Climate Change Research

Panel Chair: Melanie Knee

Applying Visual Methods to Document the History of Psychological Testing: A Qualitative Approach

The history of psychological testing is critical to many areas of applied psychology. Assessment forms a mainstay of clinical practice, second only to psychotherapy (Meyer et al., 2001). In industrial/organizational psychological practice, employee selection depends on testing to assess applicant qualifications. In educational contexts, testing is central to the evaluation of academic performance and college readiness, in addition to determining eligibility for various types of special educational services. The history of testing is deeply rooted in myriad psychological specialties (Carlson & Geisinger, 2021). This fact prompted a qualitative examination and integration of three distinct historical threads identified by the proposal authors: (a) the history of psychological testing in the U.S. over the past century, (b) the work of Oscar Buros and the Institute of Mental Measurements that proved instrumental in the dissemination of reference materials concerning commercial testing products (Brayfield, 1979; Dyer, 1968; Gough, 1980), and (c) the lives of Oscar and Luella Buros who—among other things—established an enterprise that continues to provide critical evaluations of commercially available tests that protect consumers of those products (Cizek et al., 2007; Reynolds, 2010). This poster presentation examines critical events in the history of psychological testing from the 1930s to present-day through the lens of the Buros Institute/Center and the lives of Oscar and Luella Buros. The research method employed demonstrates the utility of a nascent qualitative approach to integrate three strands of history concerning psychological testing. The procedure emphasized visual methods (e.g., Ownby, 2017; Reavey, 2020) to systematically collect qualitative data, primarily photographs. Photographs (e.g., photo documentation) were gathered from archival and current sources, including the Luella Buros Collection curated by the Anthropology Department of a mid-Western university. Next, we aligned depictions of major historical events with depictions of events in the history of the Buros Institute/Center and the lives of the Buroses. The poster included images selected from a pool of more than 12,000 by consensus of the researchers. The poster displays visual representations (e.g., photographs) grouped by decades over the past century. The researchers link visual depictions (e.g., the first Mental Measurements Yearbook [MMY] in 1938, staff at work producing early MMYs, the house in NJ where the Buros Institute was established) with salient events across the histories of psychological testing. A qualitative analysis/summary demonstrates associations between and among the three specified historical strands. References & credits are in the attached supplemental file

Polietilenglicol 8000 para identificar maíz tolerante al estrés hídrico durante la germinación

Introducción. La disponibilidad de agua para la producción agrícola es esencial. La producción de maíz, sujeta al periodo de lluvias, en México supera el 70%. En las regiones agrícolas de la península de Yucatán se reportan producciones en condiciones de bajas precipitaciones o muy erráticas, que pueden provocar pérdidas totales. Una condición crítica para el establecimiento de un cultivo es contar con la humedad necesaria que permita la germinación. Objetivo. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar materiales de maíz bajo condiciones de estrés hídrico simulado por medio de soluciones osmóticas con la finalidad de identificar los que toleren estas condiciones. Materiales y métodos. El estudio se llevó a cabo en el Campo Experimental Mocochá del Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias, durante el 2017; abarcó la fase de germinación y establecimiento. Se emplearon veinticinco materiales de maíz bajo un diseño completamente al azar con arreglo factorial. Se realizó una prueba de germinación bajo dos condiciones de estrés simulado por medio de PEG 8000 (-0,5 y -0,75 MPa), además se empleó un testigo (0 MPa). Se realizaron cuatro repeticiones de veinticinco semillas cada una. Las semillas se expusieron por 24 h al PEG 8000, posteriormente, se hicieron riegos con agua destilada. Se realizaron conteos de las semillas germinadas al séptimo día y se reportó como porcentaje de germinación. En una muestra de diez plántulas de cada repetición, se midió la longitud y el peso, por separado, de la parte aérea y la raíz. Resultados. De los materiales evaluados los híbridos H-563, H-565 y H-568 soportaron estrés de -0,5 MPa, y el H-520, H-567 y HEV3B presentaron germinación con -0,75 MPa y resaltaron en todas las variables evaluadas. Conclusión. Es posible identificar materiales que toleraran las condiciones de estrés durante la etapa de germinación

LIN28B Underlies the Pathogenesis of a Subclass of Ewing Sarcoma

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Overexpression of EZH2 in multiple myeloma is associated with poor prognosis and dysregulation of cell cycle control.

Myeloma is heterogeneous at the molecular level with subgroups of patients characterised by features of epigenetic dysregulation. Outcomes for myeloma patients have improved over the past few decades except for molecularly defined high-risk patients who continue to do badly. Novel therapeutic approaches are, therefore, required. A growing number of epigenetic inhibitors are now available including EZH2 inhibitors that are in early-stage clinical trials for treatment of haematological and other cancers with EZH2 mutations or in which overexpression has been correlated with poor outcomes. For the first time, we have identified and validated a robust and independent deleterious effect of high EZH2 expression on outcomes in myeloma patients. Using two chemically distinct small-molecule inhibitors, we demonstrate a reduction in myeloma cell proliferation with EZH2 inhibition, which leads to cell cycle arrest followed by apoptosis. This is mediated via upregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors associated with removal of the inhibitory H3K27me3 mark at their gene loci. Our results suggest that EZH2 inhibition may be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of myeloma and should be investigated in clinical studies

Myeloid-related protein 8/14 and the risk of cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction after an acute coronary syndrome in the Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Theraphy: Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (PROVE IT-TIMI 22) trial

Background Using a transcriptional profiling approach, we recently identified myeloid-related protein 8/14 (MRP-8/14) to be expressed by platelets during acute myocardial infarction (MI). Elevated concentrations of MRP-8/14 are associated with a higher risk for future cardiovascular events in apparently healthy individuals but have not been assessed with respect to prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Methods We performed a nested case-control study (n = 237 case-control pairs) among patients enrolled in the Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Theraphy: Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 22 (PROVE IT-TIMI 22) trial (mean follow-up 24 months) to investigate the risk of cardiovascular death or MI associated with MRP-8/14 measured at 30 days after an acute coronary syndrome. Results Patients with cardiovascular death or MI after 30 days (cases) had higher median [25th, 75th percentile] MRP-8/14 levels than patients who remained free of recurrent events (5.6 [2.8, 13.5] mg/L vs 4.0 [1.9, 10.1] mg/L, P = .020). The risk of a recurrent cardiovascular event increased with each increasing quartile of MRP-8/14 ( P-trend = 0.007) such that patients with the highest levels had a 2.0-fold increased odds (95% CI 1.1-3.6, P = .029) of a recurrent event after adjusting for standard risk indicators, randomized treatment, and C-reactive protein. Patients with elevated levels of MRP-8/14 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein showed significantly increased risk of cardiovascular death or MI compared with patients with the lowest levels of both markers (adjusted odds ratio 2.1, 95% CI 1.2-3.8). Conclusions Myeloid-related protein 8/14 may be a useful biomarker of platelet and inflammatory disease activity in atherothrombosis and may serve as a novel target for therapeutic intervention