Comparative analysis of Drosophila athabasca cuticular hydrocarbons for generation of synthetic material to study evolutionary implications

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) have been studied extensively and their roles explored for various species of insects. However, only a single reported study has focused on the role of CHCs in Drosophila athabasca, a species of fruit fly native to North America. The work herein describes advances in identification, synthesis and quantification of biologically relevant CHCs present in this species. Identifying CHC profile differences among D. athabasca sub-races (Eastern A, Eastern B and WestNorthern) was performed using multiple analytical techniques. Synthesis of proposed structures confirmed their identity. External standard curves were used to quantify CHCs. GC-MS analysis of CHCs from several isofemale lines of D. Athabasca reveals multiple monoenes, dienes, and branched alkanes. Positions of unsaturation within CHCs were determined using dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) derivatization and branching locations were determined via bromination and subsequent elimination. Synthesis of mono- and di- unsaturated CHCs was accomplished through alkyl substitution, followed by cis-selective reduction. Branched alkanes were generated in a similar fashion or through coupled Grignard-elimination-reduction schemes. External standard curves, generated from synthesized compounds, can be used to produce synthetic profiles for continued exploration of CHC role within the D. athabasca system

Extending an Effective Classroom-Based Math Board Game Intervention to Preschoolers’ Homes

The preschool years are a critical time for math development. Unfortunately, children from low-income backgrounds often enter kindergarten with lower math skills than middle-income peers, perhaps due to less math exposure at home. Few home-based math interventions are available for preschool age children; those that do exist are costly and difficult to implement. Interventions conducted in children’s schools using linear numeric board games developed by researchers have been particularly successful with low-income preschool children. Researchers have suggested they may be adapted for home-use by using commercially available board games, such as Chutes and Ladders, and teaching parents how to play. The two studies described in this paper explored the effectiveness of using Chutes and Ladders with a specialized counting procedure with Head Start families. Implementation proved to be challenging and children did not improve as much as in previous classroom-based interventions

Isolation, Characterization, and Synthesis of Cuticular Hydrocarbon Natural Products from Drosophila athabasca, A Species of Evolutionary Interest

Drosophila athabasca, a species complex native to North America, provides a unique opportunity to study nascent speciation arising from sexual isolation. Some have suggested that cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) influence the sexual selection process. Extensive analyses have resulted in complex understandings of CHC involvement in insect mate preference, with minimal work focusing on D. athabasca. The goal of this study is to identify, synthesize and measure biologically relevant quantities of CHCs present in this species complex. Gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) from several isofemale lines of D. athabasca allows for characterization of contributing compounds including saturated, unsaturated, and branched alkanes, fatty acids, acetates, and esters. Identification of these compounds using characteristic fragmentation patterns allowed for confirmation by synthetic standards. To date, over 100 CHCs have been characterized in D. athabasca using these analytical and organic methods. An overview of the analysis techniques and future direction will be presented.https://digitalworks.union.edu/steinmetz_posters/1009/thumbnail.jp

Lawmakers\u27 Use of Scientific Evidence Can Be Improved

Core to the goal of scientific exploration is the opportunity to guide future decision-making. Yet, elected officials often miss opportunities to use science in their policymaking. This work reports on an experiment with the US Congress-evaluating the effects of a randomized, dual-population (i.e., researchers and congressional offices) outreach model for supporting legislative use of research evidence regarding child and family policy issues. In this experiment, we found that congressional offices randomized to the intervention reported greater value of research for understanding issues than the control group following implementation. More research use was also observed in legislation introduced by the intervention group. Further, we found that researchers randomized to the intervention advanced their own policy knowledge and engagement as well as reported benefits for their research following implementation

Lawmakers' use of scientific evidence can be improved.

