A Small-scale Wave Tank For Living Shoreline Extension And Outreach

Hardened structures, such as bulkheads and seawalls, are currently the primary choice of shoreline protection for waterfront property owners. However, hardened shorelines are known to enhance erosion and often promote the loss of intertidal habitat. Living shorelines are a collection of environmentally friendly construction techniques that serve as an alternative to hardened shorelines through the incorporation of natural materials, such as native plants. To enhance extension and outreach efforts related to the promotion of living shorelines, we created a small-scale, hands-on wave tank that demonstrates the benefits of natural and living shorelines relative to hardened structures. This interactive tool allows the audience to view the differences between natural, living, and hardened shorelines for both aesthetics and wave energy reduction

Neurotrophins Regulate Bone Marrow Stromal Cell IL-6 Expression through the MAPK Pathway

The host's response to infection is characterized by altered levels of neurotrophins and an influx of inflammatory cells to sites of injured tissue. Progenitor cells that give rise to the differentiated cellular mediators of inflammation are derived from bone marrow progenitor cells where their development is regulated, in part, by cues from bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC). As such, alteration of BMSC function in response to elevated systemic mediators has the potential to alter their function in biologically relevant ways, including downstream alteration of cytokine production that influences hematopoietic development.In the current study we investigated BMSC neurotrophin receptor expression by flow cytometric analysis to determine differences in expression as well as potential to respond to NGF or BDNF. Intracellular signaling subsequent to neurotrophin stimulation of BMSC was analyzed by western blot, microarray analysis, confocal microscopy and real-time PCR. Analysis of BMSC Interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression was completed using ELISA and real-time PCR.BMSC established from different individuals had distinct expression profiles of the neurotrophin receptors, TrkA, TrkB, TrkC, and p75(NTR). These receptors were functional, demonstrated by an increase in Akt-phosphorylation following BMSC exposure to recombinant NGF or BDNF. Neurotrophin stimulation of BMSC resulted in increased IL-6 gene and protein expression which required activation of ERK and p38 MAPK signaling, but was not mediated by the NFkappaB pathway. BMSC response to neurotrophins, including the up-regulation of IL-6, may alter their support of hematopoiesis and regulate the availability of inflammatory cells for migration to sites of injury or infection. As such, these studies are relevant to the growing appreciation of the interplay between neurotropic mediators and the regulation of hematopoiesis

Fetal alcohol exposure leads to abnormal olfactory bulb development and impaired odor discrimination in adult mice

Background: Children whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy exhibit widespread brain abnormalities and a complex array of behavioral disturbances. Here, we used a mouse model of fetal alcohol exposure to investigate relationships between brain abnormalities and specific behavioral alterations during adulthood. Results: Mice drank a 10% ethanol so

Bone Marrow Osteoblast Damage by Chemotherapeutic Agents

Hematopoietic reconstitution, following bone marrow or stem cell transplantation, requires a microenvironment niche capable of supporting both immature progenitors and stem cells with the capacity to differentiate and expand. Osteoblasts comprise one important component of this niche. We determined that treatment of human primary osteoblasts (HOB) with melphalan or VP-16 resulted in increased phospho-Smad2, consistent with increased TGF-β1 activity. This increase was coincident with reduced HOB capacity to support immature B lineage cell chemotaxis and adherence. The supportive deficit was not limited to committed progenitor cells, as human embryonic stem cells (hESC) or human CD34+ bone marrow cells co-cultured with HOB pre-exposed to melphalan, VP-16 or rTGF-β1 had profiles distinct from the same populations co-cultured with untreated HOB. Functional support deficits were downstream of changes in HOB gene expression profiles following chemotherapy exposure. Melphalan and VP-16 induced damage of HOB suggests vulnerability of this critical niche to therapeutic agents frequently utilized in pre-transplant regimens and suggests that dose escalated chemotherapy may contribute to post-transplantation hematopoietic deficits by damaging structural components of this supportive niche

Albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Harmony Outcomes): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists differ in chemical structure, duration of action, and in their effects on clinical outcomes. The cardiovascular effects of once-weekly albiglutide in type 2 diabetes are unknown. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of albiglutide in preventing cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Methods: We did a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 610 sites across 28 countries. We randomly assigned patients aged 40 years and older with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (at a 1:1 ratio) to groups that either received a subcutaneous injection of albiglutide (30–50 mg, based on glycaemic response and tolerability) or of a matched volume of placebo once a week, in addition to their standard care. Investigators used an interactive voice or web response system to obtain treatment assignment, and patients and all study investigators were masked to their treatment allocation. We hypothesised that albiglutide would be non-inferior to placebo for the primary outcome of the first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, which was assessed in the intention-to-treat population. If non-inferiority was confirmed by an upper limit of the 95% CI for a hazard ratio of less than 1·30, closed testing for superiority was prespecified. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02465515. Findings: Patients were screened between July 1, 2015, and Nov 24, 2016. 10 793 patients were screened and 9463 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to groups: 4731 patients were assigned to receive albiglutide and 4732 patients to receive placebo. On Nov 8, 2017, it was determined that 611 primary endpoints and a median follow-up of at least 1·5 years had accrued, and participants returned for a final visit and discontinuation from study treatment; the last patient visit was on March 12, 2018. These 9463 patients, the intention-to-treat population, were evaluated for a median duration of 1·6 years and were assessed for the primary outcome. The primary composite outcome occurred in 338 (7%) of 4731 patients at an incidence rate of 4·6 events per 100 person-years in the albiglutide group and in 428 (9%) of 4732 patients at an incidence rate of 5·9 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·78, 95% CI 0·68–0·90), which indicated that albiglutide was superior to placebo (p<0·0001 for non-inferiority; p=0·0006 for superiority). The incidence of acute pancreatitis (ten patients in the albiglutide group and seven patients in the placebo group), pancreatic cancer (six patients in the albiglutide group and five patients in the placebo group), medullary thyroid carcinoma (zero patients in both groups), and other serious adverse events did not differ between the two groups. There were three (<1%) deaths in the placebo group that were assessed by investigators, who were masked to study drug assignment, to be treatment-related and two (<1%) deaths in the albiglutide group. Interpretation: In patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, albiglutide was superior to placebo with respect to major adverse cardiovascular events. Evidence-based glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists should therefore be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Funding: GlaxoSmithKline

