bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Angle-dependent magnetoresistance as a sensitive probe of the charge density wave in quasi-one-dimensional semimetal Ta2NiSe7
Authors: He Jiaming , Wen Libin , Wu Yueshen , Liu Jinyu , Tang Guoxiong , Yang Yusen , Xing Hui , Mao Zhiqiang , Sun Hong , Liu Ying
Published: November 2018

The behavior of charge density waves (CDWs) in an external magnetic field is dictated by both orbital and Pauli (Zeeman) effects. A quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) system features Q1D Fermi surfaces that allow these effects to be distinguished, which in turn can provide a sensitive probe to the underlying electronic states. Here, we studied the field dependence of an incommensurate CDW in a transition-metal chalcogenide Ta2NiSe7 with a Q1D chain structure. The angle-dependent magnetoresistance (MR) is found to be very sensitive to the relative orientation between the magnetic field and the chain direction. With an applied current fixed along the b axis (the chain direction), the angle-dependent MR shows a striking change of the symmetry below TCDW only for a rotating magnetic field in the ac plane. In contrast, the symmetry axis remains unchanged for other configurations (H in ab and bc planes). The orbital effect conforms to the lattice symmetry, while the Pauli effect in the form of μBB/ℏvF can be responsible for such symmetry change, provided that the Fermi velocity vF is significantly anisotropic and the nesting vector changes in a magnetic field, which is corroborated by our first-principles calculations. Our results show that the angle-dependent MR is a sensitive transport probe of CDW and can be useful for the study of low-dimensional systems in general.
Differential coding of perception in the world’s languages
Authors: Majid Asifa , Roberts Seán G. , Cilissen Ludy , Emmorey Karen , Nicodemus Brenda , O’Grady Lucinda , Woll Bencie , LeLan Barbara , de Sousa Hilário , Cansler Brian L. , Shayan Shakila , de Vos Connie , Senft Gunter , Enfield N. J. , Razak Rogayah A. , Fedden Sebastian , Tufvesson Sylvia , Dingemanse Mark , Ozturk Ozge , Brown Penelope , Hill Clair , Le Guen Olivier , Hirtzel Vincent , van Gijn Rik , Sicoli Mark A. , Levinson Stephen C.
Published: November 2018

Is there a universal hierarchy of the senses, such that some senses (e.g., vision) are more accessible to consciousness and linguistic description than others (e.g., smell)? The long-standing presumption in Western thought has been that vision and audition are more objective than the other senses, serving as the basis of knowledge and understanding, whereas touch, taste, and smell are crude and of little value. This predicts that humans ought to be better at communicating about sight and hearing than the other senses, and decades of work based on English and related languages certainly suggests this is true. However, how well does this reflect the diversity of languages and communities worldwide? To test whether there is a universal hierarchy of the senses, stimuli from the five basic senses were used to elicit descriptions in 20 diverse languages, including 3 unrelated sign languages. We found that languages differ fundamentally in which sensory domains they linguistically code systematically, and how they do so. The tendency for better coding in some domains can be explained in part by cultural preoccupations. Although languages seem free to elaborate specific sensory domains, some general tendencies emerge: for example, with some exceptions, smell is poorly coded. The surprise is that, despite the gradual phylogenetic accumulation of the senses, and the imbalances in the neural tissue dedicated to them, no single hierarchy of the senses imposes itself upon language.
Should social scientists be distanced from or engaged with the people they study?
Authors: Nzinga Kalonji , Rapp David N. , Leatherwood Christopher , Easterday Matthew , Rogers Leoandra Onnie , Gallagher Natalie , Medin Douglas L.
Published: November 2018

This commentary focuses on two important contrasts in the behavioral sciences: (
i
) default versus nondefault study populations, where default samples have been used disproportionately (for psychology, the default is undergraduates at major research universities), and (
ii
) the adoption of a distant versus close (engaged) attitude toward study samples. Previous research has shown a strong correlation between these contrasts, where default samples and distant perspectives are the norm. Distancing is sometimes seen as necessary for objectivity, and an engaged orientation is sometimes criticized as biased, advocacy research, especially if the researcher shares a social group membership with the study population (e.g., a black male researcher studying black male students). The lack of diversity in study samples has been paralleled by a lack of diversity in the researchers themselves. The salience of default samples and distancing in prior research creates potential (and presumed) risk factors for engaged research with nondefault samples. However, a distant perspective poses risks as well, and particularly so for research with nondefault populations. We suggest that engaged research can usefully encourage attention to the study context and taking the perspective of study samples, both of which are good research practices. More broadly, we argue that social and educational sciences need skepticism, interestedness, and engagement, not distancing. Fostering an engaged perspective in research may also foster a more diverse population of social scientists.
Population-specific social dynamics in chimpanzees
Authors: van Leeuwen Edwin J. C. , Cronin Katherine A. , Haun Daniel B. M.
Published: November 2018

