Oxygen-Bearing Functionalities Enhancing NO2, NH3, and Acetone Electronic Response and Response Variation by Polythiophenes in Organic Field-Effect Transistor Sensors

We investigated the enhanced vapor responses and altered response ratios of a series of thiophene (co)polymers with oxygenated side chains (CH2OH, linear polyethylene glycol, and crown ether), including the novel...

Mitotic-Inhibiting Herbicide Response Variation in Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) with a Leu136-Phe Substitution in α-Tubulin

Dithiopyr and dinitroanilines are preemergence-applied, mitotic-inhibiting herbicides used to control goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.]) in turfgrass. A suspected resistant E. indica population was collected from a golf course putting green and was evaluated for possible resistance to dithiopyr and prodiamine. After dose-response evaluation, the α-tubulin gene was sequenced for known target-site mutations that have been reported to confer resistance to mitotic-inhibiting herbicides. A mutation was discovered that resulted in an amino acid substitution at position 136 from leucine to phenylalanine (Leu136-Phe). Previous research has indicated that Leu136-Phe does confer resistance to dinitroaniline herbicides. The level of resistance indicated by regression models and I50 values indicates that there is a 54.1-, 4.7-, >100-, and >100-fold resistance to dithiopyr, prodiamine, pendimethalin, and oryzalin, respectively when compared to the susceptible population based on seedling emergence response and 88.4-, 7.8-, >100-, and >100-fold resistance to dithiopyr, prodiamine, pendimethalin, and oryzalin, respectively when compared to the susceptible population based on biomass reduction response. This is the first report of less resistance to prodiamine compared to pendimethalin or oryzalin due to a target-site α-tubulin mutation and the first report of a target-site α-tubulin mutation associated with dithiopyr resistance.

The potential for structural errors in emergent constraints

Studies of emergent constraints have frequently proposed that a single metric can constrain future responses of the Earth system to anthropogenic emissions. Here, we illustrate that strong relationships between observables and future climate across an ensemble can arise from common structural model assumptions with few degrees of freedom. Such cases have the potential to produce strong yet overconfident constraints when processes are represented in a common, oversimplified fashion throughout the ensemble. We consider these issues in the context of a collection of published constraints and argue that although emergent constraints are potentially powerful tools for understanding ensemble response variation and relevant observables, their naïve application to reduce uncertainties in unknown climate responses could lead to bias and overconfidence in constrained projections. The prevalence of this thinking has led to literature in which statements are made on the probability bounds of key climate variables that were confident yet inconsistent between studies. Together with statistical robustness and a mechanism, assessments of climate responses must include multiple lines of evidence to identify biases that can arise from shared, oversimplified modelling assumptions that impact both present and future climate simulations in order to mitigate against the influence of shared structural biases.

Directions for Exercise Treatment Response Heterogeneity and Individual Response Research

Treatment response heterogeneity and individual responses following exercise training are topics of interest for personalized medicine. Proposed methods to determine the contribution of exercise to the magnitude of treatment response heterogeneity and categorizing participants have expanded and evolved. Setting clear research objectives and having a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the available methods are vital to ensure the correct study design and analytical approach are used. Doing so will ensure contributions to the field are conducted as rigorously as possible. Nonetheless, concerns have emerged regarding the ability to truly isolate the impact of exercise training, and the nature of individual responses in relation to mean group changes. The purpose of this review is threefold. First, the strengths and limitations associated with current methods for quantifying the contribution of exercise to observed treatment response heterogeneity will be discussed. Second, current methods used to categorize participants based on their response to exercise will be outlined, as well as proposed mechanisms for factors that contribute to response variation. Finally, this review will provide an overview of some current issues at the forefront of individual response research.

