By estimating that the cost of unmitigated climate damages is an order of magnitude higher than most earlier estimates, the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change has had a major influence on the policy discussion on climate change. Not surprisingly, severe criticism has been levied against the report, especially by those who claim that the Stern Review's results hinge mainly on a discount rate that is too low. While we have no strong objections to the discounting assumptions adopted in the Stern Review, our main point in this article is that the conclusions reached in the Stern Review can be justified without using a low discount rate. We argue that nonmarket damages from climate change are probably underestimated and that future scarcities caused by the changing composition of the economy and climate change should lead to rising relative prices for certain goods and services. This will raise the estimated damage of climate change and modify as well as counteract the effect of discounting. We illustrate this effect using a slightly modified version of Nordhaus's DICE model and show that taking relative prices into account can have as large an effect on economically warranted abatement levels as a low discount rate.


We consider a node-monitor pair, where updates are generated stochastically (according to a known distribution) at the node that it wishes to send to the monitor. The node is assumed to incur a fixed cost for each transmission, and the objective of the node is to find the update instants so as to minimize a linear combination of AoI of information and average transmission cost. First, we consider the Poisson arrivals case, where updates have an exponential inter-arrival time for which we derive an explicit optimal online policy. Next, for arbitrary distributions of inter-arrival time of updates, we propose a simple randomized algorithm that transmits any newly arrived update with a fixed probability (that depends on the distribution) or never transmits that update. The competitive ratio of the proposed algorithm is shown to be a function of the variance and the mean of the inter-arrival time distribution. For some of the commonly considered distributions such as exponential, uniform, and Rayleigh, the competitive ratio bound is shown to be 2.


Vascular resistance in the mammalian pulmonary circulation is affected by many endogenous agents that influence vascular smooth muscle, right ventricular myocardium, endothelial function, collagen and elastin deposition, and fluid balance. When the balance of these agents is disturbed, e.g. by airway hypoxia from high altitude or pulmonary obstructive disorders, pulmonary hypertension ensues, as characterized by elevated pulmonary artery pressure (P(PA)). Among neuropeptides with local pulmonary artery pressor effects are endothelin-1 (ET-1), angiotensin II (AII), and substance P, and among mitigating peptides are calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), adrenomedullin (ADM), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and ET-3. Moreover, somatostatin28 (SOM28) exacerbates, whereas SOM14 decreases P(PA) in hypoxic rats, with lowering and increasing of lung CGRP levels, respectively. Pressure can also be modulated by increasing or decreasing plasma volume (VIP and ANP, respectively), or by induction or suppression of vascular tissue remodeling (ET-1 and CGRP, respectively). Peptide bioavailability and potency can be regulated through hypoxic up- and down- regulation of synthesis or release, activation by converting enzymes (ACE for AII and ECE for ET-1), inactivation by neutral endopeptidase and proteases, or by interaction with nitric oxide (NO). Moreover, altered receptor density and affinity can account for changed peptide efficacy. For example, upregulation of ET(A) receptors and ET-1 synthesis occurs in the hypoxic lung concomitantly with reduced CGRP release. Also, receptor activity modifying protein 2 (RAMP2) has been shown to confer ADM affinity to the pulmonary calcitonin-receptor-like receptor (CRLR). We recently detected the mRNA encoding for RAMP2, CRLR, and the CGRP receptor RDC-1 in rat lung. The search for an effective, lung selective treatment of pulmonary hypertension will likely benefit from exploring the imbalance and restoring the balance between these native modulators of intrapulmonary pressure. For example, blocking of the ET-1 receptor ET(A) and vasodilation by supplemental CGRP delivered i. v. or via airway gene transfer, have proven to be useful experimentally.


: Plant-atmosphere NH(3) exchange was studied in white clover (Trifolium repens L. cv. Seminole) growing in nutrient solution containing 0 (N(2) based), 0.5 (low N) or 4.5 (high N) mM NO(3)(-). The aim was to show whether the NH(3) exchange potential is influenced by the proportion of N(2) fixation relative to NO(3)(-) supply. During the treatment, inhibition of N(2) fixation by NO(3)(-) was followed by in situ determination of total nitrogenase activity (TNA), and stomatal NH(3) compensation points (chi(NH(3))) were calculated on the basis of apoplastic NH4(+) concentration ([NH4(+)]) and pH. Whole-plant NH(3) exchange, transpiration and net CO(2) exchange were continuously recorded with a controlled cuvette system. Although shoot total N concentration increased with the level of mineral N application, tissue and apoplastic [NH4(+)] as well as chi(NH(3)) were equal in the three treatments. In NH(3)-free air, net NH(3) emission rates of <1 nmol m(-2) s(-1) were observed in both high-N and N(2)-based plants. When plants were supplied with air containing 40 nmol mol(-1) NH(3), the resulting net NH(3) uptake was higher in plants which acquired N exclusively from symbiotic N(2) fixation, compared to NO(3)(-) grown plants. The results indicate that symbiotic N(2) fixation and mineral N acquisition in white clover are balanced with respect to the NH4(+) pool leading to equal chi(NH(3)) in plants growing with or without NO(3)(-). At atmospheric NH(3) concentrations exceeding chi(NH(3)), the NH(3) uptake rate is controlled by the N demand of the plants.


Antibodies specific for 7-methylguanosine (m7G) were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the translation of chorion mRNA in a wheat germ, cell-free amino acid incorporating system. Results obtained with antibody concentrations of 0.5--1.5 microM revealed dose-dependent inhibition of [3H]-labeled amino acid incorporation into acid-insoluble radioactivity. Inhibition of translation was attributed to the interaction of anti-m7G antibodies with the 5' termini of chorion mRNAs on the basis that (a) anti-m7G antibodies coupled to Sepharose (anti-m7G-Sepharose) immunospecifically retained 5'-terminal cap structures of chorion mRNAs, i.e., m7G (5')ppp(5')Nm, (b) significant inhibition of translation required a 2-h preincubation of anti-m7G antibodies with mRNA, and (c) similar preincubation periods with anti-m7G antibodies in the presence of the competing nucleoside hapten (m7G) obviated the inhibitory effect of the antibody. The nature of the anti-m7G antibody-mRNA complex was examined by digesting chorion mRNA with nuclease P1 before (predigested) and after (postdigested) immunospecific adsorption to anti-m7G-Sepharose adsorbent. Whereas predigested preparations yielded a single cap structure of the type m7G(5')ppp(5')N, the predominating cap in the postdigested sample was m7G(5')ppp(5')NpNpN. These latter data revealed that the nucleotide sequence adjacent to the cap was not significantly masked by the antibody and suggest the utility of anti-m7G antibody as a site-specific probe.


This study introduces a story-based e-learning oriented course tool that was designed and developed for using within "computer programming" courses. With this tool, students can easily adapt themselves to the subjects in the context of computer programming principles, thanks to the story-based, interactive processes. By us- ing visually improved elements, it is aimed to ensure a step-by-step learning - teaching session, which allows students to organize a typical learning process on their own. As a result of using this approach and the story- based environment, it can be very easy, fast and entertaining for students to learn fundamentals of the computer programming approach and its related sub-subjects. Furthermore, complex, technical and abstract concepts of a typical computer programming course can also be taught easily without needing for any extra material to improve course conditions.


We first investigate the nonlinear optical response of a five-level tripod atomic system in electromagnetically induced transparency and then propose a 3-qubit phase gate protocol based on the fifth-order nonlinearity. The cross-phase modulation among the three weak fields induced by the fifth-order nonlinearity in electromagnetically induced transparency can produce the phase shift of order π, which can be used to realize the 3-qubit polarization phase gate. This protocol should have potential applications in quantum information processing.


Over the last several decades, China has undergone several distinct episodes of collectivization and de-collectivization of forest property rights. China's latest round of collective forest property reforms, launched in 2003, have promoted individual land holding and management, reviving the longstanding debate on whether privatization would improve profits, rural welfare, and forest management. To uncover reasons for different institutional choices in response to land reform and their effects on forest management, we present two cases, from villages in Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. At the local level, these concepts are confronted by diverse groups of actors and management systems with complex arrangements concerning property and forest use rights. As reforms unfold, they are implemented to differing extents and in various manners, reflecting unique socio-ecological and historical contexts, social relations, community dynamics, and global economic trends. Key factors affecting outcomes were prior traditions, social cohesion, and market incentives to manage resources. In the Guizhou case, with a history of private ownership by people of different social groups and a reliance on restricted timber resources, reforms resulted in a fragmented forest management system. In the Yunnan case, a tradition of collective forest management by a tight-knit social group and access to a lucrative non-timber product resulted in a new and effective collective management system. These findings are important to inform policies on forest property in China and beyond as they call into question a link between privatization and marketization favoring effective resource management.


This paper presents an overview of how calcium interacts with the various essential nutrients within an environment of cellular and hormonal interactions for the purpose of increasing bioavailability to the human body. One example of such interactions can be illustrated with calcium homeostasis. This paper gives an indepth discussion on the possible interactive permutations with various nutrients and factors leading to the promotion of calcium bioavailability to the body. The review hopes to provide further insights into how calcium supplement formulations can be improved to better influence its bioavailability in the human body. Keywords—Bioavailability, environment of cellular and hormonal interactions, combinative nutrition, nutrient synergy.


