The Cricket : Morceau Characteristique

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/1465/thumbnail.jp

Disordered Eating, Perfectionism, Stress, and Satisfaction in Honors: A Research Collaborative Investigating a Community Concern

Moved by the lived experience of an honors student, authors describe a three-year Honors and Eating Concerns Research Collaborative (2019–2022), which examines the relationship between perfectionism and eating concerns among honors students. Under faculty advisement, first- and second-year honors psychology majors (n = 5) participated in the collective, carrying out three empirical studies (producing two honors theses) and gathering data from 413 high-achieving students across the curriculum (54 identifying as honors). In survey research, the instruments used were questionnaires and interviews; measures involved four scales—Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APSR), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ). Key findings suggest that concerns about eating, weight, and body shape are common among high-achieving students, who also experience elevated levels of perceived stress (women highest). Authors posit this faculty/ student engagement collaborative as a viable alternative to the traditional expert/ mentee model. A review of literature is provided, and implications for future study and broader appropriation are discussed

Cognitive Change during the Life Course and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Late Middle-Aged Men

AbstractImportance: Cognitive skills are known to decline through the lifespan with large individual differences. The molecular mechanisms for this decline are incompletely understood. Although leukocyte telomere length provides an index of cellular age that predicts the incidence of age-related diseases, it is unclear whether there is an association between cognitive decline and leukocyte telomere length. Objective: To examine the association between changes in cognitive function during adult life and leukocyte telomere length after adjusting for confounding factors such as education, mental health and life style. Design, setting and participants: Two groups of men with negative (n=97) and positive (n=93) change in cognitive performance were selected from a birth cohort of 1985 Danish men born in 1953. Cognitive performance of each individual was assessed at age ~20 and ~56 years. Leukocyte telomere length at age ~58 was measured using qPCR. Linear regression models were used to investigate the association between cognitive function and leukocyte telomere length. Results: Men with negative change in cognitive performance during adult life had significantly shorter mean leukocyte telomere length than men with positive change in cognitive performance (unadjusted difference β= - 0.09, 95% CI -0.16 - -0.02, p= 0.02). This association remained significant after adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, leisure time activity, body mass index and cholesterol (adjusted difference β= -0.09, 95% CI -0.17 - -0.01, p= 0.02) but was nonsignificant after adjusting for smoking, alcohol consumption, leisure time activity, body mass index cholesterol, current cognitive function, depression and education (adjusted difference β= -0.07, 95% CI -0.16 - -0.01, p= 0.08). Conclusion and relevance: Preclinical cognitive changes may be associated with leukocyte telomere length

Terminal Ligand and Packing Effects on Slow Relaxation in an Isostructural Set of [Dy(H2_{2}dapp)X2_{2}]+ Single Molecule Magnets**

Three new dysprosium complexes with a pentadentate ligand occupying five equatorial sites differ only in the nature of the axial ligands. These help tune the relaxation properties as judged by an analysis of the AC susceptibility data. More in depth analysis by using two recently suggested fitting equations lead to similar outcomes for all three systems. As a further contribution to the relaxation pathway involving the phonon bath it is concluded that a short nitrate-nitrate interaction between molecules helps dampen the spin phonon coupling. We report three structurally related single ion Dy compounds using the pentadentate ligand 2,6-bis((E)-1-(2-(pyridin-2-yl)-hydrazineylidene)ethyl)pyridine (H$_{2}$dapp) [Dy(H$_{2}$dapp)(NO$_{3}$)$_{2}$]NO$_{3}$ (1), [Dy(H$_{2}$dapp)(OAc)$_{2}$]Cl (2) and [Dy(H$_{2}$dapp)(NO$_{3}$)$_{2}$]Cl$_{0.92}$(NO$_{3}$)$_{0.08}$ (3). The (H$_{2}$dapp) occupies a helical twisted pentagonal equatorial arrangement with two anionic ligands in the axial positions. Further influence on the electronic and magnetic structure is provided by a closely associated counterion interacting with the central N−H group of the (H$_{2}$dapp). The slow relaxation of the magnetisation shows that the anionic acetates give the greatest slowing down of the magnetisation reversal. Further influence on the relaxation properties of compounds1 and 2 is the presence of short nitrate-nitrate intermolecular ligand contact opening further lattice relaxation pathways