Understanding intraspecific variation in sociality is essential for characterizing the flexibility and evolution of social systems, yet its study in nonhuman animals is rare. Here, we investigated whether chimpanzees exhibit population-level differences in sociality that cannot be easily explained by differences in genetics or ecology. We compared social proximity and grooming tendencies across four semiwild populations of chimpanzees living in the same ecological environment over three consecutive years, using both linear mixed models and social network analysis. Results indicated temporally stable, population-level differences in dyadic-level sociality. Moreover, group cohesion measures capturing network characteristics beyond dyadic interactions (clustering, modularity, and social differentiation) showed population-level differences consistent with the dyadic indices. Subsequently, we explored whether the observed intraspecific variation in sociality could be attributed to cultural processes by ruling out alternative sources of variation including the influences of ecology, genetics, and differences in population demographics. We conclude that substantial variation in social behavior exists across neighboring populations of chimpanzees and that this variation is in part shaped by cultural processes.
Expanding the interpretive power of psychological science by attending to culture
Authors: Brady Laura M. , Fryberg Stephanie A. , Shoda Yuichi
Published: November 2018

A lack of interpretive power (i.e., the ability to understand individuals’ experiences and behaviors in relation to their cultural contexts) undermines psychology’s understanding of diverse psychological phenomena. Building interpretive power requires attending to cultural influences in research. We describe three characteristics of research that lacks interpretive power: normalizing and overgeneralizing from behaviors and processes of people in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) contexts; making non-WEIRD people and processes invisible; and misapplying WEIRD findings in non-WEIRD contexts. We also describe research in which leveraging interpretive power prevented these negative consequences. Finally, using the culture-cycle framework, we outline a vision for creating culture change within psychology by implementing culture-conscious practices to guide the formation of research questions, empirical design, and data analysis and interpretation.
Habitat choice meets thermal specialization: Competition with specialists may drive suboptimal habitat preferences in generalists
Authors: Jacob Staffan , Laurent Estelle , Haegeman Bart , Bertrand Romain , Prunier Jérôme G. , Legrand Delphine , Cote Julien , Chaine Alexis S. , Loreau Michel , Clobert Jean , Schtickzelle Nicolas
Published: November 2018

Significance

In contrast to the classically expected coupling between ecological specialization and low dispersal propensity, theory predicts that dispersal with habitat choice (i.e., individuals that choose habitats maximizing their performance) should evolve in specialists, while generalists should disperse more randomly. Here, we show in ciliate microcosms that thermal specialists indeed prefer optimal habitats, whereas surprisingly, generalists also perform habitat choice but with a preference for suboptimal habitats. To tackle the question of why generalists should prefer suboptimal habitats, we developed a metapopulation model and showed that competition between generalists and specialists may favor a preference for niche margins in generalists under environmental variability. Our results point out the importance of dispersal strategies for ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
Optimal molecular crowding accelerates group II intron folding and maximizes catalysis
Authors: Paudel Bishnu P. , Fiorini Erica , Börner Richard , Sigel Roland K. O. , Rueda David S.
Published: November 2018

Significance

Biological processes take place in living cells and have adapted to environmental conditions such as temperature, salt concentration, and high-density cellular contents. However, our molecular understanding of most biological processes relies on in vitro experiments under nonphysiological, highly diluted, and high-salt conditions. To overcome this, we mimic the cellular environment by introducing crowding agents. To understand how such conditions affect large-ribozyme folding and function, we studied a group IIB intron ribozyme under crowded, low-salt conditions. The data show how crowded environments enhance the activity of such large ribozymes, even in low-salt concentrations. Interestingly, we find that “optimal” crowding yields maximum activity, beyond which dense crowding becomes detrimental for activity.
A multiscale approach to balance trade-offs among dam infrastructure, river restoration, and cost
Authors: Roy Samuel G. , Uchida Emi , de Souza Simone P. , Blachly Ben , Fox Emma , Gardner Kevin , Gold Arthur J. , Jansujwicz Jessica , Klein Sharon , McGreavy Bridie , Mo Weiwei , Smith Sean M. C. , Vogler Emily , Wilson Karen , Zydlewski Joseph , Hart David
Published: November 2018

Significance

We assess the trade-offs and synergies involved with coordinated dam removal at three spatial scales in New England. We find that increasing the scale of dam decisions improves trade-offs among ecosystem services, river safety, and cost, but the benefits of large-scale river restoration vary dramatically by location. Our model may help facilitate future dam decision negotiations by identifying appropriate scales, locations, and criteria that satisfy multilateral funding, policy, and stakeholder goals.
Species interactions limit the occurrence of urban-adapted birds in cities
Authors: Martin Paul R. , Bonier Frances
Published: November 2018

