Turbulence can be found in places large and small, from exploding supernovae and sprawling ocean currents, to the unstable plasma that forms within tiny fusion fuel cells bombarded with lasers.

And yet, as seemingly chaotic turbulence unfolds in a cascade of smaller swirls and eddies–and then even smaller swirls and eddies within those swirls and eddies–something unexpected happens, University of Rochester researchers say.

Those smaller swirls and eddies start to behave remarkably alike.

“As this process unfolds, creating these smaller and smaller structures, it loses memory of the first thing that triggered the flow into a turbulent state,” says Hussein Aluie, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and co-author of a paper published in Physical Review Letters. “This loss of memory makes those structures at the small scales behave in a universal fashion.”

As a result, Aluie and lead author Xin Bian, a PhD student in his lab, have described a new set of conservation laws–fundamental laws describing natural processes–that are unique to turbulent flows within magnetic fields.

This has led to a set of simplified equations that can be potentially applied in multiple areas of research, including:

• the evolution of stars and galaxies, and the accretion of matter in space;
• predicting space weather around Earth due to the solar wind; and
• magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF), an experimental approach to achieving controlled fusion in a lab.

In the course of this study, Bian and Aluie used over 16,000 computing cores and about 6 million CPU hours on the supercomputer at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Read more here.

Teenagers who can describe their negative emotions in precise and nuanced ways are better protected against depression than their peers who can’t. That’s the conclusion of a new study about negative emotion differentiation, or NED, the ability to make fine-grained distinctions between negative emotions and apply precise labels. The study is published in the journal Emotion.

“Adolescents who use more granular terms such as ‘I feel annoyed,’ or ‘I feel frustrated,’ or ‘I feel ashamed’—instead of simply saying ‘I feel bad’—are better protected against developing increased depressive symptoms after experiencing a stressful life event,” explains lead author Lisa Starr, an assistant professor of psychology.

Those who score low on negative emotion differentiation tend to describe their feelings in more general terms such as “bad” or “upset.” As a result, they are less able to benefit from useful lessons encoded in their negative emotions, including the ability to develop coping strategies that could help them regulate how they feel.

The team, made up of Starr, Rachel Hershenberg, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Emory University, and Rochester graduate students Zoey Shaw, Irina Li, and Angela Santee, recruited 233 mid-adolescents in the greater Rochester area with an average age of nearly 16 (54 percent of them female) and conducted diagnostic interviews to evaluate the participants for depression. Next, the teenagers reported their emotions four times daily over seven days. One and a half years later, the team conducted follow-up interviews with the original participants (of whom 193 returned) to study longitudinal outcomes.

Read more here.

Jennifer Harvey of the University of Virginia has been selected to serve as chair of imaging sciences, pending approval of the Provost. She succeeds David L. Waldman, the longest seated chair in the history of the department, who will devote his full efforts to his new role as associate vice president and chief medical technology development officer.

Harvey is an international expert in women’s imaging and early detection of breast cancers. She has been on the faculty at the University of Virginia for 26 years, leading its Division of Breast Imaging and serving as vice-chair for Education and Faculty Development. She joins the Medical Center on Jan. 1.

She plans to work with faculty and staff to build teams and systems to improve efficiencies, expand collaborative research and residency training programs, and education and advancement opportunities.

“I want to build upon current faculty development programs and grow excitement for more research within the department,” says Harvey, who is a self-professed “research geek at heart.”

She studies mammographic breast density and its influence on breast cancer risk. Her focus is on methods of measuring breast density, changes in density and integration of breast density into breast cancer risk models. She is founding editor of the Journal of Breast Imaging.

Read more here.

Proposals to conduct retrospective chart reviews and secondary reviews of existing data sets are submitted to the Research Subjects Review Board (RSRB) for review and approval nearly every day.  This study design is a relatively simple mechanism to collect research data to address research aims and generate generalizable knowledge.

However, proposals submitted to the RSRB often indicate that the potential risks involved in the research are ‘none’ or ‘not applicable’, which limits the RSRB’s ability to approve the research.  While this study design does minimize the risk to subjects, it is important for investigators to understand there is still risk involved in conducting this type of research.

