Jean Ritchie's "Field Trip---Scotland": An examination of unpublished field recordings collected in Scotland, 1952--1953.

The study also provides a chronology of Ritchie's fieldwork, reconstructed through letters, diaries and personal interviews with her and others. Appendices include brief rhythmic, melodic and formal analyses of the songs, additional recordings of the songs found in the School of Scottish Studies Sound Archives and transcripts of interviews with Jean Ritchie, George Pickow and Hamish Henderson.Since the late 1960s, interest in the "Kodaly Method" of music education has spread throughout the United States. Zoltan Kodaly (1882--1967) was a Hungarian composer, musician, ethnomusicologist and teacher whose efforts toward educational reform resulted in the pedagogical method now associated with his name. Among other philosophical tenets, Kodaly insisted that only music of highest quality be used for teaching, including the country's indigenous folk music, folk music of other countries and the finest examples of art music.A number of teacher training programs in the U.S. and Hungary offer specialized study of Kodaly's approach. These programs emphasize the importance of studying not only the musical traditions, but the tradition bearers in each culture, as Kodaly did in his. Kentucky folk singer Jean Ritchie is undeniably one of America's greatest living examples of such a tradition-bearer. Her stature as such validates the exploration of her work by a Kodaly-inspired music educator.Though Jean Ritchie's life and career as a folk singer and songwriter have been chronicled in books, articles and dissertations, this study focuses specifically on her research in Scotland as a Fulbright scholar in 1952--53. Ritchie's work, closely tied to that of folklorists Alan Lomax and Hamish Henderson, had a significant impact on the folk music revivals which would soon follow in both the United States and the United Kingdom.This dissertation contains transcriptions and analyses of fifteen unpublished field recordings collected by Ritchie in Scotland during her Fulbright year, as well as discussion of the historical, cultural and contextual aspects of each song. The songs were selected for examination from more than two hundred field recordings made by Ritchie in Scotland. Ritchie's selection of songs for inclusion on her unreleased "Scottish Sampler" anthology was the primary reason for this decision

The influence of resuscitation preferences on obstetrical management of periviable deliveries

Objective Determine the relative influence of patient's resuscitation preferences on periviable delivery management. Methods Surveyed 295 obstetrician-gynecologists about managing periviable preterm premature rupture of membranes. Across 10 vignettes, we systematically varied gestational age; occupation; method of conception; and resuscitation preference. Physicians rated their likelihood (0-10) of proceeding with induction, steroids, and cesarean. Data were analyzed via conjoint analysis. Results 205 physician responses were included. Median ratings for management decisions were: induction 1.89; steroids 5.00; cesarean for labor 3.89; cesarean for distress 4.11. Gestational age had the greatest influence on physician ratings across all decisions (importance values ranging from 72.6-86.6), followed by patient's resuscitation preference (range= 9.3-21.4). Conclusion Gestational age is weighted more heavily than patients’ resuscitation preferences in obstetricians’ decision-making for periviable delivery management. Misalignment of antenatal management with parental resuscitation preferences may adversely affect periviable outcomes. Interventions are needed to facilitate more patient-centered decision-making in periviable care

Determining the Shape, Size, and Sources of the Zodiacal Dust Cloud using Polarized Ultraviolet Scattered Sunlight

The solar system's Zodiacal Cloud is visible to the unaided eye, yet the origin of its constituent dust particles is not well understood, with a wide range of proposed divisions between sources in the asteroid belt and Jupiter Family comets. The amount of dust contributed by Oort Cloud comets is uncertain. Knowledge of the Zodiacal Cloud's structure and origins would help with NASA's aim of characterizing potentially Earth-like planets around nearby stars, since the exo-Earths must be studied against the light scattered from extrasolar analogs of our cloud. As the only example where the parent bodies can be tracked, our own cloud is critical for learning how planetary system architecture governs the interplanetary dust's distribution. Our cloud has been relatively little-studied in the near-ultraviolet, a wavelength range that is important for identifying potentially-habitable planets since it contains the broad Hartley absorption band of ozone. We show through radiative transfer modeling that our cloud's shape and size at near-UV wavelengths can be measured from Earth orbit by mapping the zodiacal light's flux and linear polarization across the sky. We quantify how well the cloud's geometric and optical properties can be retrieved from a set of simulated disk observations, using a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis. The results demonstrate that observations with sufficient precision, covering a set of fields distributed along the ecliptic and up to the poles, can be used to determine the division between asteroidal, Jupiter Family, and Oort Cloud dust components, primarily via their differing orbital inclination distributions. We find that the observations must be repeated over a time span of several months in order to disentangle the zodiacal light from the Galactic background using the Milky Way's rotation across the sky.Comment: submitted to PAS

Activated mutant NRasQ61K drives aberrant melanocyte signaling, survival, and invasiveness via a rac1-Dependent mechanism

