cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk-Taking, Agency Problem, and Small Business Loan Guarantee: An Application of Option Pricing Theory

We examine the relationship between the small business loan guarantee and the agency problem of small firms. We then recommend financial instruments or financial contracts that can minimize of eliminate the moral hazard problem.
Glioblastoma Multiforme Following HIV and WNV Infections (P6.301)

OBJECTIVE: To present cases of GBM following HIV and WNV infections, and describe potential mechanistic relationships. BACKGROUND: The pathogenesis of viral infection is a result of the negative impact on immune surveillance. Immunomodulation is currently at the forefront of treatment strategies for glioblastoma implicating the failure of the immune system in promoting tumorigenesis. DESIGN/METHODS: We present cases of glioblastoma following West Nile Virus (WNV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections. Both patients presented with malignant glioma in the setting of prior infection followed by a seemingly stable immune system. RESULTS: The first case consists of an 81 year old gentleman with WNV meningoencephalitis diagnosed two years prior to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The second case consists of a 45 year old gentleman with HIV diagnosed in 2002, well-controlled on antiretrovirals with an undetectable viral load and presentation of GBM in 2015. CONCLUSIONS: The alteration at a molecular level of CNS protein signaling elicited by WNV and HIV infection may lead to possible long term risk of other neurological disorders, such as GBM. During WNV and HIV infection, CSF and serum levels of S100B are significantly higher than in control cases. S100B has also been found to be elevated across the spectrum of WNV disease, with a tendency for higher symptom frequency among patients with pathologically elevated serum S100B compared with those with normal levels. S100B protein is associated with complex downstream effects including overexpression of a number of RAGE and other pro-inflammatory molecules, and has been shown to actively contribute to tumorigenic processes such as cellular proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis and immune evasion. The relationship between WNV and HIV infection and S100B overexpression and downstream pro-inflammatory effects, should be further explored to determine if WNV and HIV may contribute to future risk of developing GBM or other CNS neoplasms. Disclosure: Dr. Porter has nothing to disclose. Dr. Spritzer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Grill has nothing to disclose.
Human, Tissue-Engineered, Skeletal Muscle Myobundles to Measure Oxygen Uptake and Assess Mitochondrial Toxicity.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is responsible for the toxicity of a number of drugs. Current isolated mitochondria or cellular monoculture mitochondrial respiration measurement systems lack physiological relevance. Using a tissue engineering rather than cell- or mitochondria-based approach enables a more physiologically relevant detection of drug-induced mitochondrial impairment. To probe oxygen consumption and mitochondrial health, we assayed the bioenergetic profile of engineered three-dimensional human skeletal muscle myobundles derived from primary myoblasts. Through experimental and computational techniques, we did not find external or internal oxygen transport limiting the engineered myobundles in the commercial O2k system to measure oxygen consumption. In response to the complex I inhibitor rotenone, myobundle basal respiration decreased dose dependently with an IC50 of 9.24 ± 0.03 nM. At a 20 nM concentration of rotenone, myobundle maximal respiration decreased by 44.4% ± 9.8%. Respiratory depression by rotenone suggests that cultured myobundles rely heavily on the complex I pathway for ATP synthesis during times of both basal and increased energy demand. To address whether these decrements in mitochondrial function corresponded to alterations in physiological muscle function, we determined fatigue susceptibility that revealed a 46.0% ± 7.4% depression at 20 nM rotenone. The bioenergetic health index, which is a measure of normal oxidative mitochondrial function, was inversely correlated with the extent of fatigue. The human myobundles reproduce normal muscle metabolism under both basal and maximal energy demand conditions enabling the detection of drug-induced mitochondrial toxicity.
Global issue, developed country bias: the Paris climate conference as covered by daily print news organizations in 13 nations

To understand how media portrayed the pivotal 2015 UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris, we assessed 2580 articles that appeared during the 2 weeks of the conference in the online versions of the two or three leading print newspapers in four developed countries, six emerging economies, and three developing countries: the USA, France, UK, Australia, India, China, South Africa, Brazil, Bolivia, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. Categorization by key topics revealed that much of the coverage left readers with little understanding of many of the issues discussed at COP21, and in particular, those of high priority to developing nations. For example, there was little coverage of adaptation to climate impacts and far higher coverage of emissions reductions (mitigation). Print stories largely were updates on the talks, or focused on activists, the actions of world leaders at the conference, and the environmental effects of climate change. Furthermore, articles under-reported key issues for poorer nations such as equity, human rights, and the effects on human populations. Online coverage by print news organizations was heavily skewed towards the developed world, with little discussion of the most vulnerable countries or the issues that are important to them. These trends highlight the bias of coverage to developed nation perspectives and the persistence of journalistic norms that seek to emphasize drama, novelty, and balance in news coverage.
A mixed methods protocol for developing and testing implementation strategies for evidence-based obesity prevention in childcare: a cluster randomized hybrid type III trial.

