Achieving sub-picometer precision measurements of atomic column positions in high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscope images using nonrigid registration (NRR) and averaging of image series requires careful optimization of experimental conditions and the parameters of the registration algorithm. On experimental data from SrTiO3 [100], sub-pm precision requires alignment of the sample to the zone axis to within 1 mrad tilt and sample drift of less than 1 nm/min. At fixed total electron dose for the series, precision in the fast scan direction improves with shorter pixel dwell time to the limit of our microscope hardware, but the best precision along the slow scan direction occurs at 6 μs/px dwell time. Within the NRR algorithm, the “smoothness factor” that penalizes large estimated shifts is the most important parameter for sub-pm precision, but in general, the precision of NRR images is robust over a wide range of parameters.

Animal-derived dietary protein ingestion and physical activity stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis rates in older adults. We determined whether a non-animal-derived diet can support daily myofibrillar protein synthesis rates to the same extent as an omnivorous diet. Nineteen healthy older adults (aged 66 (sem 1) years; BMI 24 (sem 1) kg/m2; twelve males, seven females) participated in a randomised, parallel-group, controlled trial during which they consumed a 3-d isoenergetic high-protein (1·8 g/kg body mass per d) diet, where the protein was provided from predominantly (71 %) animal (OMNI; n 9; six males, three females) or exclusively vegan (VEG; n 10; six males, four females; mycoprotein providing 57 % of daily protein intake) sources. During the dietary control period, participants conducted a daily bout of unilateral resistance-type leg extension exercise. Before the dietary control period, participants ingested 400 ml of deuterated water, with 50-ml doses consumed daily thereafter. Saliva samples were collected throughout to determine body water 2H enrichments, and muscle samples were collected from rested and exercised muscle to determine daily myofibrillar protein synthesis rates. Deuterated water dosing resulted in body water 2H enrichments of approximately 0·78 (sem 0·03) %. Daily myofibrillar protein synthesis rates were 13 (sem 8) (P = 0·169) and 12 (sem 4) % (P = 0·016) greater in the exercised compared with rested leg (1·59 (sem 0·12) v. 1·77 (sem 0·12) and 1·76 (sem 0·14) v. 1·93 (sem 0·12) %/d) in OMNI and VEG groups, respectively. Daily myofibrillar protein synthesis rates did not differ between OMNI and VEG in either rested or exercised muscle (P > 0·05). Over the course of a 3-d intervention, omnivorous- or vegan-derived dietary protein sources can support equivalent rested and exercised daily myofibrillar protein synthesis rates in healthy older adults consuming a high-protein diet.

Precise instrumental calibration is of crucial importance to 21-cm cosmology experiments. The Murchison Widefield Array’s (MWA) Phase II compact configuration offers us opportunities for both redundant calibration and sky-based calibration algorithms; using the two in tandem is a potential approach to mitigate calibration errors caused by inaccurate sky models. The MWA Epoch of Reionization (EoR) experiment targets three patches of the sky (dubbed EoR0, EoR1, and EoR2) with deep observations. Previous work in Li et al. (2018) and (2019) studied the effect of tandem calibration on the EoR0 field and found that it yielded no significant improvement in the power spectrum (PS) over sky-based calibration alone. In this work, we apply similar techniques to the EoR1 field and find a distinct result: the improvements in the PS from tandem calibration are significant. To understand this result, we analyse both the calibration solutions themselves and the effects on the PS over three nights of EoR1 observations. We conclude that the presence of the bright radio galaxy Fornax A in EoR1 degrades the performance of sky-based calibration, which in turn enables redundant calibration to have a larger impact. These results suggest that redundant calibration can indeed mitigate some level of model incompleteness error.

Mycoprotein consumption has been shown to improve acute postprandial glycaemic control and decrease circulating cholesterol concentrations. We investigated the impact of incorporating mycoprotein into the diet on insulin sensitivity (IS), glycaemic control and plasma lipoprotein composition. Twenty healthy adults participated in a randomised, parallel-group trial in which they consumed a 7 d fully controlled diet where lunch and dinner contained either meat/fish (control group, CON) or mycoprotein (MYC) as the primary source of dietary protein. Oral glucose tolerance tests were performed pre- and post-intervention, and 24 h continuous blood glucose monitoring was applied throughout. Fasting plasma samples were obtained pre- and post-intervention and were analysed using quantitative, targeted NMR-based metabonomics. There were no changes within or between groups in blood glucose or serum insulin responses, nor in IS or 24 h glycaemic profiles. No differences between groups were found for 171 of the 224 metabonomic targets. Forty-five lipid concentrations of different lipoprotein fractions (VLDL, LDL, intermediate-density lipoprotein and HDL) remained unchanged in CON but showed a coordinated decrease (7–27 %; all P < 0·05) in MYC. Total plasma cholesterol, free cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL2-cholesterol, DHA and n-3 fatty acids decreased to a larger degree in MYC (14–19 %) compared with CON (3–11 %; P < 0·05). Substituting meat/fish for mycoprotein twice daily for 1 week did not modulate whole-body IS or glycaemic control but resulted in changes to plasma lipid composition, the latter primarily consisting of a coordinated reduction in circulating cholesterol-containing lipoproteins.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has greatly impacted health-care systems worldwide, leading to an unprecedented rise in demand for health-care resources. In anticipation of an acute strain on established medical facilities in Dallas, Texas, federal officials worked in conjunction with local medical personnel to convert a convention center into a Federal Medical Station capable of caring for patients affected by COVID-19. A 200,000 square foot event space was designated as a direct patient care area, with surrounding spaces repurposed to house ancillary services. Given the highly transmissible nature of the novel coronavirus, the donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) was of particular importance for personnel staffing the facility. Furthermore, nationwide shortages in the availability of PPE necessitated the reuse of certain protective materials. This article seeks to delineate the procedures implemented regarding PPE in the setting of a COVID-19 disaster response shelter, including workspace flow, donning and doffing procedures, PPE conservation, and exposure event protocols.