Significance

Urban environments are expanding worldwide, impacting the populations of many organisms. Understanding how and why species are affected by urbanization is thus an important goal. We examined the role of direct competitive interactions among species on the response of bird species to urbanization. We found evidence that urban-adapted, subordinate species were less widespread in cities than closely related dominant species, but only when dominant and subordinate species live together, which suggests that direct competitive interactions reduce the ability of subordinate species to persist in cities. This result depended on the level of economic development of the country, suggesting that economic development may heighten the effects of competition on subordinate species, thereby reducing species diversity in cities.
Narrow thermal tolerance and low dispersal drive higher speciation in tropical mountains
Authors: Polato Nicholas R. , Gill Brian A. , Shah Alisha A. , Gray Miranda M. , Casner Kayce L. , Barthelet Antoine , Messer Philipp W. , Simmons Mark P. , Guayasamin Juan M. , Encalada Andrea C. , Kondratieff Boris C. , Flecker Alexander S. , Thomas Steven A. , Ghalambor Cameron K. , Poff N. LeRoy , Funk W. Chris , Zamudio Kelly R.
Published: November 2018

Significance

Over 50 years ago, Dan Janzen proposed an integrative framework relating latitudinal differences in climate variability to elevational trends in species diversity. We show that tropical species in three independent insect clades have (
i
) narrower thermal breadths, (
ii
) decreased dispersal and higher population structure, and (
iii
) higher cryptic diversity and speciation rates. This research tests all of the key predictions of Janzen’s hypothesis in related taxa. Our work advances the understanding of how climate variability shapes global diversity patterns, moving beyond simple correlations, to mechanistic links between climate, local adaptation, dispersal, and montane species richness.
Unique pelvic fin in a tetrapod-like fossil fish, and the evolution of limb patterning
Authors: Jeffery Jonathan E. , Storrs Glenn W. , Holland Timothy , Tabin Clifford J. , Ahlberg Per E.
Published: November 2018

Significance

The fossil fish
Rhizodus hibberti
, a member of the tetrapod stem group, shows a unique skeletal pattern in the pelvic fin. Rather than the highly conserved one-to-two pattern of a femur, tibia, and fibula (seen in all known tetrapods, including the extinct, fishlike members of the group), the fin of
Rhizodus
comprises a femur articulating distally with three bones, each with a distinct morphology. This reveals an early stage in the evolution of limb development, in which the processes patterning the proximal parts of the embryonic fin/limb (the stylopod and zeugopod) were not constrained in the way seen in living tetrapods and could produce more varied skeletal patterns in the adult.
Engineering selectivity into RGK GTPase inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium channels
Authors: Puckerin Akil A. , Chang Donald D. , Shuja Zunaira , Choudhury Papiya , Scholz Joachim , Colecraft Henry M.
Published: November 2018

Significance

Influx of calcium ions through surface membrane calcium channels that open in response to electrical signals is important for vital biological processes including generation of the heartbeat and nerve cell communication. Blocking such calcium channels in a tissue- and isoform-specific manner is a sought-after treatment strategy for diseases including chronic pain and Parkinson’s disease. Proteins that can be expressed in cells to selectively block different calcium channel types have particular advantages over conventional small-molecule blockers. A four-member family of proteins known as RGK proteins strongly inhibit calcium channels, but do so in a non-selective manner, limiting their potential usefulness. Here we identified mutated RGK proteins that perform as isoform-selective calcium channel blockers, advancing the therapeutic potential of these proteins.
Allosteric landscapes of eukaryotic cytoplasmic Hsp70s are shaped by evolutionary tuning of key interfaces
Authors: Meng Wenli , Clerico Eugenia M. , McArthur Natalie , Gierasch Lila M.
Published: November 2018

Significance

Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) molecular chaperones act as a central hub of cellular proteostasis network. The functions of Hsp70s rely on allosteric communication between nucleotide-binding domain and substrate-binding domain. Current mechanistic models for Hsp70 allostery are based on extensive study of the bacterial Hsp70, DnaK. Here, we report that the allosteric landscapes of the eukaryotic cytoplasmic Hsp70s, HspA1 and Hsc70, diverge significantly from that of DnaK in that they favor a domain-docked, low substrate-affinity state much more than DnaK does. Our mutational results illustrate how this evolutionary tunability of Hsp70s arises by modulation of key allosteric interfaces. These insights will help in understanding the mechanism of Hsp70 functional diversities and aid in the design of small-molecule modulators of Hsp70s.
Decomposition responses to climate depend on microbial community composition
Authors: Glassman Sydney I. , Weihe Claudia , Li Junhui , Albright Michaeline B. N. , Looby Caitlin I. , Martiny Adam C. , Treseder Kathleen K. , Allison Steven D. , Martiny Jennifer B. H.
Published: November 2018

Significance

We overcame the difficulty of disentangling biotic and abiotic effects on decomposition by using the largest field-based reciprocal transplant experiment to date. We showed that decomposition responses to climate depend on the composition of microbial communities, which is not considered in terrestrial carbon models. Microbial communities varied in their effects on both mass loss and types of carbon decomposed in an interactive manner not predicted by current theory. Contrary to the traditional paradigm, bacterial communities appeared to have a stronger impact on grassland litter decomposition rates than fungi. Furthermore, bacterial communities shifted more rapidly in response to changing climates than fungi. This information is critical to improving global terrestrial carbon models and predicting ecosystem responses to climate change.
Self-cleavage of the
glmS
ribozyme core is controlled by a fragile folding element
Authors: Savinov Andrew , Block Steven M.
Published: November 2018