An exactly solvable quantum-lattice model with a tunable degree of nonlocality

An array of N subsequent Laguerre polynomials is interpreted as an eigenvector of a non-Hermitian tridiagonal Hamiltonian $H$ with real spectrum or, better said, of an exactly solvable N-site-lattice cryptohermitian Hamiltonian whose spectrum is known as equal to the set of zeros of the N-th Laguerre polynomial. The two key problems (viz., the one of the ambiguity and the one of the closed-form construction of all of the eligible inner products which make $H$ Hermitian in the respective {\em ad hoc} Hilbert spaces) are discussed. Then, for illustration, the first four simplest, $k-$parametric definitions of inner products with $k=0,k=1,k=2$ and $k=3$ are explicitly displayed. In mathematical terms these alternative inner products may be perceived as alternative Hermitian conjugations of the initial N-plet of Laguerre polynomials. In physical terms the parameter $k$ may be interpreted as a measure of the "smearing of the lattice coordinates" in the model.Comment: 35 p

Electrical manipulation of spin states in a single electrostatically gated transition-metal complex

We demonstrate an electrically controlled high-spin (S=5/2) to low-spin (S=1/2) transition in a three-terminal device incorporating a single Mn2+ ion coordinated by two terpyridine ligands. By adjusting the gate-voltage we reduce the terpyridine moiety and thereby strengthen the ligand-field on the Mn-atom. Adding a single electron thus stabilizes the low-spin configuration and the corresponding sequential tunnelling current is suppressed by spin-blockade. From low-temperature inelastic cotunneling spectroscopy, we infer the magnetic excitation spectrum of the molecule and uncover also a strongly gate-dependent singlet-triplet splitting on the low-spin side. The measured bias-spectroscopy is shown to be consistent with an exact diagonalization of the Mn-complex, and an interpretation of the data is given in terms of a simplified effective model.Comment: Will appear soon in Nanoletter

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 43, No. 2

• The America\u27s Industrial Heritage Project: A Model for Cultural Tourism • The Harmonists are Waiting for You • The Quest for Authenticity in Tourism and Folklife Studies • Tourism and the Old Order Amish • The Log Cabin: Notes on its Structure and Dissemination • On the Making of Die Union Choral Harmonie (1833): Evidence from Henry C. Eyer\u27s Working Papers • In Memoriam: Paul R. Wieand, a True Artisthttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1139/thumbnail.jp

Model parameterization to simulate and compare the PAR absorption potential of two competing plant species

Mountain pastures dominated by the pasture grass Setaria sphacelata in the Andes of southern Ecuador are heavily infested by southern bracken (Pteridium arachnoideum), a major problem for pasture management. Field observations suggest that bracken might outcompete the grass due to its competitive strength with regard to the absorption of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). To understand the PAR absorption potential of both species, the aims of the current paper are to (1) parameterize a radiation scheme of a two-big-leaf model by deriving structural (LAI, leaf angle parameter) and optical (leaf albedo, transmittance) plant traits for average individuals from field surveys, (2) to initialize the properly parameterized radiation scheme with realistic global irradiation conditions of the Rio San Francisco Valley in the Andes of southern Ecuador, and (3) to compare the PAR absorption capabilities of both species under typical local weather conditions. Field data show that bracken reveals a slightly higher average leaf area index (LAI) and more horizontally oriented leaves in comparison to Setaria. Spectrometer measurements reveal that bracken and Setaria are characterized by a similar average leaf absorptance. Simulations with the average diurnal course of incoming solar radiation (1998–2005) and the mean leaf–sun geometry reveal that PAR absorption is fairly equal for both species. However, the comparison of typical clear and overcast days show that two parameters, (1) the relation of incoming diffuse and direct irradiance, and (2) the leaf–sun geometry play a major role for PAR absorption in the two-big-leaf approach: Under cloudy sky conditions (mainly diffuse irradiance), PAR absorption is slightly higher for Setaria while under clear sky conditions (mainly direct irradiance), the average bracken individual is characterized by a higher PAR absorption potential. (∼74 MJ m−2 year−1). The latter situation which occurs if the maximum daily irradiance exceeds 615 W m−2 is mainly due to the nearly orthogonal incidence of the direct solar beam onto the horizontally oriented frond area which implies a high amount of direct PAR absorption during the noon maximum of direct irradiance. Such situations of solar irradiance favoring a higher PAR absorptance of bracken occur in ∼36% of the observation period (1998–2005). By considering the annual course of PAR irradiance in the San Francisco Valley, the clear advantage of bracken on clear days (36% of all days) is completely compensated by the slight but more frequent advantage of Setaria under overcast conditions (64% of all days). This means that neither bracken nor Setaria show a distinct advantage in PAR absorption capability under the current climatic conditions of the study area

