Evaluation of Monilinia fructicola on apricot fruits

Monilinia fructicola has been a quarantine pathogen in Europe until 2014; however, the disease risk remains large for Prunus species, because of the continuing spreading around Europe. In order to assess the impact of this fungus on apricot fruits, differences in variety susceptibility need to be evaluated

A Comparison of Blocking Methods for Record Linkage

Record linkage seeks to merge databases and to remove duplicates when unique identifiers are not available. Most approaches use blocking techniques to reduce the computational complexity associated with record linkage. We review traditional blocking techniques, which typically partition the records according to a set of field attributes, and consider two variants of a method known as locality sensitive hashing, sometimes referred to as "private blocking." We compare these approaches in terms of their recall, reduction ratio, and computational complexity. We evaluate these methods using different synthetic datafiles and conclude with a discussion of privacy-related issues.Comment: 22 pages, 2 tables, 7 figure

Superconducting magnesium diboride films on Silicon with Tc0 about 24K grown via vacuum annealing from stoichiometric precursors

Superconducting magnesium diboride films with Tc0 ~ 24 K and sharp transition \~ 1 K were successfully prepared on silicon substrates by pulsed laser deposition from a stoichiometric MgB2 target. Contrary to previous reports, anneals at 630 degree and a background of 2x10^(-4) torr Ar/4%H2 were performed without the requirement of Mg vapor or an Mg cap layer. This integration of superconducting MgB2 films on silicon may thus prove enabling in superconductor-semiconductor device applications. Images of surface morphology and cross-section profiles by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that the films have a uniform surface morphology and thickness. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) reveals these films were contaminated with oxygen, originating either from the growth environment or from sample exposure to air. The oxygen contamination may account for the low Tc for those in-situ annealed films, while the use of Si as the substrate does not result in a decrease in Tc as compared to other substrates.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 15 references; due to file size limit, images were blure

Deuterium isotope effects on the solvolysis rates of cyclopentyl brosylates and tosylates

The brosylates and tosylates of cyclopentanol and its 1-d₁, c̲i̲s̲-2-d₁, t̲r̲a̲n̲s̲-2-d₁, and 2,2,5,5-d₄ analogs have been synthesized and their solvolysis rates measured at 25° in 70% vol. ethanol-water. The solvoylsis reactions were monitored by a conductance method. The isotope effects, kH/kD, observed for the brosylates and tosylates of each of the isotopically substituted cyclopentyl alcohols are as follows: 1-d₁-brosylate (1.1869) and 1-3₁-tosylate (1l1836); c̲i̲s̲-2-d₁-brosylate (1.1533) and c̲i̲s̲-2-3₁-tosylate (1.1577); t̲r̲a̲n̲s̲-2-d₁-brosylate (1.1803) and t̲r̲a̲n̲s̲-2-d₁-tosylate (1.1765); 2,2,5,5-d₄-brosylate (1.8881) and 2,2,5,5-d₄-tosylate (1.8863). The closeness in magnitude of the isotope effects for the c̲i̲s̲- and t̲r̲a̲n̲s̲-isomers is important in that it shows the cyclopentyl system to be very nearly planer. If they had been greatly different it would have indicated that the ring was quite puckered. More important, however, is the fact that the t̲r̲a̲n̲s̲-isotope effect is greater than the c̲i̲s̲-isotope effect. this means that specific solvation of the ß-hydrogens, leading to an elimination driving force, is a possible explanation of secondary deuterium isotope effects. The isotope effects for the d₄-compounds were calculated by taking the products of the squares of the c̲i̲s̲- and t̲r̲a̲n̲s̲-isotope effects. The calculated isotope effect was 1.8530 for the d₄-brosylate and 1.8552 for the d₄-tosylate. These vales are very near the observed values of 1.8881 and 1.8863 for the brosylate and tosylate, respectively. Because of the great precision (~0.1-0.2%) of the technique used in obtaining these results, the difference between the calculated and the observed isotope effects for both the brosylate and tosylate is considered to be a true difference. However, the closeness of the calculated and observed values does indicate an almost cumulative isotope effects which supports the hyperconjugation postulate as a possible explanation of secondary deuterium isotope rate effects. There is a very close agreement between the isotope effects for the brosylate and tosylate of any one given isotopically substituted cyclopentyl alcohol, e.g., the greatest difference exhibited was that of 0.38% for the c̲i̲s̲-compounds. This close agreement tends to indicate that when changing from one leaving group to another structurally similar leaving group there is a negligible influence on the isotope effect. Attempts were made to synthesize 2,2-d₂-cyclopentyl alcohol and c̲i̲s̲-2-d₁-5,5-d₂-cyclopentyl alcohol and the procedures are described in the Experimental section. Unfortunately, these synthetic procedures were unsuccessful --Abstract, page iii-iv

