Analysis of gender representation and geographical region of the Communication Disorder Review Committee

Science is at the forefront of diversity, equity, and inclusion yet wide disparities continue to exist in the field today. Science is a field where different backgrounds, experiences, and expertise are critical for progression to persist. Studies on this topic have been done in recent years. One such study, Silva et. al. (2020), examines gender differences in NIH grant funding in neurological surgery finding that 79.4% of all NIH grants were awarded to males in the field. Science, a field with women deeply interlocked in its history and future, has shown a historic exclusion of women in its funding. Grants and funding have also been shown to be concentrated in certain regions of the country such as those harboring universities historically known to have prestige. Therefore, the basis of this study was to find gender and regional disparities among members of a specific committee that reviews and selects grant recipients. Our team retrieved the roster for the NIH Communication Disorder Review Committee (CDRC) study panel for the years 2011, 2016, and 2021. We collected study section member names, professional affiliation, academic degrees, and state residency. Study authors used a pilot-tested google form for data extraction. Gender was determined using genderized.io, a simple application programming interface (requiring a probability of >.6), or by google search of the study section member. Once collected, the individuals were sorted by their gender and geographical region. Over time, women were represented in study sections at an increasing rate. In 2011, there were 56 (60%) males and 38 (40%) females. In 2016, there were 35 (51%) males and 34 (49%) females. In 2021, there were 36 (49%) males and 38 (51%) females. We observed a detectable upward trend of female participation over time. Regarding geography, the region of the country least represented in 2011 was the West (n=15, 23%), while the Northeast was the most represented (n=25, 28%). In 2016, a majority of study section members were from the Midwest (n=19, 29%) followed by the South and Northeast (n=16, 24%). In 2021, the majority of members were also from the Midwest (n=24, 34%), with the smallest contribution being from the West (n=13, 19%). The most underrepresented region of the country in the years we examined was the West (average = 21%). Data shows that historically there has been a discrepancy in the ratio of male to female involvement in the scientific community. Having diversity among the science community is beneficial for reducing bias. Our results show from 2011 to 2021, there has been an increase in the percentage of females on the CDRC, from 40% in 2011 to 51% in 2021. This data suggests an upward trend in female involvement. Further, our data display a possible geographical disparity in the scientific community

Murine ethanol ingestion promotes hepatic platelet accumulation mimicking acute Ccl₄ exposure

Background: Dysregulated coagulation contributes to inflammation and fibrosis from chemical injury. Platelets are key contributors to inflammation and are primary sources of TGF-b, PDGF, and EGF that promote fibrosis, and so may contribute to hepatic fibrosis. We questioned whether platelets accumulate during chronic ethanol- or chemical-induced hepatic injury, whether platelet accumulation would occur prior to induction of hepatic fibrotic responses, and whether platelet accumulation reflects deposition of intravascular microthrombi or individual platelets intercalated into liver parenchyma.Methods: We modeled acute hepatic injury with a single injection of CCl₄, a chronic model of moderate ethanol ingestion, or a combination of the two insults. C57Bl6 mice ingested a control liquid diet or provided free access to 1% ethanol (2d), then 2% ethanol (2d, 11% calories). At day 4, mice received, or not, a single i.p. injection of CCl₄ (1 μl/g, 1:3 in olive oil), with sacrifice 72h later. Formalin-fixed livers were transversely sectioned, paraffin-embedded prior to immunohistochemistry with anti platelet integrin gpIIb (CD41), endothelial CD31, or a-smooth muscle actin (aSMA) antibodies with DAPI nuclear staining. Adherent platelets spread to micron thickness, so detection was by serial tyramide amplification (Biotium). This catalyzed reporter deposition system uses a single tyramide dye activated by HRP-derived H₂O₂ to a reactive specie that multiply ligates adjacent molecules before the antibody complex is thermally stripped prior to a subsequent tyramide labeling.Results: Our preliminary data show basal parenchymal platelet deposition with inflammation 24h after CCl₄ injection massively increasing platelet accumulation, with enhanced expression of aSMA, just below the outer Glisson’s sheath encasement, correlating to the area of highest arterial flow (DOI 10.1139/y93- 018). Platelet accumulation, but not aSMA, within liver parenchyma was modestly increased at this time. 72h after CCl₄ injection, subsurface platelet accumulation in association with endothelial cell PECAM1 remained apparent, with aSMA now extended in disordered filaments surrounding portal tracts. Ethanol ingestion alone, similar to CCl₄ exposure, revealed massive platelet accumulation just below the Glisson’s sheath liver encasement in association with endothelial cell PECAM1 without aSMA deposition. The combination of ethanol and CCl₄ presented similarly.Conclusions: We conclude ethanol ingestion promotes hepatic platelet accumulation, providing a nontranscriptional source of fibrotic growth factors, that parallels hepatic injury invoked by CCl₄ exposure