The primary risk related to most retrospective chart reviews and secondary data analyses is invasion of the subject’s privacy and potential breaches in the confidentiality of data.  In order to be approved, among other critical elements, all protocols must: a) identify these risks and b) address how these risks will be minimized.  Study teams often minimize these potential risks by:

• Collecting only the data necessary to meet the aims of the research;
• Limiting data access to study team members only;
• Coding or de-identifying the data, as applicable; and
• Storing (and potentially transferring) the information in a manner that is secure and compliant with University IT policies and, if applicable, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Given these potential risks and the need to satisfy the remaining criteria for Institutional Review Board approval (45 CFR 46.111, 21 CFR 56.111), investigators should ensure the study protocol includes adequate background information, rationale, and references to support the conduct of the research and to justify exposing potential subjects to this risk, as well as a reasonable plan for analyzing the data to  demonstrate how the aims of the research will be achieved.

Without these elements, the RSRB cannot evaluate whether the potential risks of the research are reasonable in relation to the importance of the knowledge that may result from the research (i.e., by addressing an unmet need).

For more information on RSRB review of retrospective chart reviews and secondary data analyses, see the OHSP Q2 Newsletter.

Nature Masterclasses, developed by Springer Nature, offers a free online training course called Focus on Peer Review.

The course covers different types of peer review, peer review ethics, what it means to be a peer reviewer, and how to prepare a peer review report.

You can also sample the Scientific Writing and Publishing Nature Masterclass for free.

Dalia Ghoneim, genetics, “New functions for RNA elucidated by evolutionary conservation.” 1 p.m., July 19, 2019. 2-6408 K-207 (Medical Center). Advisor: David Mathews.

Stephanie H. Carter, chemistry, “Intermediates in Base Metal Catalysis for Organic Transformations: Cross-Coupling and C-H Functionalization.” 9 a.m. July 23, 2019. 1400 Wegmans Hall. Advisor: William Jones.

Clayton Lungstrum, mathematics, “Discrepancy Bounds of the Logarithmic Derivative of the Riemann Zeta Function.” 1 p.m. July 26, 2019. Hylan 1106A. Advisor: Steven Gonek.

Sefik Emre Eskimez, electrical and computer engineering, “Robust Techniques for Generating Talking Faces from Speech.” 1 p.m. July 26, 2019. Computer Studies Building 601. Advisor: Wendi Heinzelman.

Phyo Thiha, computer science, “Web and SMS Interfaces to Create and Share Personal Resilience Testimonials for Youth Suicide Prevention.” 2 p.m. July 26, 2019. 3201 Wegmans Hall. Advisor: Henry Kautz.

July 29: David T. Kearns Center Research Symposium. Oral presentations, lightning talks, and poster session featuring undergraduate research done this summer by McNair Scholars, Xerox Engineering Research Fellows, and visiting students participating in REU programs in computational methods, photonics, and advancing human health. 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Feldman Ballroom.

July 31: Deadline to apply to participate in the Steadman Family Postdoctoral Associate Prize in Interdisciplinary Research. Finalists will compete for a $1,000 top prize by demonstrating how well they can summarize their research in a five minute-presentation that can be understood by a non-scientific audience. Open to all School of Medicine and Dentistry and Arts, Sciences & Engineering postdoctoral appointees whose fields of study bridge at least two areas of the humanities, science, mathematics, engineering, and medicine. Questions and applications should be submitted by email to gretchen.briscoe@rochester.edu. Final presentations will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Sept. 20 in Goergen Hall Room 101 (Sloan Auditorium) during Meliora Weekend.  $750 and $500 will be awarded for second and third place, and $250 for the audience choice winner.

Aug. 8-9: “Navigating Deaf and Hearing Collaborations in Science.” Second biennial Deaf-Engaged Academic Forum (DEAF-ROC Conference). Keynote speakers, short talks, breakout sessions, panel discussion and a poster session highlighting the research carried out by undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and staff attending the conference. Register for the conference (for free) and submit a poster abstract by July 1.

Aug. 30: Entry forms due for a new annual student competition promoting awareness of Tobacco Regulatory Science. Each team (either an individual or up to four students) develops and presents a proposed solution — a well-developed and researched thought experiment  — to address one or more identified Tobacco Regulatory Research Priorities. Winning team will travel to DC/MD to present their solution to the FDA and NIH. Read more here.

Sept. 11: Deadline for students, junior faculty, early career researchers, and entrepreneurs to apply for this year’s Falling Walls competition. Complete the online application here. By Friday, September 27 email a three-panel slide presentation. Then pitch your innovative idea — highlighting a breakthrough that creates a positive impact on science and society — in just three minutes on October 8 at Feldman Ballroom. The winner will represent the University at the International Falling Walls Finale in Berlin. Contact Adele Coelho for questions.