cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sterol response element-binding protein 1c (SREBP1c) is involved in the polyunsaturated fatty acid suppression of hepatic S14 gene transcription.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) suppress hepatic lipogenic gene transcription through a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα)- and cyclooxygenase-independent mechanism. Recently, the sterol response element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) was implicated in the nutrient control of lipogenic gene expression. In this report, we have assessed the role SREBP1 plays in the PUFA control of three hepatic genes, fatty acid synthase, L-pyruvate kinase (LPK), and the S14 protein (S14). PUFA suppressed both the hepatic mRNASREBP1 through a PPARα-independent mechanism as well as SREBP1c nuclear content (nSREBP1c, 65 kDa). Co-transfection of primary hepatocytes revealed a differential sensitivity of the fatty acid synthase, S14, and LPK promoters to nSREBP1c overexpression. Of the three promoters examined, LPK was the least sensitive to overexpressed nSREBP1c. Promoter deletion and gel shift analyses of the S14 promoter localized a functional SREBP1c cis-regulatory element to an E-box-like sequence (−139TCGCCTGAT−131) within the S14 PUFA response region. Although overexpression of nSREBP1c significantly reduced PUFA inhibition of S14CAT, overexpression of other factors that induced S14CAT activity, such as steroid receptor co-activator 1 or retinoid X receptor α, had no effect on S14CAT PUFA sensitivity. These results suggest that PUFA regulates hepatic nSREBP1c, a factor that functionally interacts with the S14 PUFA response region. PUFA regulation of nSREBP1c may account for the PUFA-mediated suppression of hepatic S14 gene transcription.
The Theory of Social Custom: A Modification and Some Extensions

Can unprofitable social customs persist? Can they account for important economic phenomena? Akerlof's original model of social custom suffers from two defects: First, sanctions for violating the custom depend discontinuously on the size of the violation, and second, the model borders on the unmanageable. This paper shows that customs can persist and can lead to such phenomena as involuntary unemployment when sanctions are continuous. More important, the continuity assumption simplifies the model dramatically, making the analysis of social customs tractable. The simplified model is used to extend Akerlof's analysis of a "just wage" to cases in which workers are heterogeneous.
Identification of Delay-Fired Mining Explosions Using Seismic Arrays: Application to the pdar Array in Wyoming, USA

We extend a time-frequency discrimination algorithm, developed in an earlier article (Arrowsmith et al., 2006), for application to seismic-array data. Spec- trograms evaluated at each component of an array are stacked and then converted into binary form for computation of discriminants. Because noise can bias the dis- criminants, we develop a procedure for removing the effect of noise on the discrim- inants. The binary spectrograms are randomized where the spectral amplitude of the signal is similar to the mean spectral amplitude of the pre-event noise at that fre- quency. The formulism of Arrowsmith et al. (2006) is further extended by modifying the objective function used to optimize the values of input parameters and by re- moving high-frequency and low-frequency spectral content. We apply the method to a dataset of regional recordings of earthquakes and delay-fired mine blasts recorded at the Pinedale seismic array in Wyoming. Our results show that the utilization of array data improves the success rate for source identification. Furthermore, we find that incorporating the noise-correction procedure increases the separation between earthquakes and cast overburden blasts (the largest type of delay-fired mine blasts). In total, the algorithm successfully identifies 97.4% of the events (74 of a total of 76 events, which comprise earthquakes and cast overburden blasts).
Multiple-Dose Activated Charcoal and Enhancement of Systemic Drug Clearance: Summary of Studies in Animals and Human Volunteers

Multiple-dose activated charcoal therapy can enhance the systemic elimination of many drugs. Studies in animals and human volunteers provide a framework for understanding the indications and limitations of multiple-dose activated charcoal therapy. Enterocapillary exsorption creates a compartment for diffusion of drugs out ofthe bloodstream and activated charcoal can augment this process to enhance drug clearance. Once charcoal reaches the intestine, there is a rapid onset of action. Clearance at exsorption sites is limited by blood flow ; moreover, the rate of exsorption is related to the dose of charcoal up to a ceiling dose. Drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination dynamically interact with multiple-dose activated charcoal therapy making it difficult to identify a single variable that may predict the success or failure with this therapy. Drug characteristics associated with enhanced systemic clearance with multiple-dose activated charcoal include a low intrinsic clearance, presence in the body for a sufficient time period for charcoal to act, a prolonged distributive phase, non-restrictive protein binding, and a small volume ofdistribution. Drugs that are unaffected at low doses may respond to multiple doses of activated charcoal when nonlinear kinetics are apparent due to overdose or disease. Although our current understanding is incomplete, multiple-dose activated charcoal therapy will play a role in the future therapy of poisoning patients.
Data Diagnostics Using Second‐Order Tests of Benford's Law

