U.S. Territorial Exclusion in Federal Sentencing Research: Can it be Justified?

There is a dearth of knowledge on sentencing process and outcomes in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. It is not uncommon for researchers conducting national studies to intentionally exclude data from these American territories. Their actions have been justified on the grounds that territories have "distinctive" characteristics that warrant exclusion. Using federal sentencing data, this study explores whether the sentencing patterns observed in the territories are as "unique" as scholars assume and if so, in what ways and to what extent. Descriptive analysis reveals that attributes of offenders and case processing strategies are similar across the U.S. mainland and its territories. Although multivariate analysis revealed some notable differences (e.g., territories are more punitive than states) the larger finding is that there are more similarities than differences with regards to the processing of cases and outcomes. Implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed

ALSPAC parents’ descriptions of childhood stresses in their parents and grandparents

Background: There is evidence that childhood stresses or traumas influence individuals’ descendants’ health and wellbeing through epigenetic mechanisms. However, few longitudinal studies have details of such ancestral data. Methods: Nearly 7,000 parents of the original Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort completed questionnaires concerning their parents’ and grandparents’ childhoods. As part of a questionnaire validation exercise  we conducted recorded interviews with 100 of these parents. Here we describe some of the vivid accounts from these interviews of stresses encountered by the parents’ ancestors. Results: The interviews provided insights into the childhoods of two previous generations of this cohort, most of whom had lived through one, if not two, World Wars. Many children were brought up, not by their parents but by relatives or acquaintances and/or left home very young to ‘go into service’ or start work. A few interviewees had wealthy relatives with nannies and governesses and attended expensive boarding schools but by far the most frequent accounts were of poverty, often severe, with related lack of education and illiteracy, alcoholism and violence, alongside devastating effects of the World Wars. Conclusions: Although the interviews focussed on stresses in childhood and therefore the accounts seemed somewhat negative, many interviewees described their relatives as having secure, stable childhoods. Of the many struggling families though, the predominant impression was their remarkable resilience; all went on to have children or grandchildren who are stable enough to participate for three decades, entirely altruistically, in ALSPAC

Telomere length and common disease: study design and analytical challenges.

Telomeres, the repetitive sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes, help to maintain genomic integrity and are of key importance to human health. The aim here is to give an overview of the evidence for the importance of telomere length (TL) to the risk of common disease, considering the strengths and weaknesses of different epidemiological study designs. Methods for measuring TL are described, all of which are subject to considerable measurement error. TL declines with age and varies in relation to factors such as smoking and obesity. It is also highly heritable (estimated heritability of ~40 to 50%), and genome-wide studies have identified a number of associated genetic variants. Epidemiological studies have shown shorter TL to be associated with risk of a number of common diseases, including cardiovascular disease and some cancers. The relationship with cancer appears complex, in that longer telomeres are associated with higher risk of some cancers. Prospective studies of the relationship between TL and disease, where TL is measured before diagnosis, have numerous advantages over retrospective studies, since they avoid the problems of reverse causality and differences in sample handling, but they are still subject to potential confounding. Studies of the genetic predictors of TL in relation to disease risk avoid these drawbacks, although they are not without limitations. Telomere biology is of major importance to the risk of common disease, but the complexities of the relationship are only now beginning to be understood.This research was supported by Cancer Research UK Programme Awards C588/A10589 and C588/A19167 (MMI and JHB) and C8197/A16565 (AMD and KAP) and the Isaac Newton Trust.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00439-015-1563-

Grand-maternal smoking in pregnancy and grandchild’s autistic traits and diagnosed autism

AbstractAlthough there is considerable research into the genetic background of autism spectrum disorders, environmental factors are likely to contribute to the variation in prevalence over time. Rodent experiments indicate that environmental exposures can have effects on subsequent generations, and human studies indicate that parental prenatal exposures may play a part in developmental variation. Here we use the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to test the hypothesis that if the mother or father (F1) had been exposed to their own mother’s (F0) smoking during pregnancy, the offspring (F2) would be at increased risk of autism. We find an association between maternal grandmother smoking in pregnancy and grand daughters having adverse scores in Social Communication and Repetitive Behaviour measures that are independently predictive of diagnosed autism. In line with this, we show an association with actual diagnosis of autism in her grandchildren. Paternal grandmothers smoking in pregnancy showed no associations.</jats:p

HMGB1 Accelerates Alveolar Epithelial Repair via an IL-1β- and αvβ6 Integrin-dependent Activation of TGF-β1

