Social Marketing–Enhanced Home Energy Education Encourages Adoption of Energy-Saving Practices

We developed a program centered on a social marketing–enhanced home energy education visit to encourage homeowner adoption of specific energy conservation measures. We randomly assigned 170 homeowners to an experimental condition that included energy education before an energy audit or a control condition that included only an energy audit. Participants in the experimental condition adopted more no-cost and low-cost one-time energy conservation changes, such as adjusting refrigerator/freezer temperatures and lowering hot water temperature. However, they did not invest more in home energy renovations or other costly changes, such as replacing inefficient appliances. We discuss implications of this experiment for enhancing effectiveness of Extension-based energy education programs

Compounds from an Unbiased Chemical Screen Reverse Both Er-to-Golgi Trafficking Defects and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease Models

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a small lipid-binding protein involved in vesicle trafficking whose function is poorly characterized. It is of great interest to human biology and medicine because α-syn dysfunction is associated with several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). We previously created a yeast model of α-syn pathobiology, which established vesicle trafficking as a process that is particularly sensitive to α-syn expression. We also uncovered a core group of proteins with diverse activities related to α-syn toxicity that is conserved from yeast to mammalian neurons. Here, we report that a yeast strain expressing a somewhat higher level of α-syn also exhibits strong defects in mitochondrial function. Unlike our previous strain, genetic suppression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi trafficking alone does not suppress α-syn toxicity in this strain. In an effort to identify individual compounds that could simultaneously rescue these apparently disparate pathological effects of α-syn, we screened a library of 115,000 compounds. We identified a class of small molecules that reduced α-syn toxicity at micromolar concentrations in this higher toxicity strain. These compounds reduced the formation of α-syn foci, re-established ER-to-Golgi trafficking and ameliorated α-syn-mediated damage to mitochondria. They also corrected the toxicity of α-syn in nematode neurons and in primary rat neuronal midbrain cultures. Remarkably, the compounds also protected neurons against rotenone-induced toxicity, which has been used to model the mitochondrial defects associated with PD in humans. That single compounds are capable of rescuing the diverse toxicities of α-syn in yeast and neurons suggests that they are acting on deeply rooted biological processes that connect these toxicities and have been conserved for a billion years of eukaryotic evolution. Thus, it seems possible to develop novel therapeutic strategies to simultaneously target the multiple pathological features of PD.MGH/MIT Morris Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson Disease Research (NS038372)Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's ResearchHoward Hughes Medical InstituteUnited States. National Institutes of Health (NS049221)American Parkinson Disease Association, Inc

Assessing the Quality Measure for Follow-up Care After Children’s Psychiatric Hospitalizations

OBJECTIVES: Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program plans publicly report quality measures, including follow-up care after psychiatric hospitalization. We aimed to understand failure to meet this measure, including measurement definitions and enrollee characteristics, while investigating how follow-up affects subsequent psychiatric hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits. METHODS: Administrative data representing Alabama’s Children’s Health Insurance Program from 2013 to 2016 were used to identify qualifying psychiatric hospitalizations and follow-up care with a mental health provider within 7 to 30 days of discharge. Using relaxed measure definitions, follow-up care was extended to include visits at 45 to 60 days and visits to a primary care provider. Logit regressions estimated enrollee characteristics associated with follow-up care and, separately, the likelihood of subsequent psychiatric hospitalizations and/or ED visits within 30, 60, and 120 days. RESULTS: We observed 1072 psychiatric hospitalizations during the study period. Of these, 356 (33.2%) received follow-up within 7 days and 566 (52.8%) received it within 30 days. Relaxed measure definitions captured minimal additional follow-up visits. The likelihood of follow-up was lower for both 7 days (−18 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI] −26 to −10 percentage points) and 30 days (−26 percentage points; 95% CI −35 to −17 percentage points) regarding hospitalization stays of ≥8 days. Meeting the measure reduced the likelihood of subsequent psychiatric hospitalizations within 60 days by 3 percentage points (95% CI −6 to −1 percentage point). CONCLUSIONS: Among children, receipt of timely follow-up care after a psychiatric hospitalization is low and not sensitive to measurement definitions. Follow-up care may reduce the need for future psychiatric hospitalizations and/or ED visits

The influence of vector‐borne disease on human history: socio‐ecological mechanisms

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) are embedded within complex socio-ecological systems. While research has traditionally focused on the direct effects of VBDs on human morbidity and mortality, it is increasingly clear that their impacts are much more pervasive. VBDs are dynamically linked to feedbacks between environmental conditions, vector ecology, disease burden, and societal responses that drive transmission. As a result, VBDs have had profound influence on human history. Mechanisms include: (1) killing or debilitating large numbers of people, with demographic and population-level impacts; (2) differentially affecting populations based on prior history of disease exposure, immunity, and resistance; (3) being weaponised to promote or justify hierarchies of power, colonialism, racism, classism and sexism; (4) catalysing changes in ideas, institutions, infrastructure, technologies and social practices in efforts to control disease outbreaks; and (5) changing human relationships with the land and environment. We use historical and archaeological evidence interpreted through an ecological lens to illustrate how VBDs have shaped society and culture, focusing on case studies from four pertinent VBDs: plague, malaria, yellow fever and trypanosomiasis. By comparing across diseases, time periods and geographies, we highlight the enormous scope and variety of mechanisms by which VBDs have influenced human history