Patterns in Individual Endorsement of Societal Metanarratives

Culturally shared beliefs about societies and humanity play a prominent part in world events, from beliefs about the histories and destinies of nations to beliefs about the appropriate relationship between humanity and the natural world. Many of these beliefs are "metanarratives," simplified representations of past and future societal trends, which often have narrative elements, such as goals, dramatic features, a sense of suspense for group members, and affective judgments about the passage of events over time. In this exploratory study, lifelong residents of the United States (N = 299 undergraduate students and 88 members of a web sample of older adults) indicated their degree of agreement with 73 metanarrative statements. Factor analysis of the students' personal belief scores for the 73 metanarratives revealed a pattern of clustering into six factors, indicating that people tend to believe in families of metanarratives. The six factors were Traditional Religion, American Secular Values, International Cooperation, Eco-Romanticism, Anti-Government Cynicism, and Rational Progress. The web sample largely replicated this structure, but with only four factors. The factors were highly correlated with political party affiliation and other psychosocial and demographic variables, including religiousness, Saucier "isms" factors, and MFQ moral foundations. Participants were also asked about the extent to which some of their strongest beliefs were reflected in their personal activities: career choice, leisure time, spending money, voting, joining groups, reading and viewing, and discussion. The 73 metanarratives were coded for several narrative features: evaluative schema (such as Progress or Looming Catastrophe), presence of standard story elements (context, problem, outcome), presence of goals, and presence of references to cognitively exceptional elements (circumstances beyond the ordinary), such as the sacred, transcendental, unique, or extreme. For both samples, metanarratives with an evaluative schema indicating two possible paths were more motivating than those with only one outcome (e.g., stability or a cycle of recurring ups-and-downs). Further, those with goals were more motivating than those without, and for the web sample, those with cognitively exceptional elements were more motivating than those without. Further study of metanarratives should help to better illuminate the factors leading to individuals' decisions to participate in their larger societies

Individual Differences in Stances Toward Societal Meta-Narratives

Meta-narratives, our often-implicit group stories of who we are and where we are collectively headed, are an important component of worldviews, helping us make sense of the larger world and our potential roles in it. Leaders and others seeking to influence our behavior can offer us new meta-narratives, which we may accept or reject. Previous research on message acceptance has focused on the evaluation of scientific findings, policies, and other empirically based judgments, whereas meta-narratives are interpretive frameworks as well as empirically informed beliefs, and multiple frameworks may be equally valid. This literature review presents a new model of individual stances toward societal meta-narratives: a full immersion in a worldview (as in a "bubble" or "echo chamber"), reflective immersion involving a more thoughtful evaluation of alternatives, and cynical detachment. Predictors of stances are reviewed at three levels: structural factors, stable individual differences, and specific situational encounters. As Alexander Hamilton noted in 1787, democracy requires "reflection and choice," and a better understanding of its facilitation may be vital to our future

Democidal Thinking: Patterns in the Mindset Behind Organized Mass Killing

We derived a model identifying observable attitudes among perpetrators of democides - mass-killing programs associated with governments that cost over 160 million lives in the last century. These attitudes, evident in rhetoric mobilizing support for killing, have previously received too little systematic study. Content-analysis of text from 20 prominent, diversely sampled cases of democide from around the world yielded 20 typical features of democidal mindset, present in most cases. These prominently included essentialist beliefs in out-group inferiority, dehumanization and moral exclusion, a paranoid-thinking style, and certain forms of nationalism, among numerous other features. These can function to facilitate the inculpation of an out-group and fuel eliminationism. The joint operation of multiple such themes in a web of violence-conducive beliefs appears to generate hazard, not any single isolated theme. With further model refinement, identification of sufficient density of themes in rhetoric might promote peace by providing early-warning indicators of mass violence

Democidal Thinking: Patterns in the Mindset Behind Organized Mass Killing

We derived a model identifying observable attitudes among perpetrators of democides - mass-killing programs associated with governments that cost over 160 million lives in the last century. These attitudes, evident in rhetoric mobilizing support for killing, have previously received too little systematic study. Content-analysis of text from 20 prominent, diversely sampled cases of democide from around the world yielded 20 typical features of democidal mindset, present in most cases. These prominently included essentialist beliefs in out-group inferiority, dehumanization and moral exclusion, a paranoid-thinking style, and certain forms of nationalism, among numerous other features. These can function to facilitate the inculpation of an out-group and fuel eliminationism. The joint operation of multiple such themes in a web of violence-conducive beliefs appears to generate hazard, not any single isolated theme. With further model refinement, identification of sufficient density of themes in rhetoric might promote peace by providing early-warning indicators of mass violence