Barriers to Mitigation: A Pilot Study

This pilot research was undertaken to discover barriers that prevent homeowners from mitigating earthquake hazards in their homes. There is a relatively significant body of literature on disaster mitigation, which is reviewed and summarized in this report. However, no studies address how these barriers may be overcome so that homeowners would be more proactive in mitigation. If the barriers can be identified, then future communications and policy actions that address these barriers can be taken, resulting in more widespread mitigation implementation that reduces the injury and damage potential that communities face, leading to a reduction in the post-disaster response requirement, and the time required to achieve recovery. Data came from an online survey of San José State University employees; the survey took approximately 15 minutes for respondents to complete. Questions addressed home characteristics, demographic characteristics, perceptions of earthquake risk, levels of mitigation, past experience with earthquake injury or damage, social influences on hazard and damage prevention, and reactions to various incentives. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS version 16.0. Of the total 331 respondents, 215 were homeowners and consequently used for data analysis. Of these homeowners, 79 % owned single-family homes. The sample overwhelmingly expects a major earthquake to occur within the next 10 years, and most expect to suffer earthquake-caused injuries and damage within their homes in the near future. The findings indicate the importance of earthquake expectations and the social network for influencing mitigation. Physical proximity to others who experienced earthquake damage and relational closeness to those who have taken mitigation actions were found to have a positive effect on mitigation implementation by individuals. Homeowners assumed responsibility for mitigation, and cost is generally not a concern. The most prevalent obstacles to mitigation were the feeling that the mitigation is not necessary or that it is inconvenient. Home structures and systems mitigation is far more commonplace than home contents mitigation. Mitigation of home contents was perceived as not being very important, and this perception prevents individuals from taking mitigation actions. All incentive types that were presented to respondents, which were primarily financial in nature, were reported as likely to increase mitigation. Providing advice and information was also reported to likely result in higher levels of mitigation. The development of mitigation approaches that are low-cost and simple is expected to have a positive effect on mitigation actions. In addition, codes were found to be effective at prompting mitigation – most respondents had mitigated for items that have code requirements. One outcome of this is that mitigation of structures is more widely reported than mitigation of home contents. More research is needed to explore non-financial incentives for mitigation, including incentives provided by personal relationships and how social relationships may be leveraged. There is also a need to explore whether different types of incentives (such as free labor or education) would be more or less effective at prompting particular mitigation actions (such as securing the foundation or strapping down appliances). It would be helpful to take a “bottom up” approach by conducting focus groups on these topics. Demographic effects on mitigation and barriers to mitigation also need to be explored further. There were suggestions that demography mattered, but the sample size for this survey was not sufficiently large to draw statistically valid conclusions. There is also a need to revise the survey instrument to remove some ambiguities and inadequacies that currently exist. It would be useful to explore why persons might have taken particular mitigation actions and how social networks affect their mitigation action, among other things. Heightened perceptions of earthquake threats, experience with earthquake injuries and damage, and social relationships are critical predictors of mitigation. Individuals who know others who have mitigated are more likely to mitigate; therefore improved communications, on the personal level, on the topic of mitigation can be effective. Given the perceptions of mitigating home contents, the public also needs to be made more aware of the threats posed by home contents during an earthquake

Understanding host and microbial metabolites in functional gut disorders : a thesis presented in particle fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nutritional Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Interactions between diet, host, and the gut microbiome can result in beneficial or detrimental effects on human health. Functional gut disorders (FGDs) are an example of the negative effects of these interactions. However, an understanding of the mechanisms behind FGDs remains unknown. Metabolomics is a powerful tool to understand possible mechanisms. It was hypothesised that key metabolite groups in faecal samples would differ between or within FGD subtypes and healthy controls reflective of mechanistic perturbations. This PhD aimed to characterise the metabolite profile of FGD individuals (functional constipation (FC), IBS-constipation (IBS-C), functional diarrhoea (FD), IBS-diarrhoea (IBS-D), IBS-mixed (IBS-M)) and healthy controls. The concentration of faecal bile acids and plasma amino acids were quantified to ascertain changes in known metabolites associated with FGDs. The faecal metabolome was characterised to potentially identify wider perturbations, and this was then integrated with dietary intake, plasma metabolome abundance and faecal microbiota composition for a systems biology analysis. Constipation (FC + IBS-C) and diarrhoea (FD + IBS-D) were combined to determine differences between healthy controls and disease states. Faecal bile acid concentrations differed between all FGD participants and healthy controls. In the combined analysis of the diarrhoea (FD+IBS-D) and constipation (FC+IBS-C) groups, the diarrhoea group had a higher concentration of bile acids than the constipation group or healthy control group. The concentration of plasma amino acids did not differ between FGD participants and healthy controls. Furthermore, analysis of key amino acid groups showed that only the concentration of branched chain amino acids were different between all subtypes and healthy controls. Characterisation of faecal polar, semi-polar and lipid metabolites showed a differential relative abundance of some polar and semi-polar metabolites (e.g., riboflavin, nicotinic acid) between diarrhoea and healthy control groups, and constipation and healthy control groups. Substantial changes in the abundance of some lipids (e.g., ceramides, triglycerides) were evident between constipation and healthy control groups, and diarrhoea and healthy control groups. Integration of the faecal metabolome with other datasets (faecal microbiome, plasma metabolome, dietary intake) showed the faecal metabolome and microbiome separated healthy controls from constipation or diarrhoea. Additionally, differential positive and negative correlations were observed between faecal lipids (triglycerides and diglycerides) and microbial species (Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes). This PhD thesis presents novel insights into the metabolite signature characterising FGD participants and healthy controls and provides directions for future research

