Racial attention deficit.

Despite efforts toward equity in organizations and institutions, minority members report that they are often ignored, their contributions undervalued. Against this backdrop, we conduct a large-sample, multiyear experimental study to investigate patterns of attention. The findings provide causal evidence of a racial attention deficit: Even when in their best interest, White Americans pay less attention to Black peers. In a baseline study, we assign an incentivized puzzle to participants and examine their willingness to follow the example of their White and Black peers. White participants presume that Black peers are less competent­and fail to learn from their choices. We then test two interventions: Providing information about past accomplishments reduces the disparity in evaluations of Black peers, but the racial attention deficit persists. When Whites can witness the accomplishments of Black peers, rather than being told about them, the racial attention deficit subsides. We suggest that such a deficit can explain racial gaps documented in science, education, health, and law.

Underground testing: Name-altering practices as probes in electronic music.

Name-altering practices are common in many creative fields-pen names in literature, stage names in the performing arts, and aliases in music. More than just reflecting artistic habits or responding to the need for distinctive brands, these practices can also serve as test devices to probe, validate, and guide the artists' active participation in a cultural movement. At the same time, they constitute a powerful probe to negotiate the boundaries of a subculture, especially when its features are threatened by appropriation from the mass-oriented culture. Drawing evidence from electronic music, a field where name-altering practices proliferate, we outline dynamics of pseudonymity, polyonymy, and anonymity that surround the use of aliases. We argue that name-altering practices are both a tool that artists use to probe the creative environment and a device to recursively put one's creative participation to the test. In the context of creative subcultures, name-altering practices constitute a subtle but effective form of underground testing.

Put to the test: For a new sociology of testing.

In an age defined by computational innovation, testing seems to have become ubiquitous, and tests are routinely deployed as a form of governance, a marketing device, an instrument for political intervention, and an everyday practice to evaluate the self. This essay argues that something more radical is happening here than simply attempts to move tests from the laboratory into social settings. The challenge that a new sociology of testing must address is that ubiquitous testing changes the relations between science, engineering, and sociology: Engineering is today in the very stuff of where society happens. It is not that the tests of 21st-century engineering occur within a social context but that it is the very fabric of the social that is being put to the test. To understand how testing and the social relate today, we must investigate how testing operates on social life, through the modification of its settings. One way to clarify the difference is to say that the new forms of testing can be captured neither within the logic of the field test nor of the controlled experiment. Whereas tests once happened inside social environments, today's tests directly and deliberately modify the social environment.

Comparative lipid profiling dataset of the inflammation-induced optic nerve regeneration.

In adult mammals, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) fail to regenerate following damage. As a result, RGCs die after acute injury and in progressive degenerative diseases such as glaucoma; this can lead to permanent vision loss and, eventually, blindness. Lipids are crucial for the development and maintenance of cell membranes, myelin sheaths, and cellular signaling pathways, however, little is known about their role in axon injury and repair. Studies examining changes to the lipidome during optic nerve (ON) regeneration could greatly inform treatment strategies, yet these are largely lacking. Experimental animal models of ON regeneration have facilitated the exploration of the molecular determinants that affect RGC axon regeneration. Here, we analyzed lipid profiles of the ON and retina in an ON crush rat model using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Furthermore, we investigated lipidome changes after ON crush followed by intravitreal treatment with Zymosan, a yeast cell wall derivative known to enhance RGC regeneration. This data is available at the NIH Common Fund's Metabolomics Data Repository and Coordinating Center (supported by NIH grant, U01-DK097430) website, the Metabolomics Workbench, http://www.metabolomicsworkbench.org, where it has been assigned Project ID: PR000661. The data can be accessed directly via it's Project DOI: doi: 10.21,228/M87D53.

