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Abstract:For decades, scholars have sought to understand individuals’ identification with sport teams. As a result, we have great knowledge of how team identification influences a variety of attitudinal and behavioral outcomes as well as the impact of identifying with a team on an individual’s sense of self. However, nearly all studies of team identification have dealt with men’s sport rather than women’s sport. The authors addressed this issue in the current study by using the Delphi technique to solicit expert opinion on the lack of team identification research in women’s sport, including reasons for the lack of research, the extent to which context matters in studying team identification, and potential contributions to the team identification literature by examining the concept in women’s sport settings. The authors conclude by discussing experts’ opinions, the extent to which some views may underpin the lack of research, and implications for future studies of team identification.

Low excess optical loss, combined absorption and scatter loss, is a key performance metric for any high-reflectance coating technology and is currently one of the main limiting factors for the application of optical resonators in the mid-infrared spectral region. Here we present high-reflectivity substrate-transferred single-crystal GaAs/AlGaAs interference coatings at a center wavelength of 4.54 µm with record-low excess optical loss below 10 parts per million. These high-performance mirrors are realized via a novel microfabrication process that differs significantly from the production of amorphous multilayers generated via physical vapor deposition processes. This new process enables reduced scatter loss due to the low surface and interfacial roughness, while low background doping in epitaxial growth ensures strongly reduced absorption. We report on a suite of optical measurements, including cavity ring-down, transmittance spectroscopy, and direct absorption tests to reveal the optical losses for a set of prototype mirrors. In the course of these measurements, we observe a unique polarization-orientation-dependent loss mechanism which we attribute to elastic anisotropy of these strained epitaxial multilayers. A future increase in layer count and a corresponding reduction of transmittance will enable optical resonators with a finesse in excess of 100,000 in the mid-infrared spectral region, allowing for advances in high-resolution spectroscopy, narrow-linewidth laser stabilization, and ultrasensitive measurements of various light–matter interactions.

AbstractIncreasingly more students with disabilities, including autistic or otherwise neurodiverse students, are studying for degrees in STEM field subjects. In recent years, there has been an increased effort from the geoscience education community to make teaching more accessible and inclusive to these students. However, much of the literature on this topic lacks the voice of the individuals these practices aim to serve. This, combined with the medical, deficit-based understanding of autism typically presented in the literature, has resulted in the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes, along with recommendations that may not actually serve as best practice. Here we present a more accurate and holistic explanation of what autism actually is, using our lived experiences as autistic geoscientists. We then outline a comprehensive framework for best supporting autistic and neurodiverse geoscience students, with a focus on field-based learning. This framework includes three pillars: (a) develop effective communication pathways with autistic students, (b) presume competence and include autistic students in the planning of their own accommodations, and (c) employ strategies for expectation management. We also touch on the importance of recognizing the sensory processing aspects of autism spectrum conditions and suggest strategies for minimizing these difficulties in a field environment. By centering autistic voices in the discussion of how to support autistic geoscience students, we hope to change the narrative of inclusion for this diverse, but significant population.

Marine sponges host diverse communities of microbial symbionts that expand the metabolic capabilities of their host, but the abundance and structure of these communities is highly variable across sponge species. Specificity in these interactions may fuel host niche partitioning on crowded coral reefs by allowing individual sponge species to exploit unique sources of carbon and nitrogen, but this hypothesis is yet to be tested. Given the presence of high sponge biomass and the coexistence of diverse sponge species, the Caribbean Sea provides a unique system in which to investigate this hypothesis. To test for ecological divergence among sympatric Caribbean sponges and investigate whether these trends are mediated by microbial symbionts, we measured stable isotope (d13C and d15N) ratios and characterized the microbial community structure of sponge species at sites within four regions spanning a 1700?km latitudinal gradient. There was a low (median of 8.2 %) overlap in the isotopic niches of sympatric species; in addition, host identity accounted for over 75% of the dissimilarity in both d13C and d15N values and microbiome community structure among individual samples within a site. There was also a strong phylogenetic signal in both d15N values and microbial community diversity across host phylogeny, as well as a correlation between microbial community structure and variation in d13C and d15N values across samples. Together, this evidence supports a hypothesis of strong evolutionary selection for ecological divergence across sponge lineages and suggests that this divergence is at least partially mediated by associations with microbial symbionts.