SUMMARY: Auditors are required to use analytical procedures to identify the existence of unusual transactions, events, and trends. Benford's Law gives the expected patterns of the digits in numerical data, and has been advocated as a test for the authenticity and reliability of transaction level accounting data. This paper describes a new second‐order test that calculates the digit frequencies of the differences between the ordered (ranked) values in a data set. These digit frequencies approximate the frequencies of Benford's Law for most data sets. The second‐order test is applied to four sets of transactional data. The second‐order test detected errors in data downloads, rounded data, data generated by statistical procedures, and the inaccurate ordering of data. The test can be applied to any data set and nonconformity usually signals an unusual issue related to data integrity that might not have been easily detectable using traditional analytical procedures.
Lamarck Contre Darwin, Reduction Versus Statistics: Conceptual Issues in the Controversy over Directed Mutagenesis in Bacteria

The purpose of this paper is to examine some conceptual aspects of the controversy over the possibility of directed mutagenesis in bacteria that has erupted since the publication of some provocative results by Cairns, Overbaugh and Miller [2]. The paper by Foster in this volume takes up more “empirical” issues, surveys the experimental literature, and offers occasionally different interpretations of the results. The conceptual issues that are important here occur at least at two levels, the first of which is, in a sense, metaphysical and the second, epistemological. First, the possibility of directed mutagenesis challenges the core of the current orthodox framework of evolutionary theory. Thus the sense in which mutations can indeed be “directed” is of considerable foundational importance to evolutionary theory. To the extent that such foundational issues are “metaphysical,” in the sense that they concern the most general and universal underlying features of the world explored by science, these conceptual issues properly belong to metaphysics. Second, much of the evidence on which the current controversy thrives is statistical evidence about the number of mutant bacteria. Experimental methods which rely on such evidence are non-reductive in the sense that they attempt to understand what occurs at a lower level—for instance, that within a bacterial cell—by making observations at a higher level—in the example, that of the cell.
V.—On the Foraminifera and Sponges of the Upper Greensand of Cambridge1

The Upper Greensand of Cambridge occurs as a thin but very important bed, covering the eroded surface of the Gault, and blending upwards into the overlying Chalk-marl. It consists essentially of Chalk-marl, saturated with green grains of Glauconite, and crowded with a variety of fossils. The fossils in great part derive their origin from the Gault, out of which they have been concentrated by a natural process of levigation. At the time when the Gault sea was shallowing to its close, its submarine shores became eroded by a cold current flowing from the north, which bore away its lighter sedimentary clay, and left its imbedded fossils behind, to be subsequently rolled into the sublittoral deposit of the Upper Greensand. Thus it happens that in our neighbourhood the uppermost beds of the Gault are not to be found, and their only representative is this mere pebble-bed at the base of the Chalk. The rich fauna in our formation thus collected ready to the hand of the Palaeontologist has been well worked out in its higher developments by Mr. Barret, Mr. Seeley, and various other observers. Of the Protista and Cœlenterata , however, some departments have been left all but untouched; and it is to the Sponges of the latter and the Foraminifera of the former that my paper refers. The Foraminifera occur abundantly, and in a rich variety, which seems to anticipate their more luxuriant appearance in the succeeding Chalk. The Vitrea perforata are represented by large forms of Bulimina, Textularia , and Orthocerina , which mimic truly arenaceous foraminifera by imbedding the siliceous and volcanic sand of the formation in their tests.
Experimental characterization of the spallation neutron source accumulator ring collimation system

The SNS ring and associated transport lines, commissioned in January 2006, are designed to accumulate and deliver up to 1.5e14, 1 GeV protons at 60 Hz to a liquid mercury target for neutron production. In order to control activation and to allow for routine hands- on maintenance of accelerator components, beam loss in most of the ring must remain below 1 W/m. For the full 1.4 MW beam, this translates to a fractional beam loss limit of 0.02%. Accomplishing this loss limit at full beam power will require successful utilization of the ring's two- stage betatron collimation system. In this paper we present the results of initial collimation experiments. We characterize the collimation-induced beam-loss pattern and compare our results with simulations.
Data record-based criteria for the selection of an auxiliary vector estimator of the MMSE/MVDR filter

When the auxiliary vector (AV) filter generation algorithm utilizes sample average estimated input data statistics, it provides a sequence of estimates of the ideal minimum mean-square error or minimum-variance distortionless-response filter for the given signal processing/receiver design application. Evidently, early nonasymptotic elements of the sequence offer favorable bias/variance balance characteristics and outperform in mean-square filter estimation error the unbiased sample matrix inversion (SMI) estimator as well as the (constraint) least-mean square, recursive least-squares, "multistage nested Wiener filter", and diagonally-loaded SMI filter estimators. Selecting the most successful (in some appropriate sense) AV filter estimator in the sequence for a given data record is a critical problem that has not been addressed so far. We deal exactly with this problem and we propose two data-driven selection criteria. The first criterion minimizes the cross-validated sample average variance of the AV filter output and can be applied to general filter estimation problems; the second criterion maximizes the estimated J-divergence of the AV filter output conditional distributions and is tailored to binary phase-shift-keying-type detection problems.
The Effect of Goals and Type A-B Behavior on Changes in Bias and Sensitivity