Structure of Chimpanzee Gut Microbiomes across Tropical Africa

Understanding variation in host-associated microbial communities is important given the relevance of microbiomes to host physiology and health. Using 560 fecal samples collected from wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) across their range, we assessed how geography, genetics, climate, vegetation, and diet relate to gut microbial community structure (prokaryotes, eukaryotic parasites) at multiple spatial scales. We observed a high degree of regional specificity in the microbiome composition, which was associated with host genetics, available plant foods, and potentially with cultural differences in tool use, which affect diet. Genetic differences drove community composition at large scales, while vegetation and potentially tool use drove within-region differences, likely due to their influence on diet. Unlike industrialized human populations in the United States, where regional differences in the gut microbiome are undetectable, chimpanzee gut microbiomes are far more variable across space, suggesting that technological developments have decoupled humans from their local environments, obscuring regional differences that could have been important during human evolution.Additional co-authors: Heather Cohen, Charlotte Coupland, Tobias Deschner, Villard Ebot Egbe, Annemarie Goedmakers, Anne-Céline Granjon, Cyril C. Grueter, Josephine Head, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Sorrel Jones, Parag Kadam, Michael Kaiser, Juan Lapuente, Bradley Larson, Sergio Marrocoli, David Morgan, Badru Mugerwa, Felix Mulindahabi, Emily Neil, Protais Niyigaba, Liliana Pacheco, Alex K. Piel, Martha M. Robbins, Aaron Rundus, Crickette M. Sanz, Lilah Sciaky, Douglas Sheil, Volker Sommer, Fiona A. Stewart, Els Ton, Joost van Schijndel, Virginie Vergnes, Erin G. Wessling, Roman M. Wittig, Yisa Ginath Yuh, Kyle Yurkiw, Klaus Zuberbühler, Jan F. Gogarten, Anna Heintz-Buschart, Alexandra N. Muellner-Riehl, Christophe Boesch, Hjalmar S. Kühl, Noah Fierer, Mimi Arandjelovic, Robert R. Dun

Bacterial Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibition: Designer Drugs to Fight Bad Bugs

Antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria is a growing problem of global concern. Current antibiotics target all bacteria indiscriminately and consequently wipe out good, beneficial bacteria as well as the bad, pathogenic ones. Bacterial Nitric Oxide Synthase (bNOS) has been identified as a suitable target to combat Methicilin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a pathogen responsible for thousands of deaths each year in the United States alone. We report here the development of bNOS selective inhibitors based on an aminoquinolone chemical scaffold. These inhibitors were found to bind in both the active and pterin sites of bNOS, effectively reducing bacterial survival. In addition, we tested the limits of an NO selective chemical probe and began preliminary investigations of other potential drug targets for MRSA related to the NO pathway

Bacterial Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibition: Designer Drugs to Fight Bad Bugs

Antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria is a growing problem of global concern. Current antibiotics target all bacteria indiscriminately and consequently wipe out good, beneficial bacteria as well as the bad, pathogenic ones. Bacterial Nitric Oxide Synthase (bNOS) has been identified as a suitable target to combat Methicilin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a pathogen responsible for thousands of deaths each year in the United States alone. We report here the development of bNOS selective inhibitors based on an aminoquinolone chemical scaffold. These inhibitors were found to bind in both the active and pterin sites of bNOS, effectively reducing bacterial survival. In addition, we tested the limits of an NO selective chemical probe and began preliminary investigations of other potential drug targets for MRSA related to the NO pathway

Self-Centering Seismic Lateral Force Resisting Systems: High Performance Structures for the City of Tomorrow

Structures designed in accordance with even the most modern buildings codes are expected to sustain damage during a severe earthquake; however; these structures are expected to protect the lives of the occupants. Damage to the structure can require expensive repairs; significant business downtime; and in some cases building demolition. If damage occurs to many structures within a city or region; the regional and national economy may be severely disrupted. To address these shortcomings with current seismic lateral force resisting systems and to work towards more resilient; sustainable cities; a new class of seismic lateral force resisting systems that sustains little or no damage under severe earthquakes has been developed. These new seismic lateral force resisting systems reduce or prevent structural damage to nonreplaceable structural elements by softening the structural response elastically through gap opening mechanisms. To dissipate seismic energy; friction elements or replaceable yielding energy dissipation elements are also included. Post-tensioning is often used as a part of these systems to return the structure to a plumb; upright position (self-center) after the earthquake has passed. This paper summarizes the state-of-the art for self-centering seismic lateral force resisting systems and outlines current research challenges for these systems

Grazing by collembola affects the outcome of interspecific mycelial interactions of cord-forming basidiomycetes

While there is a plethora of studies on the effects of invertebrate grazing on mycelia, including several studies on saprotrophic cord-forming basidiomycetes, there is little information on the effects of grazing on mycelial interactions. The study compares the progress and outcomes of interspecific mycelial interactions between Hypholoma fasciculare, Phallus impudicus, Phanaerochaete velutina and Resinicium bicolor when grazed by the collembola Folsomia candida or Protaphorura armata in agar culture and trays (24 × 24 cm) of non-sterile soil. In ungrazed systems results were broadly consistent with previous studies, though there were few instances of deadlock, and a clear transitive (A > B > C) hierarchy could not be discerned. Instead, there was an intransitive hierarchy (i.e., A > B, B > C but C > A). Additionally, in agar culture, there were considerable differences in combative ability of four different strains of H. fasciculare. Collembola grazing had major effects on mycelial interactions. F. candida grazing altered both the outcome and progression of half of the fungal interactions studied, while the less active P. armata had almost no discernable effects on fungal interactions. Grazing by F. candida affected mycelial extension rate in five of the interaction combinations, some increasing, others decreasing. In grazed systems of P. velutina interacting with H. fasciculare, extension rate of the former was much more rapid over the opponent than over soil. Not only did grazing affect mycelial interactions, but interactions affected grazer activity; H. fasciculare was grazed in areas where it was interacting with P. velutina mycelium, but less so elsewhere. By altering the outcome of mycelial interactions and mycelial extension rate, collembola grazing may alter the distribution of cord-forming fungi on the forest floor, and may also play a role in maintaining the diversity of fungal species. The differences in combative ability of different strains of a species imply an even more complex scenario in the natural world