Activity-based travel analysis has been gaining increasing attention in travel demand research during the past decade. Activity and trip information collected at the person level aids in understanding the underlying behavioral patterns of individuals and the interactions among their activities and trips. Activity and time use patterns across geographical contexts are compared. Such a comparison could shed light on the differences and similarities in travel behavior that exist between areas. To accomplish this objective, activity, travel, and time use information derived from surveys conducted in the San Francisco Bay and Miami areas has been analyzed to identify differences in activity engagement patterns across different sample groups. In general, it was found that activity and time use patterns are comparable across the two areas as long as the commuting status and demographic characteristics of the individuals are controlled for. In addition, the time-of-day distributions of various events such as wake-up time, sleeping time, time of departure and arrival at home, and work start and end times were compared. These events were considered important in defining the temporal constraints under which people exercise activity and travel choices. Once again, it was found that the distributions followed similar trends as long as the commuting status and the demographic characteristics of the individual were controlled for. However, there were noticeable differences that merit further investigation.


The Open University is always keen to develop ways of enhancing feedback to students, since comments on assignments are a key aspect of the distance tuition process. Students traditionally receive detailed written feedback on their assignment scripts in the form of annotations and corrections as well as separate written comments summarising their overall performance. For foreign language speaking assignments, students also receive audio feedback in addition to written summary comments. Jing® [1], a free software tool, allows the recording of a five-minute video commentary of what is happening on a computer screen, i.e. to make a screencast. Jing® enables tutors to record themselves annotating and commenting on their students' scripts or to provide a presentation on an aspect of grammar relevant to the assignment. This presentation reports on both the student and tutor responses to the medium, as well as the nature of the feedback in terms of depth and focus.


This rapid systematic review of evidence asks whether (i) wearing a face mask, (ii) one type of mask over another and (iii) mandatory mask policies can reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, either in community-based or healthcare settings. A search of studies published 1 January 2020–27 January 2023 yielded 5185 unique records. Due to a paucity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies were included in the analysis. We analysed 35 studies in community settings (three RCTs and 32 observational) and 40 in healthcare settings (one RCT and 39 observational). Ninety-five per cent of studies included were conducted before highly transmissible Omicron variants emerged. Ninety-one per cent of observational studies were at 'critical' risk of bias (ROB) in at least one domain, often failing to separate the effects of masks from concurrent interventions. More studies found that masks (n = 39/47; 83%) and mask mandates (n = 16/18; 89%) reduced infection than found no effect (n = 8/65; 12%) or favoured controls (n = 1/65; 2%). Seven observational studies found that respirators were more protective than surgical masks, while five found no statistically significant difference between the two mask types. Despite the ROB, and allowing for uncertain and variable efficacy, we conclude that wearing masks, wearing higher quality masks (respirators), and mask mandates generally reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission in these study populations. This article is part of the theme issue 'The effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions on the COVID-19 pandemic: the evidence'.


Climate change is impacting human health and straining heavily burdened health services everywhere. Recognition of the linkages between climate change and health systems, such as shifts in vector-borne diseases and decreased access to services, is growing, yet many countries are still struggling both to mainstream, or integrate, climate adaptation into their health plans and to implement activities on the ground. This paper shares case studies from Fiji, Ghana, and Benin, three countries making progress with mainstreaming climate change adaptation into planning and implementation in health systems. The authors outline the enabling factors, challenges and lessons learned across these three countries, followed by recommendations to mainstream climate adaptation and build climate resilience in the health sector.


Abstract
 In the course of war, fear and terror are often used as weapons to distort the opponent's decision-making or break the opponent's will. Military and political leaders need to respond to this tactic. They have several options including the appeal to reason or the creation of emotions to counter fear. This article examines these options in two ways. First, it theoretically specifies five alternative strategies. Second, the article examines which of these strategies appears to be most prevalent in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. In the classical Greece of Thucydides, leaders generally chose to employ a combination of hope and reason as counter to fear rather than shame, anger, or spite. As discussed in the conclusion, this finding provides several insights about the strategic use of emotion.


Abstract The capability approach is potentially valuable for economic evaluation at the end of life because of its conceptualization of wellbeing as freedom and the potential for capturing outcomes for those at end of life and those close to persons at the end of life. For decision making, however, this information needs to be integrated into current evaluation paradigms. This research explored weights for an integrated economic evaluation framework using a deliberative approach. Twelve focus groups were held (38 members of the public, 29 "policy makers," seven hospice volunteers); budget pie tasks were completed to generate weights. Constant comparison was used to analyze qualitative data, exploring principles behind individuals' weightings. Average weights elicited from members of the general population and policy makers for the importance that should be given to close persons (vs. patients) were very similar, at around 30%. A "sliding scale" of weights between health gain and the capability for a good death resulted from the policy maker and volunteer groups, with increasing weight given to the capability for a good death as the trajectory got closer to death. These weights can be used in developing a more comprehensive framework for economic evaluation at end of life.


Aiming at the complexity, nonlinearity, and non-stationarity of the rolling bearing vibration signal, a fault diagnosis method based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) and Gauss Bernoulli Deep Belief Network (GBDBN) model is proposed. The method first carries out EEMD on the vibration signal; second, the eigenvalues of each intrinsic mode function (IMF) are statistically analyzed; then, the feature vectors are constructed by selecting less change features; finally, the normalized feature vectors are input into the GBDBN to identify the fault types. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves more than 90% recognition rate of fault types and has better fault diagnosis ability, which can provide convenience for maintenance.


ABSTRACT The current study examined whether a static-line parachute program could help prepare future military officers to lead in extreme situations by increasing leadership self-efficacy. Parachute training is commonly used for preparing to lead in combat since it presents a perceived threat to life which requires active mastery. Achieving such mastery facilitates the development of leader self-control efficacy and leader assertiveness efficacy. This assumption was tested in a real training situation within the Swedish Military Academy where two groups of cadets were included in the study. The group of cadets undertaking parachute training conducted repeated measures of assessment of their self-efficacy before and after the course as well as at a five-month follow-up. The results show that parachute training increased leader self-control efficacy when compared to a group of cadets who undertook different training. In addition, the training given contributed to increased leader assertiveness efficacy for both groups.


Across the world, it is estimated that 4.5 billion people live near water sources "impaired" for use or contact. Standards for human-interaction are established by international organizations such as the WHO, and legislative bodies from national to local levels with jurisdiction over the quality of our waterways to ensure public & environmental health. Standards are often assessed from "grab-samples" taken from a waterbody at a certain time, with a minimum number analyzed. Water-quality standards in the United States are enforced under the Clean Water Act (CWA) via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), applying to "waters of the United States" (WOTUS). After January 2019, "WOTUS" has been interpreted with variation as "traditionally navigable waters", their tributaries, or bodies with a "significant nexus" to them – leaving others outside federal jurisdiction or protection. However, since the CWA requires States to develop "Total Maximum Daily Loads" to provide a framework for when water quality is not healthy for contact, States enforce TMDL-standards under their own jurisdictions. Regardless of whether one could traditionally "mark twain" to navigate a vessel on a stream, or the variations in State jurisdictions, the most legally promoted scientific methodology used to assess TMDL's for surface water quality across the U.S. has not changed: grab-sampling. This paper describes a water quality study focused in southwest Louisville, Kentucky, compared to two different streams in the Salt River sub-basin to the Ohio River. The study developed cumulative methods for sampling that were accessibly cost-effective. The method profiled fecal contamination before stream-restoration with strong correlations compared to frequent grabsamples, diagnosed contamination causes, and ultimately, suggests improvement over TMDL grab-sampling and a need to form new standards with cumulative methods.


Aim: The aim of the present research work was to develop a sensitive, rapid and accurate, stability-indicating RP-UPLC method for the simultaneous estimation of voxilaprevir (VXR), sofosbuvir (SFR), and velpatasvir (VLR) in formulations. Materials and Methods: The chromatographic separation of mixture of VXR, SFR, and VLR was attained in isocratic method utilizing a mobile phase of 0.01N potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (pH 4.8) and methanol in the proportion of 50:50% v/v utilizing a CHS C18 column which has dimensions of 100 × 2.1 mm, 2.0 m particle size and the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection system was monitored at 260 nm wavelength maximum with 1.0 mL injection volume. Results: The retaining time for VXR, SFR, and VLR was achieved at 1.468 min, 0.606 min, and 0.848 min, respectively. VXR, SFR, and VLR and their combined drug formulation were exposed to thermal, acidic, oxidative, photolytic, and alkaline conditions. The present method was validated as per the guidelines given by the ICH for specificity, accuracy, sensitivity, linearity, and precision. Conclusion: The developed method was highly sensitive, rapid, precise, and accurate than the earlier reported methods. The total run time was decreased to 3.0 min; hence, the technique was more precise and economical. Stability studies directed for the suitability of the technique for degradation studies of VXR, SFR, and VLR. The projected method can be utilized for routine analysis in quality control department in pharmaceutical trades.


The endovascular treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease has historically been performed by interventional radiologists and cardiologists. With additional training in endovascular techniques, surgeons become uniquely suited to manage arterial lesions with both endovascular and conventional surgical techniques. Over a 14-month period, 13 patients underwent combination endovascular and open reconstruction on limbs with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. There were 10 males and 3 females. The mean age was 66 years. All procedures were performed in the operating room by surgery residents under the direct supervision of vascular surgeons. After intraoperative angiography, 26 arterial lesions underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (aorta, 1; common iliac, 14; external iliac, 10; superficial femoral, 1). Twenty-five of 26 lesions were further treated with intraluminal stent placement, the lone exception being a case of superficial femoral artery angioplasty. Concomitant open reconstruction was performed on all limbs, 14 as outflow and 1 as inflow. There were two cases of procedural morbidity and one perioperative death secondary to myocardial infarction. There were no wound-related complications. The mean ankle-brachial index of the affected lower extremity improved from 0.41 (+/- 0.15) to 0.74 (+/- 0.14) at 30 days. Mean follow-up was 8 months (range, 2-14). Based on our early experience, simultaneous combination endovascular and open reconstruction of multisegment arterial occlusive disease can be performed safely and efficiently by surgeons.


