Queens College, CUNY

To support goal-directed behavior, working memory (WM) must flexibly access relevant information. While the mechanisms underlying single-item WM access are comparatively well-studied, less is known about the principles governing multi-item access. Some studies have suggested that dual-item retrieval can be as efficient as single-item access, but it remains unclear whether this reflects reduced inhibitory demands or truly parallel, cost-free retrieval. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the number of relevant vs. irrelevant items in a pre-and retro-cuing WM task. The rationale was that if reduced inhibitory demands benefit multi-item access, then having fewer irrelevant items to suppress would enhance performance. Instead, we found that selecting two out of three items was slower and less accurate than selecting one, arguing against the idea that diminished inhibition underlies multi-item retrieval efficiency. Experiments 2a and 2b further probed retrieval efficiency using a modified dual-access paradigm that leveraged object repetition benefits. By including a control condition to prevent temporal associations between repeated targets and non-targets, we observed that repetition benefits for each item were additive—consistent with serial or limited parallel retrieval—rather than overadditive, which would be expected under fully parallel, cost-free retrieval. These findings clarify key limitations of multi-item WM, with important implications for complex tasks such as language comprehension, decision-making, and problem solving.

Monitoring for harmful algal blooms (HABs) in aquatic environments is commonly aided by light microscopy, though molecular-based approaches can expedite species detection, cell quantification, and therefore early warnings for management responses. Two methods, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and sandwich hybridization assay (SHA), are increasingly used for HAB monitoring, but they differ in terms of protocols, genetic targets, equipment/supplies, and other considerations. This presents a challenge to end-users when selecting tool(s) to integrate within HAB surveillance programs. In response, we conducted a multi-year, side-by-side comparison study between qPCR and SHA relative to microscopy for monitoring the raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo, a species responsible for fish kills and impaired water quality worldwide. This paper summarizes key findings from a broad suite of side-by-side, laboratory and field tests of H. akashiwo cell quantification by qPCR and SHA. Assay ranges, detection limits, applicability to preserved samples, and physiological conditions (time of day, growth phase, nutrient levels) of cultured H. akashiwo revealed generally strong qPCR-SHA agreement, though qPCR had a wider dynamic range (without homogenate dilution) while SHA displayed a lower detection limit. Both assays yielded excellent agreement with microscopy during cell growth in the laboratory as well as during bloom development in the field. However, qPCR and SHA cell abundance data were less than microscopy during stationary-decline growth and under low nitrate, indicating reduced cellular nucleic acid during senescence and nutrient stress. Pragmatically, both qPCR and SHA are affordable, but qPCR solutions are typically more available commercially than SHA. Study results will be valuable to managers considering methodological options that suit their HAB monitoring needs.

The free-ranging cat (Felis catus) is an invasive carnivore that can inflict extensive mortality on wildlife. The New York metropolitan area, the most densely populated region of the United States, is home to several urban greenspaces that support local populations of wildlife. It is currently unknown to what extent free-ranging cats make use of these greenspaces and what factors influence their distribution. To address these gaps, we used motion-activated cameras to survey free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in 31 major greenspaces in the New York metropolitan area. We compared the daily detection rate of free-ranging cats to other local carnivores and investigated anthropogenic and ecological variables predicted to influence their occupancy and detection probability. Finally, because the eastern coyote (Canis latrans) has expanded its historic range and now occupies several greenspaces in the New York metropolitan area, we tested whether free-ranging cats avoid habitats occupied by coyotes. Our study yielded three main results. First, free-ranging cats were documented in all 31 greenspaces surveyed and were second only to the raccoon (Procyon lotor) in terms of daily rate of detection. Second, free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability were significantly higher in greenspaces with smaller patch areas that were surrounded by more developed land cover and lower densities of humans. Third, free-ranging cat detection probability was significantly lower in habitats where coyotes were present. Because cats are an invasive species that can cause extensive mortality on urban wildlife, these findings may inform conservation practices and help protect vulnerable species.

That Uztáriz’s Theórica had enormous influence in the Hispanic world, especially concerning commercial matters, is a well-known fact. Be that as it may, it remains surprising that an economic treatise centrally concerned with commercial matters had very little to say about the Spanish Empire’s port-restricted and convoy system of trade, the infamous fleets and galleons. Why did Uztáriz almost entirely eschew this topic, even though the reform of the fleets and galleons would later become one of the most important economic concerns among ministers in the court? After describing Uztáriz’s economic thought in relation to various arbitristas (projectors) of the seventeenth century, this chapter proposes that, to answer this question, it is first necessary to reconstruct a related debate about whether a modern commercial nation had to imitate the Dutch in erecting privileged commercial companies. Arguing against the need to imitate the Dutch model, Uztáriz suggested that the most important factor of a successful commercial state was a well-organised system of tariffs and economic incentives that privileged national goods. Whether this occurred via the fleets and galleons or commercial companies was of secondary importance. Instead, the crown had to focus on trading with national goods and achieving a favorable balance of trade.

