The Coastline Evolution Model 2D (CEM2D) V1.1

Coasts are among the most intensely used environments on the planet, but they also present dynamic and unique hazards, including flooding and erosion. Sea level rise and changing wave climates will alter patterns of erosion and deposition, but some existing coastline evolution models are unable to simulate these effects due to their one-dimensional representation of the systems or the sediment transport processes. In this paper, the development and application of the Coastline Evolution Model 2D (CEM2D) are presented, a model which incorporates these influences. The model has been developed from the established CEM and is capable of simulating fundamental cause–effect relationships in coastal systems. The two-dimensional storage and transport of sediment in CEM2D, which are only done in one-dimension in CEM, mean it is also capable of exploring the influence of a variable water level on sediment transport and the formation and evolution of morphological features and landforms at the mesoscale. The model sits between one-dimensional and three-dimensional models, with the advantage of increased complexity and detail in model outputs compared to the former but with more efficiency and less computational expense than the latter

Determinants of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Incidence of Diabetes in Postmenopausal Women in the U.S.: The Women’s Health Initiative 1993–2009

OBJECTIVE To examine determinants of racial/ethnic differences in diabetes incidence among postmenopausal women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data on race/ethnicity, baseline diabetes prevalence, and incident diabetes were obtained from 158,833 women recruited from 1993–1998 and followed through August 2009. The relationship between race/ethnicity, other potential risk factors, and the risk of incident diabetes was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models from which hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were computed. RESULTS Participants were aged 63 years on average at baseline. The racial/ethnic distribution was 84.1% non-Hispanic white, 9.2% non-Hispanic black, 4.1% Hispanic, and 2.6% Asian. After an average of 10.4 years of follow-up, compared with whites and adjusting for potential confounders, the HRs for incident diabetes were 1.55 for blacks (95% CI 1.47–1.63), 1.67 for Hispanics (1.54–1.81), and 1.86 for Asians (1.68–2.06). Whites, blacks, and Hispanics with all factors (i.e., weight, physical activity, dietary quality, and smoking) in the low-risk category had 60, 69, and 63% lower risk for incident diabetes. Although contributions of different risk factors varied slightly by race/ethnicity, most findings were similar across groups, and women who had both a healthy weight and were in the highest tertile of physical activity had less than one-third the risk of diabetes compared with obese and inactive women. CONCLUSIONS Despite large racial/ethnic differences in diabetes incidence, most variability could be attributed to lifestyle factors. Our findings show that the majority of diabetes cases are preventable, and risk reduction strategies can be effectively applied to all racial/ethnic groups

Determinants of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Incidence of Diabetes in Postmenopausal Women in the U.S.: The Women\u27s Health Initiative 1993-2009

OBJECTIVE: To examine determinants of racial/ethnic differences in diabetes incidence among postmenopausal women participating in the Women\u27s Health Initiative. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data on race/ethnicity, baseline diabetes prevalence, and incident diabetes were obtained from 158,833 women recruited from 1993-1998 and followed through August 2009. The relationship between race/ethnicity, other potential risk factors, and the risk of incident diabetes was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models from which hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were computed. RESULTS: Participants were aged 63 years on average at baseline. The racial/ethnic distribution was 84.1% non-Hispanic white, 9.2% non-Hispanic black, 4.1% Hispanic, and 2.6% Asian. After an average of 10.4 years of follow-up, compared with whites and adjusting for potential confounders, the HRs for incident diabetes were 1.55 for blacks (95% CI 1.47-1.63), 1.67 for Hispanics (1.54-1.81), and 1.86 for Asians (1.68-2.06). Whites, blacks, and Hispanics with all factors (i.e., weight, physical activity, dietary quality, and smoking) in the low-risk category had 60, 69, and 63% lower risk for incident diabetes. Although contributions of different risk factors varied slightly by race/ethnicity, most findings were similar across groups, and women who had both a healthy weight and were in the highest tertile of physical activity had less than one-third the risk of diabetes compared with obese and inactive women. CONCLUSIONS: Despite large racial/ethnic differences in diabetes incidence, most variability could be attributed to lifestyle factors. Our findings show that the majority of diabetes cases are preventable, and risk reduction strategies can be effectively applied to all racial/ethnic groups

The Women's Health Initiative: The Food Environment, Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status, BMI, and Blood Pressure

Using data (n=60,775 women) from the Women’s Health Initiative Clinical Trial (WHI CT)— a national study of postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years — we analyzed cross-sectional associations between the availability of different types of food outlets in the 1.5 miles surrounding a woman’s residence, census tract neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES), body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP)

Social isolation and incident heart failure hospitalization in older women: Women\u27s health initiative study findings