The effects of a situational and an individual differences variable on changes in bias and sensitivity during a proofreading task are examined. Externally set goals provided situational parameters while the Type A-B behavior pattern provided a measure of individual differences. Subjects responded to goals of increasing difficulty by increasing their performance as measured by the amount of text proofread and by decreasing their sensitivity. Thus, subjects attempted to meet a situational demand to produce more by increasing the quantity of their output at the expense of quality.
A Model of Positive Behavioral Support for Individuals with Autism and Their Families: The Family Focus Process.

Service providers use several types of service-delivery models to support families of persons with autism. One model, positive behavioral support, has gained increasing attention in the literature. Positive behavioral support is a comprehensive approach used to address challenging behavior and improve broad lifestyle outcomes that serve to increase the overall quality of an individual's life. This article describes a service-delivery model for individuals with autism and their families that incorporates the philosophy and essential elements of positive behavioral support. A case study is presented to illustrate one family's experience with the family focus process. Child and family outcomes related to the case study are also described. The key elements of positive behavioral support are discussed in light of providing comprehensive and durable systems of training and supports for families and educators of individuals with autism.
Green's function of anisotropic plates with unrestricted coupling and degeneracy, part 1. the infinite plate

Abstract Green’s function of the infinite domain is determined for all types of nondegenerate and degenerate anisotropic plates with bending–extension coupling, and for various kinds of singularities including (i) concentrated forces and moments in both in-plane and normal directions and (ii) dislocations of the tangential and normal displacements and of the midplane slopes. Explicit analytical expressions of Green’s function are obtained in terms of the zeroth-order and higher-order eigenvectors. Higher-order eigenvectors occur in the various degenerate cases and may significantly affect the angular variation of Green’s function. Some familiar types of laminates, including all isotropic laminates and symmetric quasi-isotropic laminates, are degenerate or extra-degenerate. Since all previous works on Green’s functions of laminates assumed distinct eigenvalues, the results contain no higher-order eigenvectors. They are only valid in the relatively simple nondegenerate case, and are not applicable to any type of degenerate laminate.
The evaluation of acute pyelonephritis and renal scarring with technetium 99m-dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scintigraphy : evolving concepts and future directions

Technetium 99m-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy has emerged as the imaging agent of choice for the detection and evaluation of acute pyelonephritis and renal cortical scarring in children. Consequently, DMSA scintigraphy provides a unique opportunity to study the progression of renal damage and functional loss from the initial insult of acute pyelonephritis to the subsequent development of irreversible renal scarring. Over the last few years, clinical and experimental investigations using DMSA renal scintigraphy have provided new insights into the etiology, pathophysiology, and clinical outcome of acute pyelonephritis in children. These studies have confirmed the primary role of the acute inflammatory response, associated with both reflux and nonreflux pyelonephritis, in the etiology of irreversible renal scarring. Furthermore, several studies have shown that renal scarring can be prevented or diminished by the early diagnosis and treatment of pyelonephritis. This review highlights these recent observations and makes recommendations regarding current clinical and future research applications.
Recent trends in extractive metallurgy

Metallurgists and solution geochemists are joining forces to develop processes for extraction of metals from low-grade ores. The processes, which come under the name hydrometallurgy, include several new applications of solvent extraction techniques. Aqueous solutions are employed, leaching metals from ores, mine waste dumps, and even from deposits still in the ground. It was notable, for example, that Chemical and Engineering News (Feb. 8, 1982) recently featured the subject of hydrometallurgy in a special report. They noted that ‘recovering metals by use of aqueous solutions at relatively low temperatures increasingly is competing with dry, high-temperature pyrometallurgical methods.’ The relatively new techniques have caused a revolution, of sorts, in engineering programs of university metallurgy departments. The challenge of developing selective metal dissolution processes is drawing upon the best national talent in the fields of solution geochemistry and metallurgy.
Sustained Breastfeeding Rates at a US Baby-Friendly Hospital