Human Response and Injury Resulting from Head Impacts with Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, are part of a new and budding industry in the United States. Economic and public benefits associated with UAS use across multiple commercial sectors are driving new regulations which alter the stringent laws currently restricting UAS flights over people. As new regulations are enacted and more UAS populate the national airspace, there is a need to both understand and quantify the risk associated with UAS impacts with the uninvolved public. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical response and injury outcomes of Post Mortem Human Surrogates (PMHS) subjected to UAS head impacts. For this work, PMHS were tested with differing UAS vehicles at multiple impact angles, locations and speeds. Using a custom designed launching device, UAS vehicles were accelerated into the frontal, parietal, or vertex portions of subjects' craniums at speeds up to 22 m/s. Of the 35 UAS impacts carried out, one AIS 2+ injury was observed: a 13 cm linear skull fracture resulting from a Phantom 3 impact. Additionally, injury risk curves used in automotive testing were found to over predict the risk of injury in UAS impact scenarios. Finally, localized skull deformation was observed during severe impacts; the effect that this deformation had on measured kinematics should be further evaluated. Overall, the study found that AIS 2+ head injuries may occur as a result of UAS impacts and that automotive injury metrics may not be able to accurately predict head injury risk in UAS impact scenarios.

Optic Nerve Regeneration After Crush Remodels the Injury Site: Molecular Insights From Imaging Mass Spectrometry.

Purpose: Mammalian central nervous system axons fail to regenerate after injury. Contributing factors include limited intrinsic growth capacity and an inhibitory glial environment. Inflammation-induced optic nerve regeneration (IIR) is thought to boost retinal ganglion cell (RGC) intrinsic growth capacity through progrowth gene expression, but effects on the inhibitory glial environment of the optic nerve are unexplored. To investigate progrowth molecular changes associated with reactive gliosis during IIR, we developed an imaging mass spectrometry (IMS)-based approach that identifies discriminant molecular signals in and around optic nerve crush (ONC) sites. Methods: ONC was performed in rats, and IIR was established by intravitreal injection of a yeast cell wall preparation. Optic nerves were collected at various postcrush intervals, and longitudinal sections were analyzed with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) IMS and data mining. Immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy were used to compare discriminant molecular features with cellular features of reactive gliosis. Results: IIR increased the area of the crush site that was occupied by a dense cellular infiltrate and mass spectral features consistent with lysosome-specific lipids. IIR also increased immunohistochemical labeling for microglia and macrophages. IIR enhanced clearance of lipid sulfatide myelin-associated inhibitors of axon growth and accumulation of simple GM3 gangliosides in a spatial distribution consistent with degradation of plasma membrane from degenerated axons. Conclusions: IIR promotes a robust phagocytic response that improves clearance of myelin and axon debris. This growth-permissive molecular remodeling of the crush injury site extends our current understanding of IIR to include mechanisms extrinsic to the RGC.

Quantification of Skeletal and Soft Tissue Contributions to Thoracic Response in a Dynamic Frontal Loading Scenario.

Thoracic injuries continue to be a major health concern in motor vehicle crashes. Previous thoracic research has focused on 50th percentile males and utilized scaling techniques to apply results to different demographics. Individual rib testing offers the advantage of capturing demographic differences; however, understanding of rib properties in the context of the intact thorax is lacking. Therefore, the objective of this study was to obtain the data necessary to develop a transfer function between individual rib and thoracic response. A series of non-injurious frontal impacts were conducted on six PMHS, creating a loading environment commensurate to previously published individual rib testing. Each PMHS was tested in four tissue states: intact, intact with upper limbs removed, denuded, and eviscerated. Following eviscerated thoracic testing, eight individual mid-level ribs from each PMHS were removed and loaded to failure. A simplified model in which ribs of each thorax are treated as parallel springs was utilized to evaluate the ability of individual rib response data to predict each subject's eviscerated thoracic response. On average across subjects, denuded thoraces retained 89% and eviscerated thoraces retained 46% of intact force. Similarly, denuded thoraces retained 70% and eviscerated thoraces retained 30% of intact stiffness. The rib model did not adequately predict eviscerated thoracic response but provided a better understanding of the influence of connective tissue on a rib's behavior with-in the thorax. Results of this study could be used in conjunction with the database of individual rib test results to improve thoracic response targets and help assess biofidelity of current anthropomorphic test devices.

COMPARISON OF A HEAD MOUNTED IMPACT MEASUREMENT DEVICE TO THE HYBRID III ANTHROPOMORPHIC TESTING DEVICE IN A CONTROLLED LABORATORY SETTING.