Despite the potential to reach at-risk children in childcare, there is a significant gap between current practices and evidence-based obesity prevention in this setting. There are few investigations of the impact of implementation strategies on the uptake of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for obesity prevention and nutrition promotion. This study protocol describes a three-phase approach to developing and testing implementation strategies to support uptake of EBPs for obesity prevention practices in childcare (i.e., key components of the WISE intervention). Informed by the i-PARIHS framework, we will use a stakeholder-driven evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI) process to apply information gathered in qualitative interviews on barriers and facilitators to practice to inform the design of implementation strategies. Then, a Hybrid Type III cluster randomized trial will compare a basic implementation strategy (i.e., intervention as usual) with an enhanced implementation strategy informed by stakeholders. All Head Start centers (N = 12) within one agency in an urban area in a southern state in the USA will be randomized to receive the basic or enhanced implementation with approximately 20 classrooms per group (40 educators, 400 children per group). The educators involved in the study, the data collectors, and the biostastician will be blinded to the study condition. The basic and enhanced implementation strategies will be compared on outcomes specified by the RE-AIM model (e.g., Reach to families, Effectiveness of impact on child diet and health indicators, Adoption commitment of agency, Implementation fidelity and acceptability, and Maintenance after 6 months). Principles of formative evaluation will be used throughout the hybrid trial. This study will test a stakeholder-driven approach to improve implementation, fidelity, and maintenance of EBPs for obesity prevention in childcare. Further, this study provides an example of a systematic process to develop and test a tailored, enhanced implementation strategy. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03075085
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Prevalence, Severity, and Outcomes in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background & Aims Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the United States, affecting 75–100 million Americans. However, the disease burden may not be equally distributed among races or ethnicities. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to characterize racial and ethnic disparities in NAFLD prevalence, severity, and prognosis. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases through August 2016 for studies that reported NAFLD prevalence in population-based or high-risk cohorts, NAFLD severity including presence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and significant fibrosis, and NAFLD prognosis including development of cirrhosis complications and mortality. Pooled relative risks, according to race and ethnicity, were calculated for each outcome using the DerSimonian and Laird method for a random-effects model. Results We identified 34 studies comprising 368,569 unique patients that characterized disparities in NAFLD prevalence, severity, or prognosis. NAFLD prevalence was highest in Hispanics, intermediate in Whites, and lowest in Blacks, although differences between groups were smaller in high-risk cohorts (range 47.6%–55.5%) than population-based cohorts (range, 13.0%–22.9%). Among patients with NAFLD, risk of NASH was higher in Hispanics (relative risk, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.98–1.21) and lower in Blacks (relative risk, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.60–0.87) than Whites. However, the proportion of patients with significant fibrosis did not significantly differ among racial or ethnic groups. Data were limited and discordant on racial or ethnic disparities in outcomes of patients with NAFLD. Conclusions In a systematic review and meta-analysis, we found significant racial and ethnic disparities in NAFLD prevalence and severity in the United States, with the highest burden in Hispanics and lowest burden in Blacks. However, data are discordant on racial or ethnic differences in outcomes of patients with NAFLD.
Conversational Assistants: Investigating Privacy Concerns, Trust, and Self-Disclosure

By the end of 2017 more than 33 million voice-based devices will be in circulation, many of which will include conversational assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. These devices require a significant amount of personal information from users to learn their preferences and provide them with personalized responses. This creates an interesting and important tension: the more information users disclose, the greater the value they receive from these devices; however, due to concerns for the privacy of personal information, users tend to disclose less information. In this study, we examine the role of reciprocal self-disclosure and trust within the novel and emerging context of conversational assistants. Specifically, we investigate the effect of conversational assistants’ self-disclosure on the relationship between users’ privacy concerns and their self-disclosure. Further, we explore the mechanism through which self-disclosure by conversational assistants influences this relationship, namely, the role of cognitive trust and emotional trust.
Photochemical transformation of lipoic acid-based ligands: probing the effects of solvent, ligand structure, oxygen and pH

We have combined optical absorption with the Ellman's test to identify the parameters that affect the transformation of the 5-membered dithiolanes to thiols in lipoic acid (LA) and its derivatives during UV-irradiation. We found that the nature and polarity of the solvent, the structure of the ligands, acidity of the medium and oxygen can drastically affect the amount of photogenerated thiols. These findings are highly relevant to the understanding of the photochemical transformation of this biologically relevant compound, and would benefit the increasing use of LA-based ligands for the surface functionalization of various nanomaterials.
Coping with Climate Change: A Study of Great Lakes Water-Based Recreationists