Marine sponges host diverse communities of microbial symbionts that expand the metabolic capabilities of their host, but the abundance and structure of these communities is highly variable across sponge species. Specificity in these interactions may fuel host niche partitioning on crowded coral reefs by allowing individual sponge species to exploit unique sources of carbon and nitrogen, but this hypothesis is yet to be tested. Given the presence of high sponge biomass and the coexistence of diverse sponge species, the Caribbean Sea provides a unique system in which to investigate this hypothesis. To test for ecological divergence among sympatric Caribbean sponges and investigate whether these trends are mediated by microbial symbionts, we measured stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) ratios and characterized the microbial community structure of sponge species at sites within four regions spanning a 1700 km latitudinal gradient. There was a low (median of 8.2 %) overlap in the isotopic niches of sympatric species; in addition, host identity accounted for over 75% of the dissimilarity in both δ13C and δ15N values and microbiome community structure among individual samples within a site. There was also a strong phylogenetic signal in both δ15N values and microbial community diversity across host phylogeny, as well as a correlation between microbial community structure and variation in δ13C and δ15N values across samples. Together, this evidence supports a hypothesis of strong evolutionary selection for ecological divergence across sponge lineages and suggests that this divergence is at least partially mediated by associations with microbial symbionts.

ABSTRACTThe past several decades have seen a steady increase in the use of atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) in underground mines as sensor technology has advanced and costs for this technology have decreased. The AMS is a reliable tool for early mine fire warning by detecting gaseous products of combustion in underground mines. During a mine fire emergency, mine decision makers rely heavily on prompt and accurate knowledge of the ventilation and fire situation in the mine, such as fire location, fire size, and the spread of smoke to make effective and efficient decisions on firefighting strategies and miner evacuation. Meanwhile, a prediction of the potential for fire development at a later time, such as whether the currently designated mine escapeways will be contaminated by smoke and toxic gases with the progress of the fire, is critical for effective decision making to save lives that are in danger. The AMS monitoring data, including carbon monoxide concentration, airflow rate, smoke spread, etc., can provide information as to whether the smoke has reached the locations where AMS sensors are installed and if a mine-wide smoke spread has occurred. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has undertaken a task to integrate real-time AMS monitoring data with the mine fire simulation program, MFIRE, to simulate and predict the spread of smoke and toxic gas in a ventilation network based on the real-time AMS data. This article reports the developed real-time method for characterizing the size and location of an underground mine fire and for predicting the spread of contaminants throughout the mine ventilation network using sensor data from the AMS.

In the phase 3 RESONATE study, ibrutinib demonstrated superior progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and overall response rate (ORR) compared with ofatumumab in relapsed/refractory CLL patients with high-risk prognostic factors. We report updated results from RESONATE in these traditionally chemotherapy resistant high-risk genomic subgroups at a median follow-up of 19 months. Mutations were detected by Foundation One Heme Panel. Baseline mutations in the ibrutinib arm included TP53 (51%), SF3B1 (31%), NOTCH1 (28%), ATM (19%) and BIRC3 (14%). Median PFS was not reached, with 74% of patients randomized to ibrutinib alive and progression-free at 24 months. The improved efficacy of ibrutinib vs ofatumumab continues in all prognostic subgroups including del17p and del11q. No significant difference within the ibrutinib arm was observed for PFS across most genomic subtypes, although a subset carrying both TP53 mutation and del17p had reduced PFS compared with patients with neither abnormality. Reduced PFS or OS was not evident in patients with only del17p. PFS was significantly better for ibrutinib-treated patients in second-line vs later lines of therapy. The robust clinical activity of ibrutinib continues to show ongoing efficacy and acceptable safety consistent with prior reports, independent of various known high-risk mutations.

Short‐term outcomes of kidney transplantation have improved dramatically, but chronic rejection and regimen‐related toxicity continue to compromise overall patient outcomes. Development of regulatory T cells (Tregs) as a means to decrease alloresponsiveness and limit the need for pharmacologic immunosuppression is an active area of preclinical and clinical investigation. Nevertheless, the immunomodulatory effects of end‐stage renal disease on the efficacy of various strategies to generate and expand recipient Tregs for kidney transplantation are incompletely characterized. In this study, we show that Tregs can be successfully generated from either freshly isolated or previously cryopreserved uremic recipient (responder) and healthy donor (stimulator) peripheral blood mononuclear cells using the strategy of ex vivocostimulatory blockade with belatacept during mixed lymphocyte culture. Moreover, these Tregs maintain a CD3+CD4+CD25+CD127losurface phenotype, high levels of intracellular FOXP3 and significant demethylation of the FOXP3Treg‐specific demethylation region on allorestimulation with donor stimulator cells. These data support evaluation of this simple, brief Treg production strategy in clinical trials of mismatched kidney transplantation. The authors demonstrate that the peripheral blood of uremic patients can generate donor antigen–specific T regulatory cells via an established in vitro costimulation blockade protocol, thereby setting the stage for use of these T regulatory cells as an immunotherapeutic treatment in renal transplantation.

