Recent ucr items

Volume, entropy, and diameter in $\mathrm{SO}(p,q+1)$-higher Teichmüller spaces

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We investigate properties of the pseudo-Riemannian volume, entropy, and diameter for convex cocompact representations \rho \colon \Gamma \to \mathrm{SO}(p,q+1) of closed p -manifold groups. In particular: We provide a uniform lower bound of the product entropy times volume that depends only on the geometry of the abstract group \Gamma . We prove that the entropy is bounded from above by p-1 with equality if and only if \rho is conjugate to a representation inside \mathrm{S}(\mathrm{O}(p,1)\times\mathrm{O}(q)) , which answers affirmatively to a question of Glorieux and Monclair. Lastly, we prove finiteness and compactness results for groups admitting convex cocompact representations with bounded diameter.

Host-Virus Interactions: Effects on the Evolution of Tobacco Mosaic Virus in Nicotiana sylvestris.

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For many years, it has been known that changes in plant RNA virus populations can result from replication in different host plants or in different environments, but the genetics underlying such changes could not be explored. Recent developments in the molecular biology of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) make such studies possible.

A typical population of "wild type" TMV (U1) contains a small subpopulation of genetic variants (necrotic lesion-NL) that evoke the hypersensitive reaction on Nicotiana sylvestris, a systemic host for wild type. This variant is strongly selected for during replication in plants that are undergoing development of shoot axes during bolting. This selection changes the composition of the virus population dramatically. No accumulation of NL-type occurred when N. sylvestris plants were inoculated with TMV204, a clonal population derived from RNA transcripts of a plasmid carrying a cDNA copy of the TMV genome or when U1 infected other systemic hosts.

Tissue...

Ma Y, Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education MaY (2020) Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education. Columbia University Press. 312 pp. ISBN 9780231184588.

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ma Y, Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education MaY (2020) Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education. Columbia University Press. 312 pp. ISBN 9780231184588.

The influence of childhood parental support and irritability on internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors in Latina girls

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Current research indicates that parental neglect and child irritability are both positively associated with internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors. However, marginalized groups, such as preadolescent Latina girls, remain underrepresented in this area of the scientific literature. The present study extends prior research by examining associations among parental support, irritability, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 27 Latina girls aged 8-13. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to assess the associations between parental support and internalizing symptoms, parental support and externalizing behaviors, irritability and internalizing symptoms, and irritability and externalizing behaviors. Results indicated an association between child irritability and internalizing symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of examining child irritability in relation to the development of internalizing symptoms in Latina preadolescent...

Doomsday: Friday, 13 November, A.D. 2026. Demographic-Technological Positive Feedback, Hyperbolic Acceleration of the Global Complexity Growth, and the 21st Century Singularity

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines the striking mathematical correspondence between two independently derived hyperbolic equations describing global evolutionary dynamics: Panov's time series of "biospheric revolutions" spanning 4 billion years of biological and cultural evolution, and von Foerster's famous "Doomsday" equation for world population growth (1960). Both phenomena are governed by equations of the form y = C/(2027 − t), with singularity dates converging on the third decade of the 21st century (R² = 0.9991 and 0.996 respectively). The analysis demonstrates that this correspondence is not coincidental but reflects the operation of a nonlinear second-order positive feedback mechanism between demographic growth and technological development, formalized through the coupled differential equations of the Verhulst-Pearl logistic model and the Taagepera-Kremer technological growth equation. The mathematical singularity – the point at which equations project infinite values – should not...

Mechanical Stress and Deformation in Healthy and Senescent Endothelial Cells

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Endothelial cells are continuously exposed to shear stress from blood flow, which plays a critical role in mechanotransduction and the regulation of cellular behavior. These fluid-induced forces lead to cellular deformation and the transmission of stress to intracellular structures, including the nucleus. Cellular senescence is associated with increased stiffness, which alters how mechanical forces are experienced and distributed within the cell. In this study, a computational model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics® to compare the mechanical responses of healthy and senescent endothelial cells under identical laminar flow conditions. Material properties were defined based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements to capture differences in cellular stiffness. The model assumes steady-state, incompressible, laminar flow and treats the cell and nucleus as isotropic, linearly elastic materials. By quantifying deformation and Von Mises stress distributions, this work...