Around a fifth of melanomas exhibit an activating mutation in the oncogene NRas that confers constitutive signaling to proliferation and promotes tumor initiation. NRas signals downstream of the major melanocyte tyrosine kinase receptor c-kit and activated NRas results in increased signaling via the extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK)/MAPK/ERK kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways to enhance proliferation. The Ras oncogene also activates signaling via the related Rho GTPase Rac1, which can mediate growth, survival, and motility signaling. We tested the effects of activated NRasQ61K on the proliferation, motility, and invasiveness of melanoblasts and melanocytes in the developing mouse and ex vivo explant culture as well as in a melanoma transplant model. We find an important role for Rac1 downstream of NRasQ61K in mediating dermal melanocyte survival in vivo in mouse, but surprisingly NRasQ61K does not appear to affect melanoblast motility or proliferation during mouse embryogenesis. We also show that genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of Rac1 in NRasQ61K induced melanoma suppresses tumor growth, lymph node spread, and tumor cell invasiveness, suggesting a potential value for Rac1 as a therapeutic target for activated NRas-driven tumor growth and invasiveness

Resting heart rate as a low tech predictor of coronary events in women: prospective cohort study

Objective To evaluate resting heart rate as an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk in women

Astro2020 Science White Paper: Triggered High-Priority Observations of Dynamic Solar System Phenomena

Unexpected dynamic phenomena have surprised solar system observers in the past and have led to important discoveries about solar system workings. Observations at the initial stages of these events provide crucial information on the physical processes at work. We advocate for long-term/permanent programs on ground-based and space-based telescopes of all sizes - including Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) - to conduct observations of high-priority dynamic phenomena, based on a predefined set of triggering conditions. These programs will ensure that the best initial dataset of the triggering event are taken; separate additional observing programs will be required to study the temporal evolution of these phenomena. While not a comprehensive list, the following are notional examples of phenomena that are rare, that cannot be anticipated, and that provide high-impact advances to our understandings of planetary processes. Examples include: new cryovolcanic eruptions or plumes on ocean worlds; impacts on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune; extreme eruptions on Io; convective superstorms on Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune; collisions within the asteroid belt or other small-body populations; discovery of an interstellar object passing through our solar system (e.g. 'Oumuamua); and responses of planetary atmospheres to major solar flares or coronal mass ejections.Comment: Astro2020 white pape

Large, persistent epidemic of adenovirus type 4-associated acute respiratory disease in U.S. army trainees.

In May 1997, a large, persistent epidemic of adenovirus type 4-associated acute respiratory disease began at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the largest army basic training center. The epidemic lasted until December and declined when vaccine administration resumed. More than 1,000 male and female trainees were hospitalized; 66.1% of those hospitalized had an adenovirus type 4 isolate

Evaluation of a Multidrug Assay for Monitoring Adherence to a Regimen for HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis in a Clinical Study, HIV Prevention Trials Network 073

ABSTRACT Daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-emtricitabine (FTC) is a safe and effective intervention for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We evaluated the performance of a qualitative assay that detects 20 antiretroviral (ARV) drugs (multidrug assay) in assessing recent PrEP exposure (detection limit, 2 to 20 ng/ml). Samples were obtained from 216 Black men who have sex with men (208 HIV-uninfected men and 8 seroconverters) who were enrolled in a study in the United States evaluating the acceptability of TDF-FTC PrEP (165 of the uninfected men and 5 of the seroconverters accepted PrEP). Samples from 163 of the 165 HIV-uninfected men who accepted PrEP and samples from all 8 seroconverters were also tested for tenofovir (TFV) and FTC using a quantitative assay (detection limit for both drugs, 0.31 ng/ml). HIV drug resistance was assessed in seroconverter samples. The multidrug assay detected TFV and/or FTC in 3 (1.4%) of the 208 uninfected men at enrollment, 84 (40.4%) of the 208 uninfected men at the last study visit, and 1 (12.5%) of the 8 seroconverters. No other ARV drugs were detected. The quantitative assay confirmed all positive results from the multidrug assay and detected TFV and/or FTC in 9 additional samples (TFV range, 0.65 to 16.5 ng/ml; FTC range, 0.33 to 14.6 ng/ml). Resistance mutations were detected in 4 of the 8 seroconverter samples. The multidrug assay had 100% sensitivity and specificity for detecting TFV and FTC at drug concentrations consistent with daily PrEP use. The quantitative assay detected TFV and FTC at lower levels, which also might have provided protection against HIV infection

Cluster J Mycobacteriophages: Intron Splicing in Capsid and Tail Genes

Bacteriophages isolated on Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 represent many distinct genomes sharing little or no DNA sequence similarity. The genomes are architecturally mosaic and are replete with genes of unknown function. A new group of genomes sharing substantial nucleotide sequences constitute Cluster J. The six mycobacteriophages forming Cluster J are morphologically members of the Siphoviridae, but have unusually long genomes ranging from 106.3 to 117 kbp. Reconstruction of the capsid by cryo-electron microscopy of mycobacteriophage BAKA reveals an icosahedral structure with a triangulation number of 13. All six phages are temperate and homoimmune, and prophage establishment involves integration into a tRNA-Leu gene not previously identified as a mycobacterial attB site for phage integration. The Cluster J genomes provide two examples of intron splicing within the virion structural genes, one in a major capsid subunit gene, and one in a tail gene. These genomes also contain numerous freestanding HNH homing endonuclease, and comparative analysis reveals how these could contribute to genome mosaicism. The unusual Cluster J genomes provide new insights into phage genome architecture, gene function, capsid structure, gene mobility, intron splicing, and evolution