Significance

Riboswitches are structured mRNA elements that regulate gene expression in response to metabolite ligands. The bacterial
glmS
riboswitch regulates a protein with a key role in cell wall biosynthesis. This riboswitch follows an unusual mechanism, acting as a ligand-activated self-cleaving ribozyme. Understanding how this RNA folds may aid development of antibiotics targeting it. We used optical tweezers to investigate this ribozyme riboswitch at the single-molecule level. We found that folding and function are intertwined in this system, with a dynamically unstable folding transition controlling catalysis. Furthermore, binding of the ligand fails to stabilize the weakly favored folded state. Hence, the
glmS
ribozyme does not follow the conventional model for riboswitch switching, in which ligand binding stabilizes a particular switch conformation.
Intrinsic anion diffusivity in lead halide perovskites is facilitated by a soft lattice
Authors: Lai Minliang , Obliger Amael , Lu Dylan , Kley Christopher S. , Bischak Connor G. , Kong Qiao , Lei Teng , Dou Letian , Ginsberg Naomi S. , Limmer David T. , Yang Peidong
Published: November 2018

Significance

Understanding and controlling the ion migration in a solid-state semiconductor is essential for device performance in modern photonics, electronics, and optoelectronics. Direct microstructural observation and atomic-scale mechanism of the intrinsic lattice diffusion are still highly challenging. Here, we report the direct visualization of halide anion interdiffusion in CsPbCl
3
–CsPbBr
3
single crystalline nanowire heterojunctions via nanoscale imaging, allowing for the direct measuring of intrinsic lattice diffusivities. The intrinsic halide diffusivities were found to be several orders of magnitudes lower than those reported in polycrystalline thin films. Together with multiscale modeling, we further demonstrate how anionic diffusion in lead halides is determined by low barriers to vacancy hopping and facilitated by the soft perovskite lattice.
Improving obesity prevention among university students through a tailored information design approach
Authors: Liao Haoran , Lonsdale Maria dos Santos
Published: November 2018

University years are a critical period for weight gain primarily due to unhealthy changes in eating behavior in students. This is the first study to focus on the impact of tailored information design approaches on the awareness and retention of obesity related information, specifically by university students. A motion graphics was developed through a comprehensive user-centered research and design process that involved a scoping study (observation, questionnaire and focus group), usability testing (five stages of iteration), and a performance test. The results show low previous knowledge and a statistical significant impact on the understanding of information with a tailored user-centered motion graphics.
Theoretical, empirical and methodological approaches for studying the Afro-Brazilian continuum of Portuguese
Authors: Galves Charlotte
Published: November 2018

The aim of this chapter is to propose a discussion based on the recent empirical and theoretical progress on the issue of the origins of Brazilian Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese innovations will be presented in two separate sets. The first includes linguistic features that are present in all Brazilian dialects and can be considered as being characteristic of the spoken standard in Brazil. The second contains features that are not shared by all Brazilian dialects, but are restricted to some geographical areas or linguistic communities. All the features described for Brazilian Portuguese are shared by African varieties of Portuguese, which indicates that they have emerged as a result of contact-induced changes. The facts discussed suggest that in studies on the Afro-Brazilian continuum of Portuguese, we should include not only data about the languages involved in the contact process, but also information about the social conditions that contribute to assigning to each of those languages its weight in the competition created by the contact situation.
Research on L2 varieties of European languages
Authors: Gonçalves Perpétua
Published: November 2018

This chapter shows how the concepts of Internalized and Externalized language (Chomsky, 1986), while making clear the distinction between the products of language behaviour and the system of knowledge represented in the mind of individuals, can provide an adequate background to account for the formal grammars of L2 varieties and for the role of L1 transfer in their genesis. To support this approach, I will present linguistic innovations in the realization of different types of verbal arguments in Mozambican Portuguese, an African L2 variety typically acquired by Bantu L1 speakers. The evidence of the study draws upon observational data produced by L2 speakers of Portuguese.
Variable grammars
Authors: Guy Gregory R.
Published: November 2018

Linguists generally postulate a mental grammar which children infer from the speech they encounter, and then use to generate their own speech productions. This grammar is often assumed to be invariant and categorical. Language in use, however, is massively variable: the child encounters diversity at the level of dialect, sociolect, and idiolect. Furthermore, all units of language have multiple realizations and fuzzy boundaries. This raises a fundamental question: if the data is variable, even continuous, how does the child arrive at a grammar that is categorical and discrete? I argue that the system that a learner infers is not invariant and discrete, but rather one that recognizes, incorporates, manipulates, and generates variability.
Discovering structure
Authors: Travis Catherine E. , Torres Cacoullos Rena
Published: November 2018

