A dyadic longitudinal analysis of parent-adolescent inflammation trends and the role of shared socioeconomic characteristics on family inflammation.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the interdependency of parent-adolescent inflammation trends across time and to examine whether shared family socioeconomic characteristics explained between-family differences in parents and adolescents risk for inflammation. A total of N = 348 families, consisting of one parent and one adolescent child, were followed every two years in a three-wave longitudinal study. Sociodemographic questionnaires were used to determine parental educational attainment and family income-to-needs ratio (INR). At each time point, parents and adolescents collected dried blood spot (DBS) samples that were assayed for circulating CRP and log-transformed prior to analysis by longitudinal dyadic models. Models revealed significant differences in parents and adolescents inflammation trends over time (bint = - 0.13, p < 0.001). While parental CRP levels remained relatively stable across the study period, adolescent CRP increased by approximately 38% between study waves. Parents average CRP levels were positively correlated with adolescents average CRP (r = 0.32, p < 0.001), but parental change in CRP over time was not significantly related to change in adolescents CRP over time. Family dyads with higher parental educational attainment had lower average CRP (b = -0.08, p = 0.01), but parental education did not predict change in dyads inflammation over time. Study findings suggest that shared family socioeconomic characteristics contribute to baseline similarities in parents and adolescents inflammation and potentially point to adolescence as a period of inflammatory change where youth may diverge from parental inflammation trends

PARADOXOS DAS TECNOLOGIAS NOS DIAS DE HOJE: OPORTUNIDADES E EDUCAÇÃO A DISTÂNCIA

O presente trabalho analisa a discrepância da sociedade brasileira contemporânea, que traz em seu discurso a necessidade de utilização das novas tecnologias em seus contextos, mas também não oferece condições para sua implementação. A partir desta realidade, objetiva-se entender a Educação a Distância (EAD) como uma modalidade de ensino que oferece oportunidades àquelas pessoas que, devido a circunstâncias específicas, não conseguiram completar o ensino formal. Como objetivos específicos, pretende-se apontar a EAD como uma solução para a inclusão social, assim como indicar a necessidade do Governo e as instituições relacionadas oferecerem condições para o acesso. A fundamentação principal deste estudo baseia-se no princípio de Oliveira (2017), livro “Educação a distância e tecnologia digital: interação, atitude e aprendizagem”, que traz a necessidade do foco da EAD na qualidade das interações, nas oportunidades oferecidas e na disposição em aprender e interagir. O simples aumento do número de acessos, de mensagens e de registros, segundo o autor, não garantiria o sucesso desta modalidade de ensino. A metodologia que permeia este trabalho foi baseada no levantamento documental de dados do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) e da organização Population Reference Bureau (PRB), procurando-se uma delimitação do panorama da EAD no Brasil atual. Como indicador da qualidade da EAD, buscou-se a compreensão dos estudos de caso de Oliveira (idem). Ressalta-se a natureza da abordagem tanto quantitativa quanto qualitativa, sendo que dados de estatísticas, censos e gráficos serviram de base para as interpretações e entendimentos da autora e do orientador desta pesquisa. Como resultados iniciais, destacam-se os números da PRB e do IBGE. Constatou-se que, da população brasileira de 209,4 milhões de habitantes, cerca de 116 milhões contam com acesso à internet. Seria uma realidade favorável, se não houvesse tanta discrepância entre o acesso à conexão e a disseminação e valorização significativa da EAD. A partir das leituras realizadas e dos casos analisados, conclui-se que a EAD, além de trazer formação para pessoas na forma de cursos superiores, como já é feito atualmente, poderia também ser aplicado em comunidades que ainda não têm acesso à internet e nem ao ensino básico e superior, que muitas vezes não é vista como parte de um todo. A falha desta modalidade não está nela em si, e sim, nas políticas públicas e na falta de recursos e projetos que darão assistência ao aluno que queira ingressar em um curso online. Para a consolidação da EAD no Brasil hoje, é necessária uma discussão veemente com a sociedade, de forma que se perceba como, de fato, ela seja significativa e atenda a sua demanda. Ainda, reconhece-se a importância de investimento em redes para que o acesso não continue restrito a poucos privilegiados, tal como está atualmente. Para a continuação deste estudo, sugere-se que outros indicadores possam ser analisados, além da análise de mais estudos de caso sobre o mesmo tema. Especialmente os que versam sobre a implementação da EAD por instituições públicas e privadas. Também é recomendado que se observem as nuances das estatísticas de acesso a internet, especialmente a delimitação do público que ela atinge no Brasil atualmente. Em tempo, cabe informar que o estudo atual se encontra em progresso