Automatic Histograms: Leveraging Language Models for Text Dataset Exploration

Making sense of unstructured text datasets is perennially difficult, yet increasingly relevant with Large Language Models. Data workers often rely on dataset summaries, especially distributions of various derived features. Some features, like toxicity or topics, are relevant to many datasets, but many interesting features are domain specific: instruments and genres for a music dataset, or diseases and symptoms for a medical dataset. Accordingly, data workers often run custom analyses for each dataset, which is cumbersome and difficult. We present AutoHistograms, a visualization tool leveragingLLMs. AutoHistograms automatically identifies relevant features, visualizes them with histograms, and allows the user to interactively query the dataset for categories of entities and create new histograms. In a user study with 10 data workers (n=10), we observe that participants can quickly identify insights and explore the data using AutoHistograms, and conceptualize a broad range of applicable use cases. Together, this tool and user study contributeto the growing field of LLM-assisted sensemaking tools

Nutrient Intake, Performance, and Body Composition of Preseason Wrestlers

International Journal of Exercise Science 17(2): 517-530, 2024. College athletes, especially in weight class sports, often experience energy deficits. Athletes competing in weight class sports such as wrestling are at greatest risk for deficiencies and little is known about the relationships between body composition, nutrient intake, and performance in these athletes. The purposes of this study were to (1) quantify macronutrient and micronutrient intake of pre-season male collegiate wrestlers and compare to estimated needs, and (2) examine relationships among nutritional intakes, body composition, and performance measurements of strength and anaerobic capacity. Male Division I wrestlers (n = 11, age: 21.3 ± 1.7 years, wrestling experience: 14.9 ± 2.5 years) were recruited during pre-season. Nutrient intake was collected from a 3-day food diary. A 7-site skinfold assessment determined fat-free mass (FFM) to estimate total daily energy expenditure (eTEE). Isokinetic and isometric strength were evaluated by a Biodex dynamometer. Anaerobic capacity was tested on a stationary cycle ergometer. Eight of eleven wrestlers were energy deficient based on estimated needs. Mean intake of four micronutrients fell below the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). Significant correlations were found between dietary intake, strength and anaerobic performance variables (r = 0.603 – 0.902, p = 0.0001 – 0.05). However, after accounting for FFM, these relationships were no longer significant. Nutrient intake in tandem with body composition affects performance for weight class athletes. Achieving high FFM during the preseason may be advantageous for wrestling performance. Nutrient intake and body composition should be monitored so coaches and health professionals can create individualized recommendations to help athletes optimize performance

The Importance of Small Fire Refugia in the Central Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Fire refugia – the unburned areas within fire perimeters – are important to the survival of many taxa through fire events and the revegetation of post-fire landscapes. Previous work has shown that species use and benefit from small-scale fire refugia (1 m2 to 1000 m2), but our understanding of where and how fire refugia form is largely limited to the scale of remotely sensed data (i.e., 900 m2 Landsat pixels). To examine the causes and consequences of small fire refugia, we field-mapped all unburned patches ≥1 m2 within a contiguous 25.6 ha forest plot that burned at generally low-to-moderate severity in the 2013 Yosemite Rim Fire, California, USA. Within the Yosemite Forest Dynamics Plot (YFDP), there were 685 unburned patches ≥1 m2, covering a total unburned area of 12,597 m2 (4.9%). Small refugia occurred in all fire severity classifications. Random forest models showed that the proportion of unburned area of 100 m2 grid cells corresponded to pre-fire density and basal area of trees, distance to the nearest stream, and immediate fire mortality, but the relationships were complex and model accuracy was variable. From a pre-fire population of 34,061 total trees ≥1 cm diameter at breast height (1.37 m; DBH) within the plot (1,330 trees ha-1), trees of all five of the most common species and those DBH \u3c30 cm had higher immediate survival rates if their boles were wholly or partially within an unburned patch (P ≤0.001). Trees 1 cm ≤ DBH \u3c10 that survived were located closer to the center of the unburned patch than the edge (mean 1.1 m versus 0.6 m; ANOVA; P ≤0.001). Four-year survival rates for trees 1 cm ≤ DBH \u3c10 cm were 58.8% within small refugia and 2.7% in burned areas (P ≤0.001). Species richness and the Shannon Diversity Index (SDI) were associated with unburned quadrats in NMDS ordinations 3 years post-fire. Burn heterogeneity in mixed-conifer forests likely exists at all scales and small refugia contribute to diversity of forest species and structures. Thus, managers may wish to consider scales from 1-m2 to the landscape when designing fuel reduction prescriptions. The partial predictability of refugia location suggests that further work may lead to predictive models of refugial presence that have considerable potential to preserve ecological function or human habitation in fire-frequent forests