We are concerned with the frequency of potentially lethal ethanol intoxications (about 1 pint of hard liquor) in teenagers. We present 2 illustrative cases, discuss the acute toxicity of ethanol, and present 2 simple calculating charts for dosage and kinetics. The widespread use and economic impact of ethanol have kept this potent sedative-hypnotic free of the same federal regulations that control the availability of other drugs with a similar potency and margin of safety.


Ozcan Saritas - Research Professor, Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, National Research University - Higher School of Economics, and Senior Research Fellow, Mancherster Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR), University of Manchester, UK. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Address: National Research University - Higher School of Economics, 20, Myasnitskaya str., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.Relations between the human and hi-tech worlds, even until recently considered the subject of science fiction, are taking a more real shape and becoming the focus of expert discussions. Some specialists suggest that in the future machines can become the principal creator of new technologies and race far ahead of humanity. However, emerging technologies for human enhancement offer new possibilities for humans to remain competitive against machines and to acquire more advanced physical and mental capacities. These techniques are interdisciplinary, drawing primarily on advances in medicine, pharmacology, nutrition, mobile communications, neuroscience and cognitive sciences.This paper provides examples of such developments, analyzes their contribution to the expansion of human capabilities and, consequently, implications for the future working environment. It addresses ethical issues and risks associated with human enhancement technologies, in particular, the emergence of the new social divide - between the users of such technologies and people lacking access to them. Finally, it discusses some wild cards that may cause future surprises and shocks, i.e. machines that can control a human-excluded world, a virtual level of human life that dominates real life. The author notes that such conditions will require rethinking established views of personality, human responsibility and mutual obligations that will help the establishment of new behavioral patterns.


OBJECTIVES
Increased prevalence of familial autoimmune disease is a common finding among probands with various autoimmune disorders. Autistic disorder (autism) is a highly genetic disorder with known immune and immunogenetic abnormalities. Previous research has found an increased frequency of autoimmune disorders in families with autistic probands. We further investigated this association by determining the frequency of autoimmune disorders in families that have probands with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), including autism, compared with 2 control groups.

METHODS
Three well-defined study groups, including 1) families that have a child with a PDD, 2) families that have a child with an autoimmune disorder, and 3) families with a healthy control child, constituted the sample. A questionnaire inquiring about which first- and second-degree family members had received a diagnosis of having specific autoimmune disorders was completed by 101 families in each group.

RESULTS
The frequency of autoimmune disorders was significantly higher in families of the PDD probands compared with families of both the autoimmune and healthy control probands. Autoimmunity was highest among the parents of PDD probands compared with parents of the healthy control subjects. Hypothyroidism/Hashimoto's thyroiditis and rheumatic fever were significantly more common in families with PDD probands than in the healthy control families.

CONCLUSIONS
Autoimmunity was increased significantly in families with PDD compared with those of healthy and autoimmune control subjects. These preliminary findings warrant additional investigation into immune and autoimmune mechanisms in autism.


Most scholars believe that rumors spark ethnic violence around the world, yet political scientists have been slow to understand the dynamics of these rumors, including whether they emerge and survive as a matter of course or require certain preconditions. Because empirical observation cannot readily answer this question, we use agent-based modeling to explore whether rumor survival depends on selected group follower and leader characteristics. Our first set of experiments assumes one group. They show that violence-promoting rumors are not inevitable, nor are group leaders necessary for their propagation. But rumor survival peaks when leaders espouse extreme beliefs and interact frequently with their followers. Our second set of experiments assumes rival groups whose members interact on a limited basis. Some of the experiments confirm the one-group conclusions. Others reveal that when one group's leaders persist in advocating moderation, rumor propagation remains low in both groups. Finally, when rival leaders try to outbid each other, rumor survival increases markedly in both groups. By way of conclusion, we consider the policy implications of these findings.


Taken in concert with two previously written volumes on the mortgage industry that highlight the immediate post-World War II era and the 1963-1972 period, this study accounts for nearly a century of mortgage banking progress and activity in America. What emerges is a picture of a highly differentiated industry in the 1920s that began to focus more narrowly on federally sponsored mortgage products and a single funding channel during the 1930s and in the immediate post-World War II period, and then transitioned yet again to a more diverse business model by the mid-1960s. During their early pre-federal intervention periods, farm and urban mortgage bankers focused on three similar elements: •The use of informal guarantees or explicit mortgage insurance to protect and attract investors in the markets for whole mortgage loans; •The development of correspondent relationships with life insurance companies; and •A failed experimentation with European-style mortgage banking structures. The Federal Farm Loan Bank system and the FHA mortgage insurance programs that restructured both the farm and urban mortgage banking sectors shared three common features: •They each encouraged the widespread adoption of long-term, amortized mortgage loans; •They each created mechanisms to stimulate the inter-regional transfer of mortgage credit and the convergence of mortgage rates and lending terms across regions; and •They each established federal chartering systems for privately financed European-style mortgage banks to create active secondary markets for long-term, amortized loans.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Host genetic factor and hepatic fibrosis may predispose to risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to assess the association between tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha polymorphism and hepatic fibrosis, and risk for HCC.

METHODS
One hundred eight pairs of gender-matched and age-matched patients with HCC and unrelated healthy controls were genotyped for TNF308.2 and TNF238.2 alleles with polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing.

RESULTS
The frequency of TNF308.1/TNF308.2 genotype in cases was higher than that in controls [odds ratio (OR) = 4.37]. Multivariate analysis indicated that TNF308.2 allele (OR = 3.23), hepatitis B surface antigen (OR = 17.17), and antibodies to hepatitis C virus (OR = 45.52) were independent risk factors for HCC. Surrogate markers for significant fibrosis implied that cases with the TNF308.2 allele have more advanced liver fibrosis. Moreover, multivariate analysis indicated that cirrhosis with Child-Pugh grade C, low serum albumin, and low platelet count were independent risk factors for carrying the TNF308.2 allele.

CONCLUSIONS
TNF308.2 allele carriage and chronic hepatitis B virus/hepatitis C virus infection are independent risk factors for HCC. Carriage of the TNF308.2 allele correlates with disease severity and hepatic fibrosis, which may contribute to a higher risk for HCC.


In this publication, we reflect on our use of the Most Significant Change Technique (Davies & Dart, 2005) in a research project on the ethical impact of a training program for social professionals. This method had never before been used in the field of empirical ethics. We describe how we applied the method and account for some alterations we made to bring it in line with the goal of our research. We also illustrate how the analysis of stories, written by participants, as well as the analysis of discussions about these stories with relevant stakeholders (service users, colleagues and managers), led to a stimulating process during which new insights emerged. Reflecting on the results, we conclude that the MSC technique, slightly changed, could be very useful when doing research on the ethical impact of training programs. The narrative component in particular is valuable, in combination with the fact that all relevant stakeholders can contribute in an equivalent way.


Abstract This study investigates the lifespan development of the ability to correctly guess the meaning of foreign-language words with known translation-equivalent cognates. It also aims to identify the cognitive and linguistic factors driving this development. To this end, 159 German-speaking Swiss participants aged 10 to 86 were asked to translate 45 written and 45 spoken isolated Swedish words with German, English or French cognates. In addition, they were administered an English language test, a German vocabulary test as well as fluid intelligence and working memory tests. Cognate guessing skills were found to improve into young adulthood, but whereas they show additional increases in the written modality throughout adulthood, they start to decrease from age 50 onwards for spoken stimuli. Congruently with these findings, L1 vocabulary knowledge is a stronger predictor of written cognate guessing success, whereas fluid intelligence is the most important predictor in the spoken modality. Raw data and computer code used for the analyses are freely available online.


This study was conducted on the antibacterial, antimycobacterial and antifungal activities of various extracts (petroleum ether (PE), chloroform (CHCl3) and ethanol (EtOH) extracts; infusion and decoction) and essential oil from the aerial parts of S. cassia Sam. ex Rech.f. and the chemical composition of the most active samples. The antibacterial activity was determined against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli. The antimycobacterial activity was analyzed against five different Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the antifungal activity was compared with two dermotophytes and three Candida species. The composition of EO was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The EO had a very good activity against B. subtilis (0.3 μL/mL) and good activity against S. aureus, methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and E. faecalis (0.6 μL/mL). All extracts were active in the antimycobacterial and antifungal tests (MICs=50-400 μg/mL). The EO was the most active samples against all Mycobacterium strains, dermatophytes and Candida species (MICs=0.1-6.25 μL/mL). Because of the high activity of EO, its composition was analyzed, and the major compound was found caryophyllene oxide (22.3%), which was also found the major components of the essential oils from other antimicrobial plants such as Salvia trichoclada Benth.


An adaptive iterative learning control (ILC) algorithm based on an estimation procedure using a Kalman filter and an optimization of a quadratic criterion is presented. It is shown that by taking the measurement disturbance into consideration the resulting ILC filters become iteration-varying. Results from experiments on an industrial robot show that the algorithm is successful also in an application.