Admixture Has Shaped Romani Genetic Diversity in Clinically Relevant Variants

Genetic patterns of inter-population variation are a result of different demographic and adaptive histories, which gradually shape the frequency distribution of the variants. However, the study of clinically relevant mutations has a Eurocentric bias. The Romani, the largest transnational minority ethnic group in Europe, originated in South Asia and received extensive gene flow from West Eurasia. Most medical genetic studies have only explored founder mutations related to Mendelian disorders in this population. Here we analyze exome sequences and genome-wide array data of 89 healthy Spanish Roma individuals to study complex traits and disease. We apply a different framework and focus on variants with both increased and decreased allele frequencies, taking into account their local ancestry. We report several OMIM traits enriched for genes with deleterious variants showing increased frequencies in Roma or in non-Roma (e.g., obesity is enriched in Roma, with an associated variant linked to South Asian ancestry; while non-insulin dependent diabetes is enriched in non-Roma Europeans). In addition, previously reported pathogenic variants also show differences among populations, where some variants segregating at low frequency in non-Roma are virtually absent in the Roma. Lastly, we describe frequency changes in drug-response variation, where many of the variants increased in Roma are clinically associated with metabolic and cardiovascular-related drugs. These results suggest that clinically relevant variation in Roma cannot only be characterized in terms of founder mutations. Instead, we observe frequency differences compared to non-Roma: some variants are absent, while other have drifted to higher frequencies. As a result of the admixture events, these clinically damaging variants can be traced back to both European and South Asian-related ancestries. This can be attributed to a different prevalence of some genetic disorders or to the fact that genetic susceptibility variants are mostly studied in populations of European descent, and can differ in individuals with different ancestries.

Forced Response Variation of a Compressor Utilizing Blade Tip Timing, Strain Gages, and As-Manufactured Finite Element Models

The dynamic response of turbine engine components varies widely due to manufacturing deviations in the blades known as mistuning. This dynamic variation is investigated using a single stage compressor experimentally using both blade tip timing (BTT) and strain gage (SG) measurements and using as-manufactured finite element models (AMMs) on a 1st bend mode. Operational BTT and SG safety limits were generated using both averaged and AMM models via Goodman material properties. The predicted individual blade stress/deflection (S/D) ratios and strain gage ratios for this mode will be compared to the average finite element counterparts. Additionally, the correlation between BTT and SG's will be presented. This correlation will be performed using two approaches: blade maximum stress comparisons and measured response compared to the sensors safety limits. It will be shown that accounting for geometry with AMMs produce more accurate strain gage to BTT correlation compared to average models. An experimental model updating procedure is developed to increase the strain gage to BTT correlation by optimizing the location the BTT optical spot probes measure on the blade chord. Implementing this procedure using as-manufactured models are able to improve strain gage to BTT correlation.

A Review and Meta-Analysis of Potential Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Calcifiers From the Southern Ocean

Understanding the vulnerability of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification is a critical issue, especially in the Southern Ocean (SO), which is likely to be the one of the first, and most severely affected regions. Since the industrial revolution, ~30% of anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the global oceans. Average surface seawater pH levels have already decreased by 0.1 and are projected to decline by ~0.3 by the year 2100. This process, known as ocean acidification (OA), is shallowing the saturation horizon, which is the depth below which calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolves, likely increasing the vulnerability of many resident marine calcifiers to dissolution. The negative impact of OA may be seen first in species depositing more soluble CaCO3 mineral phases such as aragonite and high-Mg calcite (HMC). Ocean warming could further exacerbate the effects of OA in these particular species. Here we combine a review and a quantitative meta-analysis to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about skeletal mineralogy of major taxonomic groups of SO marine calcifiers and to make projections about how OA might affect a broad range of SO taxa. We consider a species' geographic range, skeletal mineralogy, biological traits, and potential strategies to overcome OA. The meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of the OA on a range of biological responses such as shell state, development and growth rate illustrates that the response variation is largely dependent on mineralogical composition. Species-specific responses due to mineralogical composition indicate that taxa with calcitic, aragonitic, and HMC skeletons, could be at greater risk to expected future carbonate chemistry alterations, and low-Mg calcite (LMC) species could be mostly resilient to these changes. Environmental and biological control on the calcification process and/or Mg content in calcite, biological traits, and physiological processes are also expected to influence species-specific responses.