BACKGROUND: Reports estimate that 1.6 to 3.8 million cases of concussion occur in sports and recreation each year in the United States. Despite continued efforts to reduce the occurrence of concussion, the rate of diagnosis continues to increase. The mechanisms of concussion are thought to involve linear and rotational head accelerations and velocities. One method of quantifying the kinematics experienced during sport participation is to place measurement devices into the athlete's helmet or directly on the athlete's head. PURPOSE: The purpose of this research to determine the accuracy of a head mounted device for measuring the head accelerations experienced by the wearer. This will be accomplished by identifying the error in Peak Linear Acceleration (PLA), Peak Rotational Acceleration (PRA) and Peak Rotational Velocity (PRV) of the device. STUDY DESIGN: Laboratory study. METHODS: A helmeted Hybrid III 50th percentile male headform was impacted via a pneumatic ram from the front, side, rear, front oblique and rear oblique at speeds from 1.5 to 5 m/s. The X2 Biosystems xPatch® (Seattle, WA) sensor was placed on the headform's right side at the approximate location of the mastoid process. Measures of PLA, PRA, PRV from the xPatch ® and Hybrid III were analyzed for Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Absolute and Relative Error (AE, RE). RESULT: Seventy-six impacts were analyzed. All measures of correlation, fixed through the origin, were found to be strong: PLA R2=0.967 p<0.01, PRA R2=0.933 p<0.01, PRV R2=0.999 p<0.00. PLA RMSE was 34%, RE 31.0%±14.0, and AE 31.1%±13.7. PRA RMSE was 23.4%, RE -6.7 ± 22.4 and AE 18.9%±13.8. PRV RMSE was 2.2%, RE 0.1 ± 2.2, and AE 1.8 ± 1.3. CONCLUSION: Without including corrections for effect of skin artifact, the xPatch® produces measurements highly correlated with the gold standard yet above the average error of testing devices in both PLA and PRA, but a low error in PRV. PLA measures from the xPatch® system demonstrated a high level of correlation with the PLA data from the Hybrid III mounted data collection system. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.

Video-based eye tracking for neuropsychiatric assessment.

This paper presents a video-based eye-tracking method, ideally deployed via a mobile device or laptop-based webcam, as a tool for measuring brain function. Eye movements and pupillary motility are tightly regulated by brain circuits, are subtly perturbed by many disease states, and are measurable using video-based methods. Quantitative measurement of eye movement by readily available webcams may enable early detection and diagnosis, as well as remote/serial monitoring, of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. We successfully extracted computational and semantic features for 14 testing sessions, comprising 42 individual video blocks and approximately 17,000 image frames generated across several days of testing. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of collecting video-based eye-tracking data from a standard webcam in order to assess psychomotor function. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate through systematic analysis of this data set that eye-tracking features (in particular, radial and tangential variance on a circular visual-tracking paradigm) predict performance on well-validated psychomotor tests.

Subcellular Localization of a 2-Arachidonoyl Glycerol Signaling Cassette in Retinal Ganglion Cell Axonal Growth In Vitro.

Purpose: To investigate whether the subcellular distribution of endocannabinoid (eCB) system (ECS) components in growing RGC axons is consistent with the formation of eCB-enriched "hotspots" and the role of the ECS in RGC axonal growth. Methods: We used immunocytochemistry and image analysis to quantify axonal expression of the ECS components diacylglycerol lipase alpha (DGLα), monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), and cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) in a mouse retinal explant model. We tested whether pharmacologic antagonists of CB1R and inhibitors of eCB degradation modulate ECS component expression and axonal growth. Results: DGLα expression was higher in the distal RGC axon than in the growth cone central domain (GCCD) (95% confidence interval [CI], 106.5%-122.4% at 15 µm proximal to the GCCD), whereas MGL expression in the same region was not significantly different (95% CI, 88.8%-102.1%). In more proximal axon segments, DGLα and MGL expression were both lower than in the GCCD, whereas CB1R expression was 2.5-fold higher in this region (95% CI, 220.3%-278.4% at 50 µm proximal to the GCCD). The presence of CB1R antagonist O-2050 disrupted profiles of ECS component expression and increased axonal growth (95% CI for the difference of median axon lengths 26.6-55.6 µM). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate an ECS topology in RGC axons that is consistent with formation of eCB-enriched hotspots and suggest that the ECS has a role in CB1R-dependent inhibition of RGC axonal growth in vitro.

The growth of the central region by acquisition of counterrotating gas in star-forming galaxies.

