Integrating team science into interdisciplinary graduate education: an exploration of the SESYNC Graduate Pursuit

Complex socio-environmental challenges require interdisciplinary, team-based research capacity. Graduate students are fundamental to building such capacity, yet formal opportunities for graduate students to develop these capacities and skills are uncommon. This paper presents an assessment of the Graduate Pursuit (GP) program, a formal interdisciplinary team science graduate research and training program administered by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). Quantitative and qualitative assessment of the program’s first cohort revealed that participants became significantly more comfortable with interdisciplinary research and team science approaches, increased their capacity to work across disciplines, and were enabled to produce tangible research outcomes. Qualitative analysis of four themes—(1) discipline, specialization, and shared purpose, (2) interpersonal skills and personality, (3) communication and teamwork, and (4) perceived costs and benefits—encompass participants’ positive and negative experiences and support findings from past assessments. The findings also identify challenges and benefits related to individual personality traits and team personality orientation, the importance of perceiving a sense of autonomy and independence, and the benefit of graduate training programs independent of the university and graduate program environment

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

A Randomised controlled trial of induced hypermagnesaemia following aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage

Background: The effect of serum magnesium concentration on the incidence of cerebral arterial vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is unclear. Objective: To test whether induced hypermagnesaemia reduces the incidence of cerebral arterial vasospasm following aneurysmal SAH. Methods: The study was conducted at two tertiary hospitals in Australia and patients were recruited between 1 April 2005 and 31 December 2009. Within 72 hours of aneurysmal SAH, patients were randomly assigned to a high or normal target for serum magnesium concentration (1.60-2.50mmol/L or 0.65-1.05 mmol/L, respectively). The primary end point was cerebral arterial vasospasm diagnosed by blinded assessment of digital subtraction angiography. Secondary outcomes included severity of vasospasm and functional recovery at 90 days. Analysis was by intention to treat. Results: Of 162 patients, 81 were assigned to the normal range group and 81 were assigned to the high-range group; the primary outcome was available for 78 and 79 patients, respectively. The groups had similar baseline characteristics. Vasospasm occurred in 40 patients (50.6%) and 50 patients (64.1%) assigned to high-range and normal-range groups, respectively (adjusted OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.26-1.02; P = 0.06). At 90 days, neurological recovery between the groups was not significantly different (adjusted OR for worse outcome, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.39-1.32; P = 0.28). Patients in the high-range group were treated with more noradrenaline to support arterial blood pressure (79 [16- 218] mg) v 59 [14-129] mg; P = 0.03) and had lower mean (SD) serum calcium concentration (1.9 [0.2] mmol/L v 2.1 [0.2] mmol/L, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Patients assigned a higher serum magnesium concentration had a reduced incidence of vasospasm as seen by angiography, but the difference was not statistically significant. Clinically significant outcomes were not different between groups. A firm recommendation for induced hypermagnesaemia cannot be made from this study. Trial registration number: ACTRN12605000058673.7 page(s

Early Magnesium Treatment after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage : Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis

Background and Purpose-Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is an important cause of poor outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Trials of magnesium treatment starting 24 hours. We calculated adjusted risk ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals for magnesium versus placebo treatment for poor outcome and DCI. Results-We included 5 trials totaling 1981 patients; 83 patients started treatment 24 hours 1.06 (0.87-1.31), and for DCI, 24 hours 1.08 (0.88-1.32). Conclusions-This meta-analysis suggests no beneficial effect of magnesium treatment on poor outcome or DCI when started early after SAH onset. Although the number of patients was small and a beneficial effect cannot be definitively excluded, we found no justification for a new trial with early magnesium treatment after SAH

Characterization of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis Nanocompartment and Its Potential Cargo Proteins

Mycobacterium tuberculosis has evolved various mechanisms by which the bacterium can maintain homeostasis under numerous environmental assaults generated by the host immune response. M. tuberculosis harbors enzymes involved in the oxidative stress response that aid in survival during the production of reactive oxygen species in activated macrophages. Previous studies have shown that a dye-decolorizing peroxidase (DyP) is encapsulated by a bacterial nanocompartment, encapsulin (Enc), whereby packaged DyP interacts with Enc via a unique C-terminal extension. M. tuberculosis also harbors an encapsulin homolog (CFP-29, Mt-Enc), within an operon with M. tuberculosis DyP (Mt-DyP), which contains a C-terminal extension. Together these observations suggest that Mt-DyP interacts with Mt-Enc. Furthermore, it has been suggested that DyPs may function as either a heme-dependent peroxidase or a deferrochelatase. Like Mt-DyP, M. tuberculosis iron storage ferritin protein, Mt-BfrB, and an M. tuberculosis protein involved in folate biosynthesis, 7,8-dihydroneopterin aldolase (Mt-FolB), have C-terminal tails that could also interact with Mt-Enc. For the first time, we show by co-purification and electron microscopy that mycobacteria via Mt-Enc can encapsulate Mt-DyP, Mt-BfrB, and Mt-FolB. Functional studies of free or encapsulated proteins demonstrate that they retain their enzymatic activity within the Mt-Enc nanocompartment. Mt-DyP, Mt-FolB, and Mt-BfrB all have antioxidant properties, suggesting that if these proteins are encapsulated by Mt-Enc, then this nanocage may play a role in the M. tuberculosis oxidative stress response. This report provides initial structural and biochemical clues regarding the molecular mechanisms that utilize compartmentalization by which the mycobacterial cell may aid in detoxification of the local environment to ensure long term survival