Objective. Boston Medical Center (BMC) became the 22nd US Baby-Friendly hospital in 1999. Previous research found that breastfeeding initia- tion rates increased significantly from 58% in 1995 to 86.5% in 1999. The objective of this study was to establish whether Baby-Friendly status would sustain elevated breastfeeding initiation rates at this US hospital beyond the year of designation. Breastfeeding rates in 1999 were compared with rates in 2000 and 2001. Methods. A total of 200 medical records of full-term, healthy infants who were born at BMC in 2000 and 2001 were reviewed using the same criteria as the study con- ducted for 1999. Records were selected randomly by a computer-generated list. All infant feedings during the hospital postpartum stay were tallied, and each infant was categorized into 1 of 4 groups: 1) exclusive breast milk, 2) mostly breast milk, 3) mostly formula, and 4) exclusive formula. Results. Maternal and infant demographics for all 3 years were comparable. The breastfeeding initiation rates, defined as an infant's receiving any amount of breast milk, remained at high levels: 87% (1999), 82% (2000), and 87% (2001). Infants who received more breast milk than formula also was sustained: 73% (1999), 67% (2000), and 67% (2001). Infants who were breastfed exclu- sively across the 4 years did not differ significantly: 34% (1999), 26% (2000), and 25% (2001). Conclusions. Full implementation and continued ap- plication of the "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding," the framework of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, has an extended positive impact on breastfeeding rates in a US hospital setting. Pediatrics 2003;112:e234 -e236. URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/112/3/e234; breastfeeding, breastfeeding rates, Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
UltraSAN version 3 overview

UltraSAN is a software package for model-based evaluation of systems represented as stochastic activity networks. The software has been implemented in a modular fashion, with clearly delineated interfaces between model specification, construction, and solution. UltraSAN offers an X Windows-based user interface and both analytical and simulation solution modules for transient and steady-state performance, dependability, and performability measures. Furthermore, the tool facilitates graphical representation of the obtained results by its report generator. This paper gives a very brief overview and pointers to more detailed descriptions of the software.
Placing an Omnivore in a Complex Food Web: Dietary Contributions to Adult Biomass of an Ant1

ABSTRACT Workers of Paraponera clavata, a common Neotropical ant, collect both nectar and insect prey. Previous reports show that nectar accounts for up to 90 percent of the ants' food loads, while calculations suggest that nectar contributes only 10 percent of colonies' energy supply. We assessed the trophic source of carbon and nitrogen in adult workers using stable isotope analysis. Carbon in adult workers was largely derived from plant sources. Worker nitrogen isotopic ratios varied significantly among colonies and were enriched compared to prey. Prey nitrogen isotope ratios suggest considerable intercolonial variation in diet, with some colonies collecting prey from lower trophic levels than other colonies. The importance of nectar as a source of metabolic carbon in adult worker biomass, coupled with the high frequency of nectar collection, supports the conclusion that omnivory is a key to supporting this species' biomass in Neotropical wet forests.
Monosodium urate monohydrate as spherulites.

The demonstration of urate crystals in synovial fluid and within synovial leukocytes is recognized as the most definitive criterion for the diagnosis of gout (1). The characteristic crystals have been described by scientists from Van Leeuwenhoek in the 1600’s to the present as being “needle-like” in shape. These crystals have been further described by their anisotropic quality of birefringence detectable by using the polarizing microscope. Addition of a first order red quartz conpensator to the optic system helps identify monosodium urate monohydrate (MSUM) by its ability to alter the light’s wavelength and change the transmitted color from red to yellow in the gamma plane of the compensator (2). MSUM is thus, by definition, negatively birefringent. Crystals which are blue when parallel to the gamma plane are defined as positively birefringent.
Apple Maggot Emergence and Seasonal Activity In Wisconsin

Adult emergence of the apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), was studied from 1958 through 1963 and its seasonal activity during 1961 and 1962. There was 41% emergence of adults from a potential of 9072 larvae entering the soil to pupate. First emergence ranged from June 26 to July 17, and the last from August 15 to September 20. Peak emergence ranged from 9 to 12 days after emergence. Two peaks were recorded during 3 of the 5 years with the first peak the major one. Females dominated before emergence peaks and males afterward. The period of adult emergence ranged from 42-65 days with an average of 55. Carryover emergence was 15% and 5% during 1962 and 1963, respectively. Temperature had the greatest effect on emergence with higher than average mean temperatures causing earlier emergence. High temperatures and low rainfall tended to result in early emergence and a shorter emergence period. There was a better correlation between adult emergence and rainfall early in the season than late, with the latter having practically no effect. Adults tended to emerge earlier, reach a peak sooner, and have a shorter emergence period where the larvae developed in early maturing apple varieties than they did following development in later varieties. There was no significant difference in adult activity as related to the four quadrants of a tree, although more flies were usually trapped on the south side. Adults were more active between noon and 7:00 PM than between 7:00 AM and noon, and almost no activity occurred between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM.
Brief Report: An Independent Replication and Extension of Psychometric Evidence Supporting the Theory of Mind Inventory

This study presents an independent replication and extension of psychometric evidence supporting the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI). Parents of 20 children with ASD (4; 1-6; 7 years; months) and 20 with typical development (3; 1-6; 5), rated their child's theory of mind abilities in everyday situations. Other parent report and child behavioral assessments included the Social Responsiveness Scale-2, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-2, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4, and Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool, 2. Results revealed high internal consistency, expected developmental changes in children with typical development, expected group differences between children with and without ASD, and strong correlations with other measures of social and communication abilities. The ToMI demonstrates strong psychometrics, suggesting considerable utility in identifying theory of mind deficits in children with ASD.
Whither infectious diseases? Some data at last.