A multitude of unique year-to-year ecological variations within the Great Lakes basin have been attributed to climate change. These variations include the number and intensity of storms, the volume of water flowing within the watershed, the water quality, the average height of lake levels, and the intensity of waves that strike the coastline (Parry, 2007). Yet, the impact of these changing environmental conditions upon water-based outdoor recreation users remains unclear. While climate change exacerbated environmental conditions are becoming progressively evident to both recreationists and resource managers (NPCA, 2009), few studies have sought to assess the extent to which environmental conditions alter outdoor recreation behaviors. This study examined water-based outdoor recreation visitors’ perceptions and coping responses associated with water quality conditions affected by climate change on Lake Erie (n= 284). It used a modified version of the stress-coping model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) to examine the relationships between water quality impact, water quality awareness, and coping. Study results indicated that the more visitors identified water quality as a negative impact on their overall experience, the more aware they were of water quality conditions. Further, the more aware visitors were of water quality conditions, the more they found the need to employ coping responses. From a resource management standpoint, a central concept for maintaining high quality outdoor recreation experiences is the identification of visitor resource perceptions and related impacts (Manning, 2011). Study findings confirmed visitors’ perceptions of water quality impacts and awareness resulted in the employment of both cognitive and behavioral coping mechanisms that could be accounted for in future management decisions. From a theoretical perspective, this study took the work of Iwasaki and Schneider (2003), Miller and McCool (2003), Schneider and Hammitt (1995), Schuster et al. (2006), and Propst (2008) to the next logical step in the investigation of environmental conditions and coping within recreational settings. It went beyond determining perceptions of environmental conditions and attempted to determine if the impact and awareness of environmental conditions influenced the employment of coping mechanisms. The relationships provided support for advancing the outdoor recreation coping literature by applying coping as a response to environmental conditions. Subscribe to JPRA
Local Vascular Effects of Potassium and Magnesium Depletion and the Role of Potassium in Active Hyperemia

Hemodialysis was used to study the effect of hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia on the resistance to blood flow through the gracilis muscle of the dog and to examine the role of potassium in exercise hyperemia. When the [K+] of the perfusing blood was decreased (or increased) rapidly, there was a corresponding increase (or decrease) in the vascular resistance. Hypomagnesemia had no apparent effect on the resistance, either alone or in combination with low potassium. The results are summarized on fig. 1, which shows the percent change in perfusion pressure at constant flow when [K+]and/or [Mg++] levels of the arterial blood are raised or lowered. Each datum is the average of several changes in a single animal.
EFFECTS OF CERTAIN PETROLEUM PRODUCTS ON REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH OF ZYGOTES AND JUVENILE STAGES OF THE ALGA FUCUSEDENTATUS DE LA PYL (PHAEOPHYCEAE: FUCALES)

Abstract A method has been devised to utilize easily obtainable eggs of Fucus as a bioassay. The effects of various petroleum products on growth and early development of the zygote has been studied. A crude oil had much less effect on Fucus growth than did No. 2 fuel oil or two jet fuels. When exposure occurred immediately prior to and during release of gametes, no germination or growth occurred with any of the oil types, even at the lowest concentration used.
Healing, Bandaging, and Aftercare

Many practitioners view the circumcision as the whole of the procedure. In fact, it is just the most controlled part of the process. Parental care of the newly circumcised penis and the course of healing play a big part of the final result. Setting reasonable expectations, providing as good an experience for the parents as possible and diligent aftercare will increase the likelihood of an excellent result.
Children's behavioral self-regulation and conscience: Roles of child temperament, parenting, and parenting context

This study examined longitudinal, temperament-specific relations between parenting qualities in two interactive contexts and behavioral measures of child self-regulation and conscience. Mother-toddler interactions were observed for maternal gentle control and mutual positivity and responsiveness (MPR) when children were 18 months old (sample N=134, 53% male, 92% non-Hispanic White). Child temperament was also assessed, yielding exuberant, inhibited, and average-approach temperament groups. Children's behavioral self-regulation and conscience were assessed at 4.5 years of age. Mother gentle control in a free play related to poorer later behavioral self-regulation for children in the average-approach group, whereas gentle control in a clean-up related to better behavioral self-regulation in the exuberant group. MPR during the clean-up related to better conscience in the inhibited group. These results provide further support for temperament- and context-specific relations between different parenting qualities and children's later regulatory skills, which may inform the development of more effective temperament-based parenting interventions.
An Efficient Framework for Privacy-Preserving Computations on Encrypted IoT Data

