Providing an Adaptive Research Data Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Investigators

Data in its many forms is a critical component of effective and productive research. As technology continues to evolve, and the volume and variety of sources of data continue to grow, accessing and leveraging all of this information is an ever increasing challenge. Concurrently, technology and information science is also driving novel ways to analyze, visualize, process and store this increasing amount of data. The ability to take advantage of these growth areas in order to aid the research efforts of the university is a critical need. The challenge to bring all of these various components into a unified resource for the university is a prodigious and multidimensional one. A subsection of the target data streams and sources include primary source clinical data, secondary source research data, clinical trials research data, financial data, genomic data to name a few. These sources reside in multiple SQL databases, HL7 message streams, hospital tracking systems, billing systems, surveys and others. To aid in overcoming this challenge, there is an ambitious effort underway to create a platform that will facilitate the aforementioned goals. The IT department, through the efforts of its Research Computing Services division will be embarking on this leading-edge, collaborative, and much needed data repository. The proposed design of the repository will take the form of a data aggregation layer capable of handling many disparate data feeds and sources, storing data in ways that support multiple access and analysis methods, all while providing researchers with increased tools and visibility.If our ability to manage and learn from this rapid increase of information and technologies grows, then so will our research opportunities. The effect will bring new innovations to the research community here at the university and by extension the community at large

Fibroblast growth factors 1 and 2 in cerebrospinal fluid are associated with HIV disease, methamphetamine use, and neurocognitive functioning.

BackgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and methamphetamine use commonly affect neurocognitive (NC) functioning. We evaluated the relationships between NC functioning and two fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) in volunteers who differed in HIV serostatus and methamphetamine dependence (MAD).MethodsA total of 100 volunteers were categorized into four groups based on HIV serostatus and MAD in the prior year. FGF-1 and FGF-2 were measured in cerebrospinal fluid by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays along with two reference biomarkers (monocyte chemotactic protein [MCP]-1 and neopterin). Comprehensive NC testing was summarized by global and domain impairment ratings.ResultsSixty-three volunteers were HIV+ and 59 had a history of MAD. FGF-1, FGF-2, and both reference biomarkers differed by HIV and MAD status. For example, FGF-1 levels were lower in subjects who had either HIV or MAD than in HIV- and MAD- controls (P=0.003). Multivariable regression identified that global NC impairment was associated with an interaction between FGF-1 and FGF-2 (model R(2)=0.09, P=0.01): higher FGF-2 levels were only associated with neurocognitive impairment among subjects who had lower FGF-1 levels. Including other covariates in the model (including antidepressant use) strengthened the model (model R(2)=0.18, P=0.004) but did not weaken the association with FGF-1 and FGF-2. Lower FGF-1 levels were associated with impairment in five of seven cognitive domains, more than FGF-2, MCP-1, or neopterin.ConclusionThese findings provide in vivo support that HIV and MAD alter expression of FGFs, which may contribute to the NC abnormalities associated with these conditions. These cross-sectional findings cannot establish causality and the therapeutic benefits of recombinant FGF-1 need to be investigated

Dewatering Well Assessment for the Highway Drainage System at Four Sites in the East St. Louis Area, Illinois (Phase 5)

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Dewatering Well Assessment for the Highway Drainage System at Four Sites in the East St. Louis Area, Illinois: (FY 89--phase 6)

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Adipose Acyl-CoA Synthetase-1 Directs Fatty Acids toward β-Oxidation and Is Required for Cold Thermogenesis

Acyl-CoA synthetase-1 (ACSL) contributes 80% of total ACSL activity in adipose tissue and was believed to be essential for the synthesis of triacylglycerol. We predicted that an adipose-specific knockout of ACSL1 (Acsl1A−/−) would be lipodystrophic, but, compared to controls, Acsl1A−/− mice had 30% greater fat mass when fed a low fat diet, and gained weight normally when fed a high fat diet. Acsl1A−/− adipocytes incorporated [14C]oleate into glycerolipids normally, but fatty acid oxidation rates were 50–90% lower than in control adipocytes and mitochondria. Acsl1A−/− mice were markedly cold intolerant, and β3-adrenergic agonists did not increase oxygen consumption, despite normal adrenergic signaling in brown adipose tissue. The reduced adipose FA oxidation and marked cold intolerance of Acsl1A−/− mice indicate that normal activation of FA for oxidation in adipose tissue in vivo requires ACSL1. Thus, ACSL1 has a specific function in directing the metabolic partitioning of fatty acids towards β-oxidation

