47 research outputs found
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Couples\u27 conflict resolution strategies and marital quality across the transition to parenthood.
Thesis (M.S.
Notes and Discussion Piece: Status of the Topeka Shiner in Iowa
The Topeka shiner Notropis topeka is native to Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota and has been federally listed as endangered since 1998. Our goals were to determine the present distribution and qualitative status of Topeka shiners throughout its current range in Iowa and characterize the extent of decline in relation to its historic distribution. We compared the current (2016–2017) distribution to distributions portrayed in three earlier time periods. In 2016–2017 Topeka shiners were found in 12 of 20 HUC10 watersheds where they occurred historically. Their status was classified as stable in 21% of the HUC10 watersheds, possibly stable in 25%, possibly recovering in 8%, at risk in 33%, and possibly extirpated in 13% of the watersheds. The increasing trend in percent decline evident in earlier time periods reversed, going from 68% in 2010–11 to 40% in the most recent surveys. Following decades of decline, the status of Topeka shiners in Iowa appears to be improving. One potential reason for the reversal in the distributional decline of Topeka shiners in Iowa is the increasing number of oxbow restorations. Until a standardized monitoring program is established for Iowa, periodic status assessments such as this will be necessary to chronicle progress toward conserving this endangered fish species
Heterogenous Lung Inflammation CT Patterns Distinguish Pneumonia and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Pneumonitis and Complement Blood Biomarkers in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Proof of Concept
BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) may cause pneumonitis, resulting in potentially fatal lung inflammation. However, distinguishing pneumonitis from pneumonia is time-consuming and challenging. To fill this gap, we build an image-based tool, and further evaluate it clinically alongside relevant blood biomarkers.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied CT images from 97 patients with pneumonia and 29 patients with pneumonitis from acute myeloid leukemia treated with ICIs. We developed a CT-derived signature using a habitat imaging algorithm, whereby infected lungs are segregated into clusters ( habitats ). We validated the model and compared it with a clinical-blood model to determine whether imaging can add diagnostic value.
RESULTS: Habitat imaging revealed intrinsic lung inflammation patterns by identifying 5 distinct subregions, correlating to lung parenchyma, consolidation, heterogenous ground-glass opacity (GGO), and GGO-consolidation transition. Consequently, our proposed habitat model (accuracy of 79%, sensitivity of 48%, and specificity of 88%) outperformed the clinical-blood model (accuracy of 68%, sensitivity of 14%, and specificity of 85%) for classifying pneumonia versus pneumonitis. Integrating imaging and blood achieved the optimal performance (accuracy of 81%, sensitivity of 52% and specificity of 90%). Using this imaging-blood composite model, the post-test probability for detecting pneumonitis increased from 23% to 61%, significantly (
CONCLUSION: Habitat imaging represents a step forward in the image-based detection of pneumonia and pneumonitis, which can complement known blood biomarkers. Further work is needed to validate and fine tune this imaging-blood composite model and further improve its sensitivity to detect pneumonitis
Large-eddy simulation of spectral coherence in a wind turbine wake
This work is mainly dedicated to the study of the characteristics of spectral coherence of turbulence fluctuations in wind turbine wakes. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code has been implemented using a large-eddy simulation (LES) approach, which is thought to be conceptually more suitable for studying the turbulence evolution in a wind turbine wake. Comparisons with experimental data from the Nørrekær Enge II Windfarm, in Denmark, and with an analytical model proposed by Panofsky and Dutton have been performed, and the results are found to be in reasonable agreement with both
Condensation of zinc vapor in a supersonic carrier gas
A study of the condensation of a metal vapor in an inert carrier gas is made. Superheated zinc vapor is generated in a hot shot wind tunnel in a helium carrier gas and expanded in a converging-diverging nozzle. Static pressure measurements along the length of the nozzle are made to determine the location of the onset of condensation. A conical nominal Mach 5 (helium) nozzle is employed. The amount of supercooling before the onset of condensation is found to be approximately 430 K, measured along the isentrope over a range of initial zinc mass fractions of .35 to .70 for saturation partial pressures of zinc between 10 psia and 70 psia. The measurements are compared with results of an analysis based on the classical liquid drop model of nucleation. The computed results agree reasonably well with the measurements.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41794/1/10494_2004_Article_BF00382286.pd
Type 2 Diabetes Variants Disrupt Function of SLC16A11 through Two Distinct Mechanisms
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects Latinos at twice the rate seen in populations of European descent. We recently identified a risk haplotype spanning SLC16A11 that explains ∼20% of the increased T2D prevalence in Mexico. Here, through genetic fine-mapping, we define a set of tightly linked variants likely to contain the causal allele(s). We show that variants on the T2D-associated haplotype have two distinct effects: (1) decreasing SLC16A11 expression in liver and (2) disrupting a key interaction with basigin, thereby reducing cell-surface localization. Both independent mechanisms reduce SLC16A11 function and suggest SLC16A11 is the causal gene at this locus. To gain insight into how SLC16A11 disruption impacts T2D risk, we demonstrate that SLC16A11 is a proton-coupled monocarboxylate transporter and that genetic perturbation of SLC16A11 induces changes in fatty acid and lipid metabolism that are associated with increased T2D risk. Our findings suggest that increasing SLC16A11 function could be therapeutically beneficial for T2D. Video Abstract [Figure presented] Keywords: type 2 diabetes (T2D); genetics; disease mechanism; SLC16A11; MCT11; solute carrier (SLC); monocarboxylates; fatty acid metabolism; lipid metabolism; precision medicin
TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access
Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives
The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science
It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations
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Sense of *control and psychological well-being during the transition to parenthood
In this study, 153 dual-earner, working-class couples were interviewed on five occasions during the first transition to parenthood. New parents\u27 depression and anxiety was examined during a span of 14 months to test hypotheses that mental health would deteriorate over time for new parents, but that having a sense of control would buffer some parents against negative mental health outcomes. It was speculated that the working-class sample may be at risk for poor mental health outcomes due to having less access to occupational, financial, social, and personal (e.g., perceived sense of control) resources. Findings challenged the notion that a sense of control is exclusively a stable psychological trait and revealed that control is comprised of two distinct components: an enduring component and a malleable component that changes with context. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to demonstrate that, on average, mothers\u27 depression followed a curvilinear pattern, dropping across the transition to parenthood and then rising again. On average, fathers reported a curvilinear pattern of anxiety, increasing over time and beginning to drop over the course of one year. There was also significant variability around new parents\u27 mental health, illustrating that some parents increased, while others decreased or maintained stable levels of psychological well-being over time. Having a higher sense of enduring control predicted lower levels of psychological distress for new parents, and increases in control over time predicted decreases in depression and anxiety. Results hold important implications for intervention with new parents. Increasing expectant parents\u27 sense of control can help them manage the transition to parenthood with psychological health, and can generalize to their taking action in other arenas such as the workplace