cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional grasp potential of the intrinsic minus hand

The functional grasp potential of a hand controlled only by extrinsic muscles or by both intrinsic and extrinsic muscles was investigated using a biomechanical model simulation. The simulation, which was based on a set of equilibrium equations, was driven by muscle-like forces. Contact with fixed objects provided external forces, which interacted with muscle forces and joint passive moments to produce finger position. It was found that functional grasps of several different sized objects could be obtained using only extrinsic muscles, but that the position of the object with respect to the hand was an important parameter. Using both intrinsic and extrinsic muscles provided additional object positions at which functional grasp could be achieved. These results could prove useful in training people using functional electrical stimulation systems to restore hand function. >
Factors Influencing Physical Therapists' Involvement in Preschool Transitions

Background Families and children receiving early intervention services benefit from service provider involvement during the transition to preschool special education services. Objectives This study sought to determine the factors that physical therapists working in early intervention services and/or preschools identified as supportive of their involvement, and associated with their perceived involvement, in transition planning for young children with disabilities moving from early intervention to preschool services. Design A cross-sectional survey was used. Methods A survey was mailed to a random sample of 600 members of the American Physical Therapy Association's Section on Pediatrics. Physical therapists working with children transitioning out of early intervention and into preschool participated. Data from physical therapists providing services in preschools were included in this study. Results The response rate was 56.3%. The highest- and lowest-ranked facilitators of transition planning were: “Staff at my preschool program value my participation in transition planning activities” (highest ranked) (X=5.02, SD=1.36, n=142) and “I am encouraged to participate in transition planning activities by the early intervention service coordinator” (lowest ranked) (X=1.91, SD=3.50, n=143). Multivariate regression models demonstrated that physical therapists' perceived value and expertise in providing transition planning services were significantly associated with collaboration with professionals from early intervention programs (F1,129=207) and support of families during the transition process (F1,134=48). Conclusions Physical therapists who identified implementing practices that supported communication, collaboration, and strong, positive relationships between early intervention and preschool programs had greater involvement in the transition planning process.
Product Diversification In Competitive R&D-Intensive Firms: An Empirical Study Of The Computer Software Industry

This paper studies the effect of diversification into different product categories within competitive high-tech industries. Empirical results obtained using the prepackaged computer software industry as the sample show that: (1) diversified firms appear to be more profitable (have higher returns on equity), attain a larger market share, enjoy higher excess market returns, and have a higher market-to-book ratio; (2) from the investors’ perspective, diversification per se does not increase firm value. Realized higher values do not appear to come from more efficient use of assets. Rather, they stem from the higher innovation efficiency (higher sales revenue per employee) and higher levels of R&D spending for firms that have diversified into different product categories than for firms that confine development to a single product category.
Ischemic Preconditioning in White Matter: Magnitude and Mechanism.

Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) is a robust neuroprotective phenomenon whereby brief ischemic exposure confers tolerance to a subsequent ischemic challenge. IPC has not been studied selectively in CNS white matter (WM), although stroke frequently involves WM. We determined whether IPC is present in WM and, if so, its mechanism. We delivered a brief in vivo preconditioning ischemic insult (unilateral common carotid artery ligation) to 12- to 14-week-old mice and determined WM ischemic vulnerability [oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD)] 72 h later, using acutely isolated optic nerves (CNS WM tracts) from the preconditioned (ipsilateral) and control (contralateral) hemispheres. Functional and structural recovery was assessed by quantitative measurement of compound action potentials (CAPs) and immunofluorescent microscopy. Preconditioned mouse optic nerves (MONs) showed better functional recovery after OGD than the non-preconditioned MONs (31 ± 3 vs 17 ± 3% normalized CAP area, p TLR4 −/− and IFNAR1 −/− mice. In addition, IPC-mediated protection in WM was also abolished in IFNAR1 fl/fl LysM cre , but not in IFNAR1 fl/fl control, mice. These findings demonstrated for the first time that IPC was robust in WM, the phenomenon being intrinsic to WM itself. Furthermore, WM IPC was dependent on innate immune cell signaling pathways. Finally, these data demonstrated that microglial-specific expression of IFNAR1 plays an indispensable role in WM IPC. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) has been studied predominantly in gray matter, but stroke in humans frequently involves white matter (WM) as well. Here we describe a novel, combined in vivo / ex vivo mouse model to determine whether IPC occurs in WM. It does. Using genetically altered mice, we identified two innate immune cell receptors, Toll-like receptor 4 and type 1 interferon receptor (IFNAR1), that are required for IPC-mediated protection in WM. Furthermore, using microglia-targeted IFNAR1 knockdown, we demonstrate that interferon signaling specifically in microglia is essential for this protection. The discovery of IPC as an intrinsic capability of WM is novel and important. This is also the first in vivo demonstration that cell-type-specific expression of an individual gene plays an indispensable role in IPC-mediated protection.
SMA Type III Mimics Muscular Dystrophy

