Chuck Gramly: Heart, Commitment, Respect

Chuck Gramly has been an inspiration to several generations of American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreters in the Central Ohio community. His leadership, guidance, and passion for ASL and the Deaf community lives in the hearts of all whom have had the pleasure of knowing him. As an interpreter and interpreter educator, Chuck made his mark on the budding profession of interpreting that has come to be what it is today. Through his teaching, involvement in the local community as well as state and national organizations, Chuck’s life work has ignited a passion in others that boils down to three things: respect for language and community, respect for the profession, and respect for one another

Act like a lady: the impact of gender identity on American Sign Language – English interpreters

In this study, trends in gender-related traits among practitioners of American Sign Language – English interpreting are investigated. The impact of gender identity on practitioners’ perceptions of their role and professional experiences is also explored. Limited research exists to address issues of gender within the American Sign Language – English interpreting field but is largely focused on differences in discourse among male and female practitioners. Data for this study was collected through quantitative and qualitative means: an online survey incorporating the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and interviews with five practitioners of American Sign Language – English interpreting. A review of related literature supported the notion that while societal views of gender have shifted over time, certain qualities and characteristics remain valued for men and women. Research on female-dominated professions shows men experience gender identity privilege in the workplace. While this study shows that male and female practitioners may value or possess similar traits and characteristics, female practitioners experience gender identity oppression in a manner that male practitioners do not, especially related to their bodies and expressions of femininity. The experiences of female practitioners creates an additional layer of consideration that must be addressed prior to focusing on the myriad considerations inherent in the work of American Sign Language – English interpreters. Educators are advised to take current classroom practices into consideration for supporting all students, regardless of gender identity, and practitioners are encouraged to seek diverse communities of practice. These communities may provide the forum during which practitioners can engage in discussions of identity oppression and potential mitigating strategies

Aberration-free ultra-thin flat lenses and axicons at telecom wavelengths based on plasmonic metasurfaces

The concept of optical phase discontinuities is applied to the design and demonstration of aberration-free planar lenses and axicons, comprising a phased array of ultrathin subwavelength spaced optical antennas. The lenses and axicons consist of radial distributions of V-shaped nanoantennas that generate respectively spherical wavefronts and non-diffracting Bessel beams at telecom wavelengths. Simulations are also presented to show that our aberration-free designs are applicable to high numerical aperture lenses such as flat microscope objectives

«Suspects» in Etiology of Endemic Nephropathy: Aristolochic Acid versus Mycotoxins

Despite many hypotheses that have been challenged, the etiology of endemic nephropathy (EN) is still unknown. At present, the implications of aristolochic acid (AA) and mycotoxins (ochratoxin A—OTA and citrinin—CIT) are under debate. AA-theory is based on renal pathohistological similarities between Chinese herbs nephropathy (CHN) and EN, findings of AA-DNA adducts in EN and in patients with urinary tract tumors (UTT), as well as the domination of A:T®T:A transversions in the p53 mutational spectrum of UTT patients, which corresponds with findings of such mutations in AA-treated rats. However, exposure pathways of EN residents to AA are unclear. Experimental studies attempting to deduce whether nephrotoxins OTA and CIT appear at higher frequencies or levels (or both) in the food and blood or urine of EN residents support the mycotoxin theory. Also, some molecular studies revealed the presence of OTA-DNA adducts in the renal tissue of EN and UTT patients. In this review, data supporting or arguing against AA and mycotoxin theory are presented and discussed

Polymorphisms in the SAA1/2 Gene Are Associated with Carotid Intima Media Thickness in Healthy Han Chinese Subjects: The Cardiovascular Risk Survey

