The place of stimulation in the cochlea versus frequency as a direct determiner of pitch.

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Sacred Rivals

France;Algeria;Ottoman Syria;Islam;Catholicism;Catholic Orientalism;Imperialism;Missions;Jesuits;Louis Veuillot;Melchior de Vogüé;Charles Lavigerie;White Fathers;Humanitarianism;Œuvre d'Orient;Civilizing Missio

A mechanism for trif adaptor-biased signaling by toll-like receptor 4.

Host cells respond to bacterial lipid A through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Activation of TLR4 by lipid A triggers a response that involves two main adaptor proteins, MyD88 and TRIF. MyD88-dependent gene expression is associated with proinflammatory protein production, while TRIF-dependent gene expression is essential for optimal activation of adaptive immunity by antigen-presenting cells. Detoxified, monophosphoryl lipid A agonists (MPLA or synthetic MLA) were previously suggested to elicit TRIF-biased TLR4 signaling; that is, induction of weaker MyD88-associated gene expression but relatively intact TRIF-dependent gene expression when compared to fully active diphosphoryl lipid A (lipid A). In this work, we explored potential mechanisms by which monophosphoryl lipid A could induce TRIF-biased signaling in mouse cells. TRIF-dependent and MyD88-associated gene expression induced by both MPLA and lipid A was reduced to a similar extent by CD14 ablation, indicating that these two agonists do not differentially utilize CD14, despite this coreceptor’s primary role in directing the TRIF signaling pathway. In a second study, we demonstrated that the observation of TRIF-biased gene expression by sMLA was not because the agonist induced a TRIF-biased gene expression profile, but rather that TLR4 itself was TRIF- biased. The potencies of three different agonists were significantly higher for the induction of expression of TRIF-dependent genes than they were for induction of expression of MyD88-associated genes. Autocrine and paracrine signaling by type I interferons contributed to higher potency of TLR4 agonists for induction of TRIF-dependent gene expression because blocking the type I interferon receptor before agonist treatment diminished the effect. We propose that TLR4 is a prime target for vaccine adjuvants. The therapeutic window of TLR4 agonists may be inherently large due to the ease with which TRIF-dependent genes required for adaptive priming are activated relative to MyD88-dependent genes associated with toxicity

Patient Outcomes for Anterior Multi-level Cervical Fusions: A Comparative Analysis of AO and DOC Instrumentation

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of the DePuy-Acromed DOC implant with the Synthes AO plate by means of analysis of subjective and objective data. A retrospective review of 56 consecutive instrumented, anterior multi-level cervical fusions by two orthopedic spine specialists was completed. Biographical, clinical, surgical and radiographic data was collected for patients who underwent anterior multi-level cervical fusions between 12/13/96 and 4/8/99. Twenty-five of the patients received a DOC implant and 31 received the AO plate. No major complications occurred during or following surgery directly related to either implant. Both groups however, did contain cases of transient dysphasia and lingering pain. Generally, patients that received the DOC implant experienced a greater percent decrease in post-operative pain levels though both study groups exhibited significant improvement. The use of a DOC implant was also correlated with a loss of fewer working days amongst those in the study group. Psuedoarthrosis and a return to pre-operative pain levels occurred in patients using the AO implant at higher frequencies than in those with the DOC. Screw loosening occurred less frequently with the AO plate than with the DOC implant. However, the one case of AO screw loosening required subsequent hardware removal. The DOC also appears to have the added benefit of offering a dynamic system that can reduce the amount of load shielding of the bone graft during the time that it is fusing. It appears that the newer DOC implant offers desirable benefits over the traditional AO locking plate. The dysphasia and cost were liabilities that seem to be offset by the patient satisfaction level with surgeries involving the DOC implant

Equipped for Change: A Grounded Theory Study of White Antiracist School Leaders’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Racial Consciousness in Educational Leadership

There is substantial evidence that issues of race and racism and are common in U.S. public schools, especially those greatly impacted by poverty and racial segregation. Unfortunately, it is highly likely many of these occurrences either go unrecognized, unacknowledged, or are perpetrated unknowingly by White educators and administrators—many of whom are well-intentioned, but lack the critical lens necessary in challenging and dismantling them. For White people, the enculturating normativity of White racial dominance, maintained by the social conditioning of Whiteness, facilitates an environment of racial ignorance and insignificance, leaving most painfully oblivious to the damaging complexities of racism in contemporary American society. The purpose of this qualitative study is to illuminate the perceptions and experiences of selected White school leaders who have committed themselves to (a) antiracist school leadership identity development, and (b) the promotion of racially-just school cultures. Responses to semi-structured interview questions were coded, analyzed, and organized into themes to generate an educational leadership theory. Constructivist grounded theory (CGT) methodologies, critical race theory (CRT), critical whiteness studies (CWS), and critical pedagogy (CP) informed the data collection methods and theoretical foundations of this study. Findings revealed a need to reexamine and revise existing antiracist education psychology and pedagogy with an emphasis on cohesion and clarity of purpose. This study contributes new knowledge and insight into the struggle to successfully implement effective, sustainable antiracist school efforts capable of establishing and normalizing racial equity in public education

Examining the effects of d-amphetamine on discounting in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)

This experiment examined d-amphetamine’s effect on discounting of delayed and probabilistic outcomes in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), a purported animal model of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), with two control strains. Stimulants such as d-amphetamine are commonly administered in humans diagnosed with ADHD, thus resulting in increases in self-controlled responding on delay tasks. However, very little has been done examining the effects of d-amphetamine on delay tasks using the SHR strain, a purported animal model of ADHD. Recent research has also suggested that responses on delay and probability discounting procedures are mediated by the same underlying mechanism in animal models (Green, Myerson & Calvert, 2010). However, this equivalence is not observed when using human participants in similar choice procedures. The current experiment used an adjusting amount procedure to measure the subjective value of delayed and probabilistic reinforcers and the effects of d-amphetamine on choice behavior. The standard reinforcer varied across 8 conditions (5 pellets, each evaluated at two delays: 2 and 16-s and across two probabilities: VR-2 and VR-10. Each condition was run with both d-amphetamine [1.0mg/kg] and a saline vehicle.). The current results suggest non-equivalence as d-amphetamine appears to have differential effects on the choice behavior across different strains of rats. The current findings suggest that d-amphetamine appears to have differential effects on subjective values in the delay and probability discounting tasks