This article addresses the rise of social media in professional sport and the varying ways in which sport organizations have interacted with consumers in the social media environment. We examine one particularly interesting case: The innovative social media marketing practices of the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization, most especially through its twitter account @LAKings. Through the use of digital ethnography, we analyze and interpret official statements produced within the context of the Kings marketing and consumer strategies. We argue that the Los Angeles Kings’ social media strategy illustrates the potential collaborative efforts of an organization and its consumers in a social media space. This “coexistence” between brand and consumer provides the organization an opportunity to encourage relationship development and brand community.

Pancreatic resection is the standard treatment option for patients with stage III pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), yet many studies demonstrate low rates of resection. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether increasing resection rates would result in an increase in average survival in patients with stage III PDA.

Guidelines suggest statin use after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) should be close to universal in patients without safety concerns yet rates are much lower than recommended, decline with patient complexity, and display substantial geographic variation. Trial exclusions have resulted in little evidence to guide statin prescribing for complex patients.

Murine A strain (KkDdLd) sarcoma I (SaI) tumor cells have been transfected with a cloned H-2Kb gene. The resulting clones (SKB clones) stably express high levels of a molecule that is serologically and biochemically indistinguishable from the H-2Kb antigen. SKB clones are not susceptible to cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated lysis by H-2Kb-specific bulk, cloned, or H-2Kb-restricted lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-specific effectors. Survival times of A/J and B10.A mice challenged i.p. with the H-2Kb-expressing transfectants and the parental SaI cells are similar, suggesting that the presence of an allogeneic major histocompatibility complex class I antigen on the surface of this tumor line is insufficient for tumor rejection.

Case:A 61-year-old female with no significant past medical history, except hospitalization for COVID-19 pneumonia complicated by myocarditis ten months prior, presented to the emergency department with worsening chest pain over the last two weeks. The admission electrocardiogram (ECG) was without ischemic changes. The initial impression was that the patient's symptoms were attributed to her prior myocarditis. However, a repeat ECG obtained six hours later, due to worsening chest pain, demonstrated ST-segment elevations in leads V2, I and AVL. Emergent coronary angiography was performed, showing a 90% occlusion of the proximal LAD, which was managed with a drug-eluting stent. Admission platelet count was significantly elevated at 1,049,000mm3, which resulted in a hematology consultation. Her further work up included a positive JAK2-V617F mutation and negative BCR-ABL1 translocation, which confirmed the diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia. During the prior hospitalization for her COVID pneumonia, she underwent invasive coronary angiogram for suspected myocardial infarction in the setting of elevated troponin, which showed a mild, non-obstructive lesion in the proximal LAD. She underwent a cardiac MRI that demonstrated both sub-epicardial and mid-wall late gadolinium enhancement consistent with myocarditis.Discussion:Essential thrombocythemia is a clonal myeloproliferative disease caused by a pathological expansion of megakaryocytes, which results in excess platelet production. Essential thrombocythemia leads to a hematologic hyper-viscosity and subsequent increased risk of vasomotor, thrombotic and hemorrhagic manifestations. Myocardial infarction as the primary clinical presentation of essential thrombocythemia is rare but an important risk factor that should be considered in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes and elevated platelet counts, both with and without traditional cardiovascular risk factors.

Active control and cancellation of residual amplitude modulation (RAM) in phase modulation of an optical carrier is one of the key technologies for achieving the ultimate stability of a laser locked to an ultrastable optical cavity. Furthermore, such techniques are versatile tools in various frequency modulation-based spectroscopy applications. In this Letter we report a simple and robust approach to actively stabilize RAM in an optical phase modulation process. We employ a waveguide-based electro-optic modulator (EOM) to provide phase modulation and implement an active servo with both DC electric field and temperature feedback onto the EOM to cancel both the in-phase and quadrature components of the RAM. This technique allows RAM control on the parts-per-million level where RAM-induced frequency instability is comparable to or lower than the fundamental thermal noise limit of the best available optical cavities.

Despite strong evidence to designate statin use for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as “effective care,” observational studies show that many patients with CVD do not receive statins. This suggests that statin prescribing decisions for complex CVD patients are preference sensitive.

