On the Evolution of Extreme Morphology: Patterns of Cost and Benefit in Sexually Selected Weapons

Sexually selected weapons represent some of the most spectacular morphologies in the animal world. They grow out of proportion with body size or other, more typically proportioned structures, and are some of the largest traits in both absolute and relative size. It is therefore unsurprising that animal weapons are some of the most intensely studied structures in biology. Yet, despite this interest, surprisingly little is known about the expression and evolution of these traits. In particular, four questions remain unanswered: How does selection act on weapons in the wild? Do the costs of large weapons ever outweigh the benefits? How are these patterns of cost and benefit reflected in the morphology and development of modern weaponed species? Can we use these patterns to infer the strength and direction of selection when natural observation is unattainable? My dissertation aims to answer these questions by describing the costs and benefits surrounding sexually selected weapons in the wild. I use the frog legged leaf beetle (Sagra femorata) as my primary study system. In Chapter 1, I provide the first description of S. femorata mating behavior in the wild and provide an explicit measure of selection acting on the their hindleg weapons. In Chapters 2 and 3, I investigate factors that may shape patterns of selection observed in Chapter 1 – specifically, biomechanical and metabolic cost. In Chapter 4, I explore broad trends in morphological scaling that result from patterns of selection described in earlier chapters. I review the literature surrounding weapon evolution and propose a new method for characterizing selective history through measures of static morphological scaling. Collectively, this work provides a comprehensive analysis of weapons within and across taxa, expanding our understanding of sexually selected morphology and setting the stage for future studies of sexual selection and morphological evolution

Feasibility of Emergency Department–initiated, Mobile Health Blood Pressure Intervention: An Exploratory, Randomized Clinical Trial

ObjectivesWe aimed to assess the feasibility of a text messaging intervention by determining the proportion of emergency department (ED) patients who responded to prompted home blood pressure (BP) self‐monitoring and had persistent hypertension. We also explored the effect of the intervention on systolic blood pressure (sBP) over time.MethodsWe conducted a randomized, controlled trial of ED patients with expected discharge to home with elevated BP. Participants were identified by automated alerts from the electronic health record. Those who consented received a BP cuff to take home and enrolled in the 3‐week screening phase. Text responders with persistent hypertension were randomized to control or weekly prompted BP self‐monitoring and healthy behavior text messages.ResultsAmong the 104 patients enrolled in the ED, 73 reported at least one home BP over the 3‐week run‐in (screening) period. A total of 55 of 73 reported a home BP of ≥140/90 and were randomized to SMS intervention (n = 28) or control (n = 27). The intervention group had significant sBP reduction over time with a mean drop of 9.1 mm Hg (95% confidence interval = 1.1 to 17.6).ConclusionsThe identification of ED patients with persistent hypertension using home BP self‐monitoring and text messaging was feasible. The intervention was associated with a decrease in sBP likely to be clinically meaningful. Future studies are needed to further refine this approach and determine its efficacy.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149295/1/acem13691.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149295/2/acem13691_am.pd

Elevated preoperative Galectin-3 is associated with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery

Abstract Background Previous research suggests that novel biomarkers may be used to identify patients at increased risk of acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between preoperative levels of circulating Galectin-3 (Gal-3) and acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery. Methods Preoperative serum Gal-3 was measured in 1498 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and/or valve surgery as part of the Northern New England Biomarker Study between 2004 and 2007. Preoperative Gal-3 levels were measured using multiplex assays and grouped into terciles. Univariate and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the predictive ability of Gal-3 terciles and AKI occurrence and severity. Results Before adjustment, patients in the highest tercile of Gal-3 had a 2.86-greater odds of developing postoperative KDIGO Stage 2 or 3 (p < 0.001) and 1.70-greater odds of developing KDIGO Stage 1 (p = < 0.001), compared to the first tercile. After adjustment, patients in the highest tercile had 2.95-greater odds of developing KDIGO Stage 2 or 3 (p < 0.001) and 1.71-increased odds of developing KDIGO Stage 1 (p = 0.001), compared to the first tercile. Compared to the base model, the addition of Gal-3 terciles improved discriminatory power compared to without Gal-3 terciles (test of equality = 0.042). Conclusion Elevated preoperative Gal-3 levels significantly improves predictive ability over existing clinical models for postoperative AKI and may be used to augment risk information for patients at the highest risk of developing AKI and AKI severity after cardiac surgery.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145735/1/12882_2018_Article_1093.pd

