Encouraging the use of the x-ray machine by the individual dentist

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In Defense of Quantum Dualism

This paper explores the theoretical compatibility of substance dualism with a physicalist framework, challenging the notion that physicalism inherently precludes dualism. Acknowledging foundational physicalist principles like reductionism, weakly-emergent consciousness, conservation laws, and the limited impact of quantum indeterminacy, we challenge the conclusion that the universe is thus causally closed. Instead, we propose a speculative model where an extra-physical entity (akin to a “soul”) might intentionally influence quantum outcomes, and examine it as a possible mechanism for libertarian free will. We consider the “amplification problem” faced by the approach: the challenge of scaling subtle quantum influences, typically inconsequential, to a level that significantly impacts processes associated with human free will. Bob Doyle's Cogito model provides a solution, wherein quantum-level events can be linked to conscious human choices. Our paper does not seek to demonstrate that such a dualist model is probable, only that it is possible to construct a plausible dualist model within established scientific parameters

Force-velocity relation and density profiles for biased diffusion in an adsorbed monolayer

In this paper, which completes our earlier short publication [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 511 (2000)], we study dynamics of a hard-core tracer particle (TP) performing a biased random walk in an adsorbed monolayer, composed of mobile hard-core particles undergoing continuous exchanges with a vapor phase. In terms of an approximate approach, based on the decoupling of the third-order correlation functions, we obtain the density profiles of the monolayer particles around the TP and derive the force-velocity relation, determining the TP terminal velocity, V_{tr}, as the function of the magnitude of external bias and other system's parameters. Asymptotic forms of the monolayer particles density profiles at large separations from the TP, and behavior of V_{tr} in the limit of small external bias are found explicitly.Comment: Latex, 31 pages, 3 figure

NADPH and glutathione redox link TCA cycle activity to endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis

Many metabolic diseases disrupt endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis, but little is known about how metabolic activity is communicated to the ER. Here, we show in hepatocytes and other metabolically active cells that decreasing the availability of substrate for the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle diminished NADPH production, elevated glutathione oxidation, led to altered oxidative maturation of ER client proteins, and attenuated ER stress. This attenuation was prevented when glutathione oxidation was disfavored. ER stress was also alleviated by inhibiting either TCA-dependent NADPH production or Glutathione Reductase. Conversely, stimulating TCA activity increased NADPH production, glutathione reduction, and ER stress. Validating these findings, deletion of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier-which is known to decrease TCA cycle activity and protect the liver from steatohepatitis-also diminished NADPH, elevated glutathione oxidation, and alleviated ER stress. Together, our results demonstrate a novel pathway by which mitochondrial metabolic activity is communicated to the ER through the relay of redox metabolites

Lizards Cooperatively Tunnel to Construct a Long-Term Home for Family Members

Constructing a home to protect offspring while they mature is common in many vertebrate groups, but has not previously been reported in lizards. Here we provide the first example of a lizard that constructs a long-term home for family members, and a rare case of lizards behaving cooperatively. The great desert skink, Liopholis kintorei from Central Australia, constructs an elaborate multi-tunnelled burrow that can be continuously occupied for up to 7 years. Multiple generations participate in construction and maintenance of burrows. Parental assignments based on DNA analysis show that immature individuals within the same burrow were mostly full siblings, even when several age cohorts were present. Parents were always captured at burrows containing their offspring, and females were only detected breeding with the same male both within- and across seasons. Consequently, the individual investments made to construct or maintain a burrow system benefit their own offspring, or siblings, over several breeding seasons

Innovative teaching knowledge stays with users

Programs seeking to transform undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses often strive for participating faculty to share their knowledge of innovative teaching practices with other faculty in their home departments. Here, we provide interview, survey, and social network analyses revealing that faculty who use innovative teaching practices preferentially talk to each other, suggesting that greater steps are needed for information about innovative practices to reach faculty more broadly

Context and content of teaching conversations: exploring how to promote sharing of innovative teaching knowledge between science faculty