There are two fundamental expectations from cloud-IoT applications using sensitive and personal data: 1) utility and 2) privacy. Due to the complex nature of cloud-IoT ecosystems, there is a growing concern about data utility at the cost of privacy. While the current state-of-the-art encryption schemes protect users’ privacy, they preclude meaningful computations on encrypted data. Thus, the question remains “how can IoT device users benefit from cloud computing without worrying about privacy and security?” Cloud service providers (CSPs) can leverage fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) schemes to build privacy-preserving services. However, there are challenges in adopting them for cloud-IoT devices. Thus, to foster real-world adoption of FHE-based solutions, we propose a framework called proxy reciphering as a service . We leverage schemes, such as distributed servers, secret sharing, FHE, and chameleon hash functions to tailor a solution that enables long-term privacy-preserving computations for encrypted IoT-device data and is secure even after a device-key compromise. We evaluate the framework by developing a testbed and measuring the latencies with real-world ECG records from TELE ECG database. We also analyze the security properties against major cyber threats. We observe that: 1) the computation and communication latencies are acceptable, and the security gains outweigh the latencies introduced; 2) the throughput of the reciphering proxy servers can be increased with preprocessing; and 3) a key-refresh scheme can limit the postcompromise attack exposure window. We infer that proxy reciphering as a service is a practical, secure, scalable and an easy-to-adopt framework for long-term privacy-preserving cloud computations for cloud-IoT applications.
Cost and quality of life outcome analysis of postoperative infections after posterior lumbar decompression and fusion.

Abstract Surgical site infections (SSI) following spine procedures are serious and costly complications that may reduce patient quality of life (QOL). Deep SSIs may also extend hospitalizations and require surgical debridement or antibiotic therapy, increasing costs to both patients and the healthcare system. Here we sought to evaluate the effect of deep SSI on care cost and QOL outcomes in patients undergoing posterior lumbar decompression and fusion. To do so we performed a retrospective study of patients undergoing lumbar decompression and fusion between 2008 and 2012. Patients experiencing postoperative deep SSI were matched to controls not experiencing a deep SSI. Included patients had prospectively-gathered QOL outcome measures collected preoperatively and at 6 months postoperatively. Health resource utilization was recorded from patient electronic medical records over the 6-month follow-up. Direct costs were estimated using Medicare national payment amounts. Indirect costs were based on missed work days and patient income. We found both cohorts experienced significant improvements in QOL scores following surgery, and there were no significant differences between the cohorts. The average total cost was significantly higher in the infected cohort compared to controls ($37,009 vs. $16,227; p
Taxpayer Behavior under Audit Certainty

This study uses a confidential dataset of firms assigned to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s Coordinated Industry Case (CIC) program to examine the effect of audit certainty on taxpayer behavior. We first model the determinants of assignment to the program. Though the ability and incentive to avoid taxes are related to CIC assignment, we find that the IRS targets firms primarily based on size and complexity. We then test whether audit certainty has a significant effect on taxpayers’ initial filing liability (a deterrence effect), total filing liability (combined effect of deterrence and enforcement), or tax reserves (expected future tax payments associated with positions claimed in the current year). Results suggest that audit certainty alters managers’ expectations regarding future tax payments but does not have significant deterrence or enforcement effects relative to the IRS’s standard selection and audit process for large corporations not included in the CIC program. Our paper provides new empirical evidence on the strategic game between the taxpayer and the tax authority and has important implications for tax authorities as they consider the costs and benefits of expensive certain audit programs.
Utopianism, Relativism, Cultural Imperialism: Mike Resnick’s Kirinyaga

Resnick’s Kirinyaga is a novel set in a twenty-second-century terraformed planetoid within Earth’s solar system. Its inhabitants are Kenyans who left an ecologically devastated Earth to pursue the pre-colonial way of life of the Kikuyu people as an intentional community in outer space. Koriba, Kirinyaga’s narrator, is an elderly storyteller who was exiled back to earth after his people accepted modern technology, despite his insistence they maintain traditional customs. As a white American writing about native Africans, Resnick has generated controversy by potentially asserting an uncritical form of cultural relativism. This essay demonstrates how philosophical stances regarding utopianism factor in the novel and demonstrate the relevance of Kirinyaga to debates about the pursuit of the ideal societies.
The Social Media Macroscope: A science gateway for research using social media data

Abstract In recent years, the explosion of social media platforms and the public collection of social data has brought forth a growing desire and need for research capabilities in the realm of social media and social data analytics. Research on this scale, however, requires a high level of computational and data-science expertise, limiting the researchers who are capable of undertaking social media data-driven research to those with significant computational expertise or those who have access to such experts as part of their research team. The Social Media Macroscope (SMM) is a science gateway with the goal of removing that limitation and making social media data, analytics, and visualization tools accessible to researchers and students of all levels of expertise. The SMM provides a single point of access to a suite of intuitive web interfaces for performing social media data collection, analysis, and visualization via for open-source and commercial tools. Within the SMM social scientists are able to process and store large datasets and collaborate with other researchers by sharing ideas, data, and methods. This document functions as a brief primer on the initial build of the SMM and we end this paper discussing future directions for the SMM.
The effects of the Maryland Medicaid Health Home Waiver on Emergency Department and inpatient utilization among individuals with serious mental illness.

