrosis, and the presence of apoptosis (TUNEL assay); femoral bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC); plasma α1-antiproteinase activity (AP), an inverse correlate of oxidative stress; and plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH). Compared with age-/gender-matched controls, with ALDOST we found (mean ± SEM): inadequate weight gain (81 ± 5 vs 22 ± 6 g; p Conclusions In rats with aldosteronism, cotreatment with an ALDO receptor antagonist, Spiro, prevents the appearance of SHPT and accompanying skeletal muscle atrophy, bone loss, and oxidative stress. The use of Spiro in human CHF may offer advantages that extend beyond its diuretic properties.
Public health aspects of tuberculosis: supervision of therapy.

SUMMARY The public health objectives of tuberculosis control are to interrupt and to prevent transmission of tubercle bacilli and thereby ultimately eradicate tuberculosis. The methods used in tuberculosis control are “surveillance” and “containment.”56 Surveillance includes a variety of case-finding efforts, maintenance of tuberculosis registers, and the continued collection of epidemiologic data on frequency of disease and distribution through the community. Containment imposes a responsibility on the professional to insure adequate and complete treatment for those individuals capable of spreading disease and preventive treatment for those individuals at high risk of developing contagious disease. Because modern treatment is curative and its administration so easily assured, there is no further need for prolonged follow-up of patients after chemotherapy has been completed.
Variation in suicidality among substance-abusing women. The role of childhood adversity

The relationship of early adversity to suicidality in later life has been noted in diverse populations. Here we report such a relationship for a sample of African American women who smoke crack cocaine. This article is a secondary analysis of data from women (mean age = 31 years; range, 19-48) who were recruited from treatment settings (n = 152) or informal community contacts (n = 56). The present analyses focused on measures related to investment in self-preservation and development, particularly suicidal ideation and attempts. Multiple regression analyses were used to model the effect of early stress (sexual abuse, parental loss, and parental impairment) on the primary outcome measures (suicidality total, age at first consensual sexual relations, and years of education). Suicidality was associated with childhood adversity (sexual abuse, loss of mother). Of those who had experienced early sexual abuse, 42% had attempted suicide, compared to 19% of those who had not been sexually abused.
Reasons for Benzodiazepine Use Among Persons Seeking Opioid Detoxification

Abstract Background Over the past decade, patients admitted to addiction treatment programs have reported increasing rates of concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine (BZD) use. This drug combination places individuals at high risk for accidental overdose. Little is known about reasons for BZD use among individuals seeking treatment for opioid use disorders. Methods We surveyed consecutive persons initiating inpatient opioid detoxification and identified 176 out of 438 who reported BZD use in the past 30 days and/or had a positive toxicology. Results Forty percent of persons surveyed used a BZD in the month prior to admission, and 25% of these met criteria for BZD dependence (DSM IV). BZD users averaged 32.0 years of age, 63.6% were male, 85.2% used heroin, and reported, on average, 13.3 (±11.2) days of BZD use during the past month. Alprazolam (Xanax) was the most commonly used BZD (52%), and buying it on the street the most common source (48%). The most commonly reported reason for BZD use was ‘to manage anxiety' (42.6%), followed by ‘to get or enhance a high' (27.7%), ‘to help with sleep' (11.4%), and ‘to decrease opioid withdrawal' (10.2%). The most common reason for BZD use was significantly associated (p Conclusions Two in five persons seeking detoxification for an opioid use disorder used a BZD in the prior month. Anxiety was the most common reason patients reported using a benzodiazepine, but they also reported using BZDs to enhance a ‘high' and manage opioid withdrawal. Evidence-based discussions about the risks of combining BZDs and opioids, and alternatives to BZDs should be a high priority in detoxification settings.
The Photochemistry of Tropospheric Trace Species: The Central Role of Radicals and Their Possible Variability

