Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Brain Structure in Adulthood

Socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood has been associated with difficulties in physical and mental health later in life. A potential pathway underlying this association is through variations in brain development. While associations between concurrent socioeconomic disadvantage and brain structural development have been established, it is unclear if there are prospective associations between childhood disadvantage and brain structure later in life (adulthood). The following studies address these gaps in the knowledge by examining the prospective association between childhood socioeconomic status and brain structure in adulthood. Study One examines the association between average family income across childhood and brain structural morphometry in adulthood. This study found a positive association, primarily for surface area, in the rostral and caudal middle frontal gyri. Study Two examine childhood socioeconomic (age 9) and white matter organization in adulthood and found positive associations in the uncinate fasciculus and cingulum bundle. These studies suggest the prospective association between childhood disadvantage and adult brain structure is long-lasting and highlight the importance of eliminating poverty in childhood

Understanding An Interprofessional Team Through The Lens Of The Intentional Relationship Model (IRM)

Research poster describing the following process: The Intentional Relationship Model (IRM) is designed to explain the therapist\u27s roles and demands in both establishing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with a patient. While based in occupational therapy, this model has wide implications on being applied in many contexts, including an interdisciplinary team. While based in occupational therapy, this model has wide implications for the application to health care interdisciplinary teams. The objective for our team was to analyze our own interactions with Alex and identify how our ability to use different modes of the IRM and mode-shift made an impact on our care both individually and as a collective.https://dune.une.edu/cecespring2020/1015/thumbnail.jp

Locating and eliminating feral swine from a large area of fragmented mixed forest and agriculture habitats in north-central USA

Illinois is one of the US states where elimination of feral swine (Sus scrofa) was determined practical, as only a few isolated populations were established. A particularly important step towards feral swine elimination from Illinois was to eliminate the population in Fulton County. We describe the approaches applied to systematically detect, locate, and eliminate feral swine in a successful county-wide elimination. Detecting and locating feral swine was facilitated by extensive outreach activities, aerial surveys to locate crop damage, and use of camera traps placed over bait in areas where reports, sign, or crop damage occurred. The population was eliminated after 376 feral swine were removed from 2009 to 2016 by trapping, sharpshooting over bait, and aerial shooting. Aerial surveys efficiently located feral swine activity over wide areas during times of the crop cycle when damage would occur and would be most distinguishable from other damage sources. Two applications of aerial shooting in 2014 were particularly efficient for rapidly eliminating most remaining feral swine after they had become difficult to locate and remove. Persistent efforts thereafter led to the successful elimination of feral swine in Fulton County by 2016.We believe this is the first documentation of a widespread feral swine elimination in mixed agriculture and forest habitats

The Human-Bacterial Pathogen Protein Interaction Networks of Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, and Yersinia pestis

Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, and Yersinia pestis are bacterial pathogens that can cause anthrax, lethal acute pneumonic disease, and bubonic plague, respectively, and are listed as NIAID Category A priority pathogens for possible use as biological weapons. However, the interactions between human proteins and proteins in these bacteria remain poorly characterized leading to an incomplete understanding of their pathogenesis and mechanisms of immune evasion.In this study, we used a high-throughput yeast two-hybrid assay to identify physical interactions between human proteins and proteins from each of these three pathogens. From more than 250,000 screens performed, we identified 3,073 human-B. anthracis, 1,383 human-F. tularensis, and 4,059 human-Y. pestis protein-protein interactions including interactions involving 304 B. anthracis, 52 F. tularensis, and 330 Y. pestis proteins that are uncharacterized. Computational analysis revealed that pathogen proteins preferentially interact with human proteins that are hubs and bottlenecks in the human PPI network. In addition, we computed modules of human-pathogen PPIs that are conserved amongst the three networks. Functionally, such conserved modules reveal commonalities between how the different pathogens interact with crucial host pathways involved in inflammation and immunity.These data constitute the first extensive protein interaction networks constructed for bacterial pathogens and their human hosts. This study provides novel insights into host-pathogen interactions

Trait coping styles and the maternal neural and behavioral sensitivity to an infant

During the postpartum period, new mothers experience drastic changes in their body, brain, and life circumstances. Stress from the emotional and physical demands of caring for an infant is associated with negative mood and parenting outcomes. The use of active coping strategies can increase mothers&rsquo; resilience during the postpartum period. However, little is known about the association between coping styles and maternal brain responses to infant cues. In the current study, we examined the associations among trait coping style, maternal brain responses, and behavioral sensitivity in a socioeconomically diverse sample of first-time mothers (N&thinsp;=&thinsp;59). The use of more active trait coping strategies compared to passive coping strategies was associated with increased brain responses to infant cry sounds in brain regions that are critically involved in motivation and emotion regulation&mdash;substantia nigra, anterior cingulate gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. Increased brain activations in the midbrain and anterior cingulate gyrus were further associated with higher levels of maternal sensitivity observed during interactions with the infant. Thus, the findings provide support for mothers&rsquo; use of more active coping styles to promote neural and behavioral resilience for a positive transition to parenthood. &nbsp;</p