MEMS tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser (MEMS-VCSEL) development, over the past two decades, has primarily focused on communications and spectroscopic applications. Because of the narrow line-width, single-mode operation, monolithic fabrication, and high-speed capability of these devices, MEMS-VCSELs also present an attractive optical source for emerging swept source optical coherence tomography (SSOCT) systems. In this paper, we describe the design and performance of broadly tunable MEMS-VCSELs targeted for SSOCT, emphasizing 1310nm operation for cancer and vascular imaging. We describe the VCSEL structure and fabrication, employing a fully oxidized GaAs/AlxOy mirrors in conjunction with dielectric mirrors and InP-based multi-quantum well active regions. We also describe the optimization of MEMs speed and frequency response for SSOCT. Key results include 1310 nm VCSELs with >120nm dynamic tuning range and imaging rates near 1MHz, representing the widest VCSEL tuning range and some of the fastest swept source imaging rates thus far obtained. We also describe how low-noise semiconductor optical amplification boosts average optical power to the required levels, while maintaining superior OCT imaging quality and state of the art system sensitivity. Finally, we present measured multi-centimeter dynamic coherence length, and discuss the implications of VCSELs for OCT.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Persons at risk for familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) provide a model in which biomarkers can be studied in presymptomatic disease.

If intelligent life were common in the Universe, should we not be aware of it on Earth through contact with advanced space ships and automatic probes? Would we not at least expect to intercept communication signals between space travellers? That this is not found has led to much speculation in the past. Recent discoveries of planets around other stars (called here exoplanets) and, separately, recent discoveries in the evolution of life on Earth, including Homo sapiens, allow this question to be considered again but now with more information than before. This is the subject of the present paper. The study involves aspects of physics and chemistry in combination with biological studies. It is concluded here that the places where technologically capable intelligent life might be expected to be found in our Galaxy are so few that any such “centres of civilisation” must be separated by large distances, probably in excess of 50 light years. If true, this would make the different centres essentially isolated and would suggest that each manifestation of advanced intelligent life is a purely local development. This would agree with our experience of aloneness. Nevertheless, the number of centres throughout the Universe would still be astronomically large, even if each galaxy had only one centre. An hypothesis is proposed which could account for the existence of such centres in this form.If intelligent life were common in the Universe, should we not be aware of it on Earth through contact with advanced space ships and automatic probes? Would we not at least expect to intercept communication signals between space travellers? That this is not found has led to much speculation in the past. Recent discoveries of planets around other stars (called here exoplanets) and, separately, recent discoveries in the evolution of life on Earth, including Homo sapiens, allow this question to be considered again but now with more information than before. This is the subject of the present paper. The study involves aspects of physics and chemistry in combination with biological studies. It is concluded here that the places where technologically capable intelligent life might be expected to be found in our Galaxy are so few that any such “centres of civilisation” must be separated by large distances, probably in excess of 50 light years. If true, this would make the different centres essentially isolated and would suggest that each manifestation of advanced intelligent life is a purely local development. This would agree with our experience of aloneness. Nevertheless, the number of centres throughout the Universe would still be astronomically large, even if each galaxy had only one centre. An hypothesis is proposed which could account for the existence of such centres in this form.

ABSTRACTCoccidioidesspp. (immitisand posadasii) are the causative agents of human coccidioidomycosis. In this study, we developed a novel system to overexpress coccidioidal proteins in a nonpathogenic fungus, Uncinocarpus reesii, which is closely related to Coccidioides. A promoter derived from the heat shock protein gene (HSP60) of Coccidioides posadasiiwas used to control the transcription of the inserted gene in the constructed coccidioidal protein expression vector (pCE). The chitinase gene (CTS1) of C. posadasii, which encodes the complement fixation antigen, was expressed using this system. The recombinant Cts1 protein (rCts1Ur) was induced in pCE-CTS1-transformed U. reesiiby elevating the cultivation temperature. The isolated rCts1Urshowed chitinolytic activity that was identical to that of the native protein and had serodiagnostic efficacy comparable to those of the commercially available antigens in immunodiffusion-complement fixation tests. Using the purified rCts1Ur, 74 out of the 77 coccidioidomycosis patients examined (96.1%) were positively identified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The rCts1Urprotein showed higher chitinolytic activity and slightly greater seroreactivity than the bacterially expressed recombinant Cts1. These data suggest that this novel expression system is a useful tool to produce coccidioidal antigens for use as diagnostic antigens.

