Spots on a Gnat’s Ass, Good Soldiers, and Sociology Departments: Stan Saxton’s Pragmatist Approach to Sociology

Most academics build their careers and establish reputations in the traditional manner, through research and publications. Certainly, this is not the only way to secure a place in the lore of academia. Some are great teachers who gather a large following of students. Still others get involved in professional organizations. While Stan Saxton had a respectable record of publications, was a masterful teacher, and a marvelous critic, his notable contributions to sociology came through his organizational work as a chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dayton. After his tenure as chair, Stan continued to be a visible and moral corporate actor in the university, in professional associations, and in academia. His ability to employ sociological knowledge to organizational processes that worked to the advantage of sociology was truly remarkable. His clear vision based on a strong sense of justice was inspirational. Stan’s success as an organizational player occurred during a period of transition for the University of Dayton. Up to 1977 the university was primarily a teaching institution and parochial in its orientation. When Stan was hired as chairperson in that year, a new administration aimed to make the university a leader in Catholic higher education. Stan’s charge was to bring the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in line with the larger project. He found himself in the right place with the right set of circumstances to realize his vision of a sociology department, a vision that fit the conditions of work and the expectations of a private, Catholic university

Against All Odds: Students' Interest in, and Perceived Value of, Research and Nonresearch Psychology Subjects

Although research literacy is necessary for the competent delivery of psychological services, many psychology students hold negative attitudes toward research subjects. The current study explored undergraduate students’ perceptions of research subjects relative to nonresearch subjects. A sample of 249 Australian (45.4%) and Singaporean (54.6%) first-year university students (Mage = 21.27, SDage = 5.14, females = 75.9%) indicated their interest in, and perceived value of, 32 psychology subjects (based on title and a short description). They also nominated their most/least interested and valued subject and provided a free-text explanation for their selections. Participants perceived research subjects as significantly less interesting and valuable relative to nonresearch subjects (d values were indicative of a large difference for interest and a small-to-medium different for value). Cluster analysis indicated that research subjects are seen as distinct, forming their own cluster. This finding was supported by thematic analysis of participants’ open-ended responses. Students considered research subjects to be especially difficult, requiring skills they did not possess or enjoy using (e.g., mathematics), and lacking relevance to their future studies and intended careers. The findings suggest that research methods instructors should aim to emphasize the relevance of research to practice in high interest areas (e.g., psychopathology)

Mesocorticolimbic monoamine correlates of methamphetamine sensitization and motivation.

Methamphetamine (MA) is a highly addictive psychomotor stimulant, with life-time prevalence rates of abuse ranging from 5-10% world-wide. Yet, a paucity of research exists regarding MA addiction vulnerability/resiliency and neurobiological mediators of the transition to addiction that might occur upon repeated low-dose MA exposure, more characteristic of early drug use. As stimulant-elicited neuroplasticity within dopamine neurons innervating the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) is theorized as central for addiction-related behavioral anomalies, we used a multi-disciplinary research approach in mice to examine the interactions between sub-toxic MA dosing, motivation for MA and mesocorticolimbic monoamines. Biochemical studies of C57BL/6J (B6) mice revealed short- (1 day), as well as longer-term (21 days), changes in extracellular dopamine, DAT and/or D2 receptors during withdrawal from 10, once daily, 2 mg/kg MA injections. Follow-up biochemical studies conducted in mice selectively bred for high vs. low MA drinking (respectively, MAHDR vs. MALDR mice), provided novel support for anomalies in mesocorticolimbic dopamine as a correlate of genetic vulnerability to high MA intake. Finally, neuropharmacological targeting of NAC dopamine in MA-treated B6 mice demonstrated a bi-directional regulation of MA-induced place-conditioning. These results extend extant literature for MA neurotoxicity by demonstrating that even subchronic exposure to relatively low MA doses are sufficient to elicit relatively long-lasting changes in mesocorticolimbic dopamine and that drug-induced or idiopathic anomalies in mesocorticolimbic dopamine may underpin vulnerability/resiliency to MA addiction

Auxotrophic interactions: A stabilizing attribute of aquatic microbial communities?

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Johnson, W. M., Alexander, H., Bier, R. L., Miller, D. R., Muscarella, M. E., Pitz, K. J., & Smith, H. Auxotrophic interactions: A stabilizing attribute of aquatic microbial communities? FEMS Microbiology Ecology, (2020): fiaa115, doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiaa115.Auxotrophy, or an organism's requirement for an exogenous source of an organic molecule, is widespread throughout species and ecosystems. Auxotrophy can result in obligate interactions between organisms, influencing ecosystem structure and community composition. We explore how auxotrophy-induced interactions between aquatic microorganisms affect microbial community structure and stability. While some studies have documented auxotrophy in aquatic microorganisms, these studies are not widespread, and we therefore do not know the full extent of auxotrophic interactions in aquatic environments. Current theoretical and experimental work suggests that auxotrophy links microbial community members through a complex web of metabolic dependencies. We discuss the proposed ways in which auxotrophy may enhance or undermine the stability of aquatic microbial communities, highlighting areas where our limited understanding of these interactions prevents us from being able to predict the ecological implications of auxotrophy. Finally, we examine an example of auxotrophy in harmful algal blooms to place this often theoretical discussion in a field context where auxotrophy may have implications for the development and robustness of algal bloom communities. We seek to draw attention to the relationship between auxotrophy and community stability in an effort to encourage further field and theoretical work that explores the underlying principles of microbial interactions.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [OCE-1356192]