Off-target paraquat movement to rice has become a major problem in recent years for rice producers in the midsouthern United States. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is applied to rice in greater quantity and frequency than all other nutrients to optimize rice yield. Two separate field studies were conducted from 2015 to 2018 in Stoneville, MS, to assess whether starter N fertilizer can aid rice recovery from exposure to a sub-lethal concentration of paraquat and to evaluate rice response to different N fertilizer management strategies following exposure to a sub-lethal concentration of paraquat. In both studies, paraquat treatments consisted of paraquat at 0 and 84 g ai ha–1 applied to rice in the two- to three-leaf (EPOST) growth stage. In the starter fertilizer study, N fertilizer at 24 kg ha–1 as ammonium sulfate (AMS) was applied to rice at spiking- to one-leaf (VEPOST), two- to three-leaf (EPOST), or three- to four-leaf (MPOST) growth stages before and after paraquat treatment. In the N fertilizer timing study, N fertilizer at 168 kg N ha–1 was applied in a single four-leaf to one-tiller (LPOST) application or two-, three-, and two four-way split applications. Despite starter N fertilizer applications, paraquat injured rice ≥41%, reduced height 57%, reduced dry weight prior to flooding 77%, delayed maturity 10 d, reduced dry weight at maturity 33%, and reduced rough rice yield 35% in the starter fertilizer study. Similarly, in the N fertilizer timing study, paraquat injured rice ≥45%, reduced height 14%, delayed maturity 10 d, reduced dry weight at maturity 44%, and reduced rough rice yield 50% for all N fertilizer management strategies. Both studies indicate that severe complications in growth and development can occur from rice exposure to a sub-lethal concentration of paraquat. In both studies, manipulation of N fertilizer management did not facilitate rice recovery from early-season exposure to paraquat.

Asylum court records are a potentially important evidentiary basis for postcolonial African history. Asylum-seeking is a contemporary transnational iteration of a rich African petitioning tradition. In the contemporary era, the digitization of court records, and their dispersal as a function of the shifting division of work between ministries, courts, and related bureaucracies, presents a challenge to researchers. Digital record keeping may improve accessibility, but only if researchers are familiar with the technology and archival methods and practices accompanying digitization.

In glyphosate-resistant (GR) cropping systems, paraquat applied in mixtures with residual herbicides prior to crop emergence offers an alternative herbicide mode of action (MOA) to aid in GR weed management. Rice is sensitive to off-target herbicide movement; however, severity of injury can vary with herbicide, rate, and formulation. Therefore, research was conducted from 2015 to 2017 in Stoneville, MS, to characterize rice response to a sublethal concentration of paraquat applied at 84 g ai ha–1 in combination with common residual herbicides. Paraquat plus metribuzin injured rice 68% to 69% 14 and 28 d after treatment (DAT), which was 10% to 13% greater than injury following paraquat alone or paraquat plus fomesafen. Pooled across metribuzin and fomesafen treatments, paraquat reduced rough rice yields 23%. Paraquat plus 10 different residual herbicides injured rice ≥51% 28 DAT and reduced rough rice yields ≥21%. These studies indicate a severe negative impact on rice growth and development following exposure to a sublethal concentration of paraquat alone or in mixture with common residual herbicides. Therefore, applications of paraquat plus residual herbicides to fields in proximity to rice should be avoided if conditions are conducive for off-target movement.

If we consider perceptions as arising from predictive processes, we must consider the manner in which the underlying expectations are formed and how they are applied to the sensory data. We provide examples of cases where expectations give rise to unexpected and unlikely perceptions of the world. These examples may help define bounds for the notion that perceptual hypotheses are direct derivatives of experience and are used to furnish sensible interpretations of sensory data.