Trends in incidence of hospitalization for hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis in individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes with and without severe mental illness, in Denmark from 1996-2020:A nationwide study

OBJECTIVETo examine trends in incidence of acute diabetes complications in individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes with and without severe mental illness (SMI) in Denmark by age and calendar year.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSWe conducted a cohort study using nationwide registers from 1996-2020 to identify individuals with diabetes, ascertain SMI status (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression) and identify the outcomes, hospitalization for hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). We used Poisson regression to estimate incidence rates (IRs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of recurrent hypoglycemia and DKA events by SMI, age, calendar year, accounting for sex, diabetes duration, education, and country of origin.RESULTSAmongst 433,609 individuals with diabetes, 9% had SMI. Risk of (first and subsequent) hypoglycemia events was higher in individuals with SMI versus without SMI (IRR for first hypoglycemia event: type 1 diabetes: 1.77 [95% CI, 1.56-2.00], type 2 diabetes: 1.64 [95% CI, 1.56-1.74]). Individuals with schizophrenia were particularly at risk of recurrent hypoglycemia events. Risk of first DKA event was higher in individuals with SMI (IRR of first DKA event: type 1 diabetes: 1.78 [95% CI. 1.50-2.11], type 2 diabetes: 1.85 [95% CI. 1.64-2.09]). Except for DKA in the type 2 diabetes group, incidence rate differences between individuals with and without SMI were highest in younger individuals (&lt;50 years) but stable across calendar year. CONCLUSIONSSMI is an important risk factor for acute diabetes complication and effective prevention is needed in this population, especially among the younger population and those with schizophrenia.<br/

Prevention of neonatal oxygen-induced brain damage by reduction of intrinsic apoptosis

International audienceWithin the last decade, it became clear that oxygen contributes to the pathogenesis of neonatal brain damage, leading to neurocognitive impairment of prematurely born infants in later life. Recently, we have identified a critical role for receptor-mediated neuronal apoptosis in the immature rodent brain. However, the contribution of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway accompanied by activation of caspase-2 under hyperoxic conditions in the neonatal brain still remains elusive. Inhibition of caspases appears a promising strategy for neuroprotection. In order to assess the influence of specific caspases on the developing brain, we applied a recently developed pentapeptide-based group II caspase inhibitor (5-(2,6-difluorophenoxy)-3(R,S)-(2(S)-(2(S)-(3-methoxycarbonyl-2(S)-(3-m ethyl-2(S)-((quinoline-2-carbonyl)-amino)-butyrylamino)propionylamino) 3-methylbutyrylamino) propionylamino)-4-oxo-pentanoic acid methyl ester; TRP601). Here, we report that elevated oxygen (hyperoxia) triggers a marked increase in active caspase-2 expression, resulting in an initiation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway with upregulation of key proteins, namely, cytochrome c, apoptosis protease-activating factor-1, and the caspase-independent protein apoptosis-inducing factor, whereas BH3-interacting domain death agonist and the anti-apoptotic protein B-cell lymphoma-2 are downregulated. These results coincide with an upregulation of caspase-3 activity and marked neurodegeneration. However, single treatment with TRP601 at the beginning of hyperoxia reversed the detrimental effects in this model. Hyperoxia-mediated neurodegeneration is supported by intrinsic apoptosis, suggesting that the development of highly selective caspase inhibitors will represent a potential useful therapeutic strategy in prematurely born infants. Cell Death and Disease (2012) 3, e250; doi:10.1038/cddis.2011.133; published online 12 January 201