Publication in this issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases of the infectious disease manpower reports [1,2] represents a milestone for the authors, the Manpower and Training Committee, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) itself. The reports are lengthy, detailed, and necessarily somewhat archival in nature. The survey that generated the data for these manuscripts was actually carried out in early 1987 and provides a "snapshot" of infectious disease manpower in 1986. Obviously, the gestation period for these reports was far too long and was attributable in part to the fact that the IDSA had had no previous experience in carrying out surveys of this scope. It is appropriate, therefore, to place these surveys into historical perspective and to review the discussions and concerns that led the IDSA to un-
Short communication: Evaluation of nitrogen excretion equations from cattle

Nitrogen excretion in dairy manure is a precursor for N2O and NH3 formation in livestock housing, manure storage facilities, and after manure is applied to land. Nitrous oxide is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing N output from dairy production facilities can reduce the amount of anthropogenic N2O entering the atmosphere. The objective of the study was to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of extant prediction models for N excretion in feces and urine using extensive literature data. A total of 45 N excretion equations were evaluated for lactating cows, heifers, and nonlactating cows and steers. These equations were evaluated with 215 treatment means from 69 published studies collected over 20 yr from 1995 to 2015. Two evaluation methods were used: the root mean square prediction error and the concordance correlation coefficient. Equations constructed using a more rigorous development process fared better than older extant equations. Equations for heifers and nonlactating cows had greater error of prediction compared with equations used for lactating cows. This could be due to limited amount of data available for construction and evaluation of the equations. Urinary N equations had greater prediction errors than other forms of excretion, possibly due to high variability in urinary N excretion and challenges in urine collection. Fecal N equations had low error bias and reached an acceptable level of precision and accuracy.
Electric fields of flowers stimulate the sensory hairs of bumble bees.

Most of us have been shocked after walking across a carpet and touching a metal doorknob. The build-up of charge—“static” electricity—on the surface of some nonconductors because of friction is called triboelectricity. We are unaware of the build-up of charge on our bodies as we walk and only notice it upon discharge when it briefly stimulates our pain-sensing neurons; it is essentially an epiphenomenon for us. That positive charge builds up on flying insects, such as bees, has been appreciated for decades (1, 2). Similarly, flowers hold electric charge and their negatively charged pollens are attracted to the positive charge on the bodies of alighting bees (3). So at the very least, a bee’s accumulation of charge is harnessed to aid in pollination. But, do bees sense the charge on their bodies or on flowers, and use this information to guide their behavior or, like us, are they unaware of it? If bees sense electric fields, then how? A recent set of experiments by Robert and colleagues demonstrated that bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) indeed sense a flower’s electric fields, that these convey important information to them (4) and, in an article in PNAS (5), Sutton et al. show that these electric fields are sensed by electrostatic movements of the many mechanosensory filiform hairs over their bodies.
A Farmer’s Duty to Be Careful

National safety statistics show that farm work is dangerous. A careless act by the farm operator may result in serious injury to a hired hand, a neighbor or other person. This chapter attempts a very summary description of some of the important aspects of the law of negligence which apply in such a case.
Contrasting patterns of nest survival and postfledging survival in ovenbirds and Acadian flycatchers in Missouri forest fragments

ABSTRACT We can improve our ability to assess population viability and forecast population growth under different scenarios by understanding factors that limit population parameters in each stage of the annual cycle. Postfledging mortality rates may be as variable as nest survival across regions and fragmentation gradients, although factors that negatively impact nest survival may affect postfledging individuals in different ways. We examined nest and postfledging survival of Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla) and Acadian Flycatchers (Empidonax virescens) in mature forest fragments in central Missouri. We used an information-theoretic approach to determine support for effects of factors intrinsic to the individual or nest site, temporal factors, local vegetation characteristics, and distance to edge on survival in both stages. We also examined the effect of incorporating the resulting survival estimates on population growth. In both species, survival increased from nest to postfledging stages (Ovenbirds: 0.2...
One Piece in the Child Welfare Puzzle: An Evaluation of Alabama Public Child Welfare Internships and Subsequent Employment

Intervention with families and children when child maltreatment is suspected is one of the most critical practice areas of social work. This study examined the level of satisfaction for current child welfare stipend interns (n=106), the majority of whom were BSW students, and former stipend interns (n=59) after 1 year of employment within the Alabama state child welfare system. Overall, participants were satisfied with both internship and employment; however, job satisfaction for White child welfare employees was significantly higher than for Black employees. Sixty-two percent of the employees did not expect to remain employed with the agency over the next 5 years.
Sun sets on SOLEIL synchrotron