Abstract Objective The Maryland Medicaid health home program, established through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid health home waiver, integrates primary care services into specialty mental health programs for adults with serious mental illness (SMI). We evaluated the effect of this program on all-cause, physical, and behavioral health emergency department (ED) and inpatient utilization. Method Using marginal structural modeling to control for time-invariant and time-varying confounding, we analyzed Medicaid administrative claims data for 12,232 enrollees with SMI from October 1, 2012 to December 31, 2016; 3319 individuals were enrolled in a BHH and 8913 were never enrolled. Results Health home enrollment was associated with reduced probability of all-cause (PP: 0.23 BHH enrollment vs. 0.26 non-enrollment, p Conclusion These results suggest the Maryland Medicaid health home waiver's focus on supporting physical health care coordination by specialty mental health programs may be preventing ED visits among adults with SMI, although effect sizes are small.
Prospective comparison of longitudinal change in hepatic proton density fat fraction (PDFF) estimated by magnitude-based MRI (MRI-M) and complex-based MRI (MRI-C)

To compare longitudinal hepatic proton density fat fraction (PDFF) changes estimated by magnitude- vs. complex-based chemical-shift-encoded MRI during a weight loss surgery (WLS) program in severely obese adults with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This was a secondary analysis of a prospective dual-center longitudinal study of 54 adults (44 women; mean age 52 years; range 27–70 years) with obesity, biopsy-proven NAFLD, and baseline PDFF ≥ 5%, enrolled in a WLS program. PDFF was estimated by confounder-corrected chemical-shift-encoded MRI using magnitude (MRI-M)- and complex (MRI-C)-based techniques at baseline (visit 1), after a 2- to 4-week very low–calorie diet (visit 2), and at 1, 3, and 6 months (visits 3 to 5) after surgery. At each visit, PDFF values estimated by MRI-M and MRI-C were compared by a paired t test. Rates of PDFF change estimated by MRI-M and MRI-C for visits 1 to 3, and for visits 3 to 5 were assessed by Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). MRI-M PDFF estimates were lower by 0.5–0.7% compared with those of MRI-C at all visits (p < 0.001). There was high agreement and no difference between PDFF change rates estimated by MRI-M vs. MRI-C for visits 1 to 3 (ICC 0.983, 95% CI 0.971, 0.99; bias = − 0.13%, p = 0.22), or visits 3 to 5 (ICC 0.956, 95% CI 0.919–0.977%; bias = 0.03%, p = 0.36). Although MRI-M underestimates PDFF compared with MRI-C cross-sectionally, this bias is consistent and MRI-M and MRI-C agree in estimating the rate of hepatic PDFF change longitudinally. • MRI-M demonstrates a significant but small and consistent bias (0.5–0.7%; p < 0.001) towards underestimation of PDFF compared with MRI-C at 3 T. • Rates of PDFF change estimated by MRI-M and MRI-C agree closely (ICC 0.96–0.98) in adults with severe obesity and biopsy- proven NAFLD enrolled in a weight loss surgery program. • Our findings support the use of either MRI technique (MRI-M or MRI-C) for clinical care or by individual sites or for multi-center trials that include PDFF change as an endpoint. However, since there is a bias in their measurements, the same technique should be used in any given patient for longitudinal follow-up.
ELEVEN – POLAR COORDINATES

Publisher Summary The points in the Cartesian plane (the xy-plane) can be represented by their x- and y-coordinates However, there are many other ways to represent points in the Cartesian plane, the most important of which is called the polar coordinate system. The chapter discusses this system with various examples. In rectangular coordinates, the graph of the equation y = f(x) or, more generally, F(x, y) = 0 as the set of points (x, y) of which coordinates satisfy the equation is defined. In polar coordinates, however, one must be careful because each point in the plane has an infinite number of representations. The graph of an equation written in polar coordinates r and θ consists of those points P having at least one representation P − (r, θ) of which coordinates satisfy the equation. The chapter discusses how to derive a method for calculating the area of a region of which boundary is given in polar coordinates.
Guidelines Without Lines, Communities Without Borders: The Marketplace of Ideas and Digital Manifest Destiny in Social Media Platform Policies:

When faced with conflicts, social media platforms harken back to their front-facing, user-friendly documents. These documents, often called community standards, or something similar, lay out the pr...
Fundamental intra-specific differences in plant–water relations in a widespread desert shrub ( Artemisia tridentata )