We probe grammatical person differences comparing 3sg with 1sg in actual language use, utilizing subject pronoun expression in Spanish. We reconfigure the familiar constraint of accessibility to distinguish between clause linking (prosodic and syntactic connectedness) in coreferential contexts and distance from the previous mention (intervening clauses) in non-coreferential contexts. This refinement reveals that accessibility impacts 1sg earlier than 3sg, for which the pronoun rate rises more slowly with increasing distance. At the same time, for pronominal and unexpressed subjects, a greater proportion of 3sg than 1sg occurs in coreferential contexts. 3sg pronominal and unexpressed subjects thus tend to cluster more closely. By these differences in the workings of accessibility and in contextual distribution, unlike speech act participant 1sg, 3sg is a transient person in discourse.
An incomplete disquisition against ‘incomplete acquisition’
Authors: den Dikken Marcel
Published: November 2018

This chapter presents a multi-pronged argument, from a generative syntactic perspective, against the notion of ‘incomplete acquisition,’ centered on subjunctive usage by Spanish heritage speakers in New York City. Special attention is paid to the distribution of the subjunctive in futurate cuando clauses and in causative and permissive constructions with hacer and dejar. It is argued that the distribution of the subjunctive in second-generation speakers of Spanish in New York City is different from that seen in monolingual Spanish speakers; but it has not been in completely acquired. The paper also contains relevant discussion of English let’s hortatives, and the acquisition of subject–auxiliary inversion in root wh-questions by first- and second-language learners of English.
Interpersonal adverbs in FDG
Authors: Keizer Evelien
Published: November 2018

The aim of this chapter is to present an FDG analysis of interpersonal adverbs like frankly, fortunately and briefly. Although the literature on these adverbs (also referred to as parenthetical, disjunctive, or comment adverbs) is extensive, and their discourse-pragmatic functions and semantic properties, as well as their formal (syntactic, prosodic) behaviour, have been described in considerable detail, no unified, theoretically framed account has been proposed that captures all these different features, and the interaction between them, in a single model. Concentrating on the adverb frankly, and using data from a variety of English corpora (COCA, BYU-BNC and NOW), this chapter argues that the theory of FDG, with its distinction between an interpersonal (speaker-bound) and a representational (non-speaker-bound) level, offers the means to provide such an account. Its layered organization provides the means to distinguish between adverbs of different scope, while the distinction between adverbs functioning as modifiers within a Discourse Act and those that functioning as separate Discourse Acts makes it possible to distinguish between interpersonal adverbs that are prosodically integrated in the linear realization of the utterance and those that are prosodically independent. Moreover, in accordance with the dynamic, top-down approach of the model, the syntactic behaviour and prosodic realization of adverbs is shown to follow systematically from their functional (discourse-pragmatic and semantic) features.
External possessor constructions and Cree relational inflection compared
Authors: Cenerini Chantale
Published: November 2018

This chapter presents the results of fieldwork and research on the relational inflection in Cree (Cenerini 2014). This form is functionally and formally similar to External Possessor Constructions (EPCs) in Romance and Germanic languages: they both acknowledge participants who are not syntactically licensed by the verb, but that the Speaker perceives to be topical, or particularly affected by the action, and with which she/he empathises. However, unlike the EPC, the relational inflection is not restricted to cases of possession, and is limited only to third person referents. Also, rather than indirect object marking, the relational is realized as a verbal suffix. Finally, it will be argued that, as both constructions are motivated by pragmatic factors, Van de Velde’s (2013) representation of EPCs as Subacts at the Interpersonal Level can be extended to the relational inflection.
High-strain-rate deformation behaviour of new high-Mn austenitic steel during impact shock-loading
Authors: Eskandari M. , Mohtadi-Bonab M. A. , Yeganeh M. , Szpunar J. A. , Odeshi A. G.
Published: November 2018

The influence of impact shock-loading was investigated on the mechanical behaviour, microstructure evolution, and texture of a new high-Mn steel. The mechanical behaviour of the shock-loaded specimen was compared with quasi-static compression condition. A Hopkinson pressure bar setup was used to perform the high-strain-rate deformation. Continuous yielding was observed under both low and high-strain-rate deformation. The yield stress also illustrated a positive strain-rate sensitivity with increasing strain-rate. An obvious increase in the flow stress of the steel was detected at higher strain-rate. A strain hardening followed by a strain softening was detected in stress–strain curve after shock-loading. Electron backscatter diffraction also displayed the activation of strain-induced ϵ-martensite and ά-martensite while deformation twinning was absent at high-strain-rate.
The tarantula toxin GxTx detains K+ channel gating charges in their resting conformation
Authors: Tilley Drew C. , Angueyra Juan M. , Eum Kenneth S. , Kim Heesoo , Chao Luke H. , Peng Anthony W. , Sack Jon T.
Published: November 2018

