521 research outputs found

    Gender, Race, and Perception of Environmental Health Risks

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    25 pagesThis paper reports the results of a national survey in which perceptions of environmental health risks were measured for 1275 white and 214 nonwhite persons. The results showed that white women perceived risks to be much higher than did white men, a result that is consistent with previous studies. However, this gender difference was not true of nonwhite women and men, whose perceptions of risk were quite similar. Most striking was the finding that white males tended to differ from everyone else in their attitudes and perceptions--on average, they perceived risks as much smaller and much more acceptable than did other people. These results suggest that socio-political factors such as power, status, alienation, and trust are strong determiners of people's perception and acceptance of risks

    Somatostatin-expressing parafacial neurons are CO2/H+ sensitive and regulate baseline breathing.

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    Glutamatergic neurons in the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) function as respiratory chemoreceptors by regulating breathing in response to tissue CO2/H+. The RTN and greater parafacial region may also function as a chemosensing network composed of CO2/H+-sensitive excitatory and inhibitory synaptic interactions. In the context of disease, we showed that loss of inhibitory neural activity in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome disinhibited RTN chemoreceptors and destabilized breathing (Kuo et al., 2019). Despite this, contributions of parafacial inhibitory neurons to control of breathing are unknown, and synaptic properties of RTN neurons have not been characterized. Here, we show the parafacial region contains a limited diversity of inhibitory neurons including somatostatin (Sst)-, parvalbumin (Pvalb)-, and cholecystokinin (Cck)-expressing neurons. Of these, Sst-expressing interneurons appear uniquely inhibited by CO2/H+. We also show RTN chemoreceptors receive inhibitory input that is withdrawn in a CO2/H+-dependent manner, and chemogenetic suppression of Sst+ parafacial neurons, but not Pvalb+ or Cck+ neurons, increases baseline breathing. These results suggest Sst-expressing parafacial neurons contribute to RTN chemoreception and respiratory activity

    Silica-Supported Oligomeric Benzyl Phosphate (Si-OBP) and Triazole Phosphate (Si-OTP) Alkylating Reagents

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    The syntheses of silica-supported oligomeric benzyl phosphates (Si-OBPn) and triazole phosphates (Si-OTPn) using ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) for use as efficient alkylating reagents is reported. Ease of synthesis and grafting onto the surface of norbornenyl-tagged (Nb-tagged) silica particles has been demonstrated for benzyl phosphate and triazole phosphate monomers. It is shown that these silica polymer hybrid reagents, Si-OBPn and Si-OTPn, can be used to carry out alkylation reactions with an array of different nucleophiles to afford the corresponding benzylated and (triazolyl)methylated products in good yield and high purity

    Osteoprotegerin and Myocardial Fibrosis in Patients with Aortic Stenosis

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    Left ventricular myocardial fibrosis in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) confers worse prognosis. Plasma osteoprotegerin (OPG), a cytokine from the TNF receptor family, correlates with the degree of valve calcification in AS, reflecting the activity of the tissue RANKL/RANK/OPG (receptor activator of nuclear factor κΒ ligand/RANK/osteoprotegerin) axis, and is associated with poorer outcomes in AS. Its association with myocardial fibrosis is unknown. We hypothesised that OPG levels would reflect the extent of myocardial fibrosis in AS. We included 110 consecutive patients with AS who had undergone late-gadolinium contrast enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR). Patients were characterised according to pattern of fibrosis (no fibrosis, midwall fibrosis, or chronic myocardial infarction fibrosis). Serum OPG was measured with ELISA and compared between groups defined by valve stenosis severity. Some 36 patients had no fibrosis, 38 had midwall fibrosis, and 36 had chronic infarction. Patients with midwall fibrosis did not have higher levels of OPG compared to those without fibrosis (6.78 vs. 5.25 pmol/L, p = 0.12). There was no difference between those with midwall or chronic myocardial infarction fibrosis (6.78 vs. 6.97 pmol/L, p = 0.27). However, OPG levels in patients with chronic myocardial infarction fibrosis were significantly higher than those without fibrosis (p = 0.005)

    Using Football Cultures as a Vehicle to Improve Mental Health in Men: The Case of the Redcar and Cleveland Boot Room

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    This paper sets out to appraise (from the perspective of members) the impact of a localized, football-based mental health intervention. Commissioned in late 2015, the ‘Redcar and Cleveland Boot Room (BR)’ was implemented in response to mass redundancy in the local area, coupled with regional suicide rates in men that exceed the national average. Interactive discussions with BR members revealed that: (a) the language of football and shared identity were important for initiating and sustaining engagement in the BR; (b) peer-support and mentoring combined with member-led activities were active ingredients of the BR and (c) that the BR was an effective vehicle for building mental health resilience. This evaluation adds to the evidence base on the value of football as a context to engage adult males in community-based interventions targeting mental health resilience

    A pilot survey for transients and variables with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

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    We present a pilot search for variable and transient sources at 1.4 GHz with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). The search was performed in a 30 deg2 area centred on the NGC 7232 galaxy group over eight epochs and observed with a near-daily cadence. The search yielded nine potential variable sources, rejecting the null hypothesis that the flux densities of these sources do not change with 99.9 per cent confidence. These nine sources displayed flux density variations with modulation indices m = 0.1 above our flux density limit of ~1.5mJy. They are identified to be compact active galactic nucleus (AGN)/quasars or galaxies hosting an AGN, whose variability is consistent with refractive interstellar scintillation.We also detect a highly variable source with modulation index m > 0.5 over a time interval of a decade between the SydneyUniversity Molonglo Sky Survey (SUMSS) and our latest ASKAP observations. We find the source to be consistent with the properties of long-term variability of a quasar. No transients were detected on time-scales of days and we place an upper limit ?t < 0.01 deg-2 with 95 per cent confidence for non-detections on near-daily time-scales. The future VAST-Wide survey with 36-ASKAP dishes will probe the transient phase space with similar cadence to our pilot survey, but better sensitivity, and will detect and monitor rarer brighter events

    Adiposity and cardiovascular outcomes in three-year-old children of participants in UPBEAT, an RCT of a complex intervention in pregnant women with obesity

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    Background: Maternal obesity is associated with offspring cardiometabolic risk. UPBEAT was a randomised controlled trial of an antenatal diet and physical activity intervention in 1555 women with obesity. The intervention was associated with lower gestational weight gain, healthier diet and metabolic profile in pregnancy, and reduced infant adiposity at six months. Objective: We have investigated whether the UPBEAT intervention influenced childhood cardiometabolic outcomes or was associated with sustained improvements in maternal lifestyle 3-years after delivery. Methods: In UPBEAT mother-child dyads at the 3-year follow-up, we assessed childhood blood pressure, resting pulse rate, and adiposity (body mass index, skinfold thicknesses, body fat, waist and arm circumferences) and maternal diet, physical activity, and anthropometry. Results: 514 three-year-old children attended the appointment (49% intervention, 51% standard care). There was no difference in the main outcome of interest, subscapular skinfold thickness, between the trial arms (−0.30 mm, 95% confidence interval: −0.92, 0.31). However, the intervention was associated with a lower resting pulse rate (−5 bpm [−8.41, −1.07]). There was also a non-significant lower odds of overweight/obesity (OR 0.73; 0.50, 1.08). Maternal dietary improvements observed in the UPBEAT trial, including glycaemic load and saturated fat were maintained 3-years postpartum. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that an antenatal dietary and physical activity intervention in women with obesity is associated with lower offspring pulse rate and sustained improvement in maternal diet. Whilst larger than previous cohorts, there remains potential for bias from attrition and these findings require validation in future cohorts
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