So very really variable: Social patterning of intensifier use by Newfoundlanders online

Previous studies have shown that one of the linguistic tools that individuals use to identify themselves is adjectival intensification (e.g., so cool, very cool, really cool). We assembled and analyzed a corpus of over 3000 intensifiable adjectives (i.e., environments where intensification could occur) extracted from Newfoundland-oriented public internet forums. Statistical analysis of the correlations between intensifier choice social patterning among our speakers led to findings similar to previous studies. So is the most common variant, especially among urban females, while the older variants really and very are favoured in rural areas, especially among males. Conditioning of the less frequent variant fuckin( g) seems to show the persistence of gender distinctions outside urban areas

Understanding Accretion Outbursts in Massive Protostars through Maser Imaging

The bright maser emission produced by several molecular species at centimeter to long millimeter wavelengths provides an essential tool for understanding the process of massive star formation. Unimpeded by the high dust optical depths that affect shorter wavelength observations, the high brightness temperature of these emission lines offers a way to resolve accretion and outflow motions down to scales below $\sim$1 au in deeply embedded Galactic star-forming regions at kiloparsec distances. The recent identification of extraordinary accretion outbursts in two high-mass protostars, both of which were heralded by maser flares, has rapidly impacted the traditional view of massive protostellar evolution, leading to new hydrodynamic simulations that can produce such episodic outbursts. In order to understand how these massive protostars evolve in response to such events, larger, more sensitive ground-based centimeter wavelength interferometers are needed that can simultaneously image multiple maser species in the molecular gas along with faint continuum from the central ionized gas. Fiducial observations of a large sample of massive protostars will be essential in order to pinpoint the progenitors of future accretion outbursts, and to quantify the outburst-induced changes in their protostellar photospheres and outflow and accretion structures. Knowledge gained from these studies will have broader impact on the general topic of accretion onto massive objects.Comment: Science white paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1806.0698

Divergent Immune Responses and Disease Outcomes in Piglets Immunized with Inactivated and Attenuated H3N2 Swine Influenza Vaccines in the Presence of Maternally-Derived Antibodies

Live-attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) prime-boost vaccination previously conferred protection against heterologous H3N2 swine influenza challenge, including in piglets with maternally derived antibodies (MDA). Conversely, a whole-inactivated virus (WIV) vaccine was associated with enhanced disease. This study was aimed at identifying immune correlates of cross-protection. Piglets with and without MDA received intramuscular adjuvanted WIV or intranasal LAIV, and were challenged with heterologous H3N2. WIV induced cross-reactive IgG, inhibited by MDA, and a moderate T cell response. LAIV elicited mucosal antibodies and T cells cross-reactive to the heterologous challenge strain. The presence of MDA at LAIV vaccination blocked lung and nasal antibody production, but did not interfere with T cell priming. Even without mucosal antibodies, MDA-positive LAIV vaccinates were protected, indicating a likely role for T cells. Based on the data, one LAIV dose can induce cell-mediated immunity against antigenically divergent H3N2 influenza virus despite passive antibody interference with humoral immune responses

Live Attenuated Influenza A Virus Vaccine Protects against A(H1N1)pdm09 Heterologous Challenge without Vaccine Associated Enhanced Respiratory Disease

Live-attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) vaccines may provide cross-protection against contemporary influenza A virus (IAV) in swine. Conversely, whole inactivated virus (WIV) vaccines have the potential risk of vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease (VAERD) when challenged with IAV of substantial antigenic drift. A temperature sensitive, intranasal H1N2 LAIV was compared to wild type exposure (WT) and an intramuscular WIV vaccine in a model shown to induce VAERD. WIV vaccinated swine challenged with pandemic A/H1N1 (H1N1pdm09) were not protected from infection and demonstrated severe respiratory disease consistent with VAERD. Lung lesions were mild and challenge virus was not detected in the respiratory tract of LAIV vaccinates. High levels of post-vaccination IgG serum antibodies targeting the H1N1pdm09 HA2 stalk domain were exclusively detected in the WIV group and associated with increased H1N1pdm09 virus infectivity in MDCK cells. In contrast, infection-enhancing antibodies were not detected in the serum of LAIV vaccinates and VAERD was not observed