Allosteric ligands modulate protein activity by altering the energy landscape of conformational space in ligand–protein complexes. Here we investigate how ligand binding to a K+ channel’s voltage sensor allosterically modulates opening of its K+-conductive pore. The tarantula venom peptide guangxitoxin-1E (GxTx) binds to the voltage sensors of the rat voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channel Kv2.1 and acts as a partial inverse agonist. When bound to GxTx, Kv2.1 activates more slowly, deactivates more rapidly, and requires more positive voltage to reach the same K+-conductance as the unbound channel. Further, activation kinetics are more sigmoidal, indicating that multiple conformational changes coupled to opening are modulated. Single-channel current amplitudes reveal that each channel opens to full conductance when GxTx is bound. Inhibition of Kv2.1 channels by GxTx results from decreased open probability due to increased occurrence of long-lived closed states; the time constant of the final pore opening step itself is not impacted by GxTx. When intracellular potential is less than 0 mV, GxTx traps the gating charges on Kv2.1’s voltage sensors in their most intracellular position. Gating charges translocate at positive voltages, however, indicating that GxTx stabilizes the most intracellular conformation of the voltage sensors (their resting conformation). Kinetic modeling suggests a modulatory mechanism: GxTx reduces the probability of voltage sensors activating, giving the pore opening step less frequent opportunities to occur. This mechanism results in K+-conductance activation kinetics that are voltage-dependent, even if pore opening (the rate-limiting step) has no inherent voltage dependence. We conclude that GxTx stabilizes voltage sensors in a resting conformation, and inhibits K+ currents by limiting opportunities for the channel pore to open, but has little, if any, direct effect on the microscopic kinetics of pore opening. The impact of GxTx on channel gating suggests that Kv2.1’s pore opening step does not involve movement of its voltage sensors.
RETRACTED: Study on Agricultural Products Promotion Strategy of Three-party Linkage Model under the Background of Internet Plus
Authors: Ma Xiaowei
Published: November 2018

“Internet +” has become the background of economic and social development today. The rapid development of information technology has provided conditions for accelerating the construction of agricultural informatization. The promotion of internet platforms plays a more important role in the sales of agricultural products. This article focuses on the overall situation of the internet in rural areas, based on the province of Jiangsu, from the internet infrastructure, the number of Internet users, the introduction of network promotion preferential policies in several aspects of agricultural products; analyzed the status quo of agricultural products network promotion mode from the aspects of internet transaction security, single means of network promotion, offline distribution; based on the analysis of the basic background, advantages and disadvantages of the Internet marketing and sales of agricultural products today, this paper discusses the strategy of internet promotion of agricultural products based on the tripartite linkage model of “political school enterprises” and provides reference for agricultural product operators and researchers in related fields.
ukbREST: efficient and streamlined data access for reproducible research in large biobanks
Authors: Pividori Milton , Im Hae Kyung
Published: November 2018

Large biobanks, such as UK Biobank with half a million participants, are changing the scale and availability of genotypic and phenotypic data for researchers to ask fundamental questions about the biology of health and disease. The breadth of the UK Biobank data is enabling discoveries at an unprecedented pace. However, this size and complexity pose new challenges to investigators who need to keep the accruing data up to date, comply with potential consent changes, and efficiently and reproducibly extract subsets of the data to answer specific scientific questions. Here we propose a tool called ukbREST designed for the UK Biobank study (easily extensible to other biobanks), which allows authorized users to efficiently retrieve phenotypic and genetic data. It exposes a REST API that makes data highly accessible inside a private and secure network, allowing the data specification in a human readable text format easily shareable with other researchers. These characteristics make ukbREST an important tool to make biobank’s valuable data more readily accessible to the research community and facilitate reproducibility of the analysis, a key aspect of science.

Availability and implementation

It is implemented in Python using the Flask-RESTful framework for the API, and it is under the MIT license. It works with PostgreSQL and a Docker image is available for easy deployment. The source code and documentation is available in Github: https://github.com/hakyimlab/ukbrest.
Opioidergic Regulation of Emotional Arousal: A Combined PET–fMRI Study
Authors: Karjalainen Tomi , Seppälä Kerttu , Glerean Enrico , Karlsson Henry K , Lahnakoski Juha M , Nuutila Pirjo , Jääskeläinen Iiro P , Hari Riitta , Sams Mikko , Nummenmaa Lauri
Published: November 2018

