Feasibility of Hair Collection for Cortisol Measurement in Population Research on Adolescent Health

Background: Black–White disparities in adolescent health are widespread and thought to be explained, in part, by exposure to chronic stress. Cortisol assayed from hair is increasingly recognized as a valid and reliable measure for chronic physiological stress, but the feasibility of collecting hair among large probability samples of diverse adolescents is unknown. Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate participation in hair collection for cortisol analyses in a probability sample of racially and socioeconomically diverse adolescents, including the extent to which sociodemographic factors and adverse exposures were associated with participation. Methods: The study included a probability sample of 516 adolescents conducted in conjunction with a prospective cohort study on adolescent health. Data were collected over 1 week via in-home interviews, ecological momentary assessment, global positioning system methods, and in-home hair collection at the end of the week. Results: Of the 516 eligible youth, 471 (91.3%) participated in the hair collection. Of the 45 youth who did not provide hair samples, 18 had insufficient hair, 25 refused, and 2 did not participate for unknown reasons. Multivariable logistic regression results indicated that non-Hispanic Black youth were less likely than their non-Hispanic White peers to participate due to insufficient hair or refusal (OR = 0.24, 95% CI [0 .09, 0.60]). Despite lower rates of participation, the proportion of Black youth in the participating sample was representative of the study area. No significant differences in participation were found by other sociodemographic characteristics or adverse exposures. Conclusions: Hair collection for cortisol measurement is feasible among a probability sample of racially and socioeconomically diverse adolescents. Hair cortisol analyses may accelerate research progress to understand the biological and psychosocial bases of health disparities

IVOA Recommendation: SAMP - Simple Application Messaging Protocol Version 1.3

SAMP is a messaging protocol that enables astronomy software tools to interoperate and communicate. IVOA members have recognised that building a monolithic tool that attempts to fulfil all the requirements of all users is impractical, and it is a better use of our limited resources to enable individual tools to work together better. One element of this is defining common file formats for the exchange of data between different applications. Another important component is a messaging system that enables the applications to share data and take advantage of each other's functionality. SAMP builds on the success of a prior messaging protocol, PLASTIC, which has been in use since 2006 in over a dozen astronomy applications and has proven popular with users and developers. It is also intended to form a framework for more general messaging requirements

Analysis of resistance gene-mediated defense responses in Arabidopsis thaliana plants carrying a mutation in CPR5

In resistant plants, pathogen attack often leads to rapid activation of defense responses that limit multiplication and spread of the pathogen. To investigate the signaling mechanisms underlying this process, we carried out a screen for mutants in the signaling pathway governing resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. This involved screening for suppressor mutations that restored resistance to a susceptible line carrying a mutation in the RPS2 resistance gene. A mutant that conferred resistance by activating defense responses in the absence of pathogens was isolated. This mutant, which carries a mutation at the CPR5 locus and was thus designated cpr5-2, exhibited resistance to P. syringae, spontaneous development of necrotic lesions, elevated PR gene expression in the absence of pathogens, and abnormal trichomes. Resistance gene-mediated defenses, including the hypersensitive response, restriction of pathogen growth, and induction of defense-related gene expression, were functional in cpr5-2 mutant plants. Additionally, in cpr5-2 plants RPS2-mediated induction of PR-1 expression was enhanced, whereas RPM1-mediated induction of ELI3 was not. These findings suggest that CPR5 encodes a negative regulator of the RPS2 signal transduction pathway

Hierarchical progressive surveys. Multi-resolution HEALPix data structures for astronomical images, catalogues, and 3-dimensional data cubes

Scientific exploitation of the ever increasing volumes of astronomical data requires efficient and practical methods for data access, visualisation, and analysis. Hierarchical sky tessellation techniques enable a multi-resolution approach to organising data on angular scales from the full sky down to the individual image pixels. Aims. We aim to show that the Hierarchical progressive survey (HiPS) scheme for describing astronomical images, source catalogues, and three-dimensional data cubes is a practical solution to managing large volumes of heterogeneous data and that it enables a new level of scientific interoperability across large collections of data of these different data types. Methods. HiPS uses the HEALPix tessellation of the sphere to define a hierarchical tile and pixel structure to describe and organise astronomical data. HiPS is designed to conserve the scientific properties of the data alongside both visualisation considerations and emphasis on the ease of implementation. We describe the development of HiPS to manage a large number of diverse image surveys, as well as the extension of hierarchical image systems to cube and catalogue data. We demonstrate the interoperability of HiPS and Multi-Order Coverage (MOC) maps and highlight the HiPS mechanism to provide links to the original data. Results. Hierarchical progressive surveys have been generated by various data centres and groups for ~200 data collections including many wide area sky surveys, and archives of pointed observations. These can be accessed and visualised in Aladin, Aladin Lite, and other applications. HiPS provides a basis for further innovations in the use of hierarchical data structures to facilitate the description and statistical analysis of large astronomical data sets.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Normative Percent Differences between Inter-day and Inter-Limb Upper Extremity Volume in Healthy Adult Females

Lymphedema is a frequent complication of breast cancer treatments and can become a chronic condition. Diagnosing lymphedema early is essential to reverse the condition and prevent future complications. Segmental circumferential measurements are the most efficient, reliable, and clinically relevant method to measure UE volume. Diagnosing pre-clinical lymphedema requires an understanding of normal inter-day and inter-limb volume differences among healthy women.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dpt_symposium/1016/thumbnail.jp

Increased fibrosis in a mouse model of anti-laminin 332 mucous membrane pemphigoid remains unaltered by inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase

Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is an autoimmune blistering disease characterized by autoantibodies against the basal membrane zone of skin and surface-close epithelia and predominant mucosal lesions. The oral cavity and conjunctivae are most frequently affected, albeit clinical manifestations can also occur on the skin. MMP-associated lesions outside the oral cavity typically lead to scarring. Mechanisms underlying scarring are largely unknown in MMP and effective treatment options are limited. Herein, we assessed the collagen architecture in tissue samples of an antibody-transfer mouse model of anti-laminin-332 MMP. In MMP mice, increased collagen fibril density was observed in skin and conjunctival lesions compared to mice injected with normal rabbit IgG. The extracellular matrix of MMP skin samples also showed altered post-translational collagen cross-linking with increased levels of both lysine- and hydroxylysine-derived collagen crosslinks supporting the fibrotic phenotype in experimental MMP compared to control animals. In addition, we evaluated a potential anti-fibrotic therapy in experimental anti-laminin-332 MMP using disulfiram, an inhibitor of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), which has been implicated in immune-mediated mucosal scarring. In addition, disulfiram also acts as a copper chelator that was shown to block lysyl oxidase activity, an enzyme involved in formation of collagen crosslinks. Topical use of disulfiram (300 μM in 2 [w/v] methocel) did not improve ocular lesions in experimental MMP over the 12-day treatment period in disulfiram-treated mice compared to vehicle-treated mice (n=8/group). Furthermore, C57BL6/J mice (n=8/group) were treated prophylactically with 200 mg/kg p.o. disulfiram or the solvent once daily over a period of 12 days. Systemic treatment did not show any reduction in the severity of oral and ocular lesions in MMP mice, albeit some improvement in skin lesions was observed in disulfiram- vs. vehicle-treated mice (p=0.052). No reduction in fibrosis was seen, as assessed by immunohistochemistry. Whilst blocking of ALDH failed to significantly ameliorate disease activity, our data provide new insight into fibrotic processes highlighting changes in the collagenous matrix and cross-linking patterns in IgG-mediated MMP

Understanding iron homeostasis in MDS: the role of erythroferrone

Myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS) are a heterogenous group of clonal stem cell disorders characterized by dysplasia and cytopenia in one or more cell lineages. Anemia is a very common symptom that is often treated with blood transfusions and/or erythropoiesis stimulating factors. Iron overload results from a combination of these factors together with the disease-associated ineffective erythropoiesis, that is seen especially in MDS cases with SF3B1 mutations. A growing body of research has shown that erythroferrone is an important regulator of hepcidin, the master regulator of systemic iron homeostasis. Consequently, it is of interest to understand how this molecule contributes to regulating the iron balance in MDS patients. This short review evaluates our current understanding of erythroferrone in general, but more specifically in MDS and seeks to place in context how the current knowledge could be utilized for prognostication and therapy

Deconstructing design thinking as a tool for the implementation of a population health initiative

BACKGROUND: The translation of evidence-based practices and rapid uptake of innovations into global health practice is challenging. Design thinking is a consultative process involving multiple stakeholders and has been identified as a promising solution to create and apply implementation strategies in complex environments like health systems. METHODS: We conducted a process evaluation of a real-world example, namely an initiative to innovate hypertension screening, diagnosis and care in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The parameters of the evaluation were informed by a specification rubric and categorization system, recommended for the investigation of implementation strategies, and the double-diamond conceptual framework to describe and examine the strategic architecture and nature of the design thinking approach, with particular emphasis on identifying potential areas of "value-add" particular to the approach. The retrospective evaluation was performed by an independent partner who had not been involved in the setting up and implementation of the design thinking process. RESULTS: The evaluation unveiled a dense catalogue of strategically driven, mostly theoretically based, activities involving all identified health system stakeholders including patients. Narrative reconstruction illuminated the systematic and coherent nature of this approach, with different resulting actions progressively accounting for all relevant layers of the health system to engineer a broad selection of specific implementation solutions. The relevance of the identified features and the mechanics used to promote more successful implementation practices was manifested in several distinct ways: design thinking offered a clear direction on which innovations really mattered and when, as well as several new dimensions for consideration in the development of an innovation mindset amongst stakeholders. It thereby promoted relationship quality in terms of familiarity and trust, and commitment to evidence-based enquiry and action. Design thinking was also able to navigate the territory between the need for intervention "fidelity" versus "adaptation" and provide the operational know-how to face familiar implementation hurdles. Lastly, it brought a new kind of skill set to the public health stakeholders that incorporated diplomacy, multidisciplinary approaches and management sciences-skills that are considered necessary but not yet widely taught as part of public health training. CONCLUSIONS: Design thinking is a sound and viable tool to use as part of an implementation strategy for engaging with health system stakeholders and successfully translating evidence-based practices and new innovations into routine practice, thereby addressing an important knowledge-practice gap and, more broadly, contributing to the strategic repertoire available to implementation science

Honey bee foraging distance depends on month and forage type

To investigate the distances at which honey bee foragers collect nectar and pollen, we analysed 5,484 decoded waggle dances made to natural forage sites to determine monthly foraging distance for each forage type. Firstly, we found significantly fewer overall dances made for pollen (16.8 %) than for non-pollen, presumably nectar (83.2 %; P < 2.2 × 10−23). When we analysed distance against month and forage type, there was a significant interaction between the two factors, which demonstrates that in some months, one forage type is collected at farther distances, but this would reverse in other months. Overall, these data suggest that distance, as a proxy for forage availability, is not significantly and consistently driven by need for one type of forage over the other