AbstractThe industrial developments in the fusion industry will have to overcome numerous technical challenges and will have a strong need for modern information technology (IT) systems.The fusion industry has manifested itself with an unprecedented international collaboration, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Data accumulated in ITER will be the major output of the project and will create the knowledge base for a future fusion power plant. A modern and effective information infrastructure will be critical to the success of the ITER project.To accumulate and maintain the knowledge base at all stages of the project, we propose to build an integrated information system for ITER: ITER Information Plant (IIP). IIP will minimize lost experiment time and accelerate the understanding, interpretation, and planning of fusion experiments. IIP will allow to reap maximum benefits from the project’s scientific and technological achievements, make the ITER results accessible to hundreds of researchers worldwide. This will facilitate collaboration, dramatically increasing the pace of scientific and technological discovery and the rate at which practical use is made of these discoveries.As the first of its kind, the ITER Information Plant could be used in the future as a prototype IT system for national and international fusion projects, in which multicountry collaboration, distributed work sites and operations are catalysts for success.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is believed to involve increased soluble but toxic beta amyloid (Aβ) peptide aggregates, leading to the accumulation of insoluble Aβ deposits, inflammation, oxidative damage, tau pathology and ultimately cognitive deficits. Blocking Aβ formation early should prevent AD, but most interventions are likely to occur after seeding of deposits and tangles and after initiation of the amyloid cascade. In order to identify agents that might suppress both amyloid and the response to amyloid in vivo, we infused toxic soluble Aβ into rat ventricles and screened agents targeting amyloid, oxidative damage and inflammation. The combined NSAID / antioxidant curcumin was found to be most efficacious in reducing amyloid, oxidative damage, inflammation and synaptic marker loss. Similar curcumin benefits were then shown in APPsw transgenic mice. One central mechanism underlying curcumin's reductions in soluble and guanidine-extracted insoluble Aβ appears to be stimulation of phagocytic clearance pathways. Curcumin stimulates amyloid phagocytosis and clearance while exerting net anti-inflammatory activity. Because curcumin and its derivatives (curcuminoids) also protect against the response to amyloid, particularly the oxidative damage and resulting synaptic loss, they appear well suited for AD treatment. Evidence also supports curcumin effects on reducing Aβ aggregation and lowering cholesterol. Low cost, low dose efficacy, low toxicity and multiple potential protective activities make curcumin and its derivatives strong candidates for AD prevention.

It is expected that the research in high-temperature alloy development will reach a critical mass in about five years. This will not only raise the materials science of magnesium to a higher level but will also increase the confidence of the industry in magnesium as a structural performance material. Currently, applications are being actively pursued in United States Council for Automotive Research power train programs and European Council for Automotive R&D engine block programs to develop the technology for elevated-temperature magnesium. More research is still needed in this interesting materials field.

The current use of magnesium components by North American automobile manufacturers is quantified and the metal's physical, mechanical and processing properties are analysed in the context of its potential to supplant steel, Factors that are contributing to the growth in magnesium use include the decreasing price of the metal and recent R&D activity in a number of countries. Nevertheless, the relatively small size of the industry is limiting efforts to overcome negative perceptions and to provide development support for component manufacturers to reduce the risks that they face in changing over to magnesium. aluminium and polymers further.

Coccidioides immitis, the causative agent of San Joaquin Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), produces a urease which has been suggested to contribute to the virulence of this fungal pathogen. Urease catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea and has been proposed to at least partly account for alkalinity of the microenvironment in which C. immitisgrows due to the release of ammonia and ammonium ions. The C. immitisurease was purified to homogeneity (1048-fold) from the mycelial cytosol by chromatographic fractionation. The sequence of 12 N-terminal amino-acid residues of the purified, native polypeptide was identical to that predicted by the translated urease gene sequence which has been reported. The isolated enzyme exhibited a specific activity in the presence of urea of 1750 mol min-1mg-1protein, has a native molecular mass of 450 kDa, revealed a Kmfor urea of 4·1 mM, had a pH optimum of 8·0 and is heat stable. Hydroxyurea, acetohydroxamic acid (AHA) and boric acid each inhibited activity of the purified enzyme. Urease activity was enhanced by the presence of 5-10 mM concentrations of Mg2+or Mn2+, but inhibited by Li+, Ni2+, Cu2+or Zn2+. The reversible urease inhibitor, AHA, blocked enzyme activity in the crude mycelial cytosolic fraction when added at a concentration of 10 mM. On the other hand, 10 mM AHA added to 4-day-old mycelial cultures only partially decreased the amount of ammonium detected in the culture medium. It is evident, therefore, that C. immitisurease activity does not account for the total amount of ammonia secreted during in vitrogrowth of the pathogen. Other metabolic sources of ammonia, which may also contribute to the virulence of C. immitis, are under investigation.