Sleep and Inflammation During Adolescents\u27 Transition to Young Adulthood

Purpose This study investigated the extent to which multiple sleep dimensions are associated with inflammation during adolescents\u27 transition to young adulthood, a developmental period when sleep difficulties and systemic inflammation levels are on the rise. Additionally, the moderating roles of socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity were explored. Methods A total of 350 Asian American, Latino, and European American youth participated at two-year intervals in wave 1 ( n = 316, M age = 16.40), wave 2 ( n = 248 including 34 new participants to refresh the sample, M age = 18.31), and wave 3 ( n = 180, M age = 20.29). Sleep duration (weekday and weekend) and variability in duration (nightly and weekday/weekend) were obtained from eight nights of wrist actigraphy. Subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of systemic inflammation, were assayed from dried blood spots obtained from finger pricks. Results Multilevel models demonstrated that greater weekday/weekend sleep variability and worse sleep quality were associated with higher CRP; shorter weekend duration was associated with higher CRP only at younger ages. Shorter weekday duration was associated with higher CRP only among high-SES youth, whereas greater nightly variability was associated with higher CRP only among European American youth. Conclusions Aspects of poor sleep may contribute to the rise of CRP during adolescents\u27 transition to young adulthood, especially in earlier years. In addition, some sleep-CRP associations may vary as a function of youth\u27s SES and ethnicity

Penultimate predecessors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Aceh, Sumatra: stratigraphic, archeological, and historical evidence

We present stratigraphic, archeological and historical evidence for two closely timed predecessors of the giant 2004 tsunami on the northern coast of Aceh, northern Sumatra. This is the first direct evidence that a tsunami played a role in a fifteenth century cultural hiatus along the northern Sumatran portion of the maritime silk route. One seacliff exposure on the eastern side of the Lambaro headlands reveals two beds of tsunamigenic coral rubble within a small alluvial fan. Radiocarbon and Uranium-Thorium disequilibrium dates indicate emplacement of the coral rubble after 1344 ± 3 C.E. Another seacliff exposure, on the western side of the peninsula, contains evidence of nearly continuous settlement from ~1240 C.E. to soon after 1366 ± 3 C.E., terminated by tsunami destruction. At both sites, the tsunamis are likely coincident with sudden uplift of coral reefs above the Sunda megathrust 1394 ± 2 C.E., evidence for which has been published previously. The tsunami (or tsunami pair) appears to have destroyed a vibrant port community and led to the temporary recentering of marine trade dominance to more protected locations farther east. The reestablishment of vibrant communities along the devastated coast by about 1500 CE set the stage for the 2004 disaster

Distinct Patterns of IFITM-Mediated Restriction of Filoviruses, SARS Coronavirus, and Influenza A Virus

Interferon-inducible transmembrane proteins 1, 2, and 3 (IFITM1, 2, and 3) are recently identified viral restriction factors that inhibit infection mediated by the influenza A virus (IAV) hemagglutinin (HA) protein. Here we show that IFITM proteins restricted infection mediated by the entry glycoproteins (GP1,2) of Marburg and Ebola filoviruses (MARV, EBOV). Consistent with these observations, interferon-β specifically restricted filovirus and IAV entry processes. IFITM proteins also inhibited replication of infectious MARV and EBOV. We observed distinct patterns of IFITM-mediated restriction: compared with IAV, the entry processes of MARV and EBOV were less restricted by IFITM3, but more restricted by IFITM1. Moreover, murine Ifitm5 and 6 did not restrict IAV, but efficiently inhibited filovirus entry. We further demonstrate that replication of infectious SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and entry mediated by the SARS-CoV spike (S) protein are restricted by IFITM proteins. The profile of IFITM-mediated restriction of SARS-CoV was more similar to that of filoviruses than to IAV. Trypsin treatment of receptor-associated SARS-CoV pseudovirions, which bypasses their dependence on lysosomal cathepsin L, also bypassed IFITM-mediated restriction. However, IFITM proteins did not reduce cellular cathepsin activity or limit access of virions to acidic intracellular compartments. Our data indicate that IFITM-mediated restriction is localized to a late stage in the endocytic pathway. They further show that IFITM proteins differentially restrict the entry of a broad range of enveloped viruses, and modulate cellular tropism independently of viral receptor expression

Estimating survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancers and brain metastases: An update of the graded prognostic assessment for gastrointestinal cancers (GI-GPA).