Abstract : How do Bayesians justify using conjugate priors on grounds other than mathematical convenience? In the 1920's the Cambridge philosopher William Ernest Johnson in effect characterized symmetric Dirichlet priors for multinomial sampling in terms of a natural and easily assessed subjective condition. Johnson's proof can be generalized to include asymmetric Dirichlet priors and those finitely exchangeable sequences with linear posterior expectation of success. Some interesting open problems that Johnson's result raises, and its historical and philosophical background are also discussed.


RFC 6363 describes a framework for using Forward Error Correction
(FEC) codes with applications in public and private IP networks to
provide protection against packet loss. The framework supports
applying FEC to arbitrary packet flows over unreliable transport and
is primarily intended for real-time, or streaming, media. However
FECFRAME as per RFC 6363 is restricted to block FEC codes. The present
document extends FECFRAME to support FEC Codes based on a sliding
encoding window, in addition to Block FEC Codes, in a backward
compatible way. During multicast/broadcast real-time content delivery,
the use of sliding window codes significantly improves robustness in
harsh environments, with less repair traffic and lower FEC-related
added latency.


The respective roles of the windkessel effect, which is related to the vessel compliance, and of the returning pressure wave, which is reflected off peripheral resistances, in generating the total diastolic blood flow in the ascending aorta (VT: coronary + flow through the upper part of the ascending aorta) were assessed under physiological conditions. In ten healthy young men (21-30 years), magnetic resonance phase mapping was used to assess non-invasively both blood flow and vessel cross-sectional area (CSA) at the upper part of the ascending aorta. Measurements of blood flow velocities and CSAs were carried out over complete cardiac cycles, with a 30 ms resolution time. The total diastolic blood flow volume (VT) was significantly greater than the diastolic blood flow volume related to the windkessel effect (Vw). Consequently, since the windkessel effect could not account for the whole diastolic blood flow volume, the difference was attributed to the diastolic blood flow volume related to the reflected pressure wave (Vpw). The mean and SD of Vw and Vpw were estimated to be 4.34 +/- 1.94 ml/cycle and 6.80 +/- 2.40 ml/cycle (n = 10), respectively, for a measurement slice placed at 5.12 cm (on average) from the aortic valve and a mean coronary diastolic blood flow volume assumed to be equal to 4 ml/cardiac cycle in all subjects. The present non-invasive MR phase mapping study indicates that the windkessel effect and the reflected pressure wave might play a similar role in generating the total diastolic blood flow in the ascending aorta, under physiological conditions. Furthermore, pathophysiologic implications are discussed.


We evaluated the hypothesis that impaired sarcolemmal function associated with exaggerated potassium release, impaired potassium uptake, or both may contribute to exertional fatigue and abnormal circulatory responses to exercise in McArdle disease (MD). The cellular mechanism of exertional fatigue and muscle injury in MD is unknown but likely involves impaired function of the ATPases that couple ATP hydrolysis to cellular work, including the muscle sodium potassium pump (Na+K+-ATPase). However, the concentration of muscle Na+K+ pumps in MD is not known, and no studies have related exercise increases in blood potassium concentrations to muscle Na+K+ pump levels. We measured muscle Na+K+ pumps (3H-ouabain binding) and plasma K+ in response to 20 minutes of cycle exercise in six patients with MD and in six sex-, age-, and weight-matched sedentary individuals. MD patients had lower levels of 3H-ouabain binding (231 ± 18 pmol/g w.w., mean ± SD, range, 210 to 251) than control subjects (317± 37, range, 266 to 371, p < 0.0004), higher peak increases in plasma potassium in response to 45 ± 7 W cycle exercise(MD, 1.00 ± 0.15 mmol/L; control subjects, 0.48 ± 0.09;p < 0.0001), and mean exercise heart rate responses to exercise that were 45 ± 12 bpm greater than control subjects. Our results indicate that Na+K+ pump levels are low in MD patients compared with healthy subjects and identify a limitation of potassium reuptake that could result in sarcolemmal failure during peak rates of membrane activation and may promote exaggerated potassium-activated circulatory responses to submaximal exercise. The mechanism of the low Na+K+ pump concentrations in MD is unknown but may relate to deconditioning or to disruption of a close functional relationship between membrane ion transport and glycolysis.


This article presents a reconceptualization of the role of culture in the attainment of equality of educational opportunity, and a discussion of how the use of culture in education can be a vehicle of either liberation or oppression. It shifts the focus of educational problem solving from that of victim analysis or the analysis of minority deficits to an examination of the forces of racism and oppression as they have been and are reflected in education. The use of culture as a tool for liberation is discussed.


Public health clients aged 65 years and older were randomly allocated to receive an intervention by a public health nurse during a home visit, promoting either safety behaviours or influenza immunization. Sixty-eight clients reported making a total of 103 safety changes, with almost equal proportions making changes in the safety and influenza groups (21.9% vs. 18.3%). A higher percentage of males (25.0%) than females (17.3%) reported making safety changes following the intervention. Further research should focus on the effectiveness of safety promotion strategies which are expanded to include seniors participation, policy development and community planning and design.


Background. Lipomas are common superficial soft tissue tumors of mature adipocytes. In contrast, well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma typically presents in the retroperitoneum as large masses. We provide clinicopathologic and follow-up details of 9 retroperitoneal/intra-abdominal benign lipomatous tumors (BLT) and discuss the utility of ancillary fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in distinguishing from their malignant counterparts. Design. Clinicopathologic details and histology of 9 intra-abdominal and retroperitoneal lipomas were studied along with ancillary CD10 immunohistochemistry (IHC) and FISH for MDM2 and CDK4 amplification. Results. There were 6 females and 3 males. Median age at diagnosis was 52 years (range 36-81 years). Seven were identified incidentally and 2 presented with primary complaints. On imaging, 7 were considered suspicious for liposarcoma. Grossly, the tumors ranged from 3.4 to 41.2 cm (median 16.5 cm). Histologically, all cases showed well-differentiated BLT, further classified as lipoma (n = 7; 1 with metaplastic ossification, 2 with prominent vessels, and 4 ordinary lipomas) and lipoma-like hibernoma (n = 2)-the latter 2 showed intramuscular lesions with interspersed brown fat. CD10 IHC showed strong staining in the 2 hibernomas, whereas the staining was weak in the remaining. MDM2 and CDK4 amplification were negative by FISH in all. Follow-up (median 18 months) did not show recurrence on clinical or imaging evaluation. Conclusion. Retroperitoneal/intra-abdominal BLT are extremely rare and are indistinguishable clinically and radiographically from liposarcoma. This necessitates molecular confirmation even when the histology is convincingly benign, for a confident diagnosis. Our cohort shows that conservative excision without removal of abutted organs is sufficient in most cases.


In this paper, we present the results of an experimental study on the influence of the lateral misalignment between the axes of the annular electron beam and the cavity on the performance of a 1-MW 140-GHz gyrotron. The subject of the study is of practical interest. On one hand, the discrepancy between numerical simulations of the gyrotron performance and experimental results could by partially attributed to the beam misalignment. On the other, it is in practice very difficult to reach the necessary tolerances in series production of high-power high-frequency (>100 GHz) gyrotrons. The problem actually will become more demanding with the increase of the operating frequency of the working mode because the required accuracy scales with the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave. It is shown that a large displacement of the annular beam from the cavity axis may lead to the excitation of a competing mod which is not excited under normal conditions. The excitation of the main mode is observed, however, at a beam-cavity displacement of up to 0.8 mm.


To the Editor.— In a recent article, Gold and Pearsall 1 commented, "Patients seen for evaluation of depression may have either a primary affective disorder or one secondary to some medical illness." I am writing to report that depression is commonly related to prolonged or repeated courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics or to birth control pills, which promote the overgrowth of Candida albicans on mucous membranes. 2,3 Although mechanisms involved still have not been clearly elucidated, it appears that toxins produced by excessive Candida growth affect various parts of the body, including the immune and endocrine systems and neurotransmitters. Depression and other disorders related to C albicans can be suspected from clinical history, followed by a therapeutic response to oral nystatin and a yeast-free, low-carbohydrate diet.


De novo drug discovery of any therapeutic modality (e.g.
antibodies, vaccines or small molecules) historically takes years from
idea/preclinic to the market and it is therefore not a short-term
solution for the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Therefore, drug
repurposing – the discovery novel indication areas for already approved
drugs - is perhaps the only approach able to yield a short term
relieve. Here we describe computational screening results suggesting
that certain members of the drug class of gliptins are inhibitors of the
 two SARS-CoV-2 proteases 3CLpro and PLpro. The oral bioavailable
antidiabetic drug class of gliptins are safe and have been introduced
clinically since 2006 and used by millions of patients since then. Based
 on our repurposing hypothesis the nitrile containing gliptins deserve
further investigation as potential anti-COVID19 drugs.


COVID-19 pandemic has changed several aspects in human behaviour, whereas population mobility patterns have been strongly affected by social distancing. In parallel, changes in solid waste generation patterns have been reported worldwide. This work assessed the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste generation and collection in São Paulo city, Brazil, the largest city of Latin America. Data on nine types of wastes collected between 2013 and 2021 were obtained, and the quantities of wastes collected before and during the pandemic were compared. These data were also discussed in light of data on COVID-19 cases and rates of social distancing and mobility. An increase in the amount of recyclables collected during the first wave of COVID-19 (March to September 2020) was observed. Decreases in the quantities of construction, demolition and bulky wastes (first wave of COVID-19) and farmers market wastes (second wave – October 2020 to February 2021) were also evidenced. The quantities of medical wastes collected during the pandemic significantly increased. The amount of residential wastes was lower than the mean for the pre-pandemic period during the first months of COVID-19. Thus, changes in lifestyle and consumption patterns of the population of São Paulo city seem to have affected solid waste generation during the pandemic, which reinforces the need of implementing solid waste management policies based on a diagnostic that characterise and consider these changes.


