Evolution of the Okvik/Old Bering Sea culture of the Bering Strait as a major transition

Great transitions are thought to embody major shifts in locus of selection,labour diversification and communication systems. Such expectations arerelevant for biological and cultural systems as decades of research hasdemonstrated similar dynamics within the evolution of culture. The evolutionof the Neo-Inuit cultural tradition in the Bering Strait provides anideal context for examination of cultural transitions. The Okvik/OldBering Sea (Okvik/OBS) culture of Bering Strait is the first representativeof the Neo-Inuit tradition. Archaeological evidence drawn for settlementand subsistence data, technological traditions and mortuary contextssuggests that Okvik/OBS fits the definition of a major transition givenchange in the nature of group membership (from families to politicalgroups with social ranking), task organization (emergent labour specialization)and communication (advent of complex art forms conveying socialand ideological information). This permits us to develop a number of implications about the evolutionary process recognizing that transitions mayoccur on three scales: (1) ephemeral variants, as for example, simple technological entities; (2) integrated systems, spanning modular technology tosocio-economic strategies; and (3) simultaneous change across all scaleswith emergent properties.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution inlight of evolutionary transitions’

2002 John Marshall National Moot Court Competition in Information Technology and Privacy Law: Bench Memorandum, 21 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 37 (2002)

In this moot court competition bench memo, the Supreme Court the state of Marshall has three issues to decide: (1) whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the Plaintiff failed to established the requisite elements to evidence a theory of intrusion upon seclusion as defined by the Restatement of Torts; (2) whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the Defendant’s statements to third parties were not defamatory but rather opinions or fair comment; and (3) whether the Court of Appeals erred in applying a strict breach of contract analysis to Plaintiff’s claim for deceptive business practices, pursuant to the State of Marshall’s Deceptive Business Practices statute, Marshall Revised Code, 505 MRC 815/2, and holding that the Defendant had no contractual obligation to inform Plaintiff that it employed GPS technology to track its vehicles. Plaintiff was a 21-year-old college sophomore in Capitol City who contacted the defendant in order to rent a rental truck for three days as a local move. He was a student who is receiving an academic scholarship in this college. He was asked to provide information such as name and address when he rented the truck. The rental agreement stated that he would depart with the truck on August 20 and return August 23. The move took longer than anticipated and, as a result, plaintiff parked the rental truck on the night of August 23 in a parking lot in a mall which has a convenience store, a cleaner and an adult bookstore. He attempted to return the truck on August 24 after the closing, so he left the key in the after-hour box before returning to school. In the meantime, defendant received a notice from its corporate office that there is a possible terrorist threat where its rental trucks might be used to carry explosive to Capitol City. Defendant immediately turned on the GPS system tracking the trucks and found plaintiff\u27s rented one parked in front of an adult bookstore. Defendant then contacted plaintiff\u27s reference, who happened to evaluate plaintiff\u27s scholarship eligibility, informing the connection of possible terrorist threat and the location of the truck. Consequently, upon plaintiff\u27s arrival on campus, plaintiff was informed that his scholarship was revoked and he needed to pay more for his rental truck. As a result, plaintiff filed this three count complaint against defendant

The effects of a video intervention on posthospitalization pulmonary rehabilitation uptake

Rationale: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) after hospitalizations for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improves exercise capacity and health-related quality of life and reduces readmissions. However, posthospitalization PR uptake is low. To date, no trials of interventions to increase uptake have been conducted.Objectives: To study the effect of a codesigned education video as an adjunct to usual care on posthospitalization PR uptake.Methods: The present study was an assessor- and statistician-blinded randomized controlled trial with nested, qualitative interviews of participants in the intervention group. Participants hospitalized with COPD exacerbations were assigned 1:1 to receive either usual care (COPD discharge bundle including PR information leaflet) or usual care plus the codesigned education video delivered via a handheld tablet device at discharge. Randomization used minimization to balance age, sex, FEV1 % predicted, frailty, transport availability, and previous PR experience.Measurements and Main Results: The primary outcome was PR uptake within 28 days of hospital discharge. A total of 200 patients were recruited, and 196 were randomized (51% female, median FEV1% predicted, 36 [interquartile range, 27-48]). PR uptake was 41% and 34% in the usual care and intervention groups, respectively (P = 0.37), with no differences in secondary (PR referral and completion) or safety (readmissions and death) endpoints. A total of 6 of the 15 participants interviewed could not recall receiving the video.Conclusions: A codesigned education video delivered at hospital discharge did not improve posthospitalization PR uptake, referral, or completion

