cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emerging techniques in the treatment of postoperative pain.

PURPOSE: Causes of inadequate postoperative pain control, challenges with currently available analgesic therapies, characteristics of optimal postoperative analgesic therapy, a liposome-encapsulated, sustained-release dosage form of morphine, and other investigational analgesic therapies are described. SUMMARY: Technical difficulties in analgesic drug administration, inappropriate prescribing, unfounded patient fears or expectations, and the lack of availability of parenteral dosage forms of certain analgesic agents can potentially contribute to inadequate postoperative pain control. The use of epidural catheters for analgesic therapy is limited by the use of prophylactic anticoagulation, the tendency for catheters to migrate and fail, and the need for nursing staff time to monitor the catheter site and infusion pump. Continuous peripheral blocks are not always effective, the devices used are bulky, and the technology is prone to failure. Multimodal therapies are labor-intensive, and some components must be given orally because they are not available in parenteral dosage forms. Optimal postoperative analgesic drug therapy would therefore be noninvasive, easy to administer, require no cumbersome equipment, cause no or minimal adverse effects, and be safe to use in patients receiving prophylactic anticoagulation. A new morphine sulfate sustained-release liposome injection has several of these characteristics, including ease of administration and compatibility with anticoagulation. Single-dose epidural administration of morphine sulfate sustained-release liposome injection in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty provided better pain control than i.v. opioid analgesics given by PCA, with similar adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Opioid analgesics remain the mainstay of postoperative analgesic therapy, but the development of infusion pumps with improved reliability; needle-free technologies, parenteral dosage forms of acetaminophen, selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, and other non-opioid therapies; and new opioid analgesic agents that provide analgesia without the adverse effects of currently available opioid analgesics may substantially improve postoperative analgesia and health-related quality of life in the postoperative pain patient in the future.
Oral care practice guidelines for the care-dependent hospitalized adult outside of the intensive care unit setting

Abstract Background Many nurses lack evidence-based knowledge to deliver appropriate oral care, viewing oral care in the care-dependent patient as a comfort measure and giving it a low clinical priority. An estimated 44%—65% of hospitalized care-dependent patients do not receive adequate oral care, an intervention that can prevent aspiration pneumonia or pneumonitis. Purpose The purpose of this study was to develop a standardized assessment for oral care in the hospitalized care-dependent adult outside of the intensive care unit setting at a regional health system in the Southeast United States. The long-term goal is to reduce the risk of aspiration and resulting complications. Methods The study used the theoretical foundations of relationship-based care and the logic model. An interdisciplinary team of institutional stakeholders from 2 acute care hospitals identified an appropriate evidence-based oral assessment tool, developed policy and practice guidelines to inform oral care, and developed both implementation and evaluation plans to pilot the project and assess short and long term outcomes. Discussion The standards developed in this study create a process to ensure care-dependent adults outside of the intensive care unit setting will receive an oral assessment daily, or every shift, as determined by the oral assessment score, and that oral care is provided in accordance with practice guidelines to reduce risk of aspiration. Conclusion This study advances nursing practice by addressing a gap in practice and promotes positive social change by improving the quality of care provided to all care-dependent patients. Improvement of patient outcomes resulting from the reduction of risk for aspiration and reduction of the financial burden of unnecessary resources used to care for patients who aspirate and suffer complications are additional outcomes expected of this initiative.
Ovarian Neoplasms and Abnormal Pubertal Development

Ovarian tumors in children and adolescents are rare and the differential diagnosis is broad including physiologic and neoplastic masses. Benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms may arise from primordial germ cells, stromal or epithelial components and the distribution of tumor types differs markedly from that seen in the adult population. Young patients most often present with abdominal pain, distension, or symptoms stemming from neoplastic hormone production. Ultrasound remains the gold standard for initial assessment of a suspected pelvic mass and can be performed on patients of all ages. Evaluation of serum tumor markers and careful assessment of imaging studies may help to distinguish benign from malignant ovarian neoplasms. Fertility preservation is an important goal of treatment and can often be accomplished with satisfactory oncologic results.
Adjuvant temozolomide for low grade gliomas: Molecular and radiographic correlates of treatment response in a phase II clinical trial.

