No Complaining...

It is said that hunger is a great motivator. If only the hunger for knowledge were as great as the hunger for physical sustenance. This statement could be lodged as a complaint, but that would defeat the purpose of this essay. How is it possible to turn the toil of our learning into the enlightenment for self-improvement

Genetic Connectivity in Scleractinian Corals across the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Oil/Gas Platforms, and Relationship to the Flower Garden Banks

The 3,000 oil/gas structures currently deployed in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) provide hard substratum for marine organisms in a region where such has been rare since the Holocene. The major exception to this are the Flower Garden Banks (FGB). Corals are known to have colonized oil/gas platforms around the FGB, facilitating biogeographic expansion. We ask the question, what are the patterns of genetic affinity in these coral populations. We sampled coral tissue from populations of two species occurring on oil and gas platforms: Madracis decactis (hermatype) and Tubastraea coccinea (invasive ahermatype). We sampled 28 platforms along four transects from 20 km offshore to the continental shelf edge off 1) Matagorda Island, TX; 2) Lake Sabine, TX; 3) Terrebonne Bay, LA; and 4) Mobile, AL. The entire population of M. decactis was sampled between depths of 5 m and 37 m. T. coccinea populations were sub-sampled. Genetic variation was assessed using the PCR-based Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs). Data were analyzed via AFLPOP and STRUCTURE. Genetic connectivity among M. decactis platform populations was highest near the FGB and decreased to the east. Connectivity increased again in the eastern sector, indicating isolation between the populations from different sides of the Mississippi River (Transects 3 and 4). A point-drop in genetic affinity (relatedness) at the shelf edge south of Terrebonne Bay, LA indicated a population differing from all others in the northern GOM. Genetic affinities among T. coccinea were highest in the west and decreased to the east. Very low genetic affinities off Mobile, AL indicated a dramatic difference between those populations and those west of the Mississippi River, apparently a formidable barrier to larval dispersal

Psychological and physiological predictors of the development and modulation of instrusive images

Researchers have suggested that engaging in visuospatial tasks, such as the videogame Tetris™, following a trauma may interfere with the development of intrusive images associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study attempted to replicate this finding using a trauma film paradigm. Furthermore, we were interested in identifying if participants who played Tetris would show changes in other symptoms associated with PTSD, such as enhanced startle responses. Participants (N = 129) were asked to view a film with traumatic content and were then randomly assigned to play either Tetris or to sit quietly for 10 min. Psychological reactivity (positive affect, negative affect, and dissociation) and physiological reactivity (cardiac measure of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, heart rate, and salivary alpha amylase) were examined as potential predictors of the frequency of intrusive images. Our findings indicated that intrusive images occurred significantly less often amongst individuals assigned to the Tetris game-play condition. We were able to identify that the frequency of intrusive images was modulated by patterns of sympathetic arousal, dissociation, and affective reactivity. Furthermore, our results indicated that individuals who engaged in the Tetris task showed a heightened startle response to aversive material. These findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to etiological models, and the prevention of PTSD

Assessment of magno-, parvo-, and koniocellular visual streams in migraine / by James Brazeau.

Although visual abnormalities have been noted in migraine, no studies have specifically sought to assess all three visual processing streams. We are the first to psychophysically assess visual functionality of the magnocellular (MC), parvocellular (PC), and koniocellular (KC) parallel streams at different hierarchical visual pathway loci across groups of individuals with migraine with aura (MA; n = 13), migraine without aura (MWO; n = 14), and controls (o = 15). Participants completed four tasks: (I) visual field analysis using short-wave length automated perimetry (SWAP), (2) chromatic discrimination along cone-excitation axes using the Cambridge Colour Test, (3) chromatic contrast sensitivity across isoluminant bichromatic spatial Gabor gratings, and (4) luminance contrast sensitivity across heteroluminant spatial Gabor gratings. Our results suggest that deficits are selective to short-wavelength-sensitive cones and the associated KC visual stream. Furthermore, functional inconsistencies and consistencies between our SWAP and chromatic discrimination measures and SWAP and chromatic sensitivity measures, respectively, provide evidence for a retinal locus of dysfunction in MA that is compensated for at downstream locations within the KC visual stream