The Effects of Smoke on Hummingbird Behavior and Lung Health

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates the effects of smoke exposure on the behavior and lung health of wild-caught Anna’s hummingbirds. Twelve birds were placed in individual insect cages with a syringe of 30 mL of nectar solution. Half the birds, the smoke group, were placed inside an environmental chamber and exposed to cold wood smoke of 1,419 µg/m3 concentration for 4 hours. The remaining six birds, the control group, were placed in a separate environmental chamber without smoke. At the end of the exposure, half of each group was euthanized immediately to study short-term effects on the lungs, including acute inflammation, immune cell infiltration, and carbon deposition. The other half were euthanized two weeks later to study long-term effects on the lungs, such as fibrosis and structural damage. A necropsy was performed on all the birds. Their lungs were processed for immunohistochemistry and analyzed after Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining. Observational results showed...

The effects of N-acetyl cysteine, Gentamicin, and Ciprofloxacin on Bacterial Biofilm in vitro in the Presence or Absence of High Oxidative Stress and High Glucose Levels

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus xylosus can form biofilm in vitro, and the effects of N-acetyl cysteine, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin on biofilm growth, in the presence or absence of oxidative stress and/or high glucose levels. The bacteria were cultured in vitro and formed biofilm within 24 h. Treatments included N-acetyl cysteine at a final concentration of 20mg/ml, gentamicin at 0.1mg/ml, and ciprofloxacin at 0.2mg/ml. For the oxidative stress condition, H₂O₂ was used at a final concentration of 500µM, and for the high glucose levels, d(+)-Glucose was used at 300mg/dL. When used alone, N-acetyl cysteine was able to significantly dismantle the biofilm, even when the bacteria were combined. However, in the presence of oxidative stress or high glucose levels, N-acetyl cysteine was not as effective...

Chem-AI: Reframing AI-Assisted Research Through Structured, Retrieval-Based Scientific Literature Analysis

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The growing volume of scientific literature presents a significant challenge for researchers to identify relevant methods, compare findings, and build upon existing work. Although advances in artificial intelligence have led to new tools for literature analysis, many of these tools rely on generative models whose outputs are not always grounded in verifiable sources. This raises concerns about reliability and reproducibility in scientific research. In this study, we explore whether a retrieval-based system can provide more transparent and trustworthy support throughout the research process.

We present Chem-AI, an interactive tool that structures the research process into clear steps, including query interpretation, literature retrieval, experiment classification, and method mapping. Unlike conventional AI systems that generate answers without clear justification, Chem-AI links each output directly to published research, allowing users to trace and verify the information.

The...

Adversity and Visual Working Memory: The Role of Lifetime Adversity When Shaping Visual Working Memory in Emotional Recall

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prior research has suggested that adversity is linked to cognitive impairments, including reduced memory, attention, & decision-making abilities. There has also been evidence of negativity biases in memory, where humans tend to allocate more attention and remember negative information more vividly than other forms of emotional stimuli. Data was collected from students at the University of California, Riverside in an upper division psychology laboratory course between the ages 19 and 31 through an online Google Form split into different sections of which included the general demographic information (age/ gender), their recall across three trials of positive, negative, and neutral words pulled from the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) database, and their responses from the Stress and Adversity Inventory Screener for Adults (STRAIN). No correlation was found between adversity and overall recall performance. There was also no correlation between adversity scores and...

Gaps in Knowledge, Receipt, and Acceptance of Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccines in a National Sample of Emergency Department

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Measles cases are increasing in the U.S., raising concern about gaps in adult measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination, which is poorly captured by current surveillance. Emergency departments (EDs) act as safety nets for underserved populations and can help identify gaps in adult MMR uptake. We assessed adult MMR up-to-date status, knowledge, and willingness to receive vaccination in the ED, nationally. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of adults aged 18–64 at ten U.S. EDs from April–December 2024. Participants completed a structured survey assessing MMR knowledge, self-reported vaccination status, reasons for non-receipt, and willingness to receive MMR in the ED. Outcomes were summarized as proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with not being up to date and willingness to accept vaccination. Among 2,456 participants, 25.0% (95% CI 23.3–26.7%) had not heard of the MMR vaccine, and 44.0% (42.5–46.4%)...