Abstract In the presence of sunlight, reduced species emitted into the atmosphere from the earth's surface are oxidized, converted to soluble forms, and then returned to the biosphere-lithosphere-hydrosphere. The free radical OH, predicted to be present in the atmosphere at levels of about 105-106 molecular cm-3, is believed to be the primary species in initiating the oxidation of most of these reduced atmospheric compounds. The concentration of the OH radical in the remote troposphere is primarily controlled by the atmospheric levels of H2O, O3, CO, CH4 and NOx. However, it appears that anthropogenic activities can significantly affect the atmospheric levels of O3, CO, CH4, and NOx and thus may have conceivably caused a perturbation in OH levels on a global scale. A recent analysis of CH4 in ice cores which indicated that CH4 has increased significantly over the past 400 years suggests that OH levels have in fact undergone a secular variation in the recent past.
Bioelectronics, three-dimensional memories and hybrid computers

The promise of new architectures and more cost-effective miniaturization has prompted interest in hybrid molecular and semiconductor computers. Nature has already optimized some molecules for such applications. We examine here the use of the protein bacteriorhodopsin in associative and three-dimensional memories and the potential for making hybrid computer systems which combine semiconductor and biomolecular components. >
Estimation of visible spectrum faces from polarimetric thermal faces

A method for synthesizing visible spectrum face imagery from polarimetric-thermal face imagery is presented. This work extends recent within-spectrum (i.e., visible-to-visible) reconstruction techniques for image representation understanding using convolutional neural networks. Despite the challenging task, we effectively demonstrate the ability to produce a visible image from a probe polarimetric-thermal image. Moreover, we are able to demonstrate the same capability with conventional thermal imagery, but we report a significant improvement by incorporating polarization-state information. These reconstructions, or estimates, can be used to aid human examiners performing one-to-one verification of matches retrieved from automated cross-spectrum face recognition algorithms.
Infrared laser spectroscopy of the n-propyl and i-propyl radicals: Stretch-bend Fermi coupling in the alkyl CH stretch region.

The n-propyl and i-propyl radicals were generated in the gas phase via pyrolysis of n-butyl nitrite [CH3(CH2)3ONO] and i-butyl nitrite [(CH3)2CHCH2ONO], respectively. Nascent radicals were promptly solvated by a beam of He nanodroplets, and the infrared spectra of the radicals were recorded in the CH stretching region. Several previously unreported bands are observed between 2800 and 3150 cm−1. The CH stretching modes observed above 3000 cm−1 are in excellent agreement with CCSD(T) anharmonic frequencies computed using second-order vibrational perturbation theory. However, between 2800 and 3000 cm−1, the spectra of n- and i-propyl radicals become congested and difficult to assign due to the presence of multiple anharmonic resonance polyads. To model the spectrally congested region, Fermi and Darling-Dennison resonances are treated explicitly using “dressed” Hamiltonians and CCSD(T) quartic force fields in the normal mode representation, and the agreement with experiment is less than satisfactory. Computations employing local mode effective Hamiltonians reveal the origin of the spectral congestion to be strong coupling between the high frequency CH stretching modes and the lower frequency CHn bending/scissoring motions. The most significant coupling is between stretches and bends localized on the same CH2/CH3 group. Spectral simulations using the local mode approach are in excellent agreement with experiment.
Virtues, Layers, and Lenses in Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments

These brief, casual remarks were delivered at an event to discuss Russell Roberts’s book How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life. I provide nine quotations from Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments, each quotation stating a source of vice, disorder, and corruption in human life. Smith speaks of each as a major, even principal source of disorder. Thus the enumeration vastly surpasses 100 percent. I suggest that, rather than thinking in terms of a ceiling of 100 percent, we read Smith as offering layers and lenses with which to explore sources of vice and disorder. I then turn the point around, applying it to virtues: For virtues, too, Smith is offering a plexus of layers and sets of lenses. Some of the main distinctions Smith makes between sets of virtues are made so as to advance liberalism, as opposed to being made so as to create a checklist of virtues and a guide to practicing them. The sets of lenses that he offers are fashioned sometimes to teach lessons in politics, not lessons in private morals. The political wisdom of the work is in good measure esoteric.
Mutations in Argonaute5 Illuminate Epistatic Interactions of the K1 and I Loci Leading to Saddle Seed Color Patterns in Glycine max.