Galaxies grow through both internal and external processes. In about 10% of nearby red galaxies with little star formation, gas and stars are counter-rotating, demonstrating the importance of external gas acquisition in these galaxies. However, systematic studies of such phenomena in blue, star-forming galaxies are rare, leaving uncertain the role of external gas acquisition in driving evolution of blue galaxies. Here, based on new measurements with integral field spectroscopy of a large representative galaxy sample, we find an appreciable fraction of counter-rotators among blue galaxies (9 out of 489 galaxies). The central regions of blue counter-rotators show younger stellar populations and more intense, ongoing star formation than their outer parts, indicating ongoing growth of the central regions. The result offers observational evidence that the acquisition of external gas in blue galaxies is possible; the interaction with pre-existing gas funnels the gas into nuclear regions (<1 kpc) to form new stars.

Guiding Principles for a Pediatric Neurology ICU (neuroPICU) Bedside Multimodal Monitor: Findings from an International Working Group.

BACKGROUND: Physicians caring for children with serious acute neurologic disease must process overwhelming amounts of physiological and medical information. Strategies to optimize real time display of this information are understudied. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to engage clinical and engineering experts to develop guiding principles for creating a pediatric neurology intensive care unit (neuroPICU) monitor that integrates and displays data from multiple sources in an intuitive and informative manner. METHODS: To accomplish this goal, an international group of physicians and engineers communicated regularly for one year. We integrated findings from clinical observations, interviews, a survey, signal processing, and visualization exercises to develop a concept for a neuroPICU display. RESULTS: Key conclusions from our efforts include: (1) A neuroPICU display should support (a) rapid review of retrospective time series (i.e. cardiac, pulmonary, and neurologic physiology data), (b) rapidly modifiable formats for viewing that data according to the specialty of the reviewer, and (c) communication of the degree of risk of clinical decline. (2) Specialized visualizations of physiologic parameters can highlight abnormalities in multivariable temporal data. Examples include 3-D stacked spider plots and color coded time series plots. (3) Visual summaries of EEG with spectral tools (i.e. hemispheric asymmetry and median power) can highlight seizures via patient-specific "fingerprints." (4) Intuitive displays should emphasize subsets of physiology and processed EEG data to provide a rapid gestalt of the current status and medical stability of a patient. CONCLUSIONS: A well-designed neuroPICU display must present multiple datasets in dynamic, flexible, and informative views to accommodate clinicians from multiple disciplines in a variety of clinical scenarios.

Automated integration of continuous glucose monitor data in the electronic health record using consumer technology.

The diabetes healthcare provider plays a key role in interpreting blood glucose trends, but few institutions have successfully integrated patient home glucose data in the electronic health record (EHR). Published implementations to date have required custom interfaces, which limit wide-scale replication. We piloted automated integration of continuous glucose monitor data in the EHR using widely available consumer technology for 10 pediatric patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. Establishment of a passive data communication bridge via a patient's/parent's smartphone enabled automated integration and analytics of patient device data within the EHR between scheduled clinic visits. It is feasible to utilize available consumer technology to assess and triage home diabetes device data within the EHR, and to engage patients/parents and improve healthcare provider workflow.

DISCOVERING PATIENT PHENOTYPES USING GENERALIZED LOW RANK MODELS.

The practice of medicine is predicated on discovering commonalities or distinguishing characteristics among patients to inform corresponding treatment. Given a patient grouping (hereafter referred to as a phenotype), clinicians can implement a treatment pathway accounting for the underlying cause of disease in that phenotype. Traditionally, phenotypes have been discovered by intuition, experience in practice, and advancements in basic science, but these approaches are often heuristic, labor intensive, and can take decades to produce actionable knowledge. Although our understanding of disease has progressed substantially in the past century, there are still important domains in which our phenotypes are murky, such as in behavioral health or in hospital settings. To accelerate phenotype discovery, researchers have used machine learning to find patterns in electronic health records, but have often been thwarted by missing data, sparsity, and data heterogeneity. In this study, we use a flexible framework called Generalized Low Rank Modeling (GLRM) to overcome these barriers and discover phenotypes in two sources of patient data. First, we analyze data from the 2010 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample (NIS), which contains upwards of 8 million hospitalization records consisting of administrative codes and demographic information. Second, we analyze a small (N=1746), local dataset documenting the clinical progression of autism spectrum disorder patients using granular features from the electronic health record, including text from physician notes. We demonstrate that low rank modeling successfully captures known and putative phenotypes in these vastly different datasets.