Fourier restriction to convex surfaces of revolution in R3

If Γ is a C3 hypersurface in Rn and dσ is induced Lebesgue measure on Γ, then it is well known that a Tomas-Stein Fourier restriction estimate on Γ implies that Γ has a nowhere vanishing Gaussian curvature. In a recent paper, Carbery and Ziesler observed that if induced Lebesgue measure is replaced by affine surface area, then a Tomas-Stein restriction estimate on Γ implies that Γ satisfies the affine isoperimetric inequality. Since the only property needed for a hypersurface to satisfy the affine isoperimetric inequality is convexity, this raised the question of whether a TomasStein restriction estimate can be obtained for flat but convex hypersurfaces in Rn such as Γ(x) = (x, e−1/ $m ), m = 1, 2, . . . . We prove that this is indeed the case in dimension n = 3

Associations Among Motives for Cannabis Use, Expectancies of Cannabis Use and Chronic Pain in a Young Adult Sample

Nationally representative data indicate that cannabis use and chronic pain are both highly prevalent in young adults aged 18-24. Preliminary research suggests that young adults use cannabis for pain relief. Additional research regarding the motives and expectancies of cannabis use in this population are needed to better understand the associations among cannabis use motives, expectancies of cannabis use and chronic pain in young adults. The purpose of this study was to extend prior work on pain, cannabis use motives and expectancies in young adult cannabis users in order to inform efforts towards prevention and intervention for both cannabis use and chronic pain. Young adults aged 18-24 were recruited for this study using an online convenience sampling platform, Amazon’s MTurk, where participants were recruited in exchange for monetary compensation. Participants completed a series of validated psychological measures regarding pain (Graded Chronic Pain Scale), cannabis use motives (Marijuana Motives Questionnaire) and expectancies for cannabis use (Marijuana Effect Expectancy Questionnaire). Multiple linear regressions were run to test associations between cannabis variables and chronic pain. Gender by pain interactions were evaluated to test for gender differences within the multiple linear regression models. After controlling for relevant sociodemographics and hazardous cannabis use, pain was uniquely associated with coping, conformity, expansion, routine and pain motives (ps ≤ 0.002). Additionally, pain was associated with expectancies for global negative effects (p = 0.000). These findings suggest that although young adults who experience pain may expect greater negative effects of cannabis use (e.g., mood swings, carelessness, short-tempered) they may also hold unique pain-related motives for their cannabis use. Researchers and clinicians should consider assessing pain in the context of cannabis use studies and interventions.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1014/thumbnail.jp

Final Technical Report

The state of New York through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has developed a suite of digester projects throughout the state to assess the potential for anaerobic digestion systems to improve manure management and concurrently produce energy through the production of heat and electrical power using the biogas produced from the digesters. Dairies comprise a significant part of the agribusiness and economy of the state of New York. Improving the energy efficiency and environmental footprint of dairies is a goal of NYSERDA. SUNY Morrisville State College (MSC) is part of a collection of state universities, dairy farms, cooperatives, and municipalities examining anaerobic digestion systems to achieve the goals of NYSERDA, the improvement of manure management, and reducing emissions to local dairy animal sites. The process for siting a digester system at the MSC’s free-stall Dairy Complex was initiated in 2002. The project involved the construction of an anaerobic digester that can accommodate the organic waste generated at Dairy complex located about a mile southeast of the main campus. Support for the project was provided through funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The DOE contribution to the project provided additional resources to construct an expanded facility to handle waste generated from the existing free-stall dairy and the newly-constructed barns. Construction on the project was completed in 2006 and the production of biogas started soon after the tanks were filled with the effluent generated at the Dairy Complex. The system has been in operation since December 17, 2006. The generated biogas was consistently flared starting from December 20, 2006, and until the operation of the internal combustion engine/generator set were first tested on the 9th of January, 2007. Flaring the biogas continued until the interconnect with the power grid was approved by NYSEG (the electrical power provider) and the combined heat and power generation (CHP) system was authorized to start on February 27, 2007. The system has been in operation since February 28, 2007, and is generating 45 to 50 kW of electrical power on continuous basis. The completed project will ultimately allow for investigating the facility of utilizing organic waste from a dairy operation in a hard-top plug-flow methane digester with the ultimate goal of reducing environmental risk, increasing economic benefits, and demonstrating the viability of an anaerobic methane digestion system. Many benefits are expected as a result of the completed project including our better understanding of the anaerobic digestion process and its management as well as the facility to utilize the methane digester as a demonstration site for dairy producers, farmers, and organic waste producers in New York State and the Northeast. Additional benefits include helping current and future students in dairy science and technology, agricultural business, environmental sciences, agricultural engineering, and other disciplines develop better understanding of underutilized biomass alternative energy technologies, environmental conservation, environmental stewardship, and sustainable agriculture

