Collaboration Matters: Honey Bee Health as a Transdisciplinary Model for Understanding Real-World Complexity

We develop a transdisciplinary deliberative model that moves beyond traditional scientific collaborations to include nonscientists in designing complexity-oriented research. We use the case of declining honey bee health as an exemplar of complex real-world problems requiring cross-disciplinary intervention. Honey bees are important pollinators of the fruits and vegetables we eat. In recent years, these insects have been dying at alarming rates. To prompt the reorientation of research toward the complex reality in which bees face multiple challenges, we came together as a group, including beekeepers, farmers, and scientists. Over a two-year period, we deliberated about how to study the problem of honey bee deaths and conducted field experiments with bee colonies. We show trust and authority to be crucial factors shaping such collaborative research, and we offer a model for structuring collaboration that brings scientists and nonscientists together with the key objects and places of their shared concerns across time

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

Application of the BIM method in conformity with the regulations of the FGSV and the IT-Ko

Durch den Stufenplan Digitales Bauen und Betreiben wird vom Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur (BMVI) die ganzheitliche und flächendeckende Nutzung von Building Information Modeling (BIM) im Straßenbau gefordert. Demnach sollen auch für Infrastrukturprojekte moderne, IT-gestützte Prozesse und Technologien bei Planung, Bau und Betrieb ähnlich den Strukturen im Hochbau verwendet werden. Das Projekt beschäftigt sich mit der Überprüfung der Konformität der Methode BIM mit den Regelwerken der Forschungsgesellschaft für Straßen- und Verkehrswesen (FGSV) und des Gremiums „Koordinierung der Bund/Länder Fachinformationssysteme im Straßenwesen (IT-Ko). Darüber hinaus sollen digitale und datenbanktaugliche Strukturen mit den wesentlichen Inhalten der R1-Regelwerke erstellt werden, anhand derer die Konformitätsprüfung erfolgen kann. Als erste Grundlage für eine einheitliche Anwendung der Methode BIM in Infrastrukturprojekten dient die Entwicklung eines BIM-konformen Objektkataloges für das Verkehrswesen und den Straßenbau. Die Umsetzung erfolgte in Form einer Datenbank, in welcher die wichtigsten Begrifflichkeiten und Definitionen der Regelwerke der FGSV und des IT-Ko als Merkmalsgruppen und Merkmale importiert wurden. Hierbei wurde eine einheitliche Verwendung von den Begrifflichkeiten innerhalb eines Regelwerkes als auch zwischen verschiedenen Regelwerken untersucht. Zusätzlich wurden den einzelnen Merkmalen nach Möglichkeit Definitionen, Beschreibungen, Beispiele, Wertebereiche, physikalische Größen sowie Dimensionen zugewiesen. Der Informationsgehalt in der Datenbank ist stark von der Detailtiefe im jeweiligen Regelwerk abhängig. Die Analyseergebnisse und die Hinweise zu nicht harmonisierten Bereichen der einzelnen Regelwerke werden für die weitere Gremienarbeit und gegebenenfalls erforderliche Abstimmungen zwischen verschiedenen Gremien zur Verfügung gestellt. Zusätzliche Hinweise zu abbildbaren und nicht abbildbaren Informationen in digitalen Modellen wurden ebenfalls herausgearbeitet. Eine Liste mit weiteren BIM-relevanten Regelwerken sowie erwartete Neuerungen in bereits analysierten Regelwerken ist diesem Bericht beigefügt. Eine Anleitung für die systematische Analyse weiterer Regelwerke zur Ergänzung der Datenbank für die zukünftige Fortentwicklung und Datenpflege wurde verfasst. Ein Umsetzungsbeispiel der Datenbank in Form eines dreidimensionalen Datenmodells wurde erzeugt. Prüfungen hinsichtlich der Merkmalsabhängigkeiten können in Zukunft durch gezielte Abfragen innerhalb eines Modells ergänzt werden. Durch die beispielhafte Analyse ausgewählter Regelwerke und die Entwicklung einer geeigneten Datenbankstruktur kann dieses Projekt als erster Schritt zu einer einheitlichen BIM-Struktur für den Infrastrukturbau dienen.The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) requires the comprehensive and area-wide use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in road construction through the step-by-step plan Digital Construction and Operation. According to this, modern, IT-supported processes and technologies are to be used for infrastructure projects in planning, construction and operation similar to the structures in building construction. The project is dedicated to the application of the BIM method in conformity with the regulations of the German Road and Transportation Research Association (FGSV) and the committee “Coordination of Bund-Länder Information Systems in Road Engineering” (IT-Ko). The development of a BIM-compliant object catalogue for transportation and road construction serves as a first basis for a uniform application of the BIM method in infrastructure projects. The implementation took place in the form of a database, in which the most important terms and definitions of the rules and regulations of the FGSV and the IT-Ko were imported as feature groups and features. A uniform use of the terms within a set of rules as well as between different sets of rules was investigated. In addition, definitions, descriptions, examples, value ranges, physical quantities and dimensions were assigned to the individual characteristics. The information content in the database is strongly dependent on the level of detail in each set of rules. The results of the analysis and the information on non-harmonised areas of the individual regulations were made available for further committee work and any necessary coordination between different committees. Additional notes on displayable and non-imageable information in digital models were also elaborated. A list of further BIM-relevant rules and regulations as well as expected innovations in already analysed rules and regulations can be found in this report. A guide for the systematic analysis of other rules and regulations and for adding them to the database for future data maintenance was written. An implementation example of the database in the form of a three-dimensional data model was generated. In the future, checks regarding the dependencies of characteristics can be supplemented by specific queries within a model. By the exemplary analysis of selected rules and regulations and the development of a suitable database structure, this project can serve as a first step towards a uniform BIM structure for infrastructure construction