Hybrid simulations of plasmaspheric refilling including convection and injection

The interactions between upflowing thermal ions from conjugate ionospheres are modeled using a 1-dimensional hybrid particle code. The simulation model allows for multiple species, convection of plasmaspheric flux tubes, and Coulomb self collisions which conserve momentum and energy. Plasmaspheric refilling is studied, in which convection of the plasmaspheric flux tube and particle injection from an external source is included. The interaction of ionospheric thermal plasma and the injected plasma seems to play an important role in the evolution of the total particle distribution on the early time scales (t<1 hour).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30855/1/0000518.pd

Report on the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3)

This report records and discusses the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3). The report includes a description of the keynote presentation of the workshop, which served as an overview of sustainable scientific software. It also summarizes a set of lightning talks in which speakers highlighted to-the-point lessons and challenges pertaining to sustaining scientific software. The final and main contribution of the report is a summary of the discussions, future steps, and future organization for a set of self-organized working groups on topics including developing pathways to funding scientific software; constructing useful common metrics for crediting software stakeholders; identifying principles for sustainable software engineering design; reaching out to research software organizations around the world; and building communities for software sustainability. For each group, we include a point of contact and a landing page that can be used by those who want to join that group's future activities. The main challenge left by the workshop is to see if the groups will execute these activities that they have scheduled, and how the WSSSPE community can encourage this to happen

CfAIR2: Near Infrared Light Curves of 94 Type Ia Supernovae

CfAIR2 is a large homogeneously reduced set of near-infrared (NIR) light curves for Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) obtained with the 1.3m Peters Automated InfraRed Imaging TELescope (PAIRITEL). This data set includes 4607 measurements of 94 SN Ia and 4 additional SN Iax observed from 2005-2011 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. CfAIR2 includes JHKs photometric measurements for 88 normal and 6 spectroscopically peculiar SN Ia in the nearby universe, with a median redshift of z~0.021 for the normal SN Ia. CfAIR2 data span the range from -13 days to +127 days from B-band maximum. More than half of the light curves begin before the time of maximum and the coverage typically contains ~13-18 epochs of observation, depending on the filter. We present extensive tests that verify the fidelity of the CfAIR2 data pipeline, including comparison to the excellent data of the Carnegie Supernova Project. CfAIR2 contributes to a firm local anchor for supernova cosmology studies in the NIR. Because SN Ia are more nearly standard candles in the NIR and are less vulnerable to the vexing problems of extinction by dust, CfAIR2 will help the supernova cosmology community develop more precise and accurate extragalactic distance probes to improve our knowledge of cosmological parameters, including dark energy and its potential time variation.Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures, 10 tables. Accepted to ApJS. v2 modified to more closely match journal versio

Exchange Field Induced Magnetoresistance in Colossal Magnetoresistance Manganites

The effect of an exchange field on electrical transport in thin films of metallic ferromagnetic manganites has been investigated. The exchange field was induced both by direct exchange coupling in a ferromagnet/antiferromagnet multilayer and by indirect exchange interaction in a ferromagnet/paramagnet superlattice. The electrical resistance of the manganite layers was found to be determined by the absolute value of the vector sum of the effective exchange field and the external magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Mexiletine for muscle cramps in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A randomized, double-blind crossover trial

INTRODUCTION:More than 90% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients have muscle cramps, but evidence-based treatments have not been available.METHODS:A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of mexiletine 150 mg twice daily was conducted in ALS patients requesting treatment of symptomatic muscle cramps.RESULTS:Muscle cramp frequency was reduced in 18 of 20 patients; 13 reductions were attributed to treatment (P < 0.05). The average reduction, based on t tests, was 1.8 cramps per day (a reduction from 5.3 with placebo to 3.5 with mexiletine). The estimated reduction of cramp severity was 15 units on a 100-unit scale (P = 0.01) from a baseline average of 46. No effect on fasciculations was noted. One patient discontinued the study because of dizziness, and another patient discontinued the study to start open-label mexiletine therapy. No serious adverse event occurred.DISCUSSION:Mexiletine is a well tolerated and effective medication for controlling the symptom of muscle cramps in ALS.

What are the type, direction, and strength of species, community, and ecosystem responses to warming in aquatic mesocosm studies and their dependency on experimental characteristics? A systematic review protocol

Background Mesocosm experiments have become increasingly popular in climate change research as they bridge the gap between small-scale, less realistic, microcosm experiments, and large-scale, more complex, natural systems. Characteristics of aquatic mesocosm designs (e.g., mesocosm volume, study duration, and replication) vary widely, potentially affecting the magnitude and direction of effect sizes measured in experiments. In this global systematic review we aim to identify the type, direction and strength of climate warming effects on aquatic species, communities and ecosystems in mesocosm experiments. Furthermore, we will investigate the context-dependency of the observed effects on several a priori determined effect moderators (ecological and methodological). Our conclusions will provide recommendations for aquatic scientists designing mesocosm experiments, as well as guidelines for interpretation of experimental results by scientists, policy-makers and the general public. Methods We will conduct a systematic search using multiple online databases to gather evidence from the scientific literature on the effects of warming experimentally tested in aquatic mesocosms. Data from relevant studies will be extracted and used in a random effects meta-analysis to estimate the overall effect sizes of warming experiments on species performance, biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Experimental characteristics (e.g., mesocosm size and shape, replication-level, experimental duration and design, biogeographic region, community type, crossed manipulation) will be further analysed using subgroup analyses