Evaluating Acid Activation Parameters of Biochar for Ammonia Adsorption

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In order to enhance biochar’s adsorption efficiency for ammonia removal, it must first undergo acid activation, a process in which the surface chemistry of the biochar is altered. Although acid activation is known to increase ammonia adsorption capacity, the effects of specific preparation parameters are not well understood. During activation, biochar is soaked in phosphoric acid and then rinsed to remove residual unbound acid, which could otherwise react with ammonia and interfere with future adsorption measurements. This study focuses on the acid activation step for woodchip biochar pyrolyzed at 500 °C for 15 minutes. Three parameters were investigated: particle size (ground vs. unground), phosphoric acid concentration (15%, 30%, and 45%), and rinsing method (two rinses, five rinses, or a one-hour soak using 20 mL of DI water). pH was measured before and after treatment and used as an indicator of potential ammonia adsorption. To increase readability, the experiment...

Cross-cultural Communication: Examining Translation Gaps between Korean and English

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In an increasingly global society, varying media entertainment presents different languages
and cultures through the assistance of subtitles. In particular, Korean films have become
popular in English-speaking countries through the prevalence of English subtitles. While
this enables viewers to interact with Korean culture and language, studies reveal that
English translations frequently overlook nuances of the Korean language, producing
inaccurate or misleading interpretations. Through the examination of language and power
dynamics in the Korean film, Parasite, this research explores power dynamics and cultural
implications revealed through the Korean language by the use of honorifics. However, in
English language subtitles, these crucial elements of the Korean language are almost
completely absent. This analysis, then, presents an argument for how broad and inaccurate
translations often erase central elements of a culture and further lend to misconceptions...

Does locus coeruleus structure relate to associative memory related-activity in older adults?

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Older adults have shown well-documented declines in memory for relationships between items, especially as the number of items that must be bound together increases. Less is known about the neural mechanisms that support this type of associative memory, particularly the hippocampus and its neuromodulatory input from the Locus Coeruleus (LC). In the current study, cognitively healthy older adults completed the QuadMax associative memory task during fMRI scanning. They studied word pairs, triplets, and quadruplets and were subsequently tested on their ability to remember repeated, recombined, and novel word sets. Diffusion-weighted MRI measures were also collected to assess LC microstructural integrity. Results revealed that associative memory, recognition, and hit rates declined significantly as associative load increased from pairs to triplets to quadruplets. These effects were no longer significant when age and sex were included as covariates. At the neural level, associative...

Combination of ATLAS and CMS Searches for Higgs Boson Pair Production at s=13 TeV

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This Letter presents a combination of searches for Higgs boson pair ( ) production performed by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations using proton-proton collision datasets recorded at during the Large Hadron Collider Run 2, corresponding to integrated luminosities ranging between 126 and . The upper limit at the 95% confidence level on the total signal strength, defined as the ratio of the measured cross section to the standard model (SM) prediction, corresponds to 2.5, with an expected value of 1.7 (2.8) assuming the absence (presence) of the SM signal. The strength of the signal is measured to be relative to the SM prediction. The observed significance is found to be 1.1 standard deviations whereas 1.3 are expected for the SM signal. Constraints are set on the Higgs boson trilinear self-coupling and on the couplings of two Higgs bosons to two vector bosons, both normalized to the SM predictions and denoted as and , respectively. The observed individual constraints at the...

Decarcerating the University: A Roundtable Discussion

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Decarcerating the University: A Roundtable Discussion

Democracy, “Democracy (Reprise),” and the Asian American Ambivalence of Soft Power

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: In Soft Power (2019), David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori deconstruct and demonstrate the affective power of American musicals by reversing The King and I (1951). Soft Power satirizes democracy, white supremacy, and gun violence with whiteface, meta-propaganda, and a sweeping Broadway-style score. In the torch song “Democracy” and its reprise, the artists articulate Asian American ambivalence about US democracy: hope in its promise to lift everyone, despair in its rootedness in racism, and cognizance of musical theatre as a delivery system for ideology. This article uses repetition, interviews, reviews, and dramaturgy to consider Soft Power , soft power, and democracy.

From Community College to University: Institutionalization and Neoliberalism in British Columbia and Alberta

Fri, 9 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

From Community College to University: Institutionalization and Neoliberalism in British Columbia and Alberta

Organizational paradigm shift and the university colleges of British Columbia

Fri, 9 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Organizational paradigm shift and the university colleges of British Columbia

Wavelength Requirements for Life Detection via Reflected Light Spectroscopy of Rocky Exoplanets