Cities are exciting, ever changing places that are inherently restless and perpetually in motion. They thrive from being, as Lewis Mumford observed, in a constant "state of dynamic tension and interaction." Urban dynamism promotes the opportunity, diversity, growth and prosperity that define the American Dream. It is precisely because cities are not static that they are places of possibility, none more so than New York, the city that never sleeps. As the poet Langston Hughes understood, "New York is truly the dream city, city of towers near God, city of hopes and visions." (1) The African American experience in New York from 1919 to 1945 provides perspective on the "'dynamic tensions" of the American city and the hopes so central to the American Dream. It encompasses various forms of movement including the physical movement uptown, the cultural movement of the Harlem Renaissance, the social protest movement of Marcus Garvey and the jobs protest movement led by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. finally, the violence of the 1935 and 1943 riots expose the paradoxes of movement--of progress contrasted with stagnation, of dreams dashed by frustration. Together, these developments reflect the complexity of urban life--the inherent conflict between the politicians and the people, majorities and minorities, dreams and realities. They demonstrate the power of art, activism and anger to shape and reshape the city. They expose the core of what jazz musicians of this period labeled the Big Apple--a city that was shiny on the outside but could be quite rotten on the inside. Most importantly, they capture the creativity, persistence and resilience of urbanites determined to be, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, "both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face." (2) Since being brought to New Amsterdam as slaves by the Dutch West India Company in the 1620s, African Americans were central to the development of the colony and the state. They were farmers and artisans, builders and cooks, soldiers and journalists, politicians and reformers, teachers and preachers. Against great odds, they strived, struggled and survived, forever seeking what Du Bois called, "a mountain path to Canaan." Before and after New York State emancipation in 1827, African Americans met adversity by promoting community on the one hand and protesting against discrimination on the other hand. (3) Protest was necessitated by prejudice, a legacy of New York's deep involvement in slavery and the slave trade. The violent recriminations of the Negro Conspiracy of 1741 followed by the vicious attacks of whites against blacks in the anti-abolition riots of 1834, the Draft Riots of 1863, the race riots of 1900, 1905 and 1910 framed a long, sorry history of abuse. As African Americans were pushed out of jobs and neighborhoods by successive waves of European immigrants, they moved up Manhattan Island from the Battery to Greenwich Village to the overcrowded, tension filled West Side neighborhoods of Hell's Kitchen, the Tenderloin and San Juan Hill. (4) At the same time, African Americans mobilized to address and articulate their grievances. Black New Yorkers played a significant role in the Underground Railroad and the abolition movement. While challenging discrimination in the courts, they established Freedom's Journal, the first early nineteenth century African American newspaper, and the New York Age, the foremost late nineteenth century African American newspaper. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed in 1910 followed by the National Urban League in 1911. Together with the work of smaller organizations and local churches, these efforts helped build community, develop leaders, and nurture activism. (5) In the early twentieth century, migration further uptown signaled a new phase of African American history in Gotham. …


Author(s): Green, Erik | Advisor(s): Cruz, Cindy | Abstract: This research uses a phenomenological methodology to ask: how do gay men in the United States experience becoming socialized into gay communities, and what is the role of language in that experience? Rooted in educational, language socialization, and linguistic theory, I ultimately center my work around educational researchers Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger (1991), who have constructed a theory around situated learning and legitimate peripheral participation. Conceptualizing a "gay community" as a site for informal education and situated learning, I position socialization into the community as the development of identity; and as Lave and Wenger (1991) assert, "learning involves the construction of identities" (p. 53). For my research, I therefore examine the role language plays in the experience of socialization. In employing a phenomenological perspective, I drew on the concept of Heuristic Inquiry (Douglass and Moustakas, 1985; Moustakas, 1990; Patton, 2002), where the researcher asks "what is my experience of this phenomenon and the essential experience of others who also experience this phenomenon intensely?" (Patton, 2002, p. 107). Participants were solicited from three local gay sports groups on a self-selecting, voluntary basis, using nonproportional quota sampling to get 17 participants, representing a variety of ages, race/ethnicities, education levels, and childhood social-economic statuses. Within a phenomenological methodology, qualitative methods were used for data collection, specifically semi-structured in-depth interviews, supplemented by participatory and non-participatory observations. Open coding was then utilized to analyze the data. Results showed that participants did engage in legitimate peripheral participation practices in their community socialization processes, and highlighted shared experiences, humor, and what I describe as "gender play" as their primary language practices within those communities. There also appeared to be a connection to the acceptance (if not the personal practice) of these linguistic practices, the person's perceived "outness", and their own self-reported connection (or lack thereof) to the "gay community".


The bioavailability of naphthalene present as a component of a complex nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) comprised by nine aromatic compounds was investigated. Specifically, the effects of naphthalene mass transfer from the NAPL to the aqueous phase on rates of its microbial degradation were examined. The investigations were conducted using a pure culture, ATCC 17484, and a mixed culture of naphthalene-degrading bacteria, the former having been implicated previously in the direct uptake of sorbed naphthalene. The studies were conducted in mass-transfer-limited, segregated-phase reactors (SPRs) in which both the NAPL and aqueous phases were internally well-mixed. A 30-day active biodegradation period was preceded and followed by a 5-7-day period devoid of bioactivity, during which time the rates and extents of mass transfer of components from the NAPL to the aqueous phase were quantified. The NAPL-phase naphthalene mass depletion profiles during biodegradation were compared to those predicted by assuming maximum mass depletion under mass-transfer-limited conditions using both pre- and post-biodegradation dissolution rate and equilibrium parameters. The observed mass depletion rates were high during the initial stages of biodegradation but decreased significantly in later stages. Throughout biodegradation, even in the initial rapid stage, mass depletion rates never exceeded maximum predicted rates based on pre-biodegradation mass transfer parameters. Reduced depletion rates in the later stages appear to relate to mass transfer hindrance caused by formation of biofilms at the NAPL-water interface.


Background Ill health and relative poverty are connected. This study aimed to determine first whether the worse health experienced by poorer participants was matched by appropriately greater receipt of healthcare, and second whether any inequalities in receipt occurred at the stage of diagnosis or treatment. Methods The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing is a cohort of participants aged 50 years or older. The relative distributions by wealth of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of five common chronic conditions (angina, diabetes, depression, osteoarthritis, and cataract) were analysed in four waves of data collected from 2002 to 2010. Symptoms were defined for angina using the Rose Angina scale, diabetes using fasting HbA1c level, depression using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, osteoarthritis as self-reported pain and disability, and cataract as self-reported poor vision. Doctors' diagnoses for all conditions were self-reported. Treatment was defined for angina as beta-blocker prescription, osteoarthritis and cataract as surgery, and diabetes and depression as receiving treatment described in quality indicators. Binomial regression models tested variations between the hypothetically poorest and richest individuals for age and sex adjusted symptoms, diagnosis and treatment across the waves, using a slope index of inequality. Results Symptoms were commoner in poorer participants in all 5 conditions at all 4 timepoints, with ORs ranging from 2.5 to 7.0. In angina, depression and diabetes, receipt of diagnosis and treatment was similarly higher in poorer participants, with ORs ranging from 1.9 to 5.6. In osteoarthritis and cataract, receipt of diagnosis and treatment did not show substantial matching variations by wealth, with ORs ranging from 0.8 to 1.9. For example, ORs for diabetes in 2008 were broadly similar for symptoms (2.5 [95% CI 1.5, 4.0], diagnosis (3.8 [3.0, 4.9]) and treatment (3.1 [2.4, 4.0]). In contrast, osteoarthritis ORs were substantially larger for symptoms (6.9 [5.2, 9.1]) than for diagnosis (1.4 [1.2, 1.7]) or treatment (0.8 [0.5, 1.3]). Conclusion Poorer participants were much more likely to have symptoms of osteoarthritis and cataract, but not much more likely to receive a diagnosis. The block in equitable receipt of healthcare was at the stage of diagnosis rather than treatment, and so interventions to reduce inequalities in osteoarthritis and cataract should focus on the diagnostic process. The same relative inequalities in diagnosis were not seen in angina, depression and diabetes, which have all been the target of multiple quality improvement initiatives. These patterns remained consistent over 8 years.


We propose a refinement and a simplification of the behavioural semantics of session types, based on the concepts of compliance and sub-behaviour from the theory of web contracts. We introduce two relations, representing the idea of sub-behaviour from the point of view of the client and the server, respectively, and characterize the sub-behaviour relation (from the literature) as the intersection of the other two. We show that a proper subclass of behaviours, called "session behaviors", and the sub-behaviour relations model session types and subtyping, clarifying the otherwise problematic extension of session type subtyping with concepts from the theory of contracts.


