The Effect of the Color Green on Environmentally Friendly Consumer Behavior

This study investigates the impact of green visual frames in advertisements of environmentally friendly products on consumer behavior. The study hypothesizes that environmental claims with green visual frames will lead to higher green purchasing intentions and lower perceptions of greenwashing. The paper also proposes a conceptual model that suggests green visual frames can have a positive impact on green purchasing intentions and reduce perceptions of greenwashing. The model was tested with an experimental design on a sample of undergraduate students at a midwestern university, and the results were analyzed with ANOVAs. The findings of this study can help marketers and advertisers develop strategies to promote environmentally conscious behavior among consumers

Comparison of a Powdered, Acidified Liquid, and Non-Acidified Liquid Human Milk Fortifier on Clinical Outcomes in Premature Infants.

We previously compared infant outcomes between a powdered human milk fortifier (P-HMF) vs. acidified liquid HMF (AL-HMF). A non-acidified liquid HMF (NAL-HMF) is now commercially available. The purpose of this study is to compare growth and outcomes of premature infants receiving P-HMF, AL-HMF or NAL-HMF. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved retrospective chart review compared infant outcomes (born \u3c 2000 g) who received one of three HMF. Growth, enteral nutrition, laboratory and demographic data were compared. 120 infants were included (P-HMF = 46, AL-HMF = 23, NAL-HMF = 51). AL-HMF infants grew slower in g/day (median 23.66 vs. P-HMF 31.27, NAL-HMF 31.74 (p \u3c 0.05)) and in g/kg/day, median 10.59 vs. 15.37, 14.03 (p \u3c 0.0001). AL-HMF vs. NAL-HMF infants were smaller at 36 weeks gestational age (median 2046 vs. 2404 g, p \u3c 0.05). However AL-HMF infants received more daily calories (p = 0.21) and protein (p \u3c 0.0001), mean 129 cal/kg, 4.2 g protein/kg vs. P-HMF 117 cal/kg, 3.7 g protein/kg , NAL-HMF 120 cal/kg, 4.0 g protein/kg. AL-HMF infants exhibited lower carbon dioxide levels after day of life 14 and 30 (p \u3c 0.0001, p = 0.0038). Three AL-HMF infants (13%) developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) vs. no infants in the remaining groups (p = 0.0056). A NAL-HMF is the most optimal choice for premature human milk-fed infants in a high acuity neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)

DigitalCommons Report: 2010-2021

This report represents a summary of activity from November 2010 thru November 2021

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson?s disease

Although over 90 independent risk variants have been identified for Parkinson’s disease using genome-wide association studies, most studies have been performed in just one population at a time. Here we performed a large-scale multi-ancestry meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease with 49,049 cases, 18,785 proxy cases and 2,458,063 controls including individuals of European, East Asian, Latin American and African ancestry. In a meta-analysis, we identified 78 independent genome-wide significant loci, including 12 potentially novel loci (MTF2, PIK3CA, ADD1, SYBU, IRS2, USP8, PIGL, FASN, MYLK2, USP25, EP300 and PPP6R2) and fine-mapped 6 putative causal variants at 6 known PD loci. By combining our results with publicly available eQTL data, we identified 25 putative risk genes in these novel loci whose expression is associated with PD risk. This work lays the groundwork for future efforts aimed at identifying PD loci in non-European populations

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Can growth be optimized in enterally fed very low birth weight infants who receive dexamethasone as compared to untreated peers: a retrospective study

Background: Growth is essential for very low birth weight infants, but is compromised in those receiving dexamethasone, especially when given as a consecutive 10-day treatment course to wean ventilatory support. The purpose of this review is to analyze growth outcomes of enteral nutrition practices for infants born < 1,500 grams who received at least one consecutive 10-day treatment course during hospitalization compared to untreated peers. Methods: An IRB-approved retrospective chart review compared 17 dexamethasone-treated study infants vs. 34 untreated controls born < 1,500 grams. Wilcoxon rank sum test and Fisher’s exact test compared continuous data and associations of categorical variables. Multiple regression analyzed predictors for growth outcomes when adjusting for birth gestational age. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Treated infants were born younger (25+4 vs. 27+6 weeks gestational age [GA]) with smaller anthropometric measurements (p < 0.05). Growth from birth to 36 weeks GA approached significance (15.1 grams/kg/day study vs. 16.65 grams/kg/day control [p = 0.07]). Treated infants were discharged at similar weight percentiles as untreated infants (p = 0.7). Head growth percentiles were well-maintained for all infants (treated: median 12th% birth, 21st% discharge; untreated: 29th% birth, 43rd% discharge). Treated infants had lower length measurements at 36 weeks GA (p = 0.011) and discharge (p = 0.095). Treated infants received more nutrition, median 131 vs. 119 calories/kg/day (p = 0.0005), 4.4 vs. 4.1 grams protein/kg/day (p = 0.0004). Average nutrition delivery during dexamethasone treatment was 138 calories/kg/day, 4.5 grams protein/kg/day. There were no differences in highest blood glucose (p = 0.071), BUN (p = 0.053), or alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.17) between groups. Conclusions: Infants receiving at least one consecutive 10-day treatment course with dexamethasone during hospitalization experienced altered growth by 36 weeks GA, but comparable growth to non-treated infants for weight and head circumference can be achieved by discharge by optimizing enteral nutrition before, during, and after dexamethasone treatment. Future studies are needed to assess if this leads to improved developmental outcomes

Studying Pre-colonial Gendered Use of Space in the Arctic: Spatial Analysis of Ceramics in Northwestern Alaska

Activities and production among Iñupiaq peoples were primarily divided by gender. This gendered division of labor also extended to a spatial segregated pattern of the household in some Arctic cultures, while others had a gender-integrated spatial pattern. There are very few archaeological studies of gender, or studies of gendered space, in the Arctic. We study gendered use of space in pre-colonial Northwest Alaska through a spatial analysis of ceramic, and other gendered artifact, distributions in Thule-era houses from Cape Espenberg, Alaska. We used the HDBSCAN (Hierarchical Density Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) algorithm in Python to analyze and compare distributions of gendered artifacts. We found no clear evidence for gender-segregated use of space, or for specific activity areas. This does not mean that gender-segregated use of space or activity areas did not exist, we simply found little evidence supporting these practices due, at least in part, to issues of sample size, house size, and the role of secondary and post-deposition processes in shaping the ceramic assemblage and distribution. Our analysis identified several interesting patterns of behavior, particularly related to site-formation processes. Further, this study illustrates the potential of Python for conducting archaeological spatial analysis