Hazardous drinking is associated with expectancies for the simultaneous use of alcohol and e-cigarettes

Background: Alcohol and tobacco use are especially prevalent among college students, with co-use rates being as high as 59% (Weitzman, 2005). Related adverse health outcomes are further magnified during simultaneous use. Expectancies for substance use are consistently associated with heaviness of use and substance-related consequences. Therefore, the current study examined associations between expectancies for e-cigarette use and heaviness of alcohol use. Methods: College students (N = 362; Mage = 19.32, SD = 0.98, 72% Female) completed psychological measures (i.e. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Nicotine and Other Substance Interaction Expectancies-E-cig Revised (NOSIE-ER). Results: Half (51%) of participants endorsed both lifetime e-cigarette and alcohol use. Of these, 30% use an e-cigarette at least once a month and 62% report hazardous drinking (AUDIT ≥ 8). AUDIT scores were associated with expectancies that drinking increases e-cigarette consumption (r=.29, p \u3c .001), with expectancies that e-cigarette consumption increases drinking (r=.17, p \u3c .05), and with overall expectancies for the simultaneous use of alcohol and e-cigarettes (r=.30, p \u3c.001). Conclusions: Results suggest that as college students engage in more hazardous drinking, they report greater expectancies for simultaneous use of alcohol and e-cigarette. Future studies should use experimental paradigms to test causal links between alcohol and e-cigarette use, especially across individuals with varying degrees of alcohol and nicotine consumption.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_spring2020/1092/thumbnail.jp

The unfolded protein response couples neuronal identity to circuit formation in the developing mouse olfactory system

Complex genetic mechanisms both endow developing neuronal subtypes with distinct molecular identities and translate those identities into the signatures of cell surface axon guidance molecules that direct neural circuit assembly. The final steps of this process, where axon guidance molecules instruct circuit outcomes, are well-understood. However, the upstream identity molecules that define guidance molecule signatures, and the molecular mechanisms by which cell type identity is transformed into these signatures, remain enigmatic. The murine olfactory system contains nearly 1,5000 olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) subtypes which are intermixed in the olfactory epithelium (OE). Each OSN subtype expresses a unique olfactory receptor (OR) protein which both tunes its response properties to odorants in the environment and acts as an identity molecule that ensures all axons of a given OSN type converge to a single set of target glomeruli in the olfactory bulb (OB). Using a combination of bioinformatic and mouse genetic approaches, we have discovered an unanticipated role for endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) and the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the translation of OR identity to OSN axon guidance molecule expression and glomerular targeting. We find that slight differences in OR amino acid sequences lead to differential activation of the ER stress sensor PERK in different OSN subtypes. Graded patterns of the UPR are then interpreted through a master regulator transcription factor, Ddit3, which controls a set of stress-responsive axon guidance molecules that orchestrate the process of glomerular segregation in the OB. Our results define a novel paradigm for axon guidance in which graded activation of a canonical stress response pathway is leveraged towards the conversion of discrete neuronal identities into discrete circuit formation outcomes. These findings may be widely relevant for the formation of neural circuits across a variety of systems