Baryon Density Correlations in High Temperature Hadronic Matter

As part of an ongoing effort to characterize the high temperature phase of QCD, in a numerical simulation using the staggered fermion scheme, we measure the quark baryon density in the vicinity of a fixed test quark at high temperature and compare it with similar measurements at low temperature and at the crossover temperature. We find an extremely weak correlation at high temperature, suggesting that small color singlet clusters are unimportant in the thermal ensemble. We also find that at $T = 0.75\ T_c$ the total induced quark number shows a surprisingly large component attributable to baryonic screening. A companion simulation of a simple flux tube model produces similar results and also suggests a plausible phenomenological scenario: As the crossover temperature is approached from below, baryonic states proliferate. Above the crossover temperature the mean size of color singlet clusters grows explosively, resulting in an effective electrostatic deconfinement.Comment: 26 pp, RevTeX, 12 postscript figures, combined in a single shell archive file. (Also available in 13 postscript files by anonymous ftp from einstein.physics.utah.edu, /pub/milc/paper.sh.Z.

Florida Atlantic Coast Telemetry (FACT) Array: A Working Partnership

The Florida Atlantic Coast Telemetry (FACT) Array is a collaborative partnership of researchers from 24 different organizations using passive acoustic telemetry to document site fidelity, habitat preferences, seasonal migration patterns, and reproductive strategies of valuable sportfish, sharks, and marine turtles. FACT partners have found that by bundling resources, they can leverage a smaller investment to track highly mobile animals beyond a study area typically restrained in scale by funds and manpower. FACT is guided by several simple rules: use of the same type of equipment, locate receivers in areas that are beneficial to all researchers when feasible, maintain strong scientific ethics by recognizing that detection data on any receiver belongs to the tag owner, do not use other members detection data without permission and acknowledge FACT in publications. Partners have access to a network of 480 receivers deployed along a continuum of habitats from freshwater rivers to offshore reefs and covers 1100 km of coastline from the Dry Tortugas, Florida to South Carolina and extends to the Bahamas. Presently, 49 species, (25 covered by Fisheries Management Plans and five covered by the Endangered Species Act) have been tagged with 2736 tags in which 1767 tags are still active

Revealing components of the galaxy population through nonparametric techniques

The distributions of galaxy properties vary with environment, and are often multimodal, suggesting that the galaxy population may be a combination of multiple components. The behaviour of these components versus environment holds details about the processes of galaxy development. To release this information we apply a novel, nonparametric statistical technique, identifying four components present in the distribution of galaxy H$\alpha$ emission-line equivalent-widths. We interpret these components as passive, star-forming, and two varieties of active galactic nuclei. Independent of this interpretation, the properties of each component are remarkably constant as a function of environment. Only their relative proportions display substantial variation. The galaxy population thus appears to comprise distinct components which are individually independent of environment, with galaxies rapidly transitioning between components as they move into denser environments.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Insights into toxic prymnesium parvum blooms:The role of sugars and algal viruses

Prymnesium parvum is a toxin-producing microalga that causes harmful algal blooms globally, which often result in large-scale fish kills that have severe ecological and economic implications. Although many toxins have previously been isolated from P. parvum, ambiguity still surrounds the responsible ichthyotoxins in P. parvum blooms and the biotic and abiotic factors that promote bloom toxicity. A major fish kill attributed to P. parvum occurred in Spring 2015 on the Norfolk Broads, a low-lying set of channels and lakes (Broads) found on the East of England. Here, we discuss how water samples taken during this bloom have led to diverse scientific advances ranging from toxin analysis to discovery of a new lytic virus of P. parvum, P. parvum DNA virus (PpDNAV-BW1). Taking recent literature into account, we propose key roles for sialic acids in this type of viral infection. Finally, we discuss recent practical detection and management strategies for controlling these devastating blooms