541 research outputs found
Informal talk: Shaping understandings of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in rural Australia
Introduction: Although there have been great strides in the prevention, care and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs, including HIV) in Australia, the increasing trend towards higher rates of some STIs is of concern, especially reports of higher rates of chlamydia in inner regional areas. Reasons for these changes are unclear but suggest there is an inconsistent use of prevention measures and ambivalence towards acting responsibly around sexual behaviours. Understanding an individual's response to the circumstances or contexts in which knowledge about STIs are operationalised in rural communities becomes central to recognising how individuals experience health and illness, especially for developing interventions to prevent the transmission of STIs. The aim of this research is to understand how individuals in rural communities make sense of their experiences in relation to STIs and how rurality influences discussion about STIs and health-seeking behaviours. Method: In-depth interviews with 24 participants, 18 females and 6 males, aged between 19 and 65 years provide the data for the study. Methodological principles of 'grounded theory' underpin the analysis. An eclectic approach to grounded theory was used in the current study that was derived from a number of authors. Results: The findings revealed that a number of contexts shape the actions and reactions of rural individuals towards STIs. These include 'public and private world of individuals', 'forms of talking in rural communities' and 'managing information and use of health services'. Factors that shape social life in rural communities such as the social bonds that are present, the relationships developed, and the way in which people behave influence the public and private aspects of rural life. Different forms of talk were identified that indicate that sexual issues are discussed in a number of informal ways and encompass distinct experiences of conveying information with regard to sex and STIs. Managing information and use of health services occurs when individuals assess and identify the need to access services for STIs. Conclusions: The strength of this research lies in the identification of a number of contexts such as the privat-epublic divide and types of talk where informal mechanisms encourage individuals to conform and comply with community rules and values. Using informal talk as a health promotion and or prevention strategy in rural locations can provide an alternative approach to potentially changing social norms. It would be possible to extend the idea of positive informal talk to include symbols and imagery that encourage individuals to seek treatment and provide a more positive view of 'reputation'. Engaging rural individuals in positive talk about sexual risk, access to treatment for STIs, and provision of accurate knowledge can help to build new 'social norms' that encourage new interpretations
Statistics of Earthquakes in Simple Models of Heterogeneous Faults
Simple models for ruptures along a heterogeneous earthquake fault zone are
studied, focussing on the interplay between the roles of disorder and dynamical
effects. A class of models are found to operate naturally at a critical point
whose properties yield power law scaling of earthquake statistics. Various
dynamical effects can change the behavior to a distribution of small events
combined with characteristic system size events. The studies employ various
analytic methods as well as simulations.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 3 figures (eps-files), uses eps
Hysteresis and hierarchies: dynamics of disorder-driven first-order phase transformations
We use the zero-temperature random-field Ising model to study hysteretic
behavior at first-order phase transitions. Sweeping the external field through
zero, the model exhibits hysteresis, the return-point memory effect, and
avalanche fluctuations. There is a critical value of disorder at which a jump
in the magnetization (corresponding to an infinite avalanche) first occurs. We
study the universal behavior at this critical point using mean-field theory,
and also present preliminary results of numerical simulations in three
dimensions.Comment: 12 pages plus 2 appended figures, plain TeX, CU-MSC-747
Myocardin regulates exon usage in smooth muscle cells through induction of splicing regulatory factors
Differentiation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) depends on serum response factor (SRF) and its co-activator myocardin (MYOCD). The role of MYOCD for the SMC program of gene transcription is well established. In contrast, the role of MYOCD in control of SMC-specific alternative exon usage, including exon splicing, has not been explored. In the current work we identified four splicing factors (MBNL1, RBPMS, RBPMS2, and RBFOX2) that correlate with MYOCD across human SMC tissues. Forced expression of MYOCD family members in human coronary artery SMCs in vitro upregulated expression of these splicing factors. For global profiling of transcript diversity, we performed RNA-sequencing after MYOCD transduction. We analyzed alternative transcripts with three different methods. Exon-based analysis identified 1637 features with differential exon usage. For example, usage of 3 ' exons in MYLK that encode telokin increased relative to 5 ' exons, as did the 17 kDa telokin to 130 kDa MYLK protein ratio. Dedicated event-based analysis identified 239 MYOCD-driven splicing events. Events involving MBNL1, MCAM, and ACTN1 were among the most prominent, and this was confirmed using variant-specific PCR analyses. In support of a role for RBPMS and RBFOX2 in MYOCD-driven splicing we found enrichment of their binding motifs around differentially spliced exons. Moreover, knockdown of either RBPMS or RBFOX2 antagonized splicing events stimulated by MYOCD, including those involving ACTN1, VCL, and MBNL1. Supporting an in vivo role of MYOCD-SRF-driven splicing, we demonstrate altered Rbpms expression and splicing in inducible and SMC-specific Srf knockout mice. We conclude that MYOCD-SRF, in part via RBPMS and RBFOX2, induce a program of differential exon usage and alternative splicing as part of the broader program of SMC differentiation.Peer reviewe