Scalable Focused Ion Beam Creation of Nearly Lifetime-Limited Single Quantum Emitters in Diamond Nanostructures

The controlled creation of defect center---nanocavity systems is one of the outstanding challenges for efficiently interfacing spin quantum memories with photons for photon-based entanglement operations in a quantum network. Here, we demonstrate direct, maskless creation of atom-like single silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers in diamond nanostructures via focused ion beam implantation with $\sim 32$ nm lateral precision and $< 50$ nm positioning accuracy relative to a nanocavity. Moreover, we determine the Si+ ion to SiV center conversion yield to $\sim 2.5\%$ and observe a 10-fold conversion yield increase by additional electron irradiation. We extract inhomogeneously broadened ensemble emission linewidths of $\sim 51$ GHz, and close to lifetime-limited single-emitter transition linewidths down to $126 \pm13$ MHz corresponding to $\sim 1.4$-times the natural linewidth. This demonstration of deterministic creation of optically coherent solid-state single quantum systems is an important step towards development of scalable quantum optical devices

A Complementary Marriage of Perspectives: Understanding Organizational Social Context Using Mixed Methods

Background: Organizational factors impact the delivery of mental health services in community settings. Mixed-methods analytic approaches have been recommended, though little research within implementation science has explicitly compared inductive and deductive perspectives to understand their relative value in understanding the same constructs. The purpose of our study is to use two different paradigmatic approaches to deepen our understanding of organizational social context. We accomplish this by using a mixed-methods approach in an investigation of organizational social context in community mental health clinics. Methods: Nineteen agencies, representing 23 sites, participated. Enrolled participants included 130 therapists, 36 supervisors, and 22 executive administrators. Quantitative data was obtained via the Organizational Social Context (OSC) measure. Qualitative data, comprised of direct observation with spot sampling generated from agency visits, was coded using content analysis and grounded theory. The present study examined elements of organizational social context that would have been missed if only quantitative data had been obtained and utilized mixed methods to investigate if stratifying observations based on quantitative ratings from the OSC resulted in the emergence of differential themes. Results: Four of the six OSC constructs were commonly observed in field observations (i.e., proficiency, rigidity, functionality, stress), while the remaining two constructs were not frequently observed (i.e., resistance, engagement). Constructs emerged related to organizational social context that may have been missed if only quantitative measurement was employed, including those around the physical environment, commentary about evidence-based practice initiatives, leadership, cultural diversity, distrust, and affect. Stratifying agencies by “best,” “average,” and “worst” organizational social context impacted interpretation for three constructs (affect, stress, and leadership). Conclusions: Results support the additive value of integrating inductive and deductive perspectives in implementation science research. This synthesis of approaches facilitated a more comprehensive understanding and interpretation of the findings than would have been possible if either methodology had been employed in isolation

TREX exposes the RNA binding domain of Nxf1 to enable mRNA export

The metazoan TREX complex is recruited to mRNA during nuclear RNA processing and functions in exporting mRNA to the cytoplasm. Nxf1 is an mRNA export receptor, which binds processed mRNA and transports it through the nuclear pore complex. At present, the relationship between TREX and Nxf1 is not understood. Here we show that Nxf1 uses an intramolecular interaction to inhibit its own RNA binding activity. When the TREX subunits Aly and Thoc5 make contact with Nxf1, Nxf1 is driven into an open conformation, exposing its RNA binding domain, allowing RNA binding. Moreover, the combined knockdown of Aly and Thoc5 drastically reduces the amount of Nxf1 bound to mRNA in vivo and also causes a severe mRNA export block. Together, our data indicate that TREX provides a license for mRNA export by driving Nxf1 into a conformation capable of binding mRNA

Oxygenation Profiles of Human Blood, Cell Culture Medium, and Water for Perfusion of 3D-Bioprinted Tissues using the FABRICA Bioreactor Platform