Core to the goal of scientific exploration is the opportunity to guide future decision-making. Yet, elected officials often miss opportunities to use science in their policymaking. This work reports on an experiment with the US Congress-evaluating the effects of a randomized, dual-population (i.e., researchers and congressional offices) outreach model for supporting legislative use of research evidence regarding child and family policy issues. In this experiment, we found that congressional offices randomized to the intervention reported greater value of research for understanding issues than the control group following implementation. More research use was also observed in legislation introduced by the intervention group. Further, we found that researchers randomized to the intervention advanced their own policy knowledge and engagement as well as reported benefits for their research following implementation

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Maternal mental health after infant discharge: a quasi-experimental clinical trial of family integrated care versus family-centered care for preterm infants in U.S. NICUs.

BACKGROUND: Involvement in caregiving and tailored support services may reduce the risk of mental health symptoms for mothers after their preterm infants neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge. We aimed to compare Family-Centered Care (FCC) with mobile-enhanced Family-Integrated Care (mFICare) on post-discharge maternal mental health symptoms. METHOD: This quasi-experimental study enrolled preterm infant (≤ 33 weeks)/parent dyads from three NICUs into sequential cohorts: FCC or mFICare. We analyzed post-discharge symptoms of perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression using intention-to-treat and per protocol approaches. RESULTS: 178 mothers (89 FCC; 89 mFICare) completed measures. We found no main effect of group assignment. We found an interaction between group and stress, indicating fewer PTSD and depression symptoms among mothers who had higher NICU-related stress and received mFICare, compared with mothers who had high stress and received FCC (PTSD: interaction β=-1.18, 95% CI: -2.10, -0.26; depression: interaction β=-0.76, 95% CI: -1.53, 0.006). Per protocol analyses of mFICare components suggested fewer PTSD and depression symptoms among mothers who had higher NICU stress scores and participated in clinical team rounds and/or group classes, compared with mothers who had high stress and did not participate in rounds or classes. CONCLUSION: Overall, post-discharge maternal mental health symptoms did not differ between the mFICare and FCC groups. However, for mothers with high levels of stress during the NICU stay, mFICare was associated with fewer post-discharge PTSD and depression symptoms

Neonatal outcomes from a quasi-experimental clinical trial of Family Integrated Care versus Family-Centered Care for preterm infants in U.S. NICUs

BackgroundFamily Integrated Care (FICare) benefits preterm infants compared with Family-Centered Care (FCC), but research is lacking in United States (US) Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The outcomes for infants of implementing FICare in the US are unknown given differences in parental leave benefits and health care delivery between the US and other countries where FICare is used. We compared preterm weight and discharge outcomes between FCC and mobile-enhanced FICare (mFICare) in the US.MethodsIn this quasi-experimental study, we enrolled preterm infant (≤ 33 weeks)/parent dyads from 3 NICUs into sequential cohorts: FCC or mFICare. Our primary outcome was 21-day change in weight z-scores. Our secondary outcomes were nosocomial infection, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and human milk feeding (HMF) at discharge. We used intention-to-treat analyses to examine the effect of the FCC and mFICare models overall and per protocol analyses to examine the effects of the mFICare intervention components.Findings253 infant/parent dyads participated (141 FCC; 112 mFICare). There were no parent-related adverse events in either group. In intention-to-treat analyses, we found no group differences in weight, ROP, BPD or HMF. The FCC cohort had 2.6-times (95% CI: 1.0, 6.7) higher odds of nosocomial infection than the mFICare cohort. In per-protocol analyses, we found that infants whose parents did not receive parent mentoring or participate in rounds lost more weight relative to age-based norms (group-difference=-0.128, CI: -0.227, -0.030; group-difference=-0.084, CI: -0.154, -0.015, respectively). Infants whose parents did not participate in rounds or group education had 2.9-times (CI: 1.0, 9.1) and 3.8-times (CI: 1.2, 14.3) higher odds of nosocomial infection, respectively.ConclusionWe found indications that mFICare may have direct benefits on infant outcomes such as weight gain and nosocomial infection. Future studies using implementation science designs are needed to optimize intervention delivery and determine acute and long-term infant and family outcomes.Clinical trial registrationNCT03418870 01/02/2018