2002Background: Management of adult low grade gliomas (LGG) remains controversial. Previous results from a phase II clinical trial investigating adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) as an alternative to radiation demonstrated progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) comparable to historical controls receiving radiation alone. Here we present results stratified by newly defined molecular subgroups to determine optimal candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy as a means of delaying or obviating the need for radiation. Methods: 120 patients with newly diagnosed WHO grade II LGGs with gross residual disease after surgical resection were enrolled in a phase II clinical trial. Patients received monthly cycles of TMZ for up to 1 year or until progression, and were monitored with serial MRI at baseline and every 2 months during treatment. 97 patients with available tissue were grouped into molecular subtype based on 1p19q codeletion and IDH1 status (1p19q codel: 1p19q codeleted/IDH1 mutated; IDH1mut: 1p19q in...
The Growing Problem of Obesity Mechanisms, Consequences, and Therapeutic Approaches

Obesity is a significant problem in the United States and worldwide and one that is not sufficiently abating despite extensive entreaties in the press and in public service announcements. Hence, great attention has been paid to understanding obesity—from its epidemiology, pathobiology, and to therapeutic approaches. To optimally interpret published reports on obesity, it is necessary to adhere to the definitions of the term. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) define obesity according to criteria aligned directly with subject age. Specifically, in infants and toddlers (age range, birth to age 2 years), high weight for recumbent length is defined as weight for length at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific CDC growth charts. In the age range from 2 to 19 years, obesity is defined as body mass index (BMI) at or above the sex-specific CDC BMI-for-age growth charts, and in subjects age>19 years, obesity is defined as BMI≥30.1 Based on these definitions, the CDC reported that the percentage of individuals meeting the definition of obesity in 2011 to 2012 within these specific age ranges was 8.1%, 16.9%, and 34.9%, respectively.1 In addition to the potential for great toll on health and self-esteem, the associated complications of obesity, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and certain forms of cancer, impose a high burden on healthcare delivery.2 The CDC reported that in 2008, the cost of obesity was $147 billion. Notably, the medical costs for those with obesity were $1429 greater annually than for those who were not classified as obese.3 Of significant concern, the rise in obesity in young people seems to carry significant complications when diabetes mellitus ensues, such as increased levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertension, retinopathy, and microalbuminuria that, although comparable with rates observed in obese adults, seems to …
Validation of the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Scale with American College Students.

The current study examined the factor structure of the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence (SSREI) scale with an American college sample (n = 404, 322 females, 88.9% Whites). Data were collected through an online survey, and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test several proposed factor models from previous studies. The results showed that the Ng et al. two-level factor model fit the current data best. Implications of the study and the usefulness of SSREI scale among American students were discussed.
Regional analysis of drought and heat impacts on forests: current and future science directions

Accurate assessments of forest response to current and future climate and human actions are needed at regional scales. Predicting future impacts on forests will require improved analysis of species-level adaptation, resilience, and vulnerability to mortality. Land system models can be enhanced by creating trait-based groupings of species that better represent climate sensitivity, such as risk of hydraulic failure from drought. This emphasizes the need for more coordinated in situ and remote sensing observations to track changes in ecosystem function, and to improve model inputs, spatio-temporal diagnosis, and predictions of future conditions, including implications of actions to mitigate climate change.
Judge Learned Hand and the Espionage Act of 1917: A Mystery Unraveled

In his quite brilliant 1917 opinion in Masses Publishing Co v Patten,1 Judge Learned Hand set forth a novel interpretation of the Espionage Act of 19172 that has had enormous impact on our understanding of the First Amendment. In crafting this opinion, Judge Hand made clear that he was not holding the Act unconstitutional, but was merely construing it against the background of our longstanding commitment to the freedom of speech. Judge Hand adopted this approach in no small measure to deflect the vehemence of what he knew would be a harshly negative reaction to his decision. As a key step in his analysis, Judge Hand reasoned that -in light of our history, values, and tradition-it would be unwarranted to attribute to Congress an intention to enact a law that would have a broadly suppressive effect on free speech without an unequivocal statement of its purpose to that end. I have always assumed that this was merely a ploy to enable Judge Hand to cast his opinion in terms of statutory construction rather than constitutional compulsion, and that is certainly the conventional wisdom.3 On examination, however, it turns out, to my considerable surprise, that Judge Hand was right. Congress did not intend the Espionage Act to have the severely repressive effect attributed to it by the federal courts during World War I. This was a judicial, rather than a legislative, development. This sheds important new light not only on Judge Hand's opinion in Masses, but also on our understanding of Congress, the courts, and their respective roles in the evolution of one of the most repressive periods of American history.
Neurofeedback and attachment disorder: Theory and practice

This chapter focuses on reactive attachment disorder (RAD), a condition of unremitting terror that disrupts the development of the self and renders “the other” unrecognizable. Empathy and trust cannot emerge. It is a disorder that has been refractory to treatment as it has been all but impossible to address the psychic programing of fear and distrust with standard psychotherapy. This chapter argues that neurofeedback can and does rewrite this program, first in the brain and, over time, in the mind. RAD can be seen as a discrete diagnosis. However, as attachment dynamics and their effects on brain development are better understood, it is becoming increasingly clear that early unrepaired attachment disruption is implicated in a wide range of severe disorders. It is a central premise of this chapter that where attachment issues prevail, the core affect is fear. Neurofeedback quiets fear. In doing so, it enriches the capacity for attachment and the ability to engage in meaningful relationships, including psychotherapy. It may be possible to generalize the efficacy of neurofeedback, then, in enhancing the treatment of any disorder that has attachment disruption at its root and fear as its aftermath. Attachment theory and the imperative of attachment in human beings offer practitioners a central ethical principle to guide their practice. Neurofeedback providers must understand the primacy and process of attachment, assess for attachment breaks, and pursue the repair of attachment. Through neuronal regulation, neurofeedback has the potential to promote the human birthright of attachment, love, empathy and trust.
The Impact of Virtualized Technology on Undergraduate Computer Networking Education