Universal Pulse Shape Scaling Function and Exponents: A Critical Test for Avalanche Models applied to Barkhausen Noise
In order to test if the universal aspects of Barkhausen noise in magnetic
materials can be predicted from recent variants of the non-equilibrium zero
temperature Random Field Ising Model (RFIM), we perform a quantitative study of
the universal scaling function derived from the
Barkhausen pulse shape in simulations and experiment. Through data collapses
and scaling relations we determine the critical exponents and
in both simulation and experiment. Although we find agreement
in the critical exponents, we find differences between theoretical and
experimental pulse shape scaling functions as well as between different
experiments.Comment: 19 pages (in preprint format), 5 figures, 1 tabl
Marine heatwave challenges solutions to human-wildlife conflict
Despite the increasing frequency and magnitude of extreme climate events, little is known about how their impacts flow through social and ecological systems or whether management actions can dampen deleterious effects. We examined how the record 2014-2016 Northeast Pacific marine heatwave influenced trade-offs in managing conflict between conservation goals and human activities using a case study on large whale entanglements in the U.S. west coast\u27s most lucrative fishery (the Dungeness crab fishery). We showed that this extreme climate event diminished the power of multiple management strategies to resolve trade-offs between entanglement risk and fishery revenue, transforming near win-win to clear win-lose outcomes (for whales and fishers, respectively). While some actions were more cost-effective than others, there was no silver-bullet strategy to reduce the severity of these trade-offs. Our study highlights how extreme climate events can exacerbate human-wildlife conflict, and emphasizes the need for innovative management and policy interventions that provide ecologically and socially sustainable solutions in an era of rapid environmental change
Disorder-Induced Critical Phenomena in Hysteresis: Numerical Scaling in Three and Higher Dimensions
We present numerical simulations of avalanches and critical phenomena
associated with hysteresis loops, modeled using the zero-temperature
random-field Ising model. We study the transition between smooth hysteresis
loops and loops with a sharp jump in the magnetization, as the disorder in our
model is decreased. In a large region near the critical point, we find scaling
and critical phenomena, which are well described by the results of an epsilon
expansion about six dimensions. We present the results of simulations in 3, 4,
and 5 dimensions, with systems with up to a billion spins (1000^3).Comment: Condensed and updated version of cond-mat/9609072,``Disorder-Induced
Critical Phenomena in Hysteresis: A Numerical Scaling Analysis'
Gutenberg Richter and Characteristic Earthquake Behavior in Simple Mean-Field Models of Heterogeneous Faults
The statistics of earthquakes in a heterogeneous fault zone is studied
analytically and numerically in the mean field version of a model for a
segmented fault system in a three-dimensional elastic solid. The studies focus
on the interplay between the roles of disorder, dynamical effects, and driving
mechanisms. A two-parameter phase diagram is found, spanned by the amplitude of
dynamical weakening (or ``overshoot'') effects (epsilon) and the normal
distance (L) of the driving forces from the fault. In general, small epsilon
and small L are found to produce Gutenberg-Richter type power law statistics
with an exponential cutoff, while large epsilon and large L lead to a
distribution of small events combined with characteristic system-size events.
In a certain parameter regime the behavior is bistable, with transitions back
and forth from one phase to the other on time scales determined by the fault
size and other model parameters. The implications for realistic earthquake
statistics are discussed.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex, 6 figures (ps, eps
Ampullary cancers harbor ELF3 tumor suppressor gene mutations and exhibit frequent WNT dysregulation
The ampulla of Vater is a complex cellular environment from which adenocarcinomas arise to form a group of histopathologically heterogenous tumors. To evaluate the molecular features of these tumors, 98 ampullary adenocarcinomas were evaluated and compared to 44 distal bile duct and 18 duodenal adenocarcinomas. Genomic analyses revealed mutations in the WNT signaling pathway among half of the patients and in all three adenocarcinomas irrespective of their origin and histological morphology. These tumors were characterized by a high frequency of inactivating mutations of ELF3, a high rate of microsatellite instability, and common focal deletions and amplifications, suggesting common attributes in the molecular pathogenesis are at play in these tumors. The high frequency of WNT pathway activating mutation, coupled with small-molecule inhibitors of β-catenin in clinical trials, suggests future treatment decisions for these patients may be guided by genomic analysis
Hysteresis, Avalanches, and Disorder Induced Critical Scaling: A Renormalization Group Approach
We study the zero temperature random field Ising model as a model for noise
and avalanches in hysteretic systems. Tuning the amount of disorder in the
system, we find an ordinary critical point with avalanches on all length
scales. Using a mapping to the pure Ising model, we Borel sum the
expansion to for the correlation length exponent. We sketch a
new method for directly calculating avalanche exponents, which we perform to
. Numerical exponents in 3, 4, and 5 dimensions are in good
agreement with the analytical predictions.Comment: 134 pages in REVTEX, plus 21 figures. The first two figures can be
obtained from the references quoted in their respective figure captions, the
remaining 19 figures are supplied separately in uuencoded forma
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