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein is a danger-signaling molecule, known to activate an inflammatory response via TLR4 and RAGE. HMGB1 can be either actively secreted or passively released from damaged alveolar epithelial cells. Previous studies have shown that IL-1β, a critical mediator acute lung injury in humans that is activated by HMGB1, enhances alveolar epithelial repair, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that HMGB1 released by wounded alveolar epithelial cells would increase primary rat and human alveolar type II cell monolayer wound repair via an IL-1β-dependent activation of TGF-β1. HMGB1 induced in primary cultures of rat alveolar epithelial cells results in the release of IL-1β that caused the activation of TGF-β1 via a p38 MAPK-, RhoA- and αvβ6 integrin-dependent mechanism. Furthermore, active TGF-β1 accelerated the wound closure of primary rat epithelial cell monolayers via a PI3 kinase α-dependent mechanism. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that HMGB1 released by wounded epithelial cell monolayers, accelerates wound closure in the distal lung epithelium via the IL-1β-mediated αvβ6-dependent activation of TGF-β1, and thus could play an important role in the resolution of acute lung injury by promoting repair of the injured alveolar epithelium

La imagen y la narrativa como herramientas para el abordaje psicosocial en escenarios de violencia. Departamento Atlántico, Tolima y Caquetá.

La imagen y la narrativa como herramientas para el abordaje psicosocial en escenarios de violencia. Departamento Atlántico, Tolima y Caquetá.Este documento contempla el resultado del desarrollo de tres actividades relacionadas con La Imagen y la Narrativa como Herramientas para el abordaje Psicosocial en Escenarios de Violencia, se evidencia la reflexión y la apropiación de los documentos sugeridos para la actividad. Se lleva a cabo el análisis del relato de Carlos Arturo quien fue víctima de una mina, en este proceso se desarrolló un ejercicio de discurso resaltando los esfuerzos personales, familiares, colectivos y comunitarios que en él se movilizaron para romper ciclos de violencia e injusticia, resaltando aspecto como: impactos psisociales, las voces encontradas en el relato que revelan el posicionamiento subjetivo desde su lugar como sobreviviente y la emancipación discursiva frente a las imágenes de horror y de violencia experimentadas por el protagonista. Se realiza una entrevista hipotética teniendo en cuenta el arte de preguntar, se formulan preguntas estratégicas, circulares y reflexivas con el fin de hacer inmersión del caso planteado, generando al mismo tiempo impacto en el sobreviviente. Finalmente se analiza el caso Pandurí donde una población víctima del conflicto armado, evidencia como consecuencias: torturas, muertes, desplazamientos y posiblemente secuelas psicológicas. El caso fue abordado dando respuesta a los emergentes psicosociales latentes después de la incursión y el hostigamiento militar; el impacto que genera para la población el ser estigmatizada como cómplice de un actor armado; se proponen dos acciones de apoyo a la situación de crisis generada por la tortura y el asesinato de miembros y líderes de la comunidad y se establecen tres estrategias psicosociales que faciliten la potenciación de recursos de afrontamiento a la situación presentada. Por último, se resalta el ejercicio foto- Voz realizado en la fase anterior, con su respectivo análisis, el cual fue preponderante para la adquisición de herramientas psicosociales importantes en el apoyo psicosocial en escenarios de violencia.This document contemplates the result of the development of three activities related to Image and Narrative as Tools for the Psychosocial approach in Violence Scenarios, it is evident the reflection and appropriation of the suggested documents for the activity. The analysis of the story of Carlos Arturo who was the victim of a mine was carried out, in this process a discourse exercise was developed highlighting the personal, family, collective and community efforts that were mobilized in him to break cycles of violence and injustice, highlighting aspect like; psisocial impacts, the voices found in the story that reveal the subjective positioning from its place of survivor and the discursive emancipation in front of the images of horror and violence experienced by the protagonist; a hypothetical interview was carried out, taking into account the art of asking questions, strategies, circular and reflective questions were formulated in order to immerse the proposed case, while generating impact on the survivor. Finally, the Pandurí case is analyzed, where a population was the victim of armed conflict, resulting in torture, death, displacement and possibly psychological sequelae. The case was addressed by responding to latent psychosocial emergencies after the military incursion and harassment; the impact that it generated for the population to be stigmatized as an accomplice of an armed actor; Two support actions were proposed in the crisis situation generated by the torture and murder of community members and leaders, and three psychosocial strategies were established to facilitate the empowerment of coping resources to the situation presented. Finally, the photo-Voice exercise carried out in the previous phase is evidenced, with its respective analysis, and which was preponderant for the acquisition of important psychosocial tools in psychosocial support in violence scenarios

Honors Convocation

Program listing performers and works performe

Population-based analysis of POT1 variants in a cutaneous melanoma case–control cohort

Article describes how pathogenic germline variants in the protection of telomeres 1 gene (POT1) have been associated with predisposition to a range of tumor types, including melanoma, glioma, leukemia and cardiac angiosarcoma. The authors sequenced all coding exons of the POT1 gene in 2928 European-descent melanoma cases and 3298 controls, identifying 43 protein-changing genetic variants