Disliked but free to speak : cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of speech for groups across the ideological spectrum

Freedom of speech for all citizens is often considered as a cornerstone of democratic societies. In three studies, we examined the relationship between cognitive ability and support for freedom of speech for a variety of social groups across the ideological spectrum (N (1) varies between 1,373 and 18,719, N (2) = 298, N (3) = 395). Corroborating our theoretical expectations, although cognitive ability was related to more affective prejudice toward relatively conservative groups and less affective prejudice toward relatively liberal groups (Study 2), people with higher levels of cognitive ability were more in favor of freedom of speech for all target groups (Studies 1-3). The relationship between cognitive ability and freedom of speech support was mediated by intellectual humility (preregistered Study 3). These results indicate that cognitive ability contributes to support for the democratic right of freedom of speech for all social-ideological groups

Fundamental limitations of case isolation

Case isolation is a strategy with the potential to curb infectious disease epidemics. Expressions for the stability boundary of a case isolation scheme defined through the proportion of the infectious population that it isolates with a given delay have recently been established. Here we quantify how this stability boundary moves when heterogeneity of the inter-individual contact network increases, and explain the underlying mechanism through insightful examples

732-1 An Institutional Experience with Second and Third Stage Palliative Procedures for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: The Impact of the Bidirectional Cavopulmonary Shunt

We reviewed 71 consecutive pts who underwent stage II and III operations following stage I palliation for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) at our institution since 1983. 6 surgeons participated in the care of these pts. Follow-up is 97% complete. We examined 17 potential risk factors for mortality, including preoperative anatomic and physiologic factors, and procedural features of the stage II operation. Multivariate analysis revealed that the only significant risk factor for stage II mortality was the performance of a non-fenestrated completion Fontan procedure (p<0.001). There were 9 hospital deaths (69%) in the 13 pts undergoing the Fontan procedure at stage II. In contrast, 49 pts underwent bidirectional cavopulmonary shunting (47) or hemi-Fontan procedure(2) as an intermediate step to the Fontan procedure with 4 (8%) early deaths. The first bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt was performed in this population in 1988. Median age at this stage II procedure was 8.4 months. Surgical augmentation of the pulmonary arteries was performed in 18 (37%) pts at the time of stage II surgery and was not associated with increased operative risk. Also, HLHS anatomic subtype was not a risk factor for stage II mortality or pre-stage III attrition. There have been 2 (4%) intermediate deaths prior to the performance of a stage III procedure, which at our institution is the fenestrated Fontan procedure. This has been performed in 25 pts at a median age of 30 months with 1 early death and no mortality at a median follow-up of 22 months. There are presently 34 HLHS pts who have modified Fontan anatomy following a course of surgical palliation performed entirely at this institution. Follow-up in this group ranges up to 92 months, with a median of 28 months. 33 of these patients are NYHA class 1 or 2.2 pts have required pacemaker implantation, but there have otherwise been no surgical reinterventions in pts who have completed palliation. We conclude that the incorporation of the bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt into a course of surgical palliation for HLHS has dramatically reduced mortality in this challenging group of pts, allowing them to undergo the modified fenestrated Fontan procedure with low operative mortality and good intermediate outcome

Sling effect in collisions of water droplets in turbulent clouds

We describe and evaluate the contribution of sling effect into the collision rate of the same-size water droplets in turbulent clouds. We show that already for Stokes numbers exceeding 0.2 the sling effect gives a contribution comparable to Saffman-Turner contribution, which may explain why the latter consistently underestimates collision rate (even with the account of preferential concentration).Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures; preprint submitted to Journal of Atmospheric Science