Background The association of social isolation or lack of social network ties in older adults is unknown. This knowledge gap is important since the risk of heart failure (HF) and social isolation increase with age. The study examines whether social isolation is associated with incident HF in older women, and examines depressive symptoms as a potential mediator and age and race and ethnicity as effect modifiers. Methods and Results This study included 44 174 postmenopausal women of diverse race and ethnicity from the WHI (Women\u27s Health Initiative) study who underwent annual assessment for HF adjudication from baseline enrollment (1993-1998) through 2018. We conducted a mediation analysis to examine depressive symptoms as a potential mediator and further examined effect modification by age and race and ethnicity. Incident HF requiring hospitalization was the main outcome. Social isolation was a composite variable based on marital/partner status, religious ties, and community ties. Depressive symptoms were assessed using CES-D (Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression). Over a median follow-up of 15.0 years, we analyzed data from 36 457 women, and 2364 (6.5%) incident HF cases occurred; 2510 (6.9%) participants were socially isolated. In multivariable analyses adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical, and general health/functioning; socially isolated women had a higher risk of incident HF than nonisolated women (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.08-1.41). Adding depressive symptoms in the model did not change this association (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07-1.40). Neither race and ethnicity nor age moderated the association between social isolation and incident HF. Conclusions Socially isolated older women are at increased risk for developing HF, independent of traditional HF risk factors. Registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT00000611

Phenotypic and functional characterization of macrophages with therapeutic potential generated from human cirrhotic monocytes in a cohort study

AbstractBackground aimsMacrophages have complex roles in the liver. The aim of this study was to compare profiles of human monocyte-derived macrophages between controls and cirrhotic patients, to determine whether chronic inflammation affects precursor number or the phenotype, with the eventual aim to develop a cell therapy for cirrhosis.MethodsInfusion of human macrophages in a murine liver fibrosis model demonstrated a decrease in markers of liver injury (alanine transaminase, bilirubin, aspartate transaminase) and fibrosis (transforming growth factor-β, α-smooth muscle actin, phosphatidylserine receptor) and an increase in markers of liver regeneration (matrix metalloproteinases [MMP]-9, MMP-12 and TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis). CD14+ monocytes were then isolated from controls. Monocytes were matured into macrophages for 7 days using a Good Manufacturing Practice–compatible technique.ResultsThere was no significant difference between the mean number of CD14+ monocytes isolated from cirrhotic patients (n = 9) and controls (n = 10); 2.8 ± SEM 0.54 × 108 and 2.5 ± 0.56 × 108, respectively. The mean yield of mature macrophages cultured was also not significantly different between cirrhotic patients and controls (0.9 × 108 ± 0.38 × 108, with more than 90% viability and 0.65 × 108 ± 0.16 × 108, respectively. Maturation to macrophages resulted in up-regulation of a number of genes (MMP-9, CCL2, interleukin [IL]-10 and TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis). A cytokine and chemokine polymerase chain reaction array, comparing the control and cirrhotic macrophages, revealed no statistically significant differences.ConclusionsMacrophages can be differentiated from cirrhotic patients' apheresis-derived CD14 monocytes and develop the same pro-resolution phenotype as control macrophages, indicating their suitability for clinical therapy

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Managing estuaries under a changing climate: A case study of the Humber Estuary, UK

Estuaries are globally important zones for urban, recreational and commercial activities as well as supporting a range of habitats and species of significant ecological importance. The role of estuaries is recognised by the legislative framework that has been developed to protect and manage these areas as well as those species and resources in adjoining habitats. However, estuaries worldwide are subject to a number of major threats, including increasing industrialisation and urbanisation, increasing resource scarcity notably for space and energy, and the impacts of climate change, sea-level rise and related increases in vulnerability and decreases in resilience. In addition to local pressures, climate change is now increasingly recognised as having a range of severe impacts on estuarine ecosystem functions and services, but current legislation and associated management may not necessarily be wholly appropriate to deal with these longer-term changes. Here we consider how the current legislation and management addresses the potential impacts of climate change on a large estuarine system. Alongside a set of recommendations, we emphasise that the implementation of governance instruments needs to be underpinned by continued monitoring, improved modelling and enhanced predictive capabilities and integration and collaboration across management levels

Development and Application of an eDNA Method to Detect the Critically Endangered Trinidad Golden Tree Frog (Phytotriades auratus) in Bromeliad Phytotelmata.

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor rare and elusive species has great potential for conservation biology. Traditional surveying methods can be time-consuming, labour-intensive, subject to error or can be invasive and potentially damaging to habitat. The Trinidad golden treefrog (Phytotriades auratus) is one such species that would benefit from such an approach. This species inhabits the giant bromeliad (Glomeropitcairnia erectiflora) on two peaks on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Traditional survey methods for this species have required the destruction of the giant bromeliad, which is the only known habitat of this frog. Here we described the development of an eDNA PCR-based assay that uses water drawn from the water-filled phytotelmata of the giant bromeliad along with the use of a synthetic DNA positive control that can be easily amplified in the bacterium Escherichia coli. The assay can detect to a DNA concentration of 1.4ng. Sampling of 142 bromeliads using this method revealed 9% were positive for P. auratus DNA. These data suggest that eDNA methods also have great potential for revealing the presence of elusive species in arboreal habitats