Predictive associations were estimated between socioemotional dispositions measured at 10–17 years using the Child and Adolescent Dispositions Scale (CADS) and future individual differences in white matter microstructure measured at 22–31 years of age. Participants were 410 twins (48.3% monozygotic) selected for later neuroimaging by oversampling on risk for psychopathology from a representative sample of child and adolescent twins. Controlling for demographic covariates and total intracranial volume (TICV), each CADS disposition (negative emotionality, prosociality, and daring) rated by one of the informants (parent or youth) significantly predicted global fractional anisotropy (FA) averaged across the major white matter tracts in brain in adulthood, but did so through significant interactions with sex after false discovery rate (FDR) correction. In females, each 1 SD difference in greater parent-rated prosociality was associated with 0.43 SD greater FA (p < 0.0008). In males, each 1 SD difference in greater parent-rated daring was associated with 0.24 SD lower FA (p < 0.0008), and each 1 SD difference in greater youth-rated negative emotionality was associated with 0.18 SD greater average FA (p < 0.0040). These findings suggest that CADS dispositions are associated with FA, but associations differ by sex. Exploratory analyses suggest that FA may mediate the associations between dispositions and psychopathology in some cases. These associations over 12 years could reflect enduring brain–behavior associations in spite of transactions with the environment, but could equally reflect processes in which dispositional differences in behavior influence the development of white matter. Future longitudinal studies are needed to resolve the causal nature of these sex-moderated associations.

Stictococcus vayssierei is a major pest of root and tuber crops in central Africa. However, data on its ecology are lacking. Here we provide an updated estimate of its distribution with the aim of facilitating the sustainable control of its populations. Surveys conducted in nine countries encompassing 13 ecological regions around the Congo basin showed that African root and tuber scale was present in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Uganda. It was not found on the sites surveyed in Chad and Nigeria. The pest occurred in the forest and the forest-savannah mosaic as well as in the savannah where it was never recorded before. However, prevalence was higher in the forest (43.1%) where cassava was the most infested crop, compared to the savannah (9.2%) where aroids (cocoyam and taro) were the most infested crops. In the forest habitat, the pest was prevalent in all but two ecological regions: the Congolian swamp forests and the Southern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic. In the savannah habitat, it was restricted to the moist savannah highlands and absent from dry savannahs. The scale was not observed below 277 m asl. Where present, the scale was frequently (87.1% of the sites) attended by the ant Anoplolepis tenella. High densities (>1000 scales per plant) were recorded along the Cameroon–Gabon border. Good regulatory measures within and between countries are required to control the exchange of plant materials and limit its spread. The study provides information for niche modeling and risk mapping.

Field experiments were conducted in 2012 and 2013 across four locations for a total of 6 site-years in the midsouthern United States to determine the effect of growth stage at exposure on soybean sensitivity to sublethal rates of dicamba (8.8 g ae ha−1) and 2,4-D (140 g ae ha−1). Regression analysis revealed that soybean was most susceptible to injury from 2,4-D when exposed between 413 and 1,391 accumulated growing degree days (GDD) from planting, approximately between V1 and R2 growth stages. In terms of terminal plant height, soybean was most susceptible to 2,4-D between 448 and 1,719 GDD, or from V1 to R4. However, maximum susceptibility to 2,4-D was only between 624 and 1,001 GDD or from V3 to V5 for yield loss. As expected, soybean was sensitive to dicamba for longer spans of time, ranging from 0 to 1,162 GDD for visible injury or from emergence to R2. Likewise, soybean height was most affected when dicamba exposure occurred between 847 and 1,276 GDD or from V4 to R2. Regarding grain yield, soybean was most susceptible to dicamba between 820 and 1,339 GDD or from V4 to R2. Consequently, these data indicate that soybean response to 2,4-D and dicamba can be variable within vegetative or reproductive growth stages; therefore, specific growth stage at the time of exposure should be considered when evaluating injury from off-target movement. In addition, application of dicamba near susceptible soybean within the V4 to R2 growth stages should be avoided because this is the time of maximum susceptibility. Research regarding soybean sensitivity to 2,4-D and dicamba should focus on multiple exposure times and also avoid generalizing growth stages to vegetative or reproductive.

Compound heterozygotes occur when different variants at the same locus on both maternal and paternal chromosomes produce a recessive trait. Here we present the tool VarCount for the quantification of variants at the individual level. We used VarCount to characterize compound heterozygous coding variants in patients with epileptic encephalopathy and in the 1000 Genomes Project participants. The Epi4k data contains variants identified by whole exome sequencing in patients with either Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) or infantile spasms (IS), as well as their parents. We queried the Epi4k dataset (264 trios) and the phased 1000 Genomes Project data (2504 participants) for recessive variants. To assess enrichment, transcript counts were compared between the Epi4k and 1000 Genomes Project participants using minor allele frequency (MAF) cutoffs of 0.5 and 1.0%, and including all ancestries or only probands of European ancestry. In the Epi4k participants, we found enrichment for rare, compound heterozygous variants in six genes, including three involved in neuronal growth and development – PRTG (p = 0.00086, 1% MAF, combined ancestries), TNC (p = 0.022, 1% MAF, combined ancestries) and MACF1 (p = 0.0245, 0.5% MAF, EU ancestry). Due to the total number of transcripts considered in these analyses, the enrichment detected was not significant after correction for multiple testing and higher powered or prospective studies are necessary to validate the candidacy of these genes. However, PRTG, TNC and MACF1 are potential novel recessive epilepsy genes and our results highlight that compound heterozygous variants should be considered in sporadic epilepsy.