Virtualization technology is becoming ubiquitous in the classroom, particularly in the computing fields, and could potentially make technical education more accessible by reducing cost to the student. Does this potential gain come at the costs of quality of education? To understand the drawbacks, if any, of virtualization in the classroom, a network engineering class at an undergraduate institution is taught to two separate groups of students; one group using physical labs for evaluations and lab work, and the other group using virtual networking software. The effectiveness of both classroom teaching methods are compared and evaluated based on the performance of the students and their perceived confidence in the material. Our results indicate that there is no significant difference in student performance or perceived confidence in the course material, supporting the argument that the benefits of virtualization technology in the classroom far outweigh the drawbacks.
Some Comments on Hardware and Software for Science and Engineering

I would like to make just one comment concerning both hardware and software. I think that in every case, a difference emerges between science and engineering. Involved as I am in engineering, everything is located at the farthest point downstream, so to speak. In the case of science, whether you are dealing with software or hardware, everything is done once, used one, and published once.
Q&A: Trash talk: disposal and remote degradation of neuronal garbage

Caenorhabditis elegans neurons have recently been found to throw out cellular debris for remote degradation and/or storage, adding an “extracellular garbage elimination” option to known intracellular protein and organelle degradation pathways. This Q&A describes initial insights into the biology of seemingly selective protein and organelle elimination by challenged neurons, highlighting mysteries of how garbage is distinguished and sorted in the sending neuron, how the garbage-filled “exophers” appear to elicit degradative responses as they transit neighboring tissue, and how non-digestible materials get thrown out of cells again via processes that may be highly relevant to human neurodegenerative disease mechanisms.
Functional Analysis of Maize Silk-Specific ZmbZIP25 Promoter.

ZmbZIP25 (Zea mays bZIP (basic leucine zipper) transcription factor 25) is a function-unknown protein that belongs to the D group of the bZIP transcription factor family. RNA-seq data showed that the expression of ZmbZIP25 was tissue-specific in maize silks, and this specificity was confirmed by RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction). In situ RNA hybridization showed that ZmbZIP25 was expressed exclusively in the xylem of maize silks. A 5′ RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) assay identified an adenine residue as the transcription start site of the ZmbZIP25 gene. To characterize this silk-specific promoter, we isolated and analyzed a 2450 bp (from −2083 to +367) and a 2600 bp sequence of ZmbZIP25 (from −2083 to +517, the transcription start site was denoted +1). Stable expression assays in Arabidopsis showed that the expression of the reporter gene GUS driven by the 2450 bp ZmbZIP25 5′-flanking fragment occurred exclusively in the papillae of Arabidopsis stigmas. Furthermore, transient expression assays in maize indicated that GUS and GFP expression driven by the 2450 bp ZmbZIP25 5′-flanking sequences occurred only in maize silks and not in other tissues. However, no GUS or GFP expression was driven by the 2600 bp ZmbZIP25 5′-flanking sequences in either stable or transient expression assays. A series of deletion analyses of the 2450 bp ZmbZIP25 5′-flanking sequence was performed in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, and probable elements prediction analysis revealed the possible presence of negative regulatory elements within the 161 bp region from −1117 to −957 that were responsible for the specificity of the ZmbZIP25 5′-flanking sequence.
Intentional and Unintentional Empathy for Pain Among Physicians and Nonphysicians

Empathy can be both beneficial and costly. This trade-off is pertinent for physicians who must care for patients while maintaining emotional distance to avoid burnout. Prior work using self-report and neurophysiological measures has found mixed evidence for differences in empathy between physicians and nonphysicians. We used implicit measurement and multinomial modeling to examine intentional empathy (IE) and unintentional empathy (UE) for pain among physicians and demographically matched nonphysicians. Relative to nonphysicians, physicians displayed greater ability to judge the painfulness of target experiences (i.e., IE). Contrary to some prior work, however, physicians and nonphysicians displayed comparable spontaneous resonance with distracter experiences (i.e., UE). These findings suggest that physicians may be more likely than nonphysicians to empathize with others’ pain when empathy aligns with their overt goals.
Key Transport and Ammonia Recycling Genes Involved in Aphid Symbiosis Respond to Host-Plant Specialization