The gut microbiome (GM) contributes to host development, metabolism, and disease. Perturbations in GM composition, elicited through chronic administration of oral antibiotics (Abx) or studied using germ‐free environments, alter bone mass, and microarchitecture. However, studies primarily involved chronic Abx exposure to adult mice prior to evaluating the skeletal phenotype. Children are more prone to infection with bacterial pathogens than adults and are thus treated more frequently with broad‐spectrum Abx; consequently, Abx treatment disproportionately occurs during periods of greatest skeletal plasticity to anabolic cues. Because early‐life exposures may exert long‐lasting effects on adult health, we hypothesized that acute Abx administration during a developmentally sensitive period would elicit lasting effects on the skeletal phenotype. To test this hypothesis, neonatal mice were treated with Abx (P7‐P23; oral gavage) or vehicle (water); GM composition, gut physiology, and bone structural and material properties were assessed in adulthood (8 weeks). We found sexually dimorphic effects of neonatal Abx administration on GM composition, gut barrier permeability, and the skeleton, indicating a negative role for neonatal Abx on bone mass and quality. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 37:2122–2129, 2019


This paper capitalizes on recent advances in the area of non-contact ultrasonic guided wave techniques. The present technique provides a decent method for nondestructive testing of defect thinning simulating a hidden corrosion or FAC(Flow Accelerated Corrosion) in a thin aluminum plate. The proposed approach is based on using EMAT(Electro-magnetic Acoustic Transducer) to generate guided waves and detect the wall thinning without any coupling. Interesting features in the dispersive behavior of selected guided modes are used for the detection of plate thinning. It is shown that mode cut-off measurement allows us to monitor a defect thinning level while a group velocity change can be used to quantify the thinning depth.


Early diagnosis enables patients to derive maximum benefit from highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Primary care practitioners can play a key role in the timely identification of HIV infection.


Background: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are small molecular mass substances, which exhibit high-vapor pressures, low boiling points, and lipophilic character. VOCs are produced by all organisms including eukaryotic microbes like yeast, whose volatile metabolites are for centuries exploited for examples as flavors in bread, beer, and wine. Notably, while the applications of VOCs are many, the knowledge on their biochemical synthesis is still limited.Objective: We review here the current information of yeast volatile metabolites and techniques to further explore the VOC landscape made possible by improvements of the analytical possibilities, regarding sampling frequency, identification, and quantification and the development to computationally interpret (high-throughput) data. Especially possibilities for online and even real-time analysis should trigger new experimental approaches that elucidate the biochemistry as well as the regulation of VOC synthesis. Baker's yeast is here the organism of choice as the genetic inventory can be linked to VOC formation and with this in hand improved applications can be envisaged. The physical, chemical or biological properties make many VOCs interesting targets for different industrial sectors while their natural function as semiochemicals or in defense mechanisms can be exploited to engineer synthetic microbial communities or to develop new antibiotics.Conclusion: VOCs produced by microbes including yeast are a chemical diverse group of compounds with highly different applications. The new analytical techniques briefly summarized here will enable the use of VOCs in even broader applications including human health monitoring and bioprocess control. We envisage a bright future for VOC research and for the resulting applications.


Parlange and Brutsaert (1987) derived a modified Boussinesq equation to account for the capillary effect on water table dynamics in unconfined aquifers. Barry et al. (1996) solved this equation subject to a periodic boundary condition. Their solution shows significant influence of capillarity on water table fluctuations, which evolve to finite‐amplitude standing waves at the high frequency limit. Here we propose a new governing equation for the water table, which considers both horizontal and vertical flows in an unsaturated zone of finite thickness. An approximate analytical solution for periodic water table fluctuations based on the new equation was derived. In agreement with previous results, the analytical solution shows that the unsaturated zone's storage capacity permits water table fluctuations to propagate more readily than predicted by the Boussinesq equation. Furthermore, the new solution reveals a capping effect of the unsaturated zone on both the amplitude and phase of the water table fluctuations as well as the water table overheight. Due to the finite thickness of the unsaturated zone, the capillary effect on water table fluctuations is modified mainly with reduced amplitude damping and phase shift.


We have studied the magnetic properties of 100 nm thick ZnO thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering in different oxygen partial pressures (ratio of oxygen pressure to total pressure in deposition chamber, P Oxy). Only the films fabricated at P Oxy below ∼ 0.5 show room temperature ferromagnetism. The saturation magnetization at room temperature is initially found to increase as P Oxy increases and reaches maximum value of ∼ 5 emu/gm at P Oxy ∼ 0.3 and then starts to decrease and becomes diamagnetic for P Oxy g 0.5. From small angle XRD study of structural properties of the films, we find that the lattice stress developed in the film along c-axis also exhibits a similar behavior with the variation of P Oxy. Thus, both the room temperature ferromagnetism and lattice stress appear to originate from the intrinsic defects present in the sample.


PSYCHOLOGY
In interpersonal situations, conflicts are inevitable and tempers can flare, sometimes with long-lasting and deleterious consequences for one's psyche. Coming to grips with emotional upset has been pursued via talk-based therapies, and Kross et al. suggest one way that these interventions might be focused for greater benefit. Translating negative experiences into abstract or intellectualized representations may run the risk of suppressing and avoiding the very reasons for the distress, yet opening the door to reliving the emotionally troubling events may lead to destructive and iterative rumination. In two experiments, the authors show that adopting the viewpoint of an observer while continuing to attend fully to theaffective components of the experience can help to process negative emotions, perhaps by yoking the autonomic arousal system (hot) to cognitive control circuits (cool). — GJC

Psychol. Sci. 16 , 709 (2005).


Beam Spin Asymmetry (BSA) is studied in the Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) using CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab and longitudinally polarized electron beam with 4.8 GeV energy. This asymmetry is directly proportional to the imaginary part of the scattering amplitude, which relates it to the Generalized Parton distribution functions. Reaction ep → epX is studied. A fit to the line shape of the missing mass squared distribution of (ep) is used to extract the number of single photon final states in each kinematical bin for both helicities of the beam and for the helicity sum. DVCS beam spin asymmetry is measured in several bins of Q 2 and t. The Q 2 and the t-dependences of the sin &phis; moment of the asymmetry is extracted for the first time.


: It has long been recognized that folate deficiency is associated with impaired cognitive function, particularly in older adults. Moreover, folate deficiency contributes to the symptoms of clinical depression and negatively influences the efficacy of antidepressant medications. The pathophysiological mechanisms by which folate deficiency influences cognition and depressive mood are not clearly understood, but may be mediated by decreased intracellular concentration of the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine in the brain and increased concentration of the putative vascular toxin homocysteine in the blood (hyperhomocysteinemia). Folic acid fortification of flour in the United States, intended to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, has been in effect since January 1, 1998. The program has proven to be highly successful having lowered the prevalence of folate deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia, as well as the incidence of neural tube defects. An important question is whether associations between folate status, cognition, and depression remain significant. In this presentation, the evidence supporting the relationships between folate status, cognition, and depression will be summarized. In addition, epidemiological data will be presented from the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA), a community-based cohort study of physical and cognitive function in Latino Americans age 60 years and older, that indicate folate status remains a significant determinant of cognitive function and depressive mood despite the success of folic acid fortification.


America had a radically different relationship with drugs a century ago. Drug prohibitions were few, and while alcohol was considered a menace, the public regularly consumed substances that are widely demonized today. Heroin was marketed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and marijuana was available as a tincture of cannabis sold by Parke Davis and Company.

Exploring how this rather benign relationship with psychoactive drugs was transformed into one of confusion and chaos, The Cult of Pharmacology tells the dramatic story of how, as one legal drug after another fell from grace, new pharmaceutical substances took their place. Whether Valium or OxyContin at the pharmacy, cocaine or meth purchased on the street, or alcohol and tobacco from the corner store, drugs and drug use proliferated in twentieth-century America despite an escalating war on "drugs."

Richard DeGrandpre, a past fellow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and author of the best-selling book Ritalin Nation , delivers a remarkably original interpretation of drugs by examining the seductive but ill-fated belief that they are chemically predestined to be either good or evil. He argues that the determination to treat the medically sanctioned use of drugs such as Miltown or Seconal separately from the illicit use of substances like heroin or ecstasy has blinded America to how drugs are transformed by the manner in which a culture deals with them.

Bringing forth a wealth of scientific research showing the powerful influence of social and psychological factors on how the brain is affected by drugs, DeGrandpre demonstrates that psychoactive substances are not angels or demons irrespective of why, how, or by whom they are used. The Cult of Pharmacology is a bold and necessary new account of America's complex relationship with drugs.


Total lung capacity and its subdivisions, maximal breathing capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second expressed as a percentage of the forced vital capacity, were measured in 130 male and 130 female normal Turkish subjects 8 to 20 years old to establish normal values. The subjects were from different socio-economic communities. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the relationship of the measurements to age and the physical characteristics of the body, and the best regression equations were found for predicting lung volumes and maximal breathing capacity. It was found that all physical characteristics were highly correlated with spirometric measurements. Best prediction formulae were found to be based on body surface area and height. All volumes and maximal breathing capacity were found, in general, to be higher in males. This sex difference in measurements became significant after 16-17 years of age. The difference in height between the two sexes also became significant after 16 years of age. In the same age group and in both sexes, taller subjects had higher lung volumes and maximal breathing capacity. These findings suggest that height and respiratory muscle power are the main factors of sex difference in the measurements. Vital capacity and maximal breathing capacity related to age in both sexes were compared with those of some previous studies and it was found that all data, except a few, fell within the 95% confidence limits of the present study. Similar observations were, in general, made when height was taken into consideration for comparison. The value of FEV1/FVC% was altered little for the age group studied and its mean value was about 86·6 ± 4·2% for males and 87 ± 4·2% for females. There was no significant relationship between age or sex and RV/TLC% and the mean value of this parameter was 23·6 ± 1·9 for males and 25·5 ± 1·6 for females. There was a slight but clinically unimportant difference between the values of these two measurements and the value from the literature.