The soybean (Glycine max) seed coat has distinctive, genetically programmed patterns of pigmentation, and the recessive k1 mutation can epistatically overcome the dominant I and ii alleles, which inhibit seed color by producing small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting chalcone synthase (CHS) mRNAs. Small RNA sequencing of dissected regions of immature seed coats demonstrated that CHS siRNA levels cause the patterns produced by the ii and ik alleles of the I locus, which restrict pigment to the hilum or saddle region of the seed coat, respectively. To identify the K1 locus, we compared RNA-seq data from dissected regions of two Clark isolines having similar saddle phenotypes mediated by CHS siRNAs but different genotypes (homozygous ik K1 versus homozygous ii k1). By examining differentially expressed genes, mapping information, and genome resequencing, we identified a 129-bp deletion in Glyma.11G190900 encoding Argonaute5 (AGO5), a member of the Argonaute family. Amplicon sequencing of several independent saddle pattern mutants from different genetic backgrounds revealed independent lesions affecting AGO5, thus establishing Glyma.11G190900 as the K1 locus. Nonfunctional AGO5 from k1 alleles leads to altered distributions of CHS siRNAs, thus explaining how the k1 mutation reverses the phenotype of the seed coat regions from yellow to pigmented, even in the presence of the normally dominant I or ii alleles.
Nuclear Acetyl-CoA Production by ACLY Promotes Homologous Recombination

Summary While maintaining the integrity of the genome and sustaining bioenergetics are both fundamental functions of the cell, potential crosstalk between metabolic and DNA repair pathways is poorly understood. Since histone acetylation plays important roles in DNA repair and is sensitive to the availability of acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), we investigated a role for metabolic regulation of histone acetylation during the DNA damage response. In this study, we report that nuclear ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) is phosphorylated at S455 downstream of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and AKT following DNA damage. ACLY facilitates histone acetylation at double-strand break (DSB) sites, impairing 53BP1 localization and enabling BRCA1 recruitment and DNA repair by homologous recombination. ACLY phosphorylation and nuclear localization are necessary for its role in promoting BRCA1 recruitment. Upon PARP inhibition, ACLY silencing promotes genomic instability and cell death. Thus, the spatial and temporal control of acetyl-CoA production by ACLY participates in the mechanism of DNA repair pathway choice.
The Effects of Data Density, Display Organization, and Stress on Search Performance: An Eye Tracking Study of Clutter

Display clutter can cause breakdowns in visual search performance, which can compromise system safety and efficiency. The differential contributions of the two main aspects of clutter—data density and display organization—to these breakdowns are not well understood. Moreover, it is not clear how these factors interact with stress, another factor that can degrade performance in data-rich domains. The aim of this study was to ascertain the effects of data density, display organization, and stress on visual search performance and associated eye movements (obtained via eye tracking). To this end, participants performed visual search tasks in a simulated graphics program. Data density (number of icons), organization (grouping of icons), and stress (presence of a time limit) were manipulated. Response time (RT), error rate, eye tracking data, and subjective ratings of clutter and stress were collected. Results confirmed that high data density and poor organization increase RT and error rate. Furthermore, poor organization worsened the effects of high data density on RT. Stress did not negatively affect performance but significantly decreased RT. Eye tracking metrics provided insight into the effects of the two clutter aspects and stress. In particular, these metrics helped explain how changes in attention allocation resulted in the observed performance effects of long RT and high error rate. The results of this research can be used to inform the design of data-rich displays and trigger display adaptations in real time.
The complexities of lithium.

Bipolar disorder is a common psychiatric condition characterized by periods of depression alternating with mania, affecting an estimated 1% of the population worldwide and 3% in the United States (Kessler et al. 2005). One of the mainstays of treatment for this disease is lithium, which is efficacious but has numerous side effects. Among these adverse effects is renal toxicity, including diabetes insipidus. The loss of urine concentrating ability in patients taking lithium is well documented, with some patients having urine outputs in excess of 10 L per day. Despite the widespread use of lithium, the mechanism by which lithium causes nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) remains incompletely characterized. The downregulation of the water channel aquaporin 2 (AQP‐2) has long been thought be one of the causative factors in the pathogenesis of lithium‐induced NDI (Kwon et al. 2000). In prior work, the authors demonstrated that the soluble form of the (pro)renin receptor (sPRR) upregulated renal AQP‐2 expression (Lu et al. 2016). This resulted in an improvement in the urine concentrating ability in an experimental mouse model of NDI. In this issue of Physiological Reports , Yang et al., (2017) expand …
Winter Territoriality of White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) in Kentucky