Microbes are known to influence insect-plant interactions; however, it is unclear if host-plant diet influences the regulation of nutritional insect symbioses. The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, requires its nutritional endosymbiont, Buchnera, for the production of essential amino acids. We hypothesize that key aphid genes that regulate the nutritional symbioses respond to host-plant diet when aphids feed on a specialized (alfalfa) compared to a universal host-plant diet (fava), which vary in amino acid profiles. Using RNA-Seq and whole genome bisulfite sequencing, we measured gene expression and DNA methylation profiles for such genes when aphids fed on either their specialized or universal host-plant diets. Our results reveal that when aphids feed on their specialized host-plant they significantly up-regulate and/or hypo-methylate key aphid genes in bacteriocytes related to the amino acid metabolism, including glutamine synthetase in the GOGAT cycle that recycles ammonia into glutamine and the glutamine transporter ApGLNT1 Moreover, regardless of what host-plant aphids feed on we observed significant up-regulation and differential methylation of key genes involved in the amino acid metabolism and the glycine/serine metabolism, a metabolic program observed in proliferating cancer cells potentially to combat oxidative stress. Based on our results, we suggest that this regulatory response of key symbiosis genes in bacteriocytes allows aphids to feed on a suboptimal host-plant that they specialize on.
Intelligence and Sensibility in the Dance

modes of thinking, by their very nature; they employ reflective thought and analysis more than the first hand perceptual impressions of criticism. Critics and others accustomed to their language of sensibility might object that theoretical concepts are too abstract for discussing dance. But thisfor discussing dance. But this objection applies inappropriately the standards for evaluating criticism to theoretical writing. Instead of establishing criteria for good aesthetics, philosophy, and theory of dance, these writers cry, "abstract" and "removed" when they should be concerned with clarity of concepts, adequacy of explanatory hypotheses, appropriate principles of theory, the quality of reflective thinking, the rigor of reasoning, the adequacy of research, and the appropriateness of research methodologies to particular topics. Fundamental deficiencies in these areas will go unnoticed if the critical examination of concepts of theory remains at the lowest level of name calling. Dance writers and their readers should not confuse the necessity for remaining in direct contact with the facts of dance experience, which is incumbent upon every
A prospective multi-institutional study of antepartum fetal heart rate monitoring: II. Contraction stress test versus nonstress test for primary surveillance☆

This study includes, 1,542 patients who underwent nonstress tests (NSTs) for primary fetal surveillance and 4,626 patients who underwent contraction stress tests (CSTs) for primary fetal surveillance. All pregnancies were at increased risk for uteroplacental insufficiency. The results showed that the two groups were comparable according to maternal diagnostic criteria for testing. Those patients who underwent NSTs as primary surveillance had a 2.9% incidence of intervention because of abnormal test results while the CST group had a 4.5% incidence of intervention because of abnormal test results ( p less than 0.05). The NST group had significantly more respiratory distress syndrome, intrauterine growth retardation, birth weight less than 2,500 gm, and 5-minute Apgar scores less than 7. The antenatal death rate was nearly eight times higher in the NST group (7.8/1,000 versus 1.1/1,000 in the CST group) (p less than 0.05). After correction for congenital anomalies and unrelated causes, the NST group had an antenatal death rate of 3.2/1,000 versus 0.4/1,000 in the CST group (p less than 0.05); there was still an antenatal death ratio of 8:1.
Ecotonal distribution of salt-tolerant shrubs in the northern Mojave Desert

Ecotonal distribution of salt-tolerant shrubs was investigated under different kinds of edaphic conditions common to open an closed drainage basins in the northern Mojave Desert. Contributing causal factors involved changes in soil salinity, texture, and moisture stress. Varying degrees of halophytism occured, ranging from plant species that are facultative in their adaptation to salinity to those that require comparatively high salt concentrations in soil for normal growth and development.
PROMOTING TRADITIONAL GHANAIAN MUSIC EDUCATION AMONG CHILDREN: THE ROLE OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

Teaching traditional music in Ghanaian primary schools is given a low priority. Generalist teachers who are supposed to implement the Creative Arts curriculum of which music form one strand lack adequate knowledge and skills to provide musical learning experiences for their students. Performing traditional music of which children are active participants’ forms part of the liturgical process of the Methodist and the Mozama Disco Christo Churches in Ghana. The role of these churches in promoting traditional Ghanaian music among primary school students is examined. Suggestions are made as to how teachers can utilise students’ musical background experience to promote music literary in the classroom.
Further Thoughts on Measurement of ‘the’ CNV