We expand on Moffett's discussion of societies in the context of multilevel social systems, for which Moffett proposes the core unit to constitute a society. Moffett's definition of a society, however, suggests that it is more parsimonious to assign this label to the upper (band) level. An understanding of multilevel systems is critical for informing discussions about what a society is.

Purpose : This study examined the attributes contributing to the use of technology among school staff to facilitate and promote physical activity. Method : A mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design was employed with the diffusion of innovations theory as a guide. The Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program Technology Practice Questionnaire, a diffusion of innovations questionnaire, and semistructured interviews were used to collect data. Multiple regression analysis and open and axial coding techniques were conducted to analyze quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Results : Complexity and trialability attributes contributed to the use of technology in schools. Despite acknowledging the benefits of technology use in promoting physical activity, school staff also expressed concerns about barriers and risks related to its use. Discussion/Conclusion : The study provides insights into factors affecting the use of technology among school staff and recommends that schools, districts, and professional organizations offer more opportunities for staff to explore and learn about various technologies.

The current study investigates the conjoint effect of prenatal Superstorm Sandy stress (SS) and postnatal parenting, as measured by affectionless control (AC), in determining the risk of early childhood psychopathology. The study included 154 children (45.5% males) longitudinally tracked from ages 2–5 years. Maternal AC was assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument. The prevalence of child diagnostic outcomes (DSM-IV anxiety disorders, phobias, and disruptive behavior disorders) was ascertained by trained clinical interviewers using maternal responses to the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. Children were stratified into four groups by SS and AC status to identify synergistic effects on psychopathology exceeding the risks expected in an additive model. Children exposed to both SS and AC had an over 5-fold increased risk of any anxiety disorder, a 12-fold increased risk for disruptive behavior disorders, and a nearly 5-fold increased risk of any disorder relative to the reference group of children with neither exposure. The risks of anxiety, disruptive behavior, and any disorders were synergistically greater than the sum of independent effects of the two stressors, as evident in the synergy index. Evaluation of synergistically increased risks for childhood disorders will help to identify high-risk children, which in turn could inform design of multi-level interventions to mitigate child psychopathology.

Objectives Reproductive effort incurs the cost of biological aging and morbidity by compromising somatic maintenance when key resources are limited. Oxidative stress is positively correlated with reproductive effort in adult human females and non‐human male animal models, but human males are understudied. We hypothesized that due to its anabolic and metabolic promotion of reproductive effort in human males, testosterone would be positively associated with biomarkers of oxidative stress. Methods Urinary testosterone in adult Shuar males of Amazonia Ecuador, a foraging/horticultural population, was measured with urinary 8‐hydroxy‐2′ ‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG), a biomarker of oxidative stress, and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), a protective antioxidant against oxidative stress. Age and anthropometric measures were included in multivariate models. Results No significant correlation was observed between testosterone and 8‐OHdG, r ² = 0.01, p = 0.61, n = 29, or Cu/Zn SOD, r ² = 0.0005, p = 0.93, n = 17. Multiple linear regression models including testosterone, Cu/Zn SOD, anthropometrics, and age, with 8‐OHdG as the dependent variable, were modestly supportive of an association. The most parsimonious 8‐OHdG model included age, Cu/Zn SOD, and testosterone ( R 2 adjusted = 0.38, p = 0.04, AICc = 141.95). All multivariate models for Cu/Zn SOD were not significant ( p > 0.05). Conclusions Oxidative stress may not be a cost of reproductive effort in this population of adult males; perhaps due to consistently low testosterone levels in non‐industrialized populations, differences in the metabolic cost of reproductive effort between males and females (i.e., aerobic metabolism), and/or study limitations based on cross‐sectional measures of oxidative stress and testosterone.