The French government has abandoned its plans to build SOLEIL, a third-generation synchrotron source. The FFr 2bn (about £200 m) project was due to be approved in 1997 but the new government, elected in June 1997, has reduced spending on large facilities to pay for new research posts.
Pregnancy and Delivery Costs in Georgia Medicaid: PCCM Versus Fee-for-Service Enrollees

Funded by a grant for the Aetna Quality Care Research Fund with addition support for grants number P01 HS10875 and R24 HS11617 from the AHRQ to the Program for Healthcare Effectiveness Research, Morehouse School of Medicine, Robert M. Mayberry, former Director and Principal Investigator.
The brain and the immune system: a psychosomatic network

The central nervous system (CNS) and the immune system, communicating through the neuroendocrine system, are closely involved in the individual's adaptation to the environment. The data from basic science research and clinical observations are overviewed, and more recent studies are summarized. As changes in immune function may mediate the effects of psychosocial factors in psychosomatic disorders, it is important for all biopsychosocially oriented physicians to understand the network that connects the central nervous and immune systems.
The Intellectual Consequences of Early Social Restriction in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta)

For over a decade the nonhuman primate research concerned with the effects of early social isolation on behavioral functioning contained a seemingly puzzling discrepancy. On the one hand, rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) reared in environments that either severely restricted or completely occluded social contact with conspecifics were found to show easily discriminable deficits in personal, social, sexual, and maternal behaviors (see Chapter 20). On the other hand, Harlow and coworkers have long denied the existence of similar intellectual deficits (e.g., Rowland, 1964; Harlow, Schiltz, and Harlow, 1969; Gluck and Harlow, 1971).
Wireless One-Shot Polling of a Cluster of Sensors Using Transmit Diversity

This paper considers the polling of a sensor network using a binary integration scheme. Binary integration is the combination of binary decisions from multiple sensors into a single decision at the base station. The proposed approach accomplishes binary integration in the physical layer in just two packet intervals regardless of the number of sensors, as long as the sensors are within the decoding range of the collector. We assume independent Rayleigh or Ricean links from the sensors to the collector. In the proposed scheme, the sensors simultaneously transmit their signals in each channel of a set of orthogonal channels to create diversity. The statistics of the squared envelopes of the received signals, in both line-of-sight and non line-of-sight channels, are used to perform hypothesis testing using the Neyman-Pearson criteria. It has been shown through the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves that the detection probability strongly depends upon the number of diversity channels available for transmission.
Mildly Exponential Time Approximation Algorithms for Vertex Cover, Balanced Separator and Uniform Sparsest Cut

In this work, we study the trade-off between the running time of approximation algorithms and their approximation guarantees. By leveraging a structure of the "hard" instances of the Arora-Rao-Vazirani lemma [Sanjeev Arora et al., 2009; James R. Lee, 2005], we show that the Sum-of-Squares hierarchy can be adapted to provide "fast", but still exponential time, approximation algorithms for several problems in the regime where they are believed to be NP-hard. Specifically, our framework yields the following algorithms; here n denote the number of vertices of the graph and r can be any positive real number greater than 1 (possibly depending on n). - A (2 - 1/(O(r)))-approximation algorithm for Vertex Cover that runs in exp (n/(2^{r^2)})n^{O(1)} time. - An O(r)-approximation algorithms for Uniform Sparsest Cut and Balanced Separator that runs in exp (n/(2^{r^2)})n^{O(1)} time. Our algorithm for Vertex Cover improves upon Bansal et al.'s algorithm [Nikhil Bansal et al., 2017] which achieves (2 - 1/(O(r)))-approximation in time exp (n/(r^r))n^{O(1)}. For Uniform Sparsest Cut and Balanced Separator, our algorithms improve upon O(r)-approximation exp (n/(2^r))n^{O(1)}-time algorithms that follow from a work of Charikar et al. [Moses Charikar et al., 2010].
Failure In metal honeycombs manufactured by selective laser melting of 304 L stainless steel under compression

Cellular structures, specifically honeycombs, are commonly used as core materials in sandwich structures. This is especially true in aerospace applications where high bending and out-of-plane compr...
Cognitive dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger are associated with 24-h energy expenditure.