Factors influencing the pharmacy faculty workforce

In 2005, the Council of Faculties and the Council of Deans within the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) formed a task force to review the status of the pharmacy faculty workforce and to identify factors that may influence the supply of and demand for pharmacy faculty members. This manuscript summarizes the Task Force on Faculty Workforce's findings and describes specific strategies needed to address the various issues facing the academy. Based on Task Force predictions, the academy will need approximately 1200 new faculty members over the next 10 years due to the creation of new pharmacy programs, the expansion of existing programs, faculty retirements, and recurring vacant faculty positions

Alternative epidemic indicators for COVID-19 in three settings with incomplete death registration systems

Not all COVID-19 deaths are officially reported, and particularly in low-income and humanitarian settings, the magnitude of reporting gaps remains sparsely characterized. Alternative data sources, including burial site worker reports, satellite imagery of cemeteries, and social media-conducted surveys of infection may offer solutions. By merging these data with independently conducted, representative serological studies within a mathematical modeling framework, we aim to better understand the range of underreporting using examples from three major cities: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Aden (Yemen), and Khartoum (Sudan) during 2020. We estimate that 69 to 100%, 0.8 to 8.0%, and 3.0 to 6.0% of COVID-19 deaths were reported in each setting, respectively. In future epidemics, and in settings where vital registration systems are limited, using multiple alternative data sources could provide critically needed, improved estimates of epidemic impact. However, ultimately, these systems are needed to ensure that, in contrast to COVID-19, the impact of future pandemics or other drivers of mortality is reported and understood worldwide

Understanding the retinal basis of vision across species

The vertebrate retina first evolved some 500 million years ago in ancestral marine chordates. Since then, the eyes of different species have been tuned to best support their unique visuoecological lifestyles. Visual specializations in eye designs, large-scale inhomogeneities across the retinal surface and local circuit motifs mean that all species' retinas are unique. Computational theories, such as the efficient coding hypothesis, have come a long way towards an explanation of the basic features of retinal organization and function; however, they cannot explain the full extent of retinal diversity within and across species. To build a truly general understanding of vertebrate vision and the retina's computational purpose, it is therefore important to more quantitatively relate different species' retinal functions to their specific natural environments and behavioural requirements. Ultimately, the goal of such efforts should be to build up to a more general theory of vision

“Emotional Rescue”: Heroic Chastity and Devotional Practice in Iacopo Sannazaro’s De partu Virginis

While Iacopo Sannazaro (1458–1530) is mostly known for his Arcadia (1504), his Christian epic De partu Virginis (1526) was widely read by his contemporaries,  prompting them to label him as "another Virgil." This essay examines Sannazaro's portrayal of Mary in the De Partu. Many of Sannazaro's contemporaries took issue with the fact that the moment of Annunciation was likened by the poet to a young girl fearing rape by pirates. Closer examination of other Christian epics in the period, however, along with contemporary preaching traditions and the visual arts, demonstrates that Sannazaro’s portrayal was not as heterodox as it initially appears. Indeed, when seen in this context, Sannazaro’s Mary emerges as a bolder and more independent figure than she was in previous literary and visual depictions

“Emotional Rescue”: Heroic Chastity and Devotional Practice in Iacopo Sannazaro’s De partu Virginis

While Iacopo Sannazaro (1458–1530) is mostly known for his Arcadia (1504), his Christian epic De partu Virginis (1526) was widely read by his contemporaries,  prompting them to label him as "another Virgil." This essay examines Sannazaro's portrayal of Mary in the De Partu. Many of Sannazaro's contemporaries took issue with the fact that the moment of Annunciation was likened by the poet to a young girl fearing rape by pirates. Closer examination of other Christian epics in the period, however, along with contemporary preaching traditions and the visual arts, demonstrates that Sannazaro’s portrayal was not as heterodox as it initially appears. Indeed, when seen in this context, Sannazaro’s Mary emerges as a bolder and more independent figure than she was in previous literary and visual depictions