Boise State University

About: Boise State University is a education organization based out in Boise, Idaho, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Computer science. The organization has 3698 authors who have published 8664 publications receiving 210163 citations. The organization is also known as: BSU & Boise State.

Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the Zavkhan terrane of Mongolia: Implications for continental growth in the Central Asian orogenic belt

Abstract: The Zavkhan terrane is a Proterozoic cratonic fragment in southwestern Mongolia that forms the core of the Central Asian orogenic belt. We provide new geologic and U-Pb zircon geochronologic constraints on the Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the terrane. Orthogneisses dated as ca. 1967 and ca. 839 Ma form the basement and are intruded and overlain by ca. 811–787 Ma arc-volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks that lack a gneissic fabric, suggestive of a mid-Neoproterozoic metamorphic event. Rifting and formation of the Zavkhan ribbon continent occurred from ca. 770–717 Ma and was followed by passive margin sedimentation between 717 and 580 Ma. During the latest Ediacaran to Cambrian, the southern margin of the Zavkhan terrane was reactivated with the obduction of the Lake terrane, slab break-off and reversal, and ca. 509–507 Ma magmatism. Metamorphosed Proterozoic and Cambrian units are cut by undeformed ca. 496 Ma gabbro, providing a tight constraint on the age of Cambrian metamorphism. Late Ordovician to Silurian rifting is marked by bimodal magmatism and deposition in narrow fault-bound basins. Our data indicate that the Zavkhan terrane traveled alone in the Neoproterozoic, collided with the Lake terrane in the late Ediacaran to Cambrian, accreted an unknown crustal block during Cambrian Epoch 2–Epoch 3, and then rifted away in the Ordovician. We suggest the majority of continental growth in Mongolia occurred through the trapping and oroclinal bending of ribbon continents rather than long-lived accretion on the margin of a major craton.

Individual Differences in Vagal Regulation Moderate Associations Between Daily Affect and Daily Couple Interactions

Abstract: Previous research suggests that cardiac vagal regulation (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia, or RSA) provides a physiological substrate for affect regulation, which presumably underlies adaptive interpersonal functioning.The authors tested these associations in the context of daily interactions between 68 cohabiting couples. Participants underwent a laboratory assessment of RSA during rest and also during a series of psychological stressors. Subsequently, they kept daily measures of affect and interaction quality for 21 days. Individual differences in baseline and stress levels of RSA moderated within-person associations between daily affect and the quality of couple interactions. The pattern of results differed for women versus men. Men with lower vagal tone or higher vagal reactivity had stronger associations between daily negative affect and daily negative interactions, and men with higher vagal tone had more positive daily interactions overall. Women with higher vagal tone had stronger associati...

Towards an understanding of integrity test similarities and differences: an item‐level analysis of seven tests

Abstract: A judgmental sort of 798 items from 7 paper-and-pencil integrity tests produced 23 thematic composites. Patterns of correlations between these composites and the 7 integrity measures and 2 Big Five measures shed light on similarities and differences between different integrity tests. Principal components analysis of 23 composites indicated 4 principal components that further illuminate the content domain of integrity tests. The relationships between 4 integrity principal components and integrity test scores as well as measures of the Big Five dimensions of personality are reported. The findings suggest that integrity tests can differ in their emphasis on various thematic composites, and, yet, be very similar in terms of their standing on the 4 integrity principal components. Different integrity tests can be quite different in terms of surface content, and, yet, assess the same underlying constructs.

Save northern high-latitude catchments

Abstract: To the Editor — Northern freshwaters are changing rapidly in response to global warming and human perturbation. Such change is often abrupt and unexpected: catchment storage and release of water is inherently nonlinear. Being able to understand and predict these ecosystems is essential in order to sustain their services and ensure social prosperity in this rapidly changing region. Nevertheless, more and more of the small research catchments in high latitudes are being shut down. Here, we make the case for reversing this trend to sustain long-term catchment research in the north. Long-term catchment monitoring in the northern latitudes is in a precipitous decline; for example, the number of operational climate stations with precipitation data usable for climate research purposes in the Canada’s Prairie Provinces and northern territories has diminished rapidly (Fig. 1), and this trend is mirrored in other circumpolar regions of the world. All in all, more than half of previously extant far-northern hydrological research catchments have been closed, with a 40% reduction since the year 2000 (Fig. 1). This decline in our ability to detect, understand and predict the responses in northern water resource systems to the changing climate and human perturbations has key consequences for populations in more southerly latitudes because the northern circumpolar region is a key driver of the global climate system1. One of the most alarming aspects of the decline in observations of the cold northern regions is that it is contemporaneous with rapid warming. Recent observations show record-breaking temperatures year-on-year in the Arctic2. All components of the hydrological cycle have been affected by this warming: changes in the distribution and duration of snow cover and permafr ost3; shorter and milder winters4; increased winter flows with associated changes in nutrient fluxes5; and elevated concentrations of dissolved organic carbon concentrations6. The observed changes in dissolved organic carbon concentrations are of particular concern because soil organic carbon stocks of Arctic and boreal regions are orders of magnitude more sensitive to temperature increase than those of any other biome7. Most anthropogenic changes are superimposed on a natural variability that can enhance, mask or even weaken responses to a perturbation. We therefore need long-term observations to detect, understand and predict changes in freshwater quality, quantity and ecology. As warming in many northern regions will probably result in conditions outside of the measured climate variability recorded on human-generation timescales, a continued collection of empirical data is crucial. Early detection of change is desperately needed. There is strength in the diversity of research catchments that remain: they can be leveraged to help build and test robust tools applicable across cold regions. Multinational efforts that promote the exchange of data and information will improve decision making and reduce the vulnerability of peoples living in both northern and temperate regions to circumpolar change. We urgently need to stem the tide of the decline in pan-Arctic catchment research. Without these catchments, policy to mitigate environmental change may no longer be made based on sound science. ❐

Effect of dynamic stiffness of the substrates on neurite outgrowth by using a DNA-crosslinked hydrogel.

Abstract: Central nervous system tissues, like other tissue types, undergo constant remodeling, which potentially leads to changes in their mechanical stiffness. Moreover, mechanical compliance of central nervous system tissues can also be modified under external load such as that experienced in traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, and during pathological processes. Thus, the neuronal responses to the dynamic stiffness of the microenvironment are of significance. In this study, we induced decrease in stiffness by using a DNA-crosslinked hydrogel, and subjected rat spinal cord neurons to such dynamic stiffness. The neurons respond to the dynamic cues as evidenced by the primary neurite structure, and the response from each neurite property (e.g., axonal length and primary dendrite number) is consistent with the behavior on static gels of same substrate rigidity, with one exception of mean primary dendrite length. The results on cell population distribution confirm the neuronal responses to the dynamic stiffness. Q...