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the measurement of the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV). In a method described in the chapter, 13 males, mean age being 21.5, served as naive paid volunteer Ss . Silver–silver chloride electrodes were attached to the vertex and both mastoid processes to record the CNV. Similar electrodes placed above and below the eye monitored eye movements. CNVs and eye movements were recorded with Grass 7P-1chopper stabilized preamplifiers in a Grass Model 7 polygraph. A PI 6100 FM tape recorder was used to store the data for later off-line analysis on a PDP-12. Only those trials that the on-line paper record showed to be free of eye movements and other artifacts were averaged along with a calibration pulse. During data collection, the S was seated in a comfortable armchair inside a darkened sound-damped chamber. Ss were told to fixate their gaze on a cross drawn on the center of the PS-2 lamp. The warning stimuli were delivered from a speaker directly behind the lamp.
Review of absolute neutrino mass measurements

The discovery of neutrino flavor oscillations has firmly established that at least two of the three known neutrino mass eigenstates possess a non-vanishing rest mass. Complementary to cosmology and the search for neutrino-less double beta decay laboratory-based measurements of low-energy beta decays provide a direct and model-independent approach to measure the effective electron (anti-)neutrino mass. I have reviewed the recent progress of the field starting from the first molecular tritium spectrum measured with the current state of the art KATRIN experiment before discussing the development of new approaches to achieve the sensitivity required to cover the full neutrino mass parameter range allowed in the inverted mass ordering scheme. The new avenues opened by micro-calorimeteric measurements of the electron capture decay spectrum of 163Ho (ECHo, Holmes and Numecs) and by the new technology of cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy in combination with molecular and atomic tritium sources have been presented.
Passive Detection and Discrimination of Body Movements in the sub-THz Band: A Case Study

Passive radio sensing technique is a well established research topic where radio-frequency (RF) devices are used as real-time virtual probes that are able to detect the presence and the movement(s) of one or more (non instrumented) subjects. However, radio sensing methods usually employ frequencies in the unlicensed 2.4−5.0 GHz bands where multipath effects strongly limit their accuracy, thus reducing their wide acceptance. On the contrary, sub-terahertz (sub-THz) radiation, due to its very short wavelength and reduced multipath effects, is well suited for high-resolution body occupancy detection and vision applications. In this paper, for the first time, we adopt radio devices emitting in the 100 GHz band to process an image of the environment for body motion discrimination inside a workspace area. Movement detection is based on the real-time analysis of body-induced signatures that are estimated from sub-THz measurements and then processed by specific neural network-based classifiers. Experimental trials are employed to validate the proposed methods and compare their performances with application to industrial safety monitoring.
Improving the rate of surgical normothermia in gynecologic surgery.

Abstract Objective To increase the rate of normothermia (core temperature ≥ 36 °C) in patients undergoing gynecologic surgery. Methods The rate of surgical normothermia was evaluated in a single institution. A two-phase quality improvement project was undertaken; Phase 1 included the use of intra-operative room temperature regulation and intra-operative patient warming and Phase 2 included pre-operative patient warming. Clinical characteristics, median temperatures, and rate of normothermia were abstracted for patients in each phase. Cohorts were compared using chi-square and t-tests. Results The project was performed in two phases, each with a historic and intervention cohort. There were 503 patients in the historical cohort and 636 patients in the intervention cohort in phase 1; there were 291 patients in the historical cohort and 259 patients in the intervention cohort for Phase 2. Patient characteristics and anesthetic type and duration did not differ between cohorts. After intra-operative temperature regulation and patient warming in Phase 1, significantly more patients achieved normothermia (79% versus 68%, P In Phase 2, after the intervention of pre-warming patients, there was no difference in achieving normothermia, 78% versus 83%, P = 0.09. Staff had no statistical difference in personal comfort with the temperature, however did feel efforts were very effective more frequently, 7.7% historic versus 32.7% post-intervention, P Conclusions Quality improvement methodology can be applied to pre- and intra-operative decision making to improve rates of surgical patient normothermia.
Tragedy of the Wetlands Commons: What The Virginia Nontidal Wetlands Resources Act Says About the Future of Environmental Regulation

This article considers questions of environmental law and federalism with respect to wetlands regulation. It seeks to challenge the conventional wisdom that federal regulation generally leads to the strongest protection for natural resources, and encourages environmental advocates to seize opportunities for victories at the state level. Using the Virginia Nontidal Wetlands Resources Act of 2000 as a case study, the article attempts to show how state leadership can lead to more robust safeguards for protecting environmental values.
Microglial activation increases cocaine self-administration following adolescent nicotine exposure.