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a widespread and locally dominant shrub that is a key driver of water fluxes and storage in western North America. There are several recognized subspecies of big sagebrush that occupy different microsites across the landscape according to moisture availability, yet little is known about how these subspecies vary in drought tolerance or water management strategies. We measured diurnal and seasonal (i.e., early-, mid-, and late summer) variation in water status and transport efficiency, transpiration, and stomatal regulations in two subspecies of big sagebrush (A.t. wyomingensis and A.t. vaseyana) at the Reynolds Creek Critical Zone Observatory in southwestern Idaho. We hypothesized that water status, transport efficiency, and stomatal regulations would be greater in A.t. vaseyana compared to A.t. wyomingensis, because the first subspecies occupies wetter microsites. Predawn and midday water potentials were up to 2× more negative in A.t. wyomingensis compared to A.t. vaseyana, and transpiration was up to ~ 4× greater in A.t. vaseyana compared to A.t. wyomingensis. A.t. vaseyana was more isohydric with ~ 1.5× greater stomatal sensitivity to atmospheric vapor pressure deficit and a smaller hydroscape, compared to A.t. wyomingensis. Our data demonstrate that there are fundamental differences in plant–water relations among these subspecies that constitute the vast, but not homogeneous sagebrush landscapes. These important differences can have implications for modeling water fluxes in big sagebrush-dominated communities at shrub to ecosystem scales.
Daily aspirin for primary prevention increased risk for major GI bleeding in healthy older adults.

SOURCE CITATION Mahady SE, Margolis KL, Chan A, et al. Major GI bleeding in older persons using aspirin: incidence and risk factors in the ASPREE randomised controlled trial. Gut. 2020. [Epub ahead of print.] 32747412.
The Great Mask Debate: A Debate That Shouldn't Be a Debate at All.

BACKGROUND: Despite a rapidly growing and evolving literature, there continues to be a vigorous public debate about whether the community use of face coverings can mitigate the spread of COVID-19 ten months into the pandemic OBJECTIVES: This article describes a semi-structured literature review of the use of face coverings to prevent the spread of coronaviruses and similar respiratory pathogens, with a focus on SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) METHODS: : The author conducted a semi-structured literature review using search terms "COVID19" or "SARS-CoV-2" crossed with "mask/s" or "face covering/s " Articles were evaluated through October 30, 2020 for inclusion, as were key references cited within the primary references and other references identified through traditional and social media outlets RESULTS: There is strong evidence to support the community use of face coverings to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 from various laboratory, epidemiological, natural history, clinical, and economic studies, although there was only 1 high-quality published randomized controlled trial of this topic at the time of review CONCLUSIONS: The evidence in favor of community face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19 is strong Although most of the benefit of wearing a face covering is conferred to the community and to bystanders, a face covering also can protect the wearer to some extent, both by reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection, and perhaps by reducing the severity of illness for those who contract a COVID-19 infection Copyright© Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and The Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc
The impact of living a calling on job outcomes

Abstract This study examined the relationship between living a calling, perceived insider status, psychological empowerment, and psychological well-being among hospitality employees. Additionally, this study explored the moderating role of organizational hierarchy (i.e., line-level employees, managers, directors). Results demonstrated that living a calling and perceived insider status were important for all employees but most meaningful for line-level employees, while the influence of living a calling on psychological empowerment was most important for managers or at the director level and above. The findings contribute to the callings and psychological well-being research by explaining how meaning through work impacts and is influenced by perceptions of informal and formal roles. Additionally, the study extends the understanding of these relationships through role theory. Managerial implications for promoting positive organizational outcomes are presented.
How unethical leadership shapes teachers’ behaviors and experiences at work

This article examines the dark side of educational leadership by exploring how unethical administrative leadership affects teachers’ behaviors and experiences at work, from the teacher perspective....
Role of partner support in psychosexual aspects of vulvar dermatoses.

Women with vulvar dermatoses report a psychosexual effect due to the chronicity of symptoms and long-term treatment as the disabling nature of the condition impacts their sexual relationship. Partner role and support in the management of psychosexual impact are poorly understood and are not part of the routine care for increasing number of women with vulvar dermatoses. This paper provides an aide-memoire for identifying patient concerns and supporting the partner. Holistic care of the affected women comprises assessment and management of the psychosexual impact of the disease on them and their partners through a dyadic or paired perspective. Limitations regarding the impact of increased virtual consultations, secondary to the recent global pandemic, and issues related to gender identity with sexual orientation are recognized.
The benefits of being big and diverse: early colony survival in harvester ants

In sessile organisms such as plants and benthic invertebrates, founding propagules typically suffer extremely high rates of mortality due to both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Many social insect species share similarities with these groups, but factors influencing early colony survival are relatively unstudied. We used a field experiment to measure the importance of environmental quality relative to intrinsic colony properties in the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, by monitoring the survival of 584 experimental colonies. We measured survival of transplanted colonies over four months in each of three years (2014-2016) at a site in western Colorado. Colony survival was primarily determined by colony features. Multiple mating by the queen and larger colony size at the time of transplant increased survival, but queen size, maternal lineage and the composition of plant species in the vicinity of the colony did not. Food supplementation increased survival significantly when natural food was scarce, but was not consistently beneficial, in contrast to predictions. Our results emphasize the general importance of rapid growth and early attainment of large size in the survival of sessile species. However, attributes specific to ants that are a consequence of their sociality also strongly affected survival. Colonies with multiply-mated queens were more likely to survive over a wide range of circumstances, highlighting the importance of this trait even at the early stages of colony life.
Fatal pulmonary toxicity due to carfilzomib (Kyprolis