Architecture Optimization Dramatically Improves Reverse Bias Stability in Perovskite Solar Cells: A Role of Polymer Hole Transport Layers

We report that device architecture engineering has a substantial impact on the reverse bias instability that has been reported as a critical issue in commercializing perovskite solar cells. We demonstrate breakdown voltages exceeding -15 V in typical pin structured perovskite solar cells via two steps: i) using polymer hole transporting materials; ii) using a more electrochemically stable gold electrode. While device degradation can be exacerbated by higher reverse bias and prolonged exposure, our as-fabricated perovskite solar cells completely recover their performance even after stressing at -7 V for 9 hours both in the dark and under partial illumination. Following these observations, we systematically discuss and compare the reverse bias driven degradation pathways in perovskite solar cells with different device architectures. Our model highlights the role of electrochemical reaction rates and species in dictating the reverse bias stability of perovskite solar cells

Catching Element Formation In The Act

Gamma-ray astronomy explores the most energetic photons in nature to address some of the most pressing puzzles in contemporary astrophysics. It encompasses a wide range of objects and phenomena: stars, supernovae, novae, neutron stars, stellar-mass black holes, nucleosynthesis, the interstellar medium, cosmic rays and relativistic-particle acceleration, and the evolution of galaxies. MeV gamma-rays provide a unique probe of nuclear processes in astronomy, directly measuring radioactive decay, nuclear de-excitation, and positron annihilation. The substantial information carried by gamma-ray photons allows us to see deeper into these objects, the bulk of the power is often emitted at gamma-ray energies, and radioactivity provides a natural physical clock that adds unique information. New science will be driven by time-domain population studies at gamma-ray energies. This science is enabled by next-generation gamma-ray instruments with one to two orders of magnitude better sensitivity, larger sky coverage, and faster cadence than all previous gamma-ray instruments. This transformative capability permits: (a) the accurate identification of the gamma-ray emitting objects and correlations with observations taken at other wavelengths and with other messengers; (b) construction of new gamma-ray maps of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies where extended regions are distinguished from point sources; and (c) considerable serendipitous science of scarce events -- nearby neutron star mergers, for example. Advances in technology push the performance of new gamma-ray instruments to address a wide set of astrophysical questions.Comment: 14 pages including 3 figure