The MONROE Method: A Methodology on Navigating Race, Oppression, and Equity in Medical Education through Physician Cultural Responsibility

Many forms of oppression create barriers for health care, further health disparities, and impact the wellness of physicians. As health disparities, caused by the social determinants of health, complicate the practice of medicine, physicians’ risk of burnout increases. The practice of Physician Cultural Responsibility provides a means to overcome health disparities and support physicians while embracing the intersectionality of the populations they serve. Incorporation of Physician Cultural Responsibility into physician professional identity is essential for the practice to be life-long. As there is no standardized curriculum to address teaching the practice of Physician Cultural Responsibility, this study aims to evaluate a proposed curriculum for the adoption of Physician Cultural Responsibility into students’ physician professional identity, student experience, and knowledge transfer. Through the transformative research paradigm and transformative learning theory, a mixed-methods study of deidentified qualitative and quantitative data was performed using MaxQDA and SPSS (a = 0.05) analytical software. Results suggest successful adoption of Physician Cultural Responsibility in physician identity development, successful knowledge transfer, as well as improvements in collaboration, belonging, and support in student experiences with within in first year medical students. This curriculum offers best practices for a methodology to address the inequities of practice in cultural competency education requirements within medical education. This includes inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogy aimed at supporting the students’ development of skills that improve the patient-physician connection with all patients, limit the impact of personal biases on medical practice, and dismantle the social categorization of medicine. The practice of Physician Cultural Responsibility and it’s adoption in physician professional identity yields an opportunity to create the culture change necessary within medicine to improve equitable patient-centered care for all patients, overcome health disparities, and support physicians through the challenges of medical practice. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)

Neurobiology Meets Social Psychology: An Explanation of Feminists’ Attitudes Toward Abuse

Why might traumatic events during childhood, such as child abuse, be related to strong identification with more radical feminist beliefs? One explanation may lie in the changes in morphology and physiology of the brain in individuals with a history of child abuse. These changes in the limbic system specifically may influence cognition, affect, and behaviors that are consistent with radical feminist ideology

Opportunity and Life-Long Health Outcomes: A Review of the Effects and Proposed Solutions of Hypersegregation on Health Disparities

Hypersegregation, the overrepresentation of a racial group in a metropolitan area, is defined by evenness, exposure, concentration, centralization, and clustering. Hypersegregated communities are subjected to bias and have few resources and opportunities, which compounds the negative impact on one’s health and socioeconomic outcomes. This study aims to describe the effects of hypersegregation on health risks, chronic disease, violence, and compare the differences between hypersegregated and non-hypersegregated cities. Data were collected for Montgomery County, Ohio (MC) for low birth weight, infant mortality, diabetes, heart disease, and violent crime, and compared with data from Summit County (SC). There is a larger Black population and population below the poverty level in MC than SC. SC had increased bachelor’s degree attainment overall (6.5%) and for Whites (5%) but decreased attainment for Blacks (-1.1%) and increased low birth rate overall (0.1%) and for Blacks (1%) compared to MC. MC had increased infant mortality rates for Blacks (1.4%) and decreased for Whites (-1.2 per 1,000 births) and a larger age-adjusted diabetes mellitus and heart disease death rate per 100,000 for all races and genders in comparison to SC. SC had a larger burden of violent crime in comparison to MC. While increased burdens of health disparities exist for Black Americans in both counties, the hypersegregated county had a larger burden of health disparities for people of all races. Plans to improve health disparities may not target the specific needs of hypersegregated communities. Further research is needed to adequately address these specific health disparities