Background: Change strategies may leverage interpersonal relationships and conversations to spread teaching innovations among science faculty. Knowledge sharing refers to the process by which individuals transfer information and thereby spread innovative ideas within an organization. We use knowledge sharing as a lens for identifying factors that encourage productive teaching-related conversations between individuals, characterizing the context and content of these discussions, and understanding how peer interactions may shape instructional practices. In this study, we interview 19 science faculty using innovative teaching practices about the teaching-focused conversations they have with different discussion partners. Results: This qualitative study describes characteristics of the relationship between discussion partners, what they discuss with respect to teaching, the amount of help-seeking that occurs, and the perceived impacts of these conversations on their teaching. We highlight the role of office location and course overlap in bringing faculty together and characterize the range of topics they discuss, such as course delivery and teaching strategies. We note the tendency of faculty to seek out partners with relevant expertise and describe how faculty perceive their discussion partners to influence their instructional practices and personal affect. Finally, we elaborate on how these themes vary depending on the relationship between discussion partners. Conclusions: The knowledge sharing framework provides a useful lens for investigating how various factors affect faculty conversations around teaching. Building on this framework, our results lead us to propose two hypotheses for how to promote sharing teaching knowledge among faculty, thereby identifying productive directions for further systematic inquiry. In particular, we propose that productive teaching conversations might be cultivated by fostering collaborative teaching partnerships and developing departmental structures to facilitate sharing of teaching expertise. We further suggest that social network theories and other examinations of faculty behavior can be useful approaches for researching the mechanisms that drive teaching reform

Effects of heavy ion particle irradiation on spore germination of bacillus spp. From extremely hot and cold environments

Extremophiles are optimal models in experimentally addressing questions about the effects of cosmic radiation on biological systems. The resistance to high charge energy (HZE) particles, and helium (He) ions and iron (Fe) ions (LET at 2.2 and 200 keV/µm, respectively, until 1000 Gy), of spores from two thermophiles, Bacillus horneckiae SBP3 and Bacillus licheniformis T14, and two psychrotolerants, Bacillus sp. A34 and A43, was investigated. Spores survived He irradiation better, whereas they were more sensitive to Fe irradiation (until 500 Gy), with spores from thermophiles being more resistant to irradiations than psychrotolerants. The survived spores showed different germination kinetics, depending on the type/dose of irradiation and the germinant used. After exposure to He 1000 Gy, D-glucose increased the lag time of thermophilic spores and induced germination of psychrotolerants, whereas L-alanine and L-valine increased the germination efficiency, except alanine for A43. FTIR spectra showed important modifications to the structural components of spores after Fe irradiation at 250 Gy, which could explain the block in spore germination, whereas minor changes were observed after He radiation that could be related to the increased permeability of the inner membranes and alterations of receptor complex structures. Our results give new insights on HZE resistance of extremophiles that are useful in different contexts, including astrobiology

Metabarcoding clarifies the diet of the elusive and vulnerable Australian tjakura (Great Desert Skink, Liopholis kintorei)

Introduction: Accurately quantifying the diet of species has implications for our understanding of their ecology and conservation. Yet, determining the dietary composition of threatened and elusive species in the wild is often difficult. Methods: This study presents the first dietary assessment of tjakura (Liopholis kintorei) using non-invasive sampling of scats and high-throughput sequencing techniques. Results: The tjakura in Uluru consumed 48 invertebrates, 27 plants, and two vertebrate taxa. Fruit flies (Leucophenga spp.), beetles (Harpalus spp. and Omorgus spp.), mosquitos (Culicidae spp.), termites (Termitidae spp.), spiked mallow (Malvastrum americanum), bush tomatoes (Solanum centrale), and wild turnip (Brassica tournefortii) comprised the majority of the diet. Analysis of similarity revealed that food items did not differ significantly between tjakura age groups, seasons, or time since the last fire, however, adults, hot season, and fire scar of 2018 showed a relatively higher prey diversity. Discussion: These high similarities in diet composition between age classes and fire scars indicate potential intraspecific competition when food resources are scarce. The diet diversity and potential plasticity observed in this study reflect a dietary ecology influenced by food availability rather than preference. Our study demonstrates that scat DNA metabarcoding is an important complementary tool to conventional scat analysis or indigenous knowledge as most food items we identified were previously not recorded through those methods

Electrochemical and Photoelectrochemical Investigation of Water Oxidation with Hematite Electrodes

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was utilized to deposit uniform thin films of hematite (α-Fe2O3) on transparent conductive substrates for photocatalytic water oxidation studies. Comparison of the oxidation of water to the oxidation of a fast redox shuttle allowed for new insight in determining the rate limiting processes of water oxidation at hematite electrodes. It was found that an additional overpotential is needed to initiate water oxidation compared to the fast redox shuttle. A combination of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, photoelectrochemical and electrochemical measurements were employed to determine the cause of the additional overpotential. It was found that photogenerated holes initially oxidize the electrode surface under water oxidation conditions, which is attributed to the first step in water oxidation. A critical number of these surface intermediates need to be generated in order for the subsequent hole-transfer steps to proceed. At higher applied potentials, the behavior of the electrode is virtually identical while oxidizing either water or the fast redox shuttle; the slight discrepancy is attributed to a shift in potential associated with Fermi level pinning by the surface states in the absence of a redox shuttle. A water oxidation mechanism is proposed to interpret these results