With the rise of e-cigarette use, teen nicotine exposure is becoming more widespread. Findings from clinical and preclinical studies show that the adolescent brain is particularly sensitive to nicotine. Animal studies have demonstrated that adolescent nicotine exposure increases reinforcement for cocaine and other drugs. However, the mechanisms that underlie these behaviors are poorly understood. Here, we report reactive microglia are critical regulators of nicotine-induced increases in adolescent cocaine self-administration. Nicotine has dichotomous, age-dependent effects on microglial morphology and immune transcript profiles. A multistep signaling mechanism involving D2 receptors and CX3CL1 mediates nicotine-induced increases in cocaine self-administration and microglial activation. Moreover, nicotine depletes presynaptic markers in a manner that is microglia-, D2- and CX3CL1-dependent. Taken together, we demonstrate that adolescent microglia are uniquely susceptible to perturbations by nicotine, necessary for nicotine-induced increases in cocaine-seeking, and that D2 receptors and CX3CL1 play a mechanistic role in these phenomena. Adolescents are particularly sensitive to nicotine. Here the authors show that in mice, microglial activation contributes to the enhanced sensitivity to cocaine caused by nicotine exposure in young mice.
Community context for mechanisms of disease dilution: insights from linking epidemiology and plant─soil feedback theory

In many natural systems, diverse host communities can reduce disease risk, though less is known about the mechanisms driving this "dilution effect." We relate feedback theory, which focuses on pathogen-mediated coexistence, to mechanisms of dilution derived from epidemiological models, with the central goal of gaining insights into host-pathogen interactions in a community context. We first compare the origin, structure, and application of epidemiological and feedback models. We then explore the mechanisms of dilution, which are grounded in single-pathogen, single-host epidemiological models, from the perspective of feedback theory. We also draw on feedback theory to examine how coinfecting pathogens, and pathogens that vary along a host specialist-generalist continuum, apply to dilution theory. By identifying synergies among the feedback and epidemiological approaches, we reveal ways in which organisms occupying different trophic levels contribute to diversity-disease relationships. Additionally, using feedbacks to distinguish dilution in disease incidence from dilution in the net effect of disease on host fitness allows us to articulate conditions under which definitions of dilution may not align. After ascribing dilution mechanisms to macro- or microorganisms, we propose ways in which each contributes to diversity-disease and productivity-diversity relationships. Our analyses lead to predictions that can guide future research efforts.
Phase retrieval in tabletop radar range

We are describing the capability to measure the phase of the return signal in a tabletop radar range. The radar rage has a scale factor of 100,000 which allows to use near IR wavelength instead of radio frequency. Accurate scale models are manufactured using multiphoton 3D printer with nanometric resolution. We demonstrated that using phase shifting interferometry, this radar range can retrieve the phase of the radar cross section of complex objects similar to SAR or ISAR radar systems.
Multiple Evanescent White Dot Syndrome: Findings from a Large Northern California Cohort.

Purpose To report the clinical and imaging characteristics of multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) from a large single-center cohort. Design Single-center, retrospective cohort study. Participants A total of 111 patients previously diagnosed with MEWDS in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California system from 2012 to 2019. Methods Two retina specialists reviewed the medical records and all available retinal imaging, including Humphrey visual field testing, fundus photography (FP), OCT, fluorescein angiogram (FA), and fundus autofluorescence (FAF). Patients were excluded from analysis if confirmatory imaging was unavailable. Main Outcome Measures Patient characteristics, visual acuity, clinical examination and imaging findings, and final diagnosis. Results Seventy-three patients (65.8%) were confirmed to have the diagnosis of MEWDS. Fifty-eight (79.5%) were female, with a mean (standard deviation [SD]) age at presentation of 35.2 (14.2) years, and mean refractive error of −1.6 diopters. Initial mean (SD) visual acuity was logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) 0.39 (0.31) and improved to mean (SD) logMAR 0.07 (0.15) at final follow-up. Presenting symptoms included blurred vision (82%), scotomas (56%), photopsias (43%), and floaters (23%). Nine patients (12%) had a previously diagnosed autoimmune condition, and 2 patients (3%) had documentation of a recent vaccination. Antecedent upper respiratory infection was documented in 15 of 66 patients (23%). Noted clinical and imaging features include ellipsoid zone disruption (100%), white fundus lesions (92%), FA hyperfluorescence (92%), foveal granularity (74%), vitreous cell (53%), and optic disc edema (52%). Twenty-nine of the 111 patients (26%) were initially misdiagnosed with MEWDS and subsequently given an alternative diagnosis, including other white dot syndromes, syphilis, primary vitreoretinal lymphoma, myopic degeneration, and central serous chorioretinopathy. Conclusions Multiple evanescent white dot syndrome is a rare self-limiting condition of the outer retina. Although a distinct set of clinical exam and imaging findings permit recognition of this disease, misdiagnosis is not uncommon.
Protein folding stability and binding interactions through the lens of evolution: a dynamical perspective

While the function of a protein depends heavily on its ability to fold into a correct 3D structure, billions of years of evolution have tailored proteins from highly stable objects to flexible molecules as they adapted to environmental changes. Nature maintains the fine balance of protein folding and stability while still evolving towards new function through generations of fine-tuning necessary interactions with other proteins and small molecules. Here we focus on recent computational and experimental studies that shed light onto how evolution molds protein folding and the functional landscape from a conformational dynamics' perspective. Particularly, we explore the importance of dynamic allostery throughout protein evolution and discuss how the protein anisotropic network can give rise to allosteric and epistatic interactions.
Imagining cultural wealth: producer perceptions and potential value in cultural markets.