We consider the general performance of the difference‐in‐means estimator in an equally‐allocated two‐arm randomized experiment under common experimental endpoints such as continuous (regression), incidence, proportion, count and uncensored survival. We consider two sources of randomness: the subject‐specific assignments and the contribution of unobserved subject‐specific measurements. We then examine mean squared error (MSE) performance under a new, more realistic simultaneous tail criterion . We prove that the pairwise matching design asymptotically performs best under the simultaneous tail criterion when compared with other blocking designs for all response types. We also prove that the optimal design must be less random than complete randomization and more random than any deterministic, optimized allocation. Theoretical results are supported by simulations.

We show that programmable photonic circuit architectures composed of alternating mixing layers and active layers offer a high degree of flexibility. This alternating configuration enables the systematic tailoring of both the network’s depth (number of layers) and width (size of each layer) without compromising computational capabilities. From a mathematical perspective, our approach can be viewed as embedding an arbitrary target matrix into a higher-dimensional matrix, which can then be represented with fewer layers and a larger number of active elements. We derive a general relation for the width and depth of a network that guarantees representing all N × N complex-valued matrix operations. Remarkably, we show that just two such active layers—interleaved with passive mixing layers—are sufficient to universally implement arbitrary matrix transformations. This result promises a more adaptable and scalable route to photonic matrix processors.

Purpose/Objective: People with poststroke aphasia (PWA) are at increased risk for developing symptoms of depression. However, access to mental health (MH) care is often limited for this population. The goal of this study was to survey clinicians about current practices and specifically to examine (1) whether they work with PWA, (2) how often they observe symptoms of mood disorders in PWA, (3) how often these symptoms are treated, (4) who provides treatment for PWA, (5) what treatment consists of, and (6a) what training clinicians receive and (6b) provide for their trainees. Research Method/Design: A 19-question multiple-choice and free-response survey was shared widely with clinicians. Results: One hundred sixteen participants responded to at least 80% of the survey. The respondents were grouped as: MH and non-MH providers. Among MH and non-MH providers, most observed mood symptoms in PWA at least half the time, though the majority reported PWA receiving behavioral interventions for depression only sometimes/rarely. Responses regarding who provides care and what types of care are provided were mixed. Only 24% of MH and 9% of non-MH providers reported receiving specific training to address mood disorders in PWA, and more supervisors reported teaching MH trainees to work with people with language disorders than teaching non-MH providers to provide mental health care. Conclusion/Implications: The path for receiving and providing MH treatment for PWA does not appear to be standardized, which may contribute to gaps in services. Considerations for collaborative training and treatment are discussed.

When is online content antisemitic? This matter is highly contested, except in the case of explicit language. Yet implicit antisemitic content and conspiracy narratives about Jews have been on the rise, especially on moderated platforms. This paper maps empirically the connections between explicit antisemitic content and these other forms of content, showing the language game at play in an online community identified as antisemitic and providing a relatively simple answer to the classification of content question. Using data from two QAnon subreddits, r/CBTS_Stream and r/greatawakening, we identify the co-occurrence of explicit and implicit antisemitic language posted to the subreddits. The language game involves an ingroup having specialized knowledge related to implicit language or dog whistles; the ingroup knows and uses the secret meaning of these terms as an insider’s code. Content network analysis and qualitative coding illustrate that QAnon taught this insider’s code by presenting the overt, antisemitic meanings of implicit terms and generalized narratives in posts that combined them with explicit language. While explicit language appeared rarely and was used by only a small proportion of users, more than a third of QAnon users employed implicit antisemitic language in their posts. This implicit language communicated antisemitic conspiracy narratives and antisemitic ideas more generally, to an audience “in the know” while also offering the user plausible deniability. Moreover, the implicit antisemitic terms circumvent platform censorship and provide an opportunity to leverage common ground around antisemitic conspiracy narratives with new users without the stigma of explicitly antisemitic content. The question of whether content is antisemitic may easily be answered by looking at a community’s posts that combine explicit and implicit antisemitic language. (272 words).

