Hearing the Community: Evolution of a Nutrition and Physical Activity Program for African American Women to Improve Weight

Listening to the needs of the community is an important step toward reducing health disparities. Researchers may need to adjust their methods to maximize participation and benefit to the community. This report describes how the project team adjusted its approach to a weight loss intervention to support a community of African American women seeking to improve their health

Bohemian Rhapository: Developing a music program archive in the IR

The Caine College of the Arts (CCA) Music Program Archives preserves artifacts of student, faculty, and guest artist musical contributions to scholarly and creative activity at Utah State University. This collection recognizes the value of campus musical history and community through collaboration between the Music Department, its liaison librarian, and the digital scholarship librarian. Founded in 2008, DigitalCommons@USU is the University\u27s institutional repository (IR). It is currently the 3rd largest Digital Commons instance in the nation, containing over 63,000 items. CCA and the Music Department are extremely underrepresented in the IR. This project - started March 2017 - is a first step in addressing this gap

The proportion of dementia attributable to common modifiable lifestyle factors in Barbados

Objective. To understand what number and proportion of dementia cases in Barbados are attributable to modifiable lifestyle factors and what effect a reduction in these risk factors would have on future dementia prevalence. Methods. This was an observational study using Levin’s Attributable Risk formula, which assumes independence of risk factors, to calculate the population attributable risk (PAR) of dementia (all-cause) for six risk factors: midlife obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, low educational attainment, diabetes mellitus, and midlife hypertension in Barbados. A recently-published, modified formula was utilized to account for non- independence of risk factors using secondary data for Barbados. The number and proportion of dementia cases attributable to each risk factor and to all risk factors combined were computed, as was the effect that any reduction in these risk factors might have on future dementia prevalence. Results. Accounting for the fact that risk factors do not operate independently, 50.9% (1 526 cases) were attributable to the combined effect of the six risk factors under study. According to the analysis, if each risk factor were reduced by 5% – 20% per decade, dementia prevalence could be 3.3% – 31.8% lower by 2050. Conclusion. Using a largely theoretical model, the six modifiable lifestyle factors were estimated to be attributable to 50.9% of dementia cases in Barbados. Since the risk factors have much in common, any intervention that targets one of them could significantly reduce future dementia prevalence.This work was supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory; CE110001029), Australian Research Council (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory; Fellowship #120100227) and by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory; Fellowship #1002560 and APP1079438). We also acknowledge support from the NHMRC Dementia Collaborative Research Centres (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory)

Expectation Versus Reality: Perceived Differences in Cognitive Ability Between Men and Women

In Western society, there is a common belief that there are clear differences between male and female brains. In our project, we hope to gain insight into the beliefs of undergraduate students regarding this very idea. We are surveying Binghamton University students about their perceptions regarding the differences in cognitive ability between cis-gender men and women. Our survey asks students if certain skills are gendered, which gender these skills are more closely associated with, and where students learned these stereotypes. These results will be compared to the current state of knowledge about cognitive differences between the sexes. We anticipate that students will overestimate the extent of brain differences between the sexes, as our culture has conditioned us to believe. Our goal is to enlighten others about the pervasiveness of neurosexism.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2022/1097/thumbnail.jp

Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia.

Many major corporations and countries have made commitments to purchase or produce only "sustainable" palm oil, a commodity responsible for substantial tropical forest loss. Sustainability certification is the tool most used to fulfill these procurement policies, and around 20% of global palm oil production was certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2017. However, the effect of certification on deforestation in oil palm plantations remains unclear. Here, we use a comprehensive dataset of RSPO-certified and noncertified oil palm plantations (∼188,000 km2) in Indonesia, the leading producer of palm oil, as well as annual remotely sensed metrics of tree cover loss and fire occurrence, to evaluate the impact of certification on deforestation and fire from 2001 to 2015. While forest loss and fire continued after RSPO certification, certified palm oil was associated with reduced deforestation. Certification lowered deforestation by 33% from a counterfactual of 9.8 to 6.6% y-1 Nevertheless, most plantations contained little residual forest when they received certification. As a result, by 2015, certified areas held less than 1% of forests remaining within Indonesian oil palm plantations. Moreover, certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates. Broader adoption of certification in forested regions, strict requirements to avoid all peat, and routine monitoring of clearly defined forest cover loss in certified and RSPO member-held plantations appear necessary if the RSPO is to yield conservation and climate benefits from reductions in tropical deforestation

Temporal changes in Weddell seal dive behavior over winter: are females increasing foraging effort to support gestation?