Researchers at the National Neuroscience Institute, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, report a series of 8 patients with type III spinal muscular atrophy who were referred with a diagnosis of muscular dystrophy.
The Judiciary and Fiscal Crises: An Institutional Critique

Scholars have long debated the role for courts with respect to governmental action that responds to crisis. Most of the crises analyzed, however, are exogenous to the political process; the courts’ role in response to politically endogenous crises has received less attention. We evaluate the role of the judiciary in a subset of those endogenous crises: the judicial treatment of governmental efforts to resolve the crisis facing underfunded public pensions. Assessing institutional competence schematically with reference to an institution’s democratic accountability and fact-finding ability, we argue that, where institutions function properly, judicial intervention in politically endogenous economic crises should be close to nonexistent. But when they must occur — and, consistent with doctrines of justiciability, some adjudication of governmental action in the fiscal context will be inevitable — we argue that such intervention should respect the judiciary’s comparative institutional incompetence by treading lightly, constitutionally speaking: where the relevant law allows discretion, and where a non-constitutional determination is possible, courts addressing the state’s fiscal policy-making apparatus should avoid constitutional pronouncements entirely. After developing a preliminary framework for assessing this decision rule, we apply it to a hard case (where the statute and contract is silent as to whether executory pension contracts are subject to constitutional protection against modification) and an easy case (where there is a reservation of rights for that very modification). Unfortunately, courts have erred in both the hard and easy cases; our framework explains why the law is not only consistent with our decision rule, but why comparative institutional competence compels the result. In both the easy and the hard cases, the point is not to promote or demote the interests of a single class or faction active within the fiscal policy-making process — whether bondholders, public unions, taxpayers, or the government — but to locate that policy-making process within the most democratically responsive and empirically competent institutions. With this framework, we evaluate the recent effort of the San Jose Superior Court to address these issues. We conclude that the court got the easy case exactly wrong.
Lowering the Cost Barrier to Higher Education for Undocumented Students: A Promising University-Level Intervention.

ABSTRACTUndocumented students, many of Hispanic origin, face among the strictest cost barriers to higher education in the United States. Lack of legal status excludes them from most state and all federal financial aid programs. Furthermore, most states require them to pay out-of-state tuition rates at publicly supported institutions. In a new direction, boards of trustees at universities in several states have bypassed the legislative process to lower the cost barrier. This policy article evaluates one such university-level innovation.
The Egg as a Medium for Cultivation of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis from Tuberculous Materials

During the course of a comparative study of media for isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from sputum and other infectious material, it was decided to attempt culture of this organism in eggs. ...
A Compressible Fluid Power Dynamic Model of a Liquid Propellant Powered Rifle

This paper presents a dynamic model of the interior ballistics of an experimental liquid propellant-powered rifle. The liquid propellant-powered rifle described utilizes a misture of Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate (HAN) and hydrocarbon fuel to replace gunpowder typically used in such firearms. The motivation for such a development is to discard the need for a shell casing whereby carrying only propellant and bullets will reduce both the mass and volume per shot carried by the soldier. A first-principles dynamic model of the interior ballistics is derived as a compressible fluid power problem with the chemical liberation of heat within the chamber modeled via a condensed-phase reaction rate law. The model is used to predict the overall performance in terms of ballistic kinetic energy as well as draw design insight regarding the role of friction, chamber geometry, and the profile of chamber pressure with respect to time. Simulation results are presented as well as preliminary experimental results from a proof-of concept device.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Expression of hydrogenase in Hupc strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum.

Plasmid-borne hup-lacZ transcriptional fusion constructs were introduced into three separate mutant strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum which express hydrogenase constitutively (Hupc strains SR470, SR473 and JH101) in both autotrophic and heterotrophic environments. The lacZ structural gene linked directly to the regulatory region upstream of the hydrogenase structural gene encompassing -149 bases expressed β-gal at a constant, high level, in response to various concentrations of Ni (0 μM to 1 μM). β-Gal activity was expressed at a constant level in response to variations in concentration of O2 (0%–10%) and H2 (0%–10%) as well. The cis-acting region required to express hydrogenase constitutively is located between -149 and -98 bases. This is also the site of nickel, oxygen and hydrogen-dependent regulatory action in the wild-type strain. It is postulated that a single mutation in Hupc strains affects the trans-acting factor which would normally by responsive to Ni, O2 and H2.
Human small-intestinal apolipoprotein B-48 oligosaccharide chains.