Whether the result of purposeful nation-branding projects or longstanding traditions, associations endure between specific nations and the particular goods they produce. Such associations can be harnessed on behalf of the symbolic and economic value recently recognized as national cultural wealth. Further, the cultivation of impression management strategies about geographical origins is requisite for specialty food firms: terroir is a foundational convention of the gourmet food industry, and its potential value is significant. For entrepreneurial firms in the specialty food market, the process of strategically connecting to cultural wealth would seem to depend upon their particular geographic location. But while some national origins add both symbolic and economic value to cultural products within the global marketplace, others potentially threaten that value. In this paper, I read closely the discursive data contained on a nearly complete collection of two case study firms' food packages (N = 100) to illustrate the firms' unexpectedly divergent perceptions of cultural wealth, despite their identical national location. I further analyze interview data to describe the vital (and potentially valuable) interaction between producer perception, imagination, and cultural production. By redirecting analytical attention toward profit-seeking producers, this paper aims to increase the analytical power of the concept of cultural wealth.
Colors, Dispositions, and Similarity

In this paper, it is argued that those who claim that the dispositionalist theory of color has even a prima facie advantage over color physicalism in accommodating the similarity relations that seem to hold among the colors are mistaken. The appearance that dispositionalists can handle the relevant similarity claims (e.g. that red is more similar to orange than it is to green) stems from the unexamined assumption that the similarity of two dispositions is simply a matter of the similarity of the manifestations of those dispositions. A more careful treatment of the ways in which two dispositions can be similar to, or different from, one another must consider both the bases and the manifestation conditions of those dispositions in addition to their manifestations. After examining cases of dispositions from outside the domain of colors, it is argued that attention to conditions of manifestation provides a particularly strong reason for rejecting the assumption that similarity of manifestations entails similarity of dispositions. Without this assumption, dispositionalists about color are shown to be in the same position as non-dispositionalists regarding similarity relations among the colors. This way of responding to color dispositionalism is compared with two other responses [offered by Byrne (Philos Phenomenol Res 66(3):641–665, 2003) and McLaughlin (Consciousness: new philosophical perspectives, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003)], and shown to be a candidate to strengthen, rather than replace, either one.
Sterol requirements of a ciliate Tetrahymena corlissi Th-X

1. 1. Tetrahymena corlissi Th-X, a tetrahymenid ciliate, has been cultivated under axenic conditions in a medium of known chemical composition (within limits of contemporary standards of chemical purity) and required a sterol for best growth. 2. 2. It responded to many plant and animal 3s-OH sterols and their esters, with saturated and unsaturated ring systems and variously-substituted side chains. 3. 3. The activity of potential cholesterol precursors was correlated approximately with their presumed proximity to cholesterol; however, tritiated lophenol was not converted to cholesterol or sterols of comparable polarity but was directly incorporated. 4. 4. dl-α-Glycerophosphate, oleic acid and other oleate-containing compounds, and some synthetic phosphatides, spared the sterol requirement and permitted submaximal growth in the absence of sterol.
Studies of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids: XIII. Effects of salicylate intoxication in rheumatic and nonrheumatic subjects

Summary 1. Effects of salicylate intoxicationon plasma 17-hydroxycorticosteroid steroid concentrations have been studied in rheumatic and nonrheumatic subjects. 2. Patients with active rheumaticfever, in contrast to previously normal individuals, did not develop elevated plasma 17-hydroxycorticosteroid concentrations in response to salicylate intoxication.
Debating America's Decline

Twilight of the Republic: Empire and Exceptionalism in the American Political Tradition. By Justin B. Litke Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2013. 214 pp., $50.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-4220-3). There are continuous debates in American history about a variety of political principles and traditions such as the nature of freedom of speech and religion, war and diplomacy, the environment, as well as others (Fineman 2008). However, there is a growing cacophony of voices in the public sphere who argue about the decline of the United States. The voices of decline argue America has become too gluttonous, too involved with international affairs, and too encumbered by debt. These voices maintain the United States is at a tipping point and has a very short window of time to step back from the precipice of permanent decay. Twilight of the Republic: Empire and Exceptionalism in the American Political Tradition is one of those voices. Justin Litke asserts America's political tradition has been fundamentally altered, which is the underlying reason for the republican crisis we face today. This political tradition was not altered with sweeping legislative changes of the last 50 years. Rather, this shift occurred gradually from the founding of the republic to the turn of the twentieth century. Litke sets out to examine “the foundations of the American political tradition and [measure] the distance between today's America and yesterday's” (p. 2). At this distance, “we gain a better perspective on the republican crisis facing us” (p. 2). To ascertain what these foundations are, Litke inspects how the elements of American exceptionalism evolved over the nineteenth century. Litke's ultimate goal is to familiarize his audience with “who we [Americans] are, who we have been, and who we might be,” because “the present moment of twilight precedes either a new dawn …
How Do Forecasts Respond to Changes in Monetary Policy