BACKGROUND: Serum amyloid A protein (SAA) is not only an inflammatory factor, but also an apolipoprotein that can replace apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) as the major apolipoprotein of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which has been linked to atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of SAA and the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery in healthy subjects remains unclear. We investigated the role of SAA1 and SAA2 gene polymorphisms with IMT in a cohort of healthy subjects participating in the Cardiovascular Risk Survey (CRS) study. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Anthropometric and B-mode ultrasound of the carotid IMT were measured in 1914 subjects (849 men; 1065 women) recruited from seven cities in Xinjiang province, (western China). Four SNPs (rs12218, rs2229338, rs1059559, and rs2468844) were genotyped by use of the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The SNP rs12218 was associated with carotid IMT by analyses of a dominate model (P<0.001) and additive model (P = 0.003), and the difference remained significant after multivariate adjustment (P = 0.008, P<0.001, respectively). This relationship was also observed in rs2468844 after multivariate adjustment by recessive model analysis (P = 0.011) but this was not observed in rs2229338 and rs1059559 before and after multivariate adjustment. These associations were not modified by serum HDL concentration. Furthermore, there were significant interactions between rs2468844 and rs12218 (interaction P<0.001) and rs2229338 (interaction P = 0.001) on carotid IMT. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Both rs12218 of the SAA1 gene and rs2468844 of SAA2 gene are associated with carotid IMT in healthy Han Chinese subjects

Changes in cholesterol homeostasis and acute phase response link pulmonary exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes to risk of cardiovascular disease

AbstractAdverse lung effects following pulmonary exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are well documented in rodents. However, systemic effects are less understood. Epidemiological studies have shown increased cardiovascular disease risk after pulmonary exposure to airborne particles, which has led to concerns that inhalation exposure to MWCNTs might pose similar risks.We analyzed parameters related to cardiovascular disease, including plasma acute phase response (APR) proteins and plasma lipids, in female C57BL/6 mice exposed to a single intratracheal instillation of 0, 18, 54 or 162μg/mouse of small, entangled (CNTSmall, 0.8±0.1μm long) or large, thick MWCNTs (CNTLarge, 4±0.4μm long). Liver tissues and plasma were harvested 1, 3 and 28days post-exposure. In addition, global hepatic gene expression, hepatic cholesterol content and liver histology were used to assess hepatic effects.The two MWCNTs induced similar systemic responses despite their different physicochemical properties. APR proteins SAA3 and haptoglobin, plasma total cholesterol and low-density/very low-density lipoprotein were significantly increased following exposure to either MWCNTs. Plasma SAA3 levels correlated strongly with pulmonary Saa3 levels. Analysis of global gene expression revealed perturbation of the same biological processes and pathways in liver, including the HMG-CoA reductase pathway. Both MWCNTs induced similar histological hepatic changes, with a tendency towards greater response following CNTLarge exposure.Overall, we show that pulmonary exposure to two different MWCNTs induces similar systemic and hepatic responses, including changes in plasma APR, lipid composition, hepatic gene expression and liver morphology. The results link pulmonary exposure to MWCNTs with risk of cardiovascular disease

The Problem of Co-integration

This paper is concerned with the problem of multiple time series modelling under the condition of nonstationarity in means. It is well known that the economic time series are characteristic by nonstationary development. In the univariate case this problem is solved very simply, just by differencing. But in the multivariate case the differencing is not an effective way how to get rid of nonstationarity in means because of co-integration which can occure. If the co-integration between some time series does exists and is not respected it usually leads to the incorrect model of the multivariate time series. This model has to be transformed into a restricted form which is called the error correction model. The problem of co-integration and error correction model is relatively new. The relationship between co-integration and error correction models was first suggested by C.W.J. Granger (1981). A theorem showing precisely that co-integration series can be represented by error correction models was originally stated and proved in Granger (1983). This theorem was than presented in Engle, Granger (1987) under the name 'Granger Representation Theorem'. These articles were than followed by many other papers, especially concerning the testing of co-integration and the estimating of error correction models.

An influence of relative income on the propensity to consume - Czech Republic case study

DOI nefunkční (18.9.2018)This paper examines the influence of relative income on the consumption function, particularly the issue of the precise quantification of the relationship between the propensity to consume and the position of the household in the income distribution represented just by relative income. Mainstream theory of consumption, though it is aware of this effect, for its focus primarily on the aggregate consumption, it doesn’t pay much attention to this. However, if it is possible to accurately describe and quantify this so-called relative income effect, it will mean a relevant contribution to the explanation of individual consumption patterns or consumption of income categories. The aim of this work is to find, describe and precisely quantify the impact of relative income on the average propensity to consume on the example of Czech households. To achieve this goal, we use a regression estimation of the dynamic panel using GMM, where the individual panels are set as income categories of households. The results achieved unambiguously confirm the validity of the initial assumption about the existence of functional dependence of the propensity to consume on the relative income and thus it fully supports the idea of interdependent concept of utility and consumption.Web of Science66444943