We explore the inhomogeneous QCD phases at finite density and temperature using a (3+1)-dimensional Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model in the large Nc limit with an additional attractive tensor-tensor interaction channel. For single modulated solutions, the problem reduces to solving the gap equation of a Chiral Gross-Neveu (NJL2) theory, whose minimum solution is a periodic array of chirally twisted kinks. At zero temperature, the minimum solution reduces to the quarkyonic chiral spiral found in quarkyonic matter. The connection between the quarkyonic matter and our (3+1)-dimensional NJL model is rooted on the fact that the first reduces to (1+1)-dimensional QCD and the second to the NJL2 theory, both of which have continuous chiral symmetry and asymptotic freedom. Our findings can be useful to obtain a reliable qualitative picture of the QCD phase diagram and the location of the QCD critical point in the technically challenging region of intermediate densities and temperatures.


Sea ice type is an important factor for accurately calculating sea ice parameters such as sea ice concentration, sea ice area and sea ice thickness using satellite remote sensing data. In this study, sea ice in the Weddell Sea was classified from scatterometer data by the histogram threshold method and the Spreen model method, and evaluated and validated with the Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate (ASPeCt) sea ice type ship-based observations. The results show that the two methods can both distinguish multi-year (MY) ice and first-year (FY) ice during the ice growth season, and that the histogram threshold method has a relatively larger MY ice classification extent than the Spreen model. The classification accuracy of the histogram threshold method is 77.8%, while the Spreen model method accuracy is 80.3% compared with the ship-based observations, thus indicating that the Spreen model method is better for discriminating MY ice from FY ice from scatterometer data. These results provide a basis and reference for further retrieval of long-time sea ice type information for the whole Antarctica. Citation: Gao X, Pang X P, Ji Q. Sea ice classification in the Weddell Sea based on scatterometer data. Adv Polar Sci, 2017, 28(3): 196–203, doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2017.3.00196


The Programme for International Student Assessment – PISA – is the most ambitious endeavour of large-scale education systems evaluation ever implemented. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – OECD – launched this exercise for the first time in 2000, and in the 2012 edition 65 education systems were assessed. According to OECD, the programme "[...] is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students." And, "[...] tests are designed to assess to what extent students at the end of compulsory education, can apply their knowledge to real-life situations and be equipped for full participation in society." Albeit being a prestigious programme, entrenched in sound theoretical grounds, and notwithstanding all the efforts made by PISA experts to mitigate shortcomings, the PISA is not exempt from criticisms of various kinds. When analysing the quotes mentioned above, and taking into consideration the applied methodologies, several questions can be raised and some concerns should be pointed out. The first question arising in the process of evaluation is that any measurement always affects, direct or indirectly, the system itself, disturbing its inner workings. This fact is particularly relevant when social systems are at stake. A second difficulty results when students from very different countries in what regards culture, tradition, and beliefs are subjected to the same test. Although all items are always carefully analysed by panels of experts in order to detect cultural bias or offending interpretations, there is no complete guarantee that the final set of items is adequate to evaluate all students. Another question regarding the fairness of PISA results is the fact that a paper-and-pencil (or computer) test, limited to three disciplinary domains, cannot encompass the possibly rich, diverse, and unsuspected knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students. There are also technical criticisms regarding the adopted approaches and methodologies, from the utilization of the Rasch model to negative remarks about the way data are collected and questions are coded. Some of what could be considered advantages of PISA – the literacy based instead of a curriculum based approach, the assessment of 15-year-old students instead of a particular school year pupils, and the definition of a large set of indicators, as is the case of ESCS – have been also severely


Purpose: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive cancer with frequent metastasis and death with few effective therapies. Because programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is frequently expressed in MCC, immune checkpoint blockade has been leveraged as treatment for metastatic disease. There is therefore a critical need to understand the relationships between MCPyV status, immune profiles, and patient outcomes. Experimental Design: IHC for CD3, CD8, PD-1, PD-L1, and MCPyV T-antigen (to determine MCPyV status) was performed on 62 primary MCCs with annotated clinical outcomes. Automated image analysis quantified immune cell density (positive cells/mm2) at discrete geographic locations (tumor periphery, center, and hotspot). T-cell receptor sequencing (TCRseq) was performed in a subset of MCCs. Results: No histopathologic variable associated with overall survival (OS) or disease-specific survival (DSS), whereas higher CD3+ (P = 0.004) and CD8+ (P = 0.037) T-cell density at the tumor periphery associated with improved OS. Higher CD8+ T-cell density at the tumor periphery associated with improved DSS (P = 0.049). Stratifying MCCs according to MCPyV status, higher CD3+ (P = 0.026) and CD8+ (P = 0.015) T-cell density at the tumor periphery associated with improved OS for MCPyV+ but not MCPyV− MCC. TCRseq revealed clonal overlap among MCPyV+ samples, suggesting an antigen-specific response against a unifying antigen. Conclusions: These findings establish the tumor-associated immune infiltrate at the tumor periphery as a robust prognostic indicator in MCC and provide a mechanistic rationale to further examine whether the immune infiltrate at the tumor periphery is relevant as a biomarker for response in ongoing and future checkpoint inhibitor trials in MCC. Clin Cancer Res; 22(22); 5553–63. ©2016 AACR.


Objective To conduct a needs assessment for lay health workers and non-physician healthcare professionals [i.e., community health workers (CHW) and lung health professionals who spend more time face-to-face with tobacco-related disparity populations] to describe current gaps in tobacco cessation practices and knowledge. Methods A 46-item needs assessment survey was developed to understand knowledge, practices, and confidence about tobacco cessation among non-physician health professionals in a large, urban city in the U.S. Participants, recruited from local community-based organizations and email listservs, completed the online or paper survey, which included a 10-item investigator-initiated tobacco knowledge questionnaire. Results About 61.5% of participants (N = 53) asked each client/patient about tobacco use at initial visit, 41.8% reported extreme likelihood of discussing tobacco during a visit, and 43.1% reported addressing tobacco use directly. Despite assisting with cessation, tobacco-related knowledge and confidence was low, with respondents scoring an average of 4.08 out of 10 (SD = 2.21) on the tobacco knowledge questionnaire. Conclusion There was a clear lack of knowledge about tobacco cessation in the U.S. among non-physician healthcare professionals. These professionals could benefit from trainings that are relevant to their model of care and better equip them to assist the disparity populations that they serve.


Mobile wallets replicate physical wallets on a mobile device, in which users can store different payment instruments (e.g., cards, transfers) to make mobile payments. As the mobile wallet is adopted, a mobile payment scheme emerges, with its users as elements in a network of transfers. In this article, I study the mobile payment scheme of Movii— the first fintech firm in Colombia operating under a financial non-banking license for electronic deposits and payments. Based on a unique dataset of bilateral transfers between Movii's mobile wallet users, I build, visualize and analyze Movii's network, daily from November 18, 2017, to November 25, 2020. Besides the anticipated increase in the number of users and the value of transfers, the visual and quantitative complexity of the network of transfers increases over time. This increase in complexity is likely to be linked to the adoption of Movii's mobile wallet, which results in users finding new ways to use mobile payments beyond person-to-person transfers, including person-to-business and business-to-business. Also, results suggest the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the evolution of Movii's mobile payments scheme.


We propose a new dynamic token-based distributed synchronization algorithm that utilizes a new technique called optimistic broadcasting (optcasting) to improve efficiency. Briefly, an optcast message is a reliable unicast one that can also be heard by nodes other than its designated destination. Our algorithm manages pending token requesters by a distributed queue, and optcasts a direction towards the current queue end to help new requesters finding the queue end more quickly. Simulated experimental results indicate that our optcast algorithm outperforms the already fast Chang-Singhal-Liu (1990) (CSL) algorithm by up to 36%, especially for large systems of many processor nodes and under high synchronization loads. In addition, optcasting is highly robust and resistant to message loss, retaining at least 63% coverage even when the message loss rate approaches 100%.


OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Although parent involvement is recognized as an integral autism intervention component, and two-thirds of children are currently raised in 2-parent families, the majority of ASD parent research to date has focused on mother-implemented interventions, and fathers have been largely overlooked. However, fathers use interaction styles and language models that are different from mothers and may benefit children with ASD in unique ways. Thus there is a critical need in the field to expand our understanding of the potential contributions of various caregivers to communication outcomes. This investigation aimed to address this void in the research literature and contribute to clinical practice by including fathers in parent-implemented intervention, and adapting parent-implemented autism intervention to fit paternal interaction and communication styles. Specifically, this pilot study investigated the effects of a father-mediated intervention on parent use of responsive verbal and play strategies. Distal effects on child communication and pre-post changes in parental stress levels were also investigated. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: A single subject, multiple baselines across strategies experiment was conducted with one dyad (i.e., father, child with ASD). In-home father coaching sessions were delivered weekly, targeting 4 responsive strategies (i.e., follow-in comments, follow-in directives, symbolic object play, rough-tumble play). Single subject designs are particularly suitable for autism interventions, as they allow for experimental control with participants who are from heterogeneous populations (McReynolds and Kearn, 1983). Child participant was 3 years, 1 month at the start of intervention and had previously received a received community diagnosis of ASD by a psychologist. Throughout the duration of the study, the child participant attended part-day community-based day care and received 20 hours per week of Applied Behavioral Analysis intervention both in-home and community daycare, as well as occupational therapy and speech-language therapy for 1 hour per week. The participating father was a biological parent who resided with the child continuously since birth. In addition, the father had no other formal parent training in communication intervention before participating. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The results of the father-implemented intervention program yielded positive results for both father and child participant. The father quickly achieved a high level of competency using 3 of the 4 targeted strategies (i.e., follow-in comments, follow-in directives, and rough-and-tumble/physical play). Follow-in comments were used more frequently than follow-in directives and rough-and-tumble play strategies were used more frequently than symbolic play. Child use of single words increased over baseline and beginning use of multiword utterances was documented. Pre-post changes in parental stress for participating father and his spouse were not significant, however patterns of change across Parental Stress Index subscales scores were noted. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This pilot investigation provided information regarding the treatment efficacy of a clinically relevant instructional program designed to enhance fathers' ability to use responsive strategies to increase communicative acts or children with ASD. The results of this investigation advance clinical practice in the ASD field by providing intervention data relating to the efficacy of father-implemented instructional programs on child communication goals.