Emotions can be characterized by dimensions of arousal and valence (pleasantness). While the functional brain bases of emotional arousal and valence have been actively investigated, the neuromolecular underpinnings remain poorly understood. We tested whether the opioid and dopamine systems involved in reward and motivational processes would be associated with emotional arousal and valence. We used in vivo positron emission tomography to quantify μ-opioid receptor and type 2 dopamine receptor (MOR and D2R, respectively) availability in brains of 35 healthy adult females. During subsequent functional magnetic resonance imaging carried out to monitor hemodynamic activity, the subjects viewed movie scenes of varying emotional content. Arousal and valence were associated with hemodynamic activity in brain regions involved in emotional processing, including amygdala, thalamus, and superior temporal sulcus. Cerebral MOR availability correlated negatively with the hemodynamic responses to arousing scenes in amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, and hypothalamus, whereas no positive correlations were observed in any brain region. D2R availability—here reliably quantified only in striatum—was not associated with either arousal or valence. These results suggest that emotional arousal is regulated by the MOR system, and that cerebral MOR availability influences brain activity elicited by arousing stimuli.
Adaption and validation of the Working Alliance Inventory for General Practice: qualitative review and cross-sectional surveys
Authors: Sturgiss Elizabeth A , Rieger Elizabeth , Haesler Emily , Ridd Matthew J , Douglas Kirsty , Galvin Shelley L
Published: November 2018

Background

Relational aspects of primary care are important, but we have no standard measure for assessment. The ‘working alliance’ incorporates elements of the therapeutic relationship, shared decision-making, goal setting and communication skills. The Working Alliance Inventory (short form) (WAI-SF) has been used in adult psychology, and a high score on the survey is associated with improved outcomes for clients.

Objective

To adapt the WAI-SF for use between GPs and patients and to test its concurrent validity with measures of shared decision-making and the doctor–patient relationship and discriminant validity with measures of social desirability.

Methods

Two rounds of online survey feedback from 55 GPs and 47 patients were used to adapt the WAI-SF—the WAI-GP. The tool was then completed by 142 patients in waiting rooms after seeing their GP and by 16 GPs at the end of their session. Concurrent validity with measures of shared decision-making and patient–doctor depth of relationship was determined using Spearman Rho correlations. Patients also completed two social desirability surveys, and discriminant validity with WAI-GP was assessed.

Results

Following feedback, the survey was re-worded to remove phrases that were perceived as judgmental or irrelevant. The patient measure of the WAI-GP was strongly correlated with Dyadic OPTION (rho = 0.705, P = 0.0001) and Patient–Doctor Depth of Relationship scale (rho = 0.591, P = 0.0001) and not with measures of social desirability.

Conclusion

The psychometric properties of the WAI-GP support its use for measuring GP-patient alliance. Possibilities for use include assessing the influence of therapeutic alliance on the effectiveness of interventions.
Political Trust as a Determinant of Volatile Vote Intentions: Separating Within- From Between-Person Effects
Authors: Voogd Remko , van der Meer Tom , van der Brug Wouter
Published: November 2018

This article studies the oft-assumed destabilizing effect of political distrust on party preferences. We argue that there are two mechanisms that relate political trust to electoral volatility: (1) structurally low trust undermines the formation of stable party preferences and thereby stimulates volatility, and (2) declining trust drives voters, particularly supporters of parties in government, to change party preference. These rivaling mechanisms are often conflated. Using the within–between random effects approach on two extensive panel data sets (covering three different governmental periods in The Netherlands between 2006 and 2017) allows us to separate both mechanisms and estimate them simultaneously. We find evidence for both the structural and the dynamic effects of political trust on changing vote intentions.
Hopf-algebraic Deformations of Products and Wick Polynomials
Authors: Ebrahimi-Fard Kurusch , Patras Frédéric , Tapia Nikolas , Zambotti Lorenzo
Published: November 2018

We present an approach to cumulant–moment relations and Wick polynomials based on extensive use of convolution products of linear functionals on a coalgebra. This allows, in particular, to understand the construction of Wick polynomials as the result of a Hopf algebra deformation under the action of linear automorphisms induced by multivariate moments associated to an arbitrary family of random variables with moments of all orders. We also generalize the notion of deformed product in order to discuss how these ideas appear in the recent theory of regularity structures.
Impact of document consolidation on healthcare providers’ perceived workload and information reconciliation tasks: a mixed methods study
Authors: Hosseini Masoud , Faiola Anthony , Jones Josette , Vreeman Daniel J , Wu Huanmei , Dixon Brian E
Published: November 2018

Background

Information reconciliation is a common yet complex and often time-consuming task performed by healthcare providers. While electronic health record systems can receive “outside information” about a patient in electronic documents, rarely does the computer automate reconciling information about a patient across all documents.

Materials and Methods

Using a mixed methods design, we evaluated an information system designed to reconcile information across multiple electronic documents containing health records for a patient received from a health information exchange (HIE) network. Nine healthcare providers participated in scenario-based sessions in which they manually consolidated information across multiple documents. Accuracy of consolidation was measured along with the time spent completing 3 different reconciliation scenarios with and without support from the information system. Participants also attended an interview about their experience. Perceived workload was evaluated quantitatively using the NASA-TLX tool. Qualitative analysis focused on providers’ impression of the system and the challenges faced when reconciling information in practice.