IntroductionCarfilzomib (Kyprolis™) is a second-generation proteasome inhibitor for the treatment of relapsing multiple myeloma (MM). In 2012, carfilzomib was approved by Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with relapsed MM who had received at least two prior therapies. We present a case of fatal pulmonary toxicity presumed secondary to carfilzomib.Clinical presentationA 61-year-old male was initially diagnosed with MM in 2003 for which he received multiple treatments. In 2013, he was started on carfilzomib for relapsing MM. After 24 h, the patient developed an acute respiratory distress syndrome for which he needed mechanical ventilation. One week later, patient developed diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and despite aggressive supportive care, the patient died after three weeks.DiscussionThe temporal relationship between the first exposure to carfilzomib and development of symptoms, and the exclusion of other possible etiologies, leads us to believe that our patient’s lung toxicity is a...
Separating concerns with domain specific languages

I’ll talk about the separation of concerns in the development of large distributed enterprise systems, how to manage it using domain specific languages, and how to build these languages. This brief note outlines some of the topics I’ll cover.
Prejudice in Politics: Group Position, Public Opinion, and the Wisconsin Treaty Rights Dispute

Prologue 1. Linking Prejudice and Politics 2. Return of the Chippewa: Foundations of the Treaty Rights Controversy 3. Between Prejudice and Self-Interest: Treaty Rights Salience and Public Opposition 4. Disentangling Racialized Politics: Group Position, Injustice Frames, and Symbolic Racism 5. Protest, Mobilization, and Mass Compliance: Moving from Attitudes to Behavior 6. Race Politics as Group Position Appendix A. Question Wording in the Chippewa Indian Treaty Rights Survey Appendix B. Factorial Structure of Prejudice Notes References Index
Exigent and Unusual Circumstances: The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis

The U.S. Federal Reserve has committed hundreds of billions of dollars in unprecedented lending activities and purchases of mortgage-backed securities based upon its authority under the Federal Reserve Act, and particularly upon its interpretation of Section 13(3), a formerly untested and unused clause in the Federal Reserve Act. Such efforts effectively doubled the size of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. This expansion of authority exercised by the Federal Reserve not only has significance in today's financial crisis but also sets a precedent for future Federal Reserve actions. The Federal Reserve has relied on Section 13(3) to authorize its controversial lending actions with respect to Bear Stearns, AIG, Citigroup and Bank of America. It also relied to Section 13(3) to create the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility, Commercial Paper Funding Facility, Money Market Investor Funding Facility, Primary Dealer Credit Facility, the Term Asset-Backed Security Loan Facility. The Federal Reserve also greatly expanded its traditional lending to financial institutions and central banks through the creation of the Term Auction Facility and Central Bank Swap Facility. Finally, in an effort to stabilize the residential real estate market, the Federal Reserve has purchased over $1 trillion of mortgage-backed securities through the Federal Reserve’s MBS purchase program. Each of these actions represents a significant expansion from the traditional lending and purchase activities performed by the Federal Reserve. This paper analyzes these actions and discusses their current and future implications.
Implicit Social Security Tax Rates over the Life Cycle

The U.S. Social Security benefit structure implicitly creates disincentives towards working long careers. Workers near retirement often gain little additional benefit from continued work because of Social Securitythe benefit formula. This paper develops a framework to examine these disincentives and applies it to a set of stylized workers, as well as to actual earnings records of primary and secondary earners. While the conventional wisdom is that net Social Security tax rates fall with age due to the discounting of future benefits for interest and mortality, this paper shows that the overwhelming pattern of implicit Social Security tax rates is increasing. The distinction comes mainly from incorporating two features of the system: only the highest 35 years of indexed earnings count towards Social Security benefits,and the benefit calculation does not distinguish between low-income earners who work long careers and high-income earners who work short careers. In addition, married couples face different incentives than single workers. Marriage reduces primary earners’ implicit tax rates, but raises the implicit tax rates faced by secondary earners. Because both older workers and secondary earners tend to have high labor supply elasticities, raising revenue from these workers has efficiency considerations.
Purification and Properties of Dipeptidase M from Escherichia coli B

Abstract A peptidase from Escherichia coli B has been prepared in a highly pure form and characterized with respect to its substrate specificity, requirements for activity, size and subunit structure. This enzyme preferentially catalyzes the hydrolysis of certain methionyl dipeptides and for this reason is referred to as dipeptidase m. Of the substrates tested with the homogeneous enzyme methionylalanine and methionylserine were the most rapidily hydrolyzed. Other substrates were cleaved more slowly, if at all, by this peptidase. The substrate specificity of this enzyme suggests that it may be involved in the removal of NH2-terminal methionine from newly initiated E. coli proteins.
Serum lysozyme in inflammatory bowel disease.

