Addiction is a word that represents a condition that, at best, causes minor disruptions to one’s life and, at worst, is lethal. The current definition was developed by 80 neuroscientists. It references substance use and other behaviors and includes food and sex. Addictions do not seem to be lessening but...
Oomycetes are an important group of organisms with a variety of ecological roles similar to fungi. Although many are well-studied plant pathogens known for their devastating effects on agricultural systems, most are little-studied saprobes and parasites of plants and animals in nearly every ecosystem on earth. The advent of affordable...
This work explores the electric field induced strain mechanisms in environmentally benign Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 (BNT) based piezoelectric thin films. Although BNT-based materials show promise as replacements for toxic Pb-based piezoelectrics, the displacement mechanisms are not consistent between thin films and bulk materials, and the differences have yet to be well understood....
While human tool-use proficiency helped define our history, the cognitive and perceptual mechanics of how humans use tools are not fully understood. This question is of great value to the design of hand-held tools and prosthetics. A prominent theory, tool embodiment, suggests that tool use is facilitated by a flexible...
Software entropy impacts the overall quality of software systems. High entropy hinders developers from understanding the purpose of a piece of code and can cause developers to make sub-optimal changes and introduce bugs. Researchers have used entropy scores to measure the naturalness of code. However, thus far, no one has...
Oomycete and fungal pathogens threaten food, fiber, and forests around the world. With climate change, these pathogens are expected to emerge more frequently. Evolution can facilitate their emergence through mechanisms such as mutations that change or expand host range. Characterizing evolutionary mechanisms in plant pathogens will contribute to our ability...
Roadway departure crashes accounted for 18,275 fatal crashes in 2017 across the United States (Jones et al. 2017). Rumble strips (RS) provide audible and haptic interior alert when a vehicle is departing the roadway reducing run-off-the road crashes. Although inexpensive to install, and easy to maintain, RS are not installed...
The modern world has presented many threats to the health and stability of ecosystems worldwide. One of the most biodiverse ecosystems, coral reefs, faces particularly strong pressures, and is already declining rapidly in complexity and area. Although the stressors that affect reefs are diverse, ranging from nutrient pollution to overfishing,...