Results

While 5 providers made mistakes when trying to manually reconcile information across multiple documents, no participants made a mistake when the system supported their work. Overall perceived workload decreased significantly for scenarios supported by the system (37.2% in referrals, 18.4% in medications, and 31.5% in problems scenarios, P < 0.001). Information reconciliation time was reduced significantly when the system supported provider tasks (58.8% in referrals, 38.1% in medications, and 65.1% in problem scenarios).

Conclusion

Automating retrieval and reconciliation of information across multiple electronic documents shows promise for reducing healthcare providers’ task complexity and workload.
Making the world from topological order
Authors: Ball Philip
Published: November 2018

Topology used to be a term confined to a branch of pure mathematics, where it referred to an invariant property of shape. The classic example was the way objects containing a single hole, like a torus and a coffee cup with handle, can be smoothly moulded into one another without tearing. But topological considerations have long played a role in the physics of matter, where for example they might dictate particular arrangements of component parts that can’t be erased from the system. The classic example here is the fact that a ‘hairy ball’ can’t be combed flat without having at least two pointy tufts. Such ‘defects’ in organization can be considered ‘topologically protected’, since they are robust against any recombing of the hair. They are universal features that don’t depend on the material specifics of the system: topological defects in liquid crystals are analogous to defects in spacetime called cosmic strings.

 In the past several decades in particular, properties of matter arising from topological considerations have become a major theme, reflected for example in the award of the 1985 and 1998 Nobel Prizes in Physics for discoveries involving the quantum Hall effect. Here the ‘Hall conductance’, quantifying the passage of electrical current in a 2D conductor in the presence of a transverse magnetic field, takes precise integral or fractional multiples of a particular quantized value related to the electron charge. This behaviour persists regardless of how we modify the material, for example by adding impurities. Topological phases and transitions were also a feature of the work that won the 2016 Nobel Prize.

 It has become recognized that the topological properties of the quantum-mechanical electronic structures of certain materials can give them unusual and perhaps useful properties. Some researchers think, for example, that ‘topological matter’ might supply quantum bits for quantum computation that resist the randomizing effects of noise.

 Xiao-Gang Wen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been developing ideas about ‘topological order’ in fundamental physics for several decades. His notions of how topology in the underlying structure of spacetime might give rise to fundamental particles and forces make a connection to the topological phases recognized in condensed matter, revealing a new unifying principle in physics. National Science Review spoke to him about his work.
Querying About the Use of Specific E-Cigarette Devices May Enhance Accurate Measurement of E-Cigarette Prevalence Rates Among High School Students
Authors: Morean Meghan E , Camenga Deepa R , Bold Krysten W , Kong Grace , Jackson Asti , Simon Patricia , Cavallo Dana A , Krishnan-Sarin Suchitra
Published: November 2018

Introduction

Prevalence estimates of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use may underestimate actual use in youth. Confusion resulting from the fact that a multitude of devices (eg, vape pens, JUULs) fall under the umbrella term “e-cigarettes,” the use of different names to refer to e-cigarettes (eg, vapes, electronic vaping devices), and the use of different terminology to refer to e-cigarette use (eg, “vaping,” “JUULing”), may lead some young e-cigarette users to incorrectly indicate nonuse. Therefore, we compared rates of endorsing lifetime e-cigarette use when adolescents were asked about lifetime e-cigarette use in two different ways.

Methods

In May to June 2018, a total of 1960 students from two high schools in Connecticut completed a computerized, school-based survey. Participants first reported on lifetime “e-cigarette” use and, subsequently, on lifetime use of five different e-cigarette devices: disposables, cig-a-likes, or E-hookahs; vape pens or Egos; JUULs; pod systems other than JUULs such as PHIX or Suorin; and advanced personal vaporizers or mods.

Results

In total, 35.8% of students endorsed lifetime “e-cigarette” use, whereas 51.3% endorsed lifetime use of at least one e-cigarette device. The kappa statistic indicated only 66.6% agreement between the methods of assessing e-cigarette use. Overall, 31.5% of adolescents who endorsed lifetime device use did not endorse lifetime “e-cigarette” use, although rates of discordant responding varied across subgroups of interest (eg, sex, race).

Conclusions

Assessing adolescents’ use of specific e-cigarette devices likely yields more accurate results than assessing the use of “e-cigarettes.” If these findings are replicated in a nationally representative sample, regulatory efforts requiring all e-cigarette devices to be clearly labeled as “e-cigarettes” may help to reduce confusion.

Implications

Different prevalence estimates of lifetime e-cigarette use were obtained depending on the way that prevalence was assessed. Specifically, fewer adolescents (35.8%) endorsed lifetime e-cigarette use when they were asked “Have you ever tried an e-cigarette, even one or two puffs?” than when they were queried about lifetime use of five different e-cigarette devices (51.3%). Among those who endorsed lifetime use of at least one specific e-cigarette device, 31.5% did not endorse lifetime “e-cigarette” use. These findings suggest that when assessing adolescents’ lifetime e-cigarette use, using of terms referring to specific devices likely produces more accurate prevalence estimates than using the term “e-cigarettes.”