Abstract Serum lysozyme activity was measured in 18 patients with ulcerativecolitis and 40 patients with Crohn's disease by both the turbidimetric and lysoplate method. Only one patient with ulcerative colitis and eight patients with Crohn's disease had increased serum lysozyme activity by either or both methods. Both methods appeared equally sensitive in detecting increased serum lysozyme activity.
Affective and cognitive mechanisms of risky decision making.

The ability to make advantageous decisions under circumstances in which there is a risk of adverse consequences is an important component of adaptive behavior; however, extremes in risk taking (either high or low) can be maladaptive and are characteristic of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. To better understand the contributions of various affective and cognitive factors to risky decision making, cohorts of male Long-Evans rats were trained in a “Risky Decision making Task” (RDT), in which they made discrete trial choices between a small, “safe” food reward and a large, “risky” food reward accompanied by varying probabilities of footshock. Experiment 1 evaluated the relative contributions of the affective stimuli (i.e., punishment vs. reward) to RDT performance by parametrically varying the magnitudes of the footshock and large reward. Varying the shock magnitude had a significant impact on choice of the large, “risky” reward, such that greater magnitudes were associated with reduced choice of the large reward. In contrast, varying the large, “risky” reward magnitude had minimal influence on reward choice. Experiment 2 compared individual variability in RDT performance with performance in an attentional set shifting task (assessing cognitive flexibility), a delayed response task (assessing working memory), and a delay discounting task (assessing impulsive choice). Rats characterized as risk averse in the RDT made more perseverative errors on the set shifting task than did their risk taking counterparts, whereas RDT performance was not related to working memory abilities or impulsive choice. In addition, rats that showed greater delay discounting (greater impulsive choice) showed corresponding poorer performance in the working memory task. Together, these results suggest that reward-related decision making under risk of punishment is more strongly influenced by the punishment than by the reward, and that risky and impulsive decision making are associated with distinct components of executive function.
Nucleotide sequences of two regions of the human genome containing tRNAAsm genes

Abstract The primary structures of two human tRNAAsn genes and 600–700 nucleotides of their flanking regions have been determined from two separate isolates of a fetal DNA library in phage λ vector. The tRNA gene from one clone differs from the major mammalian tRNAAsn by a single base substitution at position 47, with an A replacing a G, while the tRNAAsn gene from the second clone has base substitution at position 17 and 65, with a G replacing a C and a T replacing a C, respectively. The sequences of the noncoding 5′- and 3′-flanking regions of both clones are over 90% homologous. As with other mammalian tRNA genes, these two human tRNAAsn genes contain CTTTTPu, which might act as a transcription termination signal, 11 bp 3′ to the structural gene. In vitro transcription experiments in a HeLa cell extract demonstrate that both cloned tRNAAsn genes can be transcribed and processed to mature-sized tRNAs.
Fiber strain sensors from carbon nanotubes self-assembled on aramid fibers

A self-assembly method is developed for creating a thin shell of multiwall carbon nanotubes on aramid fibers. The fibers show resistive behavior and exhibit a gauge factor of approximately 1.6, whi...
Instituting Environmental Protection: From Red to Green in Poland

Lists of Tables, Figures and Boxes - Acknowledgements - Introduction - Poland's Ecological Crisis - A History of Environmental Law in Poland - The 'Enforceability' of Poland's Environmental Laws - Enforcement Problems I: Party Politics - Enforcement Problems II: Socialist Economics - The Ideological Dimension: Marxism and the Environment - Environmental Protection in Transition - Institutional Implications - Bibliography - Index
A Neural-Wavelet Technique for Damage Identification in the ASCE Benchmark Structure Using Phase II Experimental Data

Damage pattern recognition research represents one of the most challenging tasks in structural health monitoring (SHM). The vagueness in defining damage and the significant overlap between damage states contribute to the challenges associated with proper damage classification. Uncertainties in the damage features and how they propagate during the damage detection process also contribute to uncertainties in SHM. This paper introduces an integrated method for damage feature extraction and damage recognition. We describe a robust damage detection method that is based on using artificial neural network (ANN) to compute the wavelet energy of acceleration signals acquired from the structure. We suggest using the wavelet energy as a damage feature to classify damage states in structures. A case study is presented that shows the ability of the proposed method to detect and pattern damage using the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCEs) benchmark structure. It is suggested that an optimal ANN architecture can detect damage occurrence with good accuracy and can provide damage quantification with reasonable accuracy to varying levels of damage.