BackgroundPatients with gastrointestinal cancers and brain metastases (BM) represent a unique and heterogeneous population. Our group previously published the Diagnosis-Specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (DS-GPA) for patients with GI cancers (GI-GPA) (1985-2007, n = 209). The purpose of this study is to update the GI-GPA based on a larger contemporary database.MethodsAn IRB-approved consortium database analysis was performed using a multi-institutional (18), multi-national (3) cohort of 792 patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, with newly-diagnosed BM diagnosed between 1/1/2006 and 12/31/2017. Survival was measured from date of first treatment for BM. Multiple Cox regression was used to select and weight prognostic factors in proportion to their hazard ratios. These factors were incorporated into the updated GI-GPA.ResultsMedian survival (MS) varied widely by primary site and other prognostic factors. Four significant factors (KPS, age, extracranial metastases and number of BM) were used to formulate the updated GI-GPA. Overall MS for this cohort remains poor; 8 months. MS by GPA was 3, 7, 11 and 17 months for GPA 0-1, 1.5-2, 2.5-3.0 and 3.5-4.0, respectively. >30% present in the worst prognostic group (GI-GPA of ≤1.0).ConclusionsBrain metastases are not uncommon in GI cancer patients and MS varies widely among them. This updated GI-GPA index improves our ability to estimate survival for these patients and will be useful for therapy selection, end-of-life decision-making and stratification for future clinical trials. A user-friendly, free, on-line app to calculate the GPA score and estimate survival for an individual patient is available at brainmetgpa.com

Chemomechanics of ionically conductive ceramics for electrical energy conversion and storage

Functional materials for energy conversion and storage exhibit strong coupling between electrochemistry and mechanics. For example, ceramics developed as electrodes for both solid oxide fuel cells and batteries exhibit cyclic volumetric expansion upon reversible ion transport. Such chemomechanical coupling is typically far from thermodynamic equilibrium, and thus is challenging to quantify experimentally and computationally. In situ measurements and atomistic simulations are under rapid development to explore how this coupling can be used to potentially improve both device performance and durability. Here, we review the commonalities of coupling between electrochemical and mechanical states in fuel cell and battery materials, illustrating with specific cases the progress in materials processing, in situ characterization, and computational modeling and simulation. We also highlight outstanding questions and opportunities in these applications – both to better understand the limiting mechanisms within the materials and to significantly advance the durability and predictability of device performance required for renewable energy conversion and storage.United States. Dept. of Energy (Basic Energy Sciences Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, grant DE-SC0002633)United States. Dept. of Energy (Office of Science, Graduate Fellowship Program (DOE SCGF))United States. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ORISE-ORAU, contract no. DE-AC05-06OR23100))United States. Dept. of Energy. Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering (MIT/DMSE Salapatas Fellowship)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE)

Viral unmasking of cellular 5S rRNA pseudogene transcripts induces RIG-I mediated immunity

The sensor retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) detects double-stranded RNA derived from RNA viruses. Although RIG-I is also known to play a role in the antiviral response to DNA viruses, physiological RNA species recognized by RIG-I during DNA virus infection are largely unknown. Using next-generation RNA sequencing (RNAseq), we found that host-derived RNAs, most prominently 5S ribosomal RNA pseudogene 141 (RNA5SP141), bind to RIG-I during herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection. HSV-1 infection induced relocalization of RNA5SP141 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, and virus-induced shutoff of host protein synthesis downregulated RNA5SP141-interacting proteins, thereby allowing RNA5SP141 to bind RIG-I and induce type I interferon. Silencing of RNA5SP141 strongly dampened the antiviral response to HSV-1 and the related Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as well as influenza A virus (IAV). Our findings reveal that antiviral immunity can be triggered by host RNAs that are unshielded following viral depletion of their respective binding proteins