Hepatic apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 isolated from human plasma is known to contain N-linked oligosaccharides of high-mannose-type and complex-type structures. Sequencing data have revealed that apo B-48 of small-intestinal origin, which represents about 48% of apo B-100 polypeptide from the N-terminus, possesses six potential sites for N-linked oligosaccharides, of which five are likely to be glycosylated. The characterization of the carbohydrate moiety of apo B-48 is the focus of this study. Apo B-48 was labelled with L-[35S]methionine and D-[3H]glucosamine in organ culture of human small-intestinal explants. N-Glycanase treatment resulted in loss of radioactivity from D-[3H]glucosamine-labelled but not L-[35S]methionine-labelled apo B-48 secreted into the medium, and caused no distinct change in mobility of apo B-48 upon electrophoresis on 5% polyacrylamide gel. Analysis of monosaccharide content revealed the presence of 16.8, 17.8, 13.4, 3.4, 2.4 and 2.3 residues of N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, galactose, fucose, xylose and N-acetylgalactosamine respectively. Small-intestinal apo B-48 from human lymph chylomicrons bound to [14C]concanavalin A, and the binding could be inhibited with methyl alpha-D-mannoside. In addition, wheat-germ, peanut, Limulus, soya-bean and Ulex lectins bound apo B-48 specifically. To characterize the carbohydrate moiety further, N-linked oligosaccharides were released by N-Glycanase treatment and reduced with NaB3H4. Labelled oligosaccharides were separated on a concanavalin A-Sepharose column. The majority (78%) were biantennary complex-type structures, 16% were high-mannose type and 6% (not retained by the column) most probably represented higher-branched oligosaccharides. These results suggest the presence of one high-mannose-type and four biantennary complex-type oligosaccharides, as well as probable O-linked sugars in apo B-48. By the use of h.p.l.c., exoglycosidase treatments and ion-exchange chromatography, a mixture of high-mannose-type species with predominant Man8GlcNAc2 as well as monosialylated, desialylated and fucosylated forms of complex-type oligosaccharides were detected.
Fires of differing intensities rapidly select distinct soil fungal communities in a Northwest US ponderosa pine forest ecosystem

Abstract Environmental change and long-term fire management in the western United States have created conditions that facilitate high-intensity burn areas in forested systems. Such burns may have dramatic effects on the soil microbial communities. In this study, we utilized experimental infrastructure in the Pringle Falls Experimental Forest in Oregon, where ten pairs of sites were assigned to either high burn (HB) or low burn (LB) intensity treatments to examine fungal community responses. In these treatments, understory shrubs and logging debris were masticated and broadcast burned (LB) or piled logs were fully combusted (HB) in a paired design. The burn treatments generated soil temperatures of ∼100 °C (LB) or up to 700 °C (HB) at the soil surface. We sampled soils (0–10 cm) one week before and three weeks after ignition and Illumina MiSeq-analyzed fungal Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 (ITS1) PCR-amplicons to deeply dissect the fungal communities. Our data indicate dramatic and rapid responses in community diversity and evenness in the HB treatment, with similar responses, but to a lesser degree, in the LB treatment. Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) ordinations and analyses of taxon frequencies reveal a substantial community turnover and corresponding replacement of the dominant basidiomycetes by ascomycetes in the HB treatment. Similar trends were visible, but weaker in the LB treatments. These coarse-level taxonomic responses were attributable to a few fire-responsive fungi, particularly Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) assigned to Pyronema sp. and Morchella sp., whose frequencies increased more than 100-fold following the HB treatment. Our study highlights the strong and rapid fungal fire responses and differences among fires of different intensities. As the high intensity fires – such as those represented here by the HB treatment – tend to be spatially confined and limited in scale, we emphasize their potential to generate distinct patches that may substantially contribute to beta diversity on small scales. Further, these data lead to questions about fungal community recovery (return to community state preceding the fire) and the importance of patch dynamics following a fire as well as function of post-fire communities and ecosystem services that they may provide.
Quantum Statistical Properties of Radiation in a Free-Electron Laser

Recently interest has revived in the quantum theory of free-electron laser devices. Most of these studies are, however, restricted to a free-electron laser (FEL) amplifier configuration. In recent papers [1,2], we considered the photon statistics of such systems and we showed that, in the small-signal dilute-beam regime, the photon distribution for the field exhibit some nonclassical features. In particular, photon antibunching is predicted and, under certain conditions, the state of the field is shown to be in a so-called squeezed state.
Persistence of antibody to Hepatitis A virus 20 years after receipt of Hepatitis A vaccine in Alaska