Taking the Measure of the Universe: Precision Astrometry with SIM PlanetQuest

Precision astrometry at microarcsecond accuracy has application to a wide range of astrophysical problems. This paper is a study of the science questions that can be addressed using an instrument that delivers parallaxes at about 4 microarcsec on targets as faint as V = 20, differential accuracy of 0.6 microarcsec on bright targets, and with flexible scheduling. The science topics are drawn primarily from the Team Key Projects, selected in 2000, for the Space Interferometry Mission PlanetQuest (SIM PlanetQuest). We use the capabilities of this mission to illustrate the importance of the next level of astrometric precision in modern astrophysics. SIM PlanetQuest is currently in the detailed design phase, having completed all of the enabling technologies needed for the flight instrument in 2005. It will be the first space-based long baseline Michelson interferometer designed for precision astrometry. SIM will contribute strongly to many astronomical fields including stellar and galactic astrophysics, planetary systems around nearby stars, and the study of quasar and AGN nuclei. SIM will search for planets with masses as small as an Earth orbiting in the `habitable zone' around the nearest stars using differential astrometry, and could discover many dozen if Earth-like planets are common. It will be the most capable instrument for detecting planets around young stars, thereby providing insights into how planetary systems are born and how they evolve with time. SIM will observe significant numbers of very high- and low-mass stars, providing stellar masses to 1%, the accuracy needed to challenge physical models. Using precision proper motion measurements, SIM will probe the galactic mass distribution and the formation and evolution of the Galactic halo. (abridged)Comment: 54 pages, 28 figures, uses emulateapj. Submitted to PAS

TESS Discovery of Twin Planets near 2:1 Resonance around Early M-Dwarf TOI 4342

With data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), we showcase improvements to the MIT Quick-Look Pipeline (QLP) through the discovery and validation of a multi-planet system around M-dwarf TOI 4342 ($T_{mag}=11.032$, $M_* = 0.63 M_\odot$, $R_* = 0.60 R_\odot$, $T_{eff} = 3900$ K, $d = 61.54$ pc). With updates to QLP, including a new multi-planet search, as well as faster cadence data from TESS' First Extended Mission, we discovered two sub-Neptunes ($R_b = 2.266_{-0.038}^{+0.038} R_\oplus$ and $R_c = 2.415_{-0.040}^{+0.043} R_\oplus$; $P_b$ = 5.538 days and $P_c$ = 10.689 days) and validated them with ground-based photometry, spectra, and speckle imaging. Both planets notably have high transmission spectroscopy metrics (TSMs) of 36 and 32, making TOI 4342 one of the best systems for comparative atmospheric studies. This system demonstrates how improvements to QLP, along with faster cadence Full-Frame Images (FFIs), can lead to the discovery of new multi-planet systems.Comment: accepted for publication in A

Whole genome assessment of the retinal response to diabetes reveals a progressive neurovascular inflammatory response

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite advances in the understanding of diabetic retinopathy, the nature and time course of molecular changes in the retina with diabetes are incompletely described. This study characterized the functional and molecular phenotype of the retina with increasing durations of diabetes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using the streptozotocin-induced rat model of diabetes, levels of retinal permeability, caspase activity, and gene expression were examined after 1 and 3 months of diabetes. Gene expression changes were identified by whole genome microarray and confirmed by qPCR in the same set of animals as used in the microarray analyses and subsequently validated in independent sets of animals. Increased levels of vascular permeability and caspase-3 activity were observed at 3 months of diabetes, but not 1 month. Significantly more and larger magnitude gene expression changes were observed after 3 months than after 1 month of diabetes. Quantitative PCR validation of selected genes related to inflammation, microvasculature and neuronal function confirmed gene expression changes in multiple independent sets of animals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These changes in permeability, apoptosis, and gene expression provide further evidence of progressive retinal malfunction with increasing duration of diabetes. The specific gene expression changes confirmed in multiple sets of animals indicate that pro-inflammatory, anti-vascular barrier, and neurodegenerative changes occur in tandem with functional increases in apoptosis and vascular permeability. These responses are shared with the clinically documented inflammatory response in diabetic retinopathy suggesting that this model may be used to test anti-inflammatory therapeutics.</p

The TESS-Keck Survey. XI. Mass Measurements for Four Transiting sub-Neptunes orbiting K dwarf TOI-1246

Multi-planet systems are valuable arenas for investigating exoplanet architectures and comparing planetary siblings. TOI-1246 is one such system, with a moderately bright K dwarf (V=11.6, K=9.9) and four transiting sub-Neptunes identified by TESS with orbital periods of 4.31 d, 5.90 d, 18.66 d, and 37.92 d. We collected 130 radial velocity observations with Keck/HIRES and TNG/HARPS-N to measure planet masses. We refit the 14 sectors of TESS photometry to refine planet radii (2.97±0.06 R⊕,2.47±0.08 R⊕,3.46±0.09 R⊕, 3.72±0.16 R⊕), and confirm the four planets. We find that TOI-1246 e is substantially more massive than the three inner planets (8.1±1.1M⊕, 8.8±1.2M⊕, 5.3±1.7M⊕, 14.8±2.3M⊕). The two outer planets, TOI-1246 d and TOI-1246 e, lie near to the 2:1 resonance (Pe/Pd=2.03) and exhibit transit timing variations. TOI-1246 is one of the brightest four-planet systems, making it amenable for continued observations. It is one of only six systems with measured masses and radii for all four transiting planets. The planet densities range from 0.70±0.24 to 3.21±0.44g/cm3, implying a range of bulk and atmospheric compositions. We also report a fifth planet candidate found in the RV data with a minimum mass of 25.6 ± 3.6 M⊕. This planet candidate is exterior to TOI-1246 e with a candidate period of 93.8 d, and we discuss the implications if it is confirmed to be planetary in nature