Persistent and saturated oxygen distribution from perfusion media (i.e., blood, or cell culture media) to cells within cell-dense, metabolically-active biofabricated tissues is required to keep them viable. Improper or poor oxygen supply to cells within the tissue bulk severely limits the tissue culturing potential of many bioreactors. We added an oxygenator module to our modular FABRICA bioreactor in order to provide stable oxygenation to biofabricated tissues during culture. In this proof of concept study of an oxygenated and perfused bioreactor, we characterized the oxygenation of water, cell culture medium, and human blood in the FABRICA as functions of augmenting vacuum (air inlet) pressure, perfusion (volumetric flow) rate, and tubing/oxygenator components. The mean oxygen levels for water and cell culture media were 27.7 ± 2.1% and 27.6 ± 4.1%, respectively. The mean oxygen level for human blood was 197.0 ± 90.0 mmHg, with near-physiologic levels achieved with low-permeability PharMed tubing alone (128.0 ± 14.0 mmHg). Hematologic values pre- and post-oxygenation, respectively were (median ± IQR): Red blood cell: 6.0 ± 0.5 (106/μL) and 6.5 ± 0.4 (106/μL); Hemoglobin: 17.5 ± 1.2 g/dL and 19.2 ± 3.0 g/dL; and Hematocrit: 56.7 ± 2.4% and 61.4 ± 7.5%. The relative stability of the hematologic parameters indicates that blood function and thus blood cell integrity were maintained throughout oxygenation. Already a versatile research tool, the now oxygenated FABRICA provides easy-to-implement, in vivo-like perfusion and stable oxygenation culture conditions in vitro semi-independently of one another, which means the bioreactor has the potential to serve as a platform for investigating the behavior of 3D tissue models (regardless of biofabrication method), performing drug toxicity-testing, and testing pharmaceutical efficacy/safety

A vicious cycle of β amyloid-dependent neuronal hyperactivation

beta-amyloid (A beta)-dependent neuronal hyperactivity is believed to contribute to the circuit dysfunction that characterizes the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although experimental evidence in support of this hypothesis continues to accrue, the underlying pathological mechanisms are not well understood. In this experiment, we used mouse models of A beta-amyloidosis to show that hyperactivation is initiated by the suppression of glutamate reuptake. Hyperactivity occurred in neurons with preexisting baseline activity, whereas inactive neurons were generally resistant to A beta-mediated hyperactivation. A beta-containing AD brain extracts and purified A beta dimers were able to sustain this vicious cycle. Our findings suggest a cellular mechanism of A beta-dependent neuronal dysfunction that can be active before plaque formation

Associations of Objectively Measured Light-Intensity Activity on Metabolic Risk Factors in Female Adults

Metabolic syndrome (MetSy) has been defined as a collection of metabolic irregularities that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality. Women are at an even greater risk for developing MetSy when compared to men with prevalence increasing with age. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) has shown consistent association with decreases in risk of MetSy; however, light physical activity (LPA) has been studied less often in comparison. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between accelerometer-determined LPA and MetSy risk factors (waist circumference (WC), glucose, high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DPB)) across women of different age groups. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used to examine 68 female participants, ages 20-65, employed in sedentary careers working in an urban area in the south central United States. Venous blood samples were taken from the antecubital area of the arm from all participants who had fasted at least eight hours prior to their scheduled appointment times. Physical activity data was collected for seven days via hip-worn accelerometers with LPA being measured based on Freedson cut-points (100-1951 counts per minute). MetSy was diagnosed based on the criteria set forth by the National Cholesterol Education Program in 2002. Data were analyzed using regression analysis with SPSS version 20.0. Between-subject analysis was conducted for four age groups (group1=20-35; group2=36-45; group3=46-55; group4=55 and older) using LPA, WC, glucose, HDL, triglycerides, SBP, and DPB. RESULTS: Between-subject regression analysis showed HDL as a significant MetSy risk factor in a full model (p=0.02) and a model with age groups as the only independent variable (p=0.00). Post-hoc Tukey tests showed significance differences in HDL among groups 4 and 2 (confidence interval (CI): 4.03, 35.92; p=0.00), and groups 4 and 3 (CI: 6.06, 39.63; p=0.00). Significance dropped below the apriori level of 0.05 in a model based on LPA. Post-hoc Tukey tests revealed non-significant (α\u3e0.05) associations between LPA levels (high, medium, low) and all MetSy values. CONCLUSION: The relationship between LPA and MetSy risk factors has been studied less frequently than MVPA in relation to MetSy risk factors. Based on these findings LPA is not significantly related with these risk factors. Future studies should continue to explore the relationship between LPA and MetSy risk factors among both men and woman, and in different settings