Summary Hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for children ≥1 year old to prevent hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. However, the duration of vaccine-induced immunity is unknown. We evaluated a cohort of Alaska Native persons 20 years after HAV vaccination. Children aged 3-6 years had been previously randomized to receive three doses of HAV vaccine (360 ELISA units/dose) at: (i) 0,1,2 months; (ii) 0,1,6 months; and (iii) 0,1,12 months. We measured anti-HAV antibody concentrations every 2-3 years; described geometric mean concentrations (GMC) and the proportion with protective antibody (≥20 mIU mL-1) over time; and modelled the change in GMC using fractional polynomial regression. Of the 144 participants, after 20 years 52 (36.1%) were available for the follow-up (17, 18, 17 children in Groups A, B and C, respectively). Overall, 46 (88.5%) of 52 available participants had anti-HAV antibody concentrations ≥20 mIU mL-1, and overall GMC was 107 mIU mL-1. Although GMC levels were lower in Group A (60; CI 34-104) than in Group B (110; CI 68-177) or Group C (184; CI 98-345) (B vs C: P=.168; A vs B/C: P=.011), there was no difference between groups after adjusting for peak antibody levels post-vaccination (P=.579). Models predicted geometric mean concentrations of 124 mIU mL-1 after 25 years, and 106 mIU mL-1 after 30 years. HAV vaccine provides protective antibody levels 20 years after childhood vaccination. Lower antibody levels in Group A may be explained by a lower initial peak response. Our results suggest a booster vaccine dose is unnecessary for at least 25-30 years.
Culture and cardiac vagal tone independently influence emotional expressiveness

Expressiveness (behavioral expression of emotion) is shaped by culture and by biological predispositions, such as cardiac vagal tone (CVT). However, it is unclear whether these factors interact or contribute additively, as no studies have simultaneously investigated the effects of both. Here we conducted a secondary analysis of data on emotional expressiveness to video clips depicting accidental painful injuries. Data were from a cross-cultural study of Chinese and American participants, including a bicultural group of East-Asian Americans (AA). We had previously reported that expressiveness was higher for the American than for the Chinese group (Immordino-Yang, Yang and Damasio, 2016). The current analyses included a subset of participants for whom we collected baseline electrocardiograms to establish CVT. Groups did not differ in CVT, and the effect of CVT on expressiveness did not differ across groups. Controlling for CVT, the previously reported cultural effect on expressiveness held. Controlling for group differences in expressiveness, participants with higher CVT were less expressive (calmer). These effects held controlling for participants’ reported feeling strength to the videos, suggesting that they reflect expressiveness rather than differences in strength of emotional experience. In a follow-up analysis of the bicultural AA group, higher CVT was associated with reports of stronger East-Asian ethnic identity. Our results suggest that cultural group and CVT contribute additively to emotional expressiveness, and that CVT, which is associated with emotion regulation capacity, may predispose bicultural individuals toward adopting particular cultural values. These findings should be of interest to researchers investigating cultural and CVT relations to health.
Synthesis and evaluation of l-phenylalanine ester-based chiral ionic liquids for GC stationary phase ability

Abstract Several l -phenylalanine alkyl ester-based cations formed ionic liquids after coupling with bis-(perfluoroethylsulfonyl) imide ([(C2F5SO2)2N]) and bis-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) amide ([(CF3SO2)2N]). The relationship between the structure of l -phenylalanine alkyl ester cations and perfluorinated anions and properties of subsequently synthesized chiral ionic liquids was investigated. The ionic liquids were obtained in good yields and were liquid at room temperature. The ionic liquids having a methyl and ethyl substituent on the cation unit exhibited the highest thermal decomposition temperatures that ranged from 280 °C to 296 °C among the synthesized ionic liquids. These ionic liquids displayed the lowest glass transition temperatures of between − 45 °C to − 51 °C. The introduction of a different alkyl substituents on the cation caused the melting point and viscosity of the ionic liquids to vary slightly. Ionic liquids based on the [(C2F5SO2)2N] anion presented higher melting points than those based on the [(CF3SO2)2N] anion, for each corresponding cation. The neat chiral ionic liquids showed different fluorescence spectral behavior when excited at the same wavelength. Steady-state fluorescence spectroscopic measurements revealed the chiral discrimination of l -Phenylalanine ethyl ester bis-(perfluoroethylsulfonyl) imide for pure enantiomers of 2,2,2-trifluoroanthryl ethanol.
Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX) Architecture for Oversubscription of Secure Memory in a Virtualized Environment

As workloads and data move to the cloud, it is essential that software writers are able to protect their applications from untrusted hardware, systems software, and co-tenants. Intel® Software Guard Extensions (SGX) enables a new mode of execution that is protected from attacks in such an environment with strong confidentiality, integrity, and replay protection guarantees. Though SGX supports memory oversubscription via paging, virtualizing the protected memory presents a significant challenge to Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) writers and comes with a high performance overhead. This paper introduces SGX Oversubscription Extensions that add additional instructions and virtualization support to the SGX architecture so that cloud service providers can oversubscribe secure memory in a less complex and more performant manner.
Evolving trends in the use of echocardiography: a study of Medicare beneficiaries.