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Evolution, 8(23), (2018): 11857-11874. doi: 10.1002/ece3.4643.In capital‐breeding marine mammals, prey acquisition during the foraging trip coinciding with gestation must provide energy to meet the immediate needs of the growing fetus and also a store to meet the subsequent demands of lactation. Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) that give birth following the gestational (winter) foraging period gain similar proportions of mass and lipid as compared to females that fail to give birth. Therefore, any changes in foraging behavior can be attributed to gestational costs. To investigate differences in foraging effort associated with successful reproduction, twenty‐three satellite tags were deployed on post‐molt female Weddell seals in the Ross Sea. Of the 20 females that returned to the area the following year, 12 females gave birth and eight did not. Females that gave birth the following year began the winter foraging period with significantly longer and deeper dives, as compared to non‐reproductive seals. Mid‐ to late winter, reproductive females spent a significantly greater proportion of the day diving, and either depressed their diving metabolic rates (DMR), or exceeded their calculated aerobic dive limit (cADL) more frequently than females that returned without a pup. Moreover, non‐reproductive females organized their dives into 2–3 short bouts per day on average (BOUTshort; 7.06 ± 1.29 hr; mean ± 95% CI), whereas reproductive females made 1–2 BOUTshort per day (10.9 ± 2.84 hr), comprising one long daily foraging bout without rest. The magnitude of the increase in dive activity budgets and depression in calculated DMR closely matched the estimated energetic requirements of supporting a fetus. This study is one of the first to identify increases in foraging effort that are associated with successful reproduction in a top predator and indicates that reproductive females must operate closer to their physiological limits to support gestational costs.We are grateful for the help of field team members: Drs. Luis Hückstädt, Linnea Pearson, and Patrick Robinson for sample collection. Group B‐009‐M led by Drs. Robert Garrott, Jay Rotella, and Thierry Chambert provided information regarding animal reproductive status and provided great assistance in locating study animals. Logistical support was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) U.S. Antarctic Program, Raytheon Polar Services, and Lockheed Martin ASC; we thank all the support staff in Christchurch, NZ and McMurdo Station. This research was conducted with support from NSF ANT‐0838892 to D.P.C. and ANT‐0838937 to J.M.B. For J.M.B., this material is based upon work while serving at the National Science Foundation, and M.R.S was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE‐1242789. Any opinion, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Animal handling protocols were approved by the University of Alaska Anchorage and University of California Santa Cruz's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Research and sample import to the United States were authorized under the Marine Mammal permit No. 87‐1851‐04 issued by the Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. Research activities were also approved through Antarctic Conservation Act permits while at McMurdo Station

Inhibition of Interleukin 1 Receptor/Toll-like Receptor Signaling through the Alternatively Spliced, Short Form of MyD88 Is Due to Its Failure to Recruit IRAK-4

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and members of the proinflammatory interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R) family are dependent on the presence of MyD88 for efficient signal transduction. The bipartite nature of MyD88 (N-terminal death domain [DD] and COOH-terminal Toll/IL-1 receptor [TIR] domain) allows it to link the TIR domain of IL-1R/TLR with the DD of the Ser/Thr kinase termed IL-1R–associated kinase (IRAK)-1. This triggers IRAK-1 phosphorylation and in turn the activation of multiple signaling cascades such as activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-κB. In contrast, expression of MyD88 short (MyD88s), an alternatively spliced form of MyD88 that lacks only the short intermediate domain separating the DD and TIR domains, leads to a shutdown of IL-1/lipopolysaccharide-induced NF-κB activation. Here, we provide the molecular explanation for this difference. MyD88 but not MyD88s strongly interacts with IRAK-4, a newly identified kinase essential for IL-1R/TLR signaling. In the presence of MyD88s, IRAK-1 is not phosphorylated and neither activates NF-κB nor is ubiquitinated. Thus, MyD88s acts as a negative regulator of IL-1R/TLR/MyD88-triggered signals, leading to a transcriptionally controlled negative regulation of innate immune responses

Age-related Defects in CD4 T Cell Cognate Helper Function Lead to Reductions in Humoral Responses

With increasing age, the ability to produce protective antibodies in response to immunization declines, leading to a reduced efficacy of vaccination in the elderly. To examine the effect of age on the cognate function of CD4 T cells, we have used a novel adoptive transfer model that allows us to compare identical numbers of antigen-specific naive T cells from young and aged TCR transgenic (Tg) donors. Upon transfer of aged donor CD4 T cells to young hosts, there was significantly reduced expansion and germinal center (GC) differentiation of the antigen-specific B cell population after immunization. This reduced cognate helper function was seen at all time points and over a wide range of donor cell numbers. In hosts receiving aged CD4 cells, there were also dramatically lower levels of antigen-specific IgG. These age-related defects were not due to defects in migration of the aged CD4 T cells, but may be attributable to reduced CD154 (CD40L) expression. Furthermore, we found that there was no difference in B cell expansion and differentiation or in IgG production when young CD4 T cells were transferred to young or aged hosts. Our results show that, in this model, age-related reductions in the cognate helper function of CD4 T cells contribute significantly to defects in humoral responses observed in aged individuals

Process, outcome and experience of transition from child to adult mental healthcare : multiperspective study

Background Many adolescents with mental health problems experience transition of care from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adult mental health services (AMHS). Aims As part of the TRACK study we evaluated the process, outcomes and user and carer experience of transition from CAMHS to AMHS. Method We identified a cohort of service users crossing the CAMHS/AMHS boundary over 1 year across six mental health trusts in England. We tracked their journey to determine predictors of optimal transition and conducted qualitative interviews with a subsample of users, their carers and clinicians on how transition was experienced. Results Of 154 individuals who crossed the transition boundary in 1 year, 90 were actual referrals (i.e. they made a transition to AMHS), and 64 were potential referrals (i.e. were either not referred to AMHS or not accepted by AMHS). Individuals with a history of severe mental illness, being on medication or having been admitted were more likely to make a transition than those with neurodevelopmental disorders, emotional/neurotic disorders and emerging personality disorder. Optimal transition, defined as adequate transition planning, good information transfer across teams, joint working between teams and continuity of care following transition, was experienced by less than 5% of those who made a transition. Following transition, most service users stayed engaged with AMHS and reported improvement in their mental health. Conclusions For the vast majority of service users, transition from CAMHS to AMHS is poorly planned, poorly executed and poorly experienced. The transition process accentuates pre-existing barriers between CAMHS and AMH