EHDprint dataset ver2

This data set represents a subset of project data used to train models for zero- and few-shot learning and ML-directed printing in February 2023.Advances in high resolution electrohydrodynamic inkjet (EHD) printing of functional materials are poised to enable additive and scalable large-area manufacturing for optical metasurfaces and flexible electronics. This would provide a fully additive, scalable pathway for the fabrication of flexible optoelectronics that rivals and even exceeds the performance of conventional subtractive electronics processing technologies. EHD printing moves additive printing of functional materials from the domain of conventional printing resolutions of >20 microns down to single micron and even submicron regimes that exceed the patterning resolution for large area lithography used in thin film silicon on glass processing for displays. There are, however, improvements in the technique that are required to make this a manufacturable technology of use to a broader range of materials and applications spanning electronics, photonic and optical metasurfaces, and interconnects. Process monitoring, optimization of new inks, and design for EHD are challenging due to the extremely small, high velocity femtoliter droplet sizes that are 1000X smaller than conventional inkjet droplets and high droplet velocities and are beyond the limits of conventional droplet and imaging approaches. To achieve high throughput and reproducibility in the EHD inkjet’s complex process space, proven in-situ laser diffraction, in-situ imaging and characterization strategies will be used to optimize, train, and deploy machine learning models specialized in prediction and control of complex dynamical systems. By providing reproducible feature control at the micron and even submicron scale, this ML-guided manufacturing approach will make deployment of large-area photonic, sensing and high resolution flexible printed circuit and photonic technologies with features sizes approaching the wavelength of light feasible at scale. With this collaboration between the University of Washington, Iowa State University, and small businesses, we form an interdisciplinary team with members in different backgrounds and expertise in printed electronics, metasurface design, materials, printing hardware and applications. We expect the project to have a disruptive impact on advanced ultralight optical materials, additive manufacture of micron-scale interconnects and functional devices, and data-driven process control. The proposed work directly addresses Part E. of the FlexTech/SEM RFP, specifically advancing the development of optical metamaterials and AI for process optimization. The work, as a sustainable, additive manufacturing alternative to subtractive semiconductor processing, addresses Part C. Lastly, this project also addresses a key scope area for Part D – Heterogeneous packaging as it applies to FHE- Heterogeneous Integration, specifically in that it provides an additive processing with fine lines and pads with pads separation of <10um. The industrial collaborators provide a pathway for manufacturing and product commercialization of this work.SEMI FlexTech Army Research Laborator

iOBPdb – A Database for Experimentally Determined Functional Characterization of Odorant Binding Proteins

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are extra-cellular proteins which solubilize and transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Thousands of OBPs have been identified through genome sequencing and hundreds have been characterized by fluorescence ligand binding assays in individual studies. There is a limited understanding of the comparative structure-function relations of OBPs, primarily due to a lack of a centralized database that relates OBP binding affinity and structure. Combining 215 functional studies containing 381 unique OBPs from 91 insect species we present a database, iOBPdb: https://iobpdb.herokuapp.com, of OBP binding affinities for 620 unique VOC targets. This initial database provides powerful search and associative capabilities for retrieving and analyzing OBP-VOC binding interaction data. We present our results in a variety of phylogenetic representations as well as providing the binding profiles of OBP groups to VOC functional moieties. Potential applications include development of molecular probes for biosensors, novel bioassays and drugs, targeted pesticides which inhibit VOC / OBP interactions, and understanding odor sensing and perception in the brain.Partial funding was received from WE-REACH program at the University of Washington through the RADx RAD program at NIDCR/NIH

Weather data for Hudson Bay Mountain, 2003-2011

Temperature and precipitation data collected on Hudson Bay Mountain (alpine field site) over the years 2003, 2004, 3005, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011. Data was collected by Alaine Camfield, Kathy Martin and Will MacKenzie. SA stands for 'Smithers Airport' which was the closest weather station with available precipitation data early in the study when precipitation was not available for the study site. See associated paper for more details

iOBPdb A Database for Experimentally Determined Functional Characterization of Insect Odorant Binding Proteins

Abstract Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are extra-cellular proteins that solubilize and transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Thousands of OBPs have been identified through genome sequencing, and hundreds have been characterized by fluorescence ligand binding assays in individual studies. There is a limited understanding of the comparative structure-function relations of OBPs, primarily due to a lack of a centralized database that relates OBP binding affinity and structure. Combining 181 functional studies containing 382 unique OBPs from 91 insect species, we present a database, iOBPdb, of OBP binding affinities for 622 individual VOC targets. This initial database provides powerful search and associative capabilities for retrieving and analyzing OBP-VOC binding interaction data. We have validated this dataset using phylogenetic mapping to determine the authenticity of the collected sequences and whether they cluster according to their assigned subfamilies. Potential applications include developing molecular probes for biosensors, novel bioassays and drugs, targeted pesticides that inhibit VOC/OBP interactions, and understanding odor sensing and perception in the brain