Higher energy expenditure (EE) is associated with greater food intake, possibly because the human body senses EE and modifies eating behaviors to regulate food intake and ultimately achieve energy balance. As eating behaviors are also influenced by social and cultural factors, any association between EE and eating behavior may differ between ethnicities and sexes. To assess relationships between EE and eating behavior constructs of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). In all, 307 healthy adults (201 M/106 F, 160 Native Americans) completed the TFEQ and had measures of 24-h EE in a whole-room calorimeter during energy balance. Body composition was assessed by DXA. On average, adjusted 24-h EE was lower (β = −229 kcal/day, CI: −309 to −148, p 0.40). Higher EE is associated with psychological constructs of eating behaviors that favors overeating including lower cognitive restraint, higher dietary disinhibition, and greater susceptibility to hungers cues, supporting the existence of energy-sensing mechanisms influencing human eating behavior. These associations were observed in ethnicities other than Native Americans, possibly explaining the contradictory relationships reported between EE and weight change in different ethnic groups. We propose that increased EE may alter eating behaviors, potentially leading to uncontrolled overeating and weight gain.
The mixture problem in flake analysis: Allocating flake samples to segments of reduction using CLSR methods

Abstract Flake assemblages often are mixtures from knapping episodes that vary by reduction mode or stage. Stahle and Dunn (1982) developed a constrained least-squares regression (CLSR) method to allocate hypothetically mixed chert assemblages to successive biface-reduction stages, a partial solution to the mixing problem. ConReg is a recently developed alternative, validated against Stahle and Dunn's and our own experimental controls from replication of obsidian biface preforms. Using both controls, we apply ConReg to the “unmixing” of flake assemblages from North American Great Basin obsidian quarries. Controls produce different solutions; their separate comparison to independent analytical results of stage composition favor ConReg used with our controls. What appeared to be relatively similar early “stage” assemblages are resolved to finer proportional allocation across wider ranges of the reduction continuum, in the process showing considerable variation between samples that otherwise might escape detection. The mixture problem is a challenge to all approaches to flake analysis, not just mass analysis, but one that ConReg can help us surmount.
Does money have a conservative bias? Estimating the causal impact of Citizens United on state legislative preferences

Recent work has suggested that the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United (2010), eliminating restrictions on independent campaign expenditures, increased the election probabilities of Republican state legislative candidates (Klumpp et al. in J Law Econ 59(1):1–43, 2016). Left unexplored has been whether the Court’s ruling in Citizens United increased not only the number of Republican state legislators, but also the conservatism of their estimated policy preferences, net of any effects on election probabilities. We attempt to distinguish between the possible electoral and preference effects of Citizens United. Our estimates consistently suggest that Citizens United led not only to greater likelihoods of election for Republican state legislative candidates, but also to larger within-district increases in their conservatism. The estimates, which are robust to a series of matching and placebo exercises, may provide support for the claim that more money in elections has contributed to greater conservatism among state-level Republican officeholders.
The Role of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Function of Candidate Tumor Suppressor ALDH1L1

Folate (vitamin B9) is a common name for a group of coenzymes that function as carriers of chemical moieties called one-carbon groups in numerous biochemical reactions. The combination of these folate-dependent reactions constitutes one-carbon metabolism, the name synonymous to folate metabolism. Folate coenzymes and associated metabolic pathways are vital for cellular homeostasis due to their key roles in nucleic acid biosynthesis, DNA repair, methylation processes, amino acid biogenesis, and energy balance. Folate is an essential nutrient because humans are unable to synthesize this coenzyme and must obtain it from the diet. Insufficient folate intake can ultimately increase risk of certain diseases, most notably neural tube defects. More than 20 enzymes are known to participate in folate metabolism. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding for folate enzymes are associated with altered metabolism, changes in DNA methylation and modified risk for the development of human pathologies including cardiovascular diseases, birth defects, and cancer. ALDH1L1, one of the folate-metabolizing enzymes, serves a regulatory function in folate metabolism restricting the flux of one-carbon groups through biosynthetic processes. Numerous studies have established that ALDH1L1 is often silenced or strongly down-regulated in cancers. The loss of ALDH1L1 protein positively correlates with the occurrence of malignant tumors and tumor aggressiveness, hence the enzyme is viewed as a candidate tumor suppressor. ALDH1L1 has much higher frequency of non-synonymous exonic SNPs than most other genes for folate enzymes. Common SNPs at the polymorphic loci rs3796191, rs2886059, rs9282691, rs2276724, rs1127717, and rs4646750 in ALDH1L1 exons characterize more than 97% of Europeans while additional common variants are found in other ethnic populations. The effects of these SNPs on the enzyme is not clear but studies indicate that some coding and non-coding ALDH1L1 SNPs are associated with altered risk of certain cancer types and it is also likely that specific haplotypes define the metabolic response to dietary folate. This review discusses the role of ALDH1L1 in folate metabolism and etiology of diseases with the focus on non-synonymous coding ALDH1L1 SNPs and their effects on the enzyme structure/function, metabolic role and association with cancer.
Chapter 101 – Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndromes

The reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome includes a group of conditions unified by dynamic and reversible changes in the caliber of intracranial arteries, usually accompanied by recurrent thunderclap headaches. Women are predominantly affected. The etiology is unknown; however, several triggers are recognized including vasoconstrictive drug use and childbirth. Brain imaging can remain normal, but about half develop infarcts, convexal (non-aneurysmal) subarachnoid hemorrhages, lobar hemorrhages, or reversible brain edema. The condition is invariably self-limited with resolution of clinical and angiographic abnormalities within 3 months. Glucocorticoid therapy has been associated with worse outcome. Progressive vasoconstriction can occur resulting in significant disability or death in rare cases. The vast majority have excellent long-term outcome without recurrences.
Activation of the 15-lipoxygenase pathway in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease

Background Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is characterized by asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), and an intolerance of medications that inhibit cyclooxygenase-1. Patients with AERD have more severe upper and lower respiratory tract disease than do aspirin-tolerant patients with CRSwNP. A dysregulation in arachidonic acid metabolism is thought to contribute to the enhanced sinonasal inflammation in AERD. Objective Our aim was to utilize an unbiased approach investigating arachidonic acid metabolic pathways in AERD. Methods Single-cell RNA sequencing (10× Genomics, Pleasanton, Calif) was utilized to compare the transcriptional profile of nasal polyp (NP) cells from patients with AERD and patients with CRSwNP and map differences in the expression of select genes among identified cell types. Findings were confirmed by traditional real-time PCR. Lipid mediators in sinonasal tissue were measured by mass spectrometry. Localization of various proteins within NPs was assessed by immunofluorescence. Results The gene encoding for 15-lipooxygenase (15-LO), ALOX15, was significantly elevated in NPs of patients with AERD compared to NPs of patients with CRSwNP (P Conclusions Epithelial and mast cell interactions, leading to the synthesis of 15-Oxo-ETE, may contribute to the dysregulation of arachidonic acid metabolism via the 15-LO pathway and to the enhanced sinonasal disease severity observed in AERD.
On the Mean Flow in the Western Gulf of Mexico and a Reappraisal of Errors in Ship-Drift Data

AbstractShip-drift data in the Gulf of Mexico have led to a perplexing result, that the near-surface flow in the west has a N-S mean, of the E-W flow, ~ 5 - 10 cm/sec into a closed basin. Ship-drif...
Synthesis of the pentasaccharide repeating unit from Ruminococcus gnavus and measurement of its inflammatory properties

The roles played by the gut microbiome in human health are increasingly recognized, and the prevalence of specific microorganisms has been correlated with different diseases. For example, blooms of the Gram-positive bacterium Ruminococcus gnavus have been correlated with inflammatory bowel disease, and recently a polysaccharide produced by this organism was shown to stimulate release of inflammatory cytokines. This stimulation was proposed to signal through toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). We have synthesized the pentasaccharide repeating unit of this polysaccharide and showed that it stimulates TNF-α and IL-6 release from bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) in a TLR4-dependent manner. A related glycan does not stimulate significant cytokine release, demonstrating TLR4 selectivity in glycan recognition.
Rising to the Challenges of the Pandemic: Telehealth Innovations in U.S. Emergency Departments.

OBJECTIVE: During the first nine months COVID-19 pandemic, many emergency departments (EDs) experimented with telehealth applications to reduce virus exposure, decrease visit volume, and conserve personal protective equipment. We interviewed ED leaders who implemented telehealth programs to inform responses to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From September-November 2020, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ED leaders across the United States. We identified EDs with pandemic-related telehealth programs through literature review and snowball sampling. Maximum variation sampling was used to capture a range of experiences. We used standard qualitative analysis techniques, consisting of both inductive and deductive approaches to identify and characterize themes. RESULTS: We completed 15 interviews with EDs leaders in 10 states. From March-November 2020, participants experimented with more than a dozen different types of telehealth applications including tele-isolation, tele-triage, tele-consultation, virtual post-discharge assessment, acute care in the home, and tele-palliative care. Prior experience with telehealth was key for implementation of new applications. Most new telehealth applications turned out to be temporary because they were no longer needed to support the response. The leading barriers to telehealth implementation during the pandemic included technology challenges and the need for "hands-on" implementation support in the ED. CONCLUSIONS: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, EDs rapidly implemented many telehealth innovations. Their experiences can inform future responses.
When Old is Gold: The Role of Business Longevity in Risky Situations:

Abstract The authors examine how a service firm's longevity may affect consumers' perceptions of risk in conducting business with the firm. Depending on the nature of information available to consumers, a firm's longevity can act in one of two ways to reduce the consumers' perceived risk: (1) Longevity may act as an extrinsic cue of the firm's quality, or (2) availability of a longer track record of an older firm may allow consumers to make more precise prediction of the firm's future quality. The authors develop a set of hypotheses that relate these two effects to consumers' preferences and test them in a series of four experiments. They find that a firm's age can act as an extrinsic cue of the firm's quality. When consumers also have information about firms' intrinsic attributes, the effect of a firm's age as an extrinsic cue is diminished under conditions of high involvement. The experiments also show that consumers prefer firms with longer track records, especially when firms' performance/quality leve...