Collaboration Matters: Honey Bee Health as a Transdisciplinary Model for Understanding Real-World Complexity

We develop a transdisciplinary deliberative model that moves beyond traditional scientific collaborations to include nonscientists in designing complexity-oriented research. We use the case of declining honey bee health as an exemplar of complex real-world problems requiring cross-disciplinary intervention. Honey bees are important pollinators of the fruits and vegetables we eat. In recent years, these insects have been dying at alarming rates. To prompt the reorientation of research toward the complex reality in which bees face multiple challenges, we came together as a group, including beekeepers, farmers, and scientists. Over a two-year period, we deliberated about how to study the problem of honey bee deaths and conducted field experiments with bee colonies. We show trust and authority to be crucial factors shaping such collaborative research, and we offer a model for structuring collaboration that brings scientists and nonscientists together with the key objects and places of their shared concerns across time.This is a manuscript of an article published as Suryanarayanan, Sainath, Daniel Lee Kleinman, Claudio Gratton, Amy Toth, Christelle Guedot, Russell Groves, John Piechowski et al. "Collaboration matters: Honey bee health as a transdisciplinary model for understanding real-world complexity." BioScience (2018). doi: 10.1093/biosci/biy118. Posted with permission.</p

RNA Sequencing of Sessile Serrated Colon Polyps Identifies Differentially Expressed Genes and Immunohistochemical Markers

<div><p>Background</p><p>Sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (SSA/Ps) may account for 20–30% of colon cancers. Although large SSA/Ps are generally recognized phenotypically, small (<1 cm) or dysplastic SSA/Ps are difficult to differentiate from hyperplastic or small adenomatous polyps by endoscopy and histopathology. Our aim was to define the comprehensive gene expression phenotype of SSA/Ps to better define this cancer precursor.</p><p>Results</p><p>RNA sequencing was performed on 5′ capped RNA from seven SSA/Ps collected from patients with the serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) versus eight controls. Highly expressed genes were analyzed by qPCR in additional SSA/Ps, adenomas and controls. The cellular localization and level of gene products were examined by immunohistochemistry in syndromic and sporadic SSA/Ps, adenomatous and hyperplastic polyps and controls. We identified 1,294 differentially expressed annotated genes, with 106 increased ≥10-fold, in SSA/Ps compared to controls. Comparing these genes with an array dataset for adenomatous polyps identified 30 protein coding genes uniquely expressed ≥10-fold in SSA/Ps. Biological pathways altered in SSA/Ps included mucosal integrity, cell adhesion, and cell development. Marked increased expression of <i>MUC17</i>, the cell junction protein genes <i>VSIG1</i> and <i>GJB5</i>, and the antiapoptotic gene <i>REG4</i> were found in SSA/Ps, relative to controls and adenomas, were verified by qPCR analysis of additional SSA/Ps (n = 21) and adenomas (n = 10). Immunohistochemical staining of syndromic (n≥11) and sporadic SSA/Ps (n≥17), adenomatous (n≥13) and hyperplastic (n≥10) polyps plus controls (n≥16) identified unique expression patterns for VSIG1 and MUC17 in SSA/Ps.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>A subset of genes and pathways are uniquely increased in SSA/Ps, compared to adenomatous polyps, thus supporting the concept that cancer develops by different pathways in these phenotypically distinct polyps with markedly different gene expression profiles. Immunostaining for a subset of these genes differentiates both syndromic and sporadic SSA/Ps from adenomatous and hyperplastic polyps.</p></div

Differentially expressed genes in sessile serrated adenoma/polyps (SSA/Ps) by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and microarray analyses.

<p><b>Panel A</b>. RNA-seq analysis identified 1294 genes (875 increased, 419 decreased) that were significantly differentially expressed (fold change ≥1.5, FDR<0.05) in SSA/Ps as compared to control colon biopsies. Differentially expressed genes in SSA/Ps that were found by RNA-seq analysis (red) and those found in a microarray study (green; 101 total, 59 increased, 42 decreased) are shown in the Venn diagram (23). <b>Panel B</b>. Hierarchical clustering of the differentially expressed genes in Panel A. Note: only 782 genes could be compared in the hierarchical clustering analysis because fewer genes were interrogated in the microarray analysis. <b>Panel C</b>. Hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes in SSA/Ps identified by RNA-seq analysis and in adenomatous polyps (APs) identified by microarray analysis (24). 136 genes (75 increased, 61 decreased) with a fold change ≥10 and FDR of <0.05 from both datasets were compared. Four distinct clusters are shown, cluster 1 represents genes increased in only SSA/Ps, cluster 2 represents genes increased in both SSA/Ps and APs, cluster 3 represents genes decreased only in APs, and cluster 4 represents genes decreased in both SSA/Ps and APs. Note: the full range of fold change is not reflected in color bar scale, the maximum fold change in RNA-seq analysis was 582-fold (<i>MUC5AC</i>) in SSA/Ps and 208-fold (<i>GCG</i>) in APs by microarray analysis.</p