Abstract We examined the responses of resident flocks of white-throated sparrows to unfamiliar individuals and vocalizations throughout the winter, while also examining circulating levels of the stress hormone corticosterone, to see if they paralleled behavioral changes. Concurrently, we validated identification of sparrow plumage morphs with genotype assays to determine reliability of field identification. Accuracy of field identification of plumage morphs was 68.8%. Baseline corticosterone did not differ among sampling periods, suggesting these birds did not experience prolonged chronic stress throughout the winter. However, white-throated sparrows responded more aggressively to study skins and playback of conspecific calls and songs in November than in January and March. These results suggest that agonistic displays may be more important for defending winter territories and establishing dominance status in early winter.
Latino Millennials—The New Diverse Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities:

There are a variety of trends that are enabling and forcing organizational change. A crucial trend that has implications for a changing and growing demographic workforce includes Millennials and in particular Latinos/Hispanics as the world and particularly the U.S. workplace continues to have an increased aging workforce. Yet, while Latinos are members of the largest and also the fastest growing minority group in the United States, they are disproportionately underrepresented in more highly compensated professional and leadership roles across corporate America. The majority of existing career development and acculturation literature in the United States has focused narrowly on Anglo-oriented acculturation as a linear process. Unfortunately, as society has evolved so has the form of prejudices and biases. This is supported by the fact that well more than 50% of Hispanics experience discrimination through a variety of means including micro-aggressions. We believe that developing and maintaining an overlappi...
Timing of thoracic endovascular aortic repair for uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissection and the association with complications.

Abstract Objective Previous publications have clearly established a correlation between timing of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and complications after treatment of complicated acute type B aortic dissection (ATBAD). However, the temporal association of TEVAR with morbidity after uncomplicated presentations is poorly understood and has not previously been examined using real-world national data. Therefore, the objective of this analysis was to determine whether TEVAR timing of uncomplicated ATBAD (UATBAD) is associated with postoperative complications. Methods The Vascular Quality Initiative TEVAR and complex endovascular aneurysm repair registry was analyzed from 2010 to 2019. Procedures performed for non-dissection-related disease as well as for ATBAD with malperfusion or rupture were excluded. Because of inherent differences between timing cohorts, propensity score matching was performed to ensure like comparisons. Univariate and multivariable analysis after matching was used to determine differences between timing groups (symptom onset to TEVAR: acute, 1-14 days; subacute, 15-90 days) for postoperative mortality, in-hospital complications, and reintervention. Results A total of 688 cases meeting inclusion criteria were identified. After matching 187 patients in each of the 1- to 14-day and 15- to 90-day treatment groups, there were no statistically significant differences between groups. On univariate analysis, the 1- to 14-day treatment group had a higher proportion of cases requiring reintervention within 30 days (15.3%) compared with UATBAD patients undergoing TEVAR within 15 to 90 days (5.2%; P = .02). There was also a difference (P = .007) at 1 year, with 33.8% of the 1- to 14-day UATBAD patients undergoing reintervention compared with 14.5% for the 15- to 90-day group. There were no statistically significant differences on multivariable analysis for long-term survival, complications, or long-term reintervention. There was a trend toward significance (P = .08) with the 1- to 14-day group having 2.3 times the odds of requiring an in-hospital reintervention compared with the 15- to 90-day group. Conclusions Timing of TEVAR for UATBAD does not appear to predict mortality or postoperative complications. However, there is a strong association between repair within 1 to 14 days and higher risk of reintervention. This may in part be related to the 1- to 14-day group's representing an inherently higher anatomic or physiologic risk population that cannot be entirely accounted for with propensity analysis. The role of optimal timing to intervention should be incorporated into future study design of TEVAR trials for UATBAD.
The Macrophage as a Validated Pharmaceutical Target