Aim Understanding the processes that structure biodiversity on Earth is a major challenge in biology. Our work tests three key hypotheses driving taxonomic changes in bird communities globally, focusing on nestedness and turnover components: (1) contemporary climate, related to energy and water availability; (2) climate stability, reflecting shifts since the last glacial maximum; and (3) climatic heterogeneity, describing environmental gradients. We also examine whether these processes explain deviations in phylogenetic composition from expectations based on taxonomic changes among communities. Location Global. Time Period Present. Major Taxa Studied Birds. Methods We calculated total taxonomic dissimilarity, its nestedness and turnover components, between neighbouring cells considering all living bird species. We tested for significant phylogenetic over‐ and underdispersion by comparing observed phylogenetic dissimilarity to a null model. We used linear regression models to quantify the relationships between taxonomic dissimilarity and phylogenetic deviations with climatic variables representing our hypotheses. Results Precipitation steepness, that is, relative changes in precipitation, was strongly correlated with taxonomic changes ( R ² = 27%), driving both changes in local community richness (nestedness) and species replacement between different regional pools (turnover). These two processes were decoupled, with precipitation steepness driving richness differences up to 1200 mm of annual precipitation, and turnover being more relevant in hyperarid and tropical areas. Phylogenetic deviations were common (35% of global cells), resulting from both over‐ and underdispersion, but they lacked a climatic signal. Main Conclusions Our work supports the hypothesis that climatic heterogeneity, due to precipitation steepness, is the main climatic factor driving composition changes in bird communities globally, controlling local richness and transitions between regional pools. Changes in species composition often lead to phylogenetic dispersion or clustering, but the main processes responsible for taxonomic sorting are phylogenetically neutral. As such, taxonomic and phylogenetic changes between neighbouring bird communities may be driven largely by different processes.

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. Methods: This study presents, for the first time, a comprehensive investigation of white matter microstructural differences between familial ADHD (ADHD-F) and non-familial ADHD (ADHD-NF) using advanced diffusion tensor imaging analyses in a large community-based sample. Results: Children with ADHD-F exhibited significantly greater volume in the right anterior thalamic radiations and the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus compared to controls, and greater volume in the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus relative to ADHD-NF. The ADHD-NF group showed reduced fractional anisotropy in the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus compared to the controls. In both the ADHD-F and ADHD-NF groups, a greater volume of anterior thalamic radiation significantly contributed to reduced ADHD symptoms. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that white matter microstructural alterations along the frontal-thalamic pathways may play a critical role in hereditary factors among children with ADHD-F and significantly contribute to elevated inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behaviors in the affected children.

DNA–protein crosslinks (DPCs) remain as a poorly understood DNA lesion. Herein, crosslinking between guanosine and lysine was explored using a model system comprising 9-methylguanine (9MG) and CH3NH2. Crosslinking was induced by one-electron oxidized 9MG•+ radical cations and doubly oxidized [9MG – HN2]+ cations, and analyzed as a function of reaction energy using an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometer. Experiment was augmented by dynamics simulations and kinetics modeling. Alongside the formation of X-NH2CH3[9MG]•+ (X = C2, C8) via direct addition, 8-CH2NH2[9MG + HN7]+ was discovered as a new crosslink between 9MG•+ and CH3NH2. This crosslink results from methyl–hydrogen abstraction of CH3NH2 by the N7 of 9MG•+, followed by adding •CH2NH2 to [9MG + HN7]+. Notably, crosslinking is dramatically enhanced between [9MG – HN2]+ and CH3NH2, yielding major products X-+NH2CH3[9MG – HN2] (X = N2, N3, C5, and C8, along with their proton tautomers), which form from the direct CH3NH2 addition to [9MG – HN2]+, and minor products X-CH2NH2[9MG – HN2 + HO6]+ (X = N2, N3, C5, N7, and C8), which arise from the combination of methyl–hydrogen abstraction products. This work dissected and distinguished the roles of one- versus two-electron oxidized guanosine in DPC formation, offering novel insights into oxidative DNA damage.

Flood insurance take‐up remains low outside of the 100‐year flood zone (SFHA), where purchasing insurance is entirely voluntary, despite the availability of affordable policies. Merging building footprints and inundation data for a large‐scale flooding episode, we document substantial flood risk in the periphery of the SFHA and show that the storm led to large increases in take‐up. But, while in the SFHA, the increase vanished after 3 years, it was highly persistent in the periphery. The extent of flooding and the type of policies purchased indicate that periphery residents who experienced flooding for the first time revised upwardly their beliefs about flood risk and began purchasing flood insurance. We also argue that increased granularity in flood risk communication could increase take‐up before catastrophic flooding occurs.

We provide a new proof of the equality case of the spacetime positive mass theorem, which states that if a complete asymptotically flat initial data set (M, g, k) satisfying the dominant energy condition has null ADM energy-momentum (that is, $|E|=|P|$), then (M, g) must isometrically embed into Minkowski space with k as its second fundamental form. Previous proofs either used spinor methods [2, 5, 26], relied on the Jang equation [10, 16], or assumed three spatial dimensions [17]. In contrast, our new proof only requires knowing that $E\ge |P|$ for all complete initial data sets near (g, k) on M satisfying the dominant energy condition.