A dual sgRNA approach for functional genomics in Arabidopsis thaliana

Reverse genetics uses loss-of-function alleles to interrogate gene function. The advent of CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing now allows the generation of knock-out alleles for any gene and entire gene families. Even in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, gene editing is welcomed as T-DNA insertion lines do not always generate null alleles. Here, we show efficient generation of heritable mutations in Arabidopsis using CRISPR/Cas9 with a workload similar to generating overexpression lines. We obtain for several different genes Cas9 null-segregants with bi-allelic mutations in the T2 generation. While somatic mutations were predominantly generated by the canonical non-homologous end joining (cNHEJ) pathway, we observed inherited mutations that were the result of synthesis-dependent microhomology-mediated end joining (SD-MMEJ), a repair pathway linked to polymerase theta (PolQ). We also demonstrate that our workflow is compatible with a dual sgRNA approach in which a gene is targeted by two sgRNAs simultaneously. This paired nuclease method results in more reliable loss-of-function alleles that lack a large essential part of the gene. The ease of the CRISPR/Cas9 workflow should help in the eventual generation of true null alleles of every gene in the Arabidopsis genome, which will advance both basic and applied plant research

Right-sided ALPPS after preoperative emergency embolization of the right hepatic artery: case report with a favorable anatomy

In patients with extensive colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) and insufficient future liver remnant (FLR) a faster and more effective FLR augmentation than portal vein embolization is the associating liver partition and portal vein ligation in staged hepatectomy (ALPPS). Before ALPPS, the presence of arterial blood supply to the subsequently resected hemiliver must be ensured. We present a case with neoadjuvant-treated CRLM and insufficient FLR who developed a large intrahepatic hematoma after liver biopsy. For continuous bleeding, the right hepatic artery was embolized. Fortunately, an accessory right hepatic artery arising from the superior mesenteric artery was present, which enabled the ALPPS procedure to be performed. After ALPPS, the patient did not experience liver failure. The case exemplifies that preoperative evaluation of the vascular supply of the liver is of paramount importance in advanced hepatic surgery such as ALPPS

The molecular basis of JAZ-MYC coupling, a protein-protein interface essential for plant response to stressors

The jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway is one of the primary mechanisms that allow plants to respond to a variety of biotic and abiotic stressors. Within this pathway, the JAZ repressor proteins and the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor MYC3 play a critical role. JA is a volatile organic compound with an essential role in plant immunity. The increase in the concentration of JA leads to the decoupling of the JAZ repressor proteins and the bHLH transcription factor MYC3 causing the induction of genes of interest. The primary goal of this study was to identify the molecular basis of JAZ-MYC coupling. For this purpose, we modeled and validated 12 JAZ-MYC3 3D in silico structures and developed a molecular dynamics/machine learning pipeline to obtain two outcomes. First, we calculated the average free binding energy of JAZ-MYC3 complexes, which was predicted to be -10.94 +/-2.67 kJ/mol. Second, we predicted which ones should be the interface residues that make the predominant contribution to the free energy of binding (molecular hotspots). The predicted protein hotspots matched a conserved linear motif SL••FL•••R, which may have a crucial role during MYC3 recognition of JAZ proteins. As a proof of concept, we tested, both in silico and in vitro, the importance of this motif on PEAPOD (PPD) proteins, which also belong to the TIFY protein family, like the JAZ proteins, but cannot bind to MYC3. By mutating these proteins to match the SL••FL•••R motif, we could force PPDs to bind the MYC3 transcription factor. Taken together, modeling protein-protein interactions and using machine learning will help to find essential motifs and molecular mechanisms in the JA pathway

Structural analysis of sulfate vein networks in Gale crater (Mars)

The Curiosity rover's campaign in the Gale crater on Mars provides a large set of close-up images of sedimentary formations outcrops displaying a variety of diagenetic features such as light-toned veins, nodules and raised ridges. Through 2D and 3D analyses of Mastcam images we herein reconstruct the vein network of a sample area and estimated the stress field. Assessment of the spatial distribution of light-toned veins shows that the basin infillings, after burial and consolidation, experienced a sub-vertical compression and lateral extension coupled with fluid overpressure and cracking. Overall, rock failure and light-toned veins formations could have been generated by an overload produced by infilling material within the basin

Sequence-defined stereocontrolled oligomers bearing nucleobases: targeting specificity in supramolecular assembly

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