“Therapeutic validation” is a utilitarian classification of the application of the basic science base of the macrophage. Reduction to therapeutic practice represents the cutting edge of therapy, but rests upon a decades-old basic science foundation. Macrophage-targeted therapeutics have now added significant value to the lives and quality of life of patients, without undue adverse effects in multiple disease settings. These are exemplified by the impact of macrophage enzyme replacement for a lysosomal storage disease (Gaucher’s), the modulation of osteoclast-dependent bone destruction by bisphosphonates, and revolutionary impact of TNF sequestrants on both rheumatoid arthritis, as well as the delineation of new mechanisms in the understanding of Crohn’s diseases. The macrophage, as a cell, is now beginning to reach a full measure of therapeutic maturity in the application of the understanding of the particular rate-limiting roles that it plays in the maintenance of health or the induction of diseases.
Staging and Risk Stratification in Penile Cancer

Currently, the tumor, node and metastasis (TNM) classification is the most widely recognized and used staging methodology for penile carcinoma. Imaging has come to play a crucial role in enhancing the precision of clinical staging and facilitating optimal surgical planning. High resolution magnetic resonance imaging, dynamic sentinel lymph node biopsy, and positron emission tomography (PET) combined with computed tomography (CT) represent some of the superior imaging modalities available that have enhanced the accuracy of clinical staging. Patient prognosis is an essential factor in medical decision-making. Expected survival is one of the most basic elements of prognosis. Various methods of measuring survival, such as survival probability, relative survival and case-fatality ratio are herein reviewed. For penile cancer, patient-related prognostic factors such as age, overall disease stage, lymphovascular invasion, tumor grade and histology all impact survival. Prognostic tools, which combine these individual factors, allow for a more precise estimate of patient outcomes. Various risk groupings and nomograms for penile cancer are as well discussed.
The Eighth Edition of TNM Staging of Lung Cancer: Reference Chart and Diagrams

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the U.S. TNM staging of lung cancer is implemented to define the extent of disease and consequently assign prognosis and guide treatment. The newest edition of TNM staging of lung cancer has been released recently. In this article, we present the TNM staging of lung cancer in a concise, yet comprehensive, visual format.
Seasonal diversity and composition of epibenthic organisms on a North Carolina, USA continental shelf hard bottom

Abstract Subtidal marine hard bottoms are valuable habitats that support diverse epibenthic and fish communities. The degree to which hard bottom community structure varies spatially and temporally is not fully understood. Identifications of macroalgae and sessile invertebrates in scraped quadrats were done at three separate times (May, July, and September 2016) at three sites along the 5-mile ledge hard bottom in Onslow Bay, North Carolina. Spatial and temporal epibenthic community diversity and composition were measured. Diversity did not vary over time ( p = 0 . 065 ) or between sampling sites ( p = 0 . 130 ). There was, however, a change in community composition over time (p p = 0 . 012 ). Bottom water temperature might partially explain the observed temporal variation in composition, and site wide patchiness might explain the spatial variation in composition. These findings indicate that seasonal sampling of multiple sites is required to establish community baselines for these valuable habitats.
Effects of Individual Ion Energies on Charge Measurements in Fourier Transform Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry (FT-CDMS)

A method to correct for the effect of ion energy on charge measurements of individual ions trapped and weighed with charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) is demonstrated. Ions with different energies induce different signal patterns inside an electrostatic ion trap. The sum of the amplitudes of the fundamental and second harmonic frequencies in the Fourier transform of the induced signal, which has been used to obtain the ion charge, depends on both ion energy and charge. The amplitudes of the fundamental frequencies of ions increase over time as ions lose energy by collisions with background gas and solvent loss from larger ions. Model ion signals are simulated with the same time-domain amplitude at different energies and frequencies and the resulting fundamental frequency amplitudes are used to normalize real ion signals for energy and frequency effects. The fundamental frequency amplitude decreases dramatically below 20 kHz and increases by ~ 17% from the highest energy to lowest energy that is stable with a given trap potential at all frequencies. Normalizing the fundamental frequency amplitude with the modeled amplitudes removes the systematic changes in the charge measurement of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and other ions and makes it possible to signal average the amplitude over long times, which reduces the charge uncertainty to 0.04% for a PEG ion for a 500-ms measurement. This method improves charge measurement accuracy and uncertainty, which are important for high-accuracy mass measurement with CDMS.