Laurence Ball and Dean Croushore look at forecasts from the Survey of Professional Forecasters to determine if forecasts and the economy respond in tandem or if there are significant differences.
Class Action Accountability: Reconciling Exit, Voice, and Loyalty in Representative Litigation

This paper assesses the prospects for meaningful reform of the class action after Amchem Products v. Windsor and Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp. It reads these decisions as viewing "class cohesion" as the essential rationale that legitimizes representative litigation. Although it agrees that a legitimacy principle must underlie representative litigation, it doubts that "class cohesion" can bear that weight, either as a theory of political representation or as an economic solution for the agency cost and collective action problems in representative litigation. Instead, using the familiar terminology of "exit," "voice" and "loyalty," it suggests that "exit" should prove a superior remedy to voice, and can be implemented through procedures that use exit (much like the appraisal remedy in corporate law) to discipline unfaithful fiduciaries. More generally, it argues that the same accountability mechanisms that work in the field of corporate governance should work in this context as well. Because Amchem and Ortiz may be read to require overly rigorous procedural requirements that could lead to what this article terms the "Balkanization" of the class action, this article further suggests that "exit" should sometimes constitute a functional substitute for "voice" or "loyalty." As a remedy, "exit" can be structured so as to maximize individual choice and promote competition between non-overlapping classes. Thus,the benefits of competition can be realized without increasing the the risk of collusion or a "reverse auction." On the normative level, a choice must be made between viewing the class as an entity and viewing it as an aggregation of individuals. This article argues for the latter view and posits that the basic fiduciary duty of the counsel in representative litigation should be to protect client autonomy.
Uremia (End-Stage Renal Disease): How Cost-Effective are Preventive Strategies?

Many strategies have been shown to be cost-effective for prevention of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), most often by Markov modeling using assumptions based on randomized clinical trails and observational studies. Targeted screening for proteinuria in diabetics and in hypertensive patients is cost-effective for prevention of ESRD, but such screening is not cost-effective when applied to the general population. Screening for chronic kidney disease based on estimated glomerular filtration rate alone is not recommended. Perhaps, treatment of all newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics with an inhibitor of angiotensin-II without screening for proteinuria will also prevent or delay ESRD in a cost-effective manner. Intensive interventions and the use of angiotensin-II inhibition in incipient and overt nephropathy in type 1 and type 2 diabetes is also cost-effective in preventing ESRD. Rigorous control of blood pressure to desired targets also lowers the risks of ESRD in both diabetic and nondiabetic nephropathies, most likely in a cost-effective manner. Newer strategies involving statins and new combinations of agents are emerging but have not yet been tested for their cost-effectiveness in preventing ESRD cost-effectiveness.
Effects of attenuation and scattering on AVO measurements

The trends and variance in amplitude variation with offset (AVO) observations caused by near‐surface structure, attenuation, and scattering are numerically synthesized by pseudospectral viscoelastic 2-D modeling. Near‐surface structure produces amplitude focusing and defocusing that significantly distort AVO observations in offset windows at a scale comparable to that of the lateral variations in the structure. Attenuation and scattering decrease absolute amplitudes at all offsets. Scattering and wave interference increase the variance associated with AVO measurements. Depending on the relative influence of intrinsic attenuation, apparent attenuation associated with scattering, and geometrical focusing, a normalized AVO response can increase or decrease with offset (relative to that for the associated elastic, nonscattering, 1-D solution), and so mimic the behavior predicted as a function of contrasts in density, velocity, porosity or Poisson’s ratio. If only relative (normalized) amplitudes are available...
Ventilatory response of rabbits and goats to chronic progesterone administration.

We assessed the ventilatory response to chronic progesterone administration of 37 male rabbits and 4 castrated male goats. Rabbits, in response to 2.72 mg·kg−1·day−1 of progesterone, did not chronically hyperventilate as measured by changes in CSF [HCO3−]. Two goats given 10 mg/kg/day of progesterone by intramuscular injection, alone or in combination with estradiol or testosterone, manifested no convincing ventilatory changes. Two goats were given progesterone in the form of progesterone-containing Silastic implants. Serum progesterone levels of 8–27 ng/ml were maintained over the course of 45 days. The hyperventilation in these goats, unlike that of man, was slow to develop (8–15 days), slow to decay (10–30 days), and relatively small (resting PETCO2 fell 3–5 mm Hg relative to control); and there was no change in slope of the CO2 response curves. We conclude that goats and rabbits do not respond to progesterone like man, and therefore are not good models with which to study the mechanism(s) by which progesterone produces hyperventilation in man.