Noncontacting inductive sensors are applicable on a large scale for position detection or travel measurement in industrial applications. Reasons for such broad acceptance in many sectors of industry are noncontact and wear-free sensing of the target (any metal object), reliability and robustness, resistance to fouling, water tightness and compact size. The present work is intended to be a systematic, complete, and consistent presentation of the technological innovations, recent implementations and current trends regarding the analog distance and travel sensing offered by noncontacting inductive sensors for industrial applications. It starts with the fundamentals of inductive sensing and presents the physical basics gained by modern analytic and simulation methods, as well as high-level integrated circuits for inductive sensors. The following sections deal with present-day inductive analog proximity sensors and with the distinctive technological innovation offered by the new inductive linear displacement sensors and with miniaturization results achieved through consistent integration.


BACKGROUND
Salivary cortisol reflects the free and biologically active fraction of cortisol in serum. We evaluated the usefulness of salivary cortisol measurements in the assessment of Cushing's syndrome and adrenal insufficiency.

METHODS
Publications about salivary cortisol were found in PubMed (search terms: salivary cortisol and Cushing's syndrome or adrenal insufficiency). Salivary cortisol was measured at nighttime (between 10 pm and midnight) in parallel with conventional diagnostic procedures in patients evaluated for Cushing's syndrome at Haukeland University Hospital. Cortisol was analysed in saliva and serum for patients evaluated for adrenal insufficiency by Synacthen testing.

RESULTS
Nighttime saliva cortisol has similar sensitivity and specificity for Cushing's syndrome as other screening methods.

INTERPRETATION
The method is simple and we recommend saliva cortisol as a first line screening method for Cushing's syndrome. The method may simplify and improve the assessment of adrenal insufficiency.


Low-achieving students in many school districts are retained in a grade in order to allow them to gain the academic or social skills that teachers believe are necessary to succeed academically. This practice is highly controversial, with many researchers claiming that it leads to higher dropout rates although selection issues have complicated previous analyses. In this paper, we use a regression discontinuity design to examine the impact of grade retention on high school completion. We find that grade retention leads to a modest increase in the probability of dropping out for older students, but has no significant effect on younger students.


: The capacity of merthiolate (also known as thimerosal), a mercury organic compound used as preservative in vaccines, to induce chromosomal aberrations was studied in vivo in experiments on mice. The metaphasic method of the registration of anomalies was used. In a dose of 3.3 micrograms/kg body weight merthiolate did not produce a damaging effect on the chromosomes of marrow, spleen and embryonal liver cells. Cyclophosphamide (in a dose of 25-50 micrograms/kg) used as positive control induced a significant rise in the frequency of chromosomal transformations.


Man-made objects are largely dominated by a few typical features that carry special characteristics and engineered meanings. State-of-the-art deformation tools fall short at preserving such characteristic features and global structure. We introduce iWIRES, a novel approach based on the argument that man-made models can be distilled using a few special 1D wires and their mutual relations. We hypothesize that maintaining the properties of such a small number of wires allows preserving the defining characteristics of the entire object. We introduce an analyze-and-edit approach, where prior to editing, we perform a light-weight analysis of the input shape to extract a descriptive set of wires. Analyzing the individual and mutual properties of the wires, and augmenting them with geometric attributes makes them intelligent and ready to be manipulated. Editing the object by modifying the intelligent wires leads to a powerful editing framework that retains the original design intent and object characteristics. We show numerous results of manipulation of man-made shapes using our editing technique.


This work presents a finite element-based strategy for exterior acoustical problems based on an assumed pressure form that favours outgoing waves. The resulting governing equation, weak formulation, and finite element formulation are developed both for coupled and uncoupled problems. The developed elements are very similar to conventional elements in that they are based on the standard Galerkin variational formulation and use standard Lagrange interpolation functions and standard Gaussian quadrature. In addition and in contrast to wave envelope formulations and their extensions, the developed elements can be used in the immediate vicinity of the radiator/scatterer. The method is similar to the perfectly matched layer (PML) method in the sense that each layer of elements added around the radiator absorbs acoustical waves so that no boundary condition needs to be applied at the outermost boundary where the domain is truncated. By comparing against strategies such as the PML and wave-envelope methods, we show that the relative accuracy, both in the near and far-field results, is considerably higher.


Ion imprinting technology (IIT) aims to recognize ions while retaining the unique virtues of molecular imprinting technology (MIT), namely structure predictability, recognition specificity and application universality. Owing to special coordination or electrostatic interactions, ion imprinted polymers (IIPs) are generally compatible with aqueous media and have advantages over most molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). IIPs can achieve effective identification of water-soluble ions, especially heavy metals and radioactive elements that cause increasing concerns. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances of ion imprinting, focusing on the current status and challenges in fundamentals and applications that involve almost all types of ions and ion-related molecular imprinting. In addition, various smart strategies are highlighted, such as surface imprinting, stimuli-responsive imprinting, dual/multiple components imprinting, click chemistry, and microwave-assisted heating. In this review, the elemental periodic table is first utilized as a template to introduce ion classification standards for various IIPs, including main groups, transition elements, actinides, rare earths, metalloids, anion imprinting and secondary imprinting. Finally, the challenges and possible solution strategies plus future trends are also proposed (302 references).


A record number of firearm background checks were completed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and during the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Using monthly state-level data, we show that the increase in firearm background check rates in March, 2020 and June, 2020 differ from previous gun-buying events in at least two important ways. First, the increases in the background check rates surrounding COVID-19 and the George Floyd protests are significantly larger than previous gun-buying events. Second, the gun-buying events of 2020 are non-partisan; the effect in Republican-leaning states is statistically indistinguishable from the effect in Democrat-leaning states. We provide evidence that the recent spikes in background checks are not motivated by gun policy uncertainty and a significant fraction of background checks represent first-time gun buyers. We also discuss policy recommendations that may alleviate any negative outcomes associated with expanded gun ownership during an unprecedented pandemic.


The horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans (L.), is one of the most important external parasites of cattle in North America and elsewhere. Horn fly adults have an intimate association with cattle, their primary host. With their often-high numbers and by feeding up to 38 times per day per fly, horn flies stress cattle. The resulting productivity loss is valued at more than 2.3 billion USD in the United States. Insecticides are commonly used to mitigate direct injury from feeding and indirect injury from disease transmission. This paper discusses horn fly biology, distribution, and management. Emphasis is on promising new approaches in novel insecticides, repellents, biological control, vaccines, animal genetics, and sterile insect technology that will lead to effective preventative tactics and the integration of smart technologies with horn fly management. We conclude with a discussion of research needs necessary to shift horn fly integrated pest management to an emphasis on preventative tactics and the precision use of reactive techniques.


The television game show The Price Is Right is used as a laboratory to test consistency of suboptimal behavior in an environment with substantial economic incentives. On the show, contestants compete sequentially in two closely related games. We document that contestants who use transparently suboptimal strategies in the objectively easier game use the optimal strategy almost all of the time in the game that is much more difficult to solve. Further, there is no consistency in the mistakes that are made in the two games. One cannot predict, conditional on play in one game, whether play in the other game will be optimal. The results have implications for the consistency of behaviorally based economic theory that relies on evidence derived in a laboratory setting.


ABSTRACT The Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD18 gene is essential for postreplication repair but is not required for homologous recombination (HR), which is the major double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway in yeast. Accordingly, yeast rad18 mutants are tolerant of camptothecin (CPT), a topoisomerase I inhibitor, which induces DSBs by blocking replication. Surprisingly, mammalian cells and chicken DT40 cells deficient in Rad18 display reduced HR-dependent repair and are hypersensitive to CPT. Deletion of nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), a major DSB repair pathway in vertebrates, in rad18-deficient DT40 cells completely restored HR-mediated DSB repair, suggesting that vertebrate Rad18 regulates the balance between NHEJ and HR. We previously reported that loss of NHEJ normalized the CPT sensitivity of cells deficient in poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1). Concomitant deletion of Rad18 and PARP1 synergistically increased CPT sensitivity, and additional inactivation of NHEJ normalized this hypersensitivity, indicating their parallel actions. In conclusion, higher-eukaryotic cells separately employ PARP1 and Rad18 to suppress the toxic effects of NHEJ during the HR reaction at stalled replication forks.


Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome is a condition that has a variety of signs and symptoms affecting many tissues. People with Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome have clouding of the lens of the eyes (cataracts) that usually develops soon after birth or in early childhood. Affected individuals also have muscle weakness (myopathy) and difficulty coordinating movements (ataxia), which may impair their ability to walk. People with MarinescoSjögren syndrome may experience further decline in muscle function later in life.