Objectives We studied the use of echocardiography among Medicare beneficiaries between 1999 and 2004 to determine the rate of growth in these services and evaluate the drivers of growth. Background Concerned about increasing health care costs, federal and private payers have highlighted growth in diagnostic imaging studies and begun to develop approaches to curb this growth. Methods Medicare Part B Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary Master File and enrollment data from 1999 to 2004 were reviewed. Total Medicare carrier-paid spending for echocardiography services was determined from procedure volumes and allowed charges. The 5% standard analytic file of physician claims was used to evaluate geographic variations in use and to document the specialties of physicians who request and those who interpret echocardiograms. Results Between 1999 and 2004, echocardiography services grew at a rate similar to that for all medical services subject to Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) calculation. Increasing provision of echocardiograms in physicians’ offices contributed to increased spending under the SGR. Accounting for this shift, actual annualized per capita growth in echocardiography was 7.7%. Variations in the prevalence of heart disease contributed to geographic variations in use. Although cardiologists were the most common providers of echocardiographic services, primary care physicians ordered the majority of these diagnostic procedures. Conclusions Growth in the use of echocardiography is in keeping with the general growth in medical services. Nonetheless, physicians who order echocardiograms and those who provide them must work together to ensure that in the future these diagnostic services are used appropriately and not excessively.
Extending the ‘resource concentration hypothesis’ to the landscape-scale by considering dispersal mortality and fitness costs

Abstract The ‘resource concentration hypothesis’ proposes mechanisms by which polycultures (local plant diversity) can directly reduce densities of insect pests in agriculture. It predicts that herbivore loads are directly reduced because host plant cues are disrupted and herbivore residency times are shorter in polycultures than in monocultures. The hypothesis has been similarly applied to landscape-scale investigations; however, the mechanisms by which diverse landscapes can directly suppress herbivores are likely different than those operating at the polyculture scale and have not been clearly articulated. Here, we discuss how landscape-scale habitat diversity may directly reduce agricultural pest loads by requiring more dispersal activity, which, in turn, can increase mortality and decrease fitness. We also lay out a research agenda and argue that a better understanding of the mechanisms by which landscape-scale habitat diversity affect insect pest populations can lead to better predictions of pest control as an ecosystem service provided by diverse agricultural landscapes.
Making gender quota mechanics work: a paired comparison of Brazil and Peru

ABSTRACTWhy do similar quotas affect descriptive representation differently and different quotas produce similar results across states? Extant research posits that quota mechanics, which include quota design features and enforcement mechanisms, shape election outcomes. Quota mechanics uses electoral cycles as a common framework with critical junctures for cross-national comparison. A paired comparison of quota mechanics in Brazil and Peru juxtaposes an analysis of their similar 30 percent legislated quotas in sequential election cycles to identify differences that shape their divergent levels of descriptive representation. The findings suggest that quotas can foster critical mass representation in open-list proportional representation systems with the knowledge of quota mechanics. In other words, an understanding of how thresholds, placement mandates and voting procedures shape different stages of the electoral process and of how enforcement is a crucial component for an effective quota. The conclusion su...
Distributed photovoltaic systems in Algeria and control of DC-DC converters for grid integration - an overview

Abstract This paper describes the current situation of the renewable energies (RE) in Algeria and the structure of the national grid. In view of studying the issues of grid integration of injection of renewable energy produced by distributed systems. The main issues to be considered actually in Algeria are the lines upgrade and the protections design, to prepare the near future of large share of renewable electricity in the national energy mix. For grid integration, due to continuously decreasing cost of battery storage, the modeling and the structure of control of a photovoltaic grid connected system is given.
Re-Forming Population Paradigms for Science and Action

This commentary begins with the book’s last chapter under the questioning title, “New Directions for the Population Movement?” After more than three decades of concerted effort, there is some irony in the noted query about the population field’s future directions. On the one hand, the “loss of sense of direction and malaise” that the chapter suggests has become a widely shared view. McNicholl, in 1989, has written, “A common sentiment among demographers today is that their field is tired... the excitement demography once possessed has been lost” (p. 423). The Population Explosion, by Paul and Anne Ehrlich (1990), appearing almost 25 years after the inciteful The Population Bomb (Ehrlich, 1978), opens with a chapter titled “Why Isn’t Everyone as Scared as We Are?” Paul Demeny (1994) in a distinguished lecture on population and development, sponsored by the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, observes: “With their original rationale weakened, population programs... are increasingly invoking alternative justifications for maintaining and expanding their activities. One of these is protection of the environment” (p. 20). Moreover, he notes, the tendency now is to “justify family planning programs as serving exclusively the private needs of their clients” under the rubric of reproductive services. Indeed the above and other similar evidence points to a global movement no longer galvanized by the energy of a common crisis but one tranquilized by its own maturity wherein both the wisdom and myopia of perfect hindsight have set in.
Truth‐in‐Sentencing Laws

Over the last several decades, the US criminal justice system has moved away from indeterminate sentences, under which offenders are condemned to an indefinite period of incarceration, offered “good time,” and subsequently paroled, often long before the conclusion of their maximum sentence. Beginning in the 1980s, federal and state legislatures began to adopt determinate sentences, whereby offenders are sentenced to a longer, more definite period of imprisonment. A relic of the “get tough” era of criminal justice policymaking, truth-in-sentencing laws specifically mandate that offenders serve a substantial portion of their sentence. This transition, along with the application of other types of determinate sentencing practice, marked a considerable change in punishment philosophy, sentence length, and prisoner release mechanisms. Keywords: corrections; sentencing violent crime
Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Elastography in Post-transplant Recurrent Hepatitis C in Living Donor Liver Transplantation.

Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of liver fibrosis (LF) with acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography for post-transplant (post-LT) HCV recurrence. Patients and methods We enrolled 89 adult recipients of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) who had HCV, with or without post-LT HCV recurrence and treated or not treated. The post-LT HCV recurrence was diagnosed on the basis of RNA viral load present. ARFI examination was performed every 3 months for all patients, with shear wave velocity (SWV) obtained quantitatively in m/s and correlated with histopathologic fibrosis scoring of liver biopsy (LB). Results There were 50 (50 of 89) patients without HCV recurrence and 39 (39 of 89) with post-LT recurrence in the 89 patients studied. The recurrent group had significantly higher median SWVs (1.87 ± 0.52 vs 1.37 ± 0.52 m/s, P Conclusion ARFI elastography has efficient quantitative LF monitoring correlated with histopathologic staging for post-LT HCV recurrence. It could be an alternative, noninvasive method for frequent LB in the disease follow-up.
Professional Preparation in Sport Management: An Empirical Study

The current status of professional preparation programs in sport management was examined at 147 institutions. Specific courses, options, concentrations, and degree programs were reviewed at both th...
Expanding Carceral Markets: Detention Facilities, ICE Contracts, and the Financial Interests of Punitive Immigration Policy

On the night of November 8, 2016, once election results showed an almost certain presidential victory for Donald Trump, private prison stock values increased. Trump’s harsh anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric, followed by his attempted crackdown on sanctuary cities (and immigrants more generally), had the potential to expand the carceral market to greater shares of undocumented immigrants. We develop a theory of carceral market expansion, arguing that private actors seek to expand carceral markets—for profit—just as in any other market. This paper examines whether private companies, like Core Civic and GEO, that contract with Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to operate detention facilities exert influence over federal immigration legislation in the 113th and 114th Congresses. Specifically, we examine (1) whether campaign donations made by private prison companies and other contractors to legislators (carceral lobbying hypothesis), and (2) having a privately owned or managed ICE detention facility in a legislator’s district (carceral representation hypothesis) increases the probability that legislators will co-sponsor more harsh immigration legislation in the U.S. states. We find strong support for the carceral representation hypothesis but limited to no support for the carceral lobbying hypothesis. Implications are discussed.
Personalized Previews of Alternative Routes in Virtual Environments

In virtual environments (VEs) there are often many routes available to a destination and each route has its own unique characteristics. At the same time, each VE user has unique preferences when selecting a route. In this paper, we present a new methodology for developing a personalized route preview interface, which provides a preview of several routes to a destination that closely match the user's preferences. The user's preferences are modeled by an automatically generated user profile that does not require any explicit input from the user. Simulation experiments have shown the potential of this approach in both accurately learning the user's preferences and personalizing the preview interface.
Review of Mechanics of Materials

The purpose of this chapter is to reacquaint the reader with some of the fundamental concepts of mechanics of materials, as it is taught to undergraduate engineering students. Mechanics of materials (sometimes referred to as “strength of materials”) is distinguished from the theory of elasticity by its relative disregard for mathematical rigor. In the usual undergraduate treatment of the subject, so-called “engineering” approximations and assumptions are casually proposed and accepted—their validity is based on experimental verification. For a great many engineering applications, this is perfectly acceptable. As long as one does not venture beyond the boundaries of common experience in utilizing the results from mechanics of materials, their accuracy can be relied upon.
Combination GLP-1 and Insulin Treatment Fails to Alter Myocardial Fuel Selection vs. Insulin Alone in Type 2 Diabetes

Context It is unclear if effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and clinically available GLP-1 agonists on the heart occur at clinical doses in humans, possibly contributing to reduced cardiovascular disease risk. Objective To determine whether liraglutide, at clinical dosing, augments myocardial glucose uptake (MGU) alone or combined with insulin compared with insulin alone in metformin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Design In a randomized clinical trial of patients with T2D treated with metformin plus oral agents or basal insulin, myocardial fuel use was compared after 3 months of treatment with insulin detemir, liraglutide, or combination detemir plus liraglutide added to background metformin. Main outcome measures Myocardial blood flow (MBF), fuel selection, and rates of fuel use were evaluated using positron emission tomography, powered to demonstrate large effects. Results MBF was greater in the insulin-treated groups [median (25th, 75th percentile): detemir, 0.64 mL/g/min (0.50, 0.69); liraglutide, 0.52 mL/g/min (0.46, 0.58); detemir plus liraglutide, 0.75 mL/g/min (0.55, 0.77); P = 0.035 comparing three groups, P = 0.01 comparing detemir groups to liraglutide alone]. There were no evident differences among groups in MGU [detemir, 0.040 µmol/g/min (0.013, 0.049); liraglutide, 0.055 µmol/g/min (0.019, 0.105); detemir plus liraglutide, 0.037 µmol/g/min (0.009, 0.046); P = 0.68 comparing three groups]. There were no treatment-group differences in measures of myocardial fatty acid uptake or handling, and no differences in total oxidation rate. Conclusion These observations argue against large effects of GLP-1 agonists on myocardial fuel metabolism as mediators of beneficial treatment effects on myocardial function and ischemia protection.
Chitosan as a Bone Scaffold Biomaterial

The current standard of care for bone reconstruction, whether secondary to injury, nonunion, cancer resection, or idiopathic bone loss, is autologous bone grafting. Alternatives to autograft and allograft bone substitutes currently being researched are synthetic and natural graft materials that are able to guide bone regeneration. One promising material currently being researched is chitosan, a highly versatile, naturally occurring polysaccharide, derived from the exoskeleton of arthropods that is comprised of glucosamine and N-acetylglucosamine. Research on chitosan as a bone scaffold has been promising. Chitosan is efficacious in bone regeneration due to its lack of immunogenicity, its biodegradability, and its physiologic features. Chitosan combined with growth factors and/or other scaffold materials has proven to be an effective alternative to autologous bone grafts. Additionally, current studies have shown that it can provide the additional benefit of a local drug delivery system. As research in the area of bone scaffolding continues to grow, further clinical research on chitosan in conjunction with growth factors, proteins, and alloplastic materials will likely be at the forefront.
ANTONI MESSING, WSPÓŁTWÓRCA POMNIKA NAJŚWIĘTSZEJ MARYI PANNY PRZED KOŚCIOŁEM REFORMATÓW I SERII WZOROWANYCH NA NIM NAGROBKÓW WZNIESIONYCH NA CMENTARZACH WARSZAWY

Antoni Messing (ca. 1821-1867) the owner of the stone workshop located in Warsaw on 6 Powązkowska Street (mtge. 27C) is currently most famous for one monument- the Statue of the Virgin Mary of Immaculate Conception which was placed in front of the Church of St Antony of Padua on Senatorska Street (1851). What made this monument different from other independently standing monuments was the use of lanterns which at evening time illuminated the statue of the Virgin (1853). The innovative idea spread not only around Warsaw, but also outside the city boundaries. References to the monument elevated by Messing were not limited to the way and form of illuminating the statue. The inventory research conducted on Warsaw cemeteries enable the extraction of a group of tombstones imitating the shape and the decor of the plinth of the statue of the Virgin. The number of examples of this collection of tombstones numbers 19. Their execution dates back to the period 1853-1874 - with one exception only, all of them were elevated during the period of Antoni Messing’s ownership of the stone workshop. All of them represent the same commemoration in the form of a crucifix located on a plinth. Examples can be separated into two groups. One, comprising 8 tombstones, the closest to the original, the other, comprising 11 examples preserves the architectural structure without the sculptural decor. The origin of the formal concept is to be traced in the project of Henryk Marconi’s garden vase designed for Wilanowski Park (ca. 1845-1851) as well as the finishing elements of the Stanislaw and Antoni Potocki’s tombstones. Consequently, the contribution of Messing consists in the creation of the series of tombstones modeled on the statue of the Virgin Mary rather than the originality of the project.
Disentangling the Roles of Negative Emotions and Racial Identity in the Theory of African American Offending

We test the theory of African American offending’s (TAAO) proposed mediation pathways of anger and depression between everyday racial discrimination and criminal justice injustices from the police and serious offending. Additionally, we test TAAO’s hypothesized moderated mediation association of racial identity on the association between discriminatory experiences and offending via negative emotions. The proposed pathways are assessed utilizing bootstrapped mediation and moderated mediation analytical techniques on a sample of African American youth from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Anger is revealed to partially mediate the association between criminal justice injustices and offending. Racial identity modestly moderates this mediation, meaning as racial identity strengthens the association between criminal justice injustices and offending via anger significantly weakens. In other words, a strong positive racial identity provides a modest buffer against the negative consequences of discriminatory encounters with police. No other significant mediation or moderated mediation pathways were found. Results lend reasonable support to TAAO as well as further highlight the need for additional research into how African Americans’ lived experiences in our racially stratified society uniquely impact their pathways to and resilience against criminal behavior.
Moral dilemmas, trials, and gray areas: Exploring on-the-job moral development of public relations professionals

Abstract This qualitative exploratory study applied moral development theory to examine how 35 public relations professionals perceived their on-the-job moral development. Findings suggest that public relations professionals gain moral growth via dialogue and experience-based encounters involving moral values and moral intuition over the span of their careers. Results confirm previous theoretical research regarding moral development of public relations professionals situating practitioners as moral thinkers who apply personal and societal moral values to industry contexts.
Variable phenotypic expression and onset in MYH14 distal hereditary motor neuropathy phenotype in a large, multigenerational North American family.

Introduction: Distal hereditary motor neuropathy (dHMN) causes distal-predominant weakness without prominent sensory loss. Myosin heavy chain disorders most commonly result in distal myopathy and cardiomyopathy with or without hearing loss, but a complex phenotype with dHMN, myopathy, hoarseness, and hearing loss was reported in a Korean family with a c.2822G>T mutation in MYH14. Objective: To report phenotypic features in a North American family with the c.2822G>T in MYH14. Methods: Clinical and molecular characterization was performed in a large, 6-generation, Caucasian family with MYH14 dHMN. Results: A total of 11 affected and 7 unaffected individuals were evaluated and showed varying age of onset and severity of weakness. Genotypic concordance was confirmed with molecular analysis. Electrophysiological studies demonstrated distal motor axonal degeneration without myopathy in all affected subjects tested. Conclusions: Mutation of MYH14 can result in a range of neuromuscular phenotypes that includes a dHMN and hearing loss phenotype with variable age of onset. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The Small RNA Teg41 Regulates Expression of the Alpha Phenol-Soluble Modulins and Is Required for Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT Small RNAs (sRNAs) remain an understudied class of regulatory molecules in bacteria in general and in Gram-positive bacteria in particular. In the major human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, hundreds of sRNAs have been identified; however, only a few have been characterized in detail. In this study, we investigate the role of the sRNA Teg41 in S. aureus virulence. We demonstrate that Teg41, an sRNA divergently transcribed from the locus that encodes the cytolytic alpha phenol-soluble modulin (αPSM) peptides, plays a critical role in αPSM production. Overproduction of Teg41 leads to an increase in αPSM levels and a corresponding increase in hemolytic activity from S. aureus cells and cell-free culture supernatants. To identify regions of Teg41 important for its function, we performed an in silico RNA-RNA interaction analysis which predicted an interaction between the 3′ end of Teg41 and the αPSM transcript. Deleting a 24-nucleotide region from the S. aureus genome, corresponding to the 3′ end of Teg41, led to a 10-fold reduction in αPSM-dependent hemolytic activity and attenuation of virulence in a murine abscess model of infection. Restoration of hemolytic activity in the Teg41Δ3′ strain was possible by expressing full-length Teg41 in trans. Restoration of hemolytic activity was also possible by expressing the 3′ end of Teg41, suggesting that this region of Teg41 is necessary and sufficient for αPSM-dependent hemolysis. Our results show that Teg41 is positively influencing αPSM production, demonstrating for the first time regulation of the αPSM peptides by an sRNA in S. aureus. IMPORTANCE The alpha phenol-soluble modulins (αPSMs) are among the most potent toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus. Their biological role during infection has been studied in detail; however, the way they are produced by the bacterial cell is not well understood. In this work, we identify a small RNA molecule called Teg41 that plays an important role in αPSM production by S. aureus. Teg41 positively influences αPSM production. The importance of Teg41 is highlighted by the fact that a strain containing a deletion in the 3′ end of Teg41 produces significantly less αPSMs and is attenuated for virulence in a mouse abscess model of infection. As the search for new therapeutic strategies to combat S. aureus infection proceeds, Teg41 may represent a novel target.
Chitosan-based composite bilayer scaffold as an in vitro osteochondral defect regeneration model

Prolonged osteochondral tissue damage can result in osteoarthritis and decreased quality of life. Multiphasic scaffolds, where different layers model different microenvironments, are a promising treatment approach, yet stable joining between layers during fabrication remains challenging. Here, a bilayer scaffold for osteochondral tissue regeneration was fabricated using thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS). Two distinct polymer solutions were layered before TIPS, and the resulting porous, bilayer scaffold was characterized by seamless interfacial integration and a mechanical stiffness gradient reflecting the native osteochondral microenvironment. Chitosan is a critical component of both scaffold layers to facilitate cell attachment and the formation of polyelectrolyte complexes with other biologically relevant natural polymers. The articular cartilage region was optimized for hyaluronic acid content and stiffness, while the subchondral bone region was defined by higher stiffness and osteoconductive hydroxyapatite content. Following co-culture with chondrocyte-like (SW-1353 or mesenchymal stem cells) and osteoblast-like cells (MG63), cell proliferation and migration to the interface along with increased gene expression associated with relevant markers of osteogenesis